“There we go!” Wen Chou says. placing the last of the bags into the limo. “So, that takes care of that ‘snooty and tooty’ store Yuan Shao picked out.”

  “Prim and Proper, Wen Chou,” Yuan Shao retorts. “But I suppose part of your simplistic attitude is why I like having you around.” She shrugs with a hopeless smile on her face. “I am just glad you have a few more dresses in your wardrobe!” She then turns to Qu Yi. “And now you have a wardrobe fit for a woman of your noble classroom status! I hope you have learned much in the art of grace and beauty in picking your outfits!”

  Qu Yi blushes. “Um, I-I don’t know if I learned much about that, b-but I learned that going to places with friends is fun!” Qu Yi claps happily. While she did indeed have to try on a lot of clothes, laughing and having fun with her roommates is truly what mattered. She’d have a hard time saying that it isn’t the most fun experience she has had in her life, although she will never admit it with the clothes. Just spending time with friends is truly what is fun.

  “Ohohoho!” Yuan Shao laughs as she turns. “I am glad!”

  Qu Yi steps forward. “U-Um, Yuan Shao, if you don’t mind…”

  Yuan Shao turns back to Qu Yi with a raised eyebrow. “Hm?”

  “While grabbing all these clothes is good, I really want to grab a few more, um, ‘plain’ clothes while I’m here.”

  “Oho! I see. Well, the day is still young! How about I leave you three to that while Shen Pei and I run a few errands. It feels wrong going to the mall and not buying anything for myself!” She brushes her hair with the back of her hand. “My wardrobe must stay up to date, of course! Let’s say we will meet you three in the food court at…” She turns to Shen Pei.

  Shen Pei quickly scrolls through her tablet. “Is 1:30 doable Madame president?”

  “Very well! That gives you an hour and a half. Yhen I will take care of our meal!”

  Qu Yi beams. “A-Ah! T-Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” She’s bowing up and down, making sure to thank Yuan Shao appropriately.

  “Ah! So gracious! Do not worry! I understand, this is indeed your first time at such a mall, so may you want to take in all the glory for yourself!” She smiles as Shen Pei closes the trunk of the limo. “Come, Shen Pei. We must find the newest royal trends and decide if they are worthy enough of my elegance!”

  “More than happy to Madame President!” Shen Pei smiles as she follows Yuan Shao’s gait.

  “Nice, Newbie!” Wen Chou grins as she turns to Qu Yi. “You spoke up for yourself there!”

  Yan Liang nods. “I hope that means you’re becoming more comfortable with Yuan Shao.”

  Qu Yi smiles. “She, seems like she would be snooty, but she’s actually really nice. She just… expresses it in a, less humble way.” She smiles as she twiddles her fingers.

  Wen Chou puts her arm around Qu Yi’s shoulder. “I know what this means for you, Newbie! Pants! Pants as far as the eye can see! Nothing fluffy! Rough denim! It’s time for you to get the wardrobe you always dreamed of!”

  Yan Liang smiles shaking her head. “Seems like a silly thing I took for granted, I guess.” But as she says the line, a thought ponders in her mind again. “When did she wear pants?” All she can remember is wearing her uniform. It felt amazing to pick the outfit today, but it feels like this is her first time going out.

  Wen Chou smiles. “All right, Yi! Let me ask. Are you a girl of T-shirts?”

  Qu Yi perks up. She can’t tell Wen Chou she wore them daily as a boy, but the perking up is all Wen Chou needs to see. “All right Newbie! I know just the place! It’s affordable! And it’s where I always got my clothes!”

  She heads over to the map of the mall as Qu Yi and Yan Liang follow her. “Up on the third floor!” She points to a store on the 3D model. “Clothes N’Stuff”

  Qu Yi raises her eyebrow. “And stuff? What kind of stuff?”

  “It’s actually a bit random! You never know what they will have. Other than that-”

  As the two talk, Yan Liang can’t help but feel something is wrong with her memory again. “Why is this happening? Can’t I just enjoy the day with my friends?” She looks to both Wen Chou and Qu Yi. “They’re having so much fun. I want to have as much fun as they are.” She follows them to the map. “I feel like these thoughts are getting in the way of the day I’ve been excited for all week. It’s unfair!”

