"What do you mean, go live life as normal?" Jon asked. "We're just sitting around here and talking. That's normal, isn't it?"
"Well, yeah, but I feel like doing something else today. You wanna go someplace to eat, or to the movies, or anything?" Karyn suggested.
"I dunno, maybe, but you said normal," Jon replied. "We haven't don't that sort of thing for quite a while. People might think we're on a date or something."
"No, I'm dating Paul Smithers and everyone, including you, knows that," Karyn asserted while making a mental note to create such a person. "That means I couldn't be dating you."
"If this Paul hears about us, he might think you're cheating on him," Jon reminded Karyn.
"No, Paul understands our relationship," she told Jon, who doubted very much that Paul understood their relationship at all. Karyn didn't even understand their relationship. Neither Karyn, nor Paul, nor anyone else understood that Jon's male persona was a false front -- a false front that was leading to more and more dizzy spells.
The problem, of course, was Jon's breasts, which he hated. Just recently they'd experienced a growth spurt, and because of that Jon had begun wearing wear tighter, thicker, and more restraining chest bindings than ever before. The bindings, of course, made it hard to breathe, and that'w what was causing the dizzy spells. Once, Jon thought he was going to faint.
"Would you rather go swimming? Or hit the day spa for a massage?" Karyn asked innocently.
"Uh, no, I'm afraid of the water and I don't like the idea of some masseuse touching me all over," Jon replied. "But if you want to have dinner or go to the movies, and if you're dating this guy Paul, wouldn't you rather go with him?"
"Well, OK, if you think I should call him, I will," Karyn replied as she pulled out her cell phone. "It just seems you haven't been getting out much lately. You're almost turning into a homebody. You and your friends used to play baseball or basketball or hockey all the time. Oh, hello! Is Paul there? Sure. Oh hi, Paul! Are you doing anything this evening? Yeah. Uh-huh. Oh, anything. I thought maybe a quick dinner or the movies. Uh-huh. Yeah, both would be good... She is? Yeah, I remember. Yeah, she could... Yeah, in fact I'm at Jon's house now. We were just talking after school. Uh-huh. OK, I will. Me too. OK, I'll see you then, then. OK. OK. Bye! Yes. OK. Yeah, bye. OK, bye. Bye now. We can talk later. Yeah later. Bye."
"What was all that?" Jon asked.
"I'm meeting Paul and his cousin Carla at the Burger Bunker for dinner. After that we're going to the Cine-Cluster for a movie. Why don't you come along, Jon? Paul says his cousin Carla is quite a dish!"
