Andrew got an odd email that night, and decided immediately that it was more important than going to the arcade again with the guys. He wouldn't admit it to Benny, but he missed him, and maybe... maybe he was dying or something and didn't want to tell him. What kind of a friend would he be to ignore that?
So after school that day, he headed right over, almost shivering in anticipation. How did Benny look different? Andrew could barely bring himself to ring the doorbell. But he did, and after just a few seconds, a stranger answered the door. A cute girl stood before him, with brown hair just above shoulder length, a slight figure and a familiar face he just couldn't place.
"Hey, Andrew. Told you I look different." She smiled, and her eyes twinkled in a way Andrew definitely knew. "B...Benny?!" This certainly explained Benny's behavior in the few times he'd seen him recently.
She grinned and giggled softly. "Yeah." Andrew just stared, mouth agape. "When you said you looked a lot different I thought you meant you... got glasses, or something..." He couldn't say the disgusting things he'd wanted to in front of a girl. He almost forgot it was Benny.
"Or that I had a bloated eye, or green skin, or tentacles, huh?" She grinned wider with every example, laughing. This was definitely Benny.
"Come on in, Andrew." She motioned for him to follow, and walked through the house, upstairs. He followed closely, shutting the door behind him, to Benny's room. "So, uh... are you still Benny? 'Cause you really don't look like a Benny right now."
She laughed in that soft, floaty way. "My mom and sister both said the same thing. I'm Becky now." He could barely believe this girl-next-door - literally, he lived right next door to her - was Benny. "What's it like being... y'know..."
"A girl? I don't feel that much different. I'm just me, you know? Besides being Becky instead of Benny... and it sounds pretty much alike." She smiled, and Andrew tried desperately to ignore the thoughts going through his head.
"So what are you gonna do about school? And what about the guys?" She shrugged. "Well, that's just it. The guys. I'm not a guy anymore. And I'm gonna go back to school as Becky, for the last couple of semesters. Don't tell anyone, okay? Everyone's gonna figure it out anyway."
She shrugged again, smiling that little smile, and he nodded. "I won't say a thing. Is... uh... is there anything else you wanted?"
"Well, yeah. Wanna play games?"