  “Liang?”

  Yan Liang looks up and turns to the voice. She sees Qu Yi holding her hand out to her. “Are you okay? You seem distracted.”

  “O-Oh! It’s fine!” Yan Liang fakes a smile as she catches up to the two and they begin heading to the store. “Sorry! This is supposed to be a great day and I’m just getting a bit, airheaded.”

  Wen Chou shakes her head with a smile on her face, “Yeah, that’s not normal for you. Normally you’re hyper focused.” She frowns and turns her head to her accusatorily. “That’s partly why the whole pudding incident happened!”

  Yan Liang looks up eyes wide. “W-Wha?! Don’t bring up the pudding incident again!” as she responds, a realization hits her.

  The voices of Qu Yi and Wen Chou drone out quietly as Qu Yi asks, “what the pudding incident” is and Wen Chou explains “It’s a long story for another time.”

  “I… I said that on Qu Yi’s first day, right?” Yan Liang thinks to herself. “And I just said it here, so, it’s something important. I said it on her first day, yet I don’t remember what the ‘pudding incident’ is. I-I could have sworn I knew what it was then. Why would I say it? In fact, why did I say it now? As if I know what it is?!” Yan Liang grabs her head. “This is so confusing… Do I need to see a nurse?” She looks to Qu Yi who is smiling talking to Wen Chou. “But, why is everything this week crystal clear? Qu Yi came to us on Monday. I was studying for the twins in our room, Wen Chou hit Mr. Lei with a bat. Qu Yi needed help putting on her uniform. She met Yuan Shao. We went to all the classes on the tour. Qu Yi refused to wake up for dinner, but she was half asleep, and that was… sure something.” She smiles remembering that night. “The next day Qu Yi met more of our classmates. Then Yuan Shu caused an incident that caused the school to shut down and Qu Yi fainted…” Her eyes tear up as she covers her mouth, remembering the incident. “She was… I was so worried… As if I would lose her… Have… Have I lost someone before like that?”

  “What do you think, Yan Liang?”

  Yan Liang perks up, returning to reality. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I just had a brain fluff.” She sighs. “Can you repeat that?”

  Qu Yi smiles. “Um, have you tried wearing T-shirts before?”

  .   Yan Liang blinks, “I-I…” She struggles to find the memories.

  “Nah!” Wen Chou answers for her. “Ever since she’s been here, she’s always been super excited to wear blouses on days off and weekends. Wen Chou sighs, “You know before you came, she was super serious on trying to style my hair and stuff.” Wen Chou snickers as she closes her eyes. “I’m glad she found a new guinea pig! No offense Newbie!”

  Qu Yi sighs. “W-Well, it’s not bad necessarily!” She speaks up for Yan Liang, “Um, like I like this!” She points to the bun. “It doesn’t touch the back of my neck, so it’s not so distracting.” She smiles as she sparkles. “Y-Yesterday was just an experiment that didn’t work.”

  Yan Liang smiles. “I’m just glad you like it, Yi.” She finds it very odd that Wen Chou remembers more about her than she does, but mentioning hairstyling makes her crisis inside continue. Her thoughts spread like wildfire. “I-I… Why do I like hairstyling?” She looks down at her hands. “If I can’t remember my past, who am I? Am I just… living a role that is given to me? What makes me like hairstyling? What makes me like picking out clothes? What makes me want to avoid breaking rules. I know, I like these things, but I don’t know… why…” Yan Liang stomps suddenly, causing the two roommates to jump. “You know what? It doesn’t matter! I am here now and that is what’s important! I must be here and be a good friend, with all the knowledge I have! Qu Yi has done plenty of things that are hard! I can be just like her!”

  Wen Chou looks worried at Yan Liang. “Um, Liang? You really feeling all-”

  “I’m feeling better now!” Yan Liang gives a thumbs up as she winks, “I-I just forgot what was really important. And what matters right now is hanging out with you two!” She hugs both of her roommates.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “W-Waah!” Qu Yi stutters out.

