《Why is my life so cursed?》


 Prologue. Its just not my day

    ¡°Well, that was as painful as usual,¡± I thought as I drove through Kansas on my way home from my parent¡¯s house In southern Oklahoma.


    Don¡¯t get me wrong, I love my family a lot, I just usually feel like I¡¯m a failure when I¡¯m around them. Who am I kidding? I feel that way all the time actually. Every time I see my family it gets worse though. Here I am, In my late thirties with no wife or kids, heck I don¡¯t even have a girlfriend. I¡¯m a loser and I know it.


    Coming in around six foot seven, a muscular physic, wide shoulders, and a somewhat handsome if rugged face you would think I could easily find a girlfriend. That would be wrong. My friends say I look like a mountain man or a Viking with my long dark red hair and beard. I actually like how I look and try to hit the gym at least 3 times a week, but for some reason, women seem to be scared of me. Most people that know me, compare me to a teddy bear, but to people that don¡¯t know me, I¡¯m just scary. That makes it hard to meet someone.


    With that out of the way, I have to admit that sometimes I hate long drives. On one hand, I love the back roads that can be peaceful and I can be myself, but on the other, I have way too much time to think.


    The Black Hills area of South Dakota is where I call home these days. I used to travel a lot for work so when I found a job close to an area I love, I couldn¡¯t pass it up. I was able to save up and am currently having my dream house built. Why is it then, that I am so depressed? I really can¡¯t say It¡¯s because of any one thing.


    I¡¯ve always wanted a family of my own. That¡¯s part of it. I know I¡¯m not good with kids and I believe it would be hard for me to be a father. I¡¯m anti-social, very anti-social, and Introverted to a major degree. it would probably be best If I didn¡¯t have that kind of pressure. That doesn¡¯t mean I still don¡¯t want a family of my own.


    My job as a heavy equipment operator is a good one. I may work long hours, but I like to be outside and it pays well, has decent benefits, and gives me a sense of accomplishment when the day is over. You would think not having too many bills and being able to enjoy not only work but hobbies as well would make anyone happy. I know it should, I know I should be grateful for what I have. I¡¯m Blessed with an awesome family who I love and loves me, I have a good job I like and hobbies I enjoy. Why can¡¯t I just be happy?


    Unfortunately, that¡¯s my thought process on this long drive home. What makes it worse is the fact that a blizzard is starting and the snow is coming in at a shallow angle. I usually love driving In snow, I know I¡¯m weird, don¡¯t judge. It usually brings me peace while my friends and family get stressed. There is just something about the beauty of the snow falling and dancing either in the diffused sunlight or the headlights. To me, it¡¯s just beautiful and mesmerizing.


    I say usually because right now I¡¯m in my hopped-up Camaro, not my pickup. This car is built for the track. Upgraded suspension, brakes, drive train, and roll cage. Technically, It¡¯s not street-legal anymore, what with having not only a roll cage but a custom-built tube chassis. I still register it though. Combine that with around a thousand horsepower and a blower? Ya, this is gonna suck. At least I¡¯m not running slicks and have a good set of winter tires on.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    I guess it might not be too bad. At least this way I will have something to focus on Instead of getting lost in depressing thoughts. The only reason I drove my car in the first place is the weather was supposed to be clear. That¡¯s also the reason I left my parent¡¯s place earlier than I was going to. This storm came in fast. Building up quicker than expected. The weather forecasters were surprised about it actually. It seems no one predicted a snowstorm this early In the fall. Especially on the plains of eastern Colorado and Western Kansas.


    As the sun started to dip behind the horizon, or at least that¡¯s what I figured was happening as it was getting dark quick, the snow started coming down faster. At least the wind wasn¡¯t too bad.


    I started slowing to a decent speed. It was still warm enough that the snow wasn¡¯t sticking to the road yet, but the temperature was falling quickly. This was going to be a long drive. I still had a little over five hours left at Interstate speeds, so with the snow, it was probably going to be double that. Maybe I should just find a hotel in the next town before the roads start closing and they fill up.


    As I was contemplating what to do, I tuned the radio I hardly ever use to find some kind of weather report. I wanted to know how far north the storm was just in case I could maybe drive out of it. As usual, the radio had nothing useful. Just some pop country stations and eighties music. No weather or anything else. Feeling like I didn¡¯t have much of a choice, I started looking for a place to pull over so I could look at my phone. I always hated those people who drove around with their eyes glued to their phones. No one is in that kind of hurry that you could put your life or someone else¡¯s at risk.


    While looking for somewhere to pull over, a bright flash lit up the surrounding area. It was so bright that it blinded me for a second and made my eyes tear up. As I started to brake so I wouldn¡¯t go into the ditch, the snow started to swirl around and picked up speed. I could hear a roar coming closer and getting louder. It was getting loud enough my ears started hurting. Still halfway blinded from the exceptionally bright light and going def from the loud roar I could only wonder if somehow a giant tornado didn¡¯t form around me.


    Coming to a stop in the middle of the road, I was trying to look around to figure out what the heck was going on. The light was intense, the noise was brutal and the snow was starting to blow away from me in the fierce wind that was being generated from somewhere.


    What was going on? My mind was a complete blank. The craziest part though? For some reason, I wasn¡¯t panicking yet. I was calm and almost relaxed. The light, though bright and painful, was somehow comforting. The noise was just painful though so I covered my ears to try and minimize the discomfort.


    Looking around while squinting, I caught sight of something falling down toward me at high speed. No way. Nope. There is no way. That¡¯s a meteorite, isn¡¯t it? Crap crap crap. This is gonna hurt. I gotta get out of here.


    Time to start panicking I suppose¡­


    As I put my car into gear, I dumped the clutch and floored it. Come on ponies, I know you won¡¯t let me down. As I shifted into second I realized that today just wasn¡¯t going to be my day. I didn¡¯t get to think much further as something crashed into my hood and everything went white.

 1: Waking up cursed?

    Ding Ding Ding


    ¡°Owe, my head is killing me.¡± Actually, my whole body felt like I had been run over by ¡®truck-kun¡¯. Yes, I know, I¡¯m a grown man and I know who truck-Kun is. Again, don¡¯t judge.


    My phone started chiming again so I reached over and grabbed it. I figured it was probably my mom wanting to know where I was and if I made it home through the storm. After looking at the text, it was exactly as I expected, I sent a quick response telling her I made it home.


    ¡°Dang, my head really hurts.¡± Lying back down and putting my hand over my eyes, I tried to remember what happened last night.


    ¡°Was that just some sort of weird dream? I don¡¯t remember much after the snow started falling. How the heck did I get home?¡±


    When you live alone, you sometimes need to talk to yourself, you know, like when you need expert advice. I know, but it¡¯s my story, and I¡¯m sticking to it. To be honest, though, I was in quite a bit of pain so I didn¡¯t care that I was mumbling to myself.


    ¡°I need to take something for this headache¡± Getting out of bed and stumbling to the bathroom felt weird. Nothing felt right. Even though my body hurt, things just felt wrong. For one, my line of sight was way too low. Usually, I have to duck to go into the bathroom of my fifth-wheel trailer, which I was living in until my house was finished. Along with that, the cabinet where I kept my medicine was up way too high.


    Figuring I hit my head somewhere and possibly had a concussion, I decided if my headache didn¡¯t go away soon I would go to the hospital. Reaching up to open the cabinet I noticed my arms were way too small and skinny, my hands were tiny and my skin was way too white and soft for someone who worked outside all year round, especially after a long and hot summer like we just had.


    ¡°What the¡­¡± I brought my hand in front of my face and moved it around a little, waving it back and forth and turning it from my palm to the back of my hand. I brought my other hand up as well and studied them both. They looked like my cousin¡¯s eight-year-old daughter¡¯s hands, though maybe a little bigger¡­ Maybe.


    As I moved my hands around, my long red hair fell into my line of sight. I should clarify that my hair used to only be long enough to fall past my shoulders by about an inch. Just enough to put it into a somewhat thick braid while I was at work. Now? Well, I¡¯m pretty sure it fell about to my knees. Seriously, my knees. I didn¡¯t even think that could be possible, especially for a young kid.


    ¡°OK, what the actual heck is going on? Did someone drug me? or did I¡­¡±


    I started to ask myself that but trailed off when I realized my voice was kinda high, like really high. It was a soft and pure little girl¡¯s voice.


    My brain started to shut down. I think I stopped breathing for a little bit too. This had to be a dream, a hallucination, or something right? There is no way I changed. That only happens in anime and light novels right? I¡¯m still asleep, pulled over somewhere along the road in a snowstorm, or at a hotel in some little town. There is no way I¡¯m awake right now.


    ¡°OK, Ok. Calm down and breathe. You¡¯re still asleep and just having a weird dream.¡± As I softly spoke those words to myself, I moved towards the living room/kitchen to get something to drink.


    ¡°Sorry to disappoint, but this is not a dream¡±


    I heard a deep booming voice come from my kitchen as I made my way down the stairs from the bathroom. I¡¯ll admit I jumped. What I won¡¯t admit was the cute little squeak that came with the jump. Nope, didn¡¯t happen. I was so startled that when I landed my foot slipped on the edge of the last stair and I ended up landing hard on my butt and sliding down to the floor.


    ¡°Not so loud you idiot! You don¡¯t need to yell every time you say something!¡±


    I heard another voice speak in a normal if also deep voice. I jumped up in a panic looking around for the two people that were in my home. Thoughts like ¡®how did they get in my house¡¯ and ¡®crap, what¡¯s going on?¡¯ bounced around inside my head. I hear you, I understand my thought process right now isn¡¯t up to par. I know, I know, but you try waking up with a massive headache, your whole body hurting, and having what you can see of your body being totally different from what you were used to the last thirty-some years and see how your brain functions. I dare you.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±


    Honestly, looking around I couldn¡¯t see anyone. By the sound of the voices, The two people I heard had to be fairly good-sized. Their deep voices reverberated around the small space. There was really no place for one person to hide, let alone two people.


    ¡°Easy Alex, we¡¯re here to help.¡± The first booming voice said. It wasn¡¯t quite as loud as earlier, but still had a volume that hurt the ears.


    ¡°Umm¡­ Like that would make anyone feel better. Usually, when you hear something like that, you should get out of there as fast as possible.¡±


    ¡°I told you not to say something like that, you idiot!¡± The second voice said. ¡°That¡¯s usually a flag in movies and books. Didn¡¯t I tell you to let me talk?¡±


    ¡°Ya, ya. I heard you, but¡­¡±


    ¡°No buts. Let me handle this would you?¡±


    ¡°Umm, not to interrupt your little chit-chat, but who are you? And also, how the heck did you know my name?¡± My head was still hurting, my body ached and I was talking to thin air. I¡¯m insane or delusional. Yep, I knew I shouldn¡¯t have done whatever it was that put me in this spot. Now if I could only figure out what that was, maybe I could understand what was going on.


    Both of the voices stopped talking and I felt like whatever they were, they were looking at me. How can nothing be looking at something? I don¡¯t know, and if you can explain it to me I would be grateful, just know that right now it felt like two sets of something were boring into me. It felt, well, I can¡¯t explain exactly how it felt.


    ¡°Right, we haven¡¯t introduced ourselves yet. My name is Jacobus and my associate¡¯s name is Methodius.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine and all, but that doesn¡¯t tell me much, or help me figure out why I¡¯m talking to air.¡± I started to massage my temples. This isn¡¯t real. I¡¯m talking to air, or hearing things, right?


    ¡°Oh, ya. sorry about that. We forgot that mortals can¡¯t really see us. Well, most mortals that is.¡± Jacobus replied.


    ¡®wha¡­ no seriously. What did I just hear? Mortals? Nope, I¡¯m insane. There is no way this conversation is going on in my kitchen/living room with two voices coming from somewhere or something I can¡¯t see.¡¯ My thoughts were spiraling. Still rubbing my temples, I tried to breathe deep and slow, using a technique my Sensei taught me. thirty years in multiple disciplines of martial arts helped to let me focus my mind and calm down¡­ A little at least. I might have trained for years, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can deal with all situations equally. This isn¡¯t a self-defense situation. This is me having a mental breakdown or something. I still haven¡¯t figured it out.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not having a mental breakdown, you are not going insane or crazy, and you are awake in your living room.¡± This came from Methodius¡¯ booming voice as I started to see two forms surrounded by a subdued golden light manifesting while sitting on my couch. Quite comfortably lounging on my couch like they owned the place. I should have felt awe at the sight of two well-built men in what looked like white togas slowly solidifying in front of me. That¡¯s what I should have felt but in all actuality? I could feel a vein in my right temple throb and my right eye twitched.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    This isn¡¯t good. That only happens when I get really, and I mean really, pissed. Like someone just hit one of my family or friends pissed. That usually doesn¡¯t end well for the other party. Something like calling an ambulance bad. I usually don¡¯t have a hard time keeping my anger in check, especially the last couple of decades. That¡¯s why I started taking martial arts at eight years old. My uncle thought it would help me control my anger, and he was right. The discipline helping me calm my mind and not explode.


    The crazy part of it was, I wasn¡¯t a violent child growing up. I was calm, collected, and generally easy to get along with. The thing was, if my family or friends were picked on or harassed my mind went blank and I had what my uncle called a ¡®red out¡¯. I literally saw red. It didn¡¯t take much either. Just a snide remark or stupid comment. I hated it. I still hate that feeling. The loss of control, the gut-churning feeling I get when my anger explodes. I don¡¯t even know what really sets it off, and that has always worried me.


    Martial arts helped. It cleared my mind to move my body so I threw myself into them. I trained like someone possessed. I ended up as a black belt or ¡®Dan¡¯ ranked in Karate, practiced Muay Boran, ¡®that was actually my favorite so I really went crazy learning it¡¯, and was first dan in Aikido. I know right? Over achiever much? As I said, I was possessed and wanted to get control of myself so I put everything into training. I was just lucky my uncle had connections and found someone who knew a few different martial arts. He was a strict old man in his early seventies that didn¡¯t mess around. I think he went through the same thing I was going through and knew what I needed, mainly because he could be very compassionate at times.


    I closed my eyes and started another breathing exercise. I could slowly feel my anger dissipate and my blood pressure start to drop. After about twenty to thirty seconds I let out a long breath and opened my eyes again.


    ¡°Feeling better?¡± Jacobus asked after giving me a moment. ¡°You always did have an explosive temper at times. I¡¯m glad to see that you have managed to get it under control. I know it took a lot to do and I¡¯m proud that you were able to.¡±


    ¡°How did you know about that? Are you some kind of stalker or something?¡± My eye started to twitch again.


    ¡°Not quite.¡± He laughed at my question. Now my eye was really starting to twitch.


    ¡°Whoa, whoa, calm down. It was a joke.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± I just stared at him. It¡¯s all I could do.


    ¡°Ok, Ok. Sorry. This is gonna be hard to believe, but I¡¯m your guardian angel. NO, I¡¯m serious so stop looking at me like that. I really am your guardian angel.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s hard to believe.¡±


    ¡°Understandable. I know you¡¯re a devout Christian, so you should have some concept of angels right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I guess you could say that, but for someone to actually have a guardian angel is kinda far-fetched to me. I mean, how would that work? There are billions of people on this planet. For everyone to have a guardian would be kinda crazy.¡±


    ¡°To an extent you¡¯re right. The thing is not everyone has one, especially if they don¡¯t believe in God. To make things a little easier to get your mind around, I¡¯m one of your ancestors, many generations removed. That¡¯s how we get around the logistical problems of having so many people with guardians.¡±


    ¡°Riiiight.¡± That sounded plausible¡­ Kinda. Thinking about it, to get to me, if you went back ten generations it would be a little over a thousand people in my family tree¡­ Right? I think that¡¯s right. Anyway, that could be plausible, but still seems off. I mean, Technically I would have other relations many times removed by now, wouldn¡¯t I?


    ¡°I¡¯m serious. We watch over our descendants. I look after a few of them, not just you by the way. You could look at it as a form of entertainment.¡±


    ¡®Great, my life is a soap opera for my ancestors.¡¯ Wait, in thinking that was I starting to believe him? No, that¡¯s not it. I shook my head trying to get the thought to go away.


    ¡°Anyway, If you really are my guardian, who is that then? Another of my ancestors?¡± I asked Jacobus. Still trying to wrap my head around what was going on.


    ¡°Methodius is a friend of mine. You could say he is also a great sparing partner. You¡¯re not the only one who likes to have a good fight in the family. I had the same problem as you when I was young, and I found the same outlet as you. The difference was the type of training. We didn¡¯t know as much about eastern martial arts back then. Actually, most didn¡¯t even know they existed. We did have our own though, so that¡¯s what we practice.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh, I see. So, you¡¯re saying my ¡®problem¡¯ is hereditary, you had the same problem and found the same outlet. Also, you lived before eastern martial arts traveled around. Saying I believe you, when exactly would that have been?¡±


    ¡°Your skepticism is understandable, if not a little annoying. Let¡¯s see, as for when that was, I would say Rome hadn¡¯t fallen yet? Though it was definitely on the decline.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    This is getting ridiculous.


    ¡°That would mean you practiced what, pankration?¡± Again, don¡¯t judge. I¡¯m a history buff, especially when it comes to fighting styles.


    ¡°Yep, right on the money. See Methodius, I told you he was smart.¡±


    ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m so tired of hearing you brag about your descendants. It¡¯s getting old and I¡¯ve told you that before.¡± Methodius lazily responded while waving a hand in front of his face. At least his volume was at a somewhat decent level now and didn¡¯t make my eyes cross.


    ¡°You¡¯re just jealous. Just because your descendants are lazy this time around, you complain constantly. That little girl looks promising though, you should keep an eye on her.¡±


    ¡®This is getting kinda creepy. I need to report these two or something, right after I figure out what is going on.¡¯ I thought to myself as I watch the two people sitting on my couch.


    ¡°<mark>Whao</mark>, whoa. Easy Alex. We¡¯re not stalkers. I told you, we¡¯re guardian angels. We watch out for our descendants, that¡¯s all. You know how many times you got out of some stupid situation and thought ¡®I really should have died there¡¯ right? well, that¡¯s us giving you a nudge in the right direction. Some are better than others, some are more ¡® hands-on¡¯ you could say. Not all of us care though, just like in life.¡±


    ¡°So you say. I still don¡¯t know if this is real, or if I believe you, but moving on. Why the heck am I so small, what happened and how can I get back to normal?¡± I¡¯m starting to get annoyed. This is getting nowhere and I still want to know what¡¯s going on, that is if this really isn¡¯t a dream or hallucination. I did have to concede the point that I was really stupid growing up. I probably should have died at least a couple dozen times¡­ Probably.


    ¡°OK, first, You died last night.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± I messaged my temples again. ¡°Than is this heaven? Purgatory? I think this would be closer to hell, actually.¡±


    ¡°None of those. This is your house in the Black Hills.¡±


    ¡°Then if I died, why am I in my house? Wait, before that, how did I die?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Really, now you have nothing to say?¡± Jacobus got an anxious look on his face and looked away from me while Methodius just grinned one of those Cheshire smiles and chuckled.


    ¡°Might as well get it over with Jacobus, It¡¯s gotta come out sooner or later.¡± Methodius looked like he was having fun with this and it didn¡¯t give me the warm and fuzzies, if you know what I mean.


    Slowly Jacobus looked my way and started to speak. Apparently, he and Methodius decided to play around in a small storm cell that was building over the Rocky Mountains of southern Colorado. When he says ¡®play around¡¯ I get the feeling they were wrestling and generally being idiots. Anyway, their roughhousing caused the storm cell to build somehow¡­ I don¡¯t get it either, and that¡¯s what I ended up driving into. All the way in Kansan at that. As far as what I experienced, (remember the blinding light, loud noise, and freaky wind?) that was them getting ¡®A little out of hand¡¯. As for the meteorite that hit me? Well, that was Jacobus. No, really. Jacobus, who is supposed to be my guardian angel, killed me after he was thrown by Methodius and landed on my hood. Seriously, how cursed am I? That is of course if I can believe this. Can this seriously be real? Please, please say I¡¯m in a coma somewhere and this is all just a really bad dream. Please?


    ¡°Still don¡¯t believe this is real do you kiddo?¡± Methodius asked with that Cheshire grin of his.


    ¡°Of course not. There is no way this can be real. I mean, it¡¯s still hard to believe guardian angels exist, let alone I was killed by mine while he was being irresponsible and goofing around. Not to mention my body right now. You still haven¡¯t explained why I¡¯m so small, along with other changes I¡¯m seriously trying to ignore right now.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s all real Alex. I¡¯m sorry to say, but I did land on your car. Not much of anything was left actually. That¡¯s one reason for your body you know. There just wasn¡¯t enough left to put you back together so we had to improvise.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. So what, I have the body of an eight or nine-year-old now? I don¡¯t know if I want to ask about the other elephant in the room right now, but would you also please explain why I¡¯M A FREAKING GIRL NOW?¡± Dang it, my eye is twitching again. Calm deep breaths, slow down, and breathe.


    ¡°Well¡­ There were some other complications. Other than that, you would be ten I believe?¡±


    ¡°Ten you believe¡­ That¡¯s sooo much better. Why was I even worried? I mean, I can just go back to work in a couple days like nothing happened right? What was I even worried about?¡±


    I¡¯m a sarcastic ass at times, I know. Right now I don¡¯t really care though. You understand, right?


    ¡°Along with that, what do you mean complications? Do you seriously think this is just a complication?¡±


    ¡°So, About being ten again. As I said, there wasn¡¯t enough left to give you your old body. Sorry, nothing can be done about that. About the ¡®complication¡¯, we really don¡¯t know what went wrong. This has never happened that we know of.¡±


    I sighed after hearing that. What else was I supposed to do? This just keeps getting better and better¡­


    ¡°Ok, I can kinda understand that¡­ kinda. Let¡¯s leave the other thing for later and ignore why you started using air quotes for complications. The biggest question I have right now is, why bring me back at all? I mean, I died right? So why would you not just let it end there?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Both Jacobus and Methodius wouldn¡¯t look at me. That can¡¯t be good, even Methodius¡¯ Cheshire grin was gone.


    Crap, I feel my headache coming back.

 2: This just keeps getting better and better...

    ¡°Well? Are you going to just ignore me now?¡± My headache is still getting worse so I decided to go into the kitchen behind the couch and get some water to wash the painkillers down. After I finished the glass of water Jacobus decided to give me an answer.


    From what he said I understood that if their ¡®higher-ups¡¯ found out about my death, they would be in some major trouble. Thunder and lightning, destruction of continents kind of trouble. I really don¡¯t know what that has to do with me, but they didn¡¯t seem very keen on going through that. By what they meant by ¡®higher ups¡¯, I had no idea. I know there is a hierarchy for angels, but I didn¡¯t know the details and they weren¡¯t saying anything about that.


    In other words, They were just covering up their mess and I was dragged into it with no say or knowledge. They also inferred that for some reason, I would be in trouble as well. I don¡¯t know why the victim of something so spectacularly idiotic as them screwing around and killing me would get me in trouble, but they kinda spoke around that point so I have to guess about it. So much fun I feel like hitting my head against a brick wall.


    ¡°So, you ¡®fixed¡¯ my body and made me like this because you didn¡¯t want to get in trouble? Are you two five or something? Trying to keep your mom from finding out you broke something?¡± I really wish my eye would stop twitching. It¡¯s getting even more annoying than my ¡®ancestor¡¯.


    As I filled my glass once again and started to drink, Jacobus started talking again. He said that ¡®no¡¯ they weren¡¯t five, and they were definitely trying to keep people from learning about their ¡®minor mishap¡¯. Like that would make me feel any better calling it a ¡®minor mishap¡¯. What¡¯s minor about any of this?


    As his explanation continued, there were a few moments I really wished I kept alcohol around. A stiff drink would really come in handy about now. I decided to make coffee instead.


    The biggest problem that I could understand was that it wasn¡¯t my time to die, and the ones responsible for keeping track of that would definitely know and report it. How? Again I have no clue. That¡¯s the reason they ¡®remade¡¯ my body so my soul wouldn¡¯t move on. As for why I¡¯m a girl now? Neither of them had a clue. They tried multiple times to ¡®remake¡¯ me so I would grow up the same as before, albeit with a few changes so I wouldn¡¯t look exactly the same and throw some ¡®red flags¡¯ down the road. Whatever that means.


    ¡°So, let me get this straight. When you ¡®remade¡¯ my body, trying everything you could to keep me mostly the same, I just kept coming out like this?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. We tried everything we have ever heard or seen when bringing you back. We don¡¯t know what went wrong.¡± Jacobus answered quietly.


    ¡°Wait, are you telling me you didn¡¯t know what you were doing?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that. We have seen something like this before. Trust me, it¡¯s not that hard to do.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen this done before¡­ Am I to assume that you have never done this then?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Do you really think that a couple of guardian angels are trusted with this sort of thing?¡± Methodius quipped with that stupid grin again.


    ¡°¡­¡± Dang it, my eye really hurts now.


    ¡°Shut it! You stupid neanderthal. Why would you tell him something like that? Dang it I knew I shouldn¡¯t have brought you with me for this.¡± Jacobus was looking a little green at this point. I can¡¯t say much about that though, pretty sure I almost passed out at that point.


    Not only did these incompetent meatheads kill me, they tried to put me back together and failed. Well, kinda I guess? I¡¯m alive¡­ That¡¯s a good thing. At least I have that.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you get some help from someone who knew what they were doing? Are you responsible at all? For that matter, how the heck did you become a guardian?¡±


    ¡°Nope, not a chance we could ask one of those uppity snobs to help. They always think they are so much better than everyone else who ¡®can¡¯t do what they can do¡¯. They keep going on and on about how long it takes to get proficient with the techniques and power. So annoying. Neither of us can stand them.¡± Methodius waved his hand in front of his face again with a slight grimace.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t look at us like that Alex. There was no way or time to get help. I promise you it¡¯s not so bad. You will grow up just like any normal kid. Everything works as it should, and just think of it this way, you get a fresh start at a new life. You can do anything you want, and become someone different. Maybe even get out of the slump you¡¯re in. You could even start a family in a few years. Sounds like a good deal to me.¡± Jacobus was really trying hard to sell this. Trying to change the subject of them being incompetent idiots that screwed things up and couldn¡¯t even bother to try to get help to fix it.


    ¡°Start a family in a ¡®few¡¯ years. As much as that actually sounds nice, I¡¯m only ten now, and I would have preferred to be able to become a FATHER. There is no way I¡¯m having kids. Not happening. I¡¯m not even going to think about that kind of thing with another guy.¡±


    ¡°Tell you what kiddo, to make things easier to adjust, we¡¯ll throw in a few things to help,¡± Methodius said grinning.


    ¡°Like what, make me a guy again?¡±


    ¡°No can do, sorry. But we can make it easier for you to become comfortable with the ¡®new¡¯ you along with helping out making it easier on you until you become of age.¡±


    ¡°What would that entail Methodius? Can you age me so I can get a job? Pay my bills while I work somewhere I don¡¯t need experience and therefore get a lower salary that can¡¯t pay me enough? What about my parents, brother, sister and nephews, and niece? How am I going to explain this to them?¡± Yep, it¡¯s finally sinking in that this is reality. I still don¡¯t want to admit it, but I can feel my body, smell the coffee that just got done brewing, touch the counter and I could taste the water. Yes, taste water. All my senses seemed hyper right now.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see. How about we help you out with as much as we can? We can set you up with a new identity, along with helping with the bills, in a way. It¡¯ll be kinda like cheating though, so no one can find out about it.¡± Jacobus interjected with a thoughtful frown.


    ¡°Cheating how? I really don¡¯t want to get into trouble. I have enough of that on my plate as it is, no thanks to you two.¡±


    ¡°Easy kiddo. Remember who you¡¯re talking to.¡± Methodius actually growled a little. I¡¯m so scared, what¡¯s he going to do, kill me? Again?


    The look I gave him actually made him flinch a little. That¡¯s interesting.


    ¡°Calm down, the both of you. I get that you¡¯re worried about what to do, so here is what I¡¯m thinking we could get away with.¡±


    After saying this, Jacobus went on to explain his thoughts. They would be able to get me a new identity, start a bank account in my name along with a college fund and somehow make it so my parents ¡®won¡¯ the state lotto. Who were my parents? So far, that was a good question. They couldn¡¯t make it so my actual parents had me, or even adopted me. It sounded like it had something to do with me being too close to them. As far as me being ¡®dead¡¯ and my new body being only ten, they could make a construct that would mimic my old self. It would only last about eight years, just enough to get me to eighteen, and then had to have some kind of accident and die again. My brain must still be fuzzy because if they could do something like that why couldn¡¯t they just make me a new body? Apparently, they couldn¡¯t because the construct wouldn¡¯t be alive. It would be able to do pretty much everything I did like drive, work, and converse with other people. It would also have the same personality, skills, and knowledge I had before the accident. They assured me that nobody would notice the difference.


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    ¡°So what about parents? Can you just make it like I was my own father?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, no. It¡¯s complicated. With how your family is, they would reject the false memories. It wouldn¡¯t hurt them per se, but they would always feel like something was off and have trouble with it.¡± Jacobus commented.


    ¡°Great, so what do we do? Make up fake parents or something?¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t work either. They won¡¯t have a background and we can¡¯t make something up and have it be excepted. These kinds of things are too nuanced for that.¡±


    ¡°What we need is someone that you knew around ten years ago, preferably who was married that didn¡¯t have a kid. Someone we can just tweak things a little and make a plausible story out of.¡± This from Methodius.


    ¡°Ya, like I can just pull something like that out of thin air. You realize I was usually at home or out in the mountains when I wasn¡¯t working right? I hate being around crowds and people in general.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be someone you knew well, even a passing acquaintance would be good enough. Just someone we could tie memories to.¡± Jacobus elaborated a little more.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really understand what all that has to do with making a background.¡±


    ¡°Trust us, it¡¯s complicated and convoluted. Just know that it¡¯s needed.¡±


    I thought about it for a while. I couldn¡¯t think of much really. Like I had told them, I hated being around people and rarely made friends. I got along with my coworkers well enough, but didn¡¯t ever really try to ¡®fit in¡¯. There have been a few times when I started to hang out with people I worked wi¡­


    ¡°Hey, I might have something. I worked with a kid about eleven years ago. Good kid and a hard worker. He was my rigger while I was moving rigs in Texas. He was actually about to get married just a little while ago to. I met his fiance a few times as well. They seemed like a good couple. The thing was, Both had lost their parents. Both families had known each other for a long time and they grew up together. Their parents were driving somewhere and were hit by a drunk driver during a high-speed chase or something like that. I think that was about five years ago. It crushed both of them, but they pulled through it. Anyway, the really bad part was they were killed in another car crash just before they got married. I was actually invited to the wedding. I think it was supposed to be about five months ago? Like I said, bad things all around.¡±


    ¡°How old were they when this happened?¡± Jacobus started to get a little gleam in his eyes.


    ¡°If I remember right, Zeke was around thirty and Valeria was about twenty-eight? I could be off a couple of years. I do know that they had been together since Zeke was in high school.¡±


    ¡°That might work. Ok, let¡¯s see. How would we connect everything? We need to come up with a good excuse for you to be here with the construct. They¡¯re not here anymore so we don¡¯t need to worry about that side of things. Did they have any other relatives?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe they did. They were both only children, their grandparents were already dead before I met Zeke, though I don¡¯t know when or how and they never spoke about aunts or uncles, let alone cousins.¡±


    ¡°This is too good to be true. It¡¯s kinda scary how well everything fits so well for us.¡± Methodius lost his grin. ¡°I¡¯m getting a weird vibe about that.¡±


    ¡°I agree. This seems too perfect.¡± Jacobus frowned at his own words.


    ¡°Could this be¡­¡±


    ¡°It could, but what choice do we have? Unless you can think of anyone else Alex?¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t. What do you mean by ¡®could this be¡¯? Should I be worried?¡±


    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s fine. Trust us. Everything lines up as we need it. Now about how to connect everything?¡± Jacobus¡¯ words didn¡¯t give me any comfort. I took a sip of my coffee to help me think.


    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know if this will help, but I do remember Zeke talking about Valeria wanting to have godparents for their children. At least I think I remember him talking about it? He seemed kinda annoyed about it, really. He would always complain about how traditional Valeria¡¯s family was. Sounded like they were old school brimstone and fire traditional.¡±


    ¡°This is getting weird Jacobus. It¡¯s too perfect don¡¯t you think?¡± Methodius was sweating a little at this point. Do I need to be worried? I think I need to be worried.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I promise Methodius.¡± Jacobus started to rub his hands together, looking like a kid about to raid a cookie jar, and everyone knows about how well that usually goes. I really think I need to be worried.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Alex. This will work out fine. We just need to make it look like they were your parents, get the birth certificate together and viola, there is your background. No one will be able to dispute it.¡±


    ¡°What about their friends? People who knew them? Won¡¯t they know something is up like my parents?¡±


    ¡°Friends are a little different than blood relatives. No matter how well they knew the person, there is something about a blood tie that negates tweaking things. That¡¯s the biggest reason it won¡¯t work with your family. We¡¯ll be able to get everything to line up. I tell you what. Just to make things a little better, let¡¯s make it so they were married when you were ¡®born¡¯, how¡¯s that sound? Maybe they eloped?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. It would also make things dealing with godparents more believable. Good thinking Jacobus.¡± Methodius said.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t know if I like it. Those two were good people. I don¡¯t want others to think bad about them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we will make it so they eloped. You can also think of it as carrying on their memory. That way they¡¯re not forgotten.¡± Jacobus had a good point for once. My family had my older sister and younger brother along with their kids, while they had nothing. It would still hurt my family when my construct ¡®died¡¯ in a few years, but my memory and family would still move forward. I liked Zeke and Valeria. I was kinda envious of them in a way. They seemed to fit each other and just seemed right.


    ¡°So, do you remember their last name? Oh, and what name should we use for you?¡± Jacobus brought me out of my musing.


    ¡°Hmm, what was it again? Give me a minute and I will look through my phone. I think I had Zeke¡¯s last name on his contact.¡±


    As I searched through my contact list the last part of Jacobus¡¯ question hit me. My eye started to twitch again thinking about having to change my name. Why? I was actually coming to grips with everything to an extent, but that just took me back to square one.


    ¡®There¡¯s not much I can do about it now.¡¯ Thinking this, I went back to searching for Zeke¡¯s contact.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. Zeke¡¯s last name was Drakoen. I think he used to joke about how one of his ancestors got the name because he was a ¡®dragon slayer¡¯ or something like that. I used to give him so much crap for that. Dang, I really miss those two. I wish I would have kept up with them after I quit and moved.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you were pretty good friends to me,¡± Methodius commented.


    ¡°Not really. It¡¯s just when you spend up to sixteen or more hours a day together at work for months on end, you tend to pick up bits and pieces. It doesn¡¯t hurt that Zeke was a chatterbox. You could hardly get a word in when he went off on one of his tangents, and you couldn¡¯t get him to shut up if he started talking about Valeria.¡±


    ¡°Alright Methodius, let¡¯s get started on this.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°What do I need to do? What else do we need to figure out?¡± I¡¯m still not over the fact that this is happening, but I guess there is no sense in crying or throwing a fit. It won¡¯t change anything. Better to use my energy for what I can do, not what I cant.


