A Boy With Girly Hair - Part 7

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Deception!

Here’s the funny thing: my predicament is problematic only the eyes of a boy. There are thousands of millions, even of girls who would kill for this sort of attention. Wannabe Instagram “models” seeking attention and validation for their newest style, be it hair or clothing.

My situation is enviable for so many but not for me. There is an old George and Ira Gershwin song with that same name:

They’re writing songs of love, but not for me

A lucky star’s above, but not for me

With love to lead the way

I found more skies of gray

Than any Russian play could guarantee

The song is about longing for something that everyone else has, but alas is absent in your own life.

Looks like I’m the reverse of this.

With 17,000 Instagram followers in tow, all demanding my identity be revealed, I was dealing with some understandable mounting pressure. There are some who know my secret. Jenna obviously knows, and now so do Sophie and Kelly. Mom and Dad are in on it as well. But nobody treats it as if it’s weird. It’s just me who feels that way.

I received a text from Daisy, quite possibly my best friend, though it’s been tough to keep in touch with her attending a different, private high school.

‘Hey you!’ she typed out.

She was wondering how my first couple of weeks of school had gone. I’m disappointed in myself that I haven’t made the effort to even see her yet. But busy schedules are busy schedules.

I told her I had some interesting stories to tell, but I’d get to them later. What I’ve gone through warrants a face-to-face discussion.

But then, Daisy told me that day will be today. Huh? It’s Saturday, but I hadn’t made any plans with her.

“You guys are coming over tonight…for a BBQ? At least that’s what my dad told me.’

I completely forgot! I remember Jenna mentioning something like that. Not that it’s an atypical thing for our family to do. Both my Dad and Daisy’s Dad were college roommates.

The mixed-family barbeques are always fun, so that’s certainly a plus. But I couldn’t help but wonder how Daisy will take the news of the Instagram account.

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That evening my family arrived at Daisy’s house. Her place is modest—typical upper-middle-class suburbia. The only thing unique about the house is the Notre Dame University flag out in front. That’s where our Dads went.

There’s the old joke: You know how you can tell someone went to Notre Dame? They’ll say it before their own name.

In the backyard, Daisy’s family was waiting. I hugged each member of her family, shaking hands with her Dad.

“Hi Uncle Greg,” I said. Again, not my real uncle, but some families do weird stuff.

I also got a good chance to talk with Daisy’s mother, Aunt Hannah, and of course, her 6-year old brother and star of every family gathering, Matty.

My biggest embrace was saved for Daisy, who it had seemed like years since I last saw her. We grabbed lemonades and went into the kitchen, away from the rest of the group.

“SO!” she said, “What’re the interesting stories? I’ve been waiting all day! Did you meet someone?” Daisy was armed with questions.

“Well…” I had trouble getting this out. How exactly do you tell a friend you’ve become an Instagram sensation as the opposite sex?

“So…I got Instagram. Or, rather, Jenna made one for me.”

“Oh, jeez, really? I can’t believe I don’t follow you!” Daisy said, whipping out her phone, ready to look up my name in the search bar. I put my hand on her phone, halting her.

“It’s not gonna be under my name. It’s under something else.”

A blank stare from Daisy.

“A girl’s name,” I said.

“What do you mean a girl’s name?”

This was going nowhere. I just had to dive into the story, explaining everything from Jenna’s fashion class and how I helped her out, the beauty convention, and finally the growing Instagram presence.

She was dumbstruck. But not upset.

“Wow…I’m…I’m at a loss for words,” Daisy said, sipping the rest of her lemonade.

“I beg of you, just PLEASE don’t share this with anyone. It’s just a small group that knows it’s me.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t share that it’s you,” She said, reassuringly.

That relieved me. “So if you want to see the pictures, it’s—”

“Sammi_Jaclyn32.”

“YOU KNOW?” I said, astonished.

“Sam, my school isn’t that far from yours. There’s a bunch of people who’ve heard of the account. I already follow it!”

She showed it to me. It was up to 18,000 now. “Frankly, you look beautiful.”

Gah! That’s NOT what I want to hear from my friend. Knowing Daisy for so many years, to get a physical compliment from her one about femininity, nonetheless was in no way what I needed.

She could tell that triggered me a bit and apologized.

“Honestly, Sam, this is I’m sure as surprising as it is for me as it is for you. I just wish you would have told me sooner.”

She’s right. Daisy is my best friend, and she deserved to know. Though it all happened so fast!

“So what’s the plan then? Will you continue this account?”

I was torn. On one hand, Jenna has beautician aspirations, and I’m helping her out tremendously building a portfolio for her. On the other hand, well, I’m a boy.

But before I could answer, we were called outside to join the group accused of being anti-social.

We talked with the adults and had some delicious ribs. The way our family gatherings go is after dinner, the parents usually reside to the living room to play cards. Matty was put to bed.

Since the living room was occupied, Daisy suggested we hang out in her room. Jenna joined us.

