ALL NOVEL 7. An Unexpected Guest
I ended up sleeping through the entire drive, then when we got home I skipped dinner and went straight to bed and slept through the night as well.
Wednesday and Thursday were both sort of normal days in some ways, but were still very hectic in others. Dad went to work like usual, but I didn't go to school. I missed the rest of my exams, and instead spent time looking at furniture and housewares and stuff with mom.
At first she took me to the sorts of stores she shopped at for her own things, but that stuff was all pretty expensive. And I wasn't really set on her style or aesthetic anyways. To be honest I didn't really have anything in mind, but I was all about keeping the costs down.
So Thursday we went to some thrift stores and second-hand places instead, which I was way more comfortable with. We didn't actually buy anything, mostly we were getting a feel for prices and what sort of stuff was available.
We also talked about our plans for my new place. Mom thought it was important to get me living there as soon as possible, since Phoebe left us with the impression that a suitable environment was necessary for my health. On the other hand the place definitely needed some work, and renovations would take time. Same with getting all the furniture and stuff.
Now it was Friday morning and my heart was racing with anticipation. Soon mom and I would drive back up there to visit the real estate agent's office. I'd pick up the keys to my new house, then me and mom were going to spend the afternoon cleaning and taking room measurements and figuring out what had to be done immediately and what could wait till later.
In addition to that excitement I still had loads of giddiness and euphoria about my miraculous transformation a couple days earlier. I had another wide smile on my face as I selected my outfit for the day. There was a skip in my step as I headed down the stairs in a cute pink short-sleeve blouse and a pleated knee-length forest green skirt. Some white and pink sneakers and pink footie-socks completed the look.
I found mom in the kitchen sipping a cup of coffee, so I grabbed a glass of juice then joined her at the table.
"Good morning hon," she smiled. "I guess you're excited about today?"
"Yeah!" I nodded happily. "Maybe a bit anxious too? But very excited. I know I'm not actually moving today or anything like that, but it still feels like a big day."
She agreed, "It's a very big day. Try not to let yourself get too anxious though, ok hon? I know we still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we're already past the most stressful parts. Thanks to Miss Archer."
"Yeah," I grimaced.
I hadn't heard from Phoebe since we last saw her dealing with the real estate people on Tuesday. I'd texted her a few more times over the last couple days, to thank her and to ask some more questions and stuff. She hadn't responded though, there were no texts or calls from her. No more unexpected visits either.
In fact the only text I'd had in the last couple days was on Wednesday afternoon, from my friend Jade. She noticed I missed two days of exams and was worried something happened to me. I texted back that I was sick and had to miss the end of school, but I told her not to worry. I also mentioned that I was planning to make arrangements to write my exams over the summer so I'd still graduate.
I didn't tell Jade anything about being trans or turning into a girl, partially because I didn't want to try and do that over text. Mostly though I had no idea how to convince her I'd received a complete magical transition thanks to an ancient goddess who was now acting like a rich aunt or cousin.
After another sip of my juice I asked, "When are we going to head out?"
"Not for a while yet hon," mom replied. "Unless there's something you wanted to do or something you want to see in town? We won't get the keys until after twelve, so there's no point in us leaving before eleven."
That was ninety minutes away, and I just knew I'd be impatient and on edge until then. I definitely needed something to keep myself occupied or I'd end up pacing around the house or something. I was just starting to wonder if I could convince mom to go early so we could visit the conservation area again, or maybe check out the shops on Main Street or something, when the doorbell rang.
Neither mom or I were expecting anyone, but it seemed like a good distraction. And since I had nothing else to do I jumped up and headed for the door as I told mom, "I'll get it!"
It might have been wishful thinking, but I was half expecting to find Phoebe out there. I could imagine she wanted to drop in and check up on me or something, knowing today was the day we'd get access to the house. So I had a smile on my face as I swung the door open, ready to greet the goddess. Instead I found myself face to face with Jade.
Suddenly my heart was racing again, and I may have visibly gulped. I thought I was used to my new height, but seeing my friend for the first time since I'd changed reminded me how I lost more than two dozen centimetres. She now stood at least ten centimetres taller than me, and that was a wild new experience. It was nice though, and I thought she looked even better from this angle.
Jade was one of those girls who could have been super popular if that sort of thing mattered to her. Not too tall or too curvy, she was just a little above average height with a slim athletic figure, and she did really well in sports. And I always thought she was really attractive, with a pretty face and gorgeous hazel eyes, and almost perfect blonde hair. Except for the last year or so she kept her hair dyed dark green, and it was currently in a short messy bob.
I'd actually spent most of the last three years trying to figure out if I wanted to date her or be her, not that I'd ever admit any of those feelings to her. Or anyone else, for that matter. And as far as I could tell she'd never seemed interested in me as anything other than a friend.
In fact I didn't think she'd dated anyone, which was part of the reason she wasn't more popular. There were plenty of rumours around the school that she was gay, some people even said that she'd admitted it to one of the guys who tried asking her out. On the other hand she wasn't popular with the girls either, most of them seemed to think she was weird. The only people she seemed to be friends with were a couple other outcasts, like me and Seth.
Jade was dressed in her usual style again today, with a pair of torn and faded blue jeans and a tight t-shirt with some obscure band name screened across the chest. She had a pair of old scuffed-up boots on her feet, and a small backpack with a kitty pattern hung over her left shoulder.
She stared at me in surprise, then glanced at the numbers on the side of our house like she was suddenly worried she was in the wrong place. Then she looked at me again and asked if she could come in and see me. She used my deadname of course, since she didn't know my real name. She didn't even know I was trans, but that was about to change.
"Hi Jade," I greeted her. Then I motioned, "Come on in."
