G11

by Sarah Bayen

Part Eleven

 

"Wake up sleepy head!" he heard, as he turned over. He opened his eyes, and saw Sarah sitting on the edge of her bed. She was still in her nightclothes, a sweet pair of pyjamas with little pink teddies. He groggily got up.

"Hi Sarah," he said, rubbing his eyes, and pulling his nightie down from his shoulders. "You surprised me."

"Sorry," she said. "But I was awake, and I had to talk to someone!"

"What time is it?"

"Oh it's over an hour before breakfast."

Steve sat himself up, and adjusted his shoulder straps to make sure his nightie didn't fall down off his chest. "What's so important?" he asked. She looked a bit sheepish, and put her hands down in her lap.

"I wanted to talk to you about Malcolm." He blinked as he tried to remember the latest instalment of this particular saga. She had gone off to play chess with him the previous evening after dinner. He had not seen her since then.

"Oh yes, how did the chess go?"

She shrugged. "It was all right. I guess. He tried to teach me the rules, well, he and Eddie did. But they seem so complicated!"

"I always thought so," Steve said, with some sympathy.

"Anyway, I spent most of the time watching them two playing," she said, obviously a little disappointed.

"Yes," Steve said. "I remember they used to play a lot when I was," he hesitated. He had almost said when he was a boy, but he had to remember, he still was a boy. "When I used to hang around there," he went on vaguely.

"Well the thing is, I need to know how to grab his attention. How to make him realize that I'm a woman in love with him!" she went on, sounding desperate.

"I'm sure he realizes that you're a woman," Steve said, uncertainly. "Perhaps he's just a little shy."

"Do you think so?"

Steve shrugged. "Probably. You might need to make your intentions a bit more obvious I suppose."

"How could I do that?" she asked, bringing her knees up under her chin, as she sat on the bed with him. "I suppose I could have worn something a bit more revealing, but I didn't know I was going to see him before dinner did I?"

Steve unconsciously mirrored her movement, and pulled his own knees up, out of the bed covers. He tugged the hem of his nightie down to keep them covered. "Well, are you seeing him again tonight?"

"I don't know," she wailed. "He didn't ask."

"Well perhaps you should ask him," Steve counselled. "Tell him you want him to teach you to play or something. Boys always like feeling that they're better and wiser when it comes to girls."

"Do they?"

"Yes!" he asserted, then realized that it might sound strange coming from him, who was supposed to be a boy himself. "Or at least, so I've been told," he said, by way of moderation. "Anyway, if you act all silly and helpless, it might just make him take the bait."

"Well it's an idea," Sarah agreed, sounding quite enthusiastic.

There was a little knock on the door that led through to the shower. "That'll be Jeanette," Steve said. "Come on in!" he shouted.

Jeanette came on through the door, dressed in a blue silky pair of pyjamas. "I thought I heard talking," she said. "So I decided to come on through and see."

"We were just moaning about boys!" Sarah told her.

"Tell me about it!" Jeanette said, her eyes rolling in exasperation. She sat herself down on the edge of Steve's bed.

"Didn't your date with Stuart go so well then?" he asked her.

She pulled a face. "It was hardly a date. I thought that when he asked me to revise some physics with him, it was just an excuse for something a bit more fun!."

"You mean it wasn't?" Sarah asked.

"No!" she said, obviously hurt by the memory. "That's exactly what we did! He got out these old dusty books full of formulae, and we went through then for three hours!"

"Oh God how boring!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Didn't he try and talk to you or anything then?" Steve asked.

"Only about bloody theories and hypotheses!" Jeanette complained. "I didn't even get so much as a snog!"

"Oh God," gasped Sarah. "You don't think he's gay do you? You know, like you keep saying Malcolm is."

"No," Jeanette said dismissively. "I don't think it's that. I did catch him looking down my cleavage once or twice. I even pulled my top down a bit so it showed more, but that just seemed to embarrass him!"

"Honestly, I just don't know what boys want!" Sarah exclaimed. "Half the time they're desperate to look at your tits, and when you try and show them, they run away!"

Steve had some sympathy with Stuart at this point. He knew that, however captivating girls and their sexuality could be, particularly in theory, they could also be terrifying when that theory looked as if it might turn to reality.

"I even sort of accidentally put my hand on his knee!" Jeanette went on, "but he didn't seem to notice. He just went sort of rigid, until I apologized and took it away again!"

Sarah shook her head in sympathy. "I didn't get on much better with Malcolm. I don't know, boys can be so stupidly literal sometimes can't they? When I agreed to have a game of chess with him, I didn't mean I wanted to have a game of chess did I? That must have been obvious!"

"Yeah!" agreed Jeanette. "It was the same with Stuart and the physics. I mean, do I look as if I'm desperate to learn more about quasars?"

The three of them giggled at the idea. "But you've got a point," Steve decided to say. "I mean, boys can be very literal. Unless you lay it out really plainly in front of them, they might not realize you fancy them."

"Oh for God's sake that's hopeless!" Sarah exclaimed.

Jeanette nodded. "I tell you what," she said, leaning forward with a conspiratorial grin. "Why don't we make it so damn obvious that they can't possibly misinterpret what we're after?" Steve and Sarah grinned as well, and leant forward so that the three of them were in a little huddle in the centre of the bed. "What we could do," Jeanette went on, "Is just go up to them, and snog them in front of everybody! They should get the message then!"

