The Second Day – Monday the 21^st of July, 1993

There was some kind of chatter around Mike when he eventually woke up, still tired from his midnight adventure and his somewhat fitful dreams. It seemed to be far away though... not far away, but the speakers were keeping their distance, so he tried to tune it out and nestled his face inside the sleeping bag.

Something felt wrong though, but he wasn't in the mood to think about it. Something was up with his sleeping bag. Mike didn't know it was made of polyester, but he knew what it felt like against his cheek and chin, and it felt more like hair or fur. Something felt... off. Something he had a feeling he didn't want to investigate, in case he found out what it was.

He buried his face deeper, but the voices persisted.

“Why is there a girl...” - that was Sam.
“Where did Mike...” - that was Gregory.

“PLING!” That was... Mike's game boy? Presumably Allen had stolen it again.

“Just... let her sleep.” Robert, his Patrol Leader. He sounded worried. “Get changed, and head down to breakfast.”

“But...”

“NOW!”

There was a girl in the dorm? Was it that girl from last night?

He opened one eye and extended his head out of the sleeping bag. Something black was obscuring his vision, but he could see Robert standing in the middle of the other boys his age. They all seemed upset, while the older boys seemed to just be standing around awkwardly, quickly leaving the room, or staring at him. The only one paying no attention was Allen, as he played what sounded like Super Mario Land.

One of the starers said something, and everyone looked right at him. A few – primarily those who were still in their underwear – looked down at themselves and then sheepishly hurried out of his view. Robert on the other hand motioned to everyone to stay away, and whispered something to Sam. Then he, almost (but not quite) nonchalantly walked over and squatted by Mike's bed.

“Hey there... um...” Mike watched as Robert scratched the back of his head. He'd never seen his patrol leader lost for words before. “Just to check... you know, could you tell me your name?”

Mike just stared at him.

“I'm Mike,” he replied, and started to sit up, but Robert put an arm over his sleeping bag and pushed him back down.

“What the hell? Robert, it's me, Mike.”

“Mike...” Robert seemed to deflate a little. “You really hit the jackpot, buddy...” he mumbled.

“What? What do you...” Mike started to sit up again, but Robert pushed him down again.

“Listen Mike, you're...” Robert began, and then paused for the longest time, as if he had no idea how to finish that sentence. “You're having a really weird dream.” Mike thought that was unlikely, but found himself nodding. “You should just... go back to sleep, okay?” Incredibly spooked, Mike nodded again. Something was wrong, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he had the feeling it would be really nice if this was a dream.

“And uh...” Robert scratched the back of his head again, and then looked over his shoulder. “Could you turn over, face the wall?” His face was turning a little red. “Some boys are trying to get changed here.”

That had never been a problem before, but Mike nodded uneasily. “O.K...” he said, and he turned over, feeling the strange sleeping bag tangle and flow over his cheek, neck and shoulders.

“Good...” Robert replied. “I'll be waiting outside the door if you need me.”

He lay there as the boys very quickly changed into their scout uniforms, staring at the wall, trying his best not to think. It was almost impossible, but fortunately he didn't have to do it for long, as he heard hushed voices from outside the room.

“She still asleep?” That was Ronald.

“Sorry, awake sir,” Robert replied. “But she's still in bed.”

“O.K, go grab some breakfast, we'll handle this.” There was a brief pause, and then Ronald spoke again. “God Nattie, why couldn't she have chosen a girl again? So much easier...”

“You know she likes to make trouble...” That was Ronald's wife, the Girl Guides leader.

“I know, but...” he sighed, “lets get it over with, for her sake...”

Mike stayed in bed, listening to two pairs of shoes walk on the wooden floor.

“Mike?” Ronald said, “you can get up now.”

He rolled over in his bag, and looked at the pair. Their expression changed, but not to surprise... more to resignation, as if they'd been hoping this wouldn't happen.

“Mr Willham?” Mike asked pitifully. “What's wrong with me?”

Ronald removed his glasses and started to polish them.

“I think it would be best if you saw for yourself,” he replied. “Sit up.”

Mike swung his legs off the bed, still inside the sleeping bag, and sat on the edge. He looked at Ronald's wife, and she handed him a small mirror. After a brief moment to gather his courage, he looked into it.

That wasn't his face. That wasn't his face, or his hair. It looked like his sister only a little younger, a little rounder in the cheeks, and the eyes were blue like his mother and him, not brown like his father and Annabel. Long tangled black hair hung down its scalp, rake straight and strong, not the scruffy short mop he had.

He raised a hand and poked his cheek. A hand appeared in the mirror, mimicking him. Panic rising, he winked and the reflection copied him, mocking him. The girl in the mirror looked dismayed, distraught, utterly devastated; and his thoughts matched hers completely.

“What...” he asked, and she repeated it, only he could only her her voice, not his own. Her eyes were growing wide and unstable. She looked like she was about to cry. “Why... what's wrong with me? What's happened?”

“Well, you're a girl,” Ronald said, matter-of-factly stating the obvious, and Mike gawked at him for a moment, before a light went off in her head and she skipped out on dealing with reality for now.

When Mike reluctantly came to, she was lying on a big bed in an unfamiliar room. Her head hurt really bad, and she gingerly poked at it, finding a tender and painful lump on her forehead.

What happened? she wondered, and then she noticed she was thinking of herself as a 'she.' Her eyes flew open and her mouth pursed violently. She! She! She was thinking she was a girl, and she couldn't stop! She tried her best to think she was a he, but suddenly all she could think about was the fact that she was a she whether she thought it or not!

“AAaah!”she yelled, sitting upright, and her eyes darted around the room. She was sat on a double-bed in a plain bedroom. The door was open, revealing the floral pattern on the walls outside the girl's dorms, and the Guides' Leader was sat at a desk with her back to Mike. She'd jumped as Mike had screamed and turned around in her chair, a needle and thread in her hands.

“Oh! Goodness, you're awake...” she said, bustling to her feet, but Mike was already scooting backwards on the bed, until her back hit the headboard.

“W-what happened?” she frantically asked. “I'm suppos'ta be a boy!”

“Don't worry, my dear...” the woman said soothingly. “I know, I know.”

“I'm not suppos'ta... I'm not...” Tears were coming to Mike's eyes, and she raised her voice. “I'm a BOY!”

“I know...” Mrs Willham repeated, edging her way toward Mike. “I know. Trust me when I say, it's going to be OK, this isn't forever.” Mike stared at her, her hopes rising a little, as she continued. “This has happened a lot of times before, and all those boys turned back. Things like this are almost normal here.”

“N-normal?” Mike started to ask, but she was interrupted when the sound of loud, running footsteps thudded down the hall, and her elder sister Annabel rushed into the doorway. She was in her guides uniform but it looked messy, like she'd dressed in a hurry, and her short brown hair was a tangled mess.

“M-Mike?!?” she stammered, staring at the girl on the bed in front of her. “Is that you?”

Mike looked back at her sister for a split second. Oh god no, she didn't want anyone seeing her like this, and especially not her sister! She dove off the bed, into the narrow space between it and the wall, and started dragging the sheets off it to hide herself with them.

“No! Go away!”

“Mike! Mike! It's OK...” Annabel yelled, but she was cut off.

“RONALD!” Mrs Willham called. “Come take this girl away!” Her out-of breath husband arrived a few seconds later.

“Sorry dear... she got away from me while I was on the 'phone.”

“But that's Mike, right?” Annabel protested, but she was met with a shush. She sounded worried. “Or... is he still Mike?” Another, much louder shush.

“Annabel!” Mrs Willham said, and Mike could hear the almost tangible force in her voice. “Please go downstairs and find some breakfast for your sister!”

“But...” Annabel sounded insistent.

“Annabel Lewis!” Mrs Willham's voice was firm. “You promised to help other people! Help your sister get some breakfast!”

There was a lengthy silence, and then Annabel let out a weak “ok...”

“I'll wait with Annabel until Mike is ready,” Ronald said calmly, and they apparently both left.

Mike stayed huddled under her sheets. She could feel tears on her cheeks, and her throat was choked. No way... she'd never want Annabel to see her like this! She didn't want anyone to see her like this! She was starting to feel sick, and she hugged her knees as tightly as she could to her chest.

After some time, Mrs Willham said “I'm just here, Mike. You don't have to come out until you feel ready, but if you want to talk I'm here.”

Mike hiccuped a little.