    ¡°Not much right now. We still need to figure a few things out, but I think we have most of it. If anything comes up while we¡¯re getting everything set up we can go over it then.¡± Jacobus assured me.


    ¡°That reminds me. I¡¯ll need a social security number as well. This might sound crass, but I wonder if they had any retirement or life insurance? As I said, I don¡¯t believe they had any other relatives and I see no reason for the government to get it. Maybe we could set it up as a college fund or something? Maybe combine that with the lotto and just give me some that are accessible as living expenses, Though saying that out loud actually sounds kinda bad.¡±


    ¡°Right, that. Hmm, That¡¯s something to look into. It may sound bad, but it¡¯s somewhat of a good idea. Better you use it than some bureaucrat gets their hands on it.¡±


    ¡°I believe Zeke would have actually gotten a kick out of it. He hated big government.¡±


    ¡°In that case, we will look into it.¡±


    ¡°Exactly how will you get all of this done again?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, we have our ways. It¡¯s easier for us than you would think.¡± Methodius just waved his hand again with another of those grins. I¡¯m starting to think he¡¯s a little too simple-minded to pull this off.


    Great, there goes my eye again.


    ¡°Alright. That¡¯s all I can think of. Is there anything else you need me to do?¡±


    ¡°Just relax and get used to the new you. Other than what your new name will be, there isn¡¯t anything. Do you have any thoughts?¡±


    That again. Great. I¡¯m horrible with names. Think. What sounds good and would be something Zeke or Valeria would like? Josephine? I could go with Joe as a shortened version. Nah, not me. It would be nice if I could keep Alexander somehow, but that would just be confusing.


    ¡°Hmm, how about Sasha Lillyanna? I always liked that name for a girl, and I think it¡¯s something that Valeria would like. It helps that it¡¯s an offshoot of Alexander and I think Zeke said Valeria¡¯s grandmother¡¯s name was Lillyanna. Don¡¯t ask me how I remember that, I just do.¡±


    ¡°Sasha it is. It sounds like a good name. How did you figure out it was an offshoot of Alexander? I like the addition of Lillyanna as well. ¡± Jacobus seemed to like it.


    ¡°Like I said, I always like that name so I looked it up once. It just kinda stuck with me.¡±


    ¡°Defender, it suits you and how you lived. Jacobus always said you would get into trouble by stepping in to help people.¡± Methodius seemed amused with something. I didn¡¯t really want to know so I didn¡¯t comment on it.


    ¡°With that figured out, let¡¯s get to work Methodius. Times a-wastin'' and we need to get this done before anyone figures out what¡¯s going on. We¡¯ll probably be back in a few hours.¡±


    With that, they were gone while I just stood there with a coffee cup in my hand and endless questions to go with my slowly receding headache. Dang it. What do I do now?

 3: Now What?

    I was left standing in my kitchen holding an empty coffee mug. I think my brain finally started grinding gears a little more because I started to take a better look at my situation.


    Somehow, the only thing I was wearing was the shirt I had on while driving home. On this petite body, you could almost call it a dress, and one side had slipped off my shoulder. Just how small was I now? First things always first. I had to go, bad. Yep, this was the ¡®first time¡¯ you always read about. Sorry to disappoint, but I really wasn¡¯t that nervous. It¡¯s not like I hadn¡¯t seen women in different states of undress. I wasn¡¯t a virgin before my ¡®accident¡¯ and I could control myself. The biggest reason though? I was TEN now. Get your heads out of the gutter people! Sorry, not sorry.


    Luckily the door to my room was mostly closed so I could keep from looking at myself in the full-length mirror that was at the end of my bed. I still needed a few more minutes to let my mind settle before I really took the time to examine myself.


    After relieving myself and washing my hands I decided it was time. I still had my doubts. Do I really want to see? I was somewhat handsome as a man, if not a little rugged looking. Do I really want to know what that would equate to as a girl?


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just get it over with. Not like things are going to change just because I¡¯m nervous.¡±


    I slowly opened the door to my bedroom and turned on the light. As I walked up to the mirror my eyes slowly widened. I looked nothing like my old self. Soft facial lines with high cheekbones, a small nose, and light pink lips. I had beautiful emerald green eyes to go along with my dark red hair. I think my hair was a lot thicker than it used to be as well. I always prided myself on my hair. I thought it was one of my most defining features and always took really good care of it. I still had trouble believing it was long enough to reach the back of my knees. I don¡¯t believe that would be possible for someone so young, even if they hadn¡¯t cut it since birth. Jacobus or Methodius must have done that. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I thought it looked good, just not plausible.


    I couldn¡¯t see much else except for my legs below mid-thigh because of my way too big and baggy shirt. Remember that I was six foot seven with a large muscular frame before all of this happened? That shirt was huge on me.


    It looked like I was somewhere around five foot now, plus or minus an inch or two, maybe around seventy-five pounds. From what I had seen earlier I had a slim waist with slender shoulders and arms. What I could see of my legs was actually somewhat defined for a ten-year-old, making it look like I had led a very active life so far. Even my arms had a little muscle to them, just in a slightly toned way.


    I backed up a little to give myself room and started doing a few stretches. Dang. It¡¯s going to take me a while to get used to my new perspective and lightweight body, not to mention my insanely diminished strength, but I don¡¯t think I have ever been this flexible. That¡¯s something I always wanted but couldn¡¯t get due to my muscles. I wasn¡¯t as stiff as a board and could almost do the splits, but even if I stretched daily and did yoga, I still couldn¡¯t get my flexibility where I wanted.


    I decided I needed a few more clothes on so I grabbed a pair of sweatpants I really should have gotten rid of a few years ago. They were a gift from someone but were too small. They would be way too big now, but the waist had a drawstring that I could draw tight and the ankles had elastic that would help keep them from getting caught under my feet.


    I still didn¡¯t have anything for underneath, but for now, I could at least walk around without feeling a breeze when I moved.


    I moved back to my living room and moved the rug I used for yoga to the center. Before the change, I barely had room to do this, but now? I don¡¯t know if I should be happy about this or depressed. Let¡¯s just not think. Empty the mind and just breathe.


    About an hour of yoga later my body was feeling pretty good. I started to feel a little more comfortable and in control. I still had a little dysphoria, not feeling like I was in complete control yet, but better. That¡¯s something.


    I had worked up a decent sweat already, but I wasn¡¯t done yet. I cautiously opened my door and peeked outside. Good. No one is around. I did live in the middle of nowhere, about forty-five minutes from Rapid City, but my house wasn¡¯t finished yet so I was hoping the construction crew wasn¡¯t here. I know it¡¯s Saturday, but some of the guys would come by and work every now and then on the weekend. I think it¡¯s because I usually had the grill fired up and always made too much if I wasn¡¯t at work.


    I moved outside and found a spot a little ways away from my fifth-wheel. One thing I didn¡¯t think about was my feet. They were soft now and the gravel around my driveway wasn¡¯t the easiest to walk through. At least the buffalo grass wasn¡¯t bad.


    As I was walking I noticed my car. It was sitting beside my pickup like nothing had ever happened to it. Scratch that, it looked even better than it did before. The paint was even changed to how I wanted. That was something I was planning to do once my shop/house was finished. If it was destroyed last night, why was it sitting in my drive, with a different paint job as well? Never mind. I¡¯m not going to think about that right now. I need to move, get used to this body, and clear my mind.


    I slowly started to work through the basic forms of Karate, then moved on to Aikido. Trying to keep my movements slow and fluid I noticed my muscle memory was off. Way off. I might know the forms by heart but my body just didn¡¯t. This is gonna be a pain. I¡¯m going to have to work my butt off to get back to any kind of standard. Right now I¡¯m barely a white belt even if I know the forms. Yes, I know everyone starts at white and that¡¯s my point.


    I worked for another hour until I started to get tired. Just another thing I was going to have to work on. Well, there was no help for it, it was just going to take time. Something I felt like I was going to have a lot of.


    Moving back inside I decided to Shower and clean up. after that, I would make some breakfast and go from there. Short-term goals lead to long-term success as long as you had a long-term goal. I just needed to figure out what that was. For the time being, I figured it would be best to just take it one step at a time until I had more information and could figure out a plan.


    Turning on the shower I realized I was kind of at a loss. I might have had long hair for a man, but nowhere near the length I now had. Getting a light bulb moment, I quickly turned off the shower and grabbed my phone. Gotta love view tube. I quickly watched a couple videos and got an idea of what I needed to do.


    Twenty minutes later I was drying off and wondering what to wear. I decided to grab an old shirt and a pair of shorts that I might be able to cinch down enough that they wouldn¡¯t constantly fall off. I¡¯m really going to have to figure out some clothes, and soon. How though? I could order some, but they wouldn¡¯t be here for a few days. I could deal with that, but what about food? I hadn¡¯t stocked up because I knew I was going to be out of town for a few days. Something to figure out later. Breakfast first.


    I dried my hair with a hair drier that one of my ex¡¯s had left behind. Why I kept it I couldn¡¯t tell you, I just did. After that, I moved into the kitchen and fixed some bacon and eggs along with some sourdough toast. I really wished I had some fruit as well. I had just finished cleaning the dishes when Jacobus and Methodius reappeared.


    ¡°That went well.¡± Jacobus seemed to be in a good mood. Unfortunately, that didn¡¯t make me feel any better. Kinda the opposite really, it gave me a bad feeling. Don¡¯t ask, just a gut feeling something was going to happen that I didn¡¯t like.


    ¡°Piece of cake. Even better than I thought it would.¡± Methodius¡¯ comment just deepened that feeling. Crap, and here I was actually calm and collected after working out.


    ¡°Alright, you said it went well. I take it that everything was set up? I have a social security number and all that? You didn¡¯t forget anything right?¡±


    ¡°Nope. We got it all and more. I have your birth certificate, bank account info, social security card, and some other stuff. You should be thankful, we even got a little extra for you. Come here for a minute and let me transfer the information to you.¡± Jacobus looked like a strutting peacock with how proud of himself he was.


    I just looked at him like he was stupid for a moment, but he just rolled his eyes and came over to me. As he placed his right palm on my left temple and I felt a warm energy spread into my brain. It was actually comfortable so why was I nervous about it?


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    After about ten minutes of this, he pulled his hand away and had a huge creepy grin on his face. He didn¡¯t even need to be prompted before he began speaking.


    The rundown was that they were able to set me up as Zeke and Valeria¡¯s daughter. Born on the same day as my actual birthday ten years ago. That meant that I had just turned ten a little over a month ago in August. They tweaked it so that my parents died a week ago in a house fire, not a car accident a few months ago. Why a house fire? He explained that they had to switch things up so it wouldn¡¯t cause problems and that would also explain why I didn¡¯t have clothes or toys and other stuff. Total loss of assets. Even the cars were destroyed while in the garage. They both had wills that transferred everything into my name. The house was a rental so I wouldn¡¯t get any money except renters insurance. The life insurance, auto insurance, and  were transferred into my name and a bank account was set up at a credit union in Rapid City. It was the same bank I had an account set up because they had great rates and worked with the local operating engineers union.


    Supposedly, Jacobus and Methodius even went a step further. Sasha¡¯s ¡®family¡¯ had lived in a small rural town and a lot of people had known them. Somehow they also knew of Alex¡¯s relationship with Zeke, Valeria, and Sasha. It was widely known that Alex, being a doting ¡®uncle¡¯ loved Sasha and visited whenever possible. She would always brag about him to friends and neighbors. I ended up turning into something like a ¡®Knight in shining armor¡¯ for the little girl. My eye started twitching again when I heard that. I understand the need for a back story, but really? That¡¯s just going overboard.


    They made it look like the Pastor from the local church was the person taking care of Sasha until the will could be processed and I was able to come and pick her up. That was apparently the reason I had left my parents earlier than was planned instead of the storm. Everything was already finished except for some of the adoption paperwork that needed to be processed yet. The family layer was taking care of that and I didn¡¯t need to get involved until someone from the state would come for a ¡®Visit¡¯ to make sure Alex was capable of supporting Sasha.


    My head was starting to swim trying to keep track of my old life and my new one. It actually got a little confusing at times. I was starting to process everything when Jacobus dropped a couple more bombs. For some reason, he knew about my dream to open up a restaurant. I know it¡¯s not a huge dream, but I had been wanting to slow down a little. I had been working outside and in all kinds of weather since high school. Owning a restaurant isn¡¯t easy, but at least it¡¯s not hard labor. I had quite a few ideas about how it would look, what it would be named, and many other things like live music. Something like a cross between those Metal Cafes and a sports bar.


    I guess that I now own two. Both are still under construction. One is in Rapid City and the other is in Kansas City. The one in Rapid I could understand, but Kansas City? He couldn¡¯t give me a straight answer when I asked so I figured I would leave it alone for now. Everything was set up how I wanted, the name was Alex¡¯s Garage, just like I had wanted. Sounds like a mechanic shop? It¡¯s supposed to. It was based around motorsports after all.


    All logistics and employees were already set. They found managers with good experience and as a bonus, a passion for motorsports as well. It sounded too good and made me even more worried. What was that they said about cheating and not getting caught?


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that Sasha. I told you we would help with everything we could and I figured this was a good chance to make one of your dreams come true, along with giving you a push to change your life a little. Everything is legitimate and properly set up. You don¡¯t have to worry about it. I promise. As a side benefit, it should make it so Alex can spend more time with you so it makes the stuff with the adoption go a little easier.¡± Jacobus laughed after I glared at him.


    ¡°Sasha? You¡¯re calling me Sasha now?¡±


    ¡°Well, you need to get used to it, don¡¯t you? It¡¯s better to start thinking of yourself that way.¡±


    ¡°True, I don¡¯t really have a choice do I?¡±


    ¡°There you go. Now you¡¯re starting to move forward again.¡± I didn¡¯t really want to hear that from Methodius, but he had a point.


    ¡°By the way, what was it that you did before you explained everything?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that. That was just a little something to help you with coping. We were lucky and found Zeke and Valeria before they moved on. It can sometimes take a while. Don¡¯t worry, we didn¡¯t tell them anything and they are perfectly fine and safe. Just waiting on what we call processing. Not like they could really understand yet anyway. While waiting they are kind of in something like stasis. I also got the impression that Valeria would have loved your name.¡±


    ¡°You were right though.¡± Jacobus continued. ¡°They seemed like a perfect match for each other. We were able to get some memories and information on what they wanted if they ever had children. Mostly stuff like how they wanted to raise them. What I did was to roughly put together the last ten years as if you were raised by them so you would know that information and to help you get accustomed to your new self, that¡¯s all.¡±


    My face paled at those words. Seeing that, Jacobus¡¯ smile finally disappeared.


    ¡°What, what¡¯s wrong now Sasha? That should be a good thing.¡± Methodius asked after looking between the two of us.


    This wasn¡¯t good. I know I said Zeke and Valeria were good people, but Valeria was very, and I mean very traditional. I didn¡¯t know exactly what that meant, but I know I heard a little from Zeke about some of her views on how girls and women should act. I¡¯m not one to judge, I¡¯m traditional to an extent as well and I don¡¯t hold value in shaming how other people should act or their values unless they try to force them on me, but it seemed Valeria, her mother and grandmother had certain views on that kind of stuff. I¡¯m kinda scared to think about if that would affect me or not¡­


    Crap. Now that I think about it, I could feel the ¡®memories¡¯ seeping into my conscious.


    ¡°Jacobus, you just screwed me, not just a little either.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? You need that info to help with moving on.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. Valeria¡¯s views on raising a girl are¡­ How to put this, strict. What you just did to me made me go through ten years of her raising me to be what she felt was the ¡°Proper¡± young lady. It¡¯s almost scary how well it¡¯s integrating. I feel like I¡¯m still me, but now I feel like I¡¯m more and less me at the same time.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Methodius looked confused.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see if I can explain this.¡±


    Valeria would have definitely been an awesome mother. She was sweet and caring, but very strict as well. From her perspective, women should hold themselves in high regard, which is all well and good as a concept and I agreed with that, except for the little things. Well¡­ I don¡¯t know if you could call them ¡®little¡¯., except for the little things. What I just went through was years of ¡®etiquette¡¯ training. That included the proper way a young lady should dress, act and speak. As I said, her side of the family was hard-core traditional and it all came from the women, not the husbands.


    According to them, things like pants and slacks were not appropriate for women unless they were around the house and no company was over, or a few other things like exercise and so on. You should always be ¡®put together¡¯ as Valeria¡¯s mother would tell her. That basically meant your hair was always done and not left down except around your own family and was never cut under a certain length. You were always dressed accordingly and that sort of thing. Proper ¡®dress¡¯ included skirts or dresses, hose or leggings if you were going out as it wasn¡¯t ¡®proper¡¯ without wearing them while in public, and heels. flats or running shoes could be worn at the right times. That was just the start of it. The worst part was I could feel the memories taking root and it made me feel like I was doing something wrong being dressed how I was with ¡°Company¡± at the house. At least I did learn a little about what I needed to be a girl, along with a few tidbits about caring for my skin, hair, and some other things. Just not enough to make it worth it.


    ¡°Thanks, Jacobus. You really helped me out with that one¡­ How am I going to get over this? It feels like that¡¯s normal and how I should be. It¡¯s not normal for me and it¡¯s gonna mess with me. How am I supposed to ¡®cope¡¯ and ¡®move on¡¯ now? This just made things even harder.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, let me see.¡± Jacobus placed his hand against my temple and I felt the warmth again. After about five minutes it stopped and he pulled his hand away.


    ¡°So, were you able to help?¡± Methodius asked.


    ¡°I think so. Those urges should be lessened now.¡±


    ¡°Sorry to disappoint, but I think you made them worse. Now I¡¯m almost panicking because of what I¡¯m wearing even though I don¡¯t have a choice and you could kinda be considered ¡®family¡¯.¡± Great, that¡¯s all I needed. I worked through a couple of breathing exercises to help calm my mind and some of the nervous energy slowly drifted away. It wasn¡¯t gone, but manageable.


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s weird. Do you want me to try again?¡±


    ¡°NOPE! I don¡¯t want to take the risk of you making it even worse again. I guess I just have to figure this out on my own and hopefully I can work through this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how it should be kiddo. You gotta man up if you want to get anywhere.¡± Methodius just had to open his mouth.


    ¡°Well, considering I¡¯m no longer a Man now thanks to somebody, I still understand what you¡¯re saying. All I can do now is move forward.¡± I thought my eye would start twitching again, but for some reason, it didn¡¯t. Meh, I can thank about that later as well.


    ¡°. That¡¯s true!¡± Methodius laughed. I swear, he was so simple my retort just went right over his head, or he didn¡¯t care. Whatever.


    ¡°So, what about the ¡®construct¡¯ you were talking about? what do we need to do for that?¡±


    ¡°No worries, we already have it built and it¡¯s just waiting for you to summon it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®summon¡¯ it?¡±


    ¡°Just say ¡°Al, come¡± and it will appear. when you don¡¯t need it, just say ¡°Al, free¡± and it will disappear. It saves energy and space that way.¡±


    ¡°What, so I¡¯m a dog now? You couldn¡¯t have come up with anything better?¡±


    ¡°Easier is better and it¡¯s not you anymore, Remember?¡±


    ¡°Still feels weird,¡± I grumbled.


    ¡°Better try it out so we know if it works right.¡±


    I ¡®summoned¡¯ ¡°Al¡± and he popped up in the middle of my living room. At least he wasn¡¯t naked, that was a plus. Looking at what used to be me from the view of a ten-year-old gave me goosebumps. I really was kind of scary. I never realized my expression looked like that. I always thought I had somewhat of a gentle expression most of the time, but looking at what I knew was the expression I usually wore, NOPE, I was definitely scary. Couple that with my height and build and I really did look imposing. No wonder people stayed away from me.


    This was kinda heartbreaking to figure out.

 4: Small steps add up to long distance.

    ¡°So what¡¯s the next step? Is there anything else that needs covering as well?¡± I asked Jacobus.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe there is much left to set up. We have your adoption going through, all of the accounts we could think of are set up, we have the back story in place and the construct is good to go. I think that about covers it.¡± Jacobus was starting to strut a little again.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case I do have a few things I would like to know.¡±


    ¡°Anything we can tell you we will, fire away.¡± Methodius seemed to always have that stupid grin on his face and it was really annoying.


    I just rolled my eyes¡­ Wait, did I really just do that? I don¡¯t remember ever doing that before. I¡¯m not sure what to think about it either. Maybe those memories are changing me? I hope it¡¯s nothing major. Please say it won¡¯t affect me that much. I¡¯m begging here.


    ¡°Ok, so first off, What exactly can the construct do? What are the limitations and what did you mean about ¡®energy¡¯? I also noticed my car outside, in better condition than the last time I drove it. I feel like I¡¯m forgetting some other stuff but can you start with that at least?¡±


    ¡°Right. That would be good to go over¡± As Jacobus started to explain, I was surprised to find out he could be somewhat competent. Go figure.


    The construct ¡®Alex¡¯ was pretty much an exact copy of me up until today. He had all my memories and experiences except for what happened last night. Apparently, he also had the memories of ¡°picking me up¡± and going through the paperwork along with them being tweaked to align with our back story. That was kind of freaky if I¡¯m being honest, but Jacobus said that was necessary. That way he would act like I would if I had actually been placed in this kind of situation. (Thinking about it, this is that kind of situation¡­ Na, Nope. Not going to think about that right now.) Alex would continue to age just like I would have. He would also experience what was going on and change based on those experiences just like any other person.


    ¡°So, if I¡¯m understanding this right and we needed something like groceries, I could ask Alex to get get some and he would buy whatever I would have?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. You can¡¯t just order him around though, He¡¯s not a robot. Best to think of him as another person. He¡¯s going to act the part of being your guardian, even to the point that he will be unsure about things that you wouldn¡¯t have known. He will also ask questions of friends and family to learn what he needs to do to take care of you. It won¡¯t always be like that though. For instance, right now being home alone he will pretty much leave you to your own devices unless you need something or someone shows up. It¡¯s hard to explain, but you¡¯ll figure it out as you go. It will be a learning curve for both of you¡±.


    ¡°About the energy. He will need to rest just like any person. When you send him back, he will be in stasis for the most part and it will act like sleep. He can sleep like normal so I wouldn¡¯t recommend sending him away and for the most part, you shouldn¡¯t unless it¡¯s really needed I wouldn¡¯t recommend doing that during the day, but at night it should be fine. When you or he is home, whether together or alone, he will act like you used to. Working on projects, your new house, or whatever. As a little side bonus, He doesn¡¯t need to eat, drink, or anything else. He is able to, so if you go out to eat or he is at work people won¡¯t get suspicious. He doesn¡¯t need to bathe either, but will keep up appearances and can still swim.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting. I¡¯m impressed. I didn¡¯t think you had it in you to actually pull something like that off.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. She¡¯s got you there Jacobus!¡± Methodius¡¯ booming laughter made my eyes cross again. Dang, that volume hurts. Is it that or something else though? I do remember thinking my senses were way better than usual earlier.


    ¡°Yes. All of your senses are better than they used to be. I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re superhuman or anything, but your eyesight is way above average and won¡¯t go bad again either. I know you had eye surgery a few years ago. Your hearing is better as well. I wouldn¡¯t abuse it like you used to, but it should stay pretty good. Think of it like everything is new again, or something like that.¡± Jacobus seemed to read my mind again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I can¡¯t read your mind or anything. You¡¯re just easy to read right now. You covered your ears and then got a contemplating look on your face. Oh, that reminds me. Since your age regressed your mental state will probably regress as well. NO, hold on. Nothing drastic I assure you. The most you will probably notice is little things like more honest and open facial expressions, maybe some heightened emotions. It shouldn¡¯t affect your daily life that much, at least until hormones kick in.¡±


    ¡°Hormones. I forgot about those.¡±


    I¡¯m not looking forward to that. I don¡¯t really remember going through that my last time around, but I do know it sucked. This time is going to probably be worse. I can just feel it in my gut.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to learn about that and it¡¯s not going to be fun to try and find information. I know a few things but never paid that much attention. I didn¡¯t need to.¡±


    ¡°Well, good luck with that. What was the last question?¡± Jacobus asked me.


    ¡°It¡¯s about what happened to my car. I thought you said it was completely destroyed.¡±


    ¡°Yep, it was. We couldn¡¯t leave it just scattered around though, and it just disappearing wouldn¡¯t work either so we rebuilt it. We improved it a little and gave it the paint job you wanted as well.¡± Methodius puffed out his chest when he said that. I couldn¡¯t even say anything. I never thought that people actually did that.


    ¡°Well, thank you for that. I spent a lot of time building that car.¡±


    ¡°Yep, no problem¡­ Ah, I just remembered, About your family. We were able to tweak their memories and get them to hold. They know the backstory and believe it as well. Your parents are a bit worried about Alex being able to take care of a young girl, so expect many phone calls, or well, Alex should expect them. They also know about the restaurants and know you had been dreaming about doing that for a while. Also, on the topic of the restaurants, all the startup and construction costs are paid and Alex has plenty of money ¡®saved¡¯ up. Just another little gift to help things along. Alex also contacted his boss Kennith after he was notified about Zeke, Valeria, and you, so you don¡¯t have to worry about that. He had already put in his two weeks because of the restaurants being almost finished and Kennith just told him to just stop by sometime to finish up the paperwork. Apparently, all the guys are gonna miss him.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Didn¡¯t think that would happen. I never really hung out with them after work or anything.¡±


    ¡°Well, you did help anyone who needed it, were willing to train anyone who asked, and were just a nice guy to work around from the sounds of it. That would be plenty to make people like you.¡±


    ¡°I guess I never thought of it like that. I was just doing my job.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes that¡¯s all it takes kiddo. You might remember that it doesn¡¯t take much for people to like you going forward. Maybe put yourself out there a little more now that you have another chance.¡± You know, sometimes Methodius made sense. Didn¡¯t see that one coming either.


    ¡°On that note Sasha, I think it¡¯s about time for us to leave. If something comes up or you need help just call me. I should be hanging around for a while.¡± With that Jacobus and Methodius once again disappeared.


    What to do now. I needed to plan and I needed information. If the state was going to do a house call, that meant I was going to need to go to school¡­ Again. I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m up to par with at least what, fifth grade I think? I will have to look it up. While I¡¯m at that I better start looking for schools as well. From my ¡®memories,¡¯ I¡¯m going to have to look into private schools. This is such a pain. Because of those, I can¡¯t imagine going to a public school. Valeria and Zeke both agreed on that so I bet Alex would honor their wishes. Clothes and other accessories came next. I knew some private schools had uniforms, or at least a strict dress code so maybe I should start there.


    Before that, I remembered that we were running low on food so I asked Alex if he could run to town and get some. He seemed a bit nervous leaving me home alone, (That was kinda interesting, not gonna lie) but I was able to convince him that I would be fine and needed to do some online shopping. He grudgingly agreed and a few minutes later I heard my old diesel fire up. While it was warming up Alex grabbed his wallet and changed his shirt and shoes to go into town. That was interesting as well. I was kind of like Valeria that way I guess. I had always made sure I dressed for what I was going to do. Go to work? Dress for work. Going to the store? Dress casually but wear good clothes and be groomed. Maybe some of this won¡¯t be as hard as I¡¯m worried it will be¡­ Maybe.


    Waking my computer up, I rifled through the documents that Jacobus had left on the counter. I looked over my birth certificate and social security cards to make sure everything was right. It was a little different looking at those. I guess that¡¯s what really started to make everything hit home. Enough of that. Process later, work, and plan now.


    As I set those documents down, I noticed a debit card and cell phone mixed in with everything else. Jacobus surprised me again. I hadn¡¯t thought about that but he came in clutch. Is he smarter than I thought? Nah, can¡¯t be.


    The card was in my name and the phone already had my bank¡¯s app set up. The pin code and login information were on a separate piece of paper so I decided to log in and check things out. Impressed couldn¡¯t express what I was feeling when I found out my assets. Let¡¯s just say I started sweating a little and didn¡¯t have to worry about college if I decided I wanted to go.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Ok. First, schools. Focus. I did a quick search for private schools in the area and came up with eleven. Four were High Schools, one was a mix of Middle and High School and four were Middle Schools. The other two were Elementary Schools. Unfortunately, one of the middle schools wasn¡¯t accepting applications, but that was fine. It was on the other side of Rapid City from where we were and didn¡¯t have the highest rating so I could shelve that one. The highest rated was the closest to us as luck would have it. It wasn¡¯t a Christian school, but I knew Valeria wouldn¡¯t mind that. She would prefer it, but it wasn¡¯t a must where education was concerned. I¡¯ve always liked pragmatism and it was refreshing to see it from my ¡®mom¡¯.


    I quickly sent a text to Alex telling him what school I chose, and he replied with an affirmative and asked if I needed any help. It didn¡¯t look too hard so I told him I should be good, he just said to call if I needed anything. With that out of the way, I had all the required documents in front of me so I went ahead and started the application process. Late transfers had to explain the reasons behind the transfer and go through not only the primary interview process but a home visit as well. That¡¯s harsh. The earliest they could set everything up was a week from Monday so that gave us some time to get everything in order. The next section threw me for a loop again. They needed my measurements for the uniforms. It looked like for the boys it was purple slacks with a black dress shirt and a navy tie for fifth grade. The girls had a knee-length purple pleated skirt with a black blouse and a Navy ribbon tie. The girls were also required to wear black hose as well and had to have their hair in a ponytail at minimum. Boys and girls had dress shoes. The shoes were provided and wouldn¡¯t you know, ¡®mom¡¯ would be ecstatic. The girl¡¯s shoes had a two-inch heel. At least they were pumps and had a thick heel. They didn¡¯t look like they were too hard to walk in. It was still a pain though. Those were interesting color choices for sure, but it looked like only the tie color changed for grades. I wonder if they copied Japan?


    Looking at the measurement page, at least they gave an explanation for what was needed. I guess I¡¯m just going to have to wait for Alex to get home and help me. We don¡¯t have a soft tape measure in the RV, but I do have a three-hundred-foot tape in my pickup. That should work. The measurements weren¡¯t needed to continue with the application so I finished everything else they wanted. Interesting, I had to take a test for my application to be accepted. I was wondering how they made sure that I was the one taking the test, but when I clicked on it another screen popped up and connected to a video chat. A little while later a woman that looked to be in her mid-twenties accepted the chat.


    ¡°Good morning, Plumb Valley Prep. I¡¯m Alissa White. How can I help you?¡±


    ¡°Umm. My name is Sasha. I¡¯m trying to complete the enrollment forms.¡± Speaking in a softer voice than normal, I startled myself. Where did this come from? I know I¡¯m introverted, but I was never shy. Just what I need, more to figure out.


    ¡°Hello Sasha, I see that Mr. Athervon called just a little while ago and explained everything. Is there anything that you need to be explained to you?¡±


    Go, Alex. That was good thinking on my part¡­ err, Alex¡¯s part. Figures we would think of something like that.


    ¡°No Ms. White, I¡¯m at the part where I have to take the test. I still need to get my measurements (I actually blushed a little saying this, something has to be wrong) but I don¡¯t know them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem and you can call me Alissa. Let¡¯s get you started on the test. It shouldn¡¯t take too long, just fifteen questions. Honestly, I don¡¯t even know why we have to go through this, but I will get it started for you. Give me one sec and it should come up. Sorry, but I have to stay on the line while you take it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I will try my best.¡±


    Alissa just gave me a smile at that. After the test came up, I took a look at it and was disappointed. I don¡¯t know what I was expecting, but I know it wasn¡¯t something this easy. I was able to do the handful of math problems without even thinking, the English language questions made me pull at my memory, but nothing major and I unconsciously giggled (yes, giggled. I¡¯m getting worried now. I really hope this is just the stress getting to me and not something else) when I read the science questions. That was it. Five questions on three subjects. I agreed with Alissa. I really hope that this isn¡¯t a glimpse of what the standards are for the highest-rated private school in the area.


    ¡°Sorry Ms. White. That was impolite of me.¡± I¡¯m blushing again while I apologized. The scariest part was that I felt compelled to apologize. I need to do something to clear my head and fast.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Sasha, I completely understand. I¡¯m not sure why those questions are on that test as well. I see you managed to get them all correct, and quickly at that. Well done. With that, all we need is the size for your uniforms, but I can go ahead and submit everything. Mr. Athervon should receive the results tomorrow morning at the latest.¡±


    ¡°thank you Ms. White, I hope you have a pleasant day.¡±


    Alissa just gave me a soft smile and a little wave before shutting down the chat window. After it was closed I covered my face with my hands. This is going to be a problem. I really hope it¡¯s just the stress, but I¡¯m beginning to wonder if it¡¯s not a combination of the age regression Jacobus was talking about and those stupid memories he gave me. I think I need to redact what I said earlier. There is no way Jacobus could come in clutch and not screw something up.


    After sitting there for a few minutes to calm down, I realized that the colors for the uniforms probably came from the name. I didn¡¯t really pay attention to it, even when I sent the info to Alex. Not that it really mattered, I just thought it was interesting. I know what you¡¯re thinking and I understand it. I just collect little tidbits like that for some reason.


    That finished, I needed something to do. I still didn¡¯t know my size so I really couldn¡¯t shop for clothes. I guess I could clean up the garage section of the fifth-wheel. That¡¯s probably where either I or Alex will be sleeping. There was a secondary bathroom back there that took up some room, but I got a steal when I bought it so I didn¡¯t mind too much. That would come in handy now. I hope the state and school employees didn¡¯t make too much of a fuss about the living arrangements for now. The house was almost finished and the Contractor said about a week and they should be done. After that, I was going to hire a professional cleaning service to go through and do a deep clean just in case. That would probably take a couple of days. Moving in all the furniture should take a few days, but we could still move in right away. As long as we had the beds set up we would be good. That¡¯s another thing, we¡¯re going to need to get another bed. I know it¡¯s just for looks, but I would rather be safe than sorry.


    As I quickly organized and got the fold-down bed in order I heard my pickup coming up the drive. Moving to the door I spotted Alex getting out and starting to grab groceries to bring inside. As usual, he started putting bags on the floor by the door and I started to put things away. Old habits die hard. I¡¯ve done that same thing for years while living in an RV, but it¡¯s interesting to see it from a different perspective. This is going to take some getting used to.


    ¡°Hey Alex, can you grab your three-hundred-foot tape before you come in?¡±


    ¡°Ya, no problem. What do you need that long of a tape for? I have a twenty-five foot one as well.¡±


    ¡°No, I need a soft tape for my clothes. I will probably need your help as well. Sorry to make you do this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all good little one, anything you need. Is it for the school uniforms? I got a call from them just before I pulled into the drive and they want to set up an Interview Friday.¡±


    ¡°Ya, though their website said they couldn¡¯t do anything until Monday?¡± Little one? I mean, I can¡¯t say much because that¡¯s something I would say, though now I¡¯m wishing it wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°That¡¯s what Alissa said. Apparently, they wanted to move it up to try to get you settled in as quickly as possible. She also said they were going to combine the regular interview with the home visit. I explained our circumstances to her as well. She didn¡¯t see a problem with them because of the division between the garage and the kitchen. At least we have that going for us, right?¡±


    ¡°Alissa? Oh, you mean Ms. White?¡± Wait¡­ no, just hold on a minute. Did I really have to think about Alissa¡¯s name for a minute? That¡¯s definitely Valeria¡¯s influence.