"Oh God that's so forward!" Sarah gasped, and then giggled.

"I know!" Jeanette concurred. "But I don't see how else we're going to get them to know what we want from them, do you?"

Sarah thought about this. "I suppose not. Well, I'm not doing it unless you do!"

Jeanette grinned. "Well I said I would. We can do it during breakfast! You snog Malcolm, and I'll snog Stuart!"

"Jeanette!" Sarah exclaimed. "That's just so naughty!"

"I know, that's why I like it!" the taller girl responded. Steve noticed that the two girls' eyes were wide with excitement and anticipation.

"Oh, I'm really nervous now!" Sarah exclaimed. "What shall we do? Just go over to their tables and kiss them there?"

"I suppose so," Jeanette agreed.

"It might be better to do it when they're standing up," Steve put in. "I mean, it'll be a bit awkward having to bend over to kiss them."

"Good point," Jeanette conceded eagerly.

"Although we could flash our tits at them if we did!" Sarah exclaimed, and then put her hand in front of her mouth, as if surprised that she had said something so daring. Jeanette giggled.

"No, I think Steve's right. It would be better to do it when they were standing up. We could do it when they queued up for the food."

"But they might not do that at the same time!" Sarah gasped. "I don't want to go first! We have to do it together!"

"I know!" Jeanette agreed. "But the queues are normally quite long and slow. They're bound to both be in it at the same time. We'll just have to pick our moment right!"

"Oh God this is so scary!" Sarah exclaimed.

"And what about you Steve? Who are you going to snog?" Jeanette asked.

"Me!" he said, incredulous. "Oh no, you can leave me out of this!"

"No we can't," Sarah said. "It was your idea! You'll have to snog someone too!"

"Yeah!" agreed Jeanette. "All for one and one for all!"

"But I don't fancy anyone!" Steve protested. "It wouldn't be fair!"

"Maybe not, but it will be such a laugh!" Sarah said, beaming at him. "So who are you going to snog?"

"What about Bryn? He's good looking enough, and he's your friend?"

"Bryn?" spluttered Steve.

"Yes," Jeanette went on. "Or maybe Charles. He did escort you to the dance after all didn't he?"

"Oh yes!" Sarah said. "Maybe he secretly fancies you! This would be a good way to find out!"

"Yeah!" agreed Jeanette.

"No," said Steve sullenly. "I don't want to kiss any of the boys."

"Well it would look a bit funny if you kissed one of the girls!" Sarah exclaimed.

Jeanette giggled. "Oh yes, that would be really odd! No, you'll have to kiss one of the boys."

Steve felt his lips beginning to purse out. He was uncomfortable with the way this conversation was going. "I really don't want to kiss a boy," he reiterated. "You two will be okay doing it on your own."

"No we won't!" Sarah exclaimed. "It has to be the three of us. You have to show solidarity and all that."

"Yes," agreed Jeanette. "Who else might fancy you, if you don't fancy anyone?"

"I don't know," Steve responded, shuffling a little, and resting his head on his knees. "I don't suppose anyone does."

"Oh I don't know about that," Jeanette said, her eyes twinkling. "You got lots of looks at the party the other night, didn't he Sarah?"

"Oh yes!" the other girl exclaimed. "I know, what about Karen?"

Steve felt himself colouring, as Jeanette spoke. "Oh yes!" she said. "Now that's a good idea!"

"No," Steve wailed, but Jeanette was not to be deterred.

"Oh yes!" she went on. "Karen would be perfect. You'll have to give her a snog when Sarah and I do Malcolm and Stuart!"

"Brilliant!" Sarah exclaimed. "Oh but this is a bit scary!" She giggled again.

"So you'll do it won't you Steve?" Jeanette went on. "So Sarah and I aren't on our own?"

Steve bit his lip. He didn't want to let his two friends down, but snogging someone, even Karen, in the middle of Refectory didn't seem a great way to improve his reputation. He sighed.

"I'm not sure," he muttered.

"Oh but you must!" Jeanette went on. "You really must, mustn't he Sarah?" The other girl nodded.

"Come on Steve, it'll be a hoot!"

He grimaced. He felt a part of him welling up inside that actually thought kissing Karen once more would be good. Kissing her in the Viewing point during the party had been wonderful, almost unreal, and doing it again promised all sorts of secret things, which made his stomach flutter in anticipation. But that was a deep and meaningful kiss in privacy, not a stolen kiss in public. He looked at the two girls, both staring at him wide eyed, and awaiting his answer.

"Oh all right," he said at last. "You've talked me into it. I'm sure I'll regret it, but I'll do it for you."

"Oh Steve you are good to us!" Jeanette exclaimed, and leant forward to hug him. Sarah joined in, and the three of them had a little group hug on his bed, still in their nightwear. The Machine's voice broke up the little grouping. "Breakfast will be served in fifteen minutes. Please make your way to the Refectory," it announced.

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Jeanette. "I didn't hear the half hour warning, did you?"

"No," Steve agreed.

"Oh what a bummer, we'd best rush!" she said. "I was going to shave my legs too, I won't have time now."

"You only shaved them the day before yesterday," Steve observed, looking at what to him looked like the perfectly smooth legs of his friend.

