Bianca looked up from hys compact as they returned, tucking it into hys purse. “Everything okay?” hei aked.
Nic nodded. “Oh sure, I just wanted to have a bit of a chat with Baylie, that’s all.” Shi patted Bianca gently on the back. “Nothing to worry about.”
“Who’s ready to send those Vixens packing?” a high-pitched voice boomed across the parking lot. Nic looked in the direction of the voice and smiled as shi saw Dr. Suzan McMillan, hir friend, boss and fellow football fan striding across the parking lot along with hir husbenne Chardeena and who Nic assumed must be Sarah.
Sarah, Nic noted, was dressed more like a proper gurl, having been given a proper makeover by the McMillans, just like hir sonnes had with Baylie. Hir hair was cut short, and shi was wearing a baggy T-shirt and a pair of jeans that were ripped at the knees. Chardeena looked beautiful as ever hanging on to Suzan’s arm as they walked across the parking lot, wearing a strapless, pink dress with blue accents that fell down to hys thighs and matching pink heels.
Suzan meanwhile proudly wore a Lake Point High jersey with McMillan written on the back, as mothir of the star quarterback. Hir chest was poofed out proudly as shi made hir way towards the Woodwomans.
Nic smiled. “With the way Sarrah’s been playing lately? It’s a wonder that they even bothered to turn up. We’ll give them a good thrashing.”
Suzan chuckled as shi gave hir friend a high-five. “Don’t I know it,” shi replied, turning towards Bianca as shi gave hym the customary compliment. “You look amazing, Bianca.” The boi blushed and stammered a thank you as the doctor kissed hym on the cheek and complimented hym on hys outfit. Nic did the same with Chardeena.
Once the customary pleasantries were out of the way, Nic turned hir attention to Sarah.
“Well, Sarah, I must say… It’s nice to see you looking like a proper gurl now. That blonde hair was ridiculous.”
Gwen had never felt so self-conscious before. Shi stood there nervously with hir hands behind hir back.
“Um, thanks, I guess. It’s Gwen, by the way,” shi added.
Nic nodded. “Sarrah gave you a proper gurl’s name as well, then? Then it’s only fair that you meet Baylie.” Shi gestured towards Baylie and hei stepped forward, also a little nervously. This was the first time that Gwen and Baylie had seen each other since their makeovers, and even though it had only been yesterday, it had felt like a lifetime ago.
“H…Hi…” Baylie muttered. The nervousness and staged nature of this meeting was palpable on everyone’s faces, especially Gwen and Baylie.
“Why don’t we go on in, get something to eat, and find our seats?” Nic asked, breaking the awkward ice.
Baylie walked with Sarah, or Gwen as shi was now called, following the group as they made their way around the school building and towards the field. They joined several families heading in the same direction. It was an odd moment for Baylie; being on the team hymself, hei had never actually approached the field from this direction.
The walkway opened up to reveal the stadium, lit up in the night sky by the floodlights. Baylie was surprised. Even though Lake Point versus Mount Valley was a popular matchup back home, it wasn’t quite like this. The bleachers were packed! Two different local TV news crews were at the game! Hys head was spinning.
“Wow!” Baylie gasped. Gwen nodded in agreement as shi took in the sight.
Suzan, taking charge, clasped hir hands and asked the party, “Who’s hungry?”
Everyone mumbled a response signalling that they all were, and Suzan led them over to the concession stand, where multiple people were waiting in line.
"Yeah… Apparently, Sarrah is really good,” Gwen began to explain as they joined the line. “You should see hir trophy cabinet."
"What do you mean?"
"Shi led the team to back-to-back state titles. All these major schools have offered her. Shi's a star."
Baylie felt thoroughly upstaged and could not believe it. Biff had led teams to a .500 record, which was pretty pedestrian. Here, though, the team was one of the hottest things going. That explains a lot...