    ¡°Haha, I know that¡¯s how you were raised Sasha, but you can relax more around me, remember?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try, it¡¯s hard though¡± Yep, definitely Valeria¡¯s influence. I have to figure out how to get this out of my system pronto.


    After putting away the groceries, Alex cautiously helped me get all the measurements. I say cautiously because he acted like I would break. I know I have a petite body now, but I¡¯m not that fragile you know. I¡¯m not¡­ Right? Anyway, after about fifteen minutes of him fumbling around trying to read the page that explained where to measure and actually getting them, we finished. I sent a quick email to Alissa and that was that adventure done and dusted. Ok, it wasn¡¯t an adventure, and Alex didn¡¯t help with his bumbling about, but it was done. Was I seriously like that? I must be if what Jacobus said was true. I¡¯m really glad that my coworkers didn¡¯t see me like that, though if some women saw it, I had a feeling they might think it was cute.


    This brought up another problem we had to figure out. Now that the home visit was going to be Friday, that might not give us enough time to order clothes online. Wait, that might not be true. I jumped on the computer again and searched for stores that had curbside pickup in the area and there were a few. Browsing around, I notice the only stores that had what I needed and could comfortably order (Thanks Jacobus) were a little more expensive. That¡¯s fine I guess. Hopefully, along with the higher prices, the clothes were better quality.


    I managed to find four skirts that I could live with, a couple of light dresses, and five or six blouses and shirts that I could mix and match. How did I know I could mix and match and they would look good? Please don¡¯t ask me that, I¡¯m still a little traumatized about it. I managed to find a couple of sets of clothes I could use to train and work out in, three outfits I could wear around the house, and some running shoes. All I needed to find were the hose and panties. I really don¡¯t want to, but I have to. This is embarrassing and I don¡¯t like it but I managed to get five black and two white pairs of hose along with eight or nine pairs of panties. Nothing cutesy or anything like that. I couldn¡¯t stand it if that was all they had. At least I didn¡¯t need a bra yet. Now that I think about it, maybe I should order some of those sports bras just in case. That might let me get ahead of the game. I think instinct just kicked in there at the end because I really tried not to order any of it. Suck it up. Breathe and move on, it¡¯s all you can do, right?


    When I went to grab my new card to pay, Alex already entered his info and bought it all for me. I told him he didn¡¯t have to, but he did it anyway saying it was his responsibility to take care of me and any needs I had. He assured me that my school tuition was already covered as well. I always knew I was a responsible person.


    With that done, Alex told me he would pick up my order tomorrow morning unless I needed them now. I was going to decline his having to run into town again right after getting home, but I became conscious of how uncomfortable I really was. It wasn¡¯t the shirt or shorts¡¯ fault. I knew it wasn¡¯t. It was me and those stupid memories. He just laughed at the look on my face and jumped back in the pickup to head into town.


    About ten minutes after he left, I had the feeling I was forgetting something. SHOES! I totally spaced buying anything other than the running shoes. Hurrying over to the computer, I again found something I could live with that would work with my memories. I have to say, there are a lot of styles of shoes. Being used to wearing work boots, other types of boots, and running shoes, I never thought about it. Ok, there, I managed to find half a dozen pairs (they all had at least a small heel, unfortunately) that I could mix and match and one pair were luckily sandals. That works for now, but why did I order six pairs?


    Sending a quick text to Alex explaining what happened I received one back with the laughing emoji. I want to smack myself upside the head right now. Am I really going to be Ok?

 5: Change is a good thing... Right?

    After getting shoes added to my order I didn¡¯t have much to do. Hard to believe it was already late afternoon by this point. It can be amazing how time flies when you¡¯re busy and distracted. At least I wasn¡¯t hungry yet, even after not eating lunch, although it might be a good idea to start thinking about putting something together for supper. My normal habit was eating a good breakfast and multiple small ¡®snacks¡¯ throughout the day and a light supper before working out. It was a healthier way to eat than just two or three big meals.


    I figured that Alex would continue that trend, but tonight I was thinking about doing something a little more. Maybe make it look like a ¡°Thank you¡± for Alex or something? I kind of felt like it would be appropriate under the circumstances. I know Alex wasn¡¯t real in a sense, but Jacobus did say he was a perfect copy of me. It just felt wrong to think of myself¡­ Of Alex like that. I really need to get my thoughts in order. With that, I decided to try and start thinking of Alex and myself as two different people. I had to if I wanted to keep moving and not get bogged down in my own thoughts.


    While I was looking through the fridge trying to decide what to make, my phone chimed telling me I had a text message. Alex must have had the same thoughts as I did and told me not to try and fix anything. He was going to pick something up on the way home and wanted me to look forward to it.


    ¡°Hmm, I wonder what that means? I should know how he thinks, but for some reason, I¡¯m coming up blank. I wonder what that¡¯s about?¡± I mumbled to myself as I replied with thanks and that I ¡®couldn¡¯t wait¡¯. ¡°Why did I add that last part though?¡±


    ¡®Well, let¡¯s just move on from that shall we?¡¯ I started to pick up what little there was. I put the clothes and towels that I had used earlier in the day into the laundry basket and put the dishes from this morning away. Looking around I was at a loss. There really wasn¡¯t anything to do. This RV might be big, but it was still an RV in the end and I was somewhat of a clean freak so that left little to be done on the cleaning side of things.


    ¡°Screw it. I need to move. Maybe some more yoga will help me relax.¡±


    The rug I used for yoga was still in the living room from this morning and it would feel good to stretch and move around. I was slowly starting to feel like this body was actually mine, which was a good thing. I would hopefully have it for a long time even if it wasn¡¯t what I would have preferred. I¡¯m alive, that¡¯s all that mattered in the end. It has always amazed me what the human mind can get accustomed to and I could get used to this. All I had to do was try¡­ Well, as a certain little green person once famously said, ¡°Do or do not. There is no try.¡±


    I was still unsure about my future. As of now I definitely had no interest in men or anything to do what that. It was weird, but I didn¡¯t really think of women that way either. Maybe it had something to do with the age regression? I couldn¡¯t tell for sure and thinking too hard about it would just make my mind spiral and be unproductive at best. Figure out what you can and slowly chew on the rest. That¡¯s the best way to tackle the hard stuff. Maybe as I gained more insights into my current situation I could piece together the answers to those types of questions.


    Yoga was such a good outlet for me. It helped keep my mind calm while I tried to work through my various problems as well as helped me get used to moving around again and figure out my current limitations. Martial arts were still my preferred meditation method, but my current outfit wouldn¡¯t work well with that. The shirt worked but the shorts still tried to fall off even with the drawstring cinched as tight as I could get it. From what I could tell my body was really well-defined for what a ten-year-old should be. That still didn¡¯t make it easy to keep the shorts up. I must have just gotten lucky with the sweatpants this morning, or maybe it was the material. ¡°Hmm, maybe that¡¯s it. The sweat pants were cotton and soft, whereas these shorts are slicker.¡±


    I slowly worked through various forms and stretches for about another hour when I heard my pickup coming up the drive again. As I finished my last pose, The door opened and Alex started setting bags down. He just flashed me a smile and went to retrieve the last of them so I got up and moved everything to the couch to sort through. Luckily everything looked good. The materials were nicer than I was expecting, and everything looked like it would be really cute.


    Crap.


    I just sighed as I started looking for some empty hangers. I hated folding clothes. No matter what I tried they always seemed to wrinkle so I got in the habit of hanging everything up. Alex came in with the last of the bags and went to retrieve some more hangers. Once I finished hanging everything up in the garage I figured it was time to bite the bullet. I closed the curtains that covered the glass door between the kitchen and garage and picked up a pair of panties. No help for it. I never liked going commando anyway. Holding the small undergarment in my hands, I noticed just how soft and smooth they were. ¡®That¡¯s not usually how they are, is it? I remember some of my ex¡¯s had lingerie like this if not a lot sexier, but the material was the same. These are just plain panties. Was it just the store I ordered from?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know and it didn¡¯t really matter I guess.


    Taking the shorts off and putting on my new underwear I was again amazed at how soft they were. They were also way more comfortable than I was thinking they would be. ¡°That¡¯s not as bad as I was afraid it was going to be. It¡¯s still kind of embarrassing, but doable. At least this, I can kinda get used to.¡± Mumbling to myself again I grabbed one of the pairs of yoga pants (yes, yoga pants. that¡¯s the best I could find for training gear that I was ¡°comfortable¡± getting. Dang memories. You would have figured sweat pants were fine for exercise right?¡­ Nope.) and a light t-shirt. Feeling immensely better for some reason¡­ Well, I knew the reason, I just didn¡¯t want to think about it, I went back out into the kitchen.


    ¡°You look like you feel better already Sasha, but shouldn¡¯t you have cleaned up before changing? It looked like you worked up a decent sweat with yoga.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine Uncle Alex, (I just said uncle didn¡¯t I. Crap. Crap. Crap.) I wanted to run a little and maybe you could let me train with you after supper.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my favorite niece for you! I¡¯m glad to hear you still train and do yoga. It always helped me for sure and to see you like it too makes me happy. Now I can have someone to train with!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still not very good with martial arts, and I don¡¯t think my stamina is any good so please go easy on me. I remember how you can get.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t just a platitude. The main reason I never really trained with anyone is that I tended to go a little overboard at times, pushing myself and everyone else to their limits. ¡®Huh, maybe Jacobus and I have a little more in common than I thought¡­ Nope. Not possible.¡¯


    ¡°Right¡­ I will be sure to take it slow.¡± Alex folded his arms and got a pensive look. ¡°How about we eat while it¡¯s hot? I got you a bowl of  ramen from one of the restaurants I go to. You still like ramen right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, That does sound good. Thanks, Uncle Alex!¡± I should have guessed. Ramen did sound really good right now, but why did I have to say it like that? Why can¡¯t I talk like I normally would? I can kinda understand saying ¡®Uncle Alex¡¯ because the back story said Alex was like an uncle to me and the memories Jacobus implanted in my head made me feel that way, but did I have to say it in a cute way like that? Please no. My mind is still almost forty years old so saying it like that almost physically hurts.


    After Alex set up the little table in the living room we sat down to eat. The ramen was even better than usual. It must have something to do with my ¡°new¡± senses because the flavors exploded in my mouth. That little restaurant always had good food so I tended to stop by there at least once a week. Probably way more carbs than I should have eaten, although that didn¡¯t stop me. I exercised regularly and generally ate healthily so splurging once in a while was good.


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    I didn¡¯t even get halfway through and started feeling full. Well, I was a lot smaller now so that made sense. I put the lid back on my bowl and found room in the fridge. I could eat some later or tomorrow.


    ¡°Done already?¡±


    ¡°Yes, thanks again, Uncle Alex. That was delicious.¡± Please send help. I¡¯m not sure I can take much more talking like this.


    ¡°Good. I knew you would like it. Let¡¯s relax for a little bit and then we can do a little training before bed. I was thinking tomorrow morning we could go into town. I need to stop by work to finalize my resignation and we still have a little shopping to do.¡±


    ¡°Do I need to come?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Sorry little one, but we need to find you a bed and pick out some more furniture for your room along with getting you some other basic necessities.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. I just don¡¯t want to trouble you too much.¡± In other words? There is NO way I¡¯m ready to go out into public like this. Nope, don¡¯t wanna!


    ¡°You¡¯re fine Sasha. Don¡¯t ever think you are troubling me. I promised your parents if anything happened I would take care of you. I know you were too young to remember, but I made that promise to you as well. You¡¯re family so promise me you won¡¯t forget that.¡±


    My eyes started to burn at those words. Hearing something like that, even if I knew it was from ¡®myself¡¯ stung for some reason. They were actually words I had spoken before to my sister¡¯s kids so I knew the truth behind them.


    ¡°I-I won¡¯t Uncle Alex. I promise.¡± I looked down as I replied. My voice was really soft and I couldn¡¯t blame my memories or the age regression this time. That really struck home for me in more ways than one. They gave me reassurance that even under the circumstances I wasn¡¯t alone, at least in a way, and I had someone (I truly started thinking of the construct¡­ No, Alex, as a person) I could rely on and to help me out. I started to believe, at least a little, that things would work out. Whether they would work out how I wanted was neither here nor there at this point. Besides, things like that can change in a heartbeat and no one knows what the future will bring.


    ¡°Good. Everything will work out Sasha. I know you¡¯re going through a hard time right now, and not all of it has sunk in. Just remember I¡¯m here. Whatever you need, whatever I can do to help I will be here. I can¡¯t let you just shut yourself away though. That¡¯s not healthy. What we can do is take things slow.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ Thank you.¡± Even though what I was really going through was totally different from what he believed, those words were nevertheless true. His assurance that he would be there for me also helped. Way more than I thought they would.


    ¡°Alright. Why don¡¯t we clean up and then do a little exercise to clear our heads?¡±


    ¡°That sounds good. I was thinking of jogging for a little bit and then was wondering if you would help me with some Aikido?¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a good start. Why don¡¯t you go get your shoes and I will clean up. There isn¡¯t much to do anyway and I will meet you outside.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    I went back to my ¡®room¡¯ and grabbed my running shoes. Looking around I couldn¡¯t find any socks. Oh no. I forgot those as well. Dang it. Why was I so forgetful this afternoon? No help for it. I would just have to buy some tomorrow when we went into town. After walking out into the living room and starting to put on my shoes, Alex noticed I didn¡¯t have socks and just laughed again. Come on, really? Worse than that? I blushed again. Please body, don¡¯t do things I usually wouldn¡¯t. Looking up after Alex said my name, I reflexively caught the black ball he tossed to me. It was a pair of black ankle socks that I never wore. They would be big, but should work for now. Thanking him I finish putting on my shoes and stood up to go outside.


    ¡°We¡¯ll grab some socks tomorrow as well. You shouldn¡¯t get flustered over something like that Sasha. Everyone forgets things and you pretty much have to start over. Come on. Let¡¯s get going.¡± Alex put his large hand gently on my shoulder as he spoke. I nodded my head and followed him outside.


    After about five minutes of running, I realized something and had to run back into the house. Getting to my room I took my shirt off and was really glad that I had decided to buy those sports bras. How was this so uncomfortable when I barely had anything on my chest? It was impossible to know, I only hoped this would help. ¡®If it¡¯s always like this how do other women do it? If it gets worse I might cry.¡¯ About two hours later I could barely walk. I pushed myself way too hard, after all, that¡¯s what I needed. Alex tried to stop me more than once. A while later he finally realized that and let me push past my limits. It felt good and I figured out a lot about my new self. I was in way better shape than I had thought at first. Nothing like I used to be, although I had to remind myself that I was only ten now and probably way ahead of most kids my age. Knowing that helped me keep up a positive mindset. Exercise really was good for the mind, body, and soul in my not-so-humble opinion. Don¡¯t like it? Sorry, not sorry.


    I did some more stretches before we went inside for the evening. I was probably going to be really sore in the morning so I took a little more time with stretching than I usually would have hoping it would help a little. Alex just smirked and then laughed when I glared at him. Dang it, I knew my friends (the few I had) said my sense of humor could be really annoying, but did I have to be like that all the time?


    ¡°Come on. Go shower and get ready for bed.¡± Alex was still laughing a little when he told me that. I just punched him in the side as I was walking towards the house. It seems like my memories let me get away with stuff like that at times, and it felt like Valeria and Zeke would both agree that martial arts and exercise were good things. Knowing that took a huge load off my mind and I felt my shoulders relax as I grabbed some fresh clothes and headed for the shower.


    Letting the hot water wash over my small body felt amazing. A hot shower after a good workout was the best. Luckily my RV had one of those endless water heaters, unfortunately, it took a lot of propane so after a couple more minutes I washed and shut off the water. Drying myself off and dressing quickly in some soft flannel pants and another t-shirt, I wrapped up my hair again and grabbed the hair dryer figuring I could dry my hair in my room so Alex could use the shower sooner rather than later. I knew he would appreciate that.


    ¡°Done already?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can dry my hair in my room. Go ahead, Uncle Alex. Thanks for letting me go first.¡± Saying that I grabbed a glass of water and took a long drink. So good.


    ¡°No worries. I was just catching up on emails and dealing with the restaurants. What time do you want to head into town tomorrow? We don¡¯t have to leave too early, but I would like to have enough time to get everything done.¡±


    ¡°Up to you Uncle Alex. Whatever you think is best.¡±


    ¡°Ok, how does leave by eight sound? Most places we need to stop by won¡¯t open until nine anyway and we can stop by the office first thing.¡±


    ¡°I can do that. See you in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Night Sasha. Sweet dreams.¡±


    I just realized, I¡¯m a pushover. How did I never figure that out? I knew I always had a soft spot for kids, but was I always that bad?


    Walking into my room I closed the door and blinds. I just stood there for a moment looking at my bed trying to figure out what felt off. Whatever, it will come to me later. Undressing after drying my hair, I slipped under my covers and tried to go to sleep. Tossing and turning I wasn¡¯t able to find a comfortable position. So annoying. I¡¯ve slept back here before and the bed wasn¡¯t that bad, so what¡¯s wrong? I finally sat up and crossed my legs to think about it. Why couldn¡¯t I get comfortable? There had to be a reason. Yep, there it is. I wasn¡¯t wearing a nightgown. Seriously? All that because I wasn¡¯t wearing a Stupid nightgown. I had a feeling that my flannel pants and t-shirt I just took off wouldn¡¯t work either. That was dumb. They were like pajamas so why wouldn¡¯t they work? They just wouldn¡¯t, I could feel it. ¡°JACOBUS!!!!¡± I screamed in my mind. This sucks.


    Getting dressed again I peeked my head out of my room. Alex was still sitting in front of the computer working on something and looked over after hearing my door slide open.


    ¡°Everything alright Sasha?¡±


    ¡°Umm, sorry to ask Uncle Alex, but can I borrow one of your shirts again? I forgot to buy some sleepwear (no way was I going to say nightgowns right now. Sorry, not happening).¡±


    ¡°Ah, That¡¯s fine. Let me grab you one. I guess I should start making a list of what we still need to buy tomorrow. Hmm. We should probably get you a couple of hoodies and a good coat as well. It¡¯s going to start getting cold soon.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± My mind blanked for a second¡­


    ¡°Uncle Alex?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Can I have one of your hoodies?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Alex just raised one of his eyebrows at that.


    ¡°Sorry, That just sounds really comfy. You don¡¯t have to. A t-shirt will work.¡± For some reason, a hoodie really did sound perfect. I could live with that for now and deal with the nightgown situation later.


    ¡°It¡¯s Ok. That just¡­ You know it would be even bigger on you than one of my t-shirts right?¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm. I do. It just sounds really comfy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I just bought a new one not too long ago. Let me go grab it.¡±


    Awesome. I remember buying that one too. I was planning on using it with the ¡°casual but nice¡± clothes and it was super soft. Hey, a guy can like soft things too you know.


    Alex handed me the hoodie and I thanked him again while slipping back into my room. Taking my clothes off and folding them I slipped the hoodie over my head and giggled at the feeling of the soft fabric against my skin. (Not going there. I can¡¯t explain it so I¡¯m going to ignore it. Yep, just ignore it. Let¡¯s agree to ignore that whole conversation while we¡¯re at it. Good? Good.)


    Getting back in bed I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

 6: The first steps on any kind of journey are the hardest.

    I moaned quietly as I started to wake up. I could hear someone knocking and was wondering who would be at my house this early¡­ Bolting up in bed I remembered yesterday. Yep, it wasn¡¯t a dream. As much as I wished otherwise, I had to accept it. Hearing the knock again I glanced towards my door and then picked up my phone from beside my pillow and looked at the time. It was almost seven thirty already. I forgot to set an alarm, not good.


    ¡°I¡¯m up Uncle Alex. I must not have set my alarm.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re good, just making sure. Breakfast is almost ready.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    I could hear Alex move back towards the stove and got myself moving as well. I should have plenty of time, so rushing too much would just mess me up. I did a few stretches to loosen my sore muscles up a little and reluctantly pulled the hoodie off. ¡®I¡¯m not giving this back. It was way too comfortable so sorry Alex.¡¯


    Looking through my clothes I had a hard time choosing what to wear. I really wanted to wear something other than a dress or skirt, yet I knew that wasn¡¯t an option. I¡¯m just going to have to knuckle down and get over it. Something else to add to the ever-growing list of things I needed to ¡°get over¡± I guess.


    ¡°Come on Sasha. You¡¯ve worn a Kilt before and this isn¡¯t that much of a difference. You can do this. Granted it was only for an hour¡­ In High School, and you wore shorts underneath.¡± Grumbling wasn¡¯t going to help either.


    I finally picked out a teal skirt that came to just above my knees and a black blouse. Simple and easy. Putting on a pair of black hose, (I knew that you had to roll them up first, but it was still harder to do than I thought it would be) I slipped into the skirt. I know I¡¯ve said it before, and will probably say it many more times. This is going to take some getting used to. The hose felt like the long johns I had worn before, just a lot more ¡®airy¡¯. I could tell I was wearing something but could still feel the air on my legs as I moved around. Glancing at my only other sports bra I tried to make up my mind if I needed it or not, I went for it. Better safe than sorry. I was still really glad I had ordered some as an afterthought. I need to add a few more to the list. Putting on the blouse and tucking it in I was ready to figure out what shoes I was going to wear. I went with a pair of dark navy blue sandals with a ¡®kitten¡¯ heel.


    ¡°Hmm, they¡¯re easier to walk in than I thought. I better not get complacent though. Just because I¡¯m on a flat, hard surface doesn¡¯t mean anything yet.¡± Opening my bedroom door I stepped into the kitchen as I started to put my hair in a loose braid. I need to learn more ways to put my hair up than a ponytail and a braid. Dan,g it. I needed to learn so much now that even thinking about it gave me a headache.


    ¡°There you are. How are you feeling this morning? Did you sleep well?¡±


    ¡°I slept well, thanks. A little sore but I¡¯m good. Sorry, I forgot to set an alarm, Uncle Alex.¡±


    ¡°No worries little one. We still have plenty of time. Go ahead and sit down and I will bring your food.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± I give up. I can¡¯t even control some of my speech patterns anymore.


    While I was sitting down at the small table Alex brought a plate of scrambled eggs, ham, toast, and a bowl of fruit over. My mouth started watering at the smell alone and I could tell he seasoned the eggs just how I liked them. I couldn¡¯t even eat half of my plate and a handful of blackberries before I felt almost stuffed. I wanted more blackberries. I love blackberries.


    ¡°Uncle Alex, Isn¡¯t it Sunday today?¡±


    ¡°Yep, All day.¡± I rolled my eyes at that (Not even gonna comment¡­) and he just laughed. Jerk.


    ¡°If it¡¯s Sunday, will there be anybody at your office?¡±


    ¡°I called Kennith last night and he¡¯s good with meeting us there around nine. Sounded like he had some work to do anyway.¡± Alex was cleaning up and putting the dishes away so it was almost time to go.


    ¡°Oh, Ok.¡± at least the guys wouldn¡¯t be around. Hopefully, that makes things easier to deal with. They were good people, and anyone who says otherwise about construction workers are idiots. All trades and industries have good and bad. That said, the crew I worked with was a bunch of goofs who liked to joke around. They were definitely one of the best crews I had worked with.


    ¡°Do you want to go fire the pickup up for me?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I grabbed the keys and after opening the door I slowly and cautiously made my way down the stairs. ¡®That wasn¡¯t too bad. Different, but doable with a little more practice.¡¯ I managed to open the door and stared for a moment. This problem hadn¡¯t even crossed my mind. My pickup wasn¡¯t lifted or anything like that, but it was a long way up nonetheless. Grabbing the steering I used it and the door to leverage myself up. ¡®That¡¯s not good on the steering wheel. I need to find a better way. At least I¡¯m strong enough to do that though, and I¡¯m not too heavy so it should be fine I think?.¡¯ I let the glow plugs do their thing, fired the old girl up and she came to life with a satisfying grunt. I know diesels aren¡¯t for everyone, I also know diesel is getting expensive. I still love the sound and smell though. Sorry, not sorry.


    I eased my way back to the ground from the driver¡¯s seat and made my way back inside. Going upstairs seemed to be easier than going down. I made my way over to the couch and looked through my new phone. I should have checked it out earlier. I noticed that my contacts list had more than just Alex¡¯s number in it. My mom and dad along with both my brother and sister were there. ¡®Looks like even my nephews and niece are there as well. One step forward and two steps back Jacobus.¡¯ My siblings probably knew what was going on by now, although I doubted neither of my nephews or my niece knew much about Sasha. I think they knew I would go visit her whenever I got the chance, and I thought of her like another niece, that was about it.


    ¡°I went ahead and sent your number to my family so they know if you call. Don¡¯t be afraid to call them if you need anything.¡± There is definitely an innuendo there. He probably means if I have something that would be too embarrassing to ask a man. Way to be on top of it, Alex. Good call.


    ¡°Ok Uncle Alex. I will keep that in mind. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Right, are you ready? Need anything else or to use the bathroom?¡±


    ¡°I better do that. Be right back¡± That could have been a close call. Better to try to get it out of the way here than at the mall or something. While I washed my hands at least one question was answered. One that I really didn¡¯t want to know the answer to at that. Yes, using the bathroom in a skirt and hose sucked.


    Leaving that little adventure and the house behind, Alex helped me into the passenger side back seat (it seems someone did a little research last night and found I was still too ¡®small¡¯ to ride in the front. Great.) and made sure I buckled up. We pulled out of the drive and around an hour later we arrived at the construction company¡¯s office/shop. Oh no. There are way too many vehicles here. This is bad.


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    ¡°Uncle Alex, are there usually this many cars here?¡± I had to check to make sure I remembered right.


    ¡°No, not on a Sunday at least. I wonder what¡¯s going on?¡±


    Finding a parking spot, Alex jumped out and walked around to help me down. Should I try to stay in the pickup? Would Alex be Ok with that?


    ¡°It looks like Kennith is waiting. How about I introduce you to him?¡± Survey says¡­ Nope. I¡¯m screwed.


    ¡°Ok.¡± That¡¯s all I could say. Hold it together, you¡¯re good. It¡¯s only Kennith¡­ and the whole crew.


    Crap.


    ¡°Hey, Alex. Sorry to hear about your friends. I take it this is Sasha?¡± Kennith greeted us as we walked up. He has been a really good boss for the last couple of years. He¡¯s the type who doesn¡¯t take any crap but is really laid back as long as things are getting done to his standards. Very high standards mind you.


    ¡°Morning Kennith. Yep, this is Sasha. Sasha this is Kennith. He¡¯s a good guy so you don¡¯t need to be shy around him.¡± I was trying to hide behind Alex and not stand out, but he just reached around and placed his hand on my back to guide me forward. Jerk! I¡¯m not being shy, I¡¯m trying not to be seen. There¡¯s a difference.


    ¡°Good morning Sasha. It¡¯s nice to meet you. Alex talks about you so much that the other guys are jealous and wanted to meet you. You would think you were his daughter, especially with that red hair.¡± Kennith laughed as he crouched down so he was more on eye level with me and stuck out his hand. Though he isn¡¯t as big as Alex is at about six foot two, with shoulders that might even be wider, He still dwarfs me at five foot something.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Kennith. My name is Sasha.¡± I tentatively took the proffered hand and he gently squeezed mine with a giant grin on his face.


    ¡°So polite. Just call me Ken little lady.¡± Looking up at Alex he started laughing. ¡°I can definitely tell you didn¡¯t raise her Alex. You couldn¡¯t be polite if your life depended on it!¡± As Ken finished speaking I could hear laughter coming from behind him. Sounds like the crew was here. To make things worse I started blushing again so I lowered my head to try to hide it.


    ¡°Shut it old man! I don¡¯t want to hear something like that coming from you.¡± Alex even had a little growl in his words making everyone laugh even harder. They were all just playing around though.


    Ken just patted my shoulder with that same grin on his face and stood up.


    ¡°Alright, alright. Calm down guy¡¯s, your ugly mugs are scaring the little lady.¡± Please, Ken, stop calling me little lady¡­


    ¡°Ya boss. We hear you.¡± That was Eric. He was always laughing about something and another chatterbox.


    ¡°If you ever need blackmail material on Alex all you need to do is ask Sasha!¡±


    ¡°Shut it, Frank. You don¡¯t need to be telling her stuff like that¡± Alex snapped back. ¡°Not like you guys have anything on me I would be worried about in the first place. They all know you Sasha, but you should go ahead and introduce yourself anyway.¡±


    ¡°Umm, I-It¡¯s nice to meet you. My name is Sasha¡­¡± Can someone please explain why I¡¯m stuttering like someone in a light novel and speaking so softly? I would really like to know. Anyone? On top of all that, what should I say my last name is? Do I stay with Drakoen, or should I use Athervon now? What¡¯s one more question against a mountain of questions?


    ¡°Ah, It¡¯s alright Sasha. We can talk about that later. There¡¯s no hurry so don¡¯t think too much about it for now¡± Alex put his hand on my shoulder again and gave me a soft smile.


    That brought the mood crashing around us. Sorry guys, that wasn¡¯t on purpose.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Uncle Alex. Sorry, everyone. I didn¡¯t mean to stop your fun.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright little lady. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡± Ken looked at Alex with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Told you she was smart.¡± Alex was actually bragging a little. That¡¯s different. I never used to brag about stuff. I would just let my actions speak for me. Wait, Ken did say that Alex talked about me a lot didn¡¯t he? Crap, JACOBUS!


    ¡°Perceptive for a ten-year-old as well.¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    Something has to be wrong with my brain. For some reason, I could not for the life of me figure out how they got that I was smart and perceptive after that. Wouldn¡¯t almost anyone be able to figure out that something happened when sixteen grown men were laughing one second and were silent and solemn the next? How did I get sixteen? There were fourteen people on my crew, fifteen with me. Add Ken and you get sixteen. I didn¡¯t even need to look to know that the whole crew showed up. I could tell by the voices around me. One of the things my Sensei would have me do was play a sort of ¡°game¡± where we would compare the different things about people and places. You start to pick up on little things like the tells and habits of those around you if you do it enough. You just have to train yourself to notice.


    We started walking inside after that and the mood thankfully lightened. It wasn¡¯t as boisterous as before, although they did start cracking a few jokes at each other again. As I said, they were total goofballs. Right before we got up to the counter is when I heard it. Please tell me that¡¯s not what I think it is. I really can¡¯t handle this if it is.


    ¡°Hello, Alex, who is this little cutie?¡± My first doom flag has arrived. Kennith¡¯s wife was a hyperactive fifty-something woman who still loved anything ¡°cute¡± and I knew my new self would be right up her alley. You could compare her and Valeria on many points from what I could see and remember. They both believed women should be ¡°elegant¡± and hold themselves in high regard. I don¡¯t think I had ever seen Rebecca in anything but dresses and heels with her hair neatly done up. She was still a beautiful woman and you could tell she took a lot of time taking care of herself. We all joked that there had to be more to Kennith than what you could see because he had somehow convinced her to marry him.


    ¡°Hi, Rebecca. This is Sasha. We just got home the other night and she¡¯s still trying to settle in.¡± Alex was probably trying to run interference with that but it seemed to backfire. Crap.


    ¡°Oh dear, Kennith told me everything.¡± Rebecca quickly came over, crouched down, and hugged me. I stiffened in her embrace but she only tightened her grip on me. Looking around for help I saw Kennith and Alex both shaking their heads in exasperation. I guess I¡¯m not getting any help from the peanut gallery. What do I do? She¡¯s a caring lady who is like a second mother to all of us in a way, so I don¡¯t want to hurt her feelings, but this is too much right now.


    As if sensing my feelings she pulled back a little with a soft smile. ¡°Come over here, dear. Let the boys do what they need to and we can chat while I redo your hair for you. I know Alex usually has his in a braid but he¡¯s not used to having such long beautiful hair as you do.¡±


    ¡°Umm, thank you, but Alex didn¡¯t do my hair, Mrs. Rebecca.¡± I knew their last name, but no one had said it yet so it would be weird if I knew it.


    ¡°Please just call me Becca. You don¡¯t have to be so polite around me.¡±


    ¡°Mm. Ok, Becca.¡±


    While Alex finished up the paperwork and joked with the guys Rebecca chatted away about her kids and other tidbits while she put my hair into an intricate braid that reminded me of the braids that one actress always had in that show about Vikings. The sides were done in three braids each that met in the back with one large loose braid from the top of my head. It amazed me how quickly she did it too. It only took her about fifteen minutes even with her pulling rank and having Kennith fetch her purse so she could get some more hair ties. Looking in the mirror in the women¡¯s bathroom I was in awe. I¡¯m not gonna lie, it looked awesome. I really wanted to learn how to do that. If I could, that would be my go-to hairstyle from now on.


    ¡°You did a good job when you braided your hair, Sasha, you didn¡¯t quite get the end though and it was a little off-center. I bet your mom helped you most of the time didn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°Yes, she did. About, all I can do is a ponytail. I like my hair braided though so I wanted to try.¡± I did like my hair braided and did it myself all the time, the problem came from having so much of it.


    ¡°Well. If you ever need help all you need to do is ask. Alex is a good guy and very smart, but there are going to be many things he can¡¯t do. He has my number so make sure you call me.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I really appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°No problem dear. Here you go. I think the boys are done as well.¡± We walked over to everyone else and said our goodbyes. I noticed Rebecca took Alex to the side and probably gave him an earful about making sure to call her if we needed anything. She really was a caring person.


    Alex helped me get into the pickup again and we pulled out of the parking lot to a lot of people waving at us. I was a little shocked at that. I seriously never realized that I could consider the guys I worked with as friends. I need to take this to heart and try to learn from it. Maybe get Alex to invite them over for a barbecue sometime as well. It would be good for him to have some people to hang out with and get some guy time, especially since he was an exact copy. It¡¯s getting harder and harder to think of him like that.

 7: Just breathe.

    As we drove down the street toward our next destination, Alex told me some of the plans we had for the day. The first stop was going to be a furniture store so we could get me a bed, nightstands, and other things I might need for my room. Next up we were going to stop by the store where I had ordered everything from last night so I could pick up some more clothes and everything I had forgotten yesterday. He didn¡¯t see a reason to try different stores as that one seemed to be really good quality, had pretty much everything I needed, and a great staff from what he had seen in the short time he was there. Everything else we would just play by ear.


    On the way to the furniture store, we talked about what we should get. Every room in the house had a good-sized closet and I didn¡¯t fold my clothes so we felt a large dresser wasn¡¯t something I really needed. We figured that I would need a desk and chair and some lamps along with the bed and nightstands. We could just browse around and see if anything else caught our eye.