"I know, but they're stubbly already," she said. She looked down at his calves, visible under the hem of his nightie. "You're lucky having such fine hair, you won't need to shave yours for another week, but we're not all as fortunate as you!"

"No," agreed Sarah. "Well I'd best get off and have my shower. I'll see you later."

"Yes, meet us here, we'll go down to breakfast together." Sarah nodded, as she went through the toilet to her own room.

"I need a shower too," Steve said, getting up off the bed.

"Me as well," Jeanette gasped, jumping down off the bed. "Oh God, there's not time for both of us though. We'd best have one together."

"Together?" Steve gasped.

"Sure," Jeanette said, walking over to the cubicle door. "There's plenty of room, as long as we snuggle up. Come on, let's get started!"

Steve was rooted to the spot with fear. A girl had just asked to share a shower with him! Not because she fancied him, but because she thought he was a girl like her. He moved forward slowly towards the door, and heard the sound of running water. "Come on Steve!" Jeanette voice came from inside. "We don't want to be late for breakfast, not today of all days!"

He walked into the cubicle, just in time to see Jeanette remove her pyjama trousers, and turn to face him, smiling. He really ought to remind her that he was a boy, he thought to himself. She must have forgotten, seeing him in bed with his pretty pink nightie. "Well hurry up!" she chided him. "Come on!"

With trembling hands, he grabbed the hem, and slipped the nightie over his head, grateful that the pink nylon hid the now naked Jeanette from his gaze. Jeanette had stepped into the shower itself, and began soaking herself and her hair under the jets. Still he hesitated on the threshold. She shuffled sideways. "Come on," she urged him, "There's plenty of room."

"There'd better be," he heard a voice from behind him. Turning quickly, he saw it was Sarah. "Bloody Gloria's got in mine first," she complained. "I'll have to share with you two!" Without further ado, she began taking off her pyjamas as well, and, having done so, pushed Steve forward with her into the shower, where Jeanette handed him a bar of soap.

"We'll have to help clean each other," Jeanette spluttered, through the jets of water. "There's not enough room to do ourselves."
"Or time!" put in Sarah.

"Do my back for me Steve, there's a dear, then I'll do yours," Jeanette said, turning her golden back towards him, and lifting her hair out of the way. With trembling hands, he rubbed her back gently with the soap. "Harder than that!" she complained. "That's better." Steve soaped her back for her, and then did the same for Sarah. He was terrified at what was going on, and kept wondering whether he should point out his masculinity. The opportunity never seemed to arise, however.

"Now I'll do you!" Sarah told him, as Jeanette began to shampoo her hair. They kept bumping into each other, and giggling as they did so. Sarah's boobs were pressed against his back, and Steve felt himself harden. His little thing didn't stand up any more, but it still occasionally got hard. Especially, he had noticed, when he thought about Karen.

"Oh Gosh!" Jeanette suddenly said, rousing him from his thoughts. "Your boobs are coming on nicely aren't they?" She was staring at his chest, which immediately began to ache, to remind him of what she was talking about. "You'll be as big as me in a month or so!"

Unwittingly he looked at her breasts, large and pert, and only inches from his. Could it really be true that his would get as large as that?

"Come on," urged Sarah, pushing between the other two to wash her hair. "We haven't got time to discuss chest sizes!"

They continued their shared shower in a rush, and quickly got out to dry themselves. There wasn't really room to dry properly in the cubicle, so Steve and Sarah went through to his room, while Jeanette went through to her own. Satisfied that he was dry, Steve threw his nightie into the disposal chute, and tapped at the Interface keyboard to order his learning uniform.

The delivery chute gave a clunk, as Steve's skirt and blouse arrived, together with a pair of sensible but feminine shoes, a bra, and a pair of knickers. So much for being a boy, he thought to himself bitterly. Sarah had disappeared back into her own room to get her uniform. "See you in a sec!" she said, as her naked form disappeared.

He slipped into the knickers, and put the bra around himself, then did it up. He slipped his arms into his blouse, and was doing the buttons up, when Jeanette rushed through. "Oh God, we're going to be late!" she exclaimed.
"I'm nearly ready," he told her.

"What about Sarah?"

"She's just gone through to her room. She won't be long."

He did up the rest of the buttons, stepped into the grey pleated skirt, and sat on the bed to fasten the buckles on his shoes. Sarah came through the door to the toilet, fully dressed, and both girls urged him to hurry up. Once he was ready, he stood, and brushed his hair through, as the two girls must have done, although quicker than he. They urged further haste, although he seemed to have picked up some knots over night. At last he was ready, and they half walked, half ran, down the corridors to the Refectory.

The sense of excitement about their plan was contagious, and Steve felt himself getting quite as giddy as Sarah and Jeanette seemed to be as they neared the room. Out of breath, they stopped outside the door for a few moments to catch their breath, leaning against the walls.

"Are we really going to do this?" Sarah asked, wide eyed, and with a fixed grin on her face.

"Of course!" Jeanette said. "Let's have a quick peek through the door." She walked quietly over towards the open door, and glanced in quickly before running back to Steve and Sarah.

"They're queuing up!" she exclaimed. "I saw Malcolm and Karen in the queue nearest us. I couldn't see Stuart, but I bet he's in there!"

"Oh God!" exclaimed Sarah. "This is so good!"

