Sleepover Part 1

After a year of living on my own I missed my hometown and my family. Most of all I missed my little sister Carla. Unlike other siblings we always got along very well.

During my teenage years I liked to take on the role of big brother and always be there for her if she needed me. But life has to take its course and naturally I had to move out at the age of eighteen to live on the university campus. At first it took me a while to adjust to having new friends and a roommate, but you get used to it. I graduated on time and with honors, even though I had to split my time with a part-time job. My parents were proud at the graduation ceremony but my little sister was even prouder, if that was possible.

I remember how tightly she hugged me when I approached her. After the ceremony I changed my clothes and we went to eat at a fancy restaurant.

A few hours later we took a plane back to my parents' house, since my university was in another state. We arrived and I was back in my old room. Of course I had visited it in previous summers, but this time everything was covered with a special feeling. Because I knew I would only be there for two weeks. Thank goodness I had already secured a job and an apartment to live in in the same state where I had studied.

So I spent two weeks in my childhood home and moved out. Now I had a new bedroom and a new life ahead of me. I didn't return to my hometown until a year later.

During that year I thought about many things. Of course I thought about my parents and my sister Carla. But mostly I was thinking about Michelle, my girlfriend from my teenage years. A few months ago we had spoken to each other on the phone. She told me that she had a job offer in another state and that she was thinking of moving. I told her it was a good idea, but deep down I was afraid I wouldn't be able to contact her again.

So after a year of being an independent man I took a two-week vacation. I took a plane and went back to my hometown. During the flight I was thinking about Michelle. "Does she still live in the same neighborhood? Did she move to another town, another state? What if the last time we spoke on the phone was the last time?" I wondered endlessly. I wasn't sure what had happened to her. I regretted not calling her more often over the past few months. Now I just had to find out when I got to town.

Fortunately, the mystery was quickly dispelled. Because upon arriving home with a cab my mom informed me that Michelle still lived in the same neighborhood as always, only now she lived in her own apartment. "Thank goodness. I can't miss this new opportunity," I thought. I called her old house and got her new cell phone number.

Fortunately, the mystery was quickly dispelled. Because upon arriving home with a cab my mom informed me that Michelle still lived in the same neighborhood as always, only now she lived in her own apartment. "Thank goodness. I can't miss this new opportunity," I thought. I called her old house and got her new cell phone number.

Just as I was about to call Michelle, a young woman with a lot of makeup came through the door. That girl was none other than my younger sister. I couldn't recognize her at first because of her painted face. She didn't look like the same child as before. Maybe her first year in college had made her grow up a bit.

She didn't react like she would have before either. Instead of running to hug me she just waved and gave me a tight hug that didn't even last two seconds. "Hey Brandon, how's it going?" she asked me, as if I were a classmate and not her older brother.

I was a little bewildered, although I didn't know if it was because of my sister or because I was anxious to call Michelle again. I wanted to call her again but first I had to accept my mother's invitation to have tea together. We talked a bit about my life and my new job. I tried to keep the conversation short so I could pick up the phone and get the whole matter over with.

I called and Michelle answered. She sounded very happy to talk to me again, which filled my heart with joy. I still had a chance to revive our relationship. Would she agree to move in with me? No, it was too early to be imagining such things. I just invited her to my house for dinner the next day. I would cook something delicious especially for her and that way I would win her back.

I was so nervous during the call that I was walking up and down the hallway. That's how I got to hear the conversation my sister was having on the phone, since she had left the door to her room half-open. "Yeah, I think it's  going to be six of us at tomorrow's sleepover. It's going to be a lot of fun," she giggled. Really? A sleepover? My sister was already nineteen, wasn't she too old for that sort of thing?

There was no way I was going to rearrange my date tomorrow for a silly sleepover. I went to sleep thinking that the next day I was going to ask Carla to call off her little reunion with her friends. Or that at least the sleepover would be at another house. Carla didn't change her mind, though. "It's been a year since I've seen my friends. If you want to go out on a date, why don't you go out for a drink? I can't have a sleepover in a pub, you can have a date there". What she said made sense. However, I was adamant. Somehow I was going to have a romantic date despite my sister's silly sleepover.

Unfortunately Michelle called to let me know that she wasn't going to be able to come to dinner because her grandmother was sick and she had to take care of her. What a bummer. Now I was going to have to lie in bed and read a book or something to get me through the night. No date, no fun.

So after a light supper I started reading a science fiction book I found in the attic. I was distracted by the noise of my sister's friends arriving one by one and entering her room. They played some obnoxious pop music at full volume while giggling about something. All that noise made it hard for me to concentrate.

At one point I got tired and headed for my sister's room. I didn't even knock on the door, I just opened it and said: "Could you please turn down the volume? My sister replied, "hey, don't get so mad". She pointed to a pot that was on the floor. The pot was filled with a very strange green ointment, "We want to try a homemade skin care cream. I was thinking of you as a model," my sister said and giggled alongside her friends.

At first I flatly refused but gave in to a grimace of sadness from my sister. After all, I had nothing better to do and I didn't want to fight with my sister at the one time of the year when we were together. That's how my sister spread the green cream on my face. At first it kinda grossed me out but in the end it felt good. As the seconds went by my skin felt a little fresher.

