Three Dresses for Charlie Ep.3

Part 3: No Boys Allowed

Kate was more angry then traumatized about the incident, but she came by Charlotte's room after nights out to ask if she could sleep there. They grabbed some cushions off of a nearby couch and Kate slept on the floor.

The next morning, Ms. Hughes came by a little early to wake them up.

She poked her head in with a strange grin, "Hey Charlie, guess what?"

"Are the police here?"

"No just come here. You too Kate."

Charlie rubbed her eyes and stumbled out of bed. She usually thought of herself as a boy in the mornings before she got dressed, but she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and with her hair extensions and shaped finger nails, that wasn't happening. She helped Kate up, and the two followed Ms. Hughes back to her office in their pajamas.

They've never seen Ms. Hughes use a computer before, but she had a laptop sitting on her desk and she pulled up Youtube. There was a video from a security camera showing the two muggers hassling the pageant winners, and then a girl in the blue dress hurling apple after apple into their heads. It had thirty-seven thousand views. The video was titled "How do you like them apples?"

"I'm not sure who posted it. Their name's not on the profile, but it's getting a lot of views. All the folks in town are passing it around. And here check this out…"

Ms. Hughes showed them the paper. The front page headline was "Girl loses pageant, Catches thieves." There was a half-page picture, a still from the security footage of Charlotte winding up with an apple just as another was striking the mugger.
"The light from the sunset was coming from just the right angle huh? I have a feeling this next week is going to be interesting."

After the girls finished with their chores, Ms. Hughes took Charlotte back to the street fair. Some of the food vendors were selling something called "Charlotte Apples." Which turned out to be caramel apples. The sign over them was freshly painted with a caricature picture of a blonde girl in a blue dress holding an apple like a baseball and winking.
"Well that's certainly interesting." Ms. Hughes remarked.

"It's Charlotte on the sign, right?" asked Charlotte.

"Certainly looks that way."

"Wow, she's really getting famous."

"Why do you keep referring to yourself in the third person?"

"I don't know." Charlotte said matter of fact.

"I suppose it is overwhelming. I mean, I'd be overwhelmed. You don't feel so bad about losing the pageant now do you, Charlotte? Oh sorry, do you want to be called Charlotte?"

"It's okay."

"Should I call you Charles?"

"No!" Charlotte whispered quite loudly and looked over both shoulders "I mean what if someone heard?"

"Oh, I see. Well what do you call yourself? I mean in your mind?"

"I go back and forth, it's confusing."

"Do you call yourself Charlotte when you're dressed?"

"Most of the time. Not all the time. Sometimes I'll get this odd feeling. I feel like Charles even when I'm all dolled up." Her whispering was quiet now. She started leading Ms. Hughes away from the crowd. "Then I feel like a crossdresser."

Ms. Hughes whispered back. "You know I'm a little worried about what your mom is going to say about Charlotte."

Now Charlie looked worried, "Do we have to tell her?"

"Well, I hadn't intended to, but I'm starting to think it might be a good idea. I'm not trying to worry you, though I know I must be. I won't tell her if you ask me not to, but it's just if you were my child, I'd want to know. And with everything that's happened, I think she's going to find out one way or the other. I'd rather it was from you or me."

"God, I'm going to get in so much trouble."

"Not as much as me I think."

"Why do you say that?"

"You're not exactly the same as when she dropped you off."

"She didn't drop me off, I rode the bus."

"Good point. Have you ever tried being Charlotte before this summer? Does your mom know anything?"

"Honestly?"

"Please…"

"I tried on a pair of her shoes once, and coat, it was pink. A few years ago, just to see… I'm not sure if I put them back quite right. She was looking at me funny for a week."
"That's so strange isn't it? When she was a little girl, your mom, Olivia, used to be quite the tomboy. I remember our mother trying to get her to try on dresses, but Olivia wouldn't have anything of it."

"You think she wouldn't like me doing it?"