The three of them giggled in anticipation. "Come on then," said Jeanette, gathering herself up, "We'll just walk in, go over to our respective targets, and then strike!"

"Yes!" agreed Sarah. "Are you okay Steve?"

"Yes," he answered, although his stomach was fluttering at the thought of what they were about to do.

"Right let's go!" announced Jeanette, and she led the way into the Refectory. As she had said, everyone else was standing in queues waiting to pick up their food. Looking around furtively, Steve saw Karen about five from the front of the nearer queue, talking to her friend Mandy. Malcolm was a few places further back. Sarah clung to his arm, and giggled again. He shushed her, and looked around for Jeanette. She was homing in on the other queue, where Stuart was nearly at the front. She sidled down the line until she was level with him, then looked around and nodded to Steve and Sarah. Dragging her along a little, Steve walked down the queue towards Karen, unlinking Sarah's arm from his when she was next to Malcolm, who was engrossed in conversation with Eddie.

He moved a couple of paces on, and was just behind Karen now, who with her newly short hair, and sweat shirt, looked quite the boy the Machine had decreed her to be. He looked across at Jeanette, and then at Sarah, suppressing his laughter, which was coming from nervousness rather than amusement. The three of them nodded. Holding his breath, he touched Karen's arm. She turned around, and looked at him in curiosity, waiting for him to speak. It was too late now, he couldn't pull out. He put his hand up onto her shoulder, level as it was with his mouth, and, standing on tip toes, leant forward, and planted a delicate little kiss onto her cheek, before turning, and running back to the door as quickly as he could. Sarah and Jeanette were there too, giggling furiously, and they had some difficulty getting out of the door in their haste. They quickly ran to the girl's toilets, shut the door behind them, and burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter.

"What are we like?" Sarah gasped, holding her chest. Steve's own chest ached as much from the laughter as from the growth spurt under his nipples.

"Oh God we can't go back in there and eat!" Jeanette giggled. "We'll have to do without breakfast today."

"But we'll have to go to lessons!" Sarah put in, looking shocked.

"Of course," the taller girl agreed. "But that gives us a bit of time to get ourselves composed."

All three giggled some more, and held each other's hands in their glee. Steve felt really good inside. It felt as if it was the most daring thing he had ever done in his life. He had done some stuff with Bryn and Richard in the past, like scrambling the navigation maps, and painting the door to the Library with a big cartoon picture of Colin. They had even locked Richard in one of the storerooms for a couple of hours, but nothing compared to this! He was almost beside himself with excitement, and had to go to the toilet to relieve the tension. He continued to giggle in the cubicle, which made his stream a little erratic.

It took them nearly half an hour to calm down, but they managed it eventually, and resolved to walk into the first lesson as if nothing had happened. They reached the door, and allowed themselves a final fit of laughter, before holding their heads as high as they could, they walked through into the classroom. Quite a few eyes turned in their direction, and Steve smiled as sweetly as he could at a baffled looking Karen. They reached their own table, and sat down, getting out their Shakespeare texts, and examining them carefully. Phew, thought Steve, they had got away with it.

He was cornered at lunch by Bryn and Richard, who insisted that he sat with them. He had got into the habit of eating muesli at midday, as Jeanette and Sarah did, and was a little put off by the sight of the huge sandwiches the two boys had picked. They chatted about nothing in particular, mainly Bryn's brilliance with a football for a while. Steve sniffed. There was that peculiar vinegary smell around his former friends again. He wondered what it was.

"Listen," Bryn said to him suddenly. "We just wanted to say we were sorry about your knob." He looked at Steve, as did Richard, who nodded.

"My knob?" Steve said, baffled.

"Yeah," Richard agreed. "It must be awful."

"Yeah," Bryn nodded.

"What must be?" Steve asked, taking another spoonful of his muesli, wondering if this was some sort of prank.

"Having your knob cut off. It must be a bit of a bummer," Bryn said.

Steve dropped his spoon into the bowl. He knew what this was about! Sandra had said that she'd tell everyone his Willy had been cut off unless he showed it to her! She must have carried out her threat! He opened his mouth to protest, but Bryn's sympathy was turning to curiosity.

"Did it hurt?" he asked.

"Oh God it must have done!" said Richard, shuddering.

"Yeah," agreed Bryn. "Still, what have you got down there now? A proper bush?"

"Yeah can we see it?" asked Richard.

Steve stood up, furious with them. "I have not had my knob cut off!" he told them firmly. "And I've got no intention of having it done either!"

They looked at him in surprise. Gathering his breath, he sat down again, and picked up his spoon. "Are you sure?" Bryn asked him.

"Of course I'm sure!" he spat back. "I think I'd notice if it had gone, don't you?"

Bryn shrugged. "Yeah I suppose so."

"Yeah," Richard agreed. "You'd notice when you went to have a pee I suppose."

"Yeah," Bryn concurred, sniggering a little.

Steve's anger turned to panic almost immediately. Did they know that he now had to pee like a girl? Is that why they had mentioned it? Logically he knew that this was unlikely. He couldn't see that Sarah and Jeanette would have told anyone, and, apart from himself, and possibly Karen, they were the only ones who knew. He tried to put the thought to the back of his mind.