    Alex backed into a parking spot on the back row like usual and was about to shut the truck off when he suddenly stopped moving and looked back at me.


    ¡°Sorry, Sasha. Hang on a second and I will find a closer spot.¡± Old habits really die hard.


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem, Uncle Alex. You can park here. Walking a little bit won¡¯t hurt me you know, and I¡¯m used to it. Dad always did the same.¡± I guess you could say that¡¯s true? My actual dad didn¡¯t usually back in, however, he did have the same habit of parking in the back. Because of that and the fact that Alex and I were essentially the same person it was my habit as well.


    ¡°Ya, that¡¯s true. I think most people who work in the same industries as Zeke and I, do the same. If you¡¯re sure about it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Unbuckling my seat belt I started to climb out.


    ¡°Hold on, let me help you.¡±


    ¡°I can do it. You don¡¯t need to worry about me so much Uncle Alex.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. At least let me get around to that side just in case.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Sighing, all I could do is agree for now. When I got like this there wasn¡¯t anything you could do about it. He would calm down eventually so I more or less had to let it run its course.


    Crawling out of the back seat was easy and hard at the same time. Getting out was easy, making sure my skirt didn¡¯t get caught was hard. I managed it somewhat gracefully if I do say so myself. Stop laughing¡­ I¡¯m not lying, I swear.


    It was turning into a beautiful day and the short walk to the store was pleasant along with giving me time to collect my thoughts and ready myself for what was to come. Meeting my old crew and being around that many loud and fun-loving people did more good than bad and helped to ease my mind. I can do this. Everything still felt crazy and out of control right now, yet it wasn¡¯t as bad as my fears made it out to be.


    Once we made it through the doors a sales women made her way over to us.


    ¡°Good morning. I¡¯m Cynthia. Can I help you find anything today?¡±


    ¡°Morning, I¡¯m Alex and this is Sasha. We need to find her a bed and other things for her bedroom.¡±


    ¡°Wow, Your daughter is a beautiful young lady.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Both Alex and I could only blink. Neither of us saw that one coming.


    ¡°Oh, sorry. That wasn¡¯t supposed to come out.¡± Cynthia¡¯s eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hand.


    ¡°Ah, no need to worry. She is very pretty for her age and she gets that a lot.¡± Alex seemed to gloss over the daughter part, which was probably for the best. Hearing that I got called pretty or beautiful a lot was disconcerting though. This is going to be a pain, isn¡¯t it.


    ¡°I see. Thank you. May I ask how old she is and what kind of furniture designs she is looking for?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s ten. As for what she wants, I will leave that up to her. I was thinking maybe a queen bed?¡±


    ¡°Ten? My, she looks like she could be thirteen or fourteen. You¡¯re going to have a hard time when she gets a little older. As for the queen bed, you don¡¯t think that would be a little big? A twin would be a good choice, or if you want something a little bigger, a double would work as well. Why don¡¯t we take a look at them and see what she feels comfortable with?¡±


    ¡°You have a point. I¡¯m really not looking forward to that. Either way, what do you think about the beds Sasha?¡±


    ¡°That works for me. Thank you, Ms. Cynthia.¡± Cynthia¡¯s smile when I answered could almost blind someone. Why do you look so happy? Oh, maybe it also had to do with their little ¡°side¡± conversation. Another thing I hadn¡¯t thought about. This one might give me nightmares though.


    We walked through the store looking at various pieces and talking about what I was going to need. Getting to the beds I still hadn¡¯t figured out what I wanted. A queen would be nice, although I somewhat agreed with Cynthia. Then again, I liked to be able to stretch out and not have my arms or legs hang off the sides. Contrary to popular belief, you could say I was a ¡°messy¡± sleeper.


    In the end, I chose the queen. The double was plenty big until I spread my arms out and stretched. Something else that I ended up with was a softer mattress than usual. I liked having a deep pillow top with a medium to slightly firm base before the change. Now? Same soft pillow top with a slightly below medium soft base so that I sank into it. I almost fell asleep as soon as I laid down on the one that I chose making Alex and Cynthia laugh and me blush. Crap.


    Cynthia led us over to look at bed frames and headboards and my eyes instantly picked out a set that included two nightstands, a headboard, and a footboard along with sideboards. It also had a small trunk that I didn¡¯t really need but looked good with the set. The biggest item though was a full wardrobe. You don¡¯t see those much anymore and just like the headboard and footboard had carvings of wolves in them. All of it in a beautiful pecan.


    Pecan is a light slightly reddish brown and white mostly straight-grained wood that you usually don¡¯t see as furniture. The gun cabinet I made in High School was made of pecan and it was a nightmare to work with. Way worse than even oak. It was so hard that I burned up so many drill bits, sanding belts, and even blades for the planer, my teacher started complaining. The wolf motifs were just icing on the cake.


    Walking over to it like I was in a daze, I ran my small hand over the smooth wood of the wardrobe and tried not to drool. It was all very beautiful and well-made. Alex looked like he was about to drool as well. We did have the same tastes after all.


    ¡°Do you like that set?¡± Cynthia was looking between Alex and me with a slightly confused look.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s beautiful, though it¡¯s probably too much. We should look for something else Uncle Alex.¡±


    ¡°Well, we haven¡¯t had much interest in that bedroom set. The owner wanted to try and branch out and see if people were interested. The other full sets like it sold well, but no one seems to like the wolf carvings and the wood tones so it doesn¡¯t get much interest. We might be able to work out a good deal on it if you¡¯re interested.¡±


    ¡°We should look into it, Sasha. I know you love wolves and pecan is a beautiful wood.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s what wood it¡¯s made out of. Everyone working here had never seen it so they thought it was something exotic.¡±


    ¡°Well, pecan isn¡¯t usually used for furniture from what I know, so you could say that it is a little exotic.¡± He answered Cynthia and then looked at me. ¡°You have a closet at the house, but the Wardrobe has drawers on the bottom and you could hang your nicer clothes and school uniforms on the top. I think it suits you, Sasha.¡±


    ¡°In that case, let me talk to the manager and see what we can do. Is there anything else you need?¡±


    ¡°A desk and chair as well. I imagine it will be hard to find something that will go with the bed and wardrobe, unfortunately.¡± Alex answered.


    ¡°There might be something that works. Maybe something darker to offset the light tones of the bed and wardrobe?¡±


    ¡°That might work. Thank you, Cynthia.¡± Her smile brightened again after I thanked her. Do I have a charm attribute or something now?


    We looked through the desks for a while before finding something that didn¡¯t stand out too much. It was a little bigger than what we were looking for, although the rooms in the new house were all that you could consider ¡°master¡± bedrooms so my room still wouldn¡¯t be crowded.


    The desk was about five feet long and three deep with drawers on one side and a space for a computer on the other. Not quite office style, It was still solid wood with a black stain that let the wood grain come through and made it almost look like a zebra, only more gray than white. That was the closest match we could come up with and it would still clash a little. I could live with that and it would break up the light tones of the other furniture.


    ¡°I talked with the manager and he agreed that you could have that bedroom set for cost.¡± Cynthia came back a short while after we finished agreeing on what desk I would get.


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s Ok?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fairly certain that he would cut the price more if he could. I think he is just glad that someone finally showed interest in it and wants it off the floor.¡±


    ¡°Awesome. We appreciate it. I think we will take this desk as well. That just leaves lamps and a chair.¡±


    ¡°Uncle Alex, I don¡¯t need something so expensive. I can go with something else.¡±


    ¡°Nope, You don¡¯t have to worry about that Sasha. I can tell you really like that one and even picked a desk out to go with it. Besides, I want to spoil you whenever I can.¡± The grin on Alex¡¯s face looked like a kid that had gotten away with pulling a prank. Cynthia actually laughed and tried to cover her mouth to hide it. I could only blush. Dang it Alex, you smart-ass!


    ¡°O-Ok Uncle Alex.¡± So embarrassing. Why can¡¯t I control this?


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we look at some chairs that might work with that desk? The lamps are close by as well¡± Cynthia watched that little exchange with an oh-so-sweet grin after she controlled her laughter. Please don¡¯t look at me like that Cynthia.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    We settled on a chair and lamps pretty quickly. Walking to the back so we could get all the paperwork done and make arrangements for delivery I spotted a huge beanbag and my ¡®comfy¡¯ senses flew off the charts. (Please don¡¯t. Please just let me ignore how I¡¯m changing.) My body started moving on its own towards that giant beanbag and I plopped down, snuggling into it with a giant sigh. In my mind I was so embarrassed I wanted to cry, yet my body was in heaven.


    Alex started laughing so hard other customers and staff looked our way. There were more than a few chuckles from the men and women around us, as well as quite a few comments about how ¡°cute¡± that was. I wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it if only to hide the giant blush that reached from my chest to my ears. I had to be beet red, I could feel the heat coming off my face. That just made Alex laugh even harder while Cynthia looked like she was going to hyperventilate trying to hold her laughter in. What a couple of Jerks!


    ¡°I believe that we need one of those as well Cynthia.¡± Alex was finally able to choke that out after a few minutes. I tried to stare at him to make him stop laughing but that seemed to make it worse.


    ¡°I think that would be a good bet. She seems so comfortable, and that little sigh was quite cute as well.¡± Cynthia covered her mouth and blushed at her own words. She looked like she was going to panic.


    ¡°Right? I wish I could have caught that on camera!¡± Alex didn¡¯t seem fazed by what Cynthia said, only agreeing with her and making it even worse. No Alex! Please don¡¯t say something like that!


    Cynthia seemed to calm down when she realized neither of us was going to say anything about what she let slip. Both Alex and I had long since figured out that she didn¡¯t have much of a brain-to-mouth filter and that she was extremely easy to read. It was kind of endearing, actually.


    ¡°So Sasha, we have a few different colors you can choose from. The book is right next to you on that table if you want to take a look.¡± Cynthia explained after she managed to tame her blush a bit more.


    The beanbag I was currently sitting on was a mocha brown. Not a bad color that would go decently with the rest of my room. I still wanted to take a look and see what else they had. I ended up choosing a burgundy red that I thought was eye-catching.


    ¡°It matches your hair, Sasha.¡± Thanks, Alex. Thanks for stating the obvious.


    ¡°It really does. Such a beautiful color as well. I think this will go well with all the other furniture you picked out.¡± Please, not you too Cynthia.


    ¡°My hair is not that dark, Uncle Alex¡± I managed to mutter. Alex just shrugged and Cynthia laughed again.


    Making it the rest of the way to the counter after that little disaster, we were handed over to an employee that handled the payments and delivery arrangements. We exchanged thank yous and good by¡¯s with Cynthia and finished up. Walking out of the store around thirty minutes later. Alex had spent a lot of money here and it made me feel guilty, although the smile on his face helped me understand that he was happy about it and eased my tension.


    ¡°Alright Sasha, it¡¯s not quite lunch yet. Do you want to go to the clothing store or get something to eat first? Your call.¡± Alex said as he helped me into the pickup.


    ¡°I¡¯m not hungry yet Uncle Alex. If you are we can eat first. Whatever you want to do.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯m not hungry either. We¡¯ll go to the store first and then we can see what later brings. Sound good?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡± Ah, I¡¯m over it. Just do whatever you want voice.


    ¡°Alright, onward!¡± I¡¯m such an idiot. Did I¡­ er Alex really just say that?


    On the way to the clothing store, we talked about what was still needed. Alex seemed to be having a lot of fun for some reason. I never liked shopping for clothes before my accident so I wasn¡¯t looking forward to this.


    The strip mall was really crowded when we pulled into the parking lot and it took a while to find a parking spot my old dually would fit into. That¡¯s another thing I hated about shopping. All the parking spots were for compact cars. That didn¡¯t really matter in the long run since I was used to driving way bigger vehicles. It was still a pain.


    Walking into the store I noticed we were getting quite a few stares and it made me uncomfortable. Instinctively grabbing Alex¡¯s hand he looked down at me with a reassuring smile and gave mine a little squeeze.


    It was scary how much better that made me feel.


    ¡°Hello again. Back so soon? I hope there wasn¡¯t a problem with the order you picked up yesterday.¡± A pretty teenager was walking up to Alex as she spoke.


    ¡°No problems. We forgot to get a few things and wanted to get a few more clothes. We pretty much need a whole new wardrobe. If you could help Sasha with that I would appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°I see. What you ordered yesterday were all good choices though, so you shouldn¡¯t be too hard on yourself. If you don mind me prying, I take it you¡¯re a single father?¡±


    ¡°Uh, ya. I am. Sasha picked everything out so I can¡¯t take any credit. I hate to ask, but if you could help that would really get me out of a bind. I have to admit that I know nothing when it comes to what she will need.¡±


    ¡°My name is Natalie by the way, and it would be my pleasure. I¡¯m impressed though. Most people wouldn¡¯t be able to admit something like that. I know my father would try to fake it and bluster around until someone stepped in then when my mom would hear about it she would smack the back of his head and scold him.¡± Natalie told us through her quiet laughter.


    ¡°Ha ha, that sounds exactly like my old boss and his wife.¡±


    ¡°Really? Do you mind telling me their names?¡±


    ¡°Kennith and Rebecca. Good people and I will miss working with them.¡±


    ¡°Small world. That¡¯s my father and mother. Oh! You must be Alex. I was wondering why Sasha¡¯s hair looked familiar. They said you were going to be at the shop this morning so she probably swooped in and stole Sasha then? Mom used to braid my hair like that too. She also told me about what happened when we talked last night. I¡¯m very sorry to hear about your family.¡±


    ¡°It really is a small world, and thanks, Natalie. We appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Now, how about you and I do a little shopping Sasha? You can come to Alex if you want to. We do have an area with benches if you want to wait though.¡±


    ¡°If Sasha is ok with it, I should tag along and see if I can¡¯t learn anything. Hopefully, that will make things easier down the road if something comes up.¡±


    ¡°Again, I¡¯m impressed. I think he¡¯s going to take very good care of you, Sasha.¡±


    ¡°Mm. Thanks, Natalie.¡±


    We followed Natalie through the store picking out more clothes than I thought I would ever need. She would only smile at me and wink, saying there was no such thing as ¡®too many clothes¡¯. I give up. Breathe and move forward, even if it¡¯s embarrassing.


    Picking out quite a few more dresses, skirts, and various shirts, Alex started looking like a moving clothes rack so we paused long enough to get a cart to hold it all. I was able to find a few pairs of pants and regular t-shirts as well. That made me happy, even after picking out a few more pairs of shoes with various kitten heels.


    As things usually go, you have to take the good with the bad. Our next stop was finding some more underwear. Natalie was having way too much fun by this point and started picking out cute panties with little designs like paw prints and fairies, even a few with bunnies and other small animals. Alex even looked away and started staring off into space.


    ¡°Um, Natalie?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up Sasha.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but can we find regular underwear? I¡¯m not comfortable with those kinds.¡±


    ¡°Really? They are so cute though. I bet they would look adorable on you.¡±


    ¡°Please? I don¡¯t think I could wear something like that.¡±


    ¡°Alright. If you say so.¡± Natalie pouted. ¡®A teenager is actually pouting. That happens in real life? I have to admit it makes her look cute though¡¯. Agh. did I really just think that?


    Ending up with a little over a dozen more (yes, over a dozen. I couldn¡¯t believe it either) pairs I asked her for a few more pairs of sports bras. She told me they were really called ¡°training bras¡±. They kinda looked like the sports bra¡¯s that some of my ex¡¯s had, so that¡¯s what I was calling them. My bad. She included a few that had a lot of lace saying I could use them when I ¡®dressed¡¯ up.


    We were browsing through the hose when Natalie asked me if I usually wore dresses and skirts. I told her ¡°Yes¡± thinking it was kind of obvious, but she just smirked and pulled me to another aisle.


    ¡°These are knee socks. You¡¯ll love them.¡± She told me, showing me a pair of really long and thick knitted socks. ¡°They¡¯re really comfortable and I wear them all the time. You can even wear them with shorts and when you hang out around the house. You can also get some like these that are perfect for when it gets cold.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t they show below some of my skirts though?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re worried about that, they have longer ones that come up to mid-thigh. I think they would be perfect for you.¡±


    Oh, no. please no. Looking at what she was holding, my ¡®comfy¡¯ sense hit the red zone again. Somehow, I ended up with ten (yep. ten. I¡¯m so ashamed right now) pairs of those as well. Add another six pairs of hose, two black, one more white, and three nude, a dozen pairs of ankle socks and all that was left was finding some nightgowns. Natalie raised an eyebrow at that. All I could do was shrug while looking down and trying to hide my face. Two light knee-length and two slightly heavier calf-length nightgowns found their way into our shopping cart that was about to overflow.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s everything you said you needed. Can you think of anything you might have forgotten?¡± Alex spoke up for the first time since we started shopping. I kind of felt bad for him. He had an uncomfortable look on his face the whole time.


    ¡°Not that I can think of Uncle Alex. I couldn¡¯t have done this without you.¡± I praised him a little. What? He deserved it.


    ¡°Well said Sasha, you have a great uncle for sure.¡± See? Natalie thought so as well. ¡°If you¡¯re ready, I can check you out back here.¡±


    ¡°That would be appreciated, thanks.¡± Alex looked relieved. ¡°After we get done, want to take all your bags to the pickup and then wander around a little Sasha? We could grab a quick lunch and there are a couple of stores I would like to stop by as well.¡±


    ¡°That sound fun.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I recommend the little cafe a few doors down on the other side of the street. They have great sandwiches.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Natalie. Does that sound good to you Sasha?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± I¡¯m going to punch Jacobus next time I see him¡­


    We spent, well¡­ Alex spent way more money at that store than I would have ever spent on myself. I could tell that he was happy about it again, so I left it alone and stopped thinking about it. Taking all my clothes to the pickup I thanked him again nonetheless. He just smiled and told me not to worry about it.


    The little cafe ended up being really good as well and we both agreed to remember it. On a side note, their bathrooms were really well-maintained¡­


    Taking our time and walking around to various stores and shops ended up being a lot of fun. Don¡¯t ask, I don¡¯t know why either. One stop was a computer store, which surprised me. I had built the computer at the house about eight months ago, and it was pretty high-end, so I was wondering what we needed.


    Turns out I was going to need a computer for school. (I keep forgetting that kids need stuff like that now.) I figured something mid-tier would be fine. Alex had other plans and we left with a mid-tier ¡®gaming¡¯ laptop, a widescreen monitor, and some fairly high-end components to build me a desktop and all the accessories I needed. Seriously, how much money is he going to spend? I¡¯m beginning to feel like this Alex is a lot different than I would be. No, that¡¯s not it. He¡¯s acting exactly how I would in this kind of situation. I¡¯m the one who¡¯s thinking differently.


    Our last stop was a beauty supply store. Rebecca had told Alex that it would be the best place to get things like shampoo and conditioner, along with other supplies. She said that my hair would take a lot more to take care of than his and the employees could help us find what was best for it. Rebecca really was competent and thought ahead.


    As soon as we stepped inside, it was like a celebrity had entered the store. The three ladies in the front started fawning over me as soon as they saw me. It got so bad that two more came out of the back to see what was going on and then joined in. Alex was literally pushed to the side.


    That was by far the worst part of the day. They led me around arguing over what products would be best for my hair, what would be best for my skin, and so on for an hour. Thanks to Alex stepping in after the first few minutes, everyone calmed down¡­ A little. It was still a crazy experience though. I did learn a lot about how to make sure I didn¡¯t damage my hair, and what to do to take care of it, along with way more information on skin care than I wanted. We left with a lot of different products that they suggested, along with a couple of bottles of lip gloss that would ¡°be just perfect for me.¡± I had no choice, I swear.


    Heading back to the pickup I was exhausted, especially mentally, and Alex even looked worse for wear after that last store. A couple of the ladies had even started gushing about his hair as well. I¡¯m not ashamed to admit, that was really funny to see. The expression on his face made me wish I hadn¡¯t left my phone in the truck.


    ¡°Uncle Alex, can we stop by and talk to Natalie again?¡±


    ¡°Sure, did you forget something?¡±


    ¡°No, not really. I wanted to ask her about some kind of wallet and a way to carry it and my phone.¡±


    ¡°Good Idea. You will have a student I.D. for school, so you will need something to carry it around in.¡±


    Once we found Natalie I started explaining what I wanted and she started to get a gleam in her eyes. Crap. Before I could even finish I was being drug towards the purses by an overly enthusiastic teenager. She was definitely Rebecca¡¯s daughter.


    Natalie was looking through the different purses and wallets firing off all kinds of questions about what I liked, disliked, and anything else she could think of. After Alex mentioned that I liked wolves she literally started jumping up and down and fished out a leather fold-up phone case/wallet with a howling wolf¡¯s head and what looked like a full moon in the background. That didn¡¯t seem like what you would find with a bunch of classy and pretty purses. Maybe my luck was finally helping or something. First, the bedroom set, and now this? Shut up, don¡¯t jinx it.


    Finding a small light gray and black handbag that also had a strap was lucky as well. I liked that it wasn¡¯t cute or flashy and Natalie said the subdued colors would go with most outfits fairly well. We thanked her again and were finally on our way home after a quick stop to get myself a sonic toothbrush and a few other small things.


    This day was way too exhausting. Breathe in and out. Just keep breathing.

 8: What exactly makes you , you. (Part 1)

    Lazily opening my eyes the next morning I stared at the ceiling for a while trying to process all the things that happened yesterday. I had a hard time coming to grips with how much fun I had. That was new for me, and I wasn¡¯t sure about it. It was a good thing and I knew that in my head¡­ My heart was a little different.


    I should be embracing this new chance at life.


    It was a hard concept to swallow.


    A chance to do things over, use my experiences and learn from my past. I could do any of the myriad things I had dreamed about, choose a different career path, whatever I wanted really.


    So why was I hesitating? Why not greet the day and charge forward? There was only one reason¡­ Well, one giant reason with a few large reasons that combined with it. That made it harder to embrace my new me.


    I was scared.


    Some of it was due to my biggest change, some due to the memories Jacobus put in my head.


    What did that mean though? I was scared of losing ¡®Myself¡¯.


    I could already tell that my personality was changing little by little and I was worried that my sense of self was changing with it. I know that I wasn¡¯t the best person out there, yet I had tried to be someone that could be relied upon by those around him. I wasn¡¯t a hero and never wanted to be one. Let someone else be in the foreground and take the glory.


    You could say I looked at myself like a foundation, holding my friends and family up and supporting them in any way I could. I never wanted nor needed popularity or any kind of fame. A few good friends and my family were more than enough.


    What made me, me? It was hard to quantify. I still felt like I was losing a part of myself.


    Now my thoughts were spiraling again. I know I needed to figure this out, nonetheless, I also needed to take my time and slowly work through everything. All my fears, my hopes, and dreams, everything will work out one way or another. No one can force it. All you could do was move forward and work for it, whatever ¡®it¡¯ was to you.


    Taking a deep breath, I got out of bed and stretched.


    After getting home yesterday afternoon, Alex and I had eaten the leftovers and then exercised for about an hour before bed. That was the routine that I had been doing for years and it was reassuring in its familiarity.


    Trying to decide what to wear, I was leaning toward one of my pairs of flannel pants and a t-shirt when I spotted some of the new knitted thigh-length socks. My ¡®comfy¡¯ meter skyrocketed again.


    Crap.


    It looked like I had no choice. Meh, it can¡¯t be that bad, can it? After yesterday, wearing skirts didn¡¯t bother me quite as much, and to tell you the truth, I didn¡¯t mind wearing skirts and dresses as much as I thought I would. I still wasn¡¯t completely sure I could get used to or even wanted to be like that though. The memories actually helped as much as hurt. I still didn¡¯t like that they pretty much compelled me to wear those kinds of clothes, although when I really thought about them, they gave me that sense of familiarity as well.


    Finding no sense in fighting it all at once, I picked out a pair that was beige and a white above-the-knee skirt, a light green sleeveless shirt, and one of the simple bras. I took Alex¡¯s¡­ Nope, my hoodie and the nightgown off (yes, I wore both for some reason. Don¡¯t ask¡­) and got dressed. The hoodie went right back on as well without me even noticing.


    Not thinking about much more than food, I yawned as I walked into the kitchen, and hearing Alex¡¯s chuckle startled me.


    ¡°You look relaxed this morning.¡±


    ¡°Morning Uncle Alex.¡±


    ¡°There is some food in the microwave. It should still be warm. There¡¯s also milk and juice in the fridge if you want any.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Orange juice sounds good. Is there anything we need to do today?¡±


    ¡°Not really. The crew that¡¯s working on the house should be here any minute so it might get a little noisy. I do need to run into town later and check on how the restaurant is coming along.¡±


    ¡°Mm, Do I need to go?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it might be best. I don¡¯t think anything would happen so we will see. That¡¯s not until after lunch so we can play it by ear.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡±


    I filled a glass with juice and pulled the plate of food out of the microwave. As I sat down to eat Alex¡¯s phone rang.


    ¡°Morning Becca, did I forget something yesterday?¡±


    ¡°What do you think you were doing?!¡± Rebecca¡¯s shout was so loud Alex had to take the phone from his ear and I could hear her from across the table.


    ¡°Rebecca? What do you mean? All we did was go shop¡­¡±


    ¡°I know about your shopping! Natalie told me all about it!¡±


    ¡°Then I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re yelling at me. Did I do something wrong?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t hear Rebecca¡¯s side after that. What I did understand was she was mad at Alex for letting Natalie go wild and picking out so many clothes. From my point of view, it was unavoidable. Neither Alex nor I had any idea what a young girl needed and just ended up going with the flow. It seems that was Rebecca¡¯s point.


    Rebecca had also scolded Natalie when she had gotten home and enthusiastically told her all about her little shopping trip with me. It kinda sounded like Natalie had been in tears after that. It wasn¡¯t said, but that was my gut feeling.


    After she was done scolding Alex, Rebecca apologized for Natalie¡¯s antics and they started chatting about other things. Alex looked at me when I got up to take the dishes into the kitchen and chuckled, commenting that he probably wasn¡¯t getting his hoodie back, then froze.


    ¡°Umm, what¡¯s up Uncle Alex?¡±


    ¡°We forgot to get you a coat and a couple of hoodies¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, we did.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare go and buy any! I have some of Natalie¡¯s old coats and a couple of hoodies that she didn¡¯t wear and grew out of that should fit little Sasha.¡± Rebecca must have heard what Alex had said to me. She had to have yelled into the phone for me to hear her again as I was in the kitchen washing my plate and glass.


    ¡°Alright, I hear you, Becca. You don¡¯t have to blow my ear drum out.¡±


    After talking for a little longer, it seems they decided to meet up just before lunch. Alex let slip that he had to run by the restaurant and Becca decided that I should go out for lunch with her and Natalie. She wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer either, claiming that a construction site was no place for a young lady to be, even if I stayed in the pickup.


    Stolen story; please report.


    I guess I have no choice. I¡¯m going back into town.


    We still had a couple of hours before we needed to leave so I hung up the rest of my clothes, organized my room, and put my phone and debit card in my new phone case to pass the time.


    About the time we needed to leave I was trying to decide if I should take my socks off and put hose on or just go like I was.


    Screw it.


    Trying a few different pairs of shoes to see if they looked weird, I landed on a pair of light green pumps with about a one-and-a-half-inch heel that kind of matched my shirt. It didn¡¯t look too bad to me so I went with it. I figured Rebecca or Natalie would say something if it didn¡¯t work, so I put a pair of white hose in my little handbag just in case.


    Yep, my mindset is definitely changing.


    The weather outside was gorgeous again today so I didn¡¯t really need my hoodie and reluctantly took it off and laid it on my bed. It must be turning into something like a safety blanket for me.


    Grabbing my handbag and putting my phone inside, I used a dark green scrunchy to tie my hair up in a high ponytail and we got in the pickup and left.


    Pulling into my old work¡¯s parking lot again, Rebecca¡¯s SUV was already there so Alex parked beside it and we headed inside. I had a feeling about what was going to happen. Even knowing couldn¡¯t fully prepare me though, and I was blindsided by a hug from Natalie, who had a sheepish grin on her face and started apologizing to Alex for yesterday.


    Alex just laughed and told her it was fine, no harm done and that I needed the clothes anyway. A stern glance from Rebecca shut him up pretty quickly. In the end, she just sighed and said as long as we were ok with it, we should use it as a learning experience.


    ¡°Here Sasha, I like your hair like that, but we can spruce it up a little to make it look more natural. Tight ponytails like that look good and are nice for when you¡¯re exercising or you need to keep your hair out of your face, for going out there are better choices.¡± Rebecca swooped in and started leading me to her office after admonishing Natalie and Alex again.


    ¡°Um, Ok Becca. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°No problem dear. Come on Natalie, you can give me a hand. Give us a call when you are done at the new restaurant Alex. We¡¯ll take good care of Sasha.¡±


    ¡°, Are you sure this is alright Becca? Sasha doesn¡¯t know you guys well yet and she.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine Alex. We won¡¯t bite, besides, Sasha is going to need some other women around that she can trust. I promise to take good care of her. Quit being such a helicopter dad. This will be good for her.¡± Rebecca cut him off before he could finish.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°No buts. She needs this and so do you. Get going now, you have things to do.¡± She wasn¡¯t backing down and was somewhat scary right now. I could see why Kennith jumped when she told him to and I couldn¡¯t help but giggle.


    Alex looked crestfallen when he heard me. Sorry Alex, what goes around, comes around. Consider that payback for yesterday when Rebecca hurried me off and you just shook your head.


    ¡°I will be fine Uncle Alex. If you trust Mrs. Rebecca then I can too.¡±


    ¡°Ah, right. Ok, then Becca. Please take care of Sasha for me and call me right away if you need anything, Sasha.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll be fine Alex. Shoo, we have things to do as well.¡± She actually said shoo and waved Alex away. The look on Alex¡¯s face and how she did that was so funny I couldn¡¯t keep from giggling again. The other ladies in the office started laughing as well.


    I could tell Alex was really embarrassed because he just grabbed the bridge of his nose and grumbled something unintelligible as he walked out the door. Unfortunately for him, that just made everyone laugh harder.


    Twenty minutes later Rebecca and Natalie had redone my ponytail by loosening up my hair around my head and lightly twisting some of it together. They left some of my bangs out to fall in front and then spread and did something to the back to make it flair out. The bangs we ended up tucking behind my ears since they were so long.


    ¡°Maybe we should take Sasha to the Solon and get her a haircut. What do you think mom?¡± Natalie asked while she was putting her brush and hair ties into her bag.


    ¡°That could be fun. We could go after we eat lunch.¡±


    ¡°Umm. Please don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean Sasha? Your hair is gorgeous, but it would make it a lot easier to take care of. We could still leave it nice and long, just maybe layer it a bit and trim it a little.¡± Natalie tilted her head and looked confused.


    ¡°I like it like this. My mom always said it was beautiful and that I should make sure to take good care of it. Her hair was even longer than mine. I loved having her brush my hair.¡± Did I really say that? For some reason, those memories flashed through my head. Somehow, I could also ¡®feel¡¯ those exact feelings as well. Dang it Jacobus, how did you even make those up, and why are they going through my head?


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Rebecca and Natalie looked at each other and I swear they had tears in their eyes.


    ¡°Alright Sasha, we won¡¯t bring it up again.¡± Rebecca finally replied in a soft and gentle voice while Natalie bent down and hugged me tightly while telling me she was sorry for bringing it up.


    We finished putting everything away while they collected themselves.


    ¡°Hey Sasha, I really like your outfit today. You look so cute I just want to cuddle with you all day.¡± Natalie finally broke the silence while we were getting into Rebecca¡¯s , prompting Rebecca to reach over and lightly smack her on the backside of her head.


    You want to What Natalie?


    ¡°What, it¡¯s true. That outfit is really cute. I really like how she put it together, and I¡¯m glad she likes the socks I found for her.¡±


    ¡°While that may be true, you didn¡¯t have to add that last part. It could make her uncomfortable, especially since she doesn¡¯t know us that well.¡± Rebecca reprimanded her in a stern voice.


    ¡°Umm, It¡¯s embarrassing, but I¡¯m Ok. Thanks for saying you liked my outfit. I didn¡¯t know if I could wear the socks like this. They were just so comfy I didn¡¯t want to take them off, so please don¡¯t be too mad at Natalie.¡± I tried to step in and help Natalie. I could tell that she didn¡¯t mean anything bad about it and it seemed her personality was just bubbly and happy-go-lucky.


    ¡°Alright Sasha, if you say so. Try to be a little less energetic Natalie. We need to let Sasha get more used to being around us first.¡±


    ¡°Ok mom, I¡¯ll try.¡± Natalie agreed and then turned to me in the back seat. ¡°While you don¡¯t usually see people wearing socks like that around town, it is getting more popular Sasha. I think you pull it off well and how you matched them with your shoes and shirt, along with the white skirt looks really cute.¡±


    I blushed after hearing that. I still didn¡¯t know if everything actually worked well together, though if she thought they did, I would go with it.


    What I had said hit me a second later and I blushed even harder. Dang it.


    Rebecca drove out of the parking lot and we were on our way to get lunch. They knew of a little mom-and-pop Italian bistro close to downtown that had great salads and other light lunch dishes. A salad sounded good, so I agreed.


    Natalie and I chatted about clothes and fashion (didn¡¯t see that coming did you¡­) with Rebecca joining in once in a while. It was a pleasant thirty-minute drive.


    Finding a parking spot along the street a couple of blocks from the bistro, we got out of the SUV and started walking. We were in one of the nicer, if busier parts of town, even so, I started to feel like I was being stared at. That definitely made me a little anxious.


    Rebecca and Natalie instinctively moved me between them and Natalie grabbed my hand.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much about it Sasha. Nothing is going to happen. I know you came from a small town so you¡¯re not used to this. Most people are just curious is all, and they are looking at all three of us. Your hair color does stand out some I¡¯ll admit, although it isn¡¯t that uncommon.¡± Rebecca said in a reassuring tone.


    ¡°She¡¯s just too cute mom. I feel sorry for Alex.¡± Natalie said with a laugh.


    Really Natalie? Did you have to say that, and in that way?


    ¡°That¡¯s true. I¡¯m glad he trains so much. Ha ha. I almost feel more sorry for any boyfriends Sasha might get. Alex might end up being the pain to deal with in the long run though. I never thought He could be so overprotective.¡±


    Boyfriends? Oh H*** No! Please don¡¯t even joke about that you two.


    ¡°Umm, why would he have a problem with any boys who were my friends? I have a few back home, and my parents liked them.¡± If they¡¯re going to go there, I have to try to mess with them as well. A ten-year-old wouldn¡¯t know what a boyfriend was, right? At least not that way, right?


    ¡°Well¡­ You don¡¯t have to worry about that for now Sasha. Mom and I were just joking around so don¡¯t mind us¡­¡± Natalie haltingly replied. Yep, that killed that conversation. Bingo!


    ¡°Ok, Natalie.¡± I tilted my head and acted confused. Natalie blushed a pretty pink color and couldn¡¯t look at me while Rebecca laughed at her as we reached the bistro. Rebecca opened the door for us and we were greeted by a pretty blond hostess that was probably in her late teens.