"I think she might have gone through something similar, and she doesn't know how to deal with it. But honestly, I haven't seen your mom in a while. I don't know her so well anymore. She's always wrapped up in work. I think she feels like if she takes a break, the world will end. That's kind of funny when I think that you look like your mom, only you relax from time to time and like wearing dresses."

"You know that's still embarrassing to hear?"

"Which part?"

"Both."

"Do you want to stop?"

"Maybe, I don't know. I don't know how to feel about it."

"You know, I always took it as a little insulting that some men think the worst thing in the world to be is a woman. I work hard, I look good, what's wrong with that? I mean sure I can't pee standing up, or shave my face. Not that I want to. And I get that some men look at me and just think about what I look like in my underwear. But god, it gets old."

"You know, one thing I've noticed is that girls do talk a lot. I'm not complaining… just saying."

A strange old lady in a white dress hurried up to them, several men followed behind. It was Ma'dam Bowman.

She was surprisingly spry for an old lady and tried to show that off as she moved, though her walk was unsteady and her legs shook a bit. She stopped and stared at Charlotte for a second. Only one of her eyes looked straight at Charlotte, the other drifted a bit.

"You know you look just like Charlotte!" Ma'dam Bowman had sort of pompous high society voice, the kind that sounds like it's trying to be an English accent.

"I am Charlotte."

"From the house, or the one with the apples?"

Ms. Hughes stepped in, "Both Ma'dam. Our little Charlotte here has quite the arm on her."
"Yes, it's too bad they don't let girls play baseball. I giggled to myself for hours after Clive here," she pointed one of the men with her, "showed me the video. I must say, you're fantastic, Charlotte. I hope you don't mind, but I had some of shops put your picture on their signs. Did you know tourism is up? After that video went out, people have been calling in, asking about the historic district. And they're booking rooms too."

"It's true." Ms. Hughes shrugged and smiled.

"Well I'm so glad you're one of the house girls, Charlotte. I'm serious about putting your picture up on the shops. You're our very own folk hero."

"All I did was throw some apples…"

"You saved three girls. You proved that a little girl can take on two grown men. I love it. I'm serious about the signs you know. I'll have Clive draw up a contract."

After a painfully detailed recount of something Ma'dam Bowman had done as a child (during which Charlotte, Charles, and Charlie took turns day dreaming.) She left them with Clive who asked them to sign a "release form." Charlotte and Ms. Hughes were both a little shocked when it mentioned royalties, and even more so when it stated that Charlotte would make three public appearances a week in her blue dress. They didn't have to be anything specific; she just needed to get out to the fair.

The next week was very odd. Ma'dam Bowman would call up Ms. Hughes every day and talk her ear off, then Ms. Hughes would ask Charlotte questions off a list that the Ma'dam had given her over the phone. Some questions were fairly normal: "What's your favorite Color?" "What's your favorite Food?", Other were more demanding, "Have you been down the fair today, could you go tonight?"

Charlotte didn't really like all the attention, and with the house booking more guests, Ms. Hughes didn't always have someone free to accompany her down to the fair. Charlotte also worried that she wasn't seeing much of Charles . The hair extensions and nails were gone, but Charlotte had to dress up whenever anyone might see her. The only time Charles got, was when he'd sit out back under a shade tree by himself. It was like being in a month long beauty pageant where Charlotte was the only contestant. She wanted to run away, and go sit by an apple cart, but it would probably have her face pasted all over it.

Ma'dam Bowman was true to her word about the royalty checks. Each week she'd send "Charlotte" Hughes a check for around a hundred dollars. Which is less than it sounds when you consider that "Charles" Hughes didn't have a good way of depositing them, and they sat on his dresser for several weeks. Eventually they figured out that he could sign them over to Justine Hughes, and because they shared the same last name, no one at the bank would make a fuss about it.

Ma'dam Bowman's phone requests became more strange and oddly demanding. She'd ask Charlotte to go to the fair and try this or that ride and then to report back on which ones she liked. It was also very odd that the Mad Ma'dam (as they started calling her), never wanted to speak to Charlotte directly and preferred passing messages through Ms. Hughes.