“Laddies first… What do you bois want?” It took Baylie a second to realize that Suzan’s interjection, which had pulled hym out of being shocked and almost enraged, was aimed at hym. Baylie stared at the menu and could not help but tilt hys head when he saw "Hot Bitch" on the menu. What kind of place is this? hei thought. "Uh... I'll have a slice of pizza," hei declared, wanting to play it safe.
The cashier gave hym something of a strange look, which hei couldn't decipher. “Cheese, I take it?”
“Uh, sure.” Baylie was not picking up on whatever cue the cashier was sending hys way at all.
"And you, mam?"
Gwen looked up. “I’ll do a pizza, too.”
“Cheese or pepperoni?” Baylie, waiting off to the side, raised an eyebrow. How come the cashier assumed I’d have a cheese pizza?
“Ehh, cheese.” Another strange look from the cashier. A few minutes later, all the food had been served, and the group found its way to a spot in the packed bleachers, the McMillans sitting next to the Woodwomans with Gwen and Baylie in the middle.
“Why did…they give me a strange look when I ordered a pizza?” a baffled Baylie asked.
“Well… Us bois tend to watch what we eat. A lot,” Bianca began to explain. “You see, I got a light sandwich,” hei added, holding up hys meal. “Is that a thing—”
Bianca’s explanation of dieting culture was put on hold by a high-pitched but booming voice over the PA system. “Laddies and gentlewomen, gurls and bois, we welcome you to Lake Point High Schools Field for tonight’s matchup between the Mount Valley Vixens…”
A loud chorus of boos emanated from the bleachers, especially the student section, as the visitors filed out from the adjacent fieldhouse and began to take residence on the far sideline.
“...And youuuuuuuur Lake Point Panthers!” From a large inflatable blue tunnel set up in a corner of one of the end zones, dozens of gurls in football gear smashed through a large banner reading “Homecoming” and held up by two pyramids of cheerleaders.
“Look, that’s Biffanie!” Bianca squealed with excitement, pointing to the bois that had been presenting the large banner for the players to run through.
After all the players had settled down, the pregame festivities resumed. “And now, we ask that you kindly remove your caps and turn to face the flag in the north end zone. Singing tonight’s national anthem is Lake Point Bois High School senior Kinnabelle Goff!” A tall boi, made even taller by heels, stepped out in a pink and blue dress to a microphone positioned just past the 50-yard line as the band started a drumroll.
Hei started singing, and Baylie and Gwen exchanged a look as they quickly realized that even the Star-Spangled Banner had been replaced here. Not wanting to make a scene, they looked on at the proceedings, not knowing the lyrics to this song at all. The boi’s voice was deep but melodic and sweet, in contrast to the woman who was the announcer in the press box, and worked well with…whatever anthem this was. Hei finished, and a round of applause rose from the stands as the assembled fans sat back down.
Something, however, had just crossed Baylie’s mind. Hei turned toward Bianca and whispered to hym.
“Bois high school?”
“What do you mean?” Bianca looked back, puzzled.
“Well, in our world, boys and girls go to school together.” Baylie was trying to speak softly so as not to be noticed by anyone else that thought their conversation sounded like something from another planet.
At hearing that, Bianca let out a chuckle. “Could you imagine!?” Hys voice was cracking as hei laughed at the thought. “Go tell Ms. McMillan… Shi’ll be floored.”
To do this discreetly, Baylie whispered to Gwen. “...Did you catch that about bois school?”
“No…?”
“Apparently bois and gurls attend separate schools… Go tell hir.”
Gwen looked at Baylie in disgust and whispered to Suzan. “So…yeah… Apparently we’re separated at school here? …And that’s definitely not the national anthem in our world.”
Suzan pulled out hir phone and made a pair of notes, making sure to put it back in hir pocket before the opening kickoff. Mount Valley had won the toss and deferred, so the Panthers would be on offense to start the game with Sarrah at the helm.