    ¡°Welcome to Benedetti¡¯s. Oh, hey Natalie.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Samantha. Working again today?¡±


    ¡°Ya, my dad said it was good for me to work on the days I don¡¯t have school. I like how our school switched over to a college-like schedule, but now I have to work more. Sorry, is it the three of you? Oh, who is this little cutie?¡±


    Why am I being called a ¡®little cutie¡¯ and ¡®cute¡¯ all the time? I thought people only said that about kids under five or something?


    ¡°This is Sasha. She¡¯s a friend and the daughter of one of the guys who worked for my parents. She just moved here and we are taking care of her today.¡±


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s awesome. Hi Sasha, I¡¯m Samantha, It¡¯s nice to meet you. Hello to you as well Rebecca. It¡¯s good to see you.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Samantha. It¡¯s been a while. A table for three will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Got it, right this way please,¡± Samantha said as she lead us to a small table in the back of the dining room. The place was almost packed with very few tables empty.


    Still, it¡¯s a nice quiet place. This shouldn¡¯t be too bad, Right?

 9: What exactly makes you, you. (Part 2)

    We garnered quite a few more stares on the way to our table, especially from a table with six college age guys. A couple looked at me a little longer than they probably should have, though it could be they were staring at Natalie. Well, She was a really pretty brunette that had almost perfect proportions and stood around five foot ten. I just tried to ignore them while we wove our way through the room.


    Samantha took our drink orders and set menus on the table, saying she would be back in a minute with our drinks. Taking a look at the menu, I could see why Rebecca and Natalie liked this place. The atmosphere was calm and warm, and the food around us smelled good.


    ¡°What do you think Sasha? Anything catch your eye?¡± Rebecca asked while perusing her own menu.


    ¡°Umm, I think the grilled chicken salad looks really good, but the grilled salmon salad sounds even better. I think I will go with that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, That¡¯s a good one. I think I¡¯ll have that too.¡± Natalie agreed with me.


    ¡°I think¡­ The grilled chicken sounds the best to me. How do you like the restaurant so far?¡± Rebecca asked me.


    ¡°I like it, although¡­¡± I trailed off. The place itself was warm and relaxing, what turned me off was the table of guys. We could hear them talking. They weren¡¯t being loud, though they weren¡¯t quiet either and their voices carried. Typical young men.


    ¡°Ya, just ignore them, Sasha. Some people are just like that. I do wish those two would stop talking about me though. Ugh, They¡¯re probably close to the same age as Eric.¡±


    ¡°Ok Natalie, I¡¯ll try. Who is Eric?¡± I knew who Eric was, yet again it would be odd for me too though, so I played it off.


    ¡°Eric is my youngest son. He¡¯s twenty-four now. My oldest son, Brandon, turns twenty-seven next month. Hmm. speak of the devil. There¡¯s Brandon. I wonder what he¡¯s doing.¡± Rebecca waved at Brandon when she noticed him walking into the dining room.


    Brandon paused for a second after seeing Rebecca wave at him, raised his eyebrows, and then walked towards us. The guys at the table called to him while he walked past. He greeted them and said that he would be right back.


    ¡°Mom, Nat, How are you two doing?¡± Brandon asked as he sat down in the chair across from me.


    ¡°Quit calling me Nat jerk. You know I hate that.¡± Natalie spat back.


    ¡°Ok, ok. I¡¯m only teasing you. Calm down.¡±


    ¡°Brandon, even if it is a joke, Natalie doesn¡¯t like it. You know that.¡± Rebecca, You are very scary at times.


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am, sorry.¡± Yep, he caved like a champ. You would too if you were here, believe me.


    ¡°Sasha, this is Brandon, my oldest. Brandon, this is Sasha. You remember Alex?¡± At Brandon¡¯s nod, Rebecca continued. ¡°It¡¯s a bit complicated, but Sasha is living with Alex now. He had some business in town so Natalie and I are showing her around this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°If you would have said she was Alex¡¯s daughter I would have believed you. Her hair is almost the same color. Nice to meet you, Sasha, I¡¯m Brandon. Natalie¡¯s big brother.¡± That one earned him a smack on top of the head from Rebecca. The guys at the table started laughing when they saw that and both Natalie and I giggled.


    What? It was funny, and it wasn¡¯t like she hit either of them hard. More like a love tap to get their attention.


    ¡°What was that for mom?¡±


    ¡°I told you it¡¯s complicated. I taught you better than that.¡±


    ¡°Ah, ok. Sorry? No, don¡¯t hit me again, I get it.¡± Brandon put both hands up in surrender, making Natalie and I laugh again.


    Samantha arrived with our drinks and set them on the table. She apologized for the wait and asked if we were ready to order, so we told her what we wanted. Before she left she said a quick hello to Brandon and asked if he wanted anything. Brandon said he was going to join the other guys at their table and asked if he could get a coffee delivered there. Samantha nodded and left with our orders.


    ¡°Brandon.¡± Brandon stiffened at Rebecca saying his name. ¡°You know I¡¯m not one to judge, but are you sure you should be hanging out with those boys?¡±


    Brandon sighed and rubbed his forehead. ¡°Rich and Anthony. I bet they were talking about Natalie, weren¡¯t they? I swear they are good guys and they don¡¯t mean anything by it. They can be kind of dense though. Natalie does look older than she is¡­ No excuses mom, just saying she does. I¡¯ll have a talk with them.¡±


    ¡°You better do something about it, Brandon, They¡¯ve been creeping me and Sasha out.¡± Natalie scolded.


    ¡°Sorry, Natalie. I promise they didn¡¯t mean to. They are freshmen this year and still have that High School mentality. I know, that doesn¡¯t make it Ok. Jeesh, you can be just like mom. Wait, mom, that¡¯s a good thing.¡± Brandon seemed to be good at digging holes for himself. I couldn¡¯t help but giggle again.


    Can I please stop having that reaction? Laughing is ok, but giggling? No? You hate me, don¡¯t you¡­


    ¡°Is this lunch with the guys, or are you having a team meeting?¡± Rebecca asked Brandon.


    ¡°Team meeting. There is a tournament in Kansas City coming up in about two months so we need to go over the details and make sure our hotel reservations are still good, figure out travel plans, that sort of thing.¡±


    I thought Brandon had graduated college about three years ago. If I remember right, he was going for a degree in education, with a plan to teach at the college level himself someday. I knew it took more than four years and a lot of internship time, I didn¡¯t know what else was needed though.


    ¡°Kennith mentioned something about that.¡± Rebecca then turned to me. ¡°You and Brandon might get along Sasha. He manages the Karate team for the local College as part of his internship. Like Alex, he¡¯s practiced martial arts for quite a few years.¡±


    Small world. I hadn¡¯t heard anything about that. Wonder why Kennith never told me his son practiced Karate.


    ¡°You like Karate Sasha?¡±


    ¡°Ya, Uncle Alex would teach me whenever he visited. He is also teaching me Aikido and Muay Boran.¡±


    ¡°Alex knows Aikido?¡±


    ¡°Yep. He¡¯s really good at it too.¡±


    ¡°Interesting, do you know what rank he is?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ I think he said first Dan in Aikido and Dan in Karate? I don¡¯t remember what that means though.¡±


    ¡°Dang, I had heard Alex trained a lot, but that¡¯s just crazy.¡±


    ¡°Really? I knew Uncle Alex is awesome!¡± Yes, I¡¯m talking about myself. I know this. I have to keep up appearances though right?


    ¡°Wow Sasha, I didn¡¯t know Alex was like that. You should ask him to train with you sometime Brandon.¡± Natalie looked somewhat star-struck.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good idea. Uncle Alex can get really into it when he trains with other people. He¡¯s good with me though so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°You would have never thought that about Alex. He¡¯s usually so calm and collected.¡± Rebecca mused while setting down her tea.


    ¡°Ha. Maybe I should see if he would come train with us someday, having the guys work with someone else would be good for them. I¡¯m only first Kyu. The coach is Dan though. Training with the same people can get old and makes you stagnate. Think he would be interested, Sasha?¡±


    I didn¡¯t know if that would be a good idea, though maybe it would help both of us get out more.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. You would have to ask him.¡±


    ¡°Could you mention it to him for me? Maybe that would help.¡±


    ¡°Brandon¡± Harsh Rebecca. You made him flinch again. ¡°She¡¯s only ten. You don¡¯t need to be asking her to do things like that.¡±


    ¡°I can do that Rebecca. It doesn¡¯t bother me.¡±


    ¡°Ok, I will leave it for now. Do you understand Brandon?¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ She¡¯s only ten? I thought she was fourteen or fifteen.¡±


    ¡°Brandon¡±


    I have a feeling Rebecca runs the family. Scary.


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. Sorry, Sasha.¡±


    ¡°Hey Brandon, we¡¯re getting hungry over here. Stop flirting will ya?¡±


    ¡°Shut it Rich! I¡¯ll be right there, then you Anthony, and I are going to have a nice, long Chat.¡± Brandon snapped over his shoulder. ¡°Sorry mom, I will make sure to work on them.¡±


    ¡°You do that.¡± I hope you never look at me with that smirk Rebecca.


    Rich and Anthony paled at Brandon and Rebecca¡¯s words. Good. Grow up, guys.


    After that Brandon went over to the other table and Samantha brought out our food. It looked delicious and tasted the same. While we ate, Natalie asked me what school I was going to go to, and I told them about how we had applied to Plumb Valley. Natalie got excited again and told me she went there as well. She was now going to Winter Valley (an original name I know) which was the affiliated High School.


    Rebecca and Natalie both agreed it was the best Middle School in the area and Natalie got excited telling me about how much fun she had there and how good the teachers were. I hope she was right. I was still worried about going back to school. The first time I went wasn¡¯t that much fun. Probably my fault because I was a loner and still scared about my anger issues.


    Maybe this time will be different.


    I was barely able to eat a quarter of the salad. In my defense, the portion sizes were decent and Natalie only ate a little over half of hers. I still felt like a rabbit nibbling on my salad.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t eat much Sasha, are you feeling Ok?¡± Rebecca asked me with a slight frown. ¡°You¡¯re so skinny, you should try to eat a little more.¡±


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not feeling bad. I eat like Uncle Alex does.¡±


    ¡°Like Alex? What do you mean?¡± Natalie had a puzzled expression.


    ¡°He says it¡¯s healthier to eat smaller meals than a few bigger ones. If I can get a to-go box, I will probably eat more later.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see. I think a lot of athletes eat like that, or I think I heard that somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you ate enough Sasha?¡± Rebecca wasn¡¯t giving up.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure. I promise.¡±


    ¡°If you say so. Did you like it?¡± Rebecca still didn¡¯t look convinced.


    ¡°Yes, Thank you. It was really good.¡±


    My phone chimed with a text from Alex explaining that he would be a couple more hours and asking how things were going. I replied telling him that was fine and I was having fun.


    ¡°Was that Alex?¡± Natalie leaned over to look at my phone.


    ¡°Yep, He was asking if I was having fun and says that he was going to be a couple more hours. I hope that¡¯s Ok.¡±


    ¡°That took longer than I thought. He must be busy.¡± Natalie teased.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine Sasha. Are you up for walking around and looking at some of the stores? There is a nice downtown street mall a few blocks away. We don¡¯t have to buy anything. Looking can be fun in its own way.¡±


    ¡°That sounds fun mom. That street has some cool stores.¡±


    ¡°Ya. That does sound fun. I like to run a lot, so I should be alright.¡±


    ¡°Oh? That must be why you¡¯re so skinny.¡± Natalie teased me again.


    Rebecca and Natalie laughed when I blushed after hearing that. (Why did I blush because of that? I¡¯m confused.)


    Samantha came over after Natalie waved to her and Rebecca paid our bill while we got some boxes and put the rest of our salads in them. Saying goodbye to Brandon as we walked out we stopped by the Escalade and dropped off what was left of our lunch before walking to the street mall.


    Browsing around for a little over an hour we happily chatted about the different stores and cafes that were along the street. We did have a little hiccup when they spotted a jewelry store and made me try on different necklaces. They were surprised when they found out my ears weren¡¯t pierced, asking if I had anything against it or if my mom didn¡¯t want me to. I told them that we had not gotten around to it. They vowed that they would convince Alex to let me get my ears pierced. Meh, I had them pierced in High School anyway.


    Getting back to Rebecca¡¯s Escalade, I was feeling a little hungry again. Salmon is a good source of protein. Salad? Not so much and walking around made me hungry. Seeing me eat again, Rebecca smiled and watched me in the rearview mirror, looking like a proud mother. That made me blush again. Can I please get that under control?


    Arriving at the shop before Alex, we went back into Rebecca¡¯s office to relax while we waited. Figuring this was as good a time as any, I asked Rebecca if she could teach me how to braid my hair like she did yesterday. Both ladies agreed in an instant while explaining that I wouldn¡¯t be able to learn how in a just few minutes and promising to show me a bunch of different ways to fix my hair. Sounds like I¡¯m going to be spending quite a bit of time with these two, especially if they have anything to say about it.


    I was standing behind Natalie trying to braid her hair with Rebecca coaching me when Alex walked in.


    ¡°You ladies look like you''re having fun.¡±


    ¡°Hi, Uncle Alex. Rebecca and Natalie are teaching me to braid.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I could have taught you that.¡±


    ¡°Now now Alex. Even though you braid your own hair, this is different.¡± Rebecca admonished.


    ¡°We also agreed to teach her a lot of hairstyles so you¡¯re going to have to bring her by from now on. Right, mom?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Alex, we agreed that after school, Sasha should come here and we would look after her for you. At least for a while. Once your restaurant opens up you¡¯re going to be busy for a while. You should also give her permission to get her ears pierced. How does that sound?¡±


    Umm, when did I agree to this? By the way¡­ That doesn¡¯t sound much like a question Rebecca.


    ¡°I do have managers Rebecca. I should be able to take care of Sasha when she gets out of school.¡±


    ¡°You do. You will still be busy for at least a few months. You can¡¯t just let the managers handle everything right off the bat.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to for the Kansas City store.¡±


    ¡°While that may be true, you still need to be at this store to make sure you learn what¡¯s needed to manage the store if something comes up. You better learn how to keep the books and track inventory as well. Trust me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I need to be around for the first few months at least. Are you alright with this arrangement Sasha?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s alright with you and Rebecca, I don¡¯t mind.¡± What could it hurt? I liked Rebecca, and Natalie was fun to be around. If it helped Alex and the restaurant, it was fine with me.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s a good idea. About you getting your ears pierced. If you want to that¡¯s fine with me. Truthfully I don¡¯t know if that should be my decision or not. That¡¯s up to you.


    ¡°Thanks, Uncle Alex.¡±


    ¡°You will have to go with us, Alex. As her guardian, you will have to sign the forms. How does tomorrow afternoon sound?¡±


    ¡°I have school, tomorrow mom. I want to go with Sasha and help her pick out her first earrings.¡±


    ¡°You only have classes in the morning and one after lunch. We won¡¯t go until after your class is out. How does two sound?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine with me as long as Sasha agrees. Can I talk to you outside for a minute Rebecca?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Be right back you too.¡±


    (Alex POV)


    This was going to be an interesting conversation. I had no clue how to bring it up. Rebecca was a good person so she shouldn¡¯t give me too much crap about it, though it was still embarrassing that I had to ask someone about this.


    ¡°What did you need Alex?¡±


    ¡°Well, I have to get Sasha a physical for school.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s pretty standard now, what¡¯s the problem? You can take her to your primary physician. They should be able to handle it.¡±


    ¡°Well, you see. I know that my primary can handle that. Don¡¯t women need a special doctor as well? Please don¡¯t laugh. You know I have no clue about these things.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Alex. It is funny though. I bet you never imagined you would ever have to talk about that to someone.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ You¡¯re right about that.¡±


    ¡°She is still a little too young to need that. I will give you the name and number of our doctor though, just in case something comes up or she needs help. They can also give her advice if she ever needs it. Don¡¯t be scared to ask me as well Alex.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Becca. I really appreciate it. Sorry for asking you something like that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine Alex. You¡¯re doing good. I can understand your apprehension. I might as well let you know, you shouldn¡¯t have to worry about her getting her menstrual cycle for a couple of years yet either. Haha. Calm down. You needed to know that as well.¡±


    ¡°¡­Thanks. I did need to, that doesn¡¯t mean I wanted to. This is nerve-racking. I promised Zeke and Valeria I would take care of her, and I love her like a daughter. I just don¡¯t know if I¡¯m up to it Becca. I want to be, and I couldn¡¯t stand it if something happened.¡±


    ¡°I understand Alex. You will do fine and you have us to help. We will make sure nothing happens, I promise. As I said, if you need help with anything, ask. We¡¯re here for you both.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know how much those words mean to me, Becca. Thanks¡±


    (Sasha POV)


    While I worked on Natalie¡¯s hair and we chatted, I kept an ear on the conversation outside Rebecca¡¯s office. I couldn¡¯t hear everything that was said, though I got the gist of it.


    Crap.


    At least I had a couple of years before I really had to worry about that. Knowing didn¡¯t help much.


    ¡°Are you ready to go Sasha?¡±


    ¡°I think so, how does this look Rebecca? I know it¡¯s not very good yet.¡± I had only managed to get one side braided. Natalie¡¯s hair was only just past her shoulders and it took forever to get that far. How did Rebecca do mine so fast?


    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad first try Sasha. You just need practice. You should try to get it a little tighter here next time unless you want them to be less pronounced. Try to keep all of them at the same tension.¡± Rebecca pointed to the front of one of the braids.


    ¡°Mm, I thought something was wrong.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not wrong dear. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go look in the mirror, don¡¯t leave until I get back Sasha. Ok?¡± Natalie jumped up and rushed to the bathroom before I could answer.


    ¡°You might be in for a hard time Sasha. Natalie always wanted a little sister, and I think you might have been waylaid.¡± Rebecca was laughing as we walked to the front door.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I think you might be right Becca. Natalie seems to have attached herself to Sasha.¡±


    ¡°Ha-having a big sister would be nice?¡± Sorry, I can¡¯t think right now, please try again later.


    We heard someone squeal behind us and I was almost tackled from behind.


    ¡°You mean it, Sasha?! Your big sister Natalie will take good care of you, I promise!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± My mind went completely blank. How did this happen? Does this happen in real life? I¡¯m not in some light novel right now, right?


    ¡°Natalie¡± Rebecca sighed her daughters¡¯ name. ¡°Calm down.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t mom! I¡¯m so excited that I have such a cute little sister!¡±


    ¡°We will talk about this later. For now, let go of Sasha so they can leave. The coat and hoodies are in the back of my Escalade Alex. We can grab them on the way to your pickup.¡±


    ¡°Thanks again, Becca. I¡¯m glad we can count on you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Alex. Come on Natalie, quite smothering Sasha.¡±


    After I was finally untangled from Natalie, we walked to Rebecca¡¯s Escalade and she handed me a thick, dark forest green wool trench coat that flared out past the waist like a skirt and would probably reach my knees. It had a deep fur-lined hood that folded back into a wide collar. there was also a three-inch wide belt that wrapped around the waist and was held in place by three belt loops.


    ¡°Are you sure I can have this? It¡¯s so nice.¡±


    ¡°I remember that coat. It¡¯s really warm and soft Sasha. Too bad, I outgrew it so quickly. Maybe I should find another one so we can match!¡±


    ¡°Please take it, Sasha. It will probably be big on you for now though. Why don¡¯t you try it on?¡±


    ¡°Ok, Thanks Rebecca, Natalie.¡± It was big for my small frame. The bottom of the coat went to my knees like I thought it would and the waist was a little low, that would give me more time to grow into it before I would need something else. If I ever did. I still didn¡¯t know how much I would grow yet.


    ¡°That looks really cute on you Sasha. It makes your gorgeous hair stand out and matches your eyes.¡± Natalie was vibrating at this point. How much energy does this girl have? It¡¯s scary in its own way.


    ¡°It really does look good on her. Here you go, Alex. I found three hoodies as well. Two are zip up and the other is a pullover. They are about the same size, though they should fit alright.¡±


    ¡°Thanks again, Becca. You didn¡¯t have to.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense. You don¡¯t have to thank us, Alex. See you tomorrow Sasha. I hope you had a fun afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Rebecca. I had a lot of fun. Thank you to Natalie. I really like the coat.¡± This habit isn¡¯t going away any time soon, is it. At least I¡¯m starting to get used to it. Kind of.


    ¡°Ugh, I can¡¯t wait to see you again tomorrow Sasha! I had lots of fun today.¡± Natalie gave me another bear hug. Uncle, uncle. I can¡¯t breathe Natalie!


    Untangling myself from Natalie again, Alex and I got in the pickup and left for home. When we go there I changed and we did our customary workout, then I showered, went to my room, and flopped onto my bed. What a day.


    ¡°Hey Sasha, How are you getting along?¡±


    ¡°Jacobus! You scared me. Where have you been?¡±


    ¡°I was nosing around trying to find a way to help you. Where else?¡±


    ¡°When you say help¡­¡±


    ¡°No, like I said, that¡¯s not possible. We still haven¡¯t figured out what went wrong.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ So, what are you here for?¡±


    ¡°I found out you needed more than only the memories, so I came to give you a boost you could say.¡±


    ¡°About the memories, how the heck did you do that? I can actually feel emotions from them and see things that never could have happened. Today I had a memory of Valeria brushing my hair while humming a song and I felt sad like I had lost something.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy. Those were daydreams and fantasies Valeria had. They were what she wanted to do if she ever had a daughter.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I don¡¯t know whether to be impressed, or disturbed.¡±


    ¡°Hey now.¡±


    ¡°Ya, ya. So, what¡¯s this boost?¡±


    ¡°Well, We figured out that we need to change you a little more. Make you more like Zeke and Valeria. Nothing major, I promise.¡±


    ¡°You said that last time.¡±


    ¡°I know. The main reason is to change how you end up. As of now, you will end up being as tall as Alex is, with a similar build, and that won¡¯t work with your new body. That¡¯s part of your dysphoria. If you take Zeke and Valeria, their daughter would still end up being quite tall, and if we make you take more after Valeria, very beautiful as well. That¡¯s what we need to do.¡±


    ¡°And your saying I need this and it will help? How much like Valeria and how tall are we talking?¡±


    ¡°Body wise, probably a little thinner than she was with about the same assets. Height-wise, I would guess around six foot? Maybe a touch shorter.¡±


    ¡°The same assets¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m trying to be polite.¡±


    ¡°Well, I can live with that, though six foot for a woman is tall.¡±


    ¡°You might be a little shorter, not much though I¡¯m afraid. It¡¯s still better than six foot seven though.¡±


    ¡°I could live with being that tall again.¡±


    ¡°Trust me, you don¡¯t want that. You won¡¯t be able to completely get rid of the dysphoria if you become that tall again. It will be easier this way.¡±


    ¡°If I need this to happen, let¡¯s get it over with.¡±


    ¡°You know Sasha, I have been paying attention to you as well. I know you¡¯re worried that you are losing yourself and changing. You are changing, there is no denying that. You should know that whatever happens, however you change, you will always be You. No matter how you change, your sense of who you are will stay the same.¡±


    ¡°That actually makes sense in a way. What about my personality? Why am I acting so different from normal? Take the giggling and blushing, or how I talk to people now.¡±


    ¡°Well, most of that is the age regression, and part of it is the memories I made. You remember how I used some of Valeria¡¯s daydreams?¡± I nodded. ¡°There is a very slight possibility that how your acting is also connected to how her daughter acted in those daydreams¡­¡±


    ¡°JACOBUS!¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. Sorry. Most of it is from the age regression though. It might be for the best as well. You¡¯re having fun and getting along with people, making new friends. You won¡¯t lose you because of it. I promise.¡±


    ¡°I will hold you to that.¡±


    ¡°Give it time and let things be. It will help you adjust as well. Try not to fight it so much and you will figure that out.¡±


    With that, Jacobus held his hand to my temple. This time was different as my whole body felt warm, not just my head. He was gone by the time I noticed he was done.


    Chicken. He knew I wanted to punch him.


    I dressed in my nightgown and hoodie and was asleep before my head hit the pillow

 10: What is family?

    Coming up from dreamland, I felt somewhat sore. Probably from what Jacobus had done last night. Exactly what he had done was a mystery. I understood the gist of it, and yet what it all meant was up in the air. ¡°Maybe something like Gene Therapy?¡± If it helped with my dysphoria, that was all that mattered.


    Going to the small bathroom in the corner of my room, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I looked the same as I had yesterday, albeit with some imperceptible changes that I doubted anyone else would notice. That only worked if you didn¡¯t look at my eyes.


    Still the same mesmerizing emerald green, they now had little flecks of gold around my pupils. You had to look close to see it, so that was a plus, and I was sure no one had looked close enough to notice the change. Nothing I could do about it.


    I will not admit that I found my own eyes incredibly beautiful, and I will vehemently deny staring into them for at least five minutes. Never happened.


    Choosing a light shirt and some flannel pants, I dressed quickly and moved to the kitchen.


    ¡°Morning Uncle Alex. That smells good.¡±


    ¡°Morning little one. You¡¯re up early. Chicken fried steak and eggs sounded good today, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Mm, sounds really good. Thank you, Uncle Alex.¡±


    ¡°Ha ha, no problem. It¡¯s almost done so go ahead and sit down.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡±


    Once we were done eating and the dishes were put away Alex asked me if I wanted to walk with him to the new house and take a look. The contractor was ready to finish up and wanted to have Alex do an inspection. They were a few days ahead of schedule which was nice.


    I went back to my room and quickly changed into a blue button-up dress that had eyeliner lily prints and reached just below my knees, white hose, and blue shoes.


    As we walked up to the new house, an older man with gray hair and a big, bushy gray beard came over to us.¡°Morning Dennis. How are things going? This is Sasha, Sasha, this is Dennis. He owns the company that built our house.¡±


    Dennis was a cranky old man most of the time, so it took me by surprise when he greeted me with a kind smile. ¡°¡¯ Alex.¡± His voice was deep and gravely. ¡°Sasha huh? It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, little lady.¡± Dennis¡¯ entire demeanor changed as he spoke to me and the lines on his rugged face softened.


    ¡°Good morning Mr. Dennis. Nice to meet you too.¡±


    Talking while we walked toward the house, Dennis gushed about how he had twin granddaughters that were about my age. The way he carried on and the light in his eyes told us that the old man doted on them a lot. Probably too much from how much he all but bragged about them. Huh, didn¡¯t see that coming.


    The house was everything I had ever dreamed of. Before you judge, please remember that I¡¯m (well, was) a bachelor and only had a few relationships that didn¡¯t last very long. Combine that with being a total gearhead and avid outdoorsman, you get an interesting combination. I think it¡¯s awesome, your mileage may vary.


    ¡°This was definitely an unconventional house for us. We built a couple Shouse¡¯s before, ¡¯ quite like this one. There were a few interestin¡¯ challenges to work out, specially with the upstairs rooms, but we managed.¡± Dennis explained while we looked around.


    ¡°It¡¯s really nice Mr. Dennis.¡± A little praise goes a long way. This crew deserved it as well. From what I could tell, the craftsmanship was excellent.


    ¡°Why thanks, little lady.¡± The smile he gave me lit up his whole face.


    ¡°She¡¯s right, Dennis. You guys did an excellent job.¡± Alex agreed while looking around with a giant smile as well.


    Walking in you are greeted with one large room on the ground floor. Thirty feet deep and forty feet wide. The kitchen was on the left and wrapped around the left and back sides. There were double doors to the right of it going into the back.


    The cabinets were dark stained wood and the countertops were polished concrete that the top was ground down and stained a dark blue, letting the materials show through. There was a good-sized island in the middle with an industrial-style stainless gas range. All the other appliances were stainless as well. Between the island and the front of the house was a ¡®breakfast nook¡¯ with wide double doors leading to the porch on the left side of the house. The ceiling was two stories and peaked in the middle with visible beams while the floors were stone tile over heated concrete.


    To the right was a large dining/living room. In between The kitchen and living room was a large set of stairs that was off-center to the right, giving you a straight shot to the doors in the back.


    The stairs lead up to a wide balcony that went across the back above the kitchen and then turned right above the living room, giving access to the three upstairs bedrooms, two baths, and a study.


    Upstairs on the left was the master bedroom with a large bath between it and the study to the right. One of the other bedrooms was to the right of the study with a shared bath between it and the room at the front of the house. Both of those rooms and bath were over the two-car garage.


    All of the bedrooms were the same size and the bathrooms were identical. Each bathroom had a large walk-in shower, a large deep bathtub made from a steel stock tank surrounded by stained wood, and two sinks. I know it sounds weird, but don¡¯t judge the bathtub idea, I promise they look awesome.


    Walking out the back door beside the kitchen, you were under the master bedroom and bath, the study, and one of the other bedrooms. They made a covered patio with a bar and rec area for parties. There was a large laundry room/half bath to your right that connected to the living/dining room and the ¡®patio¡¯. The rest of the space in the back was one large shop. The shouse was a sixty by one hundred twenty foot, two-story steel building.


    It was awesome. One dream fulfilled.


    ¡°This is amazing Mr. Dennis. I can¡¯t believe you and your crew were able to make this.¡± I wasn¡¯t trying to flatter him either. They really did an amazing job.


    ¡°My guys¡¯ll be glad to hear you say that.¡± Dennis had another huge grin on his face and scratched his left cheek. I think I embarrassed him.


    We thanked the rest of the crew for their work after the tour and everyone was all smiles when Dennis told them what I had said. That made me blush and the guys laugh.


    Ugh, can I please at least not blush so easily?


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we have a barbecue to thank them, Uncle Alex? ¡± I asked Alex as we walked back to the RV. ¡°The house is really nice so they must have worked hard. We can also celebrate the house being finished and invite Mr. Kennith and Mrs. Rebecca too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, Sasha. I think Saturday would be a good time. We can also celebrate you getting into Plumb Valley, how¡¯s that sound?¡± Alex agreed while looking at me with a smile.


    ¡°Umm.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Sasha, I¡¯m sure you will be accepted. Besides, you¡¯re too young to think about stuff like that. Enjoy yourself a little more and lighten up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure hearing that from you is a good thing, Uncle Alex.¡± Looking up at him I smiled.


    ¡®cough cough cough¡¯ ¡°Err¡­ Ahem.¡± Alex stumbled, then cleared his throat and whined back. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to say it like that. I¡¯m not that bad.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Seriously, I¡¯m not.¡± His voice was still a little higher than usual while he complained with his eyebrows raised.


    ¡°Ok Uncle Alex.¡±


    He pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes, and mumbled something incoherent. That was a habit I had when I was at a loss for words.


    I never realized how funny it looked.


    That made me think. I haven¡¯t been doing many of my old habits lately, and on top of that, I haven¡¯t felt my eye twitch for a while either. Interesting.


    After a moment Alex brought me out of my musings. ¡°Anyway. Why don¡¯t you go inside and I will run back to tell Dennis about this weekend.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± I agreed with a teasing smile. Alex only shook his head and jogged back to Dennis. Before I closed the door I heard cheers. Huh, wonder why they cheered.


    It was only about ten o¡¯clock by this point, so we had some time to kill. Alex brought up the fact that he needed to do laundry so we gathered it all together and headed into town, as the washer and dryer hadn¡¯t been delivered yet.


    On the way into town, Alex called Rebecca and asked if he could buy her lunch as thanks for yesterday, explaining why we would be in town so early.


    Now we are on our way to Kennith and Rebecca¡¯s house so I can learn how to wash my clothes the ¡®right way¡¯. We didn¡¯t argue. She was adamant that we come over.


    Arriving at Kennith¡¯s, we were ushered in by a smiling Rebecca. ¡°Good morning Alex, Sasha. Come in and bring your clothes. The washer and dryer are over here.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Becca. We appreciate you letting us wash our clothes here, you didn¡¯t have to.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine Alex. This is a good chance to make sure you don¡¯t ruin some of Sasha¡¯s new clothes. I¡¯m sure you just throw everything in together and add detergent, right?¡±


    ¡°I do know how to separate my clothes, Becca. I even know how to use the settings.¡± Alex wouldn¡¯t look at Rebecca while he said that, somewhat looking like a sad puppy. I don¡¯t make that kind of face¡­ Right?


    Rebecca laughed at Alex¡¯s reaction and patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Calm down Alex. I¡¯m not making fun of you. It sounds like you know more than my husband or sons at least. Sasha¡¯s clothes will need a little more attention than that though. Here let me show you what can and can¡¯t go together.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The next two hours were spent with Rebecca showing us when to use delicate and when we could use normal and other things. She didn¡¯t even spare Alex when it came to my hose and other delicate clothes, making him wash one of my pairs of hose by hand along with me, commenting he needed to ¡®know how¡¯. I thought he would pass out from embarrassment.


    ¡°Guess what Rebecca, our new house is finished!¡± I was excited so I brought it up while we were sitting at the table, waiting on a load of wash. ¡°Alex and I are going to have a party, and we hoped you could come!¡±


    As I said, I was excited that my dream home was finally done. Was I going to bring up the fact that I was acting like a kid? Nope. Never happened.


    Rebecca laughed softly while she watched me bounce around in my chair. (as I said, that never happened. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about¡­ Crap.)


    ¡°What Sasha should have said, is that we wanted to invite You, Kennith, and your family. We were also going to invite the crew as well. That¡¯s assuming everyone is free this Saturday.¡± Alex clarified, softly shaking his head and chuckling while he set down his iced tea. He started laughing harder when I crossed my arms and glared at him. Rebecca covered her mouth, eyes scrunching while trying not to laugh as well.


    I know Jacobus said I needed to stop fighting these reactions and that they could help me, somehow. It was hard though, and somewhat confusing as well. After all, my mind was that of a thirty-seven-year-old deep down.


    ¡°I think that would be an excellent idea. We could help out and bring some side dishes as well.¡± Rebecca had composed herself after taking a drink of her tea. ¡°If you are inviting your old crew, would you mind if they brought their families? Kennith and I could help with buying the food, as I assume that you were going to grill? Kennith mentioned you brought grilled meat for lunch a lot.¡±


    Alex looked down at his glass of tea that he was fidgeting with. ¡°Well, ya¡­ I like to grill. I wouldn¡¯t say I¡¯m the best at it so don¡¯t get your hopes up. You don¡¯t need to help out though¡­¡± Alex looked a little embarrassed while he spoke.


    ¡°Nonsense Alex.¡± Rebecca interrupted. ¡°I know that it¡¯s for your new house, but if you wouldn¡¯t mind, would you be willing to let us consider it as a company party? I know your property is in a beautiful area, and we did just complete a large contract. That¡¯s why I offered to help with the food.¡±


    I think Rebecca was only making an excuse and Alex seemed to know it as well. We both opted to ignore that. ¡°I would appreciate the help, Rebecca. Might as well invite the office staff if you are going to call it a company party.¡±


    You could tell Rebecca knew that we (well, Alex) were able to read between the lines of her ¡®excuse¡¯. ¡°Thank you, Alex, I¡¯m sure Kennith will be happy to hear it. I know Kennith would mention how good your grilled food was whenever you would give some to him.¡±


    ¡°Huh? I don¡¯t remember giving him any¡­ Wait. That old geezer! He was the reason why some of my lunch would go missing!¡± Alex rubbed his temples, took a deep breath, and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m going to get you back old man¡­¡± He mumbled, leaning back in his chair and looking at the ceiling.