* * *


Ms. Hughes had just got off the phone with Ma'dam Bowman.

"Ohhhhh….. hey… Charlie, guess what?"

"What does she want me to do now?"

"Charlotte's been, ah… asked out… on a date… with Paul Bowman."

Charlie didn't move. He didn't say a word.

"That's flattering isn't it?" continued Ms. Hughes.

"I can't do that… I'm a boy."

"She wasn't exactly taking no for an answer. I was going to tell her you were sick, but she started the conversation by asking how you were; she asked specifically about your health. To which I said not to worry, that Charlotte was fine. Then she asked if I could let you out of work tonight, and only after I said that would be okay, she told me it was for a date with Paul. I'm sure he's very nice."

They were talking in the kitchen. Kate had overheard, and came in.

Kate spoke slowly, she was trying to be delicate. "A friend of mine went on a date with him once."

"And?"

"He's kind of… how shall I put this gently… overbearing."

"In what way?" asked Ms. Hughes

"He never really wanted to hear about my friend; he just wanted to talk about himself. And he was… grabby."

"Is your friend sure?" Charles asked timidly.

"Okay… it was me. Some friends set me up with him- one time. I mean he's charming, I guess in a caveman sort of way. And he's respectful-ish, he didn't just paw at me, but he kept hinting at it, and he'd take any excuse to 'bump' into me. He's full of himself too."

"Is there any way I can get out of this?" Charlie asked.

Ms. Hughes looked at Charles carefully. "I can call her back, and tell her you said no. It's fine, I'm sure it won't be any trouble. We'll be fine."

Kate drummed her fingers on the table, "That's how Ms. Hughes talks when she's worried."

"No I'm sure it'll be fine. We're all mature people. We all respect each other. I'm sure Ma'dam Bowman will get over it."

"Couldn't we tell her that I'm a lesbian?"

"We could… but as much as she hates men, she's not a very progressive thinker."

"That's Ms. Hughes way of saying that she's a bigot." Kate interjected.

Ms. Hughes gave her a look. "That's not a very nice thing to say. It's true, just not very nice to say."

"Well, then she might leave me alone, I'd be fine with that," said Charlie.

Ms. Hughes raised a finger. "And she might ask me to kick you out of the house. She'd probably say it was, 'to protect the other girls.' It'd be better to just turn him down cold."

"Couldn't you say I have a boyfriend?"

"She asked about that too. I said you didn't."

Kate interjected again, "It'd just be one date. Look it as a way to get free food. I used to do it all the time… maybe I shouldn't have admitted that."

"You think I should go on it?" Charlie looked horrified.

"Well, you never have to do anything on a first date. You can always just say, 'not on the first date', that works. Then after that, feign illness. I mean he's not that bad of a guy."

"But you wouldn't date him again?"

"Oh god, no. But then it wouldn't be the first date, and he might expect more."

"The Ma'dam did say he wanted to take you to Franklin's. That's a nice restaurant. A little fancy for the first date, but the Bowmans are loaded. Look, if you're not comfortable with, this I'll just call her back."

"Honestly, do you think she'd be fine with it?" Charlie asked.

"Honestly…" Ms. Hughes was biting her lips, "Honestly…" She started tapping the table.

Charlie gave her a look, he knew something was up. "I could live through it. She'll go into some tirade about canceling the reservations, and want to know why you turned him down without even meeting him. But it's more bark than bite."

Charlie looked sick. "Oh fine, I'll go."

Georgia crept out from around the corner. She was composed, and maybe Ms. Hughes and Kate couldn't tell, but Charlie could see she was pissed off. "If the Mad Ma'dam is being so generous, tell her to call the restaurant back and tell them the reservations are for four."

"Who's going?" Ms. Hughes asked.

"Me and… I don't know yet, but I'll find a date."

Ms. Hughes called the Ma'dam back and told her to expect four. One odd thing about Franklin's was that it wasn't in the Historic district, so it would have looked odd to go in Historic clothes.

