The Online Job - Chapter 14

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When Natti’s mom walked in she had no idea what that smell was but it really smelled good, and she also had no idea that she would be assaulted with the news of a fight at school and that Natti was attacked. Hi hon, do you have something cooking it smells really good.

Natti responded by jumping up from her computer desk and coming over and hugging her mom then explaining that she had put together a macaroni casserole with a recipe that she had found in the box, and adding that she had put in some eggplant and zucchini that she had found in the fridge. It should be ready in about 20 minutes so I hope you’re hungry. Her mom then asked about how school went that day. That’s when Natti told her mom to sit down and she would tell her all about what happened.

Natti explained about Dennis attacking Tara and how Dmitri defending both girls and he just used defensive maneuvers and she continued the blow-by-blow, “Oh and mom you should have seen him stepping in and making Dennis just swing his fists and fall and Dennis finally ran into some lockers and knocked himself out. Then we got taken to Mr. Eastman’s office and he was going to get Dmitri put in jail until the police got there and saw the video footage we were let go and Mr. Eastman had to go and watch the video.

Mrs. Reeves was really mad and we had to go back to class everyone wanted to know what happened and someone made the remark that Dmitri was protecting me because I took Tara away from Dennis and now it’s going all over the school that maybe Tara is a lesbian and then Jesse Dominguez said that he saw Mr. Eastman carrying a big box to his car and he left school at about two thirty and the word around school is that he was fired or at least put on leave, since the summer break is almost here, but then the school is used as a summer school for all the students in the district that didn’t pass their grade levels...” At this point, Natti finally took a breath.

Her mom just sat there on the edge of Natti’s bed and said that it sounded like someone had an exciting day. She asked about Tara’s and her sailor dresses, and now that Natti had taken a couple of breaths she was ready to go again.

Oh everyone just loved them and you wouldn’t believe how many people are double dressing, oh that’s what we are calling it. Girls and girls, boys and boys, and even some like Tara and I except the guys aren’t wearing girl's clothes except for Stephanie and Remy. I think that they have added a new twist to the game and today they both came dressed as waitresses. Remy told me that was because her sister worked as a waitress at Flinger’s while she was going to college. Oh, I never knew school could be so much fun.

Her mom reminded her that it was the last week of the school year and they are probably being more lenient than they would if it was in the middle of a semester. Natti said that she didn’t care, and that school wasn’t that hard. All you had to do was to do the work assigned to you and turn it in on time. But now there were so many people and since there was like an element of theater it makes it so much more fun. It is really like kind of going to a party. Her mother then said after I get changed we can eat dinner. After she got changed she walked into the kitchen Natti was serving the casserole onto plates and she had made a salad which was already on the table. As they sat down at the table her mom said that she could get used to this.

As they were eating her mom asked if there was any chance that Natti was going to get in any trouble because of the events today. She assured her that she wouldn’t, and added that he wasn’t really after me, but more interested in Tara. Natti changed the subject and told her mom that Tara and I were going shopping on Saturday. Her mom said that this was Memorial day weekend and that it was a busy time at the stores because of all the tourists. I’d really like to go with you, I’ve always wanted to go shopping with my daughter so maybe we can do it next weekend. Natti smiled and told her mom that would be wonderful.

Then she asked her mother if she would help her with picking out some combinations with the clothes that she had got from her friend Sylvia. Her mother agreed to that. Natti smiled and said that she wanted to get the dishes clean first and then she could help her go through all the clothes. Her mom said that they could do it together.

Alicia thought that this could be the start of a new chapter of their lives together. Now she didn’t have to spend time filing her evenings watching TV. Her husband and she used to spend the evenings together watching TV shows and hardly talking to each other while growing further and further apart from one another.