“I'm a boy,” she weakly said.

“I know,” the older woman wearily replied. “I know you are, at least in spirit. But right now, your body is a girl's.”

Mike stopped hugging her legs, and straightened out a little. The sheet that covered her was thin and there was enough light to see by. She pulled open the front of her pyjama bottoms and took a look inside.

Nothing. No willy. There didn't seem to be anything important down there at all. And every boy knew, you weren't a boy if you didn't have a willy, so she had to be a girl.

“It is,” she replied, though she was not smiling. She tried to wipe away a tear. “You said I'll change back.”

“You will, though it'll take some time,” Mrs Willham said. “We'll explain everything, a little bit later, but for now growing girls need to eat their breakfast. Annabel's making it especially for you, you know. And don't worry, everyone else has left for the nature hike, they won't be back for hours. We'll tell you all about it after breakfast.”

Mike didn't totally feel like it, though she supposed she was a little bit hungry.

“Can't you tell me now?”

“Eat first,” the older lady said. You'll feel better for it.”

Mike grudgingly stopped hiding under the sheets, but she didn't agree to come down to the dining room. Breakfast was served to her on Mr and Mrs Willham's bed, where she sat with everything but her head still wrapped in the sheet. Ronald was still making himself scarce, and Mrs Willham had returned to whatever sewing she had been doing before Mike work up.

Breakfast was just a bowl of Frosties. Mike did her best to eat it, but it was hard to do so with Annabel staring at her from the doorway. She'd been allowed back into the room, apparently on the condition that she not talk too much, but all she was doing was staring at her new sister. Mike set down her spoon after a few bites and glared at her.

“What?”

“Sorry,” Annabel replied, as she tried to avert her eyes. “It's just... weird.”

“Don't YOU tell ME it's weird,” Mike snapped, before grabbing another spoonful of Frosties and angrily munching on it. “Youf don't kno weirv.”

“Sorry,” Annabel hastily said, “but it's OK, right?” She awkwardly looked away again. “You're quite a pretty girl,” she said encouragingly.

Mike just gave her sister a loathing stare.

“I don't look pretty,” she insisted. “I look like you - like an ugly fat pig.” To her satisfaction Annabel bristled somewhat at this, though she tried not to react. Mike smiled for the first time today and took another bite of cereal. She was feeling better already.

By the time she was finished, Ronald had returned with a couple of folding chairs for himself and Annabel. Mrs Willham put down her sewing and took the bowl from her.

“Now...” Ronald said, “I suppose it's time we start explaining what's happened.” Mike leaned forward, listening intently, and Ronald shifted awkwardly. “And I suppose it starts with a confession.”

“I knew, we all knew, that something like this was going to happen,” Ronald continued, and Mike's eyes bulged. Everyone avoided her gaze, especially Annabel. “Everyone who was here last year knew. So did your parents, and almost everyone who lives in the village.”

Mike almost stood up on the bed.

“You KNEW?” she fumed, staring at Ronald's blank face. She looked around the room, and focused her rage on Annabel. “YOU knew too? And... and...”

Mike's face fell, as the implications struck her.

“Mum and Dad knew too?” An intense feeling of betrayal hit her, and her voice grew weaker as she looked at the others. “Everyone knew?”

“We all knew.” Ronald admitted. “But we didn't know who it would happen to, we only knew it would happen to one of the first timers. It could have been any of you, even the girls. We don't get to decide who it is – Ivy does.”

“Ivy?” Mike asked.

“The girl you met late last night.”

Mike froze. She hadn't told anyone about that, of course.

“That weird girl?” she asked, and Ronald nodded. “But... how?”

“She's a ghost,” Ronald replied, and Mike's face froze for the umpteenth time today. “She stalks the halls on the first night of camp, looking for someone she likes to possess, and right now she's possessing you.” Mike just stared. “If she possesses a girl, nothing happens right away, but if it's a boy... well, it looks like she can't properly possess boys, so being possessed, well...” Ronald tailed off, and motioned toward Mike. “It turns you into a girl.”

Mike was still struck dumb. It sounded stupid, and she desperately wanted to disbelieve this, but she couldn't. She didn't feel possessed, but she had met the weird girl, and her body had changed into a girl's overnight. How else could that happen?.

“No way... I don't believe this,” she said, but it was weak and half-hearted. “This isn't fair... it's not FAIR!” she yelled, her mood rapidly changing. “Why me? Why'd she have to choose me? Why even choose a boy? There's be no problems if she'd just chosen a girl!”

“That's her choice,” Mrs Willham said. “To be honest, we almost never understand it, at least at the time, but she's always made a good choice.”

“She's made a stupid choice, and she's stupid, and you're stupid!” Mike yelled. “Girls are stupid and this ghost is the stupidest girl in the universe!” She turned her attention to Ronald and Annabel. “Why didn't you tell me about this? Why did everyone keep it a secret? You should'a told me this would happen.”

“If we'd told you,” Ronald replied, “would you have come here?” He was infuriatingly calm in the face of Mike's temper. Annabel, on the other hand, had been guiltily shrinking away from Mike for the entire conversation.

“Hell no!” Mike cried. There's no way she would have come here if she'd known she could have been turned into a girl!

“That's why. We needed to bring as many boys and girls to camp as we could, so she had a big choice to choose from, so that she could pick the best possible person to possess.” He removed his glasses and started sheepishly cleaning them. “Everyone here, and everyone in town – including your parents – knows that it's very important. And no, nobody likes that we had to lie to you.”

“Why?” Mike just asked. “What is it... what's so important that she needs to make me a girl? Why couldn't she have picked one of the girls?”

“She doesn't decide based on your gender,” Mrs Willham said. “We don't know for sure – none of us have ever talked to her – but she seems to be able to sense some kind of potential. We suppose you just had more of it than anyone else.”

“Potential?” Mike asked, her anger now dissipating into confusion. “For what?”

Ronald opened his mouth to reply, but everyone suddenly turned as they heard a bell ringing from down, and Ronald started to get out of his chair.

“That's the front door,” he muttered. “I'd better get it.” He turned to the girl on the bed. “I'll be back in a moment, so we'll tell you more then.”

Somewhat spooked, Mike mumbled an “OK...” but once Ronald was gone she looked at the other two females. “The door? Who's there?” she asked, frightened by the prospect of more people finding out about this. “I thought everyone was still on the hiking trip...”

Mrs Willham was about to respond when Mike removed the sheet from her back, got to her feet and went to the window, which showed a perfect view of the car park. Her family's blue Ford Mondeo was parked there.

“Our car...” she said, and she suddenly went extremely pale. “Mum and Dad?” Oh no! She didn't want her parents to see her like this, ever! Annabel had been bad enough, but there was no way she was going to let her Dad see his son was a girl! It would be humiliating beyond all reason, and the thought made her feel sick.

She scrambled back onto the bed and snatched up the sheet, pulling it around her until she was completely covered before curling up on the mattress.

“Mike? Mike!” Annabel said, but Mike just roared back at her.

“Tell them to GO AWAY!” she shrieked. She was shivering, and tried to bite her lip to keep herself from crying.

“Mike! It's OK...” Annabel tried to say, but Mike let out a guttural scream and a terrified Annabel backed off. Soon all Mike could hear was the sound of running feet in the corridor, and a long pause.

“Mike?” It was her mum. Mike shut her eyes and prayed she'd go away. “Mike,” her mum repeated gently. “We know you're there.”

“We know what's happened. It's OK,” her dad said.

“Go away,” Mike spat, fighting back the sob in her voice.

After a brief pause, Mike felt the bed move as her mum sat down on it.

“We came as soon as Mr Willham called us,” she said, and Mike cursed him under her breath.

“Go... away,” she said. “I don't want...”

“We came over to see you,” her mum gently said, “because we wanted to tell you how proud we are of you.”

Mike choked back another sob.

“Proud? Proud for... for being a girl?” She didn't understand... hadn't her parents liked her as a boy?

“No.” That was her father. “Boy or girl, we love you. We LOVE you, Mike,” he stressed, “and we're looking forward to when you come home as a boy in a couple of weeks.”

“We're proud of you because of what you're going to do,” her mum added. “I'm sure the lake dweller won't know what hit it.”

That caught Mike by surprise, but before she could ask about it Mrs Willham piped in.

“She... doesn't know that part of the story yet.”