The only bad thing was when I tried to cover my face when I realized my sister wanted to take a picture of me. I got green cream all over my fingertips. In the end I agreed to have my picture taken, after all with the cream I was unrecognizable. "Good thing Michelle isn't here to see me, what would she think of me? Who knows, maybe she would like it. Maybe she would think I was in touch with my "feminine side" or something like that." I started counting the girls in the room. Counting my sister, there were only five. "That's weird, I thought there were going to be six," I thought curiously.

I went to the bathroom to wash off the cream. My sister came up to me with a friend and said, "Hey Brandon, why don't you keep playing with us. We want to see what you would look like as a woman. I'm sure it will be fun to put makeup on you" she giggled along with her friend.

No, no way. It was one thing to use skin care cream, but it was a whole other thing to have makeup put on. I refused and went back to my room to read science fiction. The novel turned out to be very boring. Almost as if she could read my mind my sister Carla knocked on my door again and told me that the "offer" to do my makeup still stood. "Come on, you're going to have fun." This time I accepted. Carla took my arm and led me a few steps towards her room. Upon seeing me, her friends celebrated and applauded my presence.

I sat in a chair that was a bit small for me, but it held my weight. First they put on a foundation that was supposedly "just right for my skin color". Then they followed with the rest of the makeup. Blush for my cheeks, eyeliner, shadow for my eyelids. My sister showed me my face in a mirror: the more makeup they put on, the more unrecognizable I felt. One of Carla's friends seemed to be an expert in this makeup thing. First she lined my lips with a black pencil, then she filled my lips with a pink color that made me look even more girly than my sister.

They finished my makeup. My face was totally different. It was like some kind of magic. After my transformation my sister started looking for something in her closet. "Here it is," she said, holding up a big pink dress that looked very girlish. "I don't like this dress, it's too big for me. Do you want to try it on.... Brenda?" So my new name was "Brenda"... I went to the bathroom to put on the dress. I came back and the girls clapped and told me it looked really pretty on me. Last of all, my sister lent me a pair of women's sandals, which were also pink.

My sister looked me up and down. After making sure I looked like a lady, she grabbed her cell phone because she had received a message. "Girls, Lauren is coming in an hour. She texted me two minutes ago." Lauren? That name rang a bell, but I couldn't remember where from. I was about to ask who Lauren was, but my mom just walked into the room to ask if we wanted her to make us tea and cookies. That's when she saw me dressed as a girl. First she put her hand to her mouth. Then she smiled and said, "Oh, Brandon, you look beautiful!" My sister corrected her, "no mom, she is Brenda, not Brandon". My mom let out a giggle and told us she was going down to the kitchen to make cookies. "You want some too, Brenda?" she asked and I nodded in agreement, a little embarrassed even though inside I thought the situation was funny.

My mom came back to the room very quickly, but it wasn't about the cookies. She brought a long brown wig that she had saved from some party, many years ago. She helped my sister put it on my head."Now you look like a real lady, Brenda," my mom said. I thanked her for the compliment with a curtsy.

While we were waiting for the cookies one of my sister's friends suggested that we should perform a choreography. The girls decided that five of us would dance to "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls while someone recorded us with a cell phone. I proposed to record it, but my little sister decided that she wanted to do it because she wanted to see me dance a little bit. I didn't feel like arguing so I stood up and got in the right position to dance. Music started playing from one of the cell phones. I didn't know what to do, I just imitated the girls' motions. I have to admit it was a lot of fun. At one point my sister used the camera on her phone and filmed part of our choreography. Then she uploaded it to Tik Tok.

I wasn't afraid of this, after all I looked like a woman, no one would recognize me. Though I did get to thinking about what Michelle would say if she saw me dancing like that. She didn't look like she liked guys who danced to the Spice Girls....

I abandoned these thoughts when my mom came in with the tea and cookies we had been waiting for. As I sipped the tea pop music was playing in the background, I thought it was Taylor Swift, but I wasn't sure. Strangely I felt comfortable with the girls. In fact, with the pink dress, wig and makeup I felt like just another girl. By no means did I expect to spend vacation time like this, but I couldn't complain. I only regretted not being able to spend time with my dear Michelle, but maybe if her grandmother's health improved I could go out with her. Maybe to the cinema or out to eat at a restaurant.

A friend of my sister's asked me if I wanted my nails painted, and if I wanted to start with my hands or with my feet. The rest of the girls liked the idea. Just as we were discussing which color would be better, red or pink, the doorbell rang. My sister went downstairs and came back accompanied. It looked like Lauren had finally made it to the sleepover.

I looked at Lauren. She looked at me and didn't seem to recognize me. But I recognized her: she was Michelle's younger sister. It was only when I saw her that I made the connection between the name and the face. The situation was a bit embarrassing. What if Lauren recognized me and told her sister about my crossdressing? I hadn't seen Michelle in years. How was I going to explain to her that I had dressed up as a girl for a sleepover when I was trying to rekindle our relationship? I had no idea what to do, so I kept quiet while Lauren greeted all her friends.

TO BE CONTINUED