Georgia took the opportunity to dress up Charlotte in her clothes. It was the first time Charlotte had been in modern women's clothes, and it looked odd to Charlie to see himself looking like a typical teenage girl. The historic clothes all felt like costumes, but this felt entirely real.

Before too long, Georgia had Charlotte in a pleated black skirt, a grey top with black lace, and pantyhose.

"I wish I could do this all day." Georgia sighed.

"Do what?"

Georgia looked up and away. "Dress you up."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Promise you won't get mad?"

"I'll try not to."

"I really like dressing you up. When I see you in one of your outfits, my mind just starts wandering. I'll think about it before I go to bed at night. I imagine what you'd look like in all sorts of things."

Charlie's eyes got wide. "Like what?"

"Well, the maid's dress is my favorite. But sometimes I imagine you as a nurse, or a waitress. Sometimes I wonder what you'd look like as a pin up model." She moved in close and started whispering, "I'd like to see you dressed as a school girl, with the white socks, and the short plaid skirt." Georgia closed her eyes and licked her lips, "What I really want to do is take you done to Victoria's Secret and dress you up in all sorts of lacy outfits, maybe some stockings with a garter belt, maybe a corset."

Charlie was sweating and nervous, "Why are you telling me this?"

"I just wanted to give you something to think about during the date." She winked, and shrugged off her mood, seemingly going back to normal "Anyway, I need to go find a boy. I have no idea where, I guess I'll start calling all the guys from school I don't hate. But there aren't that many."

Half an hour later, Paul Bowman came by to pick up "Charlotte." He was a big boy, slightly tall, slightly muscular, and slightly fat. His face was handsome but brutish with an overly heavy brow and large features. While he talked in a confident tone of voice, he'd never look Charlotte in the eye while doing so. Georgia was gone somewhere, and while Charlotte tried to stall, it was getting closer and closer to the reservation time.

Paul went on and on about how he was going to get into business after he went to college, and about how rich his family was, but throughout he was nervously glancing at his watch. Eventually, he rubbed his forehead and meekly asked if Charlotte's friends could meet them there.

Charlotte was having a hard time not imagining him groping her, and she wasn't thrilled with the prospect. She tried to keep her distance in the conversation, but he was being civil, so she texted Georgia and agreed to go to the restaurant with him. The hostess asked, "table for two?" but Charlotte corrected her, letting her know that two more would be coming.

Once they got to the table, Charlotte didn't say much of anything. Paul continued to talk, and curiously he brought up facts about her."

"So I hear your favorite color is blue."; "I know you'll like this place because you like fish."; "What was it like when you went to Mexico with your mom?"

Before too long, Charlotte figured out these were all things Ma'dam Bowman had asked her through Ms. Hughes. Paul was regurgitating the answers to the questions from over the phone. He also, on a few occasions, brushed his knee against hers under the table. The brushes weren't lingering and they might have been accidental, but they were creepy.

About half an hour into dinner, Georgia showed up with a date. It was "Leon". Charlie didn't think the ruse would last very long, but the lighting was dark and it was hard to tell that Lilly's beard shadow was simply makeup. Paul didn't seem to notice, though he did make an offhand remark about Leon being a slender pretty boy.

They switched seats and Georgia sat across from Charlotte. Whenever Paul started to talk, Georgia would gaze into Charlotte's eyes. Whenever Paul talked about how much money his family had, Georgia would slip off her shoe and quite deliberately touch Charlotte's leg under the table with her toe.

At first, Charlotte was surprised by this, and almost jumped out of her chair. But whenever Georgia stopped doing it, Charlotte found herself staring across the table into Georgia's eyes and waiting.

"Leon" started talking to Paul about shaving. Georgia kicked Charlotte under the table and said, "We should go freshen up."

The two went to the ladies room together.

"Why are you acting so weird?" Charlotte asked.

"Why are you on a date with a boy?"

"I couldn't really get out of it, Ms. Hughes would get into trouble. Plus, hey it's free food."

