Chapter Four- Impulses

"You were brainwashed?" Franz gasped as Chazz worked on her closet. "Chazz, that's awful."

"I knew you would believe me," she said as she switched out her shoes. "I have no memory of what I did and had to hear it from my friends."

"Your friends. It's nice that you have classmates that you know and trust enough to be your friends."

"Yes. They've shown me what faith in yourself and how the support of friends can affect the outcome of a duel. One moment you're on the edge of defeat and the next you draw a card that turns it around in your favor and it's all because your friends are there and believe in you. I was ignorant of that and didn't understand until I returned to Duel Academy." She took several shirts off their hangers, replaced them with her new shirts and blouses, and put the old ones in the box that had been emptied of her shoes, undergarments, and toiletries. She then tackled a few hangers with clips, taking the pants and trousers off and replacing them with skirts, jeans, and slacks.

"Chazz? Tell me about your friends. You don't have to say a lot about them, just a little will be fine."

"Well, there's Jaden Yuki. His grades aren't good, but his dueling skills are incredible. He's the one who's proven that one can win when defeat seems certain. Then, there's Syrus Truesdale. He, at first, was terrible at dueling and had low self-esteem due to his older brother being the top duelist at the time. He improved quite a bit this past year.

"Tyranno Hassleberry was a Ra freshman who lost to Jaden and chose to room with him believing he had much to learn and that Jaden could teach him. Bastion Misawa is the smartest student in my year and is a Ra student. He devises formulas and theorems to create different decks so he's always prepared for whatever duel he'll encounter.

"Atticus Rhodes is the same age as Syrus' brother and went missing during his second year. He came back during my first year. He repeated his second year alongside my classmates and me. He has a sister who's in my year. Her name is Alexis and she…" Chazz trailed off as she recalled saying that she was going to just come out and tell Alexis she loved her. I can't tell her now. I'm a girl too and she likely prefers guys to girls. She busied herself with her clothes to hide her unshed tears that had started welling up.

Franz had listened to Chazz and when she stopped, it was easy to tell that she had broken off. Franz blinked at this. Did she love this Alexis? "Chazz, is Alexis your girlfriend?" Chazz didn't answer, but Franz then saw her shoulders shaking. She got up, went over to the younger woman, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Chazz?"

Chazz turned and Franz saw her eyes swimming with tears. She threw herself at Franz and cried while Franz held her and stroked her short hair with one hand while the other arm went around her back. She said nothing, just held Chazz and let her cry in silence.

Slowly, her tears and sobs ceased and she pulled back, wiping the stains from her cheeks. "Feel better?" Franz asked.

"I do…at least a little," she admitted, surprised at how crying helped.

"Crying is a good emotional release. I learned that myself. The loss of my true gender hit me hard a few days after I changed. I had realized that I had not shaved, but when I went to the bathroom to do so and saw no facial hair, that was when it hit me. I sat on the floor and cried hard. I felt a lot better afterwards."

Chazz managed a smile. "I think I needed to hear that."

"I think so too. So…this Alexis. Is she your girlfriend?"

"No. She never was. I became enamored with her late in my first years and embarked on a stupid plan to impress her. We had a duel as part of the plan. I lost and she said that she loved dueling and was not looking for romance. I had thought of telling her flat out that I love her but now that's out of the question. I'm sure that if she did become interested in romance, she would likely prefer guys to girls."

"I see. But she is a good friend, right?"

"Not as good as the others, most likely because of how I act around her."

"Well, you could apologize to her and ask for her friendship. She could assist you during the coming school year as I will not be able to."

"Yes. I could and I will. It would be nice if we could be good friends before we go our separate ways."

"Any chance you might fall for one of your other friends?"

"Possibly but right now I don't think so. I don't see any of them in a romantic way."

"Well, it's only been a little over twenty-four hours since your change. Romantic feelings could show up months from now."

"You have personal experience with that?"

"No. I found a few men I thought were good-looking but I had no romantic feeling for them. A couple tried to flirt with me, but I put a stop to that, as I told you yesterday."

"Girls flirt too," Chazz pointed out. "They're well-known for that."

"Yes, that's true. It's usually with bright smiles and occasional batting of eyes. Compliments also work."

"Batting of eyes?" Chazz repeated, sounding disgusted. "Why would some girls thin that is a way to flirt?"

"Some guys like that. It depends on the guy."

"I won't do that; if I did, it could creep out my classmates."

Franz smiled in amusement. "I understand. You've known them for two years and they know you. You could end up indulging in some female behavior due to your hormones."

"Like makeup and hairstyles?" Chazz asked, not liking those possibilities but they sounded better than batting one's eyes as a way to flirt.

"Maybe. Maybe not. There is a chance that you won't act like a girl at all."

"Oh, I may act like one once in a while and I'm okay with that. After all, this is irreversible."

"That's true, but I don't you to change too much. I don't want to lose the person I've always known."

"I will try to be myself as much as possible."

"Good." Franz's eyes twinkled then. "Gossip?"

"Sorry?"

"Gossip. Girls are known to gossip from time to time."

"Have you done that?"

"On a couple of occasions when on my days off. I do have some women who are my friends. It was a bit of a shock for them when I called them to explain."

"Well, the chancellor's taking care of that." Chazz grabbed her PDA and showed her a message to her that said that he had sent a different message to everyone else. "But, it'll still be a shock when they see me."

"It will. My friends were proof of that but now, they treat me like one of the girls."

Chazz found it a little odd too hear her friend speak easily of being a woman. But then again, she's been this way for months. I just changed so in a matter of months, I'll be the same way.