"Exactly," he muttered, finishing his muesli. Conversation returned to football, which Bryn and Richard rushed off to play, and Steve considered what they had said. If they thought he had had his Willy done away with, then probably the rest of the Ship did as well. He would have to try and put that right, and before too long!

The afternoon passed without incident. Whatever Karen, Stuart and Malcolm thought of the little escapade over breakfast, they seemed determined to keep it to themselves. At the end of the final lesson, Steve picked up his books, and hugged them to his chest, and prepared to walk back to the girls' sleeping area with Jeanette and Sarah. Karen, however, blocked his path to the door. Oh God, no he was for it, she was going to demand an explanation for his behaviour that morning, he thought.

But instead, she just reminded him of his promise to meet her after dinner, with a strange knowing smile. He nodded weakly in reply, and then trotted to catch up with his two friends. They all gathered together in Sarah's room for some soft drinks, and to chat about the day. Steve joined in with their memories of the breakfast prank, and they laughed some more. Sarah, feeling a lot more brazen than usual, had challenged Malcolm to another game of chess, and he had accepted.

"You actually asked him!" Steve gasped.

Sarah nodded, and smiled broadly in reply. "I did," she exclaimed. "I followed your advice, and went straight for the jugular!"

"Good for you!" he replied, holding the hand she held out to him and squeezing it.

"And I'm seeing Stuart again," Jeanette told them. "He came up to me between the last two lessons, and asked if I wanted to do some more revision."

"Oh God, not Physics again!" Sarah wailed.

A mischievous look came over Jeanette's face. "No!" she said breathlessly. "Biology! Let's hope we can get onto the reproductive stuff!"

"Jeanette!" Steve gasped, and all three of them giggled.

"Oh that reminds me," Jeanette went on. "I had a bit of a shock earlier on."

"What was that?" Sarah demanded.

"Well," she said, "Colin came up to ask me something."

"Oh yuck, not him!" Sarah gasped.

"No, listen. He wanted to know if Steve had had his Willy cut off!"

Sarah's mouth fell open, and she turned to look at Steve, who was blushing. "Oh God! What did you tell him?" she asked.

"Well I said no, not as far as I knew!" she went on. "But what surprised me was that I'd more or less forgotten that Steve was a boy! Sorry Steve," she said, taking his hand out of Sarah's clasp to hold it herself. "But it's true! You've fitted in so well with us that I just think of you as one of us!"

"That's right!" Sarah chimed in enthusiastically. "I know just what you mean! It's not just the clothes, although I suppose they help. It's just that you're so lovely! I didn't realise before you became one of us!" She leant over and hugged him, placing a friendly little peck on his cheek. "You're our best friend!"

"Thanks," he said unsurely, as she backed away again. "You're my best friends too. You've been so kind to me."

"Aw," said Jeanette, hugging him in her turn. "It's because we love you! We're like three sisters!"

"Yes!" Sarah agreed, and the three of them hugged once more. There was a lump in Steve's throat, as he tried to speak.

"I shall miss being your sister when I change back into a boy," he whispered hoarsely.

"Oh but we can't let that happen!" Sarah gasped.

"No," Jeanette agreed. "You'll always be our sister, no matter what!"

"But it won't be so easy when I'm a boy," he said, sadly. "You won't like me so much!"

"We will!" Jeanette insisted, and then her face turned thoughtful. "But it will be a little difficult I suppose, to keep you as a sister."

"Yes," Sarah agreed. "Perhaps you could be our brother or something."

"Maybe," Steve said vaguely. Then he smiled. "Have you noticed that boys smell?"

Jeanette and Sarah both looked puzzled. "Well," said Jeanette uncertainly. "They can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but I don't think I'd go as far as that!" Sarah nodded her agreement.

"No I didn't mean that!" Steve told them, with a note of exasperation in his voice. "I mean," he hesitated. "Literally. When I sit next to any of them, I can smell a sort of musty vinegary smell. Do you notice that as well, or is it just me?"

Jeanette giggled. "I know what you mean!" she said. "It's not strong or anything, but they don't smell like us do they?"

"No," Sarah agreed.

"But it can be quite nice," Jeanette went on. "I mean, Stuart smells a bit as well!" She giggled to herself. "But it's quite nice in a way. Different, if you know what I mean!"

"Yes!" Sarah agreed. "Malcolm's the same. I suppose it's, what do they call them? Pheromones or something."

"Yes," Jeanette agreed. "I don't suppose they notice the smell themselves, but we can pick it up! It's funny really!" They all giggled at the thought of boys not knowing that they smelt.

Sarah shook her head slightly, and then leant over and hugged Steve again. "I don't know," she said, looking him in the face. "I don't think you should ever change back into a boy you know. You're such a fantastic girl!"

"Yes!" Jeanette agreed. "I don't think you should either. In fact, Sarah and I should make sure you don't! We need you!"

"But I have to!" Steve wailed, and stood up. "I mean, I enjoy being your friend. It's lovely, it really is. But I was brought up to be a boy, and I ought to get back to it."

Sarah looked genuinely pained. "But you're so much better at being a girl!" she exclaimed.
"Yes!" Jeanette agreed. "And you enjoy it as well. You know you do!"

Steve shrugged. "Well some of it's okay," he admitted. "But it's not right. I should be a boy, that's what I was born as!"

"But darling, you should be what you want to be!" Jeanette told him.