  “Well, that was sudden!” Wen Chou blinks, but then smiles. “I don’t know why we’re hugging but, hey, group hug!” She wraps her arms around her two friends as she lifts them up.

  “W-W-Waaah!” Qu Yi stutters out more confused. “P-People are staring!”

  “No Yi.” Yan Liang smiles. “We must focus on what’s really important right now!”

  “C-Can I please be let down, though?”

  “Fine.” Wen Chou drops them both. “So, I don’t know what that emotional outburst was about, but as long as you’re feeling better…”

  The girls get to the store. It’s a casual store with a few rows of different pants and shorts, denim, cargo and more. There are many t-shirts with logos or “humorous” lines, often times included with an unrelated animal. As the girls enter, Wen Chou instantly pulls on the back of Qu Yi’s jeans. “So, do these fit you?”

  Qu Yi blushes and turns to Wen Chou. “U-Uh, y-yes?”

  Wen Chou nods and looks at the tag. “Tag’s a bit worn out but… got it!”

  She zooms throughout the store, grabbing jeans off of shelves, saying something with each grab. “One pant. Two pant. Three pant. Four pant.” She returns to Qu Yi with four jeans in her size and hands them to her. “Do you think this will be enough?”

  Yan Liang frowns. “Wen Chou, what if Qu Yi wants to choose out the pants herself?”

  Wen Chou turns to Yan Liang. “Well, she’s never been able to really wear pants much it seems! I’m guessing it would probably be hard to pick them out!”

  Qu Yi on the other hand just looks at the pants in her hands, feeling the material that she didn’t know she had missed so much. “W-Well, Wen Chou is right…” she lies. In reality, she never really cared much about how her jeans looked, just that they fit her. “I should go try these on.” She smiles looking at them. “I-I might want to grab some shorts also.”

  Wen Chou gives a thumbs up, “On it!” She zooms across the store. “One short, two short, three short…”

  Yan Liang smiles, looking at another one of the maps near the door entrance. “I think I’m going to look at this map while you two do that.” Wen Chou continues counting shorts while Yan Liang turns around looking at the map. “So, what’s something else that can help this be a good experience for Qu Yi.” She smiles, looking throughout the map, “Anything Qu Yi really likes?” she thinks to herself as her hand rubs her chin. “She loves archery. Is there a store here that has stuff like that?” She looks around the map for any store that sounds like it may be archery themed. “Well there’s a store called ‘Archers, Rouges and Magis, but it probably more fantasy roleplaying themes. I wonder if Qu Yi would like that? Since she’s an archer in real life-” She shakes her head. “Nah, I can’t really see her doing something like that, she’s a pretty serious girl, although…” She smiles. “Seeing Qu Yi cosplay would be adorable!” She imagines Qu Yi in a fantasy elf costume in a green dress. “M-Maybe I should ask if she’s into that.” She shakes her head rapidly. “Focus, Yan Liang! We’re looking for a store with real archer stuff!” She continues to look and then notices a store on the first floor. “The Bodkin Arrow?’ That sure sounds like archery stuff.” She smiles. “I should bring it up to Wen Chou.”

  Wen Chou is standing outside the changing room. “Oh Liang, you’re back. That was quick. Newbie is just making sure her clothes fit. Unlike with Yuan Shao, it’s just quick in and out.”

  Yan Liang nods, making sure to keep her voice down. “So, Wen Chou, it turns out there’s an archery store here.”

  “Wait, really?” Wen Chou perks up.

  “Shhh! I want to keep it secret. It’d be nice to surprise Qu Yi! Remember, she has had exhausting day after day here and it’s only her first week! I think just showing her something like that will make a difference.” She smiles thinking about the aura she had when they watched her practice on the archery range. “I wonder if she’d have that commanding presence like she does on the archery range.”

  Wen Chou nods, lowering her voice. “All right. Where is it?”

  “On the first floor.”

