I headed inside of the house. It looked like there was going to be some kind of punishment for what happened last night. I wondered if I could escape punishment because I didn't know the rules. Plus, I had no idea what would happen at the party. I had a feeling that Seth wouldn't be so lucky. I would feel bad for getting her in trouble. Of course, I hoped that she would use this meeting for something productive. It would be a great opportunity to tell her parents about what was going on because putting it off wouldn't do any good.
"So, let me start by asking if you have anything to say for yourself." Sandy replied. It seemed like he wanted to hear our side of the story. I nudged Seth.
"I wanna be a girl." She declared. She was doing it! She was really doing it! "I want to be a girl like Rhiannon."
"Okay…that wasn't the response that I was expecting." Sandy said. He looked kind of surprised. He should have been surprised. I was surprised when I heard it and I was like her. "Did it have anything to do with what you did last night?"
"No." Seth admitted. We would have to come up with a new name for her…okay I probably wouldn't be involved with that.
"Then you no video games for a week." Sandy declared.
"So, I didn't know there were any sort of rules, so can I get a warning?" I replied. There was also the fact that I didn't have anything to be taken. I didn't even have a phone. I didn't have anything, which included clean clothes. "Also, can I get more clothes?"
"Well I planned on taking you today." Kirsten declared. "It looks like it's going to be more than just the two of us."
"We'll also need to make appointments for the two of you to meet with a therapist." Sandy added.
"Don't you think that seems a little extreme?" Seth asked. "I didn't even have that much alcohol."
I was pretty sure she missed the point of that.
"The therapy would be for gender dysphoria." Sandy explained. "The only way that receive treatment legally is with the approval of a psychiatrist.
"Do we have to do that today?" Seth asked.
"I don't think we can do it today because most of them aren't open on Sundays." Sandy replied. "We'll set something up in the morning."
"We should probably get going soon because the mall is going to get busy when people start getting out of church." Kirsten replied. So, people went to church around here. I wondered if they did or not. Sandy looked kind of Jewish to me.
I decided just to put on my other dress because by now everyone knew that I was from Chino. I had a feeling that word would spread fast. On top of that, there was a chance that I wouldn't even see anyone that I knew considering that I didn't know many people.
"So, we're going to need to talk about names?" Kirsten said on the ride there.
"Well what would you have named me if you knew I was a girl?" Seth asked her. That was an interesting way to ask it, but it was probably also the correct way.
"Well I always said if I had a girl, I want to name her after my mother." Kirsten explained. What was her mother's name? "But I think that a name should be your choice."
"Well my choice is for it to be Rose." The brunette told her. That solved that.
Once we got to the mall, I found that it was very different than most of the malls that I had been to. I hadn't gone to the mall very much. The closest one was in Fullerton and this one had a much different vibe.
"So how would you two like to go to the salon?" Kirsten asked.
"I think I'd rather just focus on clothes." I replied. I liked the way that my extensions looked and they were the kind that I could wash. "Maybe when my hair grows longer, I can do more with it."
"Do you think they could make my hair hang down?" Rose questioned.
"I'm pretty sure they could if they straightened it." Kirsten replied. She then reached into her purse. I wondered if she would let me get one of those. They could be expensive. "Don't worry about the price. Just get what you need."
I went to one of the department stores and began to look around. I had never really shopped in one before. I was a bit overwhelmed. They had so much and I wasn't entirely sure what to get. I saw a little bit how the girls dressed here and it wasn't that much different significantly less slutty. Even at the party, I didn't see any thongs sticking out.
"Rhiannon?" A voice called my name. I knew that voice. I knew I knew that voice. I turned to see Kaitlin was there with Marissa. "You're still here."
"Yeah, and I think that I'm going to be staying." I answered. "The only problem is need more clothes and I've never been in a store this big before."
"We can help you out." Marissa offered. "Also, thanks for letting me stay with you last night. My mom would have killed me if I came in late."
"I told her that she was staying with Holly." Kaitlin added. "So what kind of clothes do you like? Are you preppy? Goth? Sporty?"
