Jon had thought that he could get away with not showing his crotch to anyone else while dressing for gym, and maybe he did, but the rumors were flying hard. Certainly Tiffany would talk, and even Sarah would have said something given what happened with the hair and breasts.
"Did the experiment really do what the rumors say?" asked Joseph.
"Umm... what did the rumors say?" replied Jon.
"They say that you got Tiffany's sex organs. You're a girl in secret and the part that makes you a girl is Tiffany's. And you got exemptions from your homework and tests for it. I don't know if I could have done it even for that..."
"They exaggerated the homework part. You do get to skip homework and tests to the end of the year but you have to get good grades before they'll let you in the experiment anyway. And we just had spring break and it's not that long until the end of the year, so there isn't as much in the way of homework and tests as you'd think. And you still have to take finals."
"So why would you do it then?"
"I never said I did it! But I give up. Yeah, I did it. People are constantly asking me, I don't think I can hide it. And if you really must know why, I wanted something interesting to happen. I just didn't know what."
"What do your parents think?"
"Oh, Dad was furious. But it doesn't really matter."
"What's it like? Do you get periods? Does it turn you gay?"
"I can't believe people are asking me this stuff! I'm still me. I just get aroused in a different way. I still get turned on by the same things. Mostly... It's like there's a disconnect. I still like girls but when I imagine what I'll be doing with them I imagine something going inside me...."
"Which is a guy."
"Which is a dildo. Come on! Like I'd ever do it with a guy."
Another guy, named Brent Ferris, approached. "Hi guys. I heard the rumors. Are they really true?"
Jon explained, "It depends on what the rumors are but probably, yes."
"So you're a girl?" wondered Brent.
"I ought to write something down answering all the questions everyone asks and make copies. Yes, I'm a girl between the legs. If you want to know if I've had my period yet, the answer is no, and I still like girls. I think."
"Are you sure?" asked Brent. "Your body seems to be perfect to be with a guy. And nobody would say 'I think' I like girls unless they didn't."
Jon knew that Brent was gay, and replied, "Well, maybe my body's perfect for a straight guy. Not for you. And as for the girls, I really don't know how I feel. My whole life it's been girls, and the idea of getting intimate with a guy feels so strange."
"No, I'm serious," said Brent. "Yeah, I'm gay and you're a girl, but that's just a technicality. You're mostly a guy."
"Lay off me," said Jon. "It would be like having sex with Tiffany. You wouldn't want to have sex with Tiffany, would you?"
"I would!" said Joseph. "She's got a nice rack and..."
"And I don't. Could both of you just forget it? There really aren't a lot of ways being changed like this should be able to affect someone. The only thing that changed about me is something you can't even see except for a few seconds in the locker room. If you met me in the street and didn't hear any rumors you wouldn't even know."
A few days later Jon had to come in to be tested by von Schtupple again. He took some readings and said "Okay, okay... Everything seems okay. How are you veeling? Are you attracted to men or women, Herr Jon?"
"I don't know," replied Jon. "I think about women but it's all mixed up. I keep imagining a man inside me, just for a second."
"Ah, I see. It's caused by two things. Hormones from your new parts, and physical reactions."
"Physical reactions?"
"Something touching your genitals and thrusting into you will give you pleasure for purely physical reasons. Your brain wants that pleasure. Combined with the hormones you may find yourself wanting things associated with that pleasure. It pushes you towards liking guys because deep inside your subconscious you know that a guy is what you need to satisfy you physically."
"Wait a minute. That can't be true. If that was true there would be no such thing as lesbians, because lesbians would all want guys too."
"I didn't say it controls you. It just pushes you. There's a chance it doesn't affect you, like the chance that a girl is a lesbian."
"But that's a pretty low chance."
Von Schtupple didn't respond. And Jon had months to go in the experiment. Did he really like guys like that? Could he fall in love with a guy, marry him, set up a household with a guy and bear his children? The idea still seemed so odd. He was a guy and guys didn't do that, regardless of what messages his new parts where trying to send him.