"Do you like him?"

"No, don't be silly."

"He totally just wants to jump you. You know he's imagining you naked. I bet he doesn't even know what you're wearing."

"Are you jealous?"

Georgia applied dark red lipstick, and responded. "Of course. Here, I want to try something." She started leading Charlotte to the farthest stall.

"What?" Charlotte's heart started to pound. She felt like she should be running, but she didn't want to.

"Don't worry. We won't get into trouble."

When they were both inside, Georgia turned around, so her back was facing Charlotte. "Unzip me. I want to switch clothes with you." She was wearing a tight little black dress. Charlotte tried to keep contact to a minimum while unzipping Georgia and then helped her work her way out of the dress. Georgia was wearing black lingerie. Charlotte was quivering.

"You like? Maybe I'll let you wear it sometime."

Charlotte's arms were full keeping the dress off the floor. Georgia reached in and very carefully started undoing Charlotte's buttons. When she was done, she had Charlotte step out of the skirt, and then put it on herself. She had Charlotte hold the dress with one hand and then the other, so she could slip her top off.

Georgia slipped it on, buttoned it and took the dress from Charlotte.

They looked into each other's eyes.

"You know, I could do this with you all day."

Georgia helped Charlotte get the dress up over her head, and zipped her up the back. On the way out of the lady's room, Georgia stopped Charlotte by the mirror, and applied the same dark red lipstick to Charlotte's lips, then briefly, gently, kissed her.

When they got back, "Leon" started cracking up. Paul laughed, but then asked, "What are we all laughing about?"

Paul offered to pay for everyone, then took Charlotte home and asked if he could come in. Charlotte flatly told him, "Not on the first date." And turned him a cold shoulder. "Leon" pretended like he was going home; he walked around the block and snuck in the side door.

Ma'dam Bowman asked for Charlotte to go on more dates with Paul. But Ms. Hughes made sure Charlotte was always busy, or sick, or out of town. It was all very odd. Once while Charlotte was at the fair, she saw Paul with another girl. He didn't seem to take much notice of Charlotte, and she wondered who was more interested in her, Paul or the Mad Ma'dam.

Three weeks later, the Bowman's announced that they were changing the name of some of their grocery stores, from "Bowman's" to "Charlotte's"

It turns out some of Harriet Bowmen's obsession might have been caused by a series of embolisms.

Charlie was sitting out back, behind a tree in one of his boy suits, with his hair tied back, when Georgia found him.

"Harriet Bowman, just died."

Charlie really wanted to say something nice, instead he blurted out, "Oh thank God… wait you're not kidding?"

"You're going to hell for that." Georgia joked, though fazed by the remark.

"I just thought you were trying to cheer me up… "

"No, she's dead. Ms. Hughes has been looking for you, you know. Something about Charlotte and the Bowmans"

"What, do I need to dress up and throw apples at her funeral?"

"Geez, Don't hold back, tell me what you really think."

"Sorry, I just feel so trapped. It's too bad she's dead, I'm sure she was a nice lady, and she meant well. Ms. Hughes told me she used to be a lot of fun, up until a few years ago. It sounds like she had a stroke or something."

"You should be nicer to people. My Grandma had Alzheimer's. Before we put her in a home, we'd go over to visit her. The last time, she forgot who we were halfway through, and called the cops on us. They got my dad in handcuffs before we could explain."

"I hope that never happens to me… I never want to be a crazy old… man… or lady."

"Still thinking about going back to being a stinky boy are we?"

"I mean… Charlotte can't stay forever."

"Yeah well, do whatever you want. Anyway, Ms. Hughes really does want to see you. Guess what?"

"What?"

"The crazy old witch who made your life hell, and who you thanked god when she died, left Charlotte something in her will."


* * *

"Hello, Mom. It isn't too late for me to call is it?"

"It's one thirty in the morning here, but I'm up working. What is it Charles? Is it something important?"

"I think so."

"Well what is it then? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I guess. It's just that this might be really hard to say. Something strange… something unusual happened."