“Ah...” Mike's mum said. She leant down, bringing her face close to Mike's. “Mike... I want to see you. Can I pull some of these sheets away?”

Torn, Mike stayed silent, and her mother took this as tacit permission. She gently pulled away the sheets near Mike's head, until her daughter's face was visible. Her face was red and puffy, and red teeth marks were visible on her lip. Her mum didn't gasp or look surprised, she just smiled.

“Here...” she said, spreading her arms wide, and Mike jumped up to hug her as best she could through the sheets. They stayed there a moment, eyes closed, her mum stroking the long hair on the back of her head, and then a pair of big, strong arms hugged the two of them. Mike could feel her father's stubble on the side of her head.

“It's OK,” he said, and tears came to her eyes, and she cried properly for the first time all day, with no holding back.

They sat there for a long time, until Mike's mum asked her if she'd come outside. Everyone promised her that nobody else was about who hadn't already seen her – all the other kids and leaders were still out on the hike, and wouldn't be back for a few more hours, so Mike cautiously agreed.

Her clothes had already been brought down from the boy's dorm – all of her belongings had already been moved out of there, as she obviously wouldn't be sleeping there for now. Annabel had even managed to get Mike's Game Boy back from Allen, which she gratefully accepted.

Mike got changed in Mr and Mrs Willham's room, and only her mum stayed behind to help her. It was pretty easy – all of her boys' clothes still fit pretty well, even her shoes were fine. The only problem was with her hair. She knew it was long, but in all the commotion she'd never realised just how long it was. While the fringe was short enough to stay clear of her eyes, everything else flowed down her back, reaching a spot roughly level with the tips of her fingers. The extra weight on her scalp and shoulders felt strange, and she actually had to adjust her posture slightly to compensate for it. Then there was the issue of her t-shirt, as her hair got trapped down the inside of the collar and had to be pulled out.

“Here,” her mum said, “run the palms of your hands around the back of your neck, and putt it out with the back of your hand.” Mike did her best to do so, and her mum smiled down at her. “There, no too hard is it?”

“I guess...” Mike said. “Can't I just get it cut though?” She wasn't sure if she wanted such long hair, but her mother looked scandalised.

“Cut it? It's beautiful!” She started idly fixing Mike's hair, to her horror. “And it really suits you. I wished my hair could be this long when I was a girl.”

“Yeah, but I'm not a girl,” the girl said.

Once Mike was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, they left the room, and Mike walked around the house as a girl for the first time. She was struck by how... ordinary it felt. It was a bewildering feeling. She did feel slightly awkward, but she couldn't pin down a major reason why. Walking like a girl was like walking like a boy. Her height, weight and balance felt unchanged. You just put one foot in front of the other, like always...

Her mother let her lead the way, and Mike found her way to the top of the main stairs. Ronald, Annabel and her father were waiting in the entrance hall, and Annabel giggled a little as she saw her sister approach. Mike narrowed her eyes at her.

“What?”

“Sorry...” Annabel looked away, sheepishly.

“Why'd you laugh?” Mike demanded, and Annabel tried to avoid her gaze.

“Sorry... it's just, you look like a girl but you're walking and standing like a boy,” she admitted. “I didn't mean to laugh.” She looked at Mike, and her face brightened slightly. “If you want, I can help teach you to...”

“No.” Mike's refusal was flat and definite.

Mike tried to put her sister's insensitivity out of her mind and followed her parents outside. This felt normal too, until the breeze caught her hair and lifted it, letting it billow a little. She absently tried to tuck it behind her ear – feeling it flowing over her ear was odd.

Her mum and dad were striding over to Dead Man's Leap and she scurried after them, Annabel following behind her. The sun was bright and hot but the breeze was cool, a perfect July day. In front of her, the lake shone white in the light.

They ascended the hill and leaned against the fence that crested the top of the cliff. It seemed so peaceful.

“Remember a few night back,” her dad started to say, “you were complaining about the long bus trip?” Mike nodded. “You thought it would be better to just get a boat across the lake.”

“Yeah,” she replied, and she looked out over the water. There were boats on the lake sometimes, but not a single one right now.

“We don't take boats out on the lake at this time of year. It could be dangerous,” her father continued. There was a long, pregnant pause.

“There's a monster,” Annabel eventually said.

“Some kind of demon, they say,” her dad clarified. “At this time of year, it wakes up, and soon it's going to attack the village.”

Mike's eyes slowly widened. “A demon?” she asked, not finding it as hard to believe as she would have liked, all things considered.

“It's going to try to kill everyone,” her mum said. “The only way we can stop it by using the ghost's – Ivy's – power. She's been keeping it sealed here for nearly two hundred years.” Her mum looked down, and her eyes met Mike's. “But when it starts to wake up, she needs a body – a boy or girl she can give her power to.”

“That's why we never told you about this,” her dad said. “And we're sorry. We're really, really sorry, and we didn't actually think you would be chosen. But if we'd told you, there's no way you would have agreed to come out here, and everyone knows that we need to let Ivy have as big a choice of kids as possible so she can pick the very best one.” He guiltily looked away. “Everyone knows, that's the most important thing... all our lives depend on it. There's nothing we can do except give her the option of possessing you.” His head was hung as he leaned on the fence, the shame of a father relying on his child to save him weighing on him. “But we didn't think she would pick you.”

Mike stared out over the lake, watching the surface of the water. She wanted to tell her dad it was OK. It wasn't really, but she could have said it.

But she was growing deathly afraid. A demon? They wanted her to fight a demon? They wanted her to fight a demon as a girl? And if she didn't, everybody was going to die?

“You can't be serious...” she mumbled. “I... I can't do that! It's crazy! How the hell am I supposed to fight a demon?”

“Don't forget, you'll have Ivy's power...” her mum said, but Mike wasn't done.

“But I don't! I don't feel like I have any powers at all! All I have... all I have is... silly long hair and a missing willy! I'm just a girl, what the hell am I supposed to do to a demon?” she asked, growing breathless.

“We should all just run away,” Mike continued. “Run away and live in another town. I'll get my hair cut, and tell everyone I'm a boy, and we'll just go back to normal...”

Nobody said anything, until her dad straightened up and looked at the centre of the lake.

“And when nobody stops the demon, will he stop with our village?” he asked. “Do you think Hollywater will be enough for him?” He turned to face his daughter, and placed his hands on her shoulders. “None of us like it, but this is your responsibility now, and what have I always told you?”

“A real man always lives up to his responsibilities,” Mike reluctantly recited. “But I'm a girl now...”

“That's not an excuse,” dad replied wryly.

“If anything, it gives you more responsibilities...” Mike's mum quietly said, thinking of her cooking, cleaning and laundry, and Annabel giggled. “Anyway,” mum said, “you should have Ivy's power by then.”

“Should?” Mike asked. “Do I have to do something?”

“We don't know how it works,” her dad said sadly, “but Mr Willham did tell us something. You might not like it though.”

“I'm not sure what I'll like less than being a girl...” Mike said, and her dad rubbed his brow.

“That's the thing,” her mum said. “He said you need to have certain things in common with Ivy to use her power. You need to be like her in some ways... have certain experiences and thoughts in common. It works the opposite way for the girls – Ivy was a slight tomboy apparently, and really girly girls have trouble thinking like she does. But still...”

“I need to be a girl.” Mike hung her head. She understood – it wasn't enough to look like a girl, she had to act like one too. That sounded awful. It was well understood that girls were the most annoying things in the universe, and she didn't want to contribute to the constantly increasing stupidity of the galaxy,^* but...

“You'll temporarily join the Girl Guides,” her mum said. Mike raised her head to protest, but mum shushed her down. “Let me finish. You'll join the guides. You'll sleep in their dorms, wear their uniforms, play their games, and have fun and make friends with them eventually.” She looked over at Mike's elder sister. “Annabel will help you, right?”

“Right!” Annabel said, nodding a little too enthusiastically.

“Good. And once you do, you'll know how Ivy feels, and you'll be ready. And once it's over, you'll be back to being a boy.”

She smiled supportively, and gently cupped her daughter's cheeks in her hands.

“It's only for a little bit, and I think you'll be surprised how little you'll change. You don't have to be a girly girl. Just be yourself – my strong, smart, brave and beautiful daughter.”

Mike smiled in spite of herself, and her mum smiled back.

“You have such a pretty smile.”

“Muuuummm...”

“Do you think you can do it?”