    Rebecca chuckled behind her hand again. ¡°While I fully support you doing that, I would ask that you make sure I¡¯m there when it happens. I want to see his reaction and would like to give him my opinion on that as well.¡±


    You¡¯re scaring me, Rebecca. I think a chill just went up my spine. Please, for the love of everything that is holy¡­ I pray you never look at me like that¡­


    Alex flinched at her words and looked shocked. ¡°Ah, umm. Ya, no problem Rebecca. Oh, ah, I should call and see if the cleaners can come early, and call the furniture store. Maybe they can send our stuff over early as well. I¡¯ll just step outside for a second, be right back Sasha.¡± Alex stood abruptly and was taking long strides toward the door before he finished.


    He left me¡­ Dang it. Really Alex?!¡­ CHICKEN!


    Rebecca and I stared with blank faces at the door Alex had quickly walked through. We looked at each other and then busted out laughing. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t think I have ever seen Alex¡­ So flustered¡­ Before.¡± Rebecca tried to speak through her laughter, making me laugh even harder, tears forming in my eyes.


    Not in a million years did I think I would ever see Rebecca like that.


    Getting ourselves under control took a few minutes, and the buzzer for the drier helped to bring us back down to earth. ¡°Alright, Sasha. Let¡¯s finish up with your clothes.¡± Rebecca stood and wiped the tears from her eyes. ¡°How about when we are done we go grab some lunch? There is a good diner down the street.¡±


    ¡°K. Food sounds good. Should I go get Alex?¡± I stood up as well and looked towards the door.


    ¡°Let him finish his phone calls. You hang your clothes so it won¡¯t take long.¡± Talking over her shoulder while she walked towards the laundry room, Rebecca motioned me to follow.


    ¡°Ok.¡±


    Rebecca and I were laying my clothes across the back of the couch when Alex walked in. ¡°Sasha and I agreed that we should go to the diner down the street for lunch.¡± Dang, talk about taking charge¡­ I really feel sorry for Kennith¡­ Well, I would have before I found out he was the one stealing part of my lunch.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Sure. Sounds good to me. I will hang our clothes in the pickup Sasha. Is it alright if we ride with you, Becca?¡± Alex was carefully picking up my clothes by the hanger while he was speaking.


    Rebecca sighed and shook her head. " You don¡¯t need to treat them like glass Alex. They won¡¯t tear that easily. Yes, you can ride with me. Here, give me those and you take the baskets.¡± Rebecca shook her head again and grabbed my shirts from Alex. ¡°Men, I swear. They only have two gears, break stuff or fumble about trying not to break stuff.¡±


    Alex froze and I giggled. Neither of us could believe Rebecca could say something like that. She was always so eloquent. Didn¡¯t see that coming either.


    I was seeing a whole other side to Rebecca. Maybe there was hope for me yet¡­


    It was a little past twelve thirty when we arrived at the diner so the lunch rush was winding down. It was a stainless building with neon lights and signs and looked like the diners from the fifties. The waitresses were even wearing poodle skirts and blouses with an apron like in the movies.


    ¡°Welcome to Murries Diner. Would you prefer a booth or the counter?¡± The hostess gave the impression she was extremely happy-go-lucky. All smiles and an excitable attitude.


    ¡°A booth works, Thanks.¡± Alex and I usually had a hard time dealing with people like that, making his reply a little curt. We were good around Natalie though. I wonder why?


    She either didn¡¯t mind or notice¡­ nope, she winked at me. ¡°Right this way please.¡± Some people are just unperturbed I guess.


    I¡¯m simply glad Natalie isn¡¯t here. I¡¯m positive she would say something like ¡°Sasha would look so cute in that outfit!¡±


    Crap. I felt another chill go up my spine.


    Rebecca guided me inside the booth and sat beside me before Alex and I could react. ¡°You¡¯re too big Alex. Sasha will be more comfortable with me.¡±


    That smile on your face makes me think you had other reasons as well Rebecca¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s probably true Becca.¡± Alex let it go at that. Not like it was a big deal in the first place, and these booths were kind of small.


    ¡°How did your phone calls go?¡± Rebecca opened a menu and placed it between us. ¡°You haven¡¯t said anything about it yet.¡±


    ¡°Well, The cleaners had an opening for tomorrow.¡± Alex furrowed his brows and looked up from his own menu. ¡°The Furniture store can¡¯t make it until Thursday, which is fine. We can put most of the furniture in the shop and at least get the beds set up before the home visit on Friday.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± Rebecca then looked at Alex again and jabbed a finger at his chest. ¡°Make sure you don¡¯t hurt yourself trying to move everything on your own.¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. I promise.¡± Alex caved quickly at Rebecca¡¯s admonition. How do you do that Rebecca?


    We relaxed and ate leisurely, chatting about the house and planning the party. The diner served iconic American food like burgers and sandwiches that were really good. I loved burger joints like this.


    Alex wouldn¡¯t let Rebecca pick up the tab when she tried to, reminding her that this was thanks for yesterday and she eventually relented.


    After asking for a to-go box, (I barely ate half of my club sandwich) one of the waitresses came by our table, bringing the box and a chocolate malt with a cherry on top. ¡°Here you go, sweetie.¡±


    ¡°Umm.¡± I looked between Alex, Rebecca, and the waitress, confused. ¡°Did you order this for me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s on the house sweetie.¡± The waitress beamed at me and bounced on her toes. Something else bounced as well, making Alex quickly look away and cough.


    ¡°Oh, ah. Thanks. Can I ask why?¡± My voice trailed off as I spoke. First, she calls me sweetie, then smiles like the cat that caught the canary, and now this. Please tell me I don¡¯t actually have ¡®charm¡¯. I¡¯m so confused as to why these things keep happening.


    ¡°The other girls and I think you are just too cute. We all wish we could have a little sister like you!¡± Really?! That¡¯s the reason?! Please stop looking at me like I¡¯m a desert¡­


    Wait, wait, wait¡­ Did she say, little sister? Could it be I don¡¯t have a charm skill, but something like ¡®little sister¡¯ pow¡­ Nope!¡­ No such thing! Don¡¯t think about it!


    ¡°¡­¡± What do I say to that? Come on brain, grab a gear already. ¡°Thanks, miss. I appreciate it. It looks really good!¡± There. That¡¯s what someone around my age would say¡­ I think?


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Enjoy!¡± With those last words, she practically skipped back to the counter and started excitedly talking to a couple of the other waitresses who kept looking at me and giggling¡­


    Crap.


    ¡°. I have to text Natalie about this. She¡¯ll love it.¡± Rebecca pulled her phone out of her purse. ¡°We should see about getting an outfit like that for Sasha as well, she would look so cute in it!¡± She mumbled to herself so quietly that I almost didn¡¯t hear it.


    ¡­Almost.


    No no no no no¡­ You didn¡¯t actually say that did you? I heard that wrong. I have to believe you didn¡¯t just say that Rebecca¡­ Please?


    I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.


    ¡®Might as well eat at least a little of the malt I guess. No sense in letting it go to waste.¡¯ My mind was still a little hazy. ¡®Does this really happen, or is it only me?¡¯


    After finally making it back to Rebecca¡¯s house, I was mentally exhausted and wanted to relax and gather myself again¡­.


    ¡°!!!¡±


    Oh no¡­ I jinxed myself, didn¡¯t I¡­.


    Natalie virtually tackled me from behind before I could turn around.


    ¡°Oof.¡±


    ¡°I missed you so much!¡± She wrapped me in a bear hug and pressed her cheek against my head while twisting side to side.


    ¡°Natalie! Why aren¡¯t you at school? You should still be in class.¡± Rebecca placed her hands on her hips and glared at her daughter.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine mom. Class was done for the day. It was only a study session by that point anyway. Other kids left to so you don¡¯t need to worry!¡± Natalie replied, not even looking at her mom or letting me go. ¡°I needed to see my little sister.¡±


    Rebecca sighed. ¡°You better not be lying. Come on, let Sasha go and get changed. Since you¡¯re here already, we might as well get going as soon as you¡¯re ready.¡±


    ¡®It¡¯s not helping Rebecca¡­ She¡¯s not letting go¡­ Uncle, Uncle! ¡­Can¡¯t breathe¡­¡¯


    ¡°Hey, Sasha.¡± Natalie had finally let go and had just got back from changing. She tried to drag me with her, though Rebecca was at least able to stop her from that. ¡°You should get two piercings in each ear. It would look really cute.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Are you sure it would look good? Shouldn¡¯t I wait until I¡¯m older?¡± One piercing was fine, two might not look right on a ten-year-old.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure. You will like it, I promise. If you don¡¯t, you can always let two of them close up.¡±


    ¡°Ok, I can try it.¡± Meh. It couldn¡¯t be too bad. It¡¯s not like getting your ears pierced hurt. ¡°What is this?¡± I asked as Natalie handed me a small white bag that when I looked, had two pairs of earrings in it.


    ¡°These are for you. When we spotted them at the jewelry store, Mom and I knew they would be perfect for you, so we returned and bought them after dropping you off with Alex.¡±


    One pair was a small quarter-inch long, elongated teardrop shape, with a slight s curve in silver. They had a purple gem set into the round end, with the stud at the point.


    ¡°Those have a spinel set in them. That¡¯s your birthstone.¡± Rebecca pointed to the small stone.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty. I thought August¡¯s birthstone was green though?¡±


    Natalie nodded at my question. ¡°Each month can have a few different stones. We thought this one would be better because it was prettier.¡±


    ¡°Oh, ok.¡± Come on brain. Work with me here¡­


    The other pair was a simple Celtic knot in white gold. It was about three-quarters the size of a dime and had an emerald set in the middle.


    After seeing both pairs, I was at a loss. ¡°I can¡¯t take these. It¡¯s too much.¡± Tears started forming in my eyes. Jacobus had told me not to fight what was happening and that it would be good for me. I reluctantly chose to trust him. Hopefully, he was right.


    ¡°They¡¯re yours, Sasha. From Natalie, Kennith and me. Think of them as a welcome and late birthday gift.¡± Rebecca set her hand on my shoulder and looked at me with a soft smile.


    ¡°You¡¯ve given me so much already. The coats, and helping Alex and I out¡­¡±


    ¡°Mom¡¯s right Sasha. We got those to welcome you to the family.¡± Natalie knelt down and hugged me. ¡°We might not be related, but we think of Alex as family and now you are too.¡±


    I broke down and started crying. I wasn¡¯t going to complain about it either. All the stress, all the fear of the past couple of days washed through me. I was so lucky to have met and worked with Kennith and Rebecca. I hated myself for not realizing it. I came to understand that all the times they had invited me over to eat had been them reaching out to me.


    Now though¡­ Now I had a chance to accept their proffered hand. I, as the new me, and Alex (I couldn¡¯t see him as a construct anymore.) could return their kindness.


    ¡°Thank you, Rebecca, Natalie. I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± Alex squeezed my shoulder and smiled at me. He had realized it as well and had tears in his eyes too.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything Alex. Kennith and I knew you were having a hard time the last couple of years. We¡¯re sorry we couldn¡¯t help sooner.¡± Rebecca reached up and patted Alex¡¯s back. ¡°We¡¯re just glad you came to us now. We will be here for you and Sasha.¡±


    Alex, Natalie, and I were crying by that point, and Rebecca¡¯s eyes were wet. Though she didn¡¯t cry, she had a soft smile while she looked at Alex and me kindly.


    There are still good people in this crazy world. Sometimes you just have to open your eyes and look a little harder.

 11: A little bonding???

    Even with Natalie getting home from school early, it was after two by the time we were ready to leave. I felt better than I did long before my change.


    Don¡¯t get me wrong, I love my mom and dad, brother, sister, and their kids, yet I had somewhat been estranged from them for a while. It was all on my part as well, and I had no excuses. I could see that Alex was having the same thoughts as well.


    ¡°I know we gave you those earrings, but you won¡¯t be able to wear them for a while, Sasha. You should make sure to wear the studs until your ears heal first.¡± Natalie was explaining. She sat with me in the back while Alex was in the passenger seat and Rebecca was driving. ¡°I¡¯ll help you pick out something cute that will work.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have to use something plain? That¡¯s what I had when I got my ears pierced in High School.¡± Alex looked over his shoulder and asked.


    ¡°There are more styles to choose from than that,¡± Rebecca interjected. ¡°My friend owns the salon we¡¯re going to and has a good selection we can look at.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had your ears pierced Alex. Why did you let them go?¡± Natalie leaned forward and tried to get a better look at his ears.


    ¡°I had to take them out for work one day and lost one of the beads. I was out of town and by the time I got home they had closed up.¡± Alex shrugged. ¡°They kind of got in the way so it wasn¡¯t a big deal for me.¡±


    ¡°You should get them pierced again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good. I don¡¯t want to worry about them getting lost when I train.¡±


    ¡°Here we are. Are you ready Sasha?¡± Pulling into a parking spot, Rebecca cut Natalie off knowing she was going to try and argue. ¡°If Alex says he doesn¡¯t want to, don¡¯t try to force it.¡±


    ¡°Alright, mom.¡± Natalie rolled her eyes. ¡°You still want to, don¡¯t you Sasha?¡±


    ¡°Ya, I do.¡± I did miss having my ears pierced so this made a good excuse.


    Rebecca started talking to whom I assumed was her friend as Natalie drug me towards a display case sitting on a table in the back. The salon¡¯s services ranged from hair cuts to messages, nails to¡­ Well, you get the picture.


    ¡°What do you think of these ones?¡± Natalie pointed to a pair with two oval gems end to end vertically and two round ones on each side where they met, making a sort of plus sign. The gems were blue and the metal looked silver.


    ¡°I like them, they look cute,¡± I said cute, didn¡¯t I¡­ Can we pretend that didn¡¯t happen? ¡°Would these go with them?¡± I was looking at a pair that looked like a rounded upside-down triangle that had a clear gem in the center.


    ¡°They kind of look like a shield and cross. I think they would look super cute together.¡± She smiled brightly as she grabbed my hand and pulled me over to her mom and the salon owner. ¡°You have to promise to let me help you pick out more sometime, and we should see about getting you some necklaces as well.¡±


    ¡°Umm, alright. We can do that sometime.¡± This girl, I swear. I can¡¯t say no to her for some reason.


    ¡°My, you didn¡¯t even flinch,¡± Julie said as she pierced my left ear. She was the salon owner and the only one licensed for piercings in the salon. ¡°Most people at least have some reaction.¡±


    I was a little surprised I didn¡¯t react. That hurt. That hurt quite a bit more than it did when I was in High School. I had hardly felt it then. This time, maybe it was because of my ¡®new¡¯ body. Sitting in this chair for almost an hour while Julie, Rebecca, and Natalie made sure my new piercings placement would be perfect, probably hadn¡¯t helped.


    Natalie leaned forward to look at me. ¡°Are you alright? It¡¯s Ok if you need to wait for a bit. You look a little anxious.¡±


    ¡°N-no, I¡¯m alright. It surprised me was all. I remember Alex telling me a long time ago that he didn¡¯t feel anything when his were done, so¡­¡±


    ¡°You expected it to be the same. Everyone is different Sasha.¡± Julie nodded like she had seen something similar.


    Natalie looked between Alex and me. ¡°You knew that Alex had earrings?¡±


    ¡°Umm. I asked him why his ear had a little hole in it.¡±


    Alex tilted his head and looked up in thought. ¡°I remember that. I¡¯m surprised you remember it though. You were four I think?¡±


    Ok, this is weird. I had blurted that without thinking and now Alex is ¡®remembering¡¯ it. Should I be worried? This could be considered something to worry about, right?


    ¡°Do you want to wait a while, Sasha?¡± Natalie still looked a little pensive.


    I shook my head. ¡°No, I¡¯m Ok.¡±


    ¡°Ok, do you want me to switch between ears or do one side than the other?¡± Julie was wiping the ¡®gun¡¯ down with alcohol.


    ¡°Whatever is easiest for you, I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s do the right ear since we opened that set,¡± Julie said as she readied the other earring. The cross earrings would be closest to my cheek, with the ¡®shields¡¯ outside of them.


    The other three didn¡¯t catch me off guard as much and we were done pretty quickly after that. Glancing at the mirror Julie held up, I liked how they looked. It wasn¡¯t too flashy or anything like that. They were cute, actually.


    Crap.


    ¡°Oh, they look good Sasha, You¡¯re so cute!¡± Please, Natalie¡­ Can¡¯t¡­ Breathe¡­


    ¡°I agree Sasha, they look wonderful.¡± Rebecca crossed her arms and smiled at me like a proud parent.


    I blushed while looking in the mirror. ¡°Thank you, Julie. I really like them.¡± Ok, now that I see myself blushing, it is kinda cute. Not being to be a narcissist here, just saying. Can we please forget that this conversation ever happened?


    Julie¡¯s delighted smile made her eyes shine. ¡°I¡¯m glad you like them, Sasha. It was my pleasure.¡± Turning to Alex she slapped him hard on the back, making him take a small step. ¡°You¡¯re gonna have it rough in a few years. Hope you¡¯re ready for that. Hahaha¡±


    More than a few people started laughing at his reaction. Me? Well, I was trying to ignore that. Nope, not thinking about it.


    Alex collected himself quickly and tried not to look embarrassed. ¡°They look good Sasha. How are you feeling?¡± Yep, he¡¯s trying to ignore that as well. Good luck to both of us.


    I nod at him as I stand up. ¡°I feel alright. My ears are a little sore, but it¡¯s not bothering me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. What do you say to getting some ice cream?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a ki¡­¡±


    ¡°Oooh, That¡¯s a good idea, Alex. Come on Sasha, let¡¯s go!¡± Natalie grabbed my hand and started for the door.


    ¡°Natalie,¡± Rebecca called to her over-excited daughter. ¡°I know you¡¯re having fun, but you need to calm down. We can go for ice cream, though you must remember it will be dinner soon.¡± She then turned to Alex. ¡°Would you and Sasha like to eat at our house tonight?¡±


    ¡°Ah, right. It¡¯s almost dinner isn¡¯t it?¡± Alex paused and looked at me so I nodded. ¡°Dinner sounds great, thank you, Rebecca.¡±


    ¡°Ya ya, I get it, mom.¡± Natalie rolled her eyes. ¡°We¡­¡± Her phone interrupted whatever she was going to say. It was probably a good thing considering the look Rebecca was giving her. ¡°Hey, Jaz, what¡¯s up?¡­ Ya, that homework was a pain¡­¡± She stepped away while continuing to talk.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°That must be Jasmine, one of Natalie¡¯s friends from school,¡± Rebecca told us after watching her daughter walk away. " They usually study together at our house. I doubt Natalie will ask or even think of it, though would you mind if she comes over as well? We don¡¯t want you to be uncomfortable so¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine with me if it¡¯s Ok with Sasha. We don¡¯t want to inconvenience you either.¡± Alex shrugged and looked toward me.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, though I don¡¯t want to bother Natalie. She¡¯s done so much for me already and¡­¡± I started to reply while looking up at Rebecca.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that Sasha. You are welcome at our house any time. As we said earlier, you¡¯re family now, so quit worrying about it. Same to you Alex.¡± Rebecca cut me off with a somewhat stern expression.


    ¡°Hey mom, is it ok for Jaz to come over for dinner as well? We could pick her up on the way to get ice cream.¡± Natalie asked after turning back around.


    Rebecca sighed and placed her hands on her hips. ¡°You do realize we have guests Natalie.¡±


    Natalie¡¯s eyes got big and she blushed. ¡°O-oh, sorry. Hey Jaz¡­¡±


    ¡°I already asked if it was alright. We can pick up Jaz on the way.¡± Rebecca shook her head with an exasperated sigh. ¡°You need to remember these kinds of things. Go ahead and tell Jasmine we will be there soon and let¡¯s get going.¡±


    After getting into the SUV, Natalie told me how she had met Jasmine in Middle School and they had been best friends since. It sounded to me like Jasmine was somewhat forced to become friends at first, and knowing what Natalie was like I could believe it.


    As we pulled up to a nice two-story house Natalie jumped out and knocked on the door. After a minute, a pretty blond came out and they hugged. After she shut the door they started walking toward us. I was unsure if I should move to the center so I unbuckled my seat belt and started to move when Natalie opened the driver-side door.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Sasha, I can sit in the middle.¡± Natalie started scooting over. ¡°Jaz, this is Sasha and that¡¯s Alex.¡±


    Alex turned around in his seat and stuck his hand out. ¡°I¡¯m Alex, nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Jasmine, Natalie talks about you quite a bit, Alex. I¡¯ve wanted to meet you for a while.¡± Jasmine said in a soft, shy voice as she took Alex¡¯s hand and then turned to me. ¡°So, this is the little cutie you can¡¯t stop talking about?¡±


    No no no no. I did not just hear that. I think Natalie has been saying things that she shouldn¡¯t, again.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Natalie put her arm around my shoulder and pulled me in close. ¡°Sasha is my new little sister. Isn¡¯t she the cutest?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, that blush just makes her even cuter! I¡¯m Jasmine, Natalie can¡¯t stop gushing about her cute little sister and I couldn¡¯t wait to meet you!¡±


    I hid my face in my hands though I knew it was useless. I could feel my ears were so hot it was almost painful. I could hear Alex chuckling while Natalie and Jasmine got even more excited. They started giggling and saying things like ¡°So cute!¡± and ¡°I can¡¯t take it!¡±. I wanted to find a hole and crawl into it.


    Taking a deep breath, I was able to calm down enough to answer¡­ Kind of. ¡°I-I¡¯m Sasha, it¡¯s nice to meet you, Jasmine.¡± I was going to shake her hand, but she grabbed mine with both of hers.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad to meet you, Sasha. Would you like to be friends?¡± Jasmine¡¯s smile was radiant and there was a glint in her eyes. I have a feeling that there was a little more to it than that, but couldn¡¯t quite place it.


    ¡°Umm¡­ I¡­ I would be happy to be friends.¡± Why was I so nervous? From what Natalie had told me about her, Jasmine seemed like a nice, sweet girl who was fairly shy. I could definitely tell that she didn¡¯t have any animosity towards Alex or me, so it was strange.


    ¡®Well, nothing I can do about it now,¡¯ I thought. I had too many questions and worries as it was, and this one didn¡¯t seem like it would be a high priority right now.


    We stopped by one of those ice cream/frozen yogurt places on the way to Rebecca and Natalie¡¯s house. That ended up being another ¡°adventure¡± that I would prefer to forget. Between Natalie, and now Jasmine dragging me around trying to pick out flavors and toppings while fawning over me and the employees saying how ¡®cute¡¯ and ¡®precious¡¯ (seriously, they said precious) it was, I wanted to cry and run away. I ended up hiding behind Alex, who started laughing so I punched him in the side. That only made him start laughing harder while holding where I had hit him. Even Rebecca had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.


    JERKS!


    Kennith wasn¡¯t home yet when we arrived so Natalie and Jasmine put their books on the table and started studying while Rebecca started on dinner. Alex was helping her so I sat with the girls. I wanted to see what Freshmen studied now. I know High School was some years away, yet it might give me an idea of what I was in for.


    Looking at Natalie¡¯s paper, I could tell that something was off. ¡°Umm, Natalie? I believe that says ¡®This year the forest is beautiful¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you know German Sasha?¡± Natalie snapped her head towards me and Jasmine looked up as well.


    ¡°Some.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Mom and Dad used to speak German at home.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Zeke and Valeria did speak German didn¡¯t they.¡± Alex turned slightly and looked at us. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you spoke it as well Sasha.¡±


    I looked down and shrugged again. ¡°I¡¯m not very good, but I know a little. They were starting to teach me though they used it to keep me from understanding what they were talking about when I was younger.¡±


    Jasmine looked confused and was going to say something, but Natalie leaned over and whispered in her ear before she could. She nodded, then looked back to her homework. ¡°Are you sure Sasha? That looks somewhat backwards.¡±


    ¡°Well, I think that¡¯s right. English has different sentence structures than German. That¡¯s what I was told anyway.¡± My voice was soft and quiet, trailing off at the end. Why was I so shy all of a sudden? I know I spoke really quietly now, but not usually this bad.


    Natalie looked at me with a contemplative expression. ¡°Are you really only ten years old Sasha? Sometimes it feels like you are older.¡±


    ¡°She is rather mature for her age at times,¡± Rebecca was wiping her hands while she spoke.


    ¡°Valeria was pretty serious most of the time so she probably got it from her. Zeke on the other hand was the laid-back, fun-loving person most of the time.¡± Alex had a nostalgic look.


    ¡°Yes, I can see how that would be the case. Sasha definitely has both of those traits, you can¡¯t usually see her father¡¯s influence though.¡± Rebecca looked at me with an easy smile.


    Natalie nodded her head. ¡°Well, I guess that makes sense. As long as you¡¯re not trying to act tough Sasha. Just be yourself and you can talk to me about anything. Remember that.¡±


    Alex started chuckling. ¡°I think she is being herself, Natalie. She has always been somewhat serious as well. At least until she does something she enjoys. The smile she has when we train could blind you, and when she gets to talking about cars you can tell she is in heaven. I¡¯m afraid I got her hooked on anything automotive and she is a bigger gearhead than me now.¡±


    Natalie and Jasmine looked at me with surprise. ¡°You did say you liked to train,¡± Natalie said. ¡°Didn¡¯t know you liked cars though.¡±


    ¡°Interesting, I would have never guessed you like cars Sasha,¡± Jasmine mumbled at the same time.


    I looked down with a blush painting my cheeks. ¡°Umm, Ya. I¡¯ve been interested in them since Alex gave me a ride in his Camaro and Rock Crawler. I used to ask him to teach me how to work on them every time I would see him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so cool.¡± Natalie leaned in and grabbed me by the shoulders, making me look at her with wide eyes. ¡°Wait¡­ Are your eyes alright Sasha?¡± She leaned in so close our noses almost touched and stared into my eyes making me jerk back.


    ¡°Umm, Natalie? Wha-What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Your eyes. Are you alright? They look different, like they have something in them.¡± Natalie had a worried look while she searched my eyes.


    ¡°N-No? They don¡¯t hurt or anything and I can see fine.¡± I was blushing and trying to pull back. Why was she so close?


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Natalie pulled back slightly. ¡°Now that I look closer, I see some gold flecks around your pupils. I don¡¯t remember seeing that before. It¡¯s stunning though.¡± She explained with a thoughtful expression.


    ¡°M-Maybe you just didn¡¯t notice it before? I-I d-don¡¯t think anything is different.¡± I was stuttering like crazy, my mind racing. It was when Jacobus did his little gene therapy thing. Not like I could explain anything about that though.


    ¡°You would think we would notice something so pretty¡­¡± Natalie started to say when the door opened, Kennith walked in and interrupted her.


    ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± He called. ¡°I see Alex and Sasha are here, and Jasmine as well.¡± Walking over to the table he sat down with a big smile. ¡°Are Eric and Brandon coming for dinner tonight?¡±


    Rebecca walked around the bar and sat down between me and Kennith. ¡°No, Brandon has a team meeting and Eric has a project that is due soon.¡±


    ¡°If I remember right Eric is going for an engineering degree, right?¡± Alex swung his seat around and looked at Kennith.


    ¡°Ya, mostly structural stuff,¡± Kennith replied while waving a hand. ¡°He wants to be able to take some of the strain off of the company is what he said.¡±


    Rebecca set down her tea. ¡°He always did like working on road and bridge projects.¡±


    ¡°I remember him coming to work with Kennith. It was funny watching him try to act like an adult while he really looked like a kid hopped up on coffee.¡± Alex said while laughing.


    ¡°Hahaha, never tell him that!¡± Kennith laughed as well.


    Kennith, Rebecca, and Alex talked for a while longer as I paid attention to Natalie and Jasmine doing their homework. I was able to help them here and there with their German and was surprised to find that I remembered quite a lot of algebra. I had learned German from my grandparents and had even learned some Swedish, and Icelandic along with Japanese. I know, that sounds weird. Why those two? I bet you can guess Japanese, as for Swedish and Icelandic? Vikings of course. I¡¯m weird, I get it. Don¡¯t judge.


    Rebecca¡¯s dinner was delicious. She made a Salisbury steak, sauteed carrots with onions, and a side salad. The girls chatted about school, boys, and clothes (ugh, school and clothes I can handle, boys? Not so much. For some reason I wasn¡¯t interested in either sex right now¡­), while Rebecca talked to Alex and Kennith about the barbecue this weekend, going over the plans that she and Alex had discussed. Kennith seemed to think that would be a great idea, and came up with adding a ¡°Good luck to Alex¡± aspect to it. I could only laugh at Alex¡¯s expression.


    By the time we left, it was a little before nine pm, and I started to fall asleep during the drive home. I was a little worried about that. Maybe it had something to do with my age now? I¡¯ve been going to bed way earlier than usual as well.


    Meh, that was probably it.


    The next thing I knew, Alex was waking me up and telling me to get to bed. I think he was uncomfortable getting me ready himself. I couldn¡¯t blame him though.

 12: School prep

    Waking up, I stretched and crawled out of bed. Since we had gotten home so late last night I didn¡¯t exercise like usual and felt off. After years of training in the evenings, I always felt like this if I couldn¡¯t.


    Deciding to do a short jog and some yoga before breakfast, I changed out of the hoodie and nightgown and put on a pair of yoga pants, a light pink t-shirt, and the pullover hoodie Rebecca gave me that was light blue with Stitch on it. Even though it was big on me, it was soft and warm.


    I DID NOT say it was cute and you can¡¯t prove I did. I will admit that I liked Stitch though¡­ What? He¡¯s cool.


    Ya, my mind is definitely changing. Just breathe and go with it for now. Trust that Jacobus was right.


    Please be right.


    I walked into the kitchen and noticed a note on the counter from Alex. He had the same Idea, though I bet he would run longer than I was going to. He also left breakfast in the microwave again so I didn¡¯t have to worry about that.


    After putting on my running shoes I went out and ran for a while. It helped me process the last couple of days and clear my mind. My body felt like my own, and the dysphoria was almost completely gone, giving me some peace of mind. I also believe that I was coming to terms with my situation.


    Still, I wouldn¡¯t say I liked how I was so shy now. I had a feeling that it was from the fear and uncertainty about what was happening to me, yet I don¡¯t believe that that was all it was. I was suspicious that it also had something to do with the memories that Jacobus had given me.


    There was a nagging feeling that maybe Valeria had ¡®dreamed¡¯ her daughter was shy.


    I had to get over this. I would get over this.


    Returning to the R.V. after about forty-five minutes, I moved the little table and spread the rug to do yoga. Thinking about what else needed to be done before school, I came up with a few Ideas. I would be about a month behind in class when I went back to school, so I needed to find out what had been covered so far.


    With that thought in my mind, I rolled up the mat and put the table back. Picking out a pair of black thigh-length socks that had a white band at the top, a purple skirt, and a white button-up shirt, I took a hot shower before changing.


    This hair was a pain. It took forever to take care of and was hard to dry and do anything with. Even with all the time and effort it took, I was beginning to get used to it and it made my stomach churn thinking about cutting it. I know some of that was from the memories, yet not all of it. I was starting to truly like having that long of hair and found it beautiful. I know, weird right?


    While heating my breakfast, I looked at my phone to see what time it was. There was also an email from the school that I must have missed while I was in the shower. Taking my food to the table, I opened it as I started to eat.


    There wasn¡¯t much of importance other than stating that the house visit was scheduled for two pm on Friday. Wait, no, there was another tidbit of information that was worth noting. The guidance counselor for Plumb Valley was also a licensed Child Services counselor and they had been assigned to my ¡®case¡¯ somehow.


    I see a little Deus Ex Machina there.


    If it makes things easier, who am I to complain? I only hope whoever it is, they are level-headed.


    I cleaned my plate and set up my laptop to look at the school¡¯s website again. I wanted to double-check all the forms and see if I could video chat with someone about what homework I could try to catch up on.


    ¡°Ah, crap,¡± I said as I put my elbows on the table and put my face in my hands. ¡°This might be a problem.¡±


    Looking over the forms, I noticed that I had put Athervon as my last name. Should I have put Drakoen? I really hope that this doesn¡¯t make things difficult. I needed to see what it was on my social security card and birth certificate.


    ¡°Hmm. What the heck? Why doesn¡¯t my stuff have a last name?¡± I quickly grabbed my bank card and it too didn¡¯t have a last name. ¡°What is going on?¡±


    As I was racking my brain wondering how Jacobus could mess up so badly, my phone dinged with a text message.


    (Hey Sasha, Just wanted to tell you that once you choose a last name, it will appear on your documentation. We left it blank to make it easier. Have fun. Jacobus.)


    ¡°OI! What are you trying to pull, you stupid IDIOT?¡± I groaned as I hit my forehead on the table.


    ¡°Are you alright Sasha?¡± Alex opened the door and saw me holding the sides of my head while my forehead was on the table.


    I jerked upright and blushed. ¡°I¡¯m alright Uncle Alex. I¡¯m only worried about catching up with the other kids in school.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine Sasha, you¡¯re a smart kid.¡± Alex sat down beside me and put his arm around my shoulder. ¡°I don¡¯t want to push you right now, but we need to talk.¡±


    ¡°Umm. Is everything alright?¡± This didn¡¯t sound like it was going to be good. I hope that something didn¡¯t get messed up.


    ¡°Well¡­ Remember when you met Kennith and my old crew and didn¡¯t know how to introduce yourself?¡±


    ¡°Oh, ah¡­ Ya. Why?¡± Ok, so I have a feeling that the text I just received was foreshadowing. What should I do? Should I see about changing my school paperwork and going with Drakoen, or should I use Athervon? It would be easier to stick with the latter.


    ¡°I received a call from your lawyer while I was out running. The paperwork for your adoption is finished except for your last name. He was unsure how to proceed and wanted my input. I didn¡¯t want to do anything until I talked to you about it. You¡¯re young but smart so I felt that it should be up to you. I will support you with whatever you decide. I know this is a hard decision and it hasn¡¯t been very long since all of this happened¡­¡± He squeezed my shoulders as he looked out the screen door, lost for words.


    ¡°Oh¡­ U-umm¡­¡± I looked down at my hands that I had put in my lap. making fists I made up my mind. ¡°I think I already made that choice Alex.¡± I turned my laptop so he could see the forms that I had been looking at.


    ¡°What? You didn¡¯t use ¡®uncle¡¯.¡± He looked confusedly at me and then at the screen.


    ¡°After everything happened, I was lost. You were there for me and worked really hard to help. I don¡¯t remember putting your last name on the form, but I want to leave it that way.¡± Well¡­ That was true, even if he was going to take it the wrong way.