She gave me a funny look when I said her name, like to her I was a complete stranger. She knew I didn't have a sister, she was probably wondering who I was and what I was doing in her friend's home. Meanwhile my mind was racing as I tried to figure out how I was going to do this.
As she stepped inside mom called from the kitchen, "Violet? Who's at the door?"
"It's Jade," I called back. Then I looked at my friend and suggested, "Let's go talk in the kitchen. Mom's there, and hopefully she'll help explain things."
Jade frowned at me, "Violet? Do I know you?"
"Yeah," I grimaced as I led her into the kitchen. "It's me, I'm not actually sick. I just couldn't go to school and write my exams because I turned into a girl Monday night and nobody would recognize me or believe me about who I am."
"Bullshit," my friend stated, then apologized to my mom for swearing. She asked, "Mrs. Andersen what's really going on here?"
Over the next fifteen or twenty minutes mom and I did our best to explain the situation. The only thing we kept secret was the stuff about Phoebe's true identity or that she was a goddess. All I said about her was she was powerful and had magic, and that she was helping me. I didn't say too much about how or why Phoebe got involved with me, like the whole Cynthia thing was hard to explain and most of that still hurt to talk about. Instead we just talked about what happened from Monday night and Tuesday.
Jade sipped a can of cola while she listened, and when we got to the end of the story she frowned at me and my mom. Then she focused on me and asked, "So you got magically turned into a girl, but you're ok with that because you're trans? Only you're not just a girl, you're a flower nymph? And your name's Violet now."
"That's about it," I told her. "I know it's a crazy story but it's true."
My friend looked at my mom and asked, "Mrs. Andersen, do you really believe all this stuff?"
Mom nodded, "I do Jade. Monday night I saw Violet change with my own eyes. And I saw Miss Archer change her clothes and her ID as well. And on Tuesday I saw all the flowers and plants Violet brought to life."
"Huh," Jade frowned. Then she turned to look at me again and asked, "So how come you never told me you were trans?"
My cheeks heated up as I shrugged, "Shy? Nervous? Low self esteem? Fear? Take your pick."
"Ok fair enough," she responded. Then she smiled as she looked up and down, "Look at you now though! Dang girl, you're cute as heck!"
"You picked a good colour to dye your hair," she added. "Actually that's kind of funny right? You're Violet and you've got the purple hair, I'm Jade and I go with green hair."
Then her smile faded as she pointed out, "I can't believe you got bigger boobs than me! I might actually be a little jealous, you know? You're really hot though."
By that point I was blushing so hard my cheeks felt like they might burst into flames at any moment. I mumbled, "Thanks Jade. I think you're really hot too..."
My voice trailed off as I realized what I just said, and I somehow managed to blush even brighter.
Then mom got to her feet. She started for the doorway as she commented, "I don't think I need to be around for this part of the conversation. Violet don't forget we want to leave at eleven. I'll be in the living-room with a book until then."
I was still at risk of death by embarrassment, but I responded "Ok mom. Thanks."
"So what are you up to today?" Jade asked after mom left. "Sounds like you've got something important on."
"Yeah," I grimaced. That was probably going to be another difficult topic, but it was definitely less awkward than listening to the friend I'd been low-level crushing on for years talk about my boobs or whatever.
So I took a deep breath then said, "I'm going to be moving soon? To a small town north-west of here. We have to be at the realtor's office around noon to pick up the keys to the new place. Then me and mom are probably going to be doing some cleaning and stuff, before we start figuring out some renovations and furniture and stuff."
"What?" she demanded. "So I only just found out that you're a girl, and you got turned into some kind of sexy magic nymph, now I find out you're moving out of town? I thought we were friends Violet, why were you keeping all this stuff secret from me?"
I cringed, "I'm sorry Jade! All this stuff just happened since Monday night, and I haven't had time to figure out how to talk to anyone about all this stuff. I was going to tell you though, I promise!"
She smiled at me, "Relax I'm not really upset or anything. Just kind of shocked? And yeah I get it, sounds like stuff's been super crazy for you lately. So when are you actually moving? Like I didn't see a for sale sign out front, and it looks like you haven't even started to pack or anything here yet."
I started to relax when she said she wasn't upset, but ended up cringing again as I answered "Yeah... My parents aren't moving. Or well, I think my mom's going to come with me at first, like just until my new place is all fixed up and I have furniture and everything? But other than that mom and dad are staying here. I'm going to be moving out on my own."
Jade stared at me for a few seconds before she sighed, "Dang girl. That sounds kind of nice. And you're going up to see the new place today? Can I come too?"
"Don't you have any exams today?" I asked.
She shook her head, "I wrote my last two yesterday, I'm officially through school now. Or well, I guess there's still classes next week but it's all pretty meaningless. I doubt there'll be any lessons or homework or any of that stuff."
I knew she had a point there. The only reason to show up at all next week was to get the results on the exams, and to see friends and get yearbooks signed.
"I'll have to ask my mom," I replied, "But I'm sure it's ok for you to come with us. Except we were going to spend most of the afternoon cleaning and stuff, so it probably won't be much fun."
She shrugged, "Maybe I can help out? It might go by quicker with an extra pair of hands, then we can hang out or something afterwards? Anyways I want to see your new place!"
Then she scooted her chair closer and wrapped her arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a side-hug as she added, "And I want to get to know the real you a little better too, if that's ok? Like I only just found out you've been a girl the whole time we've known each other, now I'm curious what other secrets you've been keeping all these years."
My heart nearly stopped when she hugged me, and my brain definitely shut down for a few seconds.
Once I finished rebooting I nodded in response and mumbled, "Ok Jade. I'll let my mom know you're coming with us."
