Jonchelle and Vanessa entered a cafeteria that was completely different to the one that they were used to. For one, it was rather crowded, and two, everyone was sitting in a different place to where they normally sat.
Taking a tray each, Jonchelle and Vanessa joined the queue to grab their lunch where they were served by a lady that they didn’t recognize. She had too much makeup on, and her wig was a bit disheveled. She barely acknowledged Jonchelle and Vanessa as she asked them with a deep voice what they wanted. Both of the girls opted for salads; after receiving their lunch, they turned around to try and find a seat.
Jonchelle spotted Karyn first, and surprisingly, she was not alone. She was sitting with a bunch of other people who, like her, had decided not to take part in the town’s resolution. She was even talking to Mike “The Moose” Matthews, of all people. Jonchelle made a face as she thought about sitting with her.
“Hey,” Vanessa piped up, “how about we sit with my friends?” she suggested, pointing to a table where Jonchelle recognized one of the girls. It was Shawna from gym class.
“Okay,” Jonchelle nodded, glad to be sitting with someone who was going through the same experience as she was.
“Hey guys,” Vanessa greeted her friends as they approached. Shawna and the other girls looked up; a few of them looked confused before they recognized Vanessa. Jonchelle smiled meekly and sat down next to her.
“Who’s this?” one of her friends asked, looking at Vanessa’s new friend.
“Oh, this is Jonchelle,” Vanessa explained. “We met at the mall over the weekend, and I helped her get her clothes.”
“Wow!” the group chorused; there was even a wolf whistle. Jonchelle blushed as Vanessa introduced her to her friends: Shawna (who Jonchelle met in gym), a red-head named Monika, Jasmine, and Maya.
“If I was still a guy, I’d totally do you!” one of them commented.
“Pfft, as if,” Monika retorted. “Remember when you said that about Sarah McMillan?”
“Shut up!” Jasmine replied. Vanessa rolled her eyes and gave an apologetic look to Jonchelle.
“So I’m guessing that you got your periods as well?” Monika asked, looking at Shawna, Jonchelle and Vanessa. The three girls nodded.
“How is that possible?” Maya asked. “This is not what I signed up for.”
“What? Are you going to chicken out because of a little blood?”
“Nahh,” the girl replied quickly, although she didn’t sound too convincing.
“What about what Adrianna said at the end of gym?” Shawna asked, looking concerned. “Do you really think that we’ll get pregnant?”
Vanessa shook her head. “No way… We’re still boys even though we look like girls. There must be some form of special clothing or something that makes us experience life like girls. We’ll probably just feel like we’re pregnant. Like an empathy vest or something.”
Jonchelle quietly ate her salad as she watched Vanessa chat with her friends. She had already deduced that none of them really seemed into the resolution thing. They were just too manly for that sort of thing, and it showed through the clothes and the hair. What’s more, she could tell that Maya was going to drop out. She just didn’t seem as devoted as the others—even the ones that weren’t quite convincing—and the way she reacted to her period was a dead giveaway.
She was surprised, however, when Monika mentioned that she had put her name down for the cheerleading tryouts. Maybe appearances weren’t everything to these girls.