Mike closed her eyes. It was daunting, but as long as she was here, with her parents and her sister, a strange confidence had been growing within her. She wondered what would be harder – killing a demon, or pretending to be a girl? Neither sounded like it would be fun, but... could she really do it?

“I guess...” she cautiously said. Her mum knelt down and gave her a hug.

“That's my girl,” she said, and Mike blushed. “Now,” mum said, breaking the hug and placing her hands on Mike's shoulders. “Why don't we start now?”

“Huh?”

“Well, we obviously like the name Mike,” her mum said awkwardly, “but it doesn't fit a girl very well.”

“Change... my name?” Mike awkwardly asked. Ohh, she didn't know...

“When you were born,” her dad said, kneeling down by her, “we thought about calling you Michelle if you were a girl.”

“I really liked that name,” her mum added. “What do you think?”

“I guess it's fine...?” Mike replied. Michelle seemed like an OK name, though she was sure it wasn't a patch on her real name. It was a bit girly...

“I like it,” Annabel piped up. “I think it suits you!” Mike groaned, but nodded her head.

“I guess it'll do,” Michelle admitted, and her mum beamed. Her mum and dad got to their feet and took her hands.

“Come on, let's go back to Mr and Mrs Willham and tell them your name. Then... there's a lot more to do,” her dad said.

With that, Michelle walked back to the house between her mum and dad, Annabel skipping along behind them.

To Michelle's dismay, the first thing that happened was her parents leaving.

“You're at camp,” her mum said, kissing her cheek, and Michelle instinctively wiped it. “You don't need your parents hanging around, embarrassing you. This is supposed to be your holiday away from us, remember?”

“Be good for Mrs Willham, Mik... Michelle,” her father said, almost tripping over her name. “Don't worry, she knows what she's doing.”

Soon Michelle was waving goodbye as the Mondeo drove away. She stared emptily at the departing car.

“How can they be so calm about this?” she quietly said to herself.

“They knew it could happen when they sent you here. They've met many people it's happened to before.” Michelle jumped a little as Mrs Willham spoke from behind her. “And they know it's happened every year for hundreds of years, though not always to boys.” She spun around to see the Guide Leader smiling down at her. “I know it's all new to you, but to the rest of us, it's pretty much normal.”

“My name is Natalie,” she continued. “I understand you'll be joining us.”

“I don't want to...” Michelle muttered, “but I guess so.”

“I'm glad to hear it.” Natalie smiled again. “It's always nice to have a new girl... even under these circumstances. I've been married to Mr Willham for thirty years, I've had two daughters with him, I've helped with the Girl Guides for twenty years, and I've been head nurse at Kingswell High School for just as long.” She gave Michelle a sympathetic look. “I know how anxious girls your age can sometimes feel. If you have any questions or worries about your feelings, or about your body, I want you to come talk to me.”

“O... kay,” Michelle uneasily replied. She wasn't sure what questions she was supposed to have – this body seemed to mostly be just like her old body. “I will?”

“Good,” the older lady replied. “I have a few things to do before the other children come back. In the meanwhile, I have something I want you to read, if you like.”

Natalie led Michelle upstairs to a small, locked room that turned out to be a study. Well, it had been at one point – now it was a glorified storage room, the ancient wooden desk and teeming bookcases hemmed in by more recently bought cheap wardrobes and piles of cardboard boxes.

Mrs Willham fought her way through the boxes and brought out a small key, which she used to unlock a desk drawer. She pulled out a well worn and battered school jotter, and gently handled it to Michelle.

“This is for you. You can take it away with you, but be very careful with it. It's the only copy we have.”

Michelle looked at the cover. It was torn and stained, and it was covered in little pictures and idle doodles. The title was handwritten.

The Book of Things Girls Should Know

by

The 'Boys' who didn't

Michelle turned it over in her hands. It really felt fragile...

“Your predecessors wrote it,” Natalie said. “It's full of advice, things boys wouldn't know about being a girl. You're free to add a page to it if you like, if you think of anything that should be in there. You should read it and see if there's anything helpful in there.”

Michelle found a chair and started flicking though the jotter. Everything in it was handwritten, with the occasional diagram or doodle, and some pages had had additional notes added in the margins.

…

A lot of people seemed to want to tell her how to pee. Though the must useful advice on the subject boiled down to:

1. Sit down on the toilet

2. Try not to overthink it.

There wasn't any specific advice on pooing, so she assumed that was the same as before.

Someone else had gone to great lengths to describe how to put on a skirt. Michelle skimmed it, as she had no intention of wearing one, though she did notice the postscript - “P.S. Blouses button backwards. Don't get caught out!”

She did however read the page about how to wash long hair, which seemed important in her situation. It left her confused. She'd never used conditioner before, and honestly didn't know what it was for, but it seemed to be important. She skipped out on the page when it started talking about ribbons, barrettes and butterfly clips, though someone else had added a tip to the bottom - “put hair above pillow when you sleep, so your back won't itch.” Remembering how uncomfortable it had been when she woke up, Michelle took a note.

There was weirder stuff, like a page explaining why one member of Bros was better than the other, only someone else had scribbled out half the page and wrote a counter-argument that basically amounted to “nu-huh!” She'd never even heard of Bros. Then there were the weird essays some people had, one girl expressing her “infinite gratitude” to Ivy for giving her “the one thing I ever wanted!” It creeped Michelle out, seeing someone who was once a boy so happy about being a girl, but she supposed she had to be glad someone was enjoying it.

The next person certainly hadn't – she'd apparently written her page the same day she changed, and she was ANGRY. It was full of incoherent scribbles, swears, threats and protests that she wasn't a 'faggot' or 'sissy.' It mainly alarmed Michelle, who wondered why she wasn't this angry. She had the right to be! But she didn't feel so angry – the main thing she felt was shame.

Tiring of this book, she skipped a few pages ahead and found... something? Some mad girl had got ahold of the book, and scrawled down a torrent of words that were near-incomprehensible, when they were readable at all. She'd somehow mastered a combination of run-on sentences and excessive punctuation, though the occasional snatch of words was readable – what eventually caught Michelle's eye was the weird phrase “counted 193,399,136,008 before sun came up.” Then most of the next page was “and dancing! and dancing! and dancing! and dancing!” over forty times, until the joined-up handwriting almost became a straight line.

Michelle closed the book. There had been some useful information there, she supposed, but a lot of people had treated it as their very worrying diaries. The rest had been things like useless trivia about girls' TV shows from twenty years ago and the rules for hopscotch. Nobody had written anything about the demon either, which seemed insane. Wasn't that the important bit?

Giving it one last chance, she opened the book at the last used page and found a character list.

“Firefly – she's a pegasus pony, and my favourite! She's brave and adventurous, and...”

Michelle snapped the jotter shut. No.

Mrs Willham was gone, having left Michelle alone to read in peace. She hopped off the chair and looked out the door. Nobody was about.

“Hello?” she asked, before setting off down the corridor, toward the dormitories. The stairs to the boy's floor were nearby, but she hesitated to go up there.

“Hello?” she called again, and she heard Annabel's voice respond from behind the heavy door to the girls' dorms.

“In here, Mike!”

Something about hearing her old name both pleased and annoyed her, but Michelle ignored it. She crept up to the big door and slowly pushed it open, reminding herself the whole time that it was technically OK now. Inside there was an empty corridor. The curtains on the windows were all tightly closed, but there was enough light to see the faded flowery wallpaper.

The closest two doors were marked Toilet and Showers, just the on the boy's floor, but while the boy's floor had the two leaders rooms and then the double doors to the boy's dorm, here the corridor continued all the way to the fire escape. Three doors were on the left.

“Hello?” Michelle tried again.

“In here!” Annabel replied again, and Mike hurried to the third door. She gingerly knocked, and thought she heard laughter from inside.

“Come in!” Natalie yelled, and she pushed the door open to find a room with five sets of bunk beds. Mrs Willham seemed to be wrestling with a mattress as she shoved it back onto a top bunk, though she was laughing as she did so. Annabel was beside her, standing on tiptoes as she tried to help lift it.

“Michelle!” Natalie said as she gave a final heave and shoved the mattress over the top. “You don't need to knock!” she said cheerily, “this is your room.” She slapped a hand down on top of the bunk bed. “And your bed.”

