Benny stared at his dad, who was visibly uncomfortable. "What's wrong, dear?" his mom asked. His dad shrugged. "I don't know, Karen. Yes, they do fit better, but...well, they don't work for me. I'm just used to boxers, and if someone at the office caught a glimpse of these under the stall divider, it could cause more than a little bit of trouble; the higher-ups are still pretty close-minded about stuff like that. So...I think I'll be sticking with my boxers, thanks."
Benny's mom nodded in agreement as she realized the sense in her husband's reasoning. "Does this mean I don't have to wear them either?" Benny asked. His mom sighed. "Well," she said, "I suppose it wouldn't be very fair of me to force you to wear something you don't want, but on the other hand, I want you to be prepared for whatever might come your way...tell you what, we'll compromise. I'm going to have you wear them for a couple weeks, but if you still don't like them at the end of that time, you can go back to boxers."
"A couple weeks?" Benny moaned. His mother nodded. "Please try to understand, Benny. I'm not trying to gussy you up, but if it's true that you'll be developing into a full-fledged girl, I want you to be prepared for that."
"But what if the guys at school find out?" Benny asked. "I'd never live it down!"
"Actually," his dad said, "you and Jenny aren't going back to school, unless we find a way to change back."
"Your father's right," his mom said. "We're going to be homeschooling you until we figure out what to do about this."
"What?" Benny yelped. "Why?"
"Because it's not a question of if your classmates would find out," his dad replied. "It's a question of when. You're starting junior high now, and among other things that means communal showers. The first time you went to P.E. class your cover would be blown."
"And anyway," his mother said, "if you do start to develop into a young woman, it'll be a lot easier to drop off the radar as a homeschooler. You could stay home until you can pass for a natural-born girl, then reemerge without people wondering why you stopped showing up to class. You'd still have to take on a female identity, of course, but it'd be much easier to avoid scrutiny this way."
"M-mom," Benny said, choking up, "I don't want to turn into a girl!" He burst into tears, and his mother embraced him, his father putting a firm, comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I know you don't," his mother said. "And I hope you don't have to. But from what Jenny said, it's a possibility we can't rule out, and I want you to be prepared to deal with it if it does turn out to be the case. But please don't think for a moment that I don't love you as my son."