They went back to Natti’s room and she helped her find clothes that she thought would look good together, and now Natti was becoming much more animated. She pulled out a dark skirt that came almost past her knees and matched it to a white blouse. She had Natti try it on saying that it would be perfect if she wanted a more conservative look. Natti put it on and she did it right in front of her. She told her she could wear it to school or if she had a job in an office it would be perfect. She laughed so hard when Natti picked up a stack of papers off his desk and said, “Her is that contract you wanted Ms. Silvers”, pretending to be a secretary.

After they had gone through a lot of different combinations and she helped her daughter understand what went with what, she stood and decided that they both had to get to bed. “Honey I really like that gypsy combination you and Tara have picked out for tomorrow, but now I have to get to bed.” Natti agreed to add that she really did enjoy the evening she spent with her. As she stood she looked around the room and noticed that the room said teenage boy, which really didn’t fit any longer.

Natti, don’t you think you need new furniture? Natti looked at her, and then looked around the room and agreed that some new furniture would be nice. She expressed her opinions to her mom. I don’t actually have a place to put on my makeup and I’m using my chest and I can’t sit down there. Also, the lighting isn’t very good either. Some makeup I can apply in the bathroom but it would be nice to be able to sit down and apply some, especially my eye makeup.

Her mom looked around again and said, well you have plenty of room so that won’t be a problem. I have just taken in a trade for a post-modern white bedroom suite that I think would look just perfect here. Do you like post-modern, she asked her daughter?

Natti looked at her not really knowing what post-modern was and kind of shrugged. Natti’s mom said that she was sure that she would be adding that she would get it moved in from the warehouse this weekend. She hugged her daughter telling her how much she loved her and how much fun she had this evening before leaving.

The next day at school was pretty uneventful with one notable exception and there was a lot of hanging about as there wasn’t much to do. The one notable exception was the news that Mr. Eastman was put on leave, pending his either retirement or termination. There was a teacher union that had to be dealt with, but the word that he almost had the wrong people arrested would prohibit very little response. The rumor mill was that wasn’t his only failing, and many people were at their wit's end with him.

When Natti relayed the news to his mother that night over smothered chicken breast in Alfredo sauce that Natti had prepared for their dinner she said that Silvia had a run-in with him and her daughter a few years back and she thought then it would just be a matter of time.

Thursday everyone had to clean out their lockers as Friday was open locker day and all the lockers would be open. It was a strange sight seeing all the lockers open and was the next step in the school year.

Friday at school was a lot of fun and what made it even better was that it was only a half day. The squad had decided that spending the afternoon at the mall would be a lot of fun so that is where everyone was headed. Most people were getting rides from other students and Dmitri asked Natti and Tara if they needed a ride and they gladly excepted his offer. It was a lot of fun as they saw many of their friends there. Natti had to stop by Undercover Secretary and say hello to Violet. She was very nice and Natti was pleased that a lady like her was taking such an interest in her.

True she was a customer but she was genuinely concerned about her as she asked about the breast forms and all the purchases that she made. Violet also made her promise that if she ever needed anything please come back. They had separated from Dmitri as he wasn’t interested in going into a women’s lingerie store. They met up again in the food court and along with a loose group of the squad they prowled through the mall.

A few of the stores joined in the party atmosphere and offered many things on sale as well as played music outside their stores. There were a few stores that put a limit on how many students could enter at one time but everyone understood and besides most of the action was in the large aisles that ran up and down the mall. Finally, Dmitri asked them if they needed a ride and that he would be happy to drop them by their houses. Dmitri said that he was going to drop Tara first. On the way to her house, she told him that her cousin Jake was going Cos Com as well and he was going to be Reynard. She told him that they should go together as Godfrey and Reykard were from the same game. Dmitri said that may be doable. She gave him Jake’s cell number and texted Jake Dmitri’s number. Natti said that would be so cool and that they could all go together if everyone wanted.