Michelle cast an eye around the room. She could almost imagine it was the boy's room, only she could see some girls pink pyjamas lying around, and the sleeping bags had things like Elmyra on them, not Batman. It was peaceful, but she felt a little repelled by the room itself, like it knew she didn't belong in it. Her own bags were piled at the foot of her new bunk bed, and a few more boxes of things were piled next to it.

“Look!” Annabel said, as she dug into one of the boxes and pulled out a green t-shirt. Michelle arched an eyebrow. “It's for you!” she said excitedly.

“For me?” Michelle asked, dread rising in her gut. She hesitantly walked over and helped Annabel pull some items out of the boxes. There were t-shirts, and track bottoms, and (she shuddered) underwear. Worse still there were skirts, and swimsuits, dresses, and a guides uniform right at the very bottom. Michelle didn't know what “pastels” meant, but she knew them when she saw them and they were in attendance. At least whoever had bought this stuff had refrained from buying anything pink... the most offensive item turned out to be a sun dress with red polka dots all over it and a picture of Minnie Mouse on the front.

“You've got to be joking,” she said. There was no way she'd wear most of this girly stuff! “I already have clothes!”

“You don't have to wear them,” Mrs Willham assured her. “Well, except for the swimsuit and Guides uniform, and I'm confident you'll find the underwear more comfortable,” she said with an irritating smile. “And your current shoes and socks will be fine. But we wanted you to have clothes of your own, in case you wanted them.”

Michelle pulled a face. She was sure she did not.

They spent some time unpacking her stuff and integrating it with the new girls' clothes. Sadly, Michelle found herself packing a lot of her boys clothes toward the bottom of the pile. Suddenly, the idea of wearing her Batman or Spiderman shirts seemed a little silly, like it wouldn't suit her. Her scout uniform was folded and tucked away right at the very bottom of the pile. She sighed and said goodbye to it for a few weeks. At least she wouldn't need to wear the stupid neckerchief for a while.

Then Annabel actually did something useful, giving her back her Game Boy which she had somehow retrieved from Allen's kleptomaniac clutches. With nothing to do for a while, and a desperate need to unwind, Michelle climbed up onto her bunk and flicked the switch on the top, hearing the familiar *PLING.* Mario Land 1 was still in it, and she tried to play it for a while, but something had gone wrong with the shape or size of her hands or something, and it took a while before she felt she was holding it comfortably.

Just as she was getting comfortable, Natalie returned with bad news.

“It's four o'clock. The rest of the children should be back in less than half an hour.”

Michelle's face went pale. As much as she didn't like it, she'd amazed herself with how well she'd been able to adjust to the knowledge she was a girl, but... the other kids... she really didn't want to face them. Mr and Mrs Willham and her family had been really nice, but... she didn't want to think about how the boys or the other girls would react.

She slouched, lowering her head into her chest, and sheepishly asked, “what are we going to tell them?”

“They already know everything about you and the demon,” was the reply, and Michelle's heart sank.

“Everything? You had to tell them everything?” she practically mourned. “Couldn't you say I was a surprise guest or my cousin or something?”

“Everyone who was here last year already knows what it's about,” Mrs Willham sympathetically explained, “and all the boys your age saw a girl sleeping in Mike's bed. Unfortunately I don't think they're dumb enough to think it's just a coincidence that you suddenly appeared right when Mike mysteriously vanished. They'll have been gossiping with the girls all the way though the hike, until they got to the top of the hill and Craig and Jessica – that's the other Guides leader by the way – explained everything.”

Michelle groaned. It wasn't that everyone was going to find out! Everyone already knew, and they were probably rushing back here right now to see her... she shuddered, picturing standing in front of a whole hall of her peers and explaining that she was a girl. She's probably have to wear a dress, or even the swimsuit or the guides uniform, and...

She heard their laughter echo through the room, and squirmed. This was going to be awful! She could already feel them staring at her, even though they still had to at least be in the forest. Every one of them was thinking about seeing her, and it made her nervous as hell.

“Don't worry,” Natalie said. “We have a procedure for this sort of thing. It'll take a bit longer, but make it a bit easier.”

Michelle was led back to the study, and Natalie left her there.

“We'll lock the door,” she said, waving the key, “so that nobody can just burst in and find you. Don't worry, you can unlock it from the inside if you need out,” she added, showing Michelle where the lever was.

“OK...” Michelle said. “Then what'll happen?”

“We'll bring each patrol to you one at a time. That way you won't be facing too many people at once, and leaders will be around to keep them in line. They'll be able to ask you questions, but you don't have to answer if they make you feel uncomfortable, OK? Then, once everyone has met you, we'll all go for dinner.” That way, when Michelle first stepped into a room with everyone in it, they all would have seen her before and be less inclined to cause a fuss.

“Just wait here while we get everyone herded together,” Natalie said with a smile. “You'll be fine,” she added, stroking Michelle's hair, which was oddly soothing.

“OK, I will...” Michelle hesitantly said. She wasn't keen on this, not keen at all, but it sounded a lot better than her worried imaginings.

She sat in the locked room by herself, playing her Game Boy and listening to the commotion outside. She could hear running outside the room, in the corridors, and people talking excitedly in hushed tones. Someone tried the door handle for a second, forcing her to hold her breath, but it did not open and they quickly gave up. The she heard Martin ringing the bell, and went over to the window to look out at the front car park. The four patrols were lining up outside, and she saw Mr and Mrs Wellham giving them a speech, though she couldn't make out the particulars. She thought for a moment that she saw Annabel look up at her and smile, and tried to put the idea that anyone else had seen her out of her mind.

Then she saw one of the girl's patrols start moving. It wasn't Annabel's patrol, it was the other one. She hurriedly sat down on the chair and placed her wrists on her knees, waiting awkwardly for her guests.

The door didn't open by itself. Instead, there was a quiet knock.

“Michelle,” a girl's voice formally said, “this is Penguin Patrol. Can we come in?”

Michelle trembled for a moment, before saying “come in,” as confidently as she could muster.

There was a click as the door was unlocked, and the handle turned, admitting seven girls. Michelle already knew three of them – Shelly, Samantha and Polly were already in her class at school. The most she knew about Shelly was that she was Pauly and Petey's triplet, though everyone always referred to the two boys as “the twins” and left her out of it, apparently to her relief. Samantha was sporty, always running and climbing trees, practically an honorary boy, while Polly was a nerd who was always reading about things. She didn't know the other four, they were all older.

They were all staring at her, especially the girls who already knew her, with looks that ranged from disgust to amazement to, in the case of Polly, intense curiosity. Michelle felt herself physically fold under their glare.

“Um,” the Patrol Leader said. “We're Penguin Patrol. I'm Cara Wells, the leader.” She was a quite pretty teenager, and was working hard to be prettier.

“Marissa Wales.”

“Alana Wells.”

“Kelly Tallow,” the next three said, giving Michelle various uneasy but curious looks. That was all the older girls, only the ones she already knew remain, but they were struck dumb.

“Mike...” Samantha Stills eventually said. She looked really upset. “You're really... Mikey?”

Michelle sighed again. She wanted to deny it, but...

“I am,” she replied, looking at the floor. “But everyone's calling me Michelle now,” she bitterly added.

“You're really a girl?” Polly said inquisitively, and Mike nodded. “Wow...” she said, her eyes shining. “If this is magic, it's amazing!”

“Weren't you saying that this was a hoax, and magic was impossible?” Shelly smugly asked.

“No good scientist says something is impossible, especially when there's proof in front of her!” Polly quickly replied. Oh yeah, Michelle thought, that was Polly's 'thing,' science. She wanted to be the next Marie Claire or something.

There was another awkward silence, and Michelle continued to wither under their eyes. Alana in particular was starting intently at her, though Michelle couldn't quite tell why.

“Um...” Cara the leader said again. “We've been told about why you're a girl. Most of us saw the last girl who was chosen last year. She was really good at it...” she nervously said, “though I guess she had four years of practice.”

That got Michelle's attention. The last girl did it for four years?

“Four years?” she asked. “Why did she stop?”

“Well, she got too old for Guides I guess. Stopped coming to camp.”

Michelle's eyes widened. She was going to have to do this for four years?

“Anyway,” Cara continued, “we're all sure you'll be as good at it as she was.” She turned around to face her patrol. “Right Penguins?”

“Right...” came back an awkward reply that didn't exactly fill Michelle with confidence. Samantha in particular barely mumbled, and stared at the ground, while Alana continued to stare through her.