"Yeah!" Sarah agreed. "And you want to be a girl, don't you? Now that you've tried it."

Steve bit his lip. "I don't know," he said. "No, I don't think I do. Anyway," he went on, "I have to go back to being a boy, for Karen!" Jeanette looked at Sarah in dismay. Steve continued. "She doesn't like being a boy in my place. If I don't change back, then neither can she!"

There was a long pause before Jeanette responded. "Well maybe she'd put up with it, for your sake," she suggested.

"No," Steve said firmly. "It wouldn't be fair. Not even to ask her. Anyway," he went on. "She's got a new plan to get the Machine to put things right. I'm seeing her after dinner to talk it through."

"You never said you had a date!" Sarah gasped.

"It's not a date," Steve insisted. "We're just talking about how to get back to how we should be!"

Jeanette stared at him, and shook her head. "Well," she said, standing up. "We'd all better get ready for dinner in a minute. Particularly since we've all got dates, or at least," she added, staring at Steve, and smiling. "The promise of some discussions!" She and Sarah giggled, and, before he left, Sarah hugged him again.

"Don't worry Steve," she said to him. "It'll all work out for the best in the end, I'm sure."

"Thanks Sarah," he said, and walked through their shared toilet to his own room with Jeanette. She went on through the shower to hers, and Steve sat down at the Interface to decide what he should wear.

Normally, or at least, recently (Steve corrected the 'normal' thought. There was nothing 'normal' for him in having to dress as a girl!) Steve hadn't had too much trouble deciding what to wear. He had started off trying to pick the least feminine articles from the rampantly feminine collection the Machine had offered him. More recently, he had moved away a little from that approach, largely to demonstrate to his companions on the ship that he was not cowed by the indignity of having to dress as a girl all the time. This day, however, he was awash with those and other currents and counter currents.

First in his mind was the wicked rumour Sandra had spread about that he had had his Willy cut off. He wondered whether he could wear anything tight enough to show that this was not true. Hot pants, or something like that, might just have done the job, but of course, the Machine would never let him wear shorts, even girly ones like that. He cursed the damn thing under his breath. Maybe if he wore a really tight dress or skirt? He tried a few out on his facsimile, which looked pleased with the selection, but betrayed no sign of masculinity on its front. Steve considered this. The facsimile was supposed to be a true reflection of how he looked, what his measurements were, and things like that. Was his penis now so small that there would be no external sign of it, even if he wore a really tight dress? He did suspect that the Interface was lying to him a little; surely his boobs weren't that big either, but he decided that wearing something tight might actually do more harm than good in terms of his reputation, or more accurately, the reputation of his organ. Sighing, he thought again.

Sarah and Jeanette would expect him to wear something in a similar vein to them. They were all sisters, or so they had told him, and to an extent, they all had dates that evening. That made Steve think of Karen. What would she like to see him in, he wondered? She had liked the dress that he had worn to the dance the other evening, or so it seemed from the way she had lured him to the Viewing Point and snogged him. Maybe something similar would do the trick?

Then Jacquie and Gloria, and their dire warnings about the 'rules' for being a girl came back to him like a warning siren. He certainly didn't want to look tarty, or indeed incur the wrath of the two most influential girls. Anyway, he told himself, he ought to really give Karen the signal that they needed to talk about how to get the Machine to reassign them to their birth genders rather than renew their exchange of saliva. God, this dressing as a girl was getting more difficult the more he did it!

To pass the time, while he was considering all this, he decided to get the Interface to deliver him some make up. Nothing fancy of course, but he knew that Sarah and Jeanette would be expecting him to wear some, if only to show solidarity with them. A little pot of eye shadows, some foundation, and a mascara brush clunked into the delivery chute, and he pulled them out, and began to apply them. He remembered his promise to Charles to let him have some make up, and wondered whether he should fulfil it. He decided to put that decision off, however. Getting himself ready was more important.

After five minutes or so, he stared at himself to judge the effect; not bad, he thought, and nodded. He pulled his hair around as well; God, it was so uselessly short; there was hardly anything he could do with it! He backcombed it a little, but that didn't really meet with his approval, and he frowned at his reflection, and returned to thoughts of his outfit for the evening. Time was pressing on.

In the end he decided a long flowing skirt was the order of the day. It wouldn't look as if he was ashamed to have to wear girl's clothes, but equally, it wouldn't make him look as if he was trying to outdo Jacquie or Gloria in the hot and sexy stakes. Sarah and Jeanette would probably be happy enough with it, even if they chose something shorter, as long as it looked feminine enough. He decided eventually on a fairly sober floral pattern in browns and yellows, and matched that with a plain wrap over top in old gold, which, while it made his boobs look a little too realistic for his taste, would probably not incur the wrath of Sarah or Jeanette as an act breaking the bonds of sisterhood. He smiled as he looked at himself in the mirror; it looked as if he might just be off to a ballet class!

He decided to wear tights that evening as well. He didn't mind going bare legged, but being used from birth to his legs being wrapped in trousers, it did make him feel a little vulnerable and naked. He put them on, and slipped a tight pair of knickers over the top to make sure they didn't ride down. He didn't want to have to be hitching up his flaming tights while trying to engage Karen in a deep and meaningful conversation about how he could get back to being a boy after all! The thought of Karen made him pause for a moment. Perhaps he should wear stockings instead, she might like that? He looked at himself wistfully in the mirror for a moment while considering this, and then, suddenly, opened his mouth in horror. Why on earth had he thought that? It was the sort of thing a girl might think if she was meeting a boy for God's sake! He shook his head. He was going to have to be careful about that sort of thing while getting his outfits right every day!

