The Secret Suitcase

The house felt strangely quieter than usual.

Not because it was empty.

Because it was about to be.

Samuel balanced his phone against the coffee maker while waiting for the video call to connect. A moment later, his parents’ smiling faces appeared on the screen, framed by the bright lobby of an elegant European hotel. Behind them, through enormous glass windows, he caught a glimpse of narrow streets lined with old stone buildings and café umbrellas just beginning to fill with people.

“You two actually made it,” Samuel said with a smile.

“We told you we would,” his mother laughed. “Although I don’t think either of us slept on the flight.”

His father wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Twenty-five years deserved something a little more ambitious than dinner at the same restaurant.”

Samuel chuckled. “I guess Europe qualifies.”

“It better,” his father replied.

Another face suddenly leaned into the camera.

“Move over. I’m trying to say goodbye too.”

“Lily.”

His older sister rolled her eyes dramatically. “I leave for work in fifteen minutes, and these two have been hogging the call.”

She looked tired already, dressed in business-casual clothes with a lanyard hanging around her neck. Her summer internship had started only a week earlier, but she was already settling into the routine.

Their parents had planned the anniversary trip months ago. The timing had worked out perfectly. Lily was home for summer break, Samuel had graduated from St. Gabriel’s only a few weeks earlier, and everyone had assumed the siblings would be perfectly capable of surviving more than a month alone.

In theory, they were right.

“You two are adults now,” their father said. “Try not to kill each other while we’re gone.”

“No promises,” Lily replied.

“Very funny.”

Their mother’s expression softened. “We’ll probably be hard to reach after today. Between trains, museums, and whatever your father has planned…”

“We’ll survive,” Samuel assured her.

“You’d better. Besides, you’ll both be busy.”

Lily nodded. “I’ll practically be living at the office.”

Their father pointed toward Samuel. “And you?”

Samuel hesitated only for a fraction of a second. “I’ll probably hang out with some friends.”

It came out naturally.

Too naturally.

“Good,” his mother said. “You spent enough time hiding in your room after graduation.”

“I know.”

She smiled warmly. “I love you both.”

“Love you too.”

The call ended, and silence immediately settled over the house.

Lily slipped her phone into her purse and grabbed her car keys from the kitchen counter. “You really seeing friends today?”

Samuel forced a casual shrug. “Yeah.”

“Anyone I know?”

“Don’t think so.”

She frowned. “Mysterious.”

“I’m not mysterious.”

She smirked. “You definitely are.”

A second later, the front door closed.

Samuel didn’t move. He listened as the garage door opened, Lily’s car started, and the sound slowly disappeared down the street.

Only then did he exhale.

He waited another full minute. Then another.

Finally, he walked through the house, checking every room out of habit more than necessity. Empty. He locked the front door, closed the blinds, and stood motionless in the middle of his bedroom.

For several long seconds, he simply stared at the floor.

This wasn’t excitement. It wasn’t even anticipation.

It felt like resignation.

A few weeks ago, Samantha had been supposed to disappear forever.

Slowly, Samuel knelt beside his bed and reached toward the back of the closet. His fingers found the familiar handle, and he pulled out the suitcase.

It was smaller than most carry-ons, scuffed from being transported between Riley’s house and the places Samantha had briefly existed before vanishing again.

Except now, it lived here. In his bedroom.

He unzipped it.

Everything was folded with surprising care. None of the girls had known how long Samantha would need to exist after graduation. Neither had Samuel. So, before leaving school behind, they had quietly assembled what Maddie had jokingly called Samantha’s “starter wardrobe.”

Nothing glamorous. Nothing extravagant. Just enough to survive.

A couple of skirts. Several basic tops. A simple dress. Undergarments. A handbag.

Everything feminine.

Everything a hand-me-down.

He rested his hand on top of the neatly folded clothes.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen…”

No one answered.

He carried the suitcase onto the bed before heading toward the bathroom. The shower water was almost painfully hot, and he stayed beneath it longer than necessary, letting the steam fill the room.

Eventually, he reached for the razor.

Shaving his face had become routine. Everything else had not.

Arms. Chest. Legs. Underarms.

Every movement reminded him of those long Saturdays at Riley’s house before St. Catherine’s.

With a towel wrapped around his waist, he returned to his bedroom. The suitcase waited exactly where he had left it. He opened the underwear compartment.

Every time he thought about female underwear, his brain still insisted something was fundamentally wrong about what he was doing.

His hands ignored the protest.

The panties came first. They no longer felt impossible. Only strange.

The bra followed.

Weeks ago, he had needed Natalie to show him how to fasten it. Now his hands reached behind his back almost automatically.

Click. Adjust. Straighten. Done.

That realization disturbed him more than wearing it did.

“If there’s one thing St. Catherine’s taught me…” He smiled despite himself. “…it’s never trust a skirt without bike shorts.”

He dug through another compartment until he found a pair of black bike shorts. Technically, they had once belonged to Maddie.

Or maybe Riley.

He couldn’t remember anymore.

The girls certainly would not need them with their uniforms after graduation, so they had simply tossed several pairs into Samantha’s suitcase.

He stepped into them, then reached for the outfit he had planned the night before.

It was simple. Almost aggressively ordinary: a faded light-blue denim mini skirt, a plain white crew-neck T-shirt, and bright white sneakers.

He buttoned the skirt and tucked in the shirt, then stepped back from the mirror.

Something was wrong.

Not wrong enough to name immediately, but wrong enough that the outfit looked unfinished. He checked the photograph on his phone again and found the answer around the model’s waist.

A brown belt.

Of course.

Samuel opened the suitcase and searched through it twice, even though he already knew there was no belt inside. For a moment, he considered abandoning the outfit entirely. Then he looked toward the bedroom door.

Lily owned belts.

Borrowing one would not be stealing as long as he returned it before she got home.

That was almost convincing.

Her room looked exactly as it had when she left: bed made, closet half-open, a coffee mug on the desk despite their mother’s repeated complaints about dishes upstairs. Samuel went directly to the small organizer hanging inside her closet and found several belts looped through it.

One was black. One was too wide. Another had a silver buckle large enough to attract attention from across a parking lot.

The fourth was perfect.

Simple brown leather. Narrow enough to fit the skirt’s belt loops. Unremarkable enough that Lily might not notice if it disappeared for a few hours.

“Borrowing,” Samuel whispered as he removed it. “Definitely borrowing.”

Back in his room, he threaded it through the loops and fastened it around his waist. The difference was irritatingly obvious. The outfit suddenly looked intentional.

Then came the wig.

He lifted it from its box with both hands, fitted the cap over his short hair, and positioned the familiar light-brown waves over his head. He adjusted the hairline carefully, checking each side before tucking a few strands behind his ears.

Samantha looked back at him.

Not quite finished, but undeniably present.

Normally, Natalie would have taken over from there. Riley would have criticized the lighting, Maddie would have made inappropriate suggestions, and Samuel would have complained until someone told him to stop moving.

Today, there was no one.

He sat at his desk and opened the makeup bag. The few products inside looked almost embarrassingly inadequate: mascara, blush, and lipstick. They were enough for the appointment, he had been told. The rest would come later.

He pulled up a beginner’s tutorial on his laptop.

Mascara looked easy when someone else did it.

It was not.

Samuel flinched the first time the wand approached his eye, blinked during the second attempt, and left a black mark beneath his lashes during the third. He stared at the smudge in disbelief.

“How does anyone do this every morning?”

A cotton swab and several frustrated minutes later, the damage was mostly repaired. Blush proved less dangerous, although his first attempt made him look feverish. Lipstick was easier until he noticed one corner sat slightly higher than the other.

He wiped it off and tried again.

When he finally leaned back, Samantha still looked less polished than she had at St. Catherine’s. The absence of foundation and concealer was noticeable to him, if perhaps not to anyone else. But the color on her cheeks and lips helped, and the mascara softened her eyes enough to complete the illusion.

Believable.

That was all he needed.

He placed his wallet, keys, phone, and lipstick inside the casual handbag the girls had packed. When he instinctively tried to slide his phone into the skirt pocket, he discovered it was barely large enough to hold two fingers.

“I miss real pockets.”

The complaint sounded ridiculous while he stood in front of the mirror wearing a skirt.

He took one final look around the room, then opened the door.

Walking through his own house as Samantha felt more unsettling than leaving Riley’s ever had. Family photographs lined the hallway: Samuel at Christmas, Samuel in a baseball uniform, Samuel standing awkwardly beside Lily during a vacation neither of them had wanted to take.

His own face watched him pass.

Outside, the street was quiet. A sprinkler clicked rhythmically across a neighbor’s lawn, and somewhere nearby a dog barked twice before losing interest.

No one rushed outside. No curtains moved.

Samantha crossed the driveway alone.

He opened his car and smoothed the skirt beneath him as he sat, then paused with one hand on the door.

Another habit he had learned in his crash course in girliness.

The appointment was across town, but he had left early enough to stop for coffee. He didn’t like the coffee he could make at home. By the time he parked outside the café, it felt like an unnecessary test, but he needed that coffee.

He nearly drove away.

Instead, he adjusted the handbag strap over his shoulder and walked inside.

The café smelled of espresso, warm bread, and vanilla syrup. A short line curved past a display case filled with pastries. Samuel joined it and immediately became aware of how differently strangers responded to Samantha.

A man held the door for her. An employee stepped aside with an apologetic smile. A woman passing with a stroller glanced at her outfit and smiled as though they shared some private understanding.

None of it was dramatic.

That almost made it stranger.

When his turn came, the barista greeted him with the automatic friendliness of someone several hours into a shift.

“What can I get started for you?”

“A medium iced vanilla latte, please.”

“Sure. What’s the name?”

“Samu—”

The first syllable escaped before he could stop it.

His stomach tightened.

“Samantha,” he corrected. “Sorry.”

The barista did not react. “Samantha. Got it.”

Samuel moved aside, pretending his heart had not started pounding.

A few minutes later, the barista set a plastic cup on the counter.

“Vanilla latte for Samantha.”

His name—or her name—was written across the side in black marker.

He picked it up and left before he could stare at it too long.

The salon occupied the second floor of a renovated brick building a few blocks away. Its reception area was bright without feeling clinical, with large windows, pale wood counters, and shelves filled with products Samuel did not recognize.

The receptionist looked up as he entered.

“Good morning. You must be Samantha.”