“Uh, thanks...” Michelle said, and thought of something she wanted to know. “Hey, was the last girl always a girl, or was she... a girl like me?”

“She was always a girl,” Cara replied. “Laura, Allen Adams' older sister.” Michelle was surprised. Allen had never indicated he knew anything about this. She wondered if he even knew what his sister had been up to. She suddenly remember that there had been a lot of people around her when their families had been sending them off.

“Any other questions?” Cara said, looking at her patrol.

“Where's she gonna sleep?” Shelly uneasily asked, and Michelle slouched down onto her elbows.

“You already know,” the second – Marissa – said. “Jessica said she'd be sleeping in our dorm,” she added.

“In our room?” Shelly asked, slightly scandalised. “but he's... she's...”

“She's a girl,” Cara said.

“I'm a girl...” Michelle added. “I don't like it, but I am, and I can't really sleep in the boys dorm. So I don't have much of a choice.” She turned her head away. “Sorry. I'll try not to make a fuss, and I'll keep my eyes closed.”

That apparently wasn't enough for Shelly.

“Prove it,” she said, and Michelle's face turned red. “Drop your shorts and prove you're a girl.” Michelle sputtered for a moment, unsure how to reply, and then was interrupted from outside the room.

“You don't have to do that Michelle,” Mrs Willham firmly said. “Trust me, girls, she's a girl. If you don't believe me, you're sleeping and showering in the same rooms, you'll have plenty of chances to check.”

Shelly glared at Michelle, but stayed quiet.

“If you like, I could scientifically analyse her and see,” Polly offered. “Actually I'd like to carry out a full examination for posterity.”

“That won't be OK,” Michelle said levelly.

Silence fell again, and after a moment Mrs Willham came into the room and asked if the girls had any more questions. Nobody volunteered anything, so they were shuffled away, probably to their great relief, and asked to send up Beta Patrol.

Michelle stayed on her chair, now worried beyond belief. Girls had been a hassle, but now she had to face the boys, and she knew all of them pretty well. This was going to be humiliating...

There was a knock on the door.

“Mik...” Oliver Roberts started to say, and then corrected himself. “Michelle... this is Beta patrol. Can we come in?”

She paused for the longest time before saying “yes...”

She stared at the floor and fought the impulse to close her eyes. The girls had filed in in an orderly manner, but after Oliver was through the door the rest barged though and stopped in their tracks as soon as they saw her.

“Holy crap...” Marcus Perry said. “Holy crap!”

“No way,” Lucas said.

“Woah, Mike... that's not you, right?” Allen added.

She looked up at them. Oliver had come into the room and was awkwardly standing around, unable to get his patrol to follow him, as usual. The rest were crowded in the doorway, expressions of shock and dismay frozen onto their faces.

“Yeah... looks weird huh?” she quietly said.

They all nodded and grunted an “uh huh.”

The atmosphere was stony and deathly cold. The boys shuffled into the room, looking confused. Most of them were avoiding looking at her, but Gregory Yates was glaring at her.

Lucas Tallow was the first boy who managed to break the silence.

“Did it hurt?”

“No...” Michelle replied. “I was asleep at the time.”

“Did it drop off?” he asked, and Michelle blinked at him.

“Did what what?”

“Your willy. Did it...”

“No!” she said, raising her voice. “It... no!” she protested, though it occurred to her that she didn't know. She'd have to check her sleeping bag later, she might need it when it was time to change back. She tried to put such weird thoughts out of her mind. “Someone else ask something!”

“Is it contagious?” Gregory sounded serious. All the other boys fell silent and looked at him, and then at her. Michelle had never really got along with Gregory. He'd only moved here about four months back, and his family was wealthy. They're moved up into one of the big houses along Partridge Drive, and Gregory had treated the fact his house was on the hill as permission to look down his nose at everyone.

“There's only one ghost,” Michelle said. “So unless you piss her off and she possesses you instead, no. It's not contagious.”

“How do you know there's just one ghost?” Gregory asked. He sounded quite angry, and was getting angrier. “We shouldn't come here if there's ghosts that can do this!”

“Greg...” Oliver said, trying to get him to calm down, but as usual he was ignored.

“They shouldn't have brought us here if there's ghosts!” Greg continued, his voice growing louder. “Now it's turned a boy into a girl, what the hell else can it do to the rest of us?”

“Greg!” Oliver said, interrupting him. “It won't do anything else. You were already told, someone needs to be possessed to fight the demon.”

“Yeah right, like there's a demon!” Gregory said. “My dad wouldn't have moved us here if there was a demon! He said we were moving out here because it's safer! Now I'm in a crappy old haunted house and I could have been turned into a girl!”

“Yeah well you weren't,” Michelle yelled at him, “so you don't have anything to complain about now.”

“Only because there was someone more suitable for being a girl about!” he yelled back, and Michelle reeled.

“W, what do you mean, more suitable?” she fumed.

“I mean you were practically a girl anyway so...”

“The HELL?” she yelled back. “I was girlish, you little sissy? You're the one who was too chicken to sneak into Annabel's slumber party to sabotage it!”

“And you did! Says a lot, I think...”

“That's ENOUGH,” Oliver shouted, and the two of them fell silent. Oliver looked down at Michelle. “Sorry about this, Michelle, you already know he only thinks about himself. NOW -” he looked at the rest of his patrol. “- does anyone have an actual question for Michelle?”

“No...” Allen said, “but my sister says hi.” Michelle stared at him. So he had known something. “And 'enjoy yourself.” Michelle wasn't so sure about that.

With nothing more to say, Oliver led his patrol away, though Michelle looked at Allen as he left.

“Allen...” she said, and he stopped. “Could I talk to your sister someday?”

“I dunno,” he said with a shrug. “I don't.”

Then the worst possible thing happened – Michelle heard the boys talking further down the hall.

“Hey, where's Allen?”

“He's back there talking to Michelle... in private!”

“Woah! Allen and Michelle, sitting in a tree...”

Michelle blanched, her eyes widening as her pupils dwindled down to the size of grains of sand, and she instinctively shoved Allen out the door before slamming it shut behind her. She scrambled for the lock and clicked it shut, before leaning her back against the door.

Oh god, why would they do that? She had a feeling that rhyme was going to torment her for the rest of her life.

Natalie came inside to check Michelle was doing OK, but she lied and tried to pass the taunt off as no big deal. Soon she was seated in her usual chair, waiting for a knock on the door.

It arrived, and she heard her Patrol Leader's voice. “Michelle, it's Alpha Patrol...”

She panicked, not entirely settled yet. Why did it have to be her old patrol now? The last thing she needed was her best friends seeing her like this.

“Come in!” she said, a little too quickly, and she watched Robert led Alpha Patrol into the room with military precision. Alpha patrol was always much better organised than Beta. She looked up as they lined up in front of her and turned to face her. They all looked shocked, but were trying to hide it.

“Salute!” Robert ordered, and all the scouts gave her the Scout salute.

“Alpha patrol sends its highest respects and thanks to Mike Lewis, who has agreed to fight the Lake Dweller as Michelle, to save the village of Hollywater and maybe the entire world. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten,” Robert said, trying to sound official. “We offer our services in assisting her in any way we can, send our best wishes for the next two weeks and hope that they won't suck too much.”

Michelle could never help but laugh a little when Robert tried to sound important. She wondered how long he's been planning that little speech. She was glad she was in the audience this time, as if she'd still been a boy saluting up there and laughed there would have been a price to pay.

Still, at least someone was acknowledging that she'd actually sacrificed a lot so far...

“Thank you very much,” she said, trying to keep the formal mood. “Your assistance will be... useful.” She looked up at them. None of them were looking at her, they were steadfastly staring at the wall behind her. “Um... do you have any questions for me?” she asked, trying to break the ice.

Robert looked at Barry, who stepped forward. He asked if it had hurt, and Michelle gave the same answer as before – she'd been asleep. Barry's younger brother Luis was next to step forward. He wanted to know if she would still be sleeping in their room – when she said no, everyone seemed quite relieved.

George Tallhouse was next. “Do you have a plan for how to defeat the Lake Dweller?”

Michelle frowned, and shook her head. “Not yet... sorry.” she admitted. “They tell me I'll figure something out in time, but... nothing yet.” That came as less of a relief for the boys, and George stepped back into line.

Pauly was next. “Girls don't like computer games. Can I have your Game Boy?”