"I don't really know." I admitted. "I haven't really had much chance to experiment with styles. "I like how you're dressed."
She was wearing a leather jacket with a black tee and red button-up miniskirt and black boots.
"How about you two pick something out and I'll try it on." I suggested. It would help me a little decide.
So, it turned out that they both decided on different outfits. I decided to go with the one that Kaitlin had chosen first. It consisted of a ruffled off-shoulder blouse with blue pinstripes and a dark blue denim miniskirt. I looked at myself in the mirror, but I couldn't help but notice that something was missing. Stepped out and grabbed a baseball cap and surprisingly they had my team.
"There we go." I explained.
"You like the Diamondbacks?" Kaitlin asked. "I thought I was the only girl in California that liked them."
"When I was growing up, one of the only channels my TV got was Fox Sports Arizona for some reason and I decided to watch the games." I explained. If I could find one, I wanted a poster of Paul Goldschmidt.
"Well you look great." Marissa declared. "But you'll probably going to need more than just that."
Over the next hour, I went through a few different outfits. I couldn't help but wonder how I was going to carry all of them. I also bought a pair of sneakers. Shoes could come later.
"Maybe you should get one of these?" Kaitlin asked as she gestured to the suitcases. Marissa likes to wear buy them whenever she gets a new wardrobe."
"I only did that once." Marissa argued. Their banter made me think of my brother. I knew I wouldn't be able to see him for a while.
"That actually sounds like a good idea." I replied. I was essentially going to be moving in with the Cohens and in case this didn't work out, I would have something to put my clothes in. I was a little bit afraid that things weren't going to work out. Sure, things seemed okay, but that could change if screwed something up. I wasn't going to try to break the law, but what if something happened? "I should probably pay for this stuff and go now."
After I paid, I began to look for Kirsten and Rose. I wished that I had a phone because I didn't have a way to find them. Maybe I could talk to them about getting me put on their plan.
"Attention, Shoppers." An intercom interrupted. "Will Rhiannon Atwood please come to the information desk?"
I supposed that was one way for them to reach me. I headed over to the desk and saw Kirsten, but what really surprised me was Rose. She had her hair down to her chest, probably with some extensions, her face was made up and she was wearing a red and black plaid shirt with black maxi skirt. I realized that she would probably need to learn to shave her legs.
"So we need to go get you a phone." Kirsten remarked.
After about another hour, I walked out of the mall with a new iPhone 8 on T-Mobile.
The following day, I headed to the therapist's office wearing a white peasant tunic and also, for the first time, leggings. They were really comfortable. I didn't understand why people had a problem with girls wearing them.
"Rhiannon Atwood." The receptionist called.
I headed to the back and I met with the doctor. I expected there to be a couch, but there were just chairs. Inside there was a woman with dark brown hair and brown eyes. She looked a little bit shorter than me.
"Rhiannon, hi." She greeted me. She had an accent, but I couldn't quite place where she was from. "I'm Dr. Vivian Carter and I'll be your therapist. You can call me Dr. Carter or Vivian if you'd like. Before we start, do you have any questions for me?"
"Where are you from?" I blurted out. I then covered my mouth. "Was that rude?"
"No, I get asked it all the time." She answered. "I am from New Zealand. I moved here when I was 18. So now let's talk about you. When did you know that you were a girl?"
"Probably when I was ten. I did like some of the things boys like, like sports and superheroes, but I also liked girl things like Pretty Little Liars and romantic comedies. I would look at the girls and tell myself how I would do anything to be them." I explained.
"Were any of your favorite superheroes female?" She questioned.
"Well, I always liked the female power rangers." I explained. She glanced at me. "I know I don't really like Wonder Woman."
"What about growing up? How was that like? It doesn't have to do with being transgender, just what was your family like?" She inquired.
"To be honest, I kind of hate my family, except for my brother Trey. My dad was barely around even before he got sent to prison." I answered. "My mom is just terrible. I don't want to go back to her. I never told her, but I know she wouldn't understand. I don't want to talk about that. I want to focus on the present because I feel happy now."