“I am.”

“We’ve been expecting you. Emily will be right with you.”

That sentence should not have made him nervous, but it did.

A woman in her early thirties appeared from behind a partition a moment later. She wore black from head to toe, her dark hair twisted into a loose knot, with several pencils and a comb tucked through it.

“Samantha?”

Samuel stood. “Yes.”

“I’m Emily. I’ll be your stylist today.” She shook his hand, then looked him over with quick professional attention. Not staring. Assessing. “Come on back. We have a lot to do, but I promise none of it involves suffering.”

He followed her into a private consultation area with a wide mirror and a rack of fabric drapes arranged by color.

Emily glanced at the notes on her clipboard. “So today we’re doing a color analysis, basic makeup, wig care, simple styling, and a natural manicure. The goal is for you to leave knowing how to maintain everything yourself.”

“That sounds ambitious.”

“It only sounds ambitious because salons enjoy making ordinary things sound expensive.”

Samuel laughed before he could stop himself.

The color analysis came first. Emily placed one fabric after another beneath his face: bright white, cream, coral, burgundy, pale blue, charcoal, warm brown.

At first, Samuel saw no difference.

Emily changed the fabric again. “Look beneath your eyes.”

He did.

“With this shade, the shadows look stronger.” She replaced it with a softer blue. “And now?”

He leaned closer.

The difference was subtle, but it was there.

“Oh.”

“There it is.”

By the end, Emily had narrowed Samantha’s palette to cool, muted shades: dusty blues, soft pinks, gray-green, lavender, charcoal instead of harsh black.

“Soft Summer,” she declared, circling it on the page.

Samuel studied the collection of muted swatches. “That sounds like a candle.”

“It probably is.”

Makeup followed.

Emily cleaned away his uneven attempts without comment and demonstrated each step on one side of his face. She kept the lesson deliberately simple, concentrating on the three products he already owned.

“Mascara first,” she said. “It’s easier to fix before you’ve done anything else.”

That would have been useful information two hours ago, he thought.

She showed him how to wipe excess product from the wand, how to look slightly downward, and how to wait for a smudge to dry before removing it. The blush went higher than he had placed it at home, and the lipstick required far less pressure than he had used.

Then Emily cleaned that side and handed him the products.

“Your turn.”

His mascara smudged anyway.

Emily passed him a cotton swab without a word.

The blush was uneven.

She showed him how to blend it.

The lipstick took two attempts.

When he finally finished, Emily tilted her head, considering his reflection. “Not bad.”

“That sounded almost sincere.”

“It was completely sincere. I charge extra for false encouragement.”

The wig took longer.

Emily removed it carefully, and Samuel had to resist the urge to lower his head. Without it, seated beneath the salon lights in a skirt and makeup, he felt abruptly exposed.

If Emily found the contrast unusual, she gave no indication.

She turned the wig inside out and examined the cap, lace, and fibers. “You’ve been brushing it dry.”

It was not a question.

“Is that bad?”

“It’s not a crime, but I may have to report you.”

She showed him where the fibers had begun to tangle and explained how to wash, condition, dry, and store it properly. Once cleaned and restyled, the waves looked softer than Samuel remembered them ever being.

Emily positioned it again, adjusted the hairline, and taught him three uncomplicated styles: tucked behind one ear, a low ponytail, and a half-up twist secured with a small clip.

Nothing elaborate.

Nothing he could not recreate alone.

The manicure was even less dramatic. Emily filed his nails into a natural shape, buffed them, and applied a clear strengthening coat.

“They barely look different,” Samuel said.

“That’s the idea. People notice neglected hands more than polished ones.”

He examined them beneath the light. They did look better. Unfortunately, they also looked polished enough that Lily might notice.

Emily must have read something in his expression.

“Clear coat comes off easily,” she said. “Though I wouldn’t worry. Most people are far less observant than we imagine.”

Samuel looked at her in the mirror.

Her attention had already returned to packing away the manicure tools.

At the end of the appointment, Emily handed him a folder containing his color palette, clothing suggestions, wig-care instructions, and a shopping list for the cosmetics he would eventually need. “Your homework,” she said.

“Foundation, concealer, powder, proper brushes, makeup remover,” Samuel read. “This is a lot.”

“You don’t need to buy an entire department store today. Start with the makeup. Clothes can wait until you have someone to stop you from making regrettable decisions.”

“I have three people for that.”

“Excellent. Bring all three.”

She walked him back toward the front of the salon, then paused beside the reception desk.

“One last thing.”

Samuel turned.

Emily reached up and adjusted a nearly invisible strand along the edge of the wig. Her movements were gentle and matter-of-fact.

“Your placement is good,” she said quietly. “But when you wear it, you keep checking whether it has moved.”

Samuel went still.

“It hasn’t,” Emily continued. “And the more nervous you look, the more attention you invite.”

He did not know what to say.

Emily met his eyes in the mirror beside them. There was no accusation in her expression. No curiosity. Only calm understanding.

“People come here for all kinds of reasons, Samantha. They get to decide which parts of themselves belong to everyone else.”

For a moment, the salon seemed unnaturally silent.

Then Emily smiled and stepped back.

“I don’t know you very well, but you seem very brave to me.”

Samuel let out a breath that was almost a laugh.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now go practice your mascara before it develops a personal grudge.”

Outside, the afternoon light seemed sharper after hours beneath salon bulbs.

Samuel sat in the car with the folder resting on his lap. He looked at the color swatches, the shopping list, and the pages of instructions that assumed Samantha would continue existing long enough to need all of them.

For once, the thought did not send him into panic.

Only exhaustion.

He took out his phone and opened the group chat.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Skirt

Three names waited beneath the title.

Natalie. Maddie. Riley.

Samuel rested his thumbs over the keyboard, unsure how much to explain. In the end, he typed only two words.

Samuel:
I survived.

The Price of Sacrifice

The three sets of dots disappeared almost as quickly as they had appeared.

Then the messages arrived all at once.

Maddie:
YOU SURVIVED!!!

Natalie:
How did it go?

Riley:
Send a picture.

Samuel stared at the screen.

Samuel:
Hello to you too, Riley.

Riley:
Picture first. Manners later.

He glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror. Emily had left the wig in loose waves, with one side tucked neatly behind his ear. The makeup was softer than Natalie usually made it, but far more convincing than what he had managed that morning.

Samuel took a quick photograph from the shoulders up.

He examined it twice before sending it.

The responses were immediate.

Maddie:
OH MY GOD SHE’S ALIVE

Natalie:
You look really pretty.

Riley:
The hair is better.

Samuel:
Thank you for the overwhelming support.

Riley:
That was support.

Maddie:
Wait.

Maddie:
Where are you right now?

Samuel looked through the windshield at the salon entrance.

Samuel:
Still outside the salon. I am reading the long list of items that Samantha needs to survive now.

Natalie:
We’re at Westbridge Mall.

Maddie:
COME HERE.

Samuel smiled despite himself.

Maddie:
You said Emily gave you homework.

Samuel:
She gave me a list.

Riley:
Even better. Bring it.

Samuel:
I was planning to go home.

Natalie:
You’re already dressed, and we’re only ten minutes away.

Riley:
Also, you are not buying foundation alone.

Samuel looked at the shopping list inside the folder.

Foundation. Concealer. Powder. Brushes. Makeup remover.

He had no idea what half the notes beside them meant.

Samuel:
Fine. On my way!

Maddie:
FOOD COURT. FIFTEEN MINUTES.

Samuel set the phone in the cup holder.

The appointment had already lasted hours, his scalp was beginning to feel warm beneath the wig, and every part of him wanted to lock the bedroom door and become Samuel again.

Instead, he started the car.

Westbridge Mall was busier than the café had been.

Teenagers drifted between stores in noisy groups. Parents pushed strollers past crowded displays. Music from three different storefronts overlapped near the entrance, creating a rhythm that belonged to none of them.

Samuel adjusted the handbag on his shoulder and stepped inside.

He had visited Westbridge dozens of times as himself. He knew where the bookstore was, which food-court restaurant had the shortest line, and which escalator always made an alarming sound halfway up.

As Samantha, the place felt unfamiliar.

People looked at her differently.

Not openly. Most glances were quick and absentminded, but there were more of them than Samuel was used to receiving. A man moved aside to let her pass. A woman smiled at her feminine outfit. Two boys near an electronics store looked over, whispered something, and laughed.

Samuel kept walking.

He found his friends at a table beside the food court.

Maddie saw him first.

She stood so abruptly that her chair scraped against the floor.

“There she is!”

Several people turned.

Samuel stopped ten feet away. “Could you announce it louder? I don’t think the parking garage heard you.”

Maddie ignored him and wrapped both arms around him.

“You look adorable.”

“I look like I’ve been in a salon for four hours.”

“Exactly. Adorable.”

Natalie hugged him next, more gently.

“It really does look good.”

“Thank you, I think.”

Riley remained seated, studying him over the top of her drink.

Samuel looked back at her. “Well?”

“The belt works.”

He glanced down at Lily’s brown belt. He was still unsure of his decision. Beneath the girly outfit, Samuel was still there. He was not dressed as Samantha because of a personal resolution. If it was his choice, he would not be dressed like that. Maybe he would not even be there.

Samuel sat beside them and placed Emily’s folder on the table.

Maddie immediately reached for it.

“Ooh. Secret documents.”

“They’re color swatches.”

Natalie opened the folder carefully. “Soft Summer.” Then, she found the cosmetics list. “This is manageable.”

Samuel looked at the page. “It’s an entire language.”

“It’s foundation and concealer.”

“There are numbers. And letters.”

“Those are shades.”

“That doesn’t make it less confusing.”

Riley stood and picked up her shopping bags. “Then stop complaining and come with us.”

Maddie took Samuel by the wrist. “Shopping trip.”

“I haven’t eaten.”

“You can eat after you become beautiful.”

“I spent four hours becoming beautiful.”

Riley started walking. “Then this should be quick.”

It wasn’t.

The cosmetics store was bright enough to expose every imperfection Samuel had ever possessed. Product displays stretched from floor to ceiling, organized by brand, function, finish, shade, and several other categories no one had explained to him.

A sales associate approached.

“Can I help you find something?”

Samuel opened his mouth.

Riley handed her Emily’s list.

“She needs all of this.”

The associate smiled at Samantha. “We can definitely help with that.”