    Alex squeezed my shoulders again. ¡°Your parents would be so proud of you Sasha. I really wish none of this had ever happened though. Just remember that I¡¯m here for you and we will get through this together.¡±


    ¡°T-thanks¡­ Umm¡­¡± I looked up at Alex who was looking at me with a sad smile. He truly seemed to have emotions. ¡°I-I was wondering if I could ask you something?¡±


    This next part was going to be weird, yet for some reason, I needed to do this. I had something like a compulsion to continue and hoped that the age regression or the memories made it that way. Though a lot of it was wanting to give back to this person who was me and yet not me as well. I know this Alex wasn¡¯t real, just a construct made to fit a part, but I couldn¡¯t see him like that now and I couldn¡¯t treat him like that either.


    ¡°Go ahead Sasha, if there is anything I can do I will.¡±


    ¡°O-Ok¡­ C-can I¡­¡± Ugh, this is hard to say and really embarrassing. I took a deep breath. ¡°Can I call you dad?¡± My face burned. I know, I know¡­ This is weird. Just hear me out. I always wanted a family though I figured it would never happen. This is hard to explain¡­ Some of what I said was from me, that¡¯s what I meant by hoping that it came from the age regression. The rest was because I wanted Alex to have what I couldn¡¯t. I hoped this would help both of us in its own way. ¡°I know you always wanted a family of your own. Y-you¡¯ve always been family to me and now you adopted me, so I¡­¡±


    Alex hugged me tight, tears in his eyes. ¡°If that¡¯s what you want Sasha. You don¡¯t have to force yourself¡­¡±


    ¡°No, I want to.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I can still be with family if I¡¯m with you.¡±


    ¡°So mature,¡± Alex mumbled. ¡°Ok, Sasha. If that¡¯s what you want, I will be the best dad ever.¡±


    ¡°Just be you, Dad. That¡¯s all I need.¡± I heard Alex catch his breath. You didn¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice when someone would say that I was Alex¡¯s daughter he would tense and get a wistful look, did you? As I said, I always wanted a family so it was easy to notice. I looked up at Alex to see a bittersweet expression on his face. We might have wanted a family, just not like this.


    We sat like that for a few minutes, lost in our own thoughts. Finally, Alex gingerly let go and stepped outside to call the lawyer back with what we had decided. Looking through my stuff, it had my ¡®new¡¯ old name now.


    I could only hope this wouldn¡¯t bite me somehow. It felt right though.


    I was able to get a packet emailed to me from the school and printed it off. Surprisingly there wasn¡¯t that much to it. There were four worksheets per subject. Science, Math, English, and Social Studies.


    ¡°Oh, I guess these are the tests for each subject. It looks like they have a test at the end of each week.¡± I murmured while reading through the directions sent with the paperwork. It explained where I could find the study material on the school¡¯s website, and how the tests would be used as a baseline for my grades instead of a pile of worksheets. Alex was supposed to watch me take them so I wouldn¡¯t cheat. I could see how that could be a loophole for some people to extort. Not like I needed to, looking at the contents of the questions.


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Science was mostly basic principles that I wanted to brush up on to jog my memory. English was going to be the hardest as spelling and grammar were my worst subjects in school the first time. Social Studies was going to be easier, yet I wanted to brush up on that as well. Math was going to be a no-brainer for me as I used tape measures and decimal points every day for work. I would need to get used to doing it on paper though so I spent the rest of the day going over the study material.


    Getting out of bed, my plan for today was to study until about noon and then take the tests with Alex, so why was I in Rebecca¡¯s office instead?


    Alex was notified that something at the restaurant needed his attention early this morning. He didn¡¯t want to leave me home alone if it ended up taking all day and dropped me off here. It¡¯s not too bad though, being fairly quiet with my headphones and she even pulled a desk out of somewhere for me to use. We did have some drama after I arrived, the office personnel kept trying to chat with me and fawning over how cute I looked today. Honestly, I¡¯m kind of getting used to it. Still trying to figure out whether I should be happy or sad about that.


    The office personnel ordered lunch and had a small office party using me as an excuse. My embarrassment was at an all-time high. I had been fawned over a few times already, yet this had to have been the worst so far. For over an hour, I was bombarded with questions about my hobbies, clothes, and worst of all, if there were any boys I was interested in.


    Please Rebecca, quit smiling like that and SAVE me!


    Finally, after Rebecca broke up the gossip session, I was able to get some peace and quiet. I sat down and laid my head on the desk with my arms stretched across it. ¡°Ugh, my head hurts¡­¡±


    ¡°Haha, that was quite the interrogation they put you through,¡± Rebecca said as she pat my back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much about it, they do the same thing to Natalie when she stops by.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I feel sorry for Natalie. I¡¯m not used to things like that. Especially when they asked me about boys.¡± I grimaced.


    ¡°Oh? Do you not like boys?¡± Rebecca teased, her eyes glittering with mirth.


    ¡°Umm, I have more friends who are boys than girls I guess?¡± How much should I know about relationships at ten?


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re still young. As I said, don¡¯t worry about it too much. You don¡¯t need to rush growing up.¡± Rebecca smiled at me. ¡°Are you ready to take those tests?¡±


    I didn¡¯t have any plans to rush growing up this time. Been there, done that. Even though things were different this time, I was going to enjoy my youth as much as possible. Taking things slow and not worrying about life for a while sounded nice. Well, I still have plenty to worry about, yet some of those were getting easier to handle. Maybe I was coming to terms with my new life. A little at least.


    Not that I would tell Rebecca any of that.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± I grimace again. ¡°Let¡¯s get it over with.¡±


    It took a little over five hours to finish all of them, which impressed Rebecca that I managed to get through them so fast. After glancing over them, she scanned and emailed them back to the school for grading. I hadn¡¯t realized that was how to turn them back in.


    ¡°Rebecca, Alex just sent me a text. He is just leaving the restaurant and should be here in a bit.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, why don¡¯t you two come over for supper again? We can meet him at the house. It¡¯s a little late to cook, but we can order something and have it delivered.¡± The look she was giving me said ¡®You¡¯re coming over for supper and that¡¯s that.¡¯


    ¡°Ok, I will text Alex and see what he wants to do.¡± In other words, ¡®Alex, Rebecca said we are eating with them again. Meet us at her house.¡¯ is what I sent back. ¡°He said that¡¯s fine with him and he will see us there.¡±


    ¡°Alright, what sounds good tonight? There is a good Ramen place that delivers.¡± Rebecca asked while she was locking the doors.


    ¡°Is it Tokyo Ramen?¡±


    ¡°Oh, have you eaten there?¡±


    ¡°Alex got it for me after I moved here, the tonkotsu was really good.¡±


    ¡°I like it as well. Would you like it again, or do you want to try something else?¡±


    ¡°I would like the garlic tonkotsu this time please.¡±


    ¡°Alright, do you want to ask Alex what he wants?¡±


    ¡°I will text him, but I bet he gets the spicy beef.¡± I still sent the text and received an affirmative a few seconds later. ¡°Yep, spicy beef for Alex.¡±


    ¡°Haha, you do know him pretty well I see.¡±


    ¡°Yep, Alex would always take us out to eat when he visited so I figured out what he likes.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Rebecca had a smirk as she raised an eyebrow and looked at me.


    ¡°Umm, is something wrong?¡± I tilted my head in confusion.


    ¡°Nope, nothing wrong, but that look is very cute. You better be careful not to steal all the boy¡¯s hearts looking like that.¡± Rebecca teased me as we pulled into the drive. I blushed and looked away as she laughed.


    ¡°Why would anyone want something like that.¡± Hearing that scared me. Rebecca was only teasing, yet it still gave me goosebumps. This was something I didn¡¯t want to think about yet.


    I managed to calm down before we made it inside, knowing that if Natalie saw me like that I would be smothered even more than usual. I was still pretty much tackled by her as soon as I walked through the door.


    ¡°Natalie, please¡­¡±


    ¡®Sorry, you¡¯re so cute though, and I missed you!¡± Natalie said as she hugged me tighter.


    ¡°I was here the other day though.¡±


    Natalie pouted as she released me. ¡°I know, but you¡¯re so cute, and my little sister. Do you not like me?¡±


    ¡°NO. No, it¡¯s not that.¡± I started to panic and wave my hands. ¡°I¡¯m just not used to other people doing that so¡­¡±


    I trailed off and looked around noticing the other people in the room had amused grins. ¡°Humph!¡± I stomped my foot and turned my head. ¡°I¡¯m not talking to you anymore.¡± Wait, did I really just do that? Why would I do something like that?!


    Crap, I¡¯m really acting like a ten-year-old now. This is scaring me.


    It was Natalie¡¯s turn to panic. ¡°Sashaaa¡­ I¡¯m sorry, please forgive me, please?¡± She had tears in her eyes as she pleaded with me.


    ¡°Let me think about it.¡± I would forgive her, but a little payback is in order. I¡¯m not one to be vindictive, yet turnabout is fair play, right?


    ¡°I warned you, Natalie,¡± Rebecca scolded with a laugh. ¡°Sasha still needs time to get used to us. Why don¡¯t you call in our order? Here is what Alex, Sasha, and I want. Jasmine, Eric, tell Natalie what you would like as well. Brandon isn¡¯t going to make it again and Kennith wanted the spicy beef.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Mrs. McGreggor.¡± Jasmine smiled and grabbed Natalie by the arm. ¡°Come on, leave Sasha alone for a while and she might forgive you.¡±


    ¡°I suppose¡­¡± Natalie looked so much like a sad puppy I almost busted out laughing. ¡°What do you want Eric?¡± She asked as they sat back down at the table.


    ¡°That was a little harsh Sasha,¡± Alex said softly as he placed a hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine Alex,¡± Rebecca interjected. ¡°Natalie needs to learn some boundaries and it¡¯s not fair to Sasha either. She needs time to get used to us and if she doesn¡¯t like it, Natalie needs to stop.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like it, I haven¡¯t had people do that kind of stuff before so it surprises me,¡± I said softly, head downcast.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel sorry for telling her to stop Sasha, and if you don¡¯t like it you need to make sure and tell Natalie. She should calm down soon enough though. She always wanted a little sister she could spoil and latched onto you. Part of that is probably my fault. After raising two boys and her being so much younger than them, I might have spoiled her too much.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a bad thing mom,¡± Eric said as he walked up to us. ¡°She won¡¯t say it, but I think she¡¯s always been a little lonely. She used to try and follow me and Brandon around but we were always busy with school and sports or helping dad. I¡¯m Eric by the way. Nice to meet you, Sasha.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you too Eric,¡± I replied as I shook his proffered hand.


    ¡°Perfect timing Eric. Help me check Sasha¡¯s worksheets so we can have an idea of how she did. I already emailed them to the school so we should hear back from them tomorrow, but I don¡¯t want to wait that long.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh, sure I guess, but why me? Brandon would be better.¡±


    ¡°If he was here, yes. You check the Math and Science and I will check the English and Social Studies.¡±


    ¡°Ya, that works.¡±


    As they started going over my worksheets, I couldn¡¯t help but think I was forgetting something. I couldn¡¯t pin down whether it had to do with me going back to school or something else though. Alex and I sat down at the table with everyone else and waited for the food, Rebecca and Eric to finish and Kennith to get home. I chatted with Jasmine while Natalie still pouted and looked dejected. Maybe I should let her off the hook now, it was almost painful to see her like that.


    ¡°Hey Natalie, I¡¯m not mad at¡­ NOPE! STOP! STOP!¡± As soon as I spoke, she bolted out of her chair towards me.


    ¡°Natalie, that¡¯s enough,¡± Rebecca looked up from the paper she was going over and snapped. ¡°You need to calm down. Sasha isn¡¯t going anywhere and if you keep this up I will ground you.¡±


    ¡°Alright mom, sorry Sasha.¡± Natalie was almost in tears as she sat back down. This girl acted just like some of the characters in light novels I¡¯ve read.


    At this point, I was seriously wondering if this wasn¡¯t some alternate dimension or actual light novel. I remembered some girls acting a little like that in high school, though not to this extent, and I couldn¡¯t think of any time I had seen some of the things that had happened to me either.


    Well¡­ I¡¯ve never been a ten-year-old ¡°Cute¡± (as others keep saying I am) girl before, so there is that.


    Kennith had perfect timing and walked in before I could say anything. He took one look at Rebecca and Natalie and sighed. ¡°Do I want to know what I missed?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much dear, welcome home. The food should be here any minute.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± He shrugged and sat down between Rebecca and Jasmine. ¡°Hello Alex, Sasha. Are you getting excited about school?¡±


    ¡°Umm, I¡¯m more scared than excited¡­ Wait! Dad, the furniture delivery! We forgot about it.¡± That¡¯s what I was forgetting and in my haste to tell Alex, I called him dad in front of everyone. I wasn¡¯t going to hide that I was calling Alex dad now, though I did want to give it a little more time. I didn¡¯t notice what I said until the silence and stares penetrated my brain, making me blush.


    ¡°I was wondering what was different,¡± Rebecca said with a knowing grin. Still blushing I looked at her and tilted my head. I¡¯m pretty sure I heard Natalie and Jasmine mutter ¡°so cute¡± under their breaths, but I¡¯m going to ignore that. ¡°You haven¡¯t said uncle Alex all day.¡± Rebecca continued.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± That was all I could come up with, still too embarrassed to really think.


    ¡°Sorry Sasha, I forgot to tell you. They weren¡¯t able to make it today. They called earlier and notified me they would show up tomorrow, probably around the same time as the school and state employees.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how it usually works,¡± Rebecca agreed. ¡°What time is the school supposed to show up?¡±


    ¡°The email said they would be at the house around two. I was hoping that we could at least have the bedrooms set up by then, though that doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s going to happen now. I did swing by the storage and load the rest of the kitchen and bathroom stuff so I can work on that in the morning at least.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself, Alex. If you need help call us.¡± Rebecca reminded him. ¡°You don¡¯t need to hurt yourself trying to do everything on your own, especially now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. You have a habit of trying to do things on your own when you should ask for help.¡± Kennith was right, I tried to help others but had a tendency to not ask for help when I needed it.


    ¡°I promise I will call if I need help¡­¡± Alex started to answer when the doorbell rang. I could see the slight relief on his face after being ¡°saved by the bell¡± from another lecture.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get it.¡± Natalie stood up and started towards the door.


    ¡°I can give you a hand.¡± Alex jumped up and followed Natalie in a hurry to escape for a moment.


    ¡°He never changes does he?¡± Rebecca sighed.


    ¡°Not in the few years we¡¯ve known him, though I think Sasha being here is helping. She¡¯s good for him.¡± Kennith smiled at me.


    ¡°True, he¡¯s opening up more since you came Sasha, which is a good thing. Now, from what I see, you missed two on the English tests and one on the Social Studies.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t miss any on the Science or Math and I had to look up some of the answers. Looks like Natalie might have to step it up to keep the best grades in the family.¡± Eric laughed.


    ¡°I-it helped that I could study what was on the test¡­¡± I mumbled while looking down.


    ¡°That¡¯s the point of studying Sasha. You put the effort in and that¡¯s what happens. Alex said you were smart and diligent.¡± Rebecca said as she put the worksheets away.


    ¡°Did I hear that Sasha did really well on her homework?¡± Natalie asked as she put the food on the table.


    ¡°I told you she was smart. She had straight A¡¯s at her old school and I bet she keeps them coming.¡± Alex had a proud grin as he sat down and handed out the food he carried.


    When did I get straight A¡¯s? I don¡¯t remember any of this. I know I have knowledge well above middle school level, but can I really keep that up? Hopefully, this doesn¡¯t turn into a problem. Now I have to go back to middle school and get good grades.


    Crap. I¡¯m even more nervous now!

 13: Meeting the counselor. (Part 1)

    ¡°Ugh, I feel like crap,¡± I didn¡¯t remember much of last night after the topic of school and my grades came up. The nerves and anxiety started to catch up making my thoughts spiral. I couldn¡¯t even remember how I had gotten to bed.


    Wow, I sound like I was drunk¡­


    You might be thinking ¡®it¡¯s only middle school; what could be bad about that?¡¯ yet let me remind you my first time was not a good experience and to top that, I felt like I had to get excellent grades or I would disappoint the people around me.


    I know I shouldn¡¯t worry about that¡­ Easier said than done.


    I needed to exercise and clear my head. It was a little after six thirty, earlier than I had woken up since all of this started, so I had time to get a good run in and some training.


    Alex was already gone, though there wasn¡¯t a note or breakfast. He was probably working on the house and didn¡¯t expect me to be up yet so I left him a message of my own, not wanting him to worry if he didn¡¯t see me leave.


    There was a game trail that went behind the house into the hills of the Black Forest that sounded appealing right about now. It had some rough terrain that was challenging enough that I would have to push myself.


    Getting back about an hour later, Alex was outside going through forms so I joined him. He smiled and nodded as we fell into rhythm, giving me space to work out my thoughts.


    After a while, Alex silently walked inside and returned with a couple of towels and water. ¡°You¡¯re worried.¡±


    ¡°Not really¡­¡± I replied, still working through the forms at a slow pace.


    ¡°Sasha.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Sasha.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay¡­¡± I stopped moving and stared at the ground, not knowing how or what to say.


    ¡°What we talked about last night, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Sigh¡­ ¡°For some reason, you act just like me at times. You became silent and barely ate, so I could tell something was up.¡± Right on point Alex. What should I do though?


    Alex put his large hand on my head. ¡°We put too much pressure on you and I¡¯m sorry about that. You don¡¯t have to be perfect you know. We know you have a lot on your plate right now, and you don¡¯t have to take it all on alone. All we ask is that you are happy and healthy. Be yourself little princess, and it will all work out.¡±


    I knocked his hand away, blushing and a little flustered. ¡°Don¡¯t call me princess! I¡¯m too old for that¡­¡±


    ¡°You used to love it when I called you that,¡± He quipped with a chuckle.


    ¡°¡­¡± I did¡­ I can remember him calling me ¡®little one¡¯ or ¡®little princess¡¯. Zeke would also call me ¡®His little princess¡¯, which always made ¡°me¡± happy¡­ Ugh, my head hurts again. What is going on?!


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Alex put his hands up. ¡°I¡¯ll lay off the princess stuff for a bit. Go take a shower and I will get breakfast started, then we can work on organizing the new house while we wait for your school counselor to show up.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ That.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so down, everything will work out so just have a little faith,¡± Alex patted my back and gave me a gentle push toward the R.V.


    I took a longer shower than usual, taking extra care of my hair. Why? No clue, though for some reason it did ease my mind a little. I put it in a loose ponytail after drying it and got dressed in a cute (I just said ¡°cute¡± didn¡¯t I?) light pink t-shirt, a white ankle-length skirt, and white shoes with about a two-inch heel. They were the highest-heeled shoes I had tried so far, and I wanted to get used to them after Natalie had shown me her old shoes from middle school that were the same height.


    Seriously, why were middle schoolers supposed to wear shoes like that?! At least they had a fairly large heel, making them somewhat easier to walk in.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad my sense of balance is back. I think it¡¯s way better than it used to be, too,¡± I muttered to myself before walking into the kitchen.


    Breakfast was on the lighter side today, and even after this morning¡¯s exercise, it was welcomed. A bowl of mixed berries in cream and toast with apple butter was precisely what the doctor ordered to lighten my mood even further.


    Alex was already loading boxes of kitchen and bathroom items to take to the house, so I washed the dishes and started packing my room. Not that there was much to pack.


    We worked quickly and by about ten had nearly everything except bedding and a few small items moved. With that taken care of, I started organizing the kitchen. I washed all the stuff that had been in storage before putting it away while Alex brought in what little furniture we had from the shop.


    There was a small, round, two seat antique table with chairs that I refurbished for the breakfast nook in the kitchen and a large eight seat square table I had made in woods class during my junior and senior years.


    That thing was massive and heavy being made out of solid mahogany and based on the long tables you would see in medieval fantasy.


    Don¡¯t judge; you know you want one too.


    I finished the kitchen and started on Alex¡¯s bathroom while he assembled the monstrosity (I seriously can¡¯t reiterate enough how much overkill that table is¡­) I had made.


    We stopped for lunch after Alex finished, eating a light salad with grilled chicken. I know I¡¯ve said it before, but I feel like a rabbit when I eat now. I can understand not having a large appetite considering how small I am, yet I felt like I barely eat anything these days.


    Should I be worried?


    ¡°Sasha, I think they¡¯re here,¡± Alex called from downstairs.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I replied after looking at my phone. It was only one thirty, which made me panic a little. Was there something wrong? ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said as I checked myself in the mirror. Wait¡­ When did I start doing that?


    Alex was already outside talking to two women when I stepped through the door.


    ¡°Ms. White? I didn¡¯t know you were coming.¡±


    ¡°Hi, Sasha, nice to see you. Wow, you¡¯re even cuter in person,¡± She was taller than I expected at around five ten, with long blond hair and beautiful blue eyes. She was also more endowed than it looked on video chat. Her smile and pearly white teeth were almost too bright to look at.


    I looked down at myself, thinking about how flat I was in comp¡­¡­


    NOPE! Why am I thinking about that?! I don¡¯t want to be that big! It¡¯s bad enough that it feels like I¡¯ve already grown a bit because my training bras felt a little tighter and it was getting more uncomfortable to not wear one when I was moving around.


    It hasn¡¯t even been a week!


    ¡°Hello Alex, Sasha. I¡¯m Maryam Coldwell, the guidance counselor for Plumb Valley and the state,¡± Maryam shook hands with Alex. ¡°Sorry for showing up so early.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Alex replied. ¡°We were only organizing while we waited for the rest of the furniture to be delivered. Would you like some coffee or I could make some tea if you prefer.¡±


    ¡°Coffee sounds good.¡±


    ¡°Water for me please,¡± Ms. White said in a quiet voice when Alex glanced her way. Are you okay? You¡¯re fidgeting. Alex isn¡¯t scary, I promise!


    ¡°Okay, water for Ms. White and coffee for Mrs. Coldwell. Did you want coffee as well Alex?¡±


    ¡°Yes, thanks, Sasha. Would you ladies like to come inside? We can relax at the table to talk,¡± Alex motioned toward the house. ¡°I should apologize¡­¡± He started to say but was cut off by a car pulling into the drive.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s Natalie¡¯s WRX, I wonder what she¡¯s doing here?¡± The bigger question in my opinion though, was why they bought her that. At first, I had thought it was one of her brothers but was floored when she told me it was hers. She didn¡¯t even realize what she was driving.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Alex shook his head. ¡°They didn¡¯t say anything about coming today.¡±


    We watched as the car parked next to the Camaro and Natalie popped out of the driver¡¯s side just as bubbly and energetic as usual.


    ¡°Sashaaaa! We came to give you a hand with moving!¡± She excitedly shouted as she hurried towards me acting like a cat mid-pounce.


    ¡°STOP! STOP!¡± I held up my hands and she skidded to a stop, somehow looking guilty and dejected at the same time. ¡®Wow, that¡¯s cute¡¯ I thought.


    Oh no! No no no no! I did NOT just think that!


    ¡®Ah, I can¡¯t. She looks so much like a sad little puppy right now.¡¯ With that thought, I slowly walked up and gave her a light hug. ¡°Thanks, Natalie, we have most of it done, but we appreciate you coming.¡±


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°See what I mean Natalie?¡± Rebecca said as she placed her hand on Natalie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We wanted to get here earlier, but Natalie¡¯s class didn¡¯t get out until after noon,¡± She continued, looking at Alex and me with a smile.


    ¡°Hello, Rebecca,¡± Mrs. Coldwell said, crossing her arms. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you were acquainted with Mr. Athervon and Sasha.¡±


    ¡°Hi, Maryam. Alex worked for my husband and has become like family to us, so we are helping him take care of Sasha.¡±


    ¡°I see, so that¡¯s how it is,¡± The look on Mrs. Coldwell¡¯s face didn¡¯t seem like she was happy with this development. I had the feeling she didn¡¯t like the idea of a single man without experience raising kids taking care of a young girl on his own.


    To be honest? I could see where she was coming from, though that didn¡¯t mean I agreed with her.


    ¡°Oh, you haven¡¯t changed Maryam, still so serious all the time,¡± Why were you teasing her Rebecca?


    ¡°We were on our way inside when you showed up Rebecca. Would you care to join us for some coffee?¡± Alex interjected to break the tension.


    ¡°Right, coffee and water. Do you want me to make you some tea Rebecca?¡±


    ¡°Coffee works for me as well Sasha, Thanks,¡± Rebecca said with a soft smile.


    I grabbed Natalie¡¯s hand and started for the house. ¡°Come on Natalie, I¡¯ll show you the house while they talk.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give you a hand with the drinks, then you can give me a tour!¡±


    The Cheshire grin she had as I pulled her inside worried me a little, and yet I was more worried about how I was acting. ¡®It seems like I¡¯m acting more and more like a ten-year-old girl¡­ I still feel like myself though, or is it more a case of becoming my new self? Ugh, what does that even mean?¡¯


    Crap¡­ My head hurts again.


    ¡°Could you please grab two glasses and three coffee cups from that cabinet? Oh, and whatever cup you want as well.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, what do you have?¡±


    ¡°I can make some iced tea, we have milk and a few different juices, or coffee and some herbal teas,¡± I said as I filled an old-school coffee boiler with water. ¡°The teas are in the cabinet to the right of the cups.¡± No, I wasn¡¯t going to use the boiler to make coffee. Alex¡¯s sister had given him a coffee press for his birthday and I wanted to try it.


    ¡°Is this peppermint tea any good?¡±


    ¡°I like it, it¡¯s pretty refreshing for a hot tea,¡± I lit the stove and carefully placed the pot on the burner. I probably should have had Natalie do that for me because I could hear Mrs. Coldwell asking Alex if he thought letting me be around a stove was alright.


    Crap¡­


    ¡°Maryam quit acting so high and mighty. You and I were helping in the kitchen at that age and I find it hard to believe your daughter wasn¡¯t the same way,¡± Dang Rebecca, going for the throat already. I bet there¡¯s a bit of history between them.


    ¡°Sasha knows what she¡¯s doing. Her mother started teaching her how to cook and bake a couple of years ago,¡± Alex added. ¡°Her cookies are delicious by the way. She used to bake them whenever I visited.


    ¡°I would hope it was under supervision by her mother,¡± Mrs. Coldwell was determined to find fault. This was going to be a pain¡­


    ¡°Ms. White, would you like ice?¡± I asked, trying to disrupt the conversation.


    ¡°Yes please.¡±


    ¡°Ok, here you go,¡± I set down the glass of water on a coaster along with the three coffee cups I had brought. ¡°The coffee should be ready soon. Do you think I should open a couple of doors, Alex? This is the first time the stove¡¯s been used.¡±


    ¡°That might be a good idea and it is a beautiful day.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re worried about carbon monoxide, why did you install that kind of appliance?¡± Yep, Mrs. Coldwell really doesn¡¯t like the idea of Alex taking care of me.


    ¡°It¡¯s not about carbon monoxide and we have multiple detectors installed as well. The coating on the stove might smell a bit when it gets hot until it¡¯s been used for a while.¡± Calm down Alex, your eye is starting to twitch.


    ¡°Maryam, you have pushed hard enough. It¡¯s time to drop the act I think.¡± Wow, even Rebecca is starting to lose it. I think I will sneak back to the kitchen.


    Mrs. Coldwell raised her eyebrows at Rebecca¡¯s rebuke. ¡°Yes, I think you are right. Sorry Alex, Sasha. While I am still skeptical about Sasha living with Alex, from what I¡¯ve seen already they know each other quite well and trust one another. I¡¯ve read the reports and testimonies of those that knew Sasha¡¯s family and all of them mentioned Alex and Sasha being close, so I wanted to gauge your reactions when I pushed a little.¡±


    As they continued to talk, (and the conversation took a weird turn) I asked Natalie to pour the boiling water into the press and her cup, not wanting to give Mrs. Coldwell more ammo. Grabbing my orange juice and the coffee, Natalie and I joined the others at the table after Rebecca pointed to the chair next to her. Guess I won''t be able to disappear and give Natalie that tour yet...


    I placed my juice on a coaster and pressed the coffee, offering it to Rebecca and Mrs. Coldwell. ¡°Here you go Rebecca, Mrs. Coldwell.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Sasha,¡± Mrs. Coldwell took the coffee offered from Rebecca and actually smiled. Was that cold scorn really all an act? I could see Alex was still confused as well. ¡°Is she always like this Rebecca?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Yes, I would say she is. It took me a while to get her to stop calling me Mrs. Rebecca.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I didn¡¯t know your last name,¡± I puffed my cheeks out making the others laugh.


    Ugh, please no. I¡¯m not some light novel protagonist and kids don¡¯t really do that, do they?


    ¡°You still won¡¯t call me Becca though,¡± she replied, still laughing.


    ¡°I see. Is there a reason you still call Alyssa Ms. White and me Mrs. Coldwell?¡±


    ¡°Well, I would say that¡¯s her mother¡¯s influence,¡± Alex said.


    ¡°I understand that, what I was wondering is, how did she know I was married and Alyssa wasn¡¯t.¡±


    Why was she bringing this up? I don¡¯t understand, did I offend her somehow?


    Dang it Alex, quit laughing like that.


    ¡°Umm, when I talked to Ms. White to take the online entrance exam I noticed she didn¡¯t have a wedding ring.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You could see that through the webcam?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Ms. White seems to be left-handed.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t follow.¡±


    ¡°I could see that her pens were on the left side of her desk and she had a dark spot on the edge of her left hand as well.¡±


    ¡°That could have been someone else¡¯s desk. Alyssa is doing her internship for school counseling.¡±


    ¡°Yes, though she used her left hand to adjust the webcam, and when she waved goodbye she used her left arm. Most people wave with their dominant hand. Ms. White, did you go to beauty pageants?¡±


    ¡°Ho¡­ How do you know that, and where did that come from? I haven¡¯t told anyone here about that¡­ It¡¯s too embarrassing,¡± Ms. White said as she blushed.


    ¡°You twisted your wrist instead of moving your hand side to side. They teach that to people who have to wave for long periods.¡±


    ¡°Interesting. So why did you call me Mrs. without knowing I was married?¡±


    ¡°You have a habit of playing with your rings, which made them easy to spot. After you crossed your arms, I could see three of them; one is probably your engagement ring, one your wedding, and the other is probably a milestone or renewal of vows based on the placement and combination of gems.¡±


    Alex burst into laughter again while the others looked at me with their jaws on the floor. ¡°I see you kept playing that game when I wasn¡¯t around. I didn¡¯t know you were interested in pageants though.¡±


    ¡°Your sister tried to get me to go with them that time we stopped by your parent¡¯s house. She and Hailey tried to teach me about them, but I wasn¡¯t interested.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I remember that. Your mom was freaking out, worried that you would want to.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind my asking, why would she be worried about that?¡± Ms. White interjected. ¡°I realize I said I was embarrassed about it now, though it was a lot of fun.¡±


    "Valeria didn¡¯t have anything against the concept or the majority of people involved with pageants, though she believed that those kinds of events over-sexualized children.¡±


    ¡°So she would have thought poorly of me for participating in pageants?¡±


    ¡°No. From what I have seen so far, you two would have gotten along really well. Valeria was raised in a very strict family, well¡­ her mother was anyway. While she was a little more lax with Sasha and was way more open-minded than her mother, Valeria still had the mindset of how a ¡®proper¡¯ lady should be. I know that¡¯s confusing, but it¡¯s hard to explain without you knowing her.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I think I get it,¡± Mrs. Coldwell said. ¡°She sounds a lot like my grandmother. She used to harp on me constantly about my clothes, how I talked, and even how I sat, but while she had her opinions about certain things, she never held that against most people. Sound about right?¡±


    ¡°Sounds similar,¡± Alex said with a sad smile.


    I was so confused right now. Looking down at my hands that were folded in my lap, I frowned in thought. I could remember all of that. Meeting Alex¡¯s sister and niece at his parent¡¯s house, them trying to get me to join them at a pageant and excitedly teaching me about them...


    Truthfully, I knew so much about them because my sister Tess wanted to be a model, so being the youngest I had to go with her and mom to many pageants growing up. Hailey was the same and enjoyed participating as well.


    So, why did I have those memories of Tess and Hailey?!


    I really need some answers¡­


    ¡°Sorry Sasha,¡± Rebecca said as she rubbed my back. They must have taken my frown and silence as sadness. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m fine¡­¡± I¡¯m not fine. In no way whatsoever am I fine, though I can¡¯t tell them that, or why for that matter. I need to talk to Jacobus and figure this out.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Rebecca didn¡¯t look convinced. She¡¯s too freaking perceptive!


    ¡°I promise, I¡¯m alright.¡±


    After a long pause, Mrs. Coldwell looked at Alex. ¡°So¡­¡­ What¡¯s this game you mentioned?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, that. It¡¯s a game my martial arts Sensei taught me to build situational awareness. The quick explanation is, it¡¯s people watching with a purpose. There is a lot more to it than that though,¡± Alex looked like he was going to leave it at that, but the quizzical glances from the others and Rebecca¡¯s glare urged him to continue.


    It was probably Rebecca¡¯s glare more than anything¡­ Have I mentioned she could be incredibly scary?


    ¡°So, the point of it is to watch people, animals, objects, and so on to learn to notice the small details. At first, it¡¯s easier to have another person to compare what you see with. That¡¯s why I told Sasha it was a game.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®the small¡¯ details?" Mrs. Coldwell looked interested.


    ¡°Well, as an example, what Sasha pointed out about your rings, or the way Alyssa waves, whether someone is right or left dominant, that sort of detail. It¡¯s easier said than done because you don¡¯t want to stare at people so you train to notice things at a glance.¡±


    ¡°How would you know if someone was right or left-handed just by looking at them? I can understand Sasha figuring that out by looking at my desk and when I waved because we talked for a while over chat¡­¡± Ms. White trailed off and I could understand her confusion. It was extremely difficult to take in very much info in a short glance.


    ¡°Well, everyone has ¡®tells¡¯, though I¡¯m not going to say you can be a hundred percent all the time, you can usually get enough information to make an educated guess. The hardest part about it is having the knowledge to put that information to use.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± Mrs. Coldwell asked.


    ¡°The easiest example would be how Alissa waves. With that, you could assume she was either left-handed or ambidextrous, but if you didn¡¯t know anything about why people are taught to wave in that way, it wouldn¡¯t mean anything else. If you do know about it, it can become another tell. Using that and other observations, Sasha guessed that you went to pageants.¡±


    ¡°There are other places she could have learned that thought, right?¡± Natalie asked. And here I thought she wasn¡¯t paying attention.


    ¡°Well¡­ There is more to it, but¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°And that would be?¡± Alyssa glared at Alex, making him fidget and look away. Kinda funny really. ¡°Aaannnddd?!¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­¡±


    Oh, this is good. I had never seen myself when I get flustered and fidget like this. (Well, duh, that¡¯s obvious¡­) Now I know why my few friends and my family always tried to get me. It was hilarious and I couldn¡¯t help giggling.