"How do you feel about the Cohens?" She asked me.
"I like the Cohens. At first, I thought that Kirsten didn't like me, but I think she's starting to warm up to me. I was surprised that Sandy was willing to open his home to me, but I am so glad that he did. As far as Rose, it's nice to know someone who is like me. I don't want it to go away."
"I know you don't want to talk about the past, but let's talk about this transition. Did you ever dress up as a girl when you were in Chino?" She replied.
"I did." I replied. "It was mostly just around the house when no one was around, but occasionally I would go down to this store and buy whatever I could. I also spent a ton of time trying to get my voice to sound like this. Will I get in trouble if I say that I stole some of the clothes?"
"Well shoplifting is a crime, but I am not a police officer. Sometimes people in your situations will do things outside of the law to make them happy." She responded. "Have you stolen anything since you've come here?"
"No." I answered. "It was only because I didn't have the money, but that doesn't seem to be a problem for the Cohens. So, Sandy said that there was some sort of treatment for this gender dysphoria thing?"
"There is. The first step is called Hormone Replacement Therapy. It involves inserting estrogen into your body, either through injections or pills. It can cause your skin to get softer and more sensitive, can accelerate hair growth and over time with cause you to develop breasts of your own. I usually don't recommend it to patients on their first visit, but I think that you've done enough to warrant it." She told me. "Would you like to do that?"
I smiled and nodded. I couldn't wait to look like other girls. I wanted a pair of boobs and I wanted to not have to wear extensions. It also wanted the other thing that came with being a girl, but it didn't sound like that was something that hormones could do for me.
I got done before Rose did. I noticed that Sandy was in the waiting room.
"So how did it go?" He asked.
"She said that I can start hormone replacement therapy." I replied. "Is there anyway we can do anything with that today?"
"I could see if I'm able to get you a doctor's appointment today." He said. "When was the last time you had a physical?"
"I don't remember." I answered.
"Well we should probably do that too," He added as Rose came out. She talked about the appointment, and it didn't sound like she would be starting HRT. After that, Sandy made a phone call. "So, he can meet with you in an hour. How about you two get lunch and then we can go?"
We went to get lunch on the pier. Apparently, it was a place that teens liked to hang out in Newport. I got confirmation of this when I saw Kaitlin, Marissa, and Summer there. I decided to walk over to them before Rose stopped me.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"I'm going to talk to them." I explained. "What's the big deal? You should come with me.
"I can't do that. I can't let Summer know about me." She argued.
"Summer doesn't know who you are to begin with." I pointed out. "You can go somewhere else, but people are going to find out about this."
"I guess I'll go over there." She relented before we walked over.
"Hi Rhiannon." Marissa declared before looking at Rose. "Who's this?"
"This is Rose, but you know her as Seth." I explained.
"I'm transgender." Rose added. I thought that was implied.
"Hm she looks good." Summer says.
After lunch, I went to the doctor. I didn't know what to expect since it was the first time that I had been in years.
"Hello, Rhiannon, how are you today?" The doctor asked me. This time it was an older man.
"I'm okay." I replied.
"I'm Dr. Roberts and I'm going to do a few tests." He declared. He checked my breathing and some other things and I seemed to be healthy. "So I couldn't find a lot on you, but it looks like you're due for a few vaccinations."
Those were words that I didn't want to hear. I sighed. I hated needles. Granted, I hadn't had a shot in years, but I still hated needles. It made me want to cry as the needle went into me. I wasn't sure if I could do the injections part of the therapy. I was glad that there was another way to do it. He went over all of the effects and side effects with me and Sandy. I was ready for them. I knew I needed to take them to become a girl. Okay, I was already a girl, but I wanted to look like as much as I possible could. He wrote out a prescription and we took it to the pharmacy and picked it up.
Once I was at the pool house, I took the first pill out of the bottle, put it in my mouth and swallowed it.
So, Seth is now Rose. She's played by Quinn Shephard and Vivian is played by Emma Lahana. This was more just filler before the next chapter resumes the storyline. Please don't forget to review.