Samuel watched as his friends dispersed through the store with alarming confidence.

Natalie compared shades against the notes from the salon. Riley rejected two mascaras because their brushes were “useless.” Maddie returned carrying a glitter palette that did not appear anywhere on the list.

Maddie held it beside Samuel’s face. “Imagine the possibilities.”

“I’m trying not to.”

The associate matched foundation along his jaw, then tested concealer beneath one eye. Samuel sat beneath the lights while strangers passed, too aware of the smooth denim against his thighs and the employee’s hand near his face.

None of the customers seemed interested.

No one stared.

By the time they finished, the basket contained foundation, concealer, powder, mascara, blush, lipstick, brushes, a makeup sponge, cleanser, and several products Samuel suspected Maddie had added when no one was looking.

At the register, he removed a small bottle of glitter setting spray.

Maddie gasped. “Traitor.”

“You tried to hide it beneath the cotton pads.”

“It was a gift.”

“You were making me pay for it.”

“A gift to yourself.”

Samuel returned it to the display.

The total still made him wince.

Riley glanced at the screen. “Welcome to being a woman.”

“That’s not encouraging.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be.”

Clothing took even longer.

All three of them insisted Samantha needed “options.”

They moved from store to store, trying everything from casual tops and jeans to dresses Samantha had no conceivable reason to own. The girls treated the entire afternoon as one of the essential pleasures of being a girl.

To Samuel’s surprise, he began to understand why. He would never admit that to them. If any of his friends noticed he was enjoying himself, he would never hear the end of it.

By the end of the afternoon, the girls had convinced him to buy several pieces he was certain Samantha did not need. He drew the line at a plaid skirt after Maddie described it as “dangerously cute” and said it reminded her of Samantha’s schoolgirl era. By the time they left the store, all four of them carried bags.

“We’re done,” Samuel announced.

Maddie looked offended. “We haven’t even gone to Victoria’s Secret.”

Samuel nearly walked into a display sign.

“Why would we go there?”

Natalie lifted an eyebrow. “Because you need underwear that actually belongs to you.”

“I have underwear.”

“You have whatever we threw into that suitcase before graduation.”

“We gave you four pairs of panties none of us had ever worn and the bra you’re wearing right now.”

“It works.”

Maddie grinned. “Now you have to go.”

Victoria’s Secret smelled faintly of perfume and fabric softener.

Samuel stayed between Natalie and Maddie as though they were escorting him through hostile territory.

The first section was manageable. Simple cotton panties. Neutral colors. Nothing with unnecessary lace, bows, or words printed across the back.

Then Maddie found a bright pink pair.

“No.”

“You didn’t even see them.”

“I saw enough.”

Natalie handed him a package of black and beige underwear. “These are practical.”

“Thank you.”

Riley added a second package. “And these won’t show under lighter clothes.”

Samuel looked at the price. “Do they contain gold?”

“No. They contain fabric that won’t fall apart after three washes.”

A sales associate asked whether they needed help finding his bra size.

Samuel felt every muscle in his body tighten.

Natalie answered before he had to. “We’re okay, thanks.”

The woman smiled and moved on.

Samuel exhaled.

Maddie lowered her voice. “You know, you’ll need to buy bras too.”

“This one will work.”

“NO. You need more than one”

“Fine.”

The girls helped him choose several bras in the same size as the one he was already wearing. Samuel stared at the combination of numbers and letters on the tag as though it were some kind of code. Natalie gave him a brief explanation of how bra sizing worked, which somehow left him with more questions than before.

On the way, they passed the sleepwear section.

Satin robes hung beside slips and nightgowns in soft pinks, deep reds, and black. Samuel’s eyes moved over them before he could stop himself.

A black satin nightgown hung near the end of the rack.

Simple shape. Thin straps. A narrow line of lace around the neckline.

His stomach tightened. He forced himself to look away before any of the girls noticed.

“What?” Natalie asked.

“Nothing.”

She followed his gaze toward the sleepwear.

“Do you need pajamas?” Natalie asked with an amused smile.

Samuel gave her a look. They both knew Samantha had no reason to need sleepwear.

 

Riley looked at him, but before she could say anything, Maddie held up a satin robe covered in pale flowers.

“This would make Samantha look like a rich widow.”

Samuel stared at her.

“Why a widow?”

“I don’t know. It has energy.”

The moment passed.

He paid for the undergarments and left the store with his friends.

They stopped for drinks before saying goodbye.

The girls wanted to keep shopping, but Samuel reminded them that they had already been at the mall for nearly four hours.

In the parking lot, they gathered beside Natalie’s car.

“This was fun,” Maddie said, hugging Samuel again.

“It was expensive.”

“That’s how you know it was fun.”

Natalie smiled. “Text us when you get home.”

“I will.”

Riley looked at him for a moment longer than the others.

“Practice removing the makeup properly.”

“I have instructions.”

“That wasn’t what I said.”

“I’ll practice.”

“I know you don’t like spending any more time as Samantha than you have to,” Riley said. “But try not to make every second of it miserable.”

Samuel nodded, giving them a forced but sincere smile. “I’ll do my best.”

Samuel watched them climb into Natalie’s car. Maddie waved through the window as they pulled away.

For the first time since leaving the salon, he was alone.

The mall entrance stood behind him.

His own car was only three rows away.

He could go home.

He should go home.

Instead, he waited until Natalie’s car disappeared around the corner.

Then he turned and walked back inside.

The second visit to Victoria’s Secret felt completely different.

Without the girls beside him, every step seemed louder. Samuel went directly to the sleepwear section, afraid that hesitation would make him lose his nerve.

The black nightgown still hung where he had seen it.

He checked the size, lifted it from the rack, and carried it to the register folded over one arm.

The sales associate smiled as she scanned it.

“This one’s beautiful.”

Samuel forced himself to return the smile. “I’ve loved it since I saw it.”

She folded the satin into tissue paper and placed it inside a pink-striped bag.

Samuel paid, thanked her, and left before she could ask anything else.

No one stopped him.

No one cared.

Still, the secret bag felt heavier than all the others combined.

He stopped at the end of the driveway and checked for Lily’s car. It was gone.

Although the house appeared empty, he carried the bags upstairs carefully and locked his bedroom door. The cosmetics went into the suitcase. The new clothes followed. He removed Lily’s belt carefully, wiped an invisible mark from the buckle, and returned it to the same hook in her closet.

Only then did he take off the wig.

The relief was immediate.

He removed the makeup according to Emily’s instructions, washed his face twice, and changed back into his own clothes. By the time he finished, Samantha had disappeared into folded fabric and plastic shopping bags.

Almost.

The Victoria’s Secret bag remained on the bed.

Samuel took out the nightgown.

The satin slipped cool and smooth between his fingers. It looked smaller outside the store, less like clothing and more like evidence.

He folded it and placed it at the bottom of the suitcase.

The front door opened downstairs.

“Samuel?” Lily called.

He shoved the suitcase beneath the bed.

“Up here.”

A male voice answered something he could not understand.

Her boyfriend.

Samuel closed the closet, checked the room once, and sat at his desk as though he had been there all day.

A few minutes later, Lily knocked once before opening the door.

“You’re home.”

“Obviously.”

She looked past him toward the shopping bags. “Buy anything?”

Samuel’s pulse jumped.

“Just some stuff.”

“For your mysterious friends?”

“No.”

She narrowed her eyes, but her boyfriend called from downstairs.

“We ordered pizza,” she said. “Come down if you want some.”

“I will.”

Lily left.

Samuel waited until her footsteps disappeared before looking toward the suitcase beneath the bed.

His phone vibrated.

One message.

He already knew who it was from and hoped he was wrong. He wasn’t. His first thought was right.

Hey, Princess.

A second message appeared.

How was your salon appointment? Did you enjoy it?

Samuel stared at the screen.

Then another arrived.

I hope you’ve already bought what I asked for.

His eyes moved toward the suitcase.

He typed slowly.

Yes.

The reply came immediately.

Good girl.

His jaw tightened.

Put it on.

Samuel’s thumbs hovered over the keyboard.

Lily is home.

Three dots appeared.

Then lock the door.

Another message followed.

I only want one picture. Neckline and straps. Nothing else. I just want to make sure you have it on.

Samuel closed his eyes.

Downstairs, Lily laughed at something her boyfriend said. The television turned on. The house felt full again, but none of it made him feel safer.

He locked the bedroom door.

The nightgown was cool when he pulled it over his head. The satin settled against his body, lighter than he had expected. Thin straps rested on his shoulders, and the narrow lace trim lay across his chest.

He did not put on the wig.

He did not apply makeup.

He framed the photograph so his face remained outside it: only the black satin, one strap, and the edge of lace.

His finger rested above the screen.

Then he pressed Send.

A moment later, the reply appeared.

Perfect. Have a good night!

Samuel lowered the phone.

From downstairs, Lily called that the pizza was getting cold.

He removed the nightgown, folded it, and hid it beneath the rest of Samantha’s clothes.

Then he unlocked the door and went down to dinner.

Willow House

For several days, nothing happened.

He used the time to deal with the less dramatic parts of his future. There were university forms to complete, financial documents to review, an advising appointment to schedule, and an online orientation module that seemed determined to explain parking permits in greater detail than necessary.

The rest of his time went to his car.

He had been meaning to work on it since before graduation, but St. Catherine’s, Samantha, and the increasingly complicated aftermath of both had consumed most of his attention. Now he spent long afternoons in the garage with the hood raised, his oldest clothes stained with grease, a radio playing from the workbench, and an assortment of tools spread around him.

The work was familiar. Predictable.

A bolt either turned or it didn’t. A belt was worn or it wasn’t. An engine did not ask him to wear lipstick, send photographs, or answer to a different name.

For a few hours at a time, he belonged entirely to himself again.

That was what made the message harder when it finally arrived.

Samuel was sitting at his desk that evening, comparing course descriptions, when his phone vibrated beside the keyboard. There was no name attached to the conversation. There never was.

Everything is arranged. Willow House is expecting Samantha tomorrow. Be there at nine.

He read the message twice.

Part of him had been waiting for it. Another part had begun to hope the silence meant the whole thing had somehow ended.

Samuel set the phone facedown and stared at the half-completed schedule on his laptop.

Willow House was not completely unfamiliar to him. He had seen the name on donation boxes around town and attached to occasional fundraising announcements, though he had never given it much thought. A quick search had told him the rest.

