one thing for another

-x-

A gust of wind swept through the shopping tunnel and Masumi scrambled to pat down her skirt. Her tote bag slipped to her elbow, and she staggered, struggling to keep her balance on the three-inch heels. The sandals pinched her feet, the sundress seemed translucent, and the wire in her bra dug into her ribs. How do women do this, she thought with a frown as she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. How did her mom do this? Scanning the crowd for her boyfriend's face, she resisted the urge to lick her lips and taste the lipstick, an uncomfortable layer of oily wax smothering her skin.

"Hey!" she called out when she spotted Rei looking around near their meeting point. "Over here," she said, taking a stride in his direction, and clapped his shoulder before she could wobble and lose her footing.

Rei whipped around, catching her hand, and stared at her in bewilderment before his gaze focused upon recognition. "What happened to you?" he exclaimed, running his eyes over her as if she had been attacked by a hundred crazy chickens.

When she noticed that Rei was gaping at her chest, Masumi straightened her back and put on a self-conscious smile. "Your fairy godmother came through," she said, smoothing her dress, her voice slightly higher than usual. "I'm a girl now. How do I look?"

There was a pause as Rei deliberated with a torn expression. Then he suddenly said, reaching for her chest, "What did you stuff in there? Toilet paper?"

"That's sexual harassment!" Masumi shouted, smacking his hand to the side, and the two of them exchanged an awkward glance with the people around them.

"It's not sexual harassment if it's toilet paper."

"It's not toilet paper! It's – " Masumi choked back her response with a sharp inhale. "It's real! They grew overnight."

"Real breasts don't grow overnight, and they don't look like that. You stuffed toilet paper into your mom's bra. In fact, you're wearing her dress and her shoes, aren't you?"

Masumi warmed. "It's not toilet paper," she grumbled under her breath. "It's cotton balls..."

"Same thing," Rei sighed. "Look, you brought your own clothes, didn't you? There's a restroom right over there, so go change into something more comfortable. This dress doesn't really fit you, and I can tell your feet are hurting."

Masumi opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out. Glaring at Rei, she huffed and turned, stopping when he touched her arm. She looked at him, waiting for something that could wash away her frustration.

"And get rid of your makeup while you're at it," said Rei. "I'm not kissing you if you have that much lipstick on."

Scowling, Masumi yanked her elbow out of Rei's hand and took off in the direction of the restroom but quickly realized her mistake. She stumbled but managed to catch herself, and after glowering at the air in front of her for two seconds, she resolutely removed her sandals in fast, jerky motions before she stormed across the floor and into the restroom.

"I can't believe it," she grumbled as she entered a stall and slammed the door shut. Dumping her sandals and her tote bag onto the floor, she rummaged for her clothes and sneakers that her mother had packed into the bag earlier that morning. She hadn't understood it then, but her mother's skeptical yet knowing smile at her request to borrow her clothes now came to light. "Maybe they're in this together to make fun of me," she mumbled, peeling off the dress, and sighed when the cotton balls fell out of the oversized bra. After switching to a T-shirt and a pair of shorts, she rolled her mother's clothes into a bundle and jammed them into the bag.

"Gonna get back at them," she announced to no one in particular as she swung open the door and marched to the sink. "Gonna..." She sighed again and splashed water onto her face, scrubbing away the powder and the lipstick. When she looked remotely like herself again, she patted her cheeks and studied her reflection. The navy T-shirt hid her curves, not that she had any, and she began to wonder if she would ever grow any – and if it mattered. "Gonna get back at them," she repeated, swinging the bag in her hand as she made her way out.

"So now what?" she demanded, still scowling at Rei and his infuriating smile when she looked up at him, ignoring the startling realization that she was now three inches shorter.

"Much better," Rei said, pulling Masumi into a kiss and grabbing the hand raised to strike him. His kiss softened when she stopped trying to pull away, and his hand brushed against her cheek when they parted, breathless. "Yes," he whispered. "Much better."