“Never.”

Pauly shook his head and stepped back, letting his twin take the spotlight.

“Are you wearing panties now?”

A hand whipped out of the door and caught Petey's ear, dragging him toward the door.

“Owwww!”

“That's none of your business!” Mrs Willham scolded, pulling Petey away, and Michelle watched them go. Her face was bright red with shock, and she was momentarily left speechless. Robert, on the other hand, was clearly furious.

“Th-that's right. None of his business,” Michelle eventually said, her shock gradually turning to indignation.

“Next question!” Robert ordered, and Michelle warily looked at his face. Judging by his expression, Pauly was in a LOT of trouble. She found that satisfying.

The last boy stepped forward and Michelle looked at him. It was her best friend, Sam. He looked worried and drawn, and he was studiously avoiding looking at her. It was obvious to Michelle that he was really concerned about her, and she found that... strangely affecting.

“When are you going to turn back, Mike?” Sam sadly asked.

Michelle leaned forward and looked down. “I don't know,” she said, and she closed her eyes. “I guess after I kill the monster?”

“How soon will that be?” Sam asked.

“I don't know...” Michelle admitted. She looked up at Robert, and everyone else followed her gaze. He flinched a little.

“After the demon attacks on the second last day of camp,” he said.

“Are you really OK with fighting it?” Sam asked.

“Look at me...” Michelle sighed. Sam didn't look directly at her. “I'm a girl, and I can't turn back unless I do. So I suppose I am.”

Robert dismissed his patrol, and they left Michelle to her own devices. She was trapped as a girl, doomed to fight this thing, and the scariest thing was she kept forgetting that. She was almost glad that something awkward kept pointing out that she shouldn't be getting comfortable.

She impatiently waited for the final group, keen to get this over with, and there was eventually a bold knock on the door.

“Hi Michelle, it's Elephant patrol! Can we come in, please?”

She gave permission, and a blonde girl in her early teens danced into the room, followed by another more refined teenager with brown hair. Then there was Annabel, and her best friend Hannah. Michelle had met Hannah an awful lot before, though never like this. She seemed to be appraising her from the moment she entered, trying to figure out how this girl was supposed to be Annabel's annoying little brother.

The other two were girls from his class, Lizzie and Lauren. Lizzie had hated Michelle for as long as she'd known her, but she'd always hated all the boys. She didn't seem to have changed her mind now that Michelle was a girl – she hit her with a glare as soon as she saw her. Lauren was just lost. She tended to daydream a lot, and right now she was paying a lot more attention to the books and furniture in the room than she was to Michelle.

“Hi!” The blonde energetically greeted Michelle, throwing her hands up in the air and posing. “I'm Jennifer! This is Tina,” - the brunette waved - “and I'm sure you already know Annabel, Hannah, Lizzie and Lauren!” Michelle almost found herself pushed back in her chair by Jennifer's enthusiasm. “Welcome to Elephant Patrol!”

Michelle was momentarily stunned. “W- welcome?”

“You're joining us, right?” Jennifer said, and Mrs Willham appeared at the door.

“That's right. Michelle is going to join the Girl Guides, aren't you dear?” she asked, and Michelle hesitantly nodded. She had said that... “Since Elephant patrol is smaller, and your sister is already in it, it seems like a natural home for you.”

“It's great to meet you, Michelle!” Jennifer added. “I think you're going to love Guides!”

The girls converged on Michelle as one, except for Lizzie who held back. They all started talking at once, and Michelle would have been overwhelmed if Mrs Willham hadn't stepped in.

“All right, all right, give her room to breathe!” They dutifully backed off, and Mrs Willham continued. “This can't take all day, everyone's hungry. You can chat later. For now, everyone gets to ask Michelle a question!” She pointed to Jennifer. “Go on!”

“What's your favourite food?” the girl asked, and Michelle took a moment to think about it...

“She loves pizza,” Annabel said.

“Great! We need to make pizza one day, Michelle!”

“Annabel!” Mrs Willham said. “Let your sister answer!” She pointed to Tina, the second teenager.

“I love your hair!” she said. “I wish mine was that long.”

“That's not a question,” Mrs Willham pointed to Annabel, who shrugged.

“I don't have any questions!” she said. “I already know my own sister!”

Hannah was up next, and smirked at Michelle.

“Are you going to stop sitting like a boy?”

Alarmed, Michelle looked down at her legs. She's been sitting with them wide apart all this time. It was OK, she'd been wearing shorts after all, but she was still struck by the urge to bring her knees together.

Lizzie was up next. She cast a long stare at Michelle, and several quick glances at the other guides in her patrol.

“Can I transfer to another patrol?”

“No,” everyone else said simultaneously.

“But she's a boy!” Lizzie protested. “She might look like a girl, but she's a boy inside, and I don't wanna be in the same patrol as a boy!”

“This isn't up for discussion!” Mrs Willham insisted.

“But she's a gross boyyyyy!” Lizzie started to whine. Michelle couldn't help but feel offended.

“What the hell's wrong with being a boy?” she asked, and Mrs Willham turned on her.

“Young lady, I know you're stressed, and I don't dare guess what words that Martin man has been teaching the Scouts, but we don't swear in Girl Guides!”

Michelle didn't say sorry. She did not like the sound of joining this patrol, it was way too girly for her...

“Lizzie has a point,” Hannah said, striking a thoughtful pose. “Boys and girls have different souls. You can tell by their auras.”

“See?” Lizzie said. “I told you...”

“You can see auras?” Jennifer asked, somewhat sceptically.

“No...” Hannah admitted. “But maybe she has a girl's soul now too.”

“How could she have a girl's soul?” Lizzie asked, exasperated. “She's a boy!”

“”Maybe the ghost...” Annabel started to say, but she was interrupted when Mrs Willham slapped the wall.

“ENOUGH,” she intoned. “That's enough.” She motioned to Michelle, who had been trying and failing to follow the conversation, and pointed at Lizzie. “Michelle is a girl, and I won't tolerate anyone telling her she's not, and I don't want to hear any more foolishness about auras or crystals or fortunes, young lady!” she added, pointing to Hannah. “Now...” she said, “I think everyone else is getting ready for dinner. Lets run along, please.”

The girls obediently started filing out, and Annabel grabbed her sister's hand.

“Come on, Michelle! I'll take you to our table.”

Michelle looked at her new 'friends' and almost asked if she had to come along, but thought better of it. At least some of them seemed to like her, though she wasn't sure if she liked them. She told herself they were trying to be nice, it's just that... they were being girls. And it was really really annoying...

She shook off her sister's hand, but got up and followed her and the rest of Elephant Patrol to the dining hall.

Five minutes later, Lauren realised everyone else was gone and hurried to get some food.

Dinner was burgers in thin gravy, served with mashed potato and boiled cabbage. Virtually nobody ate the cabbage, and it all went to waste.

It was a little bit amazing. Michelle knew people were staring at her, could virtually feel their eyes on her, but it felt a lot easier than it could have been if she hadn't reintroduced herself to everyone like that. None of the leaders demanded that girls sit at one table and boys at the other but they did so out of preference, and she was firmly entrenched at the girl's table, sat with her back to the boys and wedged in-between Anabell and Jennifer.

She could hear the boys making a din behind her, and turned to see a scuffle had broken out between Pauly and Petey. Shelly, their sister, just lowered her head and tried to ignore it, while all the other girls at least took an interest in watching.

She wished she could have been over there chanting FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT until Martin came and broke it up, but Annabel and Jennifer had her well boxed in. She picked at her food, trying to avoid the cabbage as best she could.

After the meal the Guides were due to have a meeting. Michelle was quickly bustled into the dorms by Anabell and Jennifer, and a long negotiation began.

“No way.”

“Look, you can keep your socks and shoes,” Jennifer said. “A polo shirt's not so bad either, right? It just has the Guides logo on it.”

“That's fine,” Michelle said, her arms folded in front of her. “But I ain't wearing the rest.”

“It's just a skirt...”

“That's why it's a problem! Aren't I allowed to wear trousers?”

“Kinda, yes...” Jennifer conceded, and Annabel nodded. “But there's no way Natalie is going to put up with it...” Technically the uniform rules had changed a couple of years ago and Guides could wear trousers if they wanted, but that had never flown in Hollywater. Mrs Wellham was a traditionalist, maybe a justifiable position in a town where your survival depends on the goodwill of a two hundred year old ghost, and had made it clear she would be long gone before any Guides in her troop wore trousers to a meeting.