There, we finally got the chance to hear about Daisy’s high school updates. It’s a Catholic private school, which is a big swing from the public middle school she was accustomed to. She told us how everything was stricter less talking in class, emphasis on religion, highly enforced dress code.

Neither Jenna nor I had ever had to deal with a dress code. “I hope they don’t make you wear nun’s habits and such, right?” Jenna joked. We all laughed

“No, it’s not too bad. Here, I’ll show you.” Daisy went into her closet and pulled out the uniform. It was a white shirt with a fancy crest on the left breast area, tucked into a black and gray pleated skirt. Finally, there were plain, long black socks completing the look.

“Not the cutest outfit, but if everyone’s wearing it, then it pretty much blends in.”

“What do the boys wear?” I asked, hoping to contribute.

“Well, most boys wear khakis and a white button-down shirt. They also have a very strict hair length requirement. No hair down to the shoulders. So you’d be out of luck, Sam.”

We both laughed.

“You’d probably be told to cut it, or change into the girls’ uniform!” Daisy said. She laughed, I gave a polite chuckle.

Off to the side, Jenna was looking at me. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes asked, “Does-she-know?”

“Yes, she knows about the Instagram,” I said, cutting the tension.

“I don’t think I would have made the joke otherwise,” Daisy said.

“She even knew about it before I told her, can you believe that?” I said. I went on to explain how there are girls at her school aware of Sammi_Jaclyn32 as well.

That fact made Jenna even happier. “Wow, it’s at the local schools too!”

“I just can’t believe I didn’t know it was Sam!” Daisy added.

“He DOES have such gorgeous hair. Though it takes a master to style it up that way,” Jenna said in a humblebrag.

Both girls could tell I didn’t exactly want to be having this conversation.

“I will say, Sam,” Daisy began, “there’s no reason to believe this growth will slow down. The account is getting more and more followers by the hour it seems. Do you think it’ll come back to you?”

“Honestly, at first I thought not showing my face would stifle interest, but it’s only raised suspicion. Fortunately, I can trust Jenna not to tell, but I am genuinely afraid people will begin to connect the dots.”

A short silence. An idea strikes Jenna.

“Unless of course…there’s a decoy,” Jenna said. Neither Daisy nor I were following. “All I’ve said so far is that Sammi_Jaclyn32 is my cousin, but that story could easily be changed to a friend. A friend…from a different school.”

She got up and grabbed the school uniform.

“Sam, if you put this on and I photograph you wearing it, everyone will think you go to…” she pointed to the crest that reads ST. MATTHEW COLLEGE PREP.

Wow. She had a great point. If everyone saw that picture, they’d immediately assume St. Matthew’s, and that would completely rule me out!

“Jenna, that just might work,” I said. Daisy agreed.

And that began the process of fooling 18,000 Instagram followers. I started to take off my shirt and pants but felt a little uncomfortable in front of Daisy. I could tell she felt uncomfortable too. She turned around and gave me the go-ahead.

Still turned around, Daisy grabbed one of her bras and handed it to Jenna. She helped me put it on, but we noticed it wasn’t filling out that well. A couple of stuffed socks will do the trick. I threw the shirt over my head and nestled it on. I had the appearance of small breasts.

I was wearing boxers, which Jenna said would be no good. Daisy handed her a pair of black panties that I was instructed to put on. Next were the long socks, and finally. the skirt.

This was the first time I had ever worn a skirt. It felt freeing to say the least.

Daisy finally felt ready to turn around, and she got to see the stark transformation.

“You look…great, Sam! Don’t take this the wrong way, but you really do have a figure!”

I rolled my eyes at her remark and suggested we get going with the picture. The picture would be from the from and from the neck down, so nobody would tell it’s me, but could CERTAINLY see the school crest.

Jenna brushed my hair just a tad to give it a little volume before the picture.

“So…what do I do?” I asked.

“Well, a bedroom isn’t the most exciting for photography, to be honest,” Jenna said.

“How bout on the staircase?” Daisy pitched. Jenna agreed. We left her room and the girls went to the bottom of the staircase. Fortunately, the adults were in the living room on the other side of the house, so there was nothing to worry about.

Jenna instructed me to make certain poses hand on hip, knee bent, hand perched in different ways, etc. All of them involved me sticking my butt out at least a little bit.

Jenna was eventually satisfied and showed me the pictures. They looked like they’d do the job. Wow, I really looked like a girl from the neck down yes, I was wearing girls’ clothes, but still, Daisy had a point about my figure.

I changed out of the clothes, and soon after it was time to leave. We bid farewell to the family, promising to see each other and talk soon. I’m sure I’ll be seeing a lot more of Daisy.

When we got home, I went into Jenna’s room for a bit. She was about to post.

The caption read: ‘figured I’d go casual today’

Basic, but the caption showed confidence, especially accompanied with that pose. She looked at me before hitting the button to post. I shrugged as if I didn’t care. But I smiled when I saw Jenna smile as it posted. This account means a lot to her.

The picture is up. All we have to do is see if people take the bait.