  Wen Chou grins. “All right! Let’s take her there after she finishes trying on her jeans and shorts.”

  Yan Liang nods. “What if we let it be a surprise for her?”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Well, we have her close her eyes. I just want to see her face!”

  Qu Yi steps out of the changing room causing the two roommates to look away from each other, pretending they weren’t talking of plans.

  “They all fit.” Qu Yi smiles. “I-I wouldn’t mind, um, trying on some T-shirts also.” She’s ready to grab some tops she can wear that aren’t the army of blouses in her wardrobe.

  Wen Chou nods, “Oh sure! They have a lot of those here, including ones with little snarky sayings on them.” She leads Qu Yi to an aisle filled with hangers full of different sorts of shirts. “Hmmm.” Wen Chou looks Qu Yi up and down. She pulls out a shirt and puts it in front of Qu Yi. “Hmmm…” She puts it back. “All right, let’s go to the next aisle.” Wen leads Qu Yi to the next aisle where all the shirts appear to be smaller.

  “Um so, what’s the difference with this aisle?” She looks around, noticing that the sayings and images on the shirts are a lot more cartoony.

  “Oh, I had to check if you’re a woman’s size. It turns out you’re still child size.”

  Qu Yi’s eyes close as she petrifies. “The shame…” she mutters to herself. She had a feeling, but she had hoped she was incorrect.

  “Look, it’s not that bad!” Wen Chou holds her hands up sensing, a change in Qu Yi’s attitude. “On the bright side, these clothes are actually cheaper.”

  Qu Yi lets out a sigh. “Yeah, yeah…” She knows she must accept her current size, but it still irks her that she would be taller if she hadn’t shrunk that foot when she changed. She’s not a child. She had to come home to an empty house since elementary school and take care of herself for hours until her mom came home from work. She even skipped a grade while doing that.

  “So, any you like?” Wen Chou asks, breaking Qu Yi out of her memory hole.

  “O-Oh.” Qu Yi looks around. “I-I guess this one?” She pulls out one with a cartoon dinosaur with sunglasses on it.

  “Nice.” Wen Chou gives her a thumbs up, “It’s really fun that you’re not afraid of being yourself, Yi.”

  Qu Yi blinks in confusion. “Uh, right?” She doesn’t understand what she meant by that. It is just a cartoon dinosaur, and dinosaurs are cool. Sure they may not be as cool as knights or archers in her mind, but still cool. “Um, is there any with, like, knights or archers on them?”

  Wen Chou blushes and smiles. “Um, sure I can check!” She turns away as she begins her search. She thinks to herself, “Gosh dang it, Newbie. Why do you have to be so adorable?” She thinks back to some things Qu Yi said. “She said people treated her badly at her old schools, huh?” Wen Chou looks between a few shirts. “I honestly don’t know why they would do that. I would think most people would find her cute? I mean, her first choice is a smiling dinosaur on a shirt.”

  Qu Yi picks out another shirt. “I think this one is cool.”

  Wen Chou turns to see Qu Yi holding one that is styled to look like it has a quiver on the back of it, with a brown strap wrapped around the front. Wen Chou smiles, “Yi, you have good taste in shirts. They really fit you!”

  Qu Yi raises an eyebrow. “Thanks? I just think they look cool…” She frowns looking through some more. “Why did no one at my last school think my shirts were cool?” she mutters to herself. She thinks back to her previous schools. Most everyone either ignored her or made fun of her fashion tastes. She just wore shirts with cool stuff on it, armored knights, dinosaurs. She couldn’t find any archer ones but she would have picked those if she could. “At least my roommates have decent taste in shirts.” She smiles to herself, as she looks through some more.

  Wen Chou perks up, pulling one out. “Hey Newbie! What about this one?”

  It shows a knight standing up with a lance, and a tiara and a dress on the ground with the caption, “Other girls want to be a princess. I want to be a knight!”

  Qu Yi frowns at it. “Um, I like the idea, but…” She twiddles her fingers. “I-I don’t know.”