When Dmitri got to Natti’s house he told her that he wanted to still see her even now since the school was out. She told him that she wanted to see him as well and that she had forgotten to get his number when they were attacked. They exchanged numbers and she told him that she would call him later after talking to her mother. She told him that her mother was very protective of her lately and she liked the fact that she was. She added that her mom might want to talk to him so he should be prepared for that. Natti continued, I wouldn’t be worried about it as she is a real good judge of people and she was that she would like him as much as she did. After saying that she could see him smile and just leaned over and kissed him on his lips, and said I’ll call a little after eight tonight.

Natti was getting a routine down and as soon she got home she would begin to listen to her stories. This one was quite a bit different than the ones before and it had many chapters in it, twenty to be exact and after the first two, she got paid $40.00. But there wasn’t the familiar come back tomorrow button there was a click here. This opened up a screen and she watched a video about the process that people went through to change their gender.

There was sort of a discussion where a moderator asked three people questions about the process. The first one was a pretty young lady in her early twenties introduced as Betty. She talked about what she went through and how it affected her. She also had a video with pictures of her in the different stages of her transition. The second person was Betty’s therapist and he told her to go to a support group and talk to others in different stages of their transition or journey as he called the process.

The third person was Betty’s doctor. She explained the different medical steps that Betty went through. Below was a button so that you could find a support group close to you. Natti clicked on that and found there were 9 groups in the Miami area, but only two were close to her. There was also a form that she filled out so someone from the group could contact her.

After she completed the form she went in and took a shower and went through her beauty routine by first showering and then putting conditioner on her hair and while that was working she went about shaving anywhere that she needed to. Today was only her legs and underarms and then finished showering. After she finished showering she rubbed her body with lotion while she was still wet. Betty in the discussion video said that she did this and it seemed to make her skin feel better by replacing the oil lost in shaving.

Next was her hair which she toweled dry and then she went in and dressed. She went back and she was tracking the shipment of her and Tara’s costumes for Cos Con. Her mother came in and talked to her while she was still blow drying out her hair.

Natti told her about the mall and about visiting Violet and then she told her about what Dmitri had said to her. I told him that I would talk to you and then I’d call him and she went to look at her watch and that’s when the band broke. Her mother told her that they would have to get her a new watch, and besides, that one is a boy’s watch. She picked it up adding she would call Dmitri in about an hour to let him know what you said. Alicia said that when she called that she would like to speak with him if that was okay with her. Then her mom told her to finish and that they would order a pizza. After that, she could be called Dmitri.

They had their pizza and this time they changed it up a little bit and had a deep dish that was full of veggies another departure from Natti’s usual order. While they were eating Natti told her mom about the support group that she had found out about and also a large amount of information that was available. Her mom asked where she found this material and she told her online. She asked her to send her some so that she could learn more about the process.

She said she would and after cleaning up the kitchen Natti called Dmitri. She talked to him for a few minutes and then handed the phone over to her mother. Her mother took the phone and went to her room to talk. Natti went back to her room and started to catch up on her email and the notifications that she had received from social media contacts.

She was just finishing up with this when she came into her room to give her back her phone. She told her that she liked him very much and he seemed like a nice young man. Then she surprised her by telling her that she had spoken to his mom as well and that they had a lunch date tomorrow. She asked did you know that she worked at the hospital and gave all her pay to different charities.

Natti told her that Dmitri had told her that she was a volunteer and that she didn’t know that she got paid. Her mom said well I guess that is about the same thing. She told her that so far she could see him and talk to him and that she was excited about meeting his mother tomorrow. She wished Natti good night and then went back to her room.

After talking to her mother she called Tara and they made plans to go shopping tomorrow. Tara said that she would come by about noonish and they could have lunch at the mall. She also told Tara about what her mother told her about meeting with Dmitri’s mother. Tara thought that was a very good idea. Natti agreed with her and then related that her watch band broke and that was the second one. Tara said not to worry and we can get one for you tomorrow.

Laying in bed listening to the digital rain drops she thought if she didn’t say anything to either Tara or her mom that she might get two watches out of this, but that wouldn’t be right, and she would never do that. She just thought about the possibility.