"Unusual good? Unusual bad?"

"Well both, I guess. It's really hard to say, because I think you either might be really mad, or really happy about it, or both."

"Did you get married? You're only fifteen."

"No, it's nothing like that…"

"Your Dad didn't come by did he?"

"No."

"Well look, I don't want to play guessing games all night… I don't mean to put you on the spot Charles, but you called me."

"Sorry. I just don't want you to hate me."

"This is something isn't it… Are you trying to tell me… that you're gay?"

"No, nothing like that… wait… maybe it's a little like that. Maybe we should do the good part first."

"If you're gay, that's fine. That's not a bad thing. It's okay to be gay." Her voice sounded like she was trying to be funny, but she was also annoyed. "They make all the best TV shows anyway. But what's the good part…"

"Okay… the good part is really good. No wait… if I tell you. You'll think I'm joking. Look, you need to come back to the States."

"What's going on Charles?"

"You're not going to believe me. So I'm just going to blurt it out, but promise me you'll wait for Aunt Justine to call. She's right here."

"Maybe you should put her on the phone now?"

"No, this is something I probably better say. Then I'm going to hang up and Aunt Justine is going to call right back."

"Okay… I won't say a word."

"Okay mom… I've been living as a girl for the summer. I think I might actually really be a girl, mom, and I think I might have just inherited one hundred and eighty-three million dollars from Harriet Bowman."

The line went dead.


* * *


Ms. Hughes looked nervously over at Charlie, "I'm driving down to the airport to get your mom. I'll be back in four hours."

He was in his boy clothes, "Everything is happening so fast. Lilly is bringing her father's friend by. The doctor, at three. His office is half an hour away, and he lives in town so he offered to come here."

"Well, I need to get going, but hey Charlie, Charlotte, Charles…"

"Yes…"

"Whatever you decide will be the right thing. Don't think about the money too much, okay?"
A few hours later, Lilly came by with a tall slender man. Though he had long hair, he was in no way feminine. He had a gentle masculinity about him, strong hands and deep eyes.
As per his suggestion Charlie was dressed as Charlotte, though in normal modern clothes she'd borrowed from Georgia.

Lilly left Charlotte and the man alone. He told her his first name was Matt, and asked her to call him by it. After the introductions, they got to the heart of the matter.

The man spoke, "Wanting to change your gender to fulfill the terms of some will, concerns me, it's doing it for all the wrong reasons. But sitting across from you, talking to you, you don't seem disingenuous about it. Tell me how you feel."

"I feel like I'm doing something wrong. Like I'll get in trouble. Whenever I'm a girl, I feel like people should treat me like I'm trite, or silly, or perverted."

"You're very intelligent aren't you? You talk like you are. More than a girl your age should be."

"Oh. I guess so."

"You made a serious face just now, when I called you a girl. What were you thinking?"

"I don't know. It's just like at school when someone calls you a fag. It's an insult."

"Do you take it that way?"

"I guess so. But…"

"But what?"

"Also, deep down, I get a sensation."

"Is it exciting for you?"

"I guess… But it makes me relax somehow."

"Look, what you were asking before. If you want to legally be female, it's not that hard. This is a very liberal state, especially when it comes to kids. You don't need to have any surgery, you can almost be a girl, just by saying you are, as long as a doctor agrees. You're a bit of a late bloomer; that's one reason you pass as a girl, but those hormones are going to catch up with you soon. You're going to have to make a choice. How do you feel about being a man? Having a deep voice, gaining muscle? Facial hair? not looking like a girl?"

Charlotte stayed silent for a few moments, looked down like she was going to cry then spoke, "I found a few chest hairs last week."

"And what did you do? Did you want them?"

"No, I pulled them out."

"And if I told you, you would get softer, prettier. How does that make you feel? What if you grew breasts?"

Charlotte held her breath, not wanting to admit anything.

"Does that make you feel better or worse?"

"…Better. It's just that I… Well I have a lot of ambitions; I don't want to give those up."

"You think you'd have to?"