    Clearing my throat to hide my giggles, I gave Alex a reprieve. ¡°What He¡¯s trying not to say to be polite is; It¡¯s in the way you move, how you stand and sit, and you are very beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Ho¡­ How¡­ What?¡±


    Dang, that blush makes her even more beautiful. Rebecca and Natalie were trying not to laugh while Mrs. Coldwell rolled her eyes and coughed.


    ¡°I think you might need to explain a little more Sasha. I don¡¯t quite follow.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, so Ms. White¡­¡±


    ¡°Please, just call me Alyssa,¡± She said, cutting me off.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ Right. Well, the way you walk, putting one foot in front of the other, back straight, and chin up is typical of models and pageant contestants. You also stand with your knees and feet together while placing one hand over the other or holding one wrist with the other hand. You sit with your back straight, barely touching the backrest, with your hands folded in your lap and your knees together with your feet on the side of the chair. That¡¯s what Tess and Hailey were trying to teach me anyway.¡± I threw that last bit in just in case they wanted to know how I knew so much about that. I remember Tess constantly complaining about that particular practice at the pageants she went to. I don¡¯t know if all of them are like that though.


    ¡°PFFT¡­. Hahaha,¡± Natalie almost spit her tea out before laughing. ¡°Hey, Sasha¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what you do too!¡±


    Crap¡­

 14: Meeting the counselor. (Part 2)

    ¡°You didn¡¯t even realize, did you?¡± Natalie choked out, still laughing.


    ¡°Probably not,¡± Alex said with a chuckle. ¡°From what Zeke told me, Valeria started teaching Sasha ¡®proper etiquette¡¯ as soon as she started walking.¡±


    ¡°Wow, I thought you said she wasn¡¯t that strict¡­¡±


    Come on people¡­ You do remember that I¡¯m right here, right? Didn¡¯t we just finish a similar conversation?


    Something does feel off though. I know Valeria had her quirks, yet I don¡¯t remember her being like that. She didn¡¯t have any children, so that could be part of it, but I also don¡¯t think pageants were quite that bad either. This feels more like fantasy ¡°Royal¡± etiquette than anything else.


    Naaa¡­ I¡¯m thinking crazy things¡­¡­ There is NO way something like that could happen¡­


    Right???


    ¡°I said she wasn¡¯t as strict as her mom, yes.¡±


    ¡°I can understand how Sasha wouldn¡¯t realize though. I went to pageants for eighteen years and practiced constantly, making it habitual for me as well. Growing up with it would explain how natural and elegant she seems. I can¡¯t move like that.¡±


    Natural? Elegant? Oh crap. Something is definitely off here¡­


    ¡°I bet some of that is from her training. You should watch sometime.¡±


    ¡°So she excels at academics and she is active in sports?¡± Mrs. Coldwell asked.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t like sports.¡±


    ¡°No, Sasha doesn¡¯t play sports.¡± Alex and I said at the same time.


    ¡°I¡¯m not good at school either,¡± I continued as I hung my head. I don¡¯t want them to get the wrong idea if I don¡¯t get good grades. I¡¯m not confident I can keep that up.


    ¡°I know the online exam was easy, yet you finished it faster than I would expect. The exams you did at home were excellent as well and I was impressed when I graded them,¡± Alyssa shot that down quickly, now what?


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like sports, why train?¡± Mrs. Coldwell asked me.


    ¡°Alex is teaching me martial arts and I really like them. I also like running and doing yoga; they help me think and relax.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t most martial arts seen as sports now? That¡¯s what Brandon does, right?¡± Natalie asked.


    ¡°There are sports based around some schools like Karate and Judo, though they limit some of the forms for safety. Most martial arts are taught for self-defense. That¡¯s what I teach Sasha.¡±


    ¡°And you think that has something to do with how Sasha moves so well?¡± Alyssa looked skeptical.


    ¡°Between that, yoga, and Valeria¡¯s lessons, though I don¡¯t know what they were.¡±


    ¡°Maybe. It still seems a little far-fetched to me.¡±


    ¡°Well, have you ever heard the saying; ¡®catlike grace of a fighter¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s mainly in fairy tales, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Not really, it has to do with your coordination and not wasting any movement. The same thing can happen with professional dancers or athletes. Sasha somehow takes that to the next level though.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, how to explain. Think of it as every motion is fluid and graceful with no wasted energy.¡±


    ¡°Ah, maybe¡­"


    ¡°Wow Sasha, that sounds like it was harsh,¡± Natalie said, patting my head.


    ¡°Mm¡­ Mom made the lessons fun, but they were really hard,¡± don¡¯t look at me like that. They were fun¡­ Dang, it! How do I know that?!


    ¡°Well, anyway. I think we may have gotten off topic. Sorry about that Maryam.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Alex. This is one of the best home visits I think I¡¯ve had. It¡¯s my job to get to know the people involved and see how they interact. As I said earlier, I can tell you and Sasha know and trust each other and I see why everyone said you were a second father to her. I still have a few reservations, but I believe with the people you have around you, there won¡¯t be any problems.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll be fine. Alex and Sasha know they can call me any time.¡±


    ¡°Yep, and Sasha¡¯s my cute little sister now, So I¡¯ll take really good care of her!¡±


    Quit bouncing like that Natalie! And that grin is just scary¡­ I think you gave us a negative mark with how Mrs. Coldwell is rolling her eyes¡­ oh, Rebecca is too¡­


    Before anyone else could speak, we heard a vehicle coming down the gravel drive. Standing up, Alex started for the shop. ¡°Must be our furniture, be right back.¡±


    ¡°Hey Sasha, why did he go that way?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s going to open one of the garage doors so they can offload the furniture in the shop.¡±


    ¡°Kennith and I figured he wouldn¡¯t ask the delivery guys to help. Typical Alex.¡±


    ¡°Ya, that¡¯s why mom and I are here. We told you we came to help.¡±


    ¡°Umm, I don¡¯t know¡­ Some of it is really heavy.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s why we¡¯re here,¡± Kennith said; Brandon, Eric, and three guys from my old crew walking behind him.


    ¡°Hello brother, it¡¯s been a while.¡±


    ¡°Huh?! Oh! Aah¡­ Maryam, how are you doing?¡±


    Okay¡­ So I didn¡¯t know Kennith had a sister. That also explains Maryam and Rebecca¡¯s relationship. I still can¡¯t figure out if they like each other or not though.


    Don¡¯t pretend no one sees that smirk, Rebecca.


    ¡°I take it all those times you promised me you would call your sister, it didn¡¯t happen?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡­¡± Cough, cough. ¡°You know how it goes¡­ A-anyway, we should go help Alex¡­¡±


    ¡°Aaannd he¡¯s gone¡­ Having an unreliable older brother is such a pain.¡±


    Dang. It sounds like Kennith has it hard. Rebecca can be really scary sometimes and I bet Mrs. Coldwell can be too. I would feel sorry for him¡­ but after learning he was the one always stealing my food¡­ ¡°I feel like he deserves everything he gets,¡± Crap, did I say that out loud?


    Rebecca and Mrs. Coldwell looked at each other, then started laughing hard enough to bring tears to their eyes.


    ¡°Yes, yes he does!¡±


    ¡°I swear, that man is worse than our kids ever were.¡±


    Ya, no mercy. Can¡¯t say I don¡¯t feel the same way right now¡­


    ¡°Sorry, Maryam. The furniture showed up earlier than expected.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine Alex. I think we¡¯ve covered everything that was needed.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Please stay as long as you want. There¡¯s more coffee and I think we have some pastries if you want.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll heat some more water and grab them.¡±


    ¡°Let me help, then you can finally give me that tour!¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a good idea. Would you mind showing us around first Sasha?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ Sure. Would you like to come as well Mrs. Coldwell, Alyssa?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s alright. This looks like an interesting house. I do have one request though, please just call me Maryam.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. I think I can do that.¡±


    ¡°Haha. Go easy on her Maryam, I think it¡¯s hard for her not to be like that.¡±


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡± I puffed out my cheeks. I¡¯m right here you know¡­¡­ Ah, crap¡­ not again!


    ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t know someone could be so cute!¡± Please don¡¯t make it worse Alyssa¡­.


    ¡°Right?! My little Sasha is just the Cutest!¡± Bad Natalie! No hugs for you!


    Oh, man¡­. I want to find a hole and crawl into it. This is so not good. Can I please salvage at least a little of my dignity?


    No?


    ¡­¡­


    Moving on then¡­ ¡°E-hem¡­ Do you want to start upstairs, or take a look around here first?¡±


    ¡°I want to see your room!¡±


    ¡°You know there isn¡¯t anything in there, right Natalie?¡±


    ¡°I know!¡±


    ¡°Oh, give me a minute, I want to get some tea started,¡± Hurrying into the kitchen I pulled a large glass jar out of the cupboard, filled it, and added a few teabags. I had to ask Natalie for help getting it out of the sink and setting it on the porch. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m not strong enough to lift a couple of gallons of water now¡­.


    Now the short tour can begin. It¡¯s not like there is much to see since the living area is so open. Everyone liked the kitchen though, and I had a feeling Kennith would be remodeling soon¡­


    Sorry, Kennith¡­ not sorry.


    For some reason, they especially like the breakfast nook. Four large windows were facing east and two facing south beside the double doors leading to the pergola covered patio. I will admit, the view of the Black Hills was beautiful.


    When we started upstairs, Alex came in and asked how I wanted my room set up, so we went there first. I wanted to put the bed under the north window, (each window filled most of the wall,) with enough room for the nightstand between it and the east wall, the desk under the east window, and the wardrobe on the west wall between the bathroom and closet doors.


    I liked the idea of putting the trunk on the south wall, with the t.v. above it, putting it close enough to the computer that I could use it to stream movies and other videos. That left a lot of open area in the room, so we decided to move the bed more to the west and put my beanbag in that corner, making a comfy reading nook.


    Frank and Eric, two of the troublemakers from my old crew brought my headboard in so we moved to the bathroom. Seeing the reaction from the ladies, I think Kennith is going to have more work on his hands. Good thing they had a very large plot of land. I bet an addition is in store for their house.


    ¡°Wow, is that the tub? It¡¯s huge!¡± Alyssa asked, looking like she was going to drool.


    ¡°It certainly is,¡± Maryam agreed.


    ¡°When Alex was working in Guam a few years ago, he spent some time in Japan and liked how some places had a large tub for soaking. He came up with using stock tanks, insulating them, and surrounding them with stained wood. He also built in a water heater. The controls for the tub and the floor are on the wall.¡±


    ¡°Wait! The floor is heated as well?!¡± Natalie asked.


    ¡°Yes, the flooring is natural stone tile so it would be cold.¡±


    ¡°The tubs are more of a Jacuzzi than?¡± Maryam asked.


    ¡°Yep, you shower first, then soak for as long as you want. We have an ice machine in the shop so you can take an ice bath as well. Since we don¡¯t treat the water you have to change it and clean the tubs regularly, but I can¡¯t wait to use them.¡±


    ¡°Why an ice bath? That just sounds awful,¡± Natalie grimaced.


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming for sore or strained muscles. Heat can cause more inflammation and pain,¡± Right on the money Alyssa.


    ¡°Typical Alex. That guy is smart and kind, yet is a muscle head at the strangest times,¡± Ouch Rebecca, I wasn¡¯t that bad, was I?


    ¡°This shower is huge as well, though I bet Alex designed it for him. I like the waterfall head in the ceiling as well.¡± I think Maryam¡¯s husband is going to be busy as well¡­


    ¡°It was easier to come up with the design for one bathroom and mirror it. That¡¯s what Alex said.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense. I think I might have Kennith come up with something similar. I like the idea of having a Jacuzzi.¡±


    Yep, nailed it. Have fun Kennith!


    They glanced at the study and other rooms, then we went downstairs to look at the shop. I had Natalie grab the tea as I found some cups and went to the shop, setting everything on the bar.


    ¡°Anyone want some tea? It¡¯s fresh and still warm, but there¡¯s ice in the machine by the door.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Sasha, tea sounds good. We almost have the rooms done and are starting on the living room next.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much gentleman, I appreciate it,¡± Aah, my speech is going off on its own again¡­


    ¡°Dang, she¡¯s even cuter than last time. I should¡­ Oww! What was that for Alex?¡±


    ¡°Shut it Frank, and don¡¯t even think about finishing that thought.¡±


    ¡°Already so over-protective. I think¡­ Oww quit hitting the back of my head!¡±


    ¡°I told you not to finish that thought. It¡¯s not gonna happen.¡±


    ¡°Frank.¡±


    ¡°Oh crap, yes Rebecca?¡±


    ¡°While your son Caleb is a nice boy, he¡¯s too old. There are a few other problems as well, but I won¡¯t get into those here.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s only thirteen,¡± mumbled Frank.


    ¡°Frank.¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡±


    Oh no, I¡¯d forgotten Frank had a son and it looks like he wants to try and hook us up. Not a chance! That kid is weird. Oh, he¡¯s nice enough, though I can¡¯t handle being around him since his personality is way out in left field.


    There is the fact I¡¯m not ready to even think about that stuff yet as well. Right now the thought of being with a boy is starting to put me off, yet I don¡¯t really have any feelings about girls¡­¡­..


    Let¡¯s not think about that yet¡­


    ¡°I won¡¯t let that brat anywhere near my cute little Sasha!¡±


    ¡°Whoa, Natalie. He¡¯s not that bad.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he is! He still pulls my hair and tries to play stupid pranks like spilling water on me. Even though he¡¯s thirteen he still acts like a five-year-old!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s¡­Hmm. Is he really like that?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a problem. I¡¯m going to have to talk to my wife about this. We need to start paying more attention if that¡¯s the case. I had no idea he acted like that.¡±


    ¡°Sasha, if he does stuff like that to you, you have my permission to dislocate an arm or two.¡±


    ¡°WAIT!!! NO Alex! I promise he won¡¯t, I¡¯ll make sure of it!¡±


    ¡°Alex, is that really necessary? That seems a little violent. For that matter, why would you teach something like that to Sasha? She could permanently injure someone. That would especially be bad if it¡¯s over something childish.¡± Maryam did not look amused at Alex¡¯s declaration.


    ¡°I taught Sasha how to do something basic like dislocating joints in a way that wouldn¡¯t cause injury, just immobilize. That¡¯s what self-defense is.¡±


    ¡°But why would you teach her something like that?!¡±


    ¡°Like I said, self-defense.¡±


    ¡°Dad, knock it off. I think Frank is going to pass out if you keep going. Sorry, Maryam¡­ he¡¯s only joking.¡±


    ¡°Tch.¡±


    Okay, that¡¯s it¡­ I don¡¯t think I can ignore the signs anymore. I know I never tisked like that. My¡­ or Alex¡¯s I guess¡­ sense of humor was always a little, okay, a lot dark, yet it wasn¡¯t that bad¡­ Well¡­ maybe it was at certain times. Frank was one of those people that could set me off. I usually got along with him, but he could get a little too crass for my taste. Sounds like his son didn¡¯t fall far from the tree. I didn¡¯t know he was that bad though.


    Thinking about that, I¡¯m positive things have changed. The way people are acting, certain things being subtly, or not so subtly different¡­ I know I can be dense when it comes to people, even with my observational training I¡¯m hopeless when it comes to picking up on non-physical cues.


    Emotions are, or were, foreign to me. I spent most of my life trying to suppress them out of fear I would hurt those around me.


    I guess fear is an emotion too, but I digress¡­


    All this is to say; I¡¯m sure people were more subdued before. Take the waitress¡¯ at Murries. I¡¯m sure that wouldn¡¯t have happened before. Maybe someone would have acted that way, there are billions of people on this planet, though I¡¯m sure stuff like that wouldn¡¯t happen as often as it has been.


    My thoughts are going in circles. Heck, I¡¯m even confusing myself now¡­


    ¡°Hahaha, Sasha definitely knows Alex and she already has him wrapped around her little finger! Did you see his face when she called him dad?!¡± No, Natalie, you¡¯re making it worse!


    Cough, cough cough. ¡°No, I just got bored of teasing Frank.¡±


    And now he¡¯s acting like that?!


    Crap.


    ¡°Natalie.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I think we need to work on your situational skills.¡±


    ¡°Come on mom¡­¡±


    ¡°E-hem. As fun as this has been, I believe it¡¯s time for Alyssa and me to leave. Thanks for showing us around Sasha.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay Maryam. Thank you for taking the time to come visit. I know it¡¯s a bit of a drive.¡±


    ¡°No problem Sasha. It¡¯s part of the job.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Sasha, Alex. You have a really nice house. If you have any questions about school, don¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡±


    ¡°That reminds me. Alex, were you able to get Sasha in for a physical yet?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Monday after school. That¡¯s the earliest my doctor could make an appointment.¡±


    ¡°That will be fine. One other thing, since Sasha is starting Monday, would you like me to give you a tour of the school tomorrow? I have a few things to wrap up and will be there in the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re having a barbecue tomorrow as a housewarming party and to celebrate Sasha being here and making it into Plumb Valley, though we could probably make it in the evening if that works?¡±


    ¡°Kennith and I are bringing most of our company employees as well. Why don¡¯t you bring your family and I¡¯m sure Alyssa would be welcome.¡±


    ¡°Mm! Alyssa, you should come too!¡± Come on¡­ Please let me talk normally¡­


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I wouldn¡¯t know anyone, and I wouldn¡¯t want to intrude.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You know us, and you¡¯re welcome any time.¡± Nice one Alex. That even made her blush.


    ¡°It would be a good way for you to meet people, you recently moved here after all.¡± Way to clench it, Maryam.


    I hoped Alyssa would come. She gave off that big sister feeling and I liked being around her. Too bad Alex was a ¡®construct¡¯ or I would be trying to get them together. Even with the age difference, I think she¡¯s into him. Maybe my change made me notice these things more¡­ It could just be my imagination¡­¡­


    Maybe not, the other ladies have a gleam in their eyes. I think I felt a chill go down my spine. Should I be scared right now?


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind. It sounds like fun and I love a good barbecue.¡±


    ¡°Great. Alex is really good with a grill.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that far¡­¡±


    ¡°Quit being so modest. I know for sure your food is good.¡±


    ¡°That reminds me, you don¡¯t get any Kennith.¡±


    ¡°Whaaa?! Why not?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you get for stealing my food all these years.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on¡­ I came all this way to help you out, and this is the thanks I get?¡±


    ¡°Kennith.¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ Yes, dear?¡±


    ¡°Quit digging yourself a grave.¡±


    ¡°R-right.¡±


    ¡°Can we let Mr. McGreggor have some barbecue? He helped us out so much today.¡± This is one time I will ignore my speech patterns¡­ Kennith might have been a pain, but he was a good boss for the most part, and he did help us today. I think we can forgive him this one time.


    ¡°Urck¡­¡±


    ¡°Haha, That look!¡± Shut it, Natalie, you¡¯re going to ruin it!


    ¡°We-well, I guess he can.¡±


    Huh, with that reaction, maybe this is what they mean when they say ¡®cute is justice¡¯?


    Nope. Not going there!


    ¡°Ah, thank you, Sasha!¡±


    ¡°Kennith, stop digging.¡±


    ¡°Yes, dear.¡±


    Ya, this is bad. I have a bad feeling that this is unquestionably an alternate reality or something. How deep the rabbit hole goes is another question, and I don¡¯t know if I want the answer.


    Maryam and Alyssa left after that little farce, and it didn¡¯t take very long to get the rest of the furniture in place. While the guys were working on getting the couch, chairs, and t.v. in the living room; Rebecca, Natalie, and I finished my room and bathroom. There wasn¡¯t much for me to put away in the bathroom until Rebecca gave me a bunch of brushes and a new hair dryer.


    They keep giving me these things and I don¡¯t know how to take it. They even brought a new set of soft flannel sheets in gray and a dark purple oversized down comforter. To make it worse, there was a giant wolf plushy that was as big as me laying by my pillows.


    Why¡­ Why do they keep doing this? It¡¯s too much.


    Standing there with tears in my eyes, I couldn¡¯t say anything. I don¡¯t understand. I know Rebecca, Natalie and the rest of their family are really good people, but I don¡¯t understand why they would go so far for us.


    Being wrapped in a hug from the two women, I heard three words that made me feel so many emotions; happiness, sadness, the loss of what once was, and the hope that things would get better and that I could live a new and better life.


    ¡°Welcome home Sasha.¡±


    I¡­ I guess I am.


    ¡°Mm!¡±

 15: The party starts, with weird omens... Wait, I feel omens now?

    I¡¯m exhausted. This day wore me out and I bet tomorrow¡¯s going to be worse. I might not have acted like it, but I was one giant bundle of nerves the whole time Maryam and Alyssa were here.


    I could relax a bit now that Rebecca, Natalie, and the guys had left. Of course, Rebecca promised to be here early to help and I¡¯m sure that will include Kennith and Natalie.


    ¡°Hey Sasha, " Alex called from downstairs.


    I walked out of my room and looked over the railing, ¡°what¡¯s up Dad?¡± Haha, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to get bored of that reaction¡­


    ¡°I have a couple of things to finish up and then I¡¯ll start dinner. Why don¡¯t you get cleaned up and relax.¡±


    ¡°I can help.¡±


    ¡°Na, I¡¯ve got it. Should be about an hour before dinner, so you should try the bath and have a nice long soak.¡±


    ¡°What about training?¡±


    ¡°We can do that in the morning. I think we¡¯ve worked hard enough for today, especially you.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do much though¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes; you did, you just didn¡¯t notice it. Go. Relax.¡±


    ¡°Okay, thanks.¡±


    Privately, I couldn¡¯t wait to try the bath. I know I should have bought a hot tub instead of going through all the trouble, but I¡¯m not a fan. I can¡¯t stand the smell and it doesn¡¯t go away, even after I shower.


    Let me tell you, it was glorious. The new shower was amazing as well, but there¡¯s nothing like a long relaxing soak. After about twenty minutes I was about to doze off, my stress and tension melting away in the hot water.


    Drying off, something caught my attention that normally I wouldn¡¯t think about. When we were at the beauty supply store the ladies had shoved a few bottles of lotion in my basket and I was now staring at the lavender-scented body cream. As a man, I had only used lotion for sunburns, and now my skin was as soft and smooth as silk so I didn¡¯t figure I needed any.


    Those ladies were not to be stopped, however. They gave me a lecture that was at least fifteen minutes and counting on why I needed to use a moisturizer and I folded just to get them to move on.


    ¡®Wow, this smells really good¡¯ I thought as I worked it gently into my skin. After going over half of my body, I blinked and stopped moving. It¡¯s like instinct took over once again as I subconsciously did something I normally wouldn¡¯t. ¡°Might as well finish since I¡¯ve done this much¡­¡±


    You can¡¯t get me to admit I felt better after I was finished. However, I will admit that the lavender was soothing and relaxed me even more.


    I¡¯m becoming more feminine, aren¡¯t I¡­ I¡¯m not sure how to feel about that¡­


    Applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, and tomato; the BLT of BLTs. Okay, so maybe I¡¯m overreacting a bit, but they were delicious. I even managed to eat a whole sandwich though Alex ate five. Maybe my appetite is coming back a bit. Orrr not¡­ I ate way too much. In my defense, it was way too good to stop eating.


    Alex, seeing me laying on the couch in a partial food coma just shook his head and laughed.


    Jerk! Payback is best served at unexpected times!


    What is tickling my nose? Nooo¡­ I don¡¯t want to get up yet. Oh no, this bed and these sheets are dangerous. I don¡¯t want to move right now but my alarm is annoying and I really have to go. Not to mention whatever is tickling my nose¡­


    I¡¯ll give you one guess as to what that was. Yep, I had curled up with the wolf plushy sometime in the night. Not gonna lie here, it was super comfortable and I¡¯m not embarrassed about it.


    Huh¡­ I wonder why?


    Mooooving on¡­¡­¡­


    A short run, yoga, a quick shower, and breakfast. What a good way to get the blood flowing and wake up.


    I know, I know; I¡¯m crazy for thinking that. Moving, exercising, stretching¡­ just feels good to me.


    Today was going to be hectic so I wanted to be as comfortable as possible. I chose an ankle-length lilac purple skirt with a slate blue long-sleeved, loose-fitting shirt. It was unfortunately supposed to be in the upper fifties to lower sixties today and I didn¡¯t know how I would handle it. Before, that would be t-shirt weather, though now I seemed to get cold easier.


    I discovered yesterday that I didn¡¯t feel the need to cover my legs if I wore something that long, which was nice. It¡¯s not that wearing hose was uncomfortable and those thigh-length socks were insanely comfortable, (I don¡¯t want to think too deeply about that as it could destroy any dignity I might have left. Yep¡­¡­ better to ignore it) but it was extremely annoying to ¡°feel¡± like I had to do something.


    You get that, right?


    Wondering what school was going to be like, or more like trying not to panic¡­ I was browsing their website while sitting at the small table in the breakfast nook. I found out yesterday that Plumb Valley had a homeschool program. However, when I brought up the idea of doing that instead; I was immediately shot down by not just Alex, but Rebecca, Natalie, and Maryam.


    Crap¡­¡­


    Things seemed a little different today as I was using the materials online to study. I probably could have had mostly A¡¯s the first time I went to school, however, I had other ¡°more important¡± things on my mind like martial arts. Now, it seemed like my memory was even better than it used to be. Was it my imagination or me ¡°knowing¡± the material already?


    Why did I get a chill down my spine?


    ¡°Hey, Sashaaaa!¡±


    Oh no, They¡¯re here already. It¡¯s still early, isn¡¯t it? Wow, ten already¡­ how long was I spaced out?


    ¡°Good morning, Sasha.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Rebecca was dressed more casually than I had ever seen in a light blue calf-length dress and two-and-a-half to three-inch block-heeled sandals. The dress had a mature cut to it that fit her well. How I knew that I didn¡¯t want to find out.


    Natalie was wearing a pair of jeans that looked painted on with an old black ¡®Pantera¡± t-shirt and calf-length brown boots with a low square heel. Must be nice to be able to wear jeans¡­ well, there is no way I could wear jeans that were so tight. I know I¡¯ve said it before, but Natalie could make a supermodel blush.


    No, I¡¯m not some sicko! Even before my change, I had seen Natalie around the shop on occasion and had no interest.


    Do I have to remind you to get your head out of the gutter? No? Good.


    ¡°Wow, you look so mature today! I¡¯m a little jealous at how good that looks on you.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ thanks¡­¡±


    ¡°Haha, you look lovely today Sasha. Are you going to do something with your hair or leave it down?¡±


    ¡°I think she should leave it Mom. I wish my hair was as beautiful as hers.¡±


    ¡°I wanted to try something, but I¡¯m not good enough yet¡­¡± Please don¡¯t mention that I¡¯m starting to enjoy things like different hairstyles and clothes. I¡¯m begging here!


    ¡°; sounds fun. Tell us what you want and we¡¯ll see what we can do.¡±


    What I wanted to try was a common style that I wanted to add to. (Please no comments, it¡¯s embarrassing enough already.) My reasoning was to see if I could come up with something where most of my hair was loose without "feeling" off.


    Twenty minutes later, my hair was done and the two ladies loved it. There were three small, loose braids on the sides of my head that met in the back and combined into three separate braids that went the rest of the way down my back and were finished by small black scrunchies. The rest of my hair was gathered below the nape of my neck under the three braids with a larger black scrunchy.


    ¡°That looks really cute, I like it.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for your help Natalie, I wish I could do this on my own though.¡±


    ¡°Give it time Sasha, you¡¯ll get it soon. Now, why don¡¯t we join the boys for a bit? We can help them get ready and make sure they¡¯re working instead of bs-ing like usual.¡±


    ¡°Okay, let me grab some shoes and start some tea.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get the tea started. Are those the jars on the counter?¡±


    ¡°Mm, thanks, Rebecca.¡±


    Don¡¯t ask why I had six large glass jars for tea. I¡¯m pretty sure you can guess the reason, even if it¡¯s kinda embarrassing and stupid, I¡¯m glad I did have them now.


    Thankfully Kennith brought his trailer-mounted grill and some coolers full of drinks and meat. This ¡°housewarming¡± party had ballooned into something crazy. Brandon and Eric were setting up tables and chairs while Alex and Kennith were stacking wood in the grill and close by.


    I was wiping down tables since the jerks wouldn¡¯t let me help set them up when Natalie walked over with something hidden behind her back. ¡°Here Sasha, Mom and I thought you might like one of these.¡±


    ¡°An¡­ apron¡­? Thanks¡­¡±


    Crap¡­ on the outside, I tried to look happy while on the inside I had a weird battle going on. Part of me was screaming ¡®What the HECK, why would I want that?¡¯ while another was jumping for joy.


    I¡¯m so confused right now¡­ Why does this stuff keep happening to me?


    ¡°It¡¯s one of the old ones that I don¡¯t use anymore. It will probably be a little big, but should fit well enough.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Rebecca, I appreciate it,¡± I said as I put it on. Why did I wear it you might ask? You try looking at Natalie¡¯s face full of anticipation and try to say no¡­


    I dare you.


    Needless to say, I let the part of me that was happy win this time. I¡¯m only exhausting myself with these internal battles and they don¡¯t seem to be changing me on a deeper level. If anything, I feel like I¡¯m becoming ¡°more¡±. More what? I¡¯m not quite sure yet.


    At least I still feel like myself¡­


    I made a giant mistake¡­ I became complacent and I now deeply regret it. It¡¯s going to be years before I live this one down, especially since someone (not going to name names here, though it may or may not start with N¡­) caught it on video; almost like they were expecting it.


    I can¡¯t make any excuses either. I was in an inordinately good mood (for some unknown reason) and quietly singing some song I can¡¯t remember while I prepared the tableware when they showed up. The ladies from Kennith¡¯s company had arrived and I was still wearing the apron. The instant one of them caught sight of me, she squealed something unintelligible, catching the attention of the other five. I was promptly mobbed by six gushing and squealing women.


    Someone¡­ Anyone¡­ Please stop laughing and SAVE ME!


    More and more people were starting to show up and it was starting to get interesting. As per your typical barbecue, most of the guys were clustered around the grill where Alex, Kennith, and ¡°Fluffy¡± (That would be Eric from work. Don¡¯t ask how he got that nickname because I don¡¯t know.) were already busy. I was a little worried at the amount of beer that was already being consumed, although it didn¡¯t seem to bother anyone else.


    Meh¡­ as long as it doesn¡¯t cause trouble¡­


    The women were more spread out while looking around the house and catching up with friends. It was technically a housewarming party so we expected that. There were quite a few teens around Natalie¡¯s age and three or four babies, but not anyone around my age until Dennis showed up with his wife Victoria and their twin granddaughters Isabel and Evelyn.


    Dennis and Victoria were the quintessential doting grandparents. Nevertheless, when Dennis introduced me to everyone, she immediately started doting on me as well. The scarier part was, for some reason the twins got in on it too.


    What¡¯s up with the starry-eyed look from the twins?


    Isabel came off as snooty and self-important while Evelyn seemed to be quiet and shy, though I had some instinct or gut feeling that I don¡¯t understand telling me something different. With long black hair and brown eyes, they looked like identical twins but denied that with passion.


    In another weird (or maybe I should say expected by this point?) turn, they went to Plumb Valley as well, however, they were in sixth grade.


    ¡°Hey Sasha, I want you to meet my family.¡±


    Oh crap¡­ Franks here¡­ ¡°Hello Frank, thank you again for your help yesterday,¡± I think I¡¯m figuring this speech pattern out. It seems to be connected in part to my emotions¡­¡­ Maybe? Probably?


    Whatever, it¡¯s still really annoying.


    ¡°Oh my, I can see what you were saying.¡±


    ¡°I told you, she¡¯s amazing. Sasha, this is my wife Sharron, my son Caleb and my daughter Celeste. Caleb and Celeste go to Plumb Valley too, and Celeste is in your grade.¡±


    I think I heard something bad Frank. I¡¯m a little scared to know what you told your family about me, although I¡¯m more worried that Alex heard you¡­¡­


    ¡°Hello; Frank.¡±


    ¡­ he heard you. You¡¯re on your own Frank¡­


    ¡°He-hey Alex¡­ You remember Sharron and Caleb. This is my daughter Celeste, she¡¯s in the same grade as Sasha.¡±


    ¡°Hi Sharron, good to see you again. Nice to meet you too, Celeste, I¡¯m Alex.¡±


    That¡¯s different, I thought for sure Alex would¡­¡­


    ¡°By the way Frank, I think you and I need to have a chat. How about you give these girls a tour Sasha?¡±


    Nope; he didn¡¯t let it slide¡­ Good luck Frank!


    ¡°Oh, please? Dad told me your house was amazing,¡± Celeste said, giving me a pleading look.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine with <u>me</u>, <u>I</u> wouldn¡¯t mind seeing the house that my grandfather built,¡± Isabel said, earning a poke on her cheek from her grandmother. ¡°Humph,¡± she looked away and folded her arms, causing Victoria to shake her head with a weary smile.


    Is it still ¡°¡± if they act self-important? I think there has to be a romantic element as well, so I don¡¯t think I could call her one¡­ I have this inexplicable feeling she is trying to hide behind a facade for some reason¡­


    ¡°Umm, I want to see your room. I bet it¡¯s as cute as you¡­¡± Evelyn said something dangerous as she clung shyly to her sister. She gave off the same feeling as her sister, but why would they act that way?


    ¡°Yo, that sounds like fun.¡±


    ¡°Not a chance Caleb! You¡¯re not invited and I¡¯m not letting you near these girls; especially Sasha!¡± When did Natalie get here?


    ¡°Heeey, Natalie, it¡¯s been a while. You¡¯re looking good, as usual.¡±


    Caleb¡¯s voice made my teeth itch and sent chills up my spine. You could tell from the look on his face he thought of himself as some Casanova with honeyed words. To me, they sounded more venomous.


    This kid was disgusting and I could see why Natalie disliked him so much. The twins were looking at him like he was slime and Celeste was almost panicking.


    I¡¯m getting a bad feeling about this¡­¡­


    ¡°Ahhhh, don¡¯t be like that Natalie¡­¡±


    ¡°Caleb, I think you and your father should help Alex for a while. Let the girls do their own thing,¡± Sharron was looking at her son like this was the first time she¡¯d seen him act like that. From how Frank acted yesterday, maybe it is.


    Taking advantage of Sharron¡¯s admonition, Natalie whisked the four of us away like she was protecting us from a poisonous snake.


    It kinda felt like it too¡­

 update

    Sorry, I know it''s been a while again. I''m not dropping this or anything like that, but things might be really slow for a while. The project I was on got shut down for an unknown amount of time so I''ve been looking for work. Good news is I found employment, bad news is I now have to move eight hundred miles for it. I promise that I''m still writing whenever I get a chance, though couple that with changing the progression to lead into another project I have in mind and am slowly piecing together, it''s taking longer than expected. Plus, I just have writers block at the moment. Once things calm down and I get settled in, I hope to be able to update regularly. I know that hasn''t happened as much as I would like, but it is a goal I''m wanting to reach.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Thank you for your patience and I hope you have been enjoying my work so far.


    Aether


    P.S.


    Once a new chapter comes up this update will be taken down so it doesn''t mess with the progression or my nerves...