The organization supported single mothers and their children through educational programs, family assistance, and reliable care outside school hours. During the academic year, it offered tutoring, homework help, donated school supplies, and occasional evening programs. Summer created a different problem. Schools closed, but jobs did not. Willow House filled that gap with a weekday program where children could spend the day reading, playing, working on art projects, and participating in supervised activities while their mothers were at work.

It was not a massive institution. The photographs showed one main building, a modest playground, several classrooms, and a multipurpose hall used for community events. Between employees and volunteers, the summer program appeared to involve no more than a few dozen people.

None of that made Samuel feel better.

The work itself sounded worthwhile.

The fact that Samantha had been volunteered for it did not.

He turned the phone over again.

There were no further instructions.

For the rest of the evening, he tried to concentrate on his university schedule. Instead, he kept wondering what exactly had been arranged, how much Willow House had been told, and what Samantha was expected to do once she arrived.

The following morning, Samuel waited for Lily to leave.

He sat at the kitchen table pretending to read an email while she moved through the house collecting everything she had forgotten. First her purse. Then her travel mug. Then the folder she had left on the counter. She reached the front door, stopped, and returned for her phone.

“You know,” Samuel said, “most people gather their belongings before they leave.”

“Most people don’t have an internship designed to destroy their will to live.”

“You’ve been there two weeks.”

“And look what it’s done to me.”

She found her phone beneath a cushion and pointed it at him. “Are you staying home today?”

“Probably not.”

Lily paused.

“Seeing your mysterious friends again?”

Samuel kept his eyes on the laptop. “Maybe.”

The garage door closed a minute later. Samuel listened until her car had disappeared down the street, then waited another thirty seconds before shutting the laptop.

His transformation took less time than it had before the salon appointment.

Not little time. Just less.

He put on Samantha’s underwear, fastened the bra, and stood in front of the suitcase while trying to decide what a new volunteer was supposed to wear.

The message had not mentioned a dress code. That meant either there wasn’t one or someone had deliberately decided not to warn him.

He chose the most casual option available.

The jeans were the pair Natalie, Maddie, and Riley had insisted he buy at the mall.

“I already own jeans,” Samuel had protested when Natalie placed them over his arm.

“Samuel owns jeans,” Riley had replied.

Maddie had nodded solemnly. “Samantha cannot spend her entire life stealing clothes from a man.”

“He isn’t a man. He’s me.”

At the time, Samuel had assumed the distinction was another excuse for them to make him buy something. Now, as he stepped into the jeans and pulled them over his hips, he saw what they had meant.

They were undeniably different from his own.

The denim was softer and more fitted. The rise sat higher, and the pockets seemed designed by someone with a personal objection to carrying objects.

Still, they fit.

More than that, they made the lower half of the outfit look deliberate in a way Samuel’s regular jeans never would have.

He disliked when his friends were right.

The black T-shirt seemed ordinary until he put it on. Its sleeves were shorter, the fabric lighter, and the cut narrowed slightly at the waist. It also settled differently over Samantha’s bra, making the shape beneath it more noticeable than he had expected from something so simple.

Samuel adjusted the neckline, then turned sideways in front of the mirror.

The outfit was about as casual as Samantha could look while remaining unmistakably Samantha.

He added soft pale-blue Mary Jane flats made from subtly textured fabric, with rounded toes and narrow straps across the insteps. The result looked feminine but practical enough for a first day spent filling out paperwork or carrying boxes.

At least, that was what he hoped.

The wig came next.

Emily’s instructions had sounded simple in the salon: secure the cap, align the front, adjust the sides, then work through the fibers gently from the ends upward. Alone in his bedroom, each step required far more concentration.

He brushed the light-brown waves until they fell smoothly around his shoulders and tucked one side behind his ear.

Makeup went better than it had the week before.

The mascara still required several attempts. The blush needed correcting. He removed and reapplied the lipstick after noticing the line had drifted beyond one corner of his mouth.

But when he finished, Samantha looked presentable.

Samuel picked up the handbag and checked his reflection one final time.

“Volunteer work,” he murmured. “How dangerous could it be?”

The question followed him downstairs.

 

Willow House stood on a quiet street near the edge of a residential neighborhood.

The building had probably served another purpose decades earlier. It was two stories tall, built from warm red brick, with white trim around the windows and a covered entrance facing a small parking lot. A newer wing extended from one side, connected to the original structure by a glass hallway. Behind a low fence, brightly colored playground equipment rose above a stretch of carefully maintained grass.

A painted wooden sign stood near the driveway.

WILLOW HOUSE FAMILY SUPPORT CENTER

Beneath it, in smaller letters:

Helping Families Grow Stronger

Samuel parked near the back of the lot.

Several cars were already there, along with two minivans and a small bus bearing the Willow House logo. Women in casual clothing moved between the vehicles and the building, some carrying bags of supplies. Through the open playground gate, he could hear children shouting.

Samuel opened the door.

The reception area was smaller than he had expected. A curved desk occupied one side of the room, opposite a seating area furnished with mismatched but comfortable chairs. Children’s drawings covered a large bulletin board beneath a banner reading OUR SUMMER AT WILLOW HOUSE. A glass display case held photographs from previous programs, volunteer certificates, and several engraved plaques thanking local donors.

The woman behind the desk looked up as Samantha entered.

She was in her fifties, with short silver-blond hair and reading glasses hanging from a chain around her neck.

“Good morning.”

Samuel tightened his grip on the handbag strap.

“Hi. I’m Samantha. The new volunteer.”

The words came out more nervously than he intended.

The receptionist’s face brightened immediately.

“Samantha Brooks?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, wonderful. We’re so glad you made it.” She stood and came around the desk. “I’m Helen. I’ve been told we were expecting you, but I didn’t realize you’d be here this early.”

Samuel glanced toward the clock. It was eight fifty-three.

“I didn’t want to be late.”

“You’re going to fit in just fine.”

The warmth of her welcome made him feel strangely guilty.

Helen gestured toward the hallway. “We’ve been hoping to fill that last volunteer position for weeks. Summers are always difficult, but this one has been particularly tight. A few of our regular volunteers had to change their plans at the last minute.”

“So I heard.”

“We really are grateful. The children arrive with more energy every morning, and somehow we have less of it every year.”

Samuel smiled politely.

Helen picked up the phone at the reception desk and pressed one of the internal extensions.

“Marianne? Samantha is here.”

She listened for a moment.

“Perfect. I’ll keep her with me.”

After replacing the receiver, she pointed toward the collection of drawings on the wall.

“Marianne coordinates the summer volunteers. She’ll walk you through everything today.”

A door opened at the end of the hallway, and a woman hurried toward them. She looked to be in her late thirties, dressed in navy slacks, a cream blouse, and practical flats. A staff badge hung from a blue lanyard around her neck.

“Samantha?”

Samuel nodded.

“I’m Marianne Cole.” She shook his hand with the practiced confidence of someone who introduced herself many times each week. “Welcome to Willow House.”

“Thank you.”

Marianne thanked Helen and led Samantha through a set of double doors.

Marianne walked quickly but explained everything with ease.

“This wing is primarily for our summer program. We divide the children into age groups, though they come together for meals, outdoor activities, and some of the larger projects. The younger group uses the rooms on this side. Older children are farther down the hall.”

They passed an open doorway where a group of children sat on the floor around a volunteer reading aloud. A little boy near the back looked toward the hallway and stared openly at Samantha until Marianne moved on.

“The kitchen and dining room are through there,” she continued. “The multipurpose room is at the end. We use it for indoor games, staff meetings, performances, and community events. Our offices are upstairs, along with two smaller meeting rooms.”

“How many children are here?”

“This summer? Thirty-two enrolled, though daily attendance varies depending on their mothers’ schedules. We have eleven regular employees involved in the program and a larger group of volunteers rotating throughout the week. Willow House as a whole stays fairly small. Even when you include administrative staff and everyone helping with events, there are fewer than forty of us.”

That explained why the vacancy had mattered.

One missing volunteer in an organization this size would not disappear into a spreadsheet.

Marianne pushed open a door marked VOLUNTEER SERVICES. Her office was narrow but orderly, with two chairs facing a desk, filing cabinets along one wall, and a calendar covered in color-coded notes. A garment rack stood near the window.

“Have a seat. We’ll go over your schedule first.”

For the next twenty minutes, Marianne explained the summer program’s routine. Samantha would normally arrive before the children, help prepare the activity spaces, remain with an assigned group through the day, and stay for a brief staff meeting after the final child had been collected. Duties shifted according to need. Some days she might assist with reading and crafts. Other days she would supervise games, serve lunch, or help prepare materials for special projects.

Samuel listened carefully, occasionally writing notes on the folder she gave him.

His schedule had already been entered.

Three days a week.

Eight thirty until four thirty, though meetings sometimes ran later.

Marianne slid two forms across the desk. “These are acknowledgments for the policies we’ll cover today. Most of your onboarding was completed before you arrived, so this is mainly confirmation.”

Samuel looked over the pages.

He signed where Marianne indicated.

“Now,” she said, rising, “uniforms.”

Samuel glanced toward the garment rack.

Marianne opened a cabinet instead and removed two opaque plastic packages. Each had a white label with Samantha’s name and size printed on it.

“We give every regular summer volunteer two,” she explained. “That way, when one inevitably ends up covered in paint, juice, glue, or something no one can identify, you still have a clean one for the next day.”

She placed both packages on the desk.

“You can request another if you need it. Just let me know.”

Samuel touched one of the plastic bags. The folded fabric inside was impossible to see clearly.

“Thank you.”

“We also need your photograph for the staff badge. Wearing it will let you use the volunteer entrance after today, and it helps the mothers, children, and other staff learn who everyone is.”

“Okay. Where do we take it?”

“Downstairs, but you’ll need to change first.”

Samuel looked at her.

Marianne smiled, apparently mistaking his silence for confusion.

“We photograph everyone in uniform. You may as well stay dressed afterward since you’ll be spending the rest of the day with us.”

“Of course.”

There was always a uniform.

Samuel picked up the packages.

“The changing room is across the hall,” Marianne said. “Take whichever one you open first. They’re identical.”

 

Samuel entered the nearest stall and locked it behind him.

For a moment, he stood with the plastic package in his hands.

The outfit he had chosen that morning suddenly seemed like an enormous waste of time.

He tore open the bag.