  “Huh?” Wen Chou looks at it, “Thought it’d be perfect.”

  Qu Yi blushes. “W-Well, um…”

  Wen Chou gasps. “Wait! Do you actually want to be a princess and a knight!?”

  “E-Eh!?” Qu Yi jumps back. “W-Well-” That wasn’t the reason. She didn’t want to wear a shirt that admits she’s a girl on it. These clothes were supposed to help her escape her situation. She looks down at her body. “Of course, this will be the norm for a while.” She feels her strength coming back in. She slaps her cheeks with her hands. She has to get pumped up again! Her mind gives herself a pep talk. “Sometimes it takes a real man to be a girl, right? I-I’m taking everyone back with me! That means, I’m going to be a real man! A-And, it does have a knight on it! Come on Qu Yi! You wore dresses today! You now OWN dresses! It’s all right to be a girl while you’re here! Just practice your confidence in who you are!”

  Wen Chou is staring at Qu Yi’s inner turmoil. “Um, you okay Newbie?”

  Qu Yi opens her eyes. “Um, C-Chou!” Qu Yi perks up, at a realization. Wen Chou is certainly very boyish. She’s more rough and tumble than most boys she saw back at her old schools. Maybe she can help shed some light on this inner turmoil. “A-Are you ever afraid of, being referred to as a girl?”

  Wen Chou raises an eyebrow. “Huh? Why? I mean...” She looks down at herself, “I’m not exactly a boy.”

  Qu Yi sighs, “Y-Yeah.” She rubs her arm. Maybe this was going to be harder than she thought.

  Wen Chou smiles at Qu Yi. “Yi, what’s up?”

  Qu Yi lets out a sigh. “Um, well, doesn’t being referred to as a girl sometimes make you feel… small?”

  Wen Chou has a confused look on her face, before a look of sudden realization fills it. “Oh, is this about your height, Newbie?”

  Qu Yi holds her hands up defensively. “W-Wha? It’s nothing to do with my height! I’m not sensitive about that!”

  Wen Chou looks at Qu Yi. “Well, you seem to be having an inner fight with yourself. Is there something you’re afraid to say?”

  Qu Yi can’t tell Wen Chou the truth, not like she will even believe her. “Um… sort of.” She mutters out, “I-I’m… I guess I’m just uncomfortable… calling myself a girl.”

  Wen Chou thinks then gets an idea. “Ah! I get you, Newbie!” She puts her hands on Qu Yi’s shoulders. “Look, you shouldn’t worry about that stuff right now. We’re all still in school. You shouldn’t want to be referred to as a woman yet.”

  Qu Yi sighs. This is hopeless, unless... An idea pops in her mind on how to illustrate it to her friend. “Um, when you were growing up, did boys ever think they were better than you because you were a girl?”

  Wen Chou smiles, then nods. “Oh sure. Bratty kids like that existed back when I was in public school.”

  Qu Yi thinks of what she could say. “Did you… ever wish you were a boy so you could be seen as… cool?”

  Wen Chou smiles with a stupid wide grin, before nodding. “Sure, when I was little. I felt, I was odd and I didn’t fit in. But…” She looks up thinking about it. “Being a girl is just what I am. It’s not who I am.” She balls her hand into a fist and places it on Qu Yi’s shoulder. “Maybe you’re going through that now yourself. You’re a girl. That’s fine, right?”

  Qu Yi blinks, before nodding slowly. “R-Right.”

  “But you’re still Qu Yi. That’s who you are. It’s fine to acknowledge you’re a girl. It doesn’t make you any different.”

  Qu Yi’s eyes widen. This is, true. While her body is different, she is still herself. Is there any shame in acknowledging what she is right now? “I-I’m a girl, huh,” she says to herself.

  “A cute one!” Wen Chou laughs. “Anyway, if this is all about the shirt, I really don’t mind putting it back.”

  “A-Actually…” Qu Yi smiles, “I-I think I want it.” She grabs it from Wen Chou before thinking to herself. “Girl or not, I am still Quinton, and I still like what I like. And, I wish I was a knight.”