Of course, the girls didn't know this. All they knew was that she was strict as hell about some things.

“Then I'll wear trousers!” Michelle insisted, digging down to the bottom of her clothes pile to find her scout trousers.

“Michelle! Come on, it's just a...” Annabel started to say, but Michelle cut her off.

“No, no way.” She glared the two of them down. “No. I've given up everything today. I've been picked against my will, and lost some important stuff, and embarrassed, and frightened and had to face some really weird situations, and it sounds like that's just the start. And I've been as good as can be, because I don't have any choice in this, and I've done everything people wanted me to because it's the only chance I have. Can I please just have one thing?”

Annabel and Jennifer looked at each other uneasily.

Fifteen minutes later Michelle was in the meeting room. Natalie caught sight of her trousers, but didn't say anything. The meeting had already started, and she, Annabel and Jennifer hurried to join the rest of Elephant patrol.

Getting over here had been embarrassing. She was pretty sure some of the boys had seen her wearing the guides uniform, trousers or no, and were probably up in the dorm telling everyone about what they saw Mike wearing right now. She was glad she was with Annabel and Jennifer for the trip, she didn't know what she would do if her former friends caught her alone. She wouldn't be able to talk to them, not without dying with embarrassment over her current predicament.

As they sat down with the rest of Elephant patrol, the guides Leader who wasn't Mrs Wellham hurried over. She introduced herself as Jessica, and it turned out she was Polly and Marissa's mum.

“Here,” she said, handing out a sheet of paper. “The Guides decided they wanted to earn a badge while we were here, and they chose the Healthy Lifestyles badge,” she said, smiling.

“Am I supposed to do it too?” Michelle asked.

“Learning about healthy living doesn't seem like a bad idea, does it?”

Michelle shrugged. It didn't sound very interesting.

It wasn't. There were a whole bunch of different ways she could get the badge and she only had to do four of them, but a bunch of them couldn't be done here, since she didn't have access to things like TV and newspapers. She had to keep a diary of how much liquid she drank every day, and spend an hour every night doing something that completely relaxed her and keep another diary about that... though how relaxed she was supposed to get in the girls dorm was a mystery to her.

Then there was the group activity, making a board game about healthy and unhealthy things. Elephant patrol had chosen to make Snakes and ladders, with healthy things on the ladders and unhealthy yadda yadda yadda snakes. Michelle mostly sat cross-legged with her chin resting on her palm, while the real girls drew the board and coloured it in.

“OK, we need something for this big ladder,” Jennifer said. “Any ideas?”

It took a moment for Michelle to realise the patrol was all looking at her.

“Uh...” she said, “going jogging?”

Jennifer smiled and started writing it down, while Michelle prayed for something more fun to come along.

She accelerated and ducked under the raised arms, trying to get through as quickly as possible, only to hear Kelly shout the worst possible thing as she was passing through.

“SPRING THE TRAP!” Arms quickly lowered but Michelle ducked, darting out of the mousetrap before Cara and Alana's arms trapped her inside. Almost tumbling to the ground, she looked back to see the trap had caught Lauren and Shelly this time, and smiled. More than half the girls had been caught and become part of the trap. She was doing pretty well! She'd show them how a boy plays a game about running and dodging!

Unfortunately on the next run the trap caught her and she joined the net of arms in-between Hannah and Tina.

After a few games, they all lined up in their patrols and there was a bit of complicated marching. Michelle just kept her head down and tried her best to follow the girl in front. The troop quickly formed into some kind of oval shape, and Mrs Willham bid them to sit down.

“Now, as you all know,” she started, and Michelle's nerves started to rise. She had a feeling she knew what this was about.

“We have a new member here today.” Michelle hated it when she was right. (unless it meant Annabel was wrong) She cringed slightly.

“She's going to be joining us for a little while, and I knew you've all already been very welcoming.” Michelle tried to sink her head into her shoulders, in the hope Mrs Willham would somehow forget her.

“Michelle, would you stand and come to the front of the horseshoe please?”

She reluctantly got to her feet and approached the Guides Leader, feeling every eye on her back. On one hand, Annabel was grinning like a maniac and trying to wave to her without being noticed. On the other, Lizzie had a thunderously bad expression on her face. Michelle tried to put them out of her mind, and focused on Mrs Willham.

“I know you're having a very difficult time,” she said, “and it's almost impossible that you could have Been Prepared for it,” she continued, drawing a few lame sniggers. “But everyone can see you're trying your best, and for that we would be proud to call you our sister.”

“I'm sure you know there's a Scout Promise. We have a promise of our own, if you want to give it.”

Michelle looked about at the other girls. She wasn't sure if she should, but... she didn't want to spend the next two weeks alone. She couldn't possibly spend all her time with the boys, they would make her life hell. She'd been one, and she knew, because if Gregory or Lucas has turned into a girl she would have had a field day teasing them. Spending time with the other girls, no matter how little she understood them, seemed like the only way. Besides, they could have fun when they tried. She'd enjoyed the mouse trap game.

And the thing she'd tried to put out of her mind, the demon, came back to her. Her mum and dad had said, she needed to be like Ivy in some way, or they were doomed. Whether she liked it or not, no matter how little she wanted to do it, she had to learn something about being a girl. And there was only one way to do that...

“OK,” she gingerly replied. Mrs Willham smiled and held up one hand in a Scout salute, which Michelle mimicked. Then she held out a piece of paper for Michelle to read.

“I promise that I will do my best to love my God, to serve the Queen and my country, to help other people, and to keep the Guide Law.”

Michelle recited the promise. There wasn't any sudden magical revelation, it was just a few words she said. There was some uneasy, half-hearted applause. But at least now, she could be certain about something. She didn't know if she was a girl or not, but she was definitely a Girl Guide, for better or worse.

“Congratulations,” Mrs Wellham said. “Welcome to the troop. Now, I do have something else for you before we finish.” She turned to Jessica, the other leader, and took a blue bundle from her. “Here,” she said, giving it to Michelle.

The girl unfolded it. It was a sash, like the ones the other Guides were wearing, with her patrol emblem and other badges already sown on. In fact, there were even bonus badges. As as scout, the only badge she'd got so far had been for camping, and the equivalent Guides badge was already on the sash. In addition there was a large badge, with a green ivy leaf on it.

“That one is rare,” the leader said. “We had to get it custom made, take care of it. We're all depending on you, so you should depend on us.”

Michelle took a good look at the sash, and put it on. “Thank you,” she said, and returned to her seat in the horseshoe.

With that the meeting ended, with a reminder that the activity schedule would start for real tomorrow. Elephant patrol was to be ready for horse riding bright and early tomorrow morning.

That night Michelle got changed into her pyjamas in the toilet, and reflected on the day.

It had, all in all, been absolutely terrible, the worst day of her life. She was pretty much certain of that. The most uncomfortable, the most humiliating, the most scary, and she still knew that worse was to come.

That demon... she hoped it would show up soon, and also that it was a very long way away from her.

She crept back to her room after a while. She'd found out that the older girls – the twelve and thirteen year olds – slept in a different room than the younger ones. She peeked into the younger girl's room, and was relieved to see that everyone was finished changing. Everyone was lounging around on their beds, reading books or chatting, and Alana seemed to be heavily concentrating on something. Michelle headed for the ladder up to her top bunk.

“Hey,” someone said, and she turned to see Lizzie watching her. “You better sleep facing the wall.”

“Leave her alone Lizzie,” Annabel said.

Michelle tried to ignore Lizzie. She'd learned long ago that you couldn't reason with her. She just really hated boys.

She climbed into her sleeping bag, just in time for Jessica to arrive and shut off the lights. Michelle felt her hair itch against her back, but remembered about piling it up on top of the pillow – her long locks pooled against the headboard. Tired from her ordeal, she tried to get to sleep, facing the wall of course.

“Ppst!” Annabel said. Michelle tried to ignore her, but she tried again. “Ppst! Michelle!”

“What?” she whispered, glad that she usually didn't have to share a room with her big sister.

“Alana wanted me to give you this,” Annabel said, and she passed a piece of paper up to the top bunk. Michelle grabbed it and found her torch.

It was a portrait of her, the product of Alana's memorising stare. She was smiling.

Smiling, Michelle closed her eyes, and dreamed of loud pops.