White fabric appeared first.

A blouse.

It had short sleeves, a small rounded collar, and simple white buttons down the front. Beneath it lay pale sky-blue fabric patterned with broad, clearly defined vertical white stripes.

Samuel lifted the second garment.

Of course it was a dress.

More specifically, it was a pinafore. The wide shoulder straps joined a square bib in the front, leaving space for the white blouse beneath it. The waist was fitted without being tight, and below it the skirt opened into a fuller, softly gathered shape that appeared designed to fall to the knee. A small Willow House emblem had been embroidered in white near the upper corner of the bib.

It was practical.

Modest.

Clean.

And unmistakably feminine.

Samuel examined it for several seconds before looking at himself in the mirror.

“You couldn’t have used polo shirts?”

The uniform offered no defense.

He removed the black T-shirt and jeans, folding them carefully onto the bench. The blouse came first. Its shape was less fitted than the shirt he had worn, but the thin fabric still settled over the bra in a way that made the garment beneath it impossible for Samuel to forget.

The pinafore fastened with a concealed zipper along one side. He stepped into it, pulled it upward, and slid his arms through the wide straps. The waist fit more comfortably than he expected.

He closed the zipper and smoothed the skirt.

The broad white stripes brightened the pale sky-blue fabric without making it look childish. Paired with the white blouse and the pale-blue Mary Jane flats he had worn that morning, the uniform had the polished cheerfulness of something designed to reassure parents.

Samuel turned toward the mirror.

The girl looking back at him seemed younger than she had in jeans, though not quite like a student. The square bib and fuller, neatly gathered skirt made her look approachable, organized, and far more prepared to supervise children than Samuel felt.

A small pocket was hidden along each side seam.

He tested one.

His entire phone fit inside.

“At least someone here believes in basic human rights.”

He placed his folded clothes and the second uniform in one bag Marianne had provided earlier and left it inside the changing room. Then, he returned to her office.

Marianne looked up and smiled.

“Perfect. How does it fit?”

“Fine.”

“Nothing pulling at the shoulders?”

Samuel moved his arms experimentally. “No, it’s okay.”

“Good. The company that supplies them is usually reliable, but their idea of sizing changes whenever they feel creative.”

She stepped around the desk and adjusted one of the pinafore straps where it had twisted slightly.

“There. You’ll also need to keep your hair tied back while you’re working directly with the children.”

Samuel touched the loose waves around his shoulders.

“Oh.”

“It’s mostly hygiene and safety. We deal with food, paint, glue, outdoor activities, and children who occasionally grab whatever happens to be within reach. Long hair becomes inconvenient very quickly.”

That seemed reasonable.

Unfortunately.

“I don’t have anything to tie it with.”

“We keep extras.”

Marianne opened a drawer and handed him a plain brown elastic.

Samuel had practiced a low ponytail exactly once, under Emily’s supervision. At the salon, it had seemed manageable. Standing in Marianne’s office while she waited, his fingers abruptly forgot what they had learned.

He gathered the hair at the nape of his neck, trying not to pull hard enough to shift the wig. Several strands escaped around his face. He looped the elastic once, nearly lost it, then managed a second loop before deciding a third might be dangerous.

The ponytail sat slightly off-center.

Samuel looked at it in the small mirror beside the filing cabinet.

Marianne considered the result.

“You may want it a little tighter once you start moving around, but that will work for today.”

The fact that she did not offer to fix it was somehow worse.

“Great.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

Samuel suspected people had been saying that to him far too often.

 

The photograph was taken against a pale wall near reception.

Helen set a small camera onto a tripod while Marianne adjusted the staff badge equipment on the desk beside her.

“Stand on the blue mark,” Helen instructed.

Samuel stepped into place.

The uniform skirt brushed his knees. The low ponytail rested against the back of his neck, and the small embroidered Willow House logo sat prominently on the bib.

The flash went off.

A few minutes later, a plastic card emerged from the small printer on the reception desk. Marianne attached it to a dark-blue lanyard and handed it to him.

Samuel looked down.

The photograph was better than he had expected. Samantha’s makeup appeared natural, her light-brown hair neatly pulled back, and the white blouse brightened her face against the navy uniform.

Beneath the photograph, black letters read:

SAMANTHA BROOKS
SUMMER VOLUNTEER

There it was.

Not written in marker on a coffee cup.

Not typed in a private group chat.

Printed beside the Willow House logo, laminated and official.

Samuel slipped the lanyard over his head. The badge settled against the pinafore bib.

“Welcome to the team,” Marianne said.

“Thank you.”

The words felt strange.

Not false.

Just strange.

 

The remainder of the day passed through policies, schedules, emergency procedures, and introductions Samuel struggled to remember.

He learned which doors remained locked during program hours, where the first-aid supplies were kept, and how children were released only to adults listed on their authorized pickup forms. Volunteers were never to be alone with a child behind a closed door. Any injury, argument, concerning statement, or unusual behavior had to be reported to a staff member.

By lunchtime, he had met enough people that the names began blurring together. Most welcomed him with the same relief Helen had shown. Several mentioned how badly they had needed another regular volunteer. One woman clasped both of Samantha’s hands and told her she was an answer to prayer, which seemed excessive considering Samuel had not yet done anything.

The children remained mostly at a distance. He saw them in the halls, heard them in the dining room, and passed the playground while one group organized a water-balloon relay. A few noticed the new uniform and stared. One girl offered a shy wave before hurrying after her friends.

Samuel returned it.

He spent the afternoon completing training modules and helping Marianne sort materials for the following week. It was not difficult work, but by four o’clock his scalp felt warm beneath the wig.

One by one, mothers arrived to collect their children.

The reception area filled with hurried greetings, backpacks, half-finished stories, and reminders about forgotten water bottles. Some women still wore office clothes. Others arrived in medical scrubs, restaurant uniforms, or work boots. Most looked tired.

The children rushed toward them anyway.

By four thirty, the halls had fallen quiet.

Marianne collected a folder from her office and motioned for Samantha to follow.

“We meet every afternoon after the last pickup. Usually twenty or thirty minutes, unless we’re preparing for an event or something caught fire.”

“Does that happen often?”

“Literally? No. Metaphorically? Constantly.”

The daily meeting took place in the multipurpose room. Folding tables had been arranged in a loose rectangle facing a portable whiteboard. Fewer than two dozen people occupied the chairs, some still wearing the same striped pinafores as Samantha, others dressed in staff polos or business-casual clothes. Coffee cups, water bottles, notebooks, and leftover craft supplies covered the tables.

Samuel entered beside Marianne.

Then he saw a familiar face.

Samuel stopped for half a step.

The knot in his stomach tightened so suddenly that he nearly missed whatever Marianne said beside him.

It was Daphne.

She was already seated near the front.

Unlike the summer volunteers, she did not wear the striped uniform. She had on tailored dark trousers, a pale-blue blouse with the sleeves folded neatly at her forearms, and understated flats. Her hair fell in smooth dark waves around her shoulders. A Willow House identification badge hung from a slim lanyard at her neck.

Daphne looked toward the door.

Their eyes met.

For a moment, her expression did not change.

Then she smiled.

She stood and approached them with the easy confidence of someone who belonged in the room.

“You must be Samantha.”

Samuel kept his face still.

“Yes. I am.”

Daphne extended her hand.

“Thank you so much for agreeing to volunteer. I’m Daphne. I’m handling logistics for our summer events this year, though I’ve been helping at Willow House in one way or another for a few years.”

Samuel accepted her hand.

Her grip was warm and brief.

“Nice to meet you,” Samuel said in Samantha’s practiced voice.

The lie came more smoothly than it should have.

Daphne’s smile remained perfectly pleasant.

“You too. I know your first day is mostly paperwork, but I promise it gets more interesting once the children are involved.” She glanced at the slightly uneven ponytail. “And louder.”

“So I’ve noticed.”

“If you have any questions, or if you need help finding anything, please come to me.”

For one second longer, Daphne held his gaze.

Nothing in her expression suggested recognition beyond what she had claimed. Nothing indicated that this meeting was anything other than an introduction between two strangers.

Then Marianne touched Samuel lightly on the arm.

“Let’s get you seated. We’re about to begin.”

Daphne stepped aside.

“I’ll see you around, Samantha.”

Samuel followed Marianne toward an empty chair.

 

Marianne began the meeting with attendance updates and a review of the following day’s activities.

Samuel tried to listen while remaining aware of Daphne several seats away. She took notes throughout the meeting, occasionally adding a date or correcting a delivery time when Marianne asked. She did not look toward him again.

Near the end, Marianne closed her folder.

“One final item before we leave. As most of you know, we’re approaching one of the more important evenings on the Willow House calendar.”

Daphne rose and moved toward the whiteboard.

“The Patron Reception,” she said.

Several people around the table nodded.

Daphne picked up a marker and wrote the date across the board.

“The invitations arrived this morning, so you’ll receive yours before you leave. For anyone new, the Patron Reception is our opportunity to thank the sponsors already supporting Willow House and introduce potential new partners to the summer program.”

She spoke without notes.

“It isn’t the annual gala itself. Think of it as the evening that helps make the gala—and a large part of the coming year—possible. We share the summer program’s progress, introduce some of the projects the children are preparing, and speak with donors about sponsorships, auction contributions, and underwriting.”

Samuel glanced toward the date.

The reception was just two weeks away.

“We need everyone there,” Daphne continued. “Not simply as extra hands. Sponsors respond to the people doing the actual work. They want to meet staff members and volunteers, hear your experiences, and see that Willow House is more than a name on a donation form.”

A young woman sitting beside Samuel leaned closer.

“Translation,” she whispered, “we smile at rich people while they drink tiny glasses of expensive water.”

Samuel turned slightly toward her.

She appeared about his age, with curly blond hair pulled into a loose bun and a volunteer badge that read JENNA.

Daphne continued speaking at the front.

“Dress expectations and assignments will be shared closer to the event. For now, please save the date and make sure we know about any unavoidable conflicts by the end of the week.”

Jenna lowered her voice again.

“They give everyone two tickets.”

“Why?”

“One for us and one for a guest.”

Samuel looked at her.

“A guest?”

“Date, boyfriend, girlfriend, friend, cousin. Whoever.”

“I don’t have a date.”

Jenna shrugged. “Neither do half the people here.”

“Then why give us two tickets?”