Jeanette and Sarah came around when they were ready, and the three friends complimented each other on their choice of outfits. Jeanette was wearing very smart black trousers, and a black top with an outrageously plunging neckline! As long as Stuart wasn't scared of boobs, their biology revision looked promising! Sarah had gone for a tiny rah-rah skirt in mauve, with a sort of gypsy top. She was less confident about its potential effect, but Steve and Jeanette told her how gorgeous she looked in it.

The three of them sat together for dinner, rather than with their dates. In fact, Karen gave Steve a bit of a strange look when he came in, and told him as he passed that she would see him later, before returning to deep conversation with Mandy. Both of them occasionally stared across at him during the meal, which unnerved him a little. Steve tried to give Sarah some tips on playing chess, but to be fair, his own knowledge of the subject was hardly more substantial than hers.

"So the horse thing doesn't go in straight lines?" Sarah asked him, looking baffled.

"Err, no. Not really. At least, I don't think so," he replied uncertainly.

There was a lot of noise coming from a table on the other side of the room. Steve glanced around to see what it was all about. Sylvia was leaning forward across the table, and impersonating an elephant, as far as he could tell. Sitting opposite her was Charles, giggling furiously at her antics. The more he giggled, the more she seemed to act the fool. Steve wondered for a moment how genuine Charles' amusement was, and how much was part of his plan to get Sylvia to agree to become a boy in his place.

Dinner over, the three friends sat, waiting to be summoned by their dates. Stuart, ever the gentleman as Jeanette pointed out, was first, and smiling to the other two, Jeanette walked off with him in the direction of the classrooms. Karen and Malcolm were tardier. In the end Sarah took the initiative, and, leaving Steve on his own, walked over to the table Malcolm shared with Eddie. Not long after she arrived, Steve noted, Malcolm got his travel chess set out, and they began to play. Steve looked across at Karen and Mandy, still talking heatedly to each other, and felt a little petulant. He began to wish he had brought himself a book to read, or something else to distract him. Colin walked out, on his way to play football, and took the opportunity to lean across, and whisper 'Freak!" to him before disappearing.

At long last, Mandy stood up, and walked off in the direction of the girls' sleeping quarters. Karen wandered across to his table, and sat down opposite him. "Are you all right?" she asked. He smiled and nodded in reply. Nervously, she looked around the room, which as well as the three chess players, still contained a number of other people. "I tell you what, shall we go off to the Viewing Point again?" she asked him. "It might be a bit more private there."

Steve felt something flip in his stomach as she spoke. The Viewing Point! That was where she had snogged him the night of the dance. Was that on her mind tonight as well? If so, he'd have to calm her down a bit so they could discuss the strategy to return them to their original gender classifications. Still, he mused to himself, perhaps it would be better to let her snog him a little bit first, it couldn't do any harm, could it? He stared at her piercing blue eyes wistfully for a moment, lost in his own thoughts.

"Well?" she asked again. "Are you happy to do that?"

"Oh, yes!" he said, snapping back to the current reality. They walked down the corridors to their destination, and, he noted with some regret, she made no attempt to hold his hand. Once there, he sat himself down on one of the sofas as demurely as he could manage, and put his hands in his lap, waiting for her first move. He was a bit perturbed when, instead of sitting next to him, she stood by the window, looking out at the vista of stars in front of them.

"I was a bit put out by what you did this morning," she said, not turning to look at him. So that was it, he said to himself. She was cross with him for the little prank they had played at breakfast! He supposed it was a bit silly, but it hardly seemed the sort of thing that should upset her so much.

"Oh, that," he replied.
"Yes that!" Karen responded, still looking outwards rather than him. "I would have thought you could have told me you were going to do it first!"

He looked at her broad back, and felt a little ashamed. It had been a silly thing to do, even if it had made him laugh. He ought to try and frame some sort of apology, he decided. "I'm sorry," he said, after a pause. "It was a bit of a spur of the moment thing really."

"Spur of the moment!" she spluttered in response, and turned to face him. "It's hardly the sort of thing you do on the spur of the moment is it!"

He was startled by her response. Surely being kissed by him wasn't such a dreadful experience that she should react like this! Perhaps she hadn't enjoyed their tryst during the dance as much as he had imagined. Perhaps she had just gone along with it because she felt sorry for him or something. He felt his lips purse, as she glared at him, with obvious hurt in her eyes.

"Well I'm sorry," he said again. "I suppose I could have warned you, but it was just something Sarah Jeanette and I decided the night before."

"So they convinced you to do it?" she demanded, sighing dramatically, folding her arms across her chest, and looking out of the window once more. He was lost for a response, but, after a minute or so's pause, she continued. "I mean, " she went on, "it's all very well for them, but they don't have to think about the consequences!"

So that was it, Steve suddenly decided. She had obviously been teased about it by the other boys. She was ashamed of being kissed by him, the freak. She wanted to keep their relationship, if they had such a thing, secret. "Well, perhaps they don't," he went on. "But I don't think they meant to make things difficult for you."