"I don't know."

"Look, Charlotte. I probably shouldn't say this. But you can do whatever you want. Okay yes, there is some discrimination against women, I won't lie to you. If you go through with this, some guys would look at you like an object because you'd be female. But most won't, and you don't have to be around the other kind. Also with all that money I imagine you could have any ambition you want. It's not a good reason to do it, but it's a good reason to think your life might be okay if you did it. If you transition now, before puberty has run its full course, you'll be a very convincing woman, and no one will ever think you were anything but."

"I just don't know if I can give up being a man."

"I probably shouldn't tell you this either, and I'm not trying to make up your mind, but the fact of the matter is that it's a lot easier to go from female to male than the other way around. As long as you don't have surgery, you can switch to male hormones, anytime down the line, and the most you'd need to do is remove your breasts. If you let your biological male hormones take hold, you will grow a beard, you will become broader, and your hands and feet will get bigger. You will not look as much like a woman if you ever decide to change."

"So what do you think?"

"It's all about what you want. But either you make a choice, or biology will make it for you."


* * *


Georgia was waiting with Charlotte in Ms. Hughes's office. They were both sitting quietly on the couch watching the garage when the car pulled up. Ms. Hughes brought Olivia around the back and into her office. Charlotte was in a modest dress, no makeup, but her hair was done, and she looked very feminine.

Olivia's eyes just about popped out, and she took a step back, visibly shaken. Then she looked at her child and smiled. "Could we be alone for a moment?"

Ms. Hughes and Georgia left the room.

Charlotte was shaking, "So what do you think mom?"

Olivia, very carefully, very timidly walked up to Charlotte and put her hand on her head, "I think I'm not very good at this sort of thing." She put her arms around Charlotte and hugged her.

Charlotte could feel her mother's arms shaking.

Olivia spoke, "Sorry about all the mushy stuff," and kissed her daughter's forehead.
An hour later, they were talking about more trivial things with the girls out in the kitchen.

"So let me get this straight. You're some sort of folk hero?" Olivia asked.

"Not so much to anyone but Harriet Bowman."

"And she hates men and cooked up some crazy will? And you could get all her money?"

"If I beat her granddaughters."

"If you beat them. At high school right?" Olivia was almost laughing.

Ms. Hughes broke in, "Apparently all three of her children were boys, but they had three daughters, all the same age, and all the same age as Charlie. She didn't want to leave her businesses to men, and she didn't want to divide them. So whoever gets the best grades at her old school gets the whole sha-bang, worth one hundred and eighty-three million dollars."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Olivia responded.

"Fuck no." Ms. Hughes mocked her coldly. "And when I say her old school, I mean she owns a good percentage of it. Her estate will pay admission, room and board, the whole deal. The thing is they only take girls. So for Charlie to get in, she needs to legally be a girl."

"Is the will made out to Charlotte?"

Ms. Hughes Answered. "Doesn't matter. 'Charlotte' is so close to 'Charles', and there is a lot of proof, the pictures from the pageant, the footage of the apple incident, pictures of her with Harriet Bowman to legally prove they are one in the same. It doesn't matter if Charlotte is an alias or a nickname. And nowhere does Harriet mention Charlotte is a girl, or add that condition to the will, she names everyone by name, not gender."

"What's the school like?" Asked Olivia.

"Ask the girls… Kate and Georgia are juniors, and Lilly graduated from there in May."

Lilly piped up. "It's called Windytop, a girl's boarding school, a three year prep school, and very exclusive. Parents also send their girls there to keep them away from boys. You don't have to board there more than one year. That's all they require, but a lot of girls are in from out of state, it's very elite."

Ms. Hughes, picked up, "They have some bright girls there. The Bowman girls among them. The winner is the girl who graduates with the highest GPA. It's not going to be easy." She blinked looking at Charlie and Olivia. Both were cracking smiles. "What's so funny?"

"The thing is, 'Charles' graduated highschool, two years ago. He… She, sorry kid-o, was going to be a junior at MIT"