“Because the room looks better full, and unused tickets don’t impress sponsors.” She smiled. “You must bring somebody. That’s basically the only rule.”

At the front of the room, Daphne began passing a stack of cream envelopes down the tables.

One reached Samantha.

His name was written across the front in dark-blue ink.

Ms. Samantha Brooks

Samuel opened it carefully.

Inside was a heavy invitation edged in the same navy used throughout the Willow House branding.

THE BOARD AND STAFF OF WILLOW HOUSE
CORDIALLY INVITE
SAMANTHA BROOKS AND GUEST
TO THE ANNUAL PATRON RECEPTION

The rest of the card listed the date, time, and venue.

And guest.

Jenna glanced over.

“See? No escaping.”

Samuel looked toward Daphne.

She was discussing table arrangements with one of the staff members, her expression focused and professional. If she noticed him staring, she gave no indication.

That familiar knot formed again beneath his ribs.

Ms. Samantha Brooks had been invited to a reception.

And Samantha Brooks was supposed to arrive with someone beside her.

Samuel lowered his eyes to the second ticket.

Who was he supposed to ask?

Samantha Brooks and Guest

The thought refused to leave him alone.

Every name that came to mind carried a risk. Some people talked too much. Others would ask too many questions. Most simply wouldn’t believe him.

He couldn’t trust anyone with a secret this big.

Except for three.

That evening he was meeting Natalie, Maddie, and Riley. For the first time all day, he found himself looking forward to something. If anyone could help him figure out who to invite to the Patron Reception, it was them.

Maybe—if he was lucky—one of them would agree to go as Samantha’s guest.

Unfortunately, luck had not exactly been on his side lately.

 

Because of the Patron Reception, the afternoon staff meeting stretched much longer than usual. Daphne reviewed table assignments, sponsorship packets, catering schedules, and a list of volunteers who would greet donors at the entrance. By the time Marianne finally dismissed everyone, Samuel’s attention had drifted entirely to the clock on the back wall.

His phone vibrated inside the pocket of his pinafore.

Maddie: Samuel! Remember we’re meeting in 30 minutes!

Samuel’s stomach tightened.

He quickly calculated the timing in his head.

Twenty minutes to Riley’s house.

Five minutes to change.

Five minutes to spare.

It would be close, but manageable.

The moment the meeting ended, he excused himself and hurried toward the changing rooms.

He rounded the corner.

Stopped.

The door was locked.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

His backpack, his jeans, his T-shirt, and even the second volunteer uniform were still inside.

He tried the handle again.

Nothing.

“Is everything ok?”

Samuel turned.

Marianne was locking her office.

“The changing rooms close at six,” she said matter-of-factly. “So do the activity rooms. Only maintenance has keys after that.”

Samuel stared at the door another second.

“I… left my clothes in there.”

“I’m sure it won’t be a problem if you wear your uniform on your way home.”

Samuel forced a polite smile.

“Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

Marianne smiled back, completely unaware of the crisis she had just dismissed.

“See you tomorrow, Samantha.”

“See you.”

As soon as she disappeared down the hallway, Samuel sighed.

 

The drive to Riley’s house felt considerably longer than twenty minutes.

Every red light seemed personal.

Every pedestrian looked as though they were staring at the striped pinafore.

Every stop sign reminded him that he was driving across town dressed like Willow House’s newest volunteer.

By the time he pulled into Riley’s driveway, he had almost convinced himself his friends might decide to ignore the uniform.

He should have known better.

The front door opened before he even reached it.

Maddie gasped dramatically.

“Nice dress, Samantha!”

Natalie leaned against the doorway with an amused smile.

“You look gorgeous.”

Samuel sighed.

“I literally just got here.”

“And you’re already serving looks,” Maddie replied.

The moment he stepped inside, Maddie’s eyes widened.

“Oh my God…”

She pointed excitedly at the sides of the pinafore.

“It has pockets!”

Samuel looked down.

“…That’s your takeaway?”

Riley circled him once, studying him with surprising seriousness.

“Your hair looks better today.”

Natalie smiled.

“Actually…”

“I think it’s cute.”

Samuel simply looked at the three of them.

“…”

That only made them laugh harder.

His face grew noticeably warmer.

“I’m never living this down, am I?”

“No.”

“Definitely not.”

“Not a chance,” the three answered almost in unison.

 

One of the advantages of Riley’s house was that, whenever it was just the four of them, no one thought twice about them disappearing upstairs.

Within minutes they were sprawled across Riley’s bedroom floor, surrounded by snacks, half-finished drinks, and enough pillows to suggest someone had once attempted to build a fortress and simply forgotten to take it down.

Only then did Samuel finally relax.

“So…” Natalie asked.

“How was your first real day?”

Samuel leaned back against the bed.

“It actually wasn’t bad.”

He told them about the orientation, the children, Marianne, the endless policies, the volunteer badge, and how surprisingly exhausting it had been to spend an entire day pretending Samantha belonged there.

“…and then,” he finished, “they gave us invitations for something called the Patron Reception.”

“The Sponsor Reception,” Riley corrected automatically.

“Patron,” Maddie said.

“They changed the name a few years ago.”

Samuel pulled the invitation from his handbag and handed it to them.

“They also expect me to bring someone.”

Natalie looked up.

“Oh.”

“That’s going to be a problem.”

“You think?”

She smiled apologetically.

“I meant because we can’t go.”

Samuel frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“Our parents have been sponsors for years,” Riley explained. “We’ve always gone.”

“We each already have invitations,” Maddie added.

Samuel’s shoulders dropped.

“So… none of you can be Samantha’s guest.”

“I’m afraid not.”

Silence settled over the room.

Samuel stared at the invitation again.

“I honestly have no idea who I’m supposed to ask.”

Natalie thought for a moment.

“What about Lily?”

Samuel answered before she finished the sentence.

“Absolutely not.”

The speed of the response made all three girls burst into laughter.

“I’m serious!”

He pointed at himself.

“I would never hear the end of it.”

He shook his head emphatically.

“Just imagine. If she ever found out about Samantha…”

He buried his face in his hands.

“She’d make me be her sister every time she felt like it.”

The room erupted into laughter again.

Maddie wiped a tear from the corner of one eye.

“…Okay.”

“Fair point.”

Riley crossed one leg beneath her.

“What about Andrew?”

The room grew noticeably quieter.

Samuel looked up.

“…Andrew?”

“He’s probably the person you trust most.”

Natalie nodded.

“And from everything we know about him…”

“He wouldn’t judge you.”

“He’d probably just be worried.”

Samuel didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he kept staring at the invitation.

The more he thought about it…

…the more he hated admitting they were right.

“I don’t love the idea.”

“No,” Riley agreed. “But I think it’s your best option.”

Samuel let out a long breath.

“…Yeah. I think it might be.”

Maddie suddenly sat upright.

“Oh!”

She looked directly at Samuel.

“Samantha.”

“What?”

“Do you already have your dress?”

Samuel blinked.

“…My what?”

“Your dress.”

He frowned.

“For what?”

“The reception.”

She grabbed the invitation from the floor and pointed at one line near the bottom.

“It literally says… ‘Cocktail attire’.”

Samuel read it.

Then looked back up.

“…What’s cocktail attire?”

Three horrified expressions answered him.

Natalie slowly reached for her phone.

“You don’t know?”

“I’ve never exactly shopped for cocktail dresses.”

Maddie had already opened Google.

Within seconds, dozens of elegant dresses filled the screen.

Samuel’s expression grew increasingly alarmed.

“…People actually wear those?”

“They do.”

“I can’t buy one of those.”

Natalie looked at him as though the answer were obvious.

“Why would you? You have access to three entire wardrobes.”

She gestured around them.

“And trust me… We have options.”

Maddie was already halfway to Riley’s closet.

“Oh, this is going to be fun.”

Before Samuel had a chance to object, Riley stood up as well.

“I have a few options.”

Within minutes, dresses began appearing from every direction.

A navy one.

A dusty lavender one.

A dark emerald dress with a subtle shimmer.

A simple black cocktail dress that Riley insisted “worked for literally every emergency.”

One by one, they laid them across Riley’s bed until it looked less like a bedroom and more like the fitting room of a boutique.

Samuel stared at the growing collection.

“…How many cocktail dresses do you people own?”

The girls exchanged amused glances.

“We’re girls,” Maddie said, as though that explained everything.

“And we borrow from each other all the time,” Riley added.

She pointed toward the emerald dress.

“That one’s actually Maddie’s.”

“The navy one too,” Maddie confirmed.

Natalie smiled and gestured toward the lavender dress.

“And that one’s technically mine.”

Samuel looked from one dress to another.

“So… none of these are actually yours?”

“They’re all ours,” Riley answered simply. “And yours now too.”

The response caught him slightly off guard.

Natalie walked over to the bed and began sorting through the dresses.

“Okay… definitely not this one.”

She held up a bright red dress for less than a second before putting it aside.

“Too bold.”

Maddie nodded in agreement.

“And definitely not the sequined one.”

“It screams look at me.”

Riley lifted the simple black dress.

“This one’s elegant…”

“…but maybe a little too serious.”

“The lavender would look really good on Samantha,” Natalie said thoughtfully.

“Especially with her coloring.”

“The emerald too,” Riley added.

“It brings out her eyes.”

Samuel blinked.

“My eyes?”

Three heads turned toward him.

“…Samantha’s eyes,” Natalie corrected with a grin.

Samuel rubbed a hand over his face.

“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”

“You’d better get used to it,” Maddie said cheerfully.

After another few minutes of debate, four dresses remained on the bed.

Natalie stepped back and crossed her arms.

“There.”

“Those are the finalists.”

Samuel looked nervously between them.

“…Do I have to try them on now?”

The three girls looked at one another.

Then Maddie smiled.

“Samantha…”

“We know you’ve suffered enough today.”

“We’re not going to torture you by making you model dresses in front of us.”

Samuel let out a dramatic sigh of relief.

“Oh, thank God.”

“Take them home,” Riley said.

“Try them on whenever you’re alone.”

“And keep whichever one you like best.”

Natalie nodded.

“Besides, all four of them work with the heels we gave Samantha for her first formal appearance.”

Samuel looked toward the garment bags Riley was already gathering.

“So all I have to do is choose the dress?”

“For now.”

Maddie smiled innocently.

“We’ll worry about jewelry after that.”

Samuel groaned.

“There’s jewelry too?”