"Difficult for me! Of course it makes it difficult for me, anyone could see that!" she sputtered. She continued to glare out of the window. Steve realised that his date was going rather badly. It seemed increasingly unlikely that they would have any sort of conversation about convincing the Machine to return them to normal, or, as he had naively imagined, renew their saliva swapping experiment. All he could do, he decided, was apologise once more, and take his leave.

"Well I am sorry Karen," he said again, standing as he did so. "I didn't mean to embarrass you or anything."

She turned to face him, her face deeply furrowed. "Embarrass me?" she said. "I don't know about that, but it puts a lot of pressure on me to do the same!"

Now he was confused. Why should him sneaking a kiss with her at breakfast put pressure on her to do the same? She seemed quite put out about it, but, thinking, he knew he wouldn't mind if she did come over in full view of the whole ship, and kiss him, at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Perhaps he should tell her?

"Well," he began hesitantly. "I'm sure I didn't mean to put pressure on you. But, if you did want to do the same, I wouldn't mind." He smiled in what he hoped was a winning way at the end of this. He was alarmed to see that there was no change in her visage or posture. He seemed to have upset her more rather than placated her. Perhaps he should leave now.

"Oh that's very nice of you!" she said, in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "So you don't mind if I do what you did, how nice!" She turned to glare out of the window, and was obviously getting angrier with each passing minute.

"I think I should go," Steve said quietly, as he felt tears forming behind his eyes. He turned to make his way out of the little room.

"No, wait," she said, in a quieter voice. "I'm sorry I got cross." His feet halted, although he didn't turn around. "Please Steve," she said again, and he heard her footsteps approaching him. "We need to talk this through."

Steve turned, and she was almost on top of him. He stepped back in surprise, his eyes wide, and looking up at her. Gulping once or twice, he managed to speak. "Okay," he agreed. "But please don't shout at me."

"No, I won't," she said, taking his hand. "I'm sorry. Come on, sit down, and let's talk this through."

He hesitated for a moment, and then let her lead him back to the sofa, where once more he seated himself demurely. This time she sat next to him, with a discrete distance between them. "I mean," she began, looking down at the floor in front of them. "I had thought about doing it anyway," she said, in a confessional tone. "You must have too, over the past few days." She glanced up at him, but, confused, he simply shrugged. She continued. "It could be the best way out of the mess we're in," she went on, and he felt even more bemused. "Anyway," she said by way of conclusion. "I've decided to go ahead. I'm seeing the Machine about it tomorrow."

Steve was by now utterly bewildered. Why would she have to see the Machine to be able to kiss him in public? "I'm not sure the Machine has to be involved," he said, hesitantly. A frown came over her face.
"Well of course it does. I can hardly do it myself can I?"

He looked at her, and she at him, both with looks of utter confusion on their faces. "What exactly are we talking about?" he asked at last.

She shook her head in bewilderment. "Well, what you did this morning!" she exclaimed.

He looked at her once more. "You mean kissing you at breakfast?"

Her face betrayed no recognition of this as the subject of their discussion. "No!" she replied. "About you having your," she stopped for a moment, searching for appropriate words. "Having your genital anomalies corrected!"

His mouth fell open, and his eyes stared at her in wonder. "My what?"

"You know," she said, with less certainty. "Having your genital anomalies corrected. Having your Willy cut off for God's sake!"

His eyes widened even more. "Oh Karen!" he gasped. "Is that what you've been talking about?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed in return. "Why else did you think I was so upset?"

He turned to look out of the window, and saw one star, rather larger than the others, in the centre of the screen. He felt her eyes boring into him from one side, and tried to compose himself enough to reply. It took him quite some time. "I haven't," he said, almost inaudibly. "I haven't had my genital anomalies corrected."

"But Colin told me!" she began. "Well sod him! I'll have to have a word with that little pillock!"

Steve turned to look at her, anger coming back to her face. "It's not his fault," he said quietly, taking hold of her hand to try and attract her attention away from her internal rage. "I think Sandra started the rumour. But don't worry. It's not true. I would never do that, not without asking you first." An alarm went off in his head, he didn't mean that, "Sorry," he said. "I mean I would never do that. Never," he repeated, as much for his own sake as hers. "I intend to become a boy again, and I assume you want to get back to being a girl one day."

She stared at him intently, obviously going over what she had said to him before. Steve was anxious. She had said that she had seriously thought of complying with the Machine's ultimate aim for them, that they should truly become the genders to which it had assigned them. The thought had occurred to him as well, in dark moments between waking and sleeping; in moments when he felt sisterhood with Sarah and Jeanette; and most of all, in moments when Karen's blue eyes looked deeply into his soul as they were doing now. But he could not tell her, not yet. She held his shoulders, and he longed for her to take him into her arms, and kiss him; to stroke his hair, however short, and to caress his soft and yielding body. But he was a boy, and she was a girl. However intoxicating her touch was to him, he needed to remember that.

"Oops, "she said, quietly, and smiled at him in such a way that made his heart flutter wildly. "We've been at cross purposes a bit haven't we?"

He smiled thinly, and his eyes gazed up at her, daring her, in spite of himself, to do what she felt a desperate urge to do. She resisted for some seconds, and then, like flood waters bursting over a dam, she fell onto his face, and covered his willing mouth with kisses.

  

  

  

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