“Of course there’s jewelry.”

Natalie laughed.

“But honestly…”

She tilted her head thoughtfully.

“…I’m pretty sure Lily won’t mind if you borrow something.”

Samuel stared at her.

“…Excuse me?”

Natalie shrugged.

“I mean…”

“Aren’t sisters supposed to share?”

The room exploded into laughter.

Samuel buried his face in both hands.

“I walked right into that one.”

 

By the time Samuel reached home, the borrowed dress conversation had somehow expanded into a full-scale fashion exhibition.

He had been measured, compared, color matched, and informed that apparently he had “excellent shoulders.”

He wasn’t entirely sure whether that had been a compliment.

The lights inside the house were already on.

Samuel quietly opened the front door.

Voices drifted from the living room.

Lily.

Perfect.

Keeping the Willow House uniform hidden behind the garment bags his friends had insisted he take home, he slipped toward the stairs.

“Hey.”

Samuel froze.

Lily was sitting on the couch, looking up from her phone.

“…Hey.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.”

She nodded once.

“Cool.”

Samuel climbed the stairs at a pace he hoped looked perfectly normal.

The bedroom door clicked shut behind him.

Only then did he finally breathe again.

 

Twenty minutes later, Samuel sat on the edge of his bed, back in his own pajamas.

The volunteer uniform hung neatly inside Samantha’s suitcase.

The invitation rested on his desk.

He looked at his phone.

There really wasn’t anyone else.

He opened his messages.

Samuel: Can we meet tomorrow? I need to talk to you.

Barely thirty seconds passed before the reply arrived.

Andrew: Are you pregnant? You sure it isn’t mine hahaha.

Despite himself, Samuel smiled.

Samuel: I’m serious.

This time the answer came almost immediately.

Andrew: Tomorrow. 8 pm. Same pizza place?

Samuel: Yeah.

 

The following evening felt strangely familiar.

The pizza restaurant hadn’t changed since middle school.

Same faded booths.

Same checkered tablecloths.

Same framed photographs of local baseball teams decorating the walls.

Andrew was already there when Samuel arrived.

He raised a hand.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

They ordered almost automatically.

Two pepperoni pizzas.

Two sodas.

For several minutes, they talked about university orientation, summer plans, and the increasingly ridiculous price of textbooks. He already knew who it was from and hoped he was wrong.

Eventually Andrew leaned back in his seat.

“…Okay.”

Samuel looked up.

“Something’s wrong.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You’ve barely touched your pizza.”

Samuel glanced down. Andrew wasn’t wrong. He took a slow breath. It was very difficult for him to start this conversation.

“Do you remember the conversation we had after graduation?”

Andrew nodded.

“The one about Tiffany?”

“Yeah.”

Samuel looked down at the table.

“I wasn’t completely honest.”

Andrew frowned.

“You lied?”

“Not exactly. I told you what happened with Tiffany. I just left out… almost everything else.”

Andrew folded his arms. “I’m listening.”

Samuel remained quiet for a few seconds, trying to figure out where to begin.

“You know how St. Catherine’s is.”

Andrew gave him a confused look.

“…An all-girls school?”

“Exactly. There was no way for me to get inside. So I gave up.”

Andrew nodded. A brief silence settled between them.

“The girls started joking about finding another way. They kept throwing out increasingly ridiculous ideas. I thought they were kidding but they weren’t.”

Andrew smiled.

“I’m already a little concerned.”

Samuel laughed quietly.

“So was I. They decided the only way I was getting into St. Catherine’s… was if I became a student.”

Andrew blinked.

“…What?”

“A female student.”

Another pause.

“…Sam.”

“I’m serious.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means Natalie, Maddie and Riley created an exchange student. They gave her a name. Even a schedule.”

Andrew stared at him.

“…You’re telling me three teenage girls invented an entire person?”

Samuel nodded.

“Yes. And somehow…”

“They convinced you to become her?”

Samuel sighed.

“Apparently, yes.”

Andrew couldn’t help smiling.

“It gets worse.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask.”

“I actually did it.”

Andrew laughed. “No. You didn’t.”

“I did.”

“No, you didn’t.”

Samuel reached into his pocket. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.” He unlocked his phone, searched for a moment, then slid it across the table. Andrew picked it up.

The photograph showed four girls standing shoulder to shoulder in front of a mirror. He immediately recognized Natalie. Then Maddie. Then Riley. His eyes moved to the fourth girl. Long light-brown hair, St. Catherine’s uniform and a small, nervous smile.

He looked back at Samuel.

Then at the photograph again.

“…Who’s the fourth girl?”

Samuel didn’t answer. Andrew looked closer. His expression slowly changed. Samuel remained silent while Andrew raised his eyes.

“…That’s you?”

Samuel nodded once.

“Yeah. That’s me – as Samantha.”

Andrew looked back at the screen. For several long seconds, he simply stared at the picture. Then he slowly handed the phone back.

“I…” He rubbed a hand across his forehead. “I genuinely don’t know what to say.”

Silence returned.

Andrew finally broke it. “You know… this somehow raises more questions than it answers.”

Samuel laughed. “I’ve been saying that for weeks.”

Andrew glanced once more at the phone. “I do have to admit one thing.”

“What?”

“You make a surprisingly convincing girl.”

Samuel closed his eyes. “I walked right into that.”

Andrew smiled. “I couldn’t resist.”

The laughter faded naturally. Samuel became serious again. “There is one more reason I’m telling you all this.”

Andrew looked at him.

“This secret…” Samuel chose his words carefully. “…is probably the biggest one I’ll ever ask anyone to keep. I need you to promise me something.”

Andrew nodded without hesitation. “Okay.”

“No matter what happens… this dies with us.”

Andrew didn’t joke this time. “You have my word.”

Samuel took another slow breath. “Thank you.”

He reached into his backpack and placed the cream-colored invitation on the table between them.

Andrew looked down.

THE BOARD AND STAFF OF WILLOW HOUSE
CORDIALLY INVITE
SAMANTHA BROOKS AND GUEST

He looked back up. “…What’s this?”

“I need a favor.”

Andrew read the invitation again. Then raised one eyebrow. “…Are you asking me to be Samantha’s date?”

“Guest.”

Andrew smiled. “That word is doing a lot of work.”

“I know.” Samuel rested both forearms on the table. “I honestly don’t have anyone else. I need someone I trust. Someone I can trust not to expose me.”

Andrew looked at the invitation for another few seconds. Then shrugged. “Sure.”

Samuel blinked. “…Really?”

“Yeah. If my best friend secretly spent weeks pretending to be a girl… I feel like going to one charity reception with him is a pretty reasonable way to help.”

Relief spread across Samuel’s face so quickly that Andrew laughed.

Andrew picked up another slice of pizza. “I do have one condition.”

Samuel immediately tensed again. “…What?”

Andrew took a bite before answering. “The next time your life turns into a psychological thriller… tell me before chapter twenty.”

Samuel couldn’t help laughing. “Deal.”

Andrew nodded once. Then, almost absentmindedly, looked at the invitation again. A thoughtful expression crossed his face.

“…Actually…”

Samuel’s smile faded. “What?”

Andrew tapped the invitation with one finger. “There’s still something I don’t understand.”

Samuel didn’t know where this was going. “If Samantha isn’t real—and all of this was supposed to be over—why is she volunteering at Willow House?”

The restaurant suddenly felt much quieter. Samuel lowered his eyes to the table. His fingers tightened around his glass. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

“…Because it isn’t over.”

Andrew frowned. “What do you mean?”

Samuel closed his eyes for a moment. Then looked back at his friend.

“…Someone found out.”

A Growing Bond

By the time they left the restaurant, Andrew knew the rest.

He had asked questions Samuel had expected, several he hadn’t, and made him promise to save every message. Most importantly, Andrew had agreed not to confront anyone or try to solve the problem on his own.

In the end, Andrew had also agreed to attend the Patron Reception as Samantha’s guest and do nothing more unless Samuel asked him to. He knew he would have to dress formally—probably a suit and tie—but that had been the least surprising part of the conversation.

Strangely, Samuel felt as though someone had lifted a weight from his shoulders.

Maybe he should have told Andrew sooner. Maybe things would not have gone this far if he had not tried to handle everything alone.

Or maybe nothing would have changed.

Either way, someone else finally knew.

And for the first time since the messages began, Samuel did not feel as though he were standing entirely by himself.

Days passed, and Samuel stopped fighting every step of the transformation.

He could do it quickly now, almost without complaint. His hands followed the necessary sequence automatically, bringing Samantha into existence without requiring him to think about each individual decision.

In the mornings, he kept his bedroom quiet and dark, allowing Lily to assume he was still asleep so she would not knock or try the door before leaving. Fortunately, they each had private bathrooms connected to their bedrooms. It allowed Samuel to shave, shower, apply his makeup, and arrange the wig without risking an unexpected encounter in the hallway.

Even so, he had learned to move carefully.

A moment later, Lily’s bedroom door opened.

Her footsteps crossed the hall, continued downstairs, and faded toward the kitchen.

Samuel had become good at estimating how long his sister needed before leaving for her internship. Coffee added seven minutes. Looking for her keys added three. Returning because she had forgotten her phone could add anywhere from thirty seconds to five minutes.

That morning, she left on the first attempt.

The front door closed.

Samantha waited another minute before stepping into the hallway.

No matter how routine Willow House had become, leaving the house still felt like crossing a border.

Samantha arrived at Willow House as she had nearly every morning that week. She greeted the security guard at the main entrance, then Helen at the reception desk before making her way to the staff room for coffee.

Several volunteers were already there, discussing the day’s activities while gathering supplies. Samantha greeted them with the same casual familiarity they offered her.

That, more than anything, made the routine feel real.

She had also made peace with leaving home already dressed in her volunteer uniform. Being seen through the window of a passing car seemed like a smaller risk than repeating the incident with the locked changing room—or discovering at the end of another shift that some essential part of Samuel’s clothing had been left somewhere inaccessible.

The white blouse and pale-blue striped pinafore no longer felt quite as conspicuous as they had the first time she wore them. The badge had also stopped demanding her attention every few minutes.

There was one new addition to her appearance.

Her hair had been arranged into a neat, braided bun at the back of her head.

The style took longer in the morning, but it had already proven worth the extra effort.

A few days after the children’s summer program began, Samantha’s wig had suffered a particularly chaotic end to the afternoon. Several loose strands had escaped from her ponytail, one child had decided that pulling on one of them was an excellent way to get her attention, and glitter had somehow worked its way through nearly every section of hair.

Jenna had found her in front of the staff restroom mirror, attempting to remove it.

“You definitely need a braided bun.”

“I need shorter hair.”

“No. You need a braided bun,” Jenna repeated.

She had then shown Samantha how to divide the hair, braid it tightly enough to remain secure, and twist it into a low bun. A few carefully placed pins kept everything in position.

It was the kind of advice that quietly changed a person’s life.

Or, at the very least, saved that person from spending an hour brushing glitter out of a wig after every shift.

Since then, Samantha had worn the style whenever she worked with the children.

Jenna noticed it the moment she entered the activity room.

“You’re getting better.”

Samantha touched the bun automatically.

“It stayed in place yesterday.”

“That doesn’t mean it looked good.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Jenna smiled and handed her a box of art supplies.

The children would spend the day creating pieces that would later be sold at the organization’s annual gala. Some were painting small canvases, while others worked with colored paper, clay, wooden shapes, or anything else the staff believed could survive several hours in a room full of children.

Samantha had heard the upcoming gala discussed during the afternoon staff meetings, although she still did not fully understand what her own role would be.

Jenna, who had become the coworker she spent the most time with, explained the event while they moved between tables, opened paint containers, and helped children with their projects.

“Every year, they present everything Willow House has accomplished,” Jenna said. “There’s a video, a few speeches, the auction, and then the parade.”

Samantha glanced at her.

“The parade?”

“It changes every year. Different theme, different costumes.”

“Costumes.”

Jenna smiled at the suspicion in her voice.

“The theme is chosen democratically. Everyone votes, then we keep narrowing down the options until one wins.”

“And there are rules?”

“Only one. We can’t repeat a theme until at least three years have passed.”

Samantha looked around the room.

Several children were painting crowns, castles, shields, and stars. At another table, two boys were debating whether a prince was allowed to carry both a sword and a bow.

“I think I can guess what won.”

“Princes and Princesses.”

“Of course.”

The girls outnumbered the boys that year, which had apparently helped determine the final result. Against Samantha’s expectations, the boys were almost as enthusiastic about becoming princes as the girls were about becoming princesses.

Almost every child seemed excited about the theme.

Almost.

A little girl at the far end of the room sat apart from the others, cutting narrow strips from a sheet of silver paper.

Samantha had noticed her during earlier shifts.

Dark curls. Watchful brown eyes. A serious expression that made her appear older than the other children, even though she was probably seven.

Maya.

She spoke when necessary and never raised her hand.

When volunteers offered help, she usually said no before they finished asking.

That morning, she had been assigned to make flags for the castle towers. The table in front of her held paper, scissors, glue, and three wooden sticks.

It did not hold any finished flags.

Samantha approached slowly.

“Do you need another color?”

“No.”

“Different scissors?”

“No.”

Samantha looked at the uneven strips of silver paper.

“Help?”

“I can do it.”

The answer came quickly. Not angry. Certain.

Samantha nodded.

“I know.”

Maya looked up.

Something in her expression shifted. Most adults responded to those words by explaining why she needed help anyway. Samantha did not.

She picked up an empty chair and sat on the opposite side of the table.

Without another word, she chose one of the unused wooden sticks, a sheet of blue paper, and a pair of scissors.

Maya watched her.

“What are you doing?”

“Making a flag.”

“That’s my job.”

“There are three towers.”

Maya glanced toward the cardboard castle near the center of the room.

“Four.”

Samantha followed her gaze. Someone had added another tower since she last looked.

“Then I’ll make one of four flags.”

Maya returned to her silver paper.

For a while, they worked without speaking.

Samantha cut a triangle from the blue sheet. It leaned slightly to one side, but she decided it was close enough. Maya studied it from across the table.

“That’s crooked.”

Samantha examined it.

“I was hoping no one would notice.”

“Everyone will notice.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Maya reached across the table, took the triangle, and trimmed one edge with two careful cuts.

“There.”

Samantha held it up.

“Much better.”

“You cut too fast.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Maya returned the flag to her.

They continued working together. Maya never asked for assistance, but she gradually began pushing materials toward Samantha whenever she wanted something done—a marker, a ribbon, a fresh sheet of paper.

After several minutes, she looked up again.

“What’s your name?”

“Samantha.”

Maya’s eyes moved briefly toward her badge, as though confirming that she had answered correctly.

“You’re Maya,” Samantha said.

“How do you know?”

“I’ve been paying attention.”

Maya appeared to consider that answer.

Then, little by little, she began to talk.

The questions came slowly at first. What colors Samantha liked. What her favorite food was. Whether she had any pets. Samantha answered each one and occasionally asked something in return.

Maya’s replies were usually short, but they came more easily as the morning passed.

Their flags dried beside one another while the conversation moved from food to animals, then to which activities at Willow House were worth attending and which ones Maya considered boring.

By lunchtime, Samantha had learned that Maya had strong opinions about almost everything.

She simply did not share them with many people.

The rest of the day passed quickly.

Samantha helped clean brushes, carried finished artwork to a drying rack, opened bottles of glue, and settled several disagreements over materials. The braided bun remained in place despite paint, glitter, and the hands of children who still seemed to regard personal space as an adult invention.

By the time the last activity ended, parents had begun arriving.

Maya remained near Samantha while her mother spoke with Marianne by the reception desk. The woman wore medical scrubs and looked as though she had come directly from work.

Maya watched her mother for a moment, then turned back toward Samantha.

“Are you coming tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

Maya smiled.

It was small and quickly hidden, but unmistakable.

Then her mother called her name.

Maya hurried toward the entrance without saying goodbye.

Samantha watched the doors close behind them.

“She likes you.”

Daphne stood near the corridor, holding a folder against her chest.

Samantha glanced toward the closed doors.

“I’m not sure she does.”

“I’m serious. She asked if you’d be here tomorrow.”

Daphne looked toward the activity room, where the volunteers were beginning to clean the remaining tables.

“Good work, Samantha.”

Samantha did not know what to say.

She only smiled.

The house was quiet when Samuel returned.

Lily’s car was gone, which gave him enough time to enter through the garage, reach his room, and close the door without rushing.

He removed the badge first.

Then the uniform.

The wig took longer.

He carefully removed the pins from the braided bun before loosening the braid from the bottom upward, making sure he did not pull too hard on the fibers. The brown elastic eventually came free around his fingers.

He placed it on the dresser while he brushed the wig and returned it to its stand.

Ten minutes later, Samantha had disappeared.

Samuel changed into a T-shirt and shorts, packed the uniform into its bag, and carried everything back to its hiding place.

By the time Lily came home, he was in the kitchen pouring himself a glass of water.

“Hey,” she said, dropping her keys beside the door.

“Hey.”

“How was your day?”

Samuel’s hand paused around the glass.

The question was ordinary. Lily asked it often enough that she probably did not expect an answer longer than one word.

“Fine.”

“Productive?”

“Something like that.”

She opened the refrigerator.

Samuel took his water upstairs before she could ask anything else.

Just as he was about to sit on the bed, Lily knocked on his bedroom door.

“Yeah?”

Lily stepped inside.

She was holding something between two fingers.

A plain brown hair elastic.

Samuel’s attention fixed on it immediately.

“Is this yours?” she asked.

He forced himself not to answer too quickly.

“No.”

“I found it on the floor beside your door.”

Samuel glanced toward his dresser.

He remembered placing the elastic there.

He did not remember what had happened to it afterward.

“Then it’s probably yours.”

Lily turned it between her fingers.

“I don’t use these.”

“Maybe Mom left it.”

“She’s been gone for weeks.”

“It could have been there.”

“In the middle of the floor?”

Samuel shrugged.

Lily’s gaze remained on him for one second longer than necessary.

Then she crossed the room and placed the elastic on the corner of his desk.

Samuel waited until she reached the door.

“Lily?”

She looked back.

“What?”

“Why did you bring it to me?”

Her expression did not change.

“It was outside your room.”

Then she left.

Samuel stared at the open doorway.

A moment later, he picked up the elastic.

It was identical to every other one in the package Jenna had given him. Finding it outside his room did not prove anything. There was no reason for Lily to think it meant more than that.

There was also no reason she should have carried it upstairs.

Samuel closed his bedroom door.

Then, after a moment’s hesitation, he locked it.

The Lucky Winner

Another exhausting day had come to an end.

The entire staff had gathered for the now-familiar afternoon meeting, tired but in surprisingly good spirits. Working with children could be overwhelming, unpredictable, and louder than anything Samuel had previously considered reasonable. Yet it also brought a deep sense of satisfaction. The people at Willow House seemed genuinely happy to be there, even at the end of the most difficult days.

As part of the preparations for the annual gala, Marianne announced something several members of the staff had apparently been waiting for: who would participate in the parade, and how the roles would be assigned.

“This year, four adult volunteers will represent the princesses,” she explained.

The organization had spent years building enthusiasm around the parade. Everyone knew the costumes and presentation would be of the highest quality, and both the guests and benefactors had come to expect it as one of the gala’s highlights.

There was also an additional incentive. Each of the four selected volunteers would receive a complimentary facial, a basket of beauty products, and a fifty-dollar gift card donated by one of the organization’s sponsors to spend on makeup.

Amazing, Samuel thought. Exactly what I wanted.

He relaxed when Marianne explained that, as always, participation was completely voluntary. Anyone interested could place her name in the raffle drum during the short coffee break, and four names would be selected afterward.

The announcement immediately filled the room with conversation. Some volunteers wanted the prizes. Others were excited to make the children happy. A few genuinely dreamed of being princesses for a day, while others simply wanted the story they would be able to tell afterward.

None of those reasons applied to Samantha.

She had no intention of participating.

During the break, approximately twelve volunteers placed their names in the drum. Samantha remained near the refreshment table with Jenna, drinking coffee and listening as her friend debated whether the facial alone was worth the risk of having dozens of children step on the hem of her dress.

When everyone returned to the multipurpose room, Marianne stood beside the drum.

“The first four names I draw will be our princesses for the day.”

She reached inside and unfolded the first paper.

“Claire Dawson.”

The room broke into applause as Claire covered her mouth in delighted surprise. Several volunteers around her cheered while she stood and gave an exaggerated royal wave.

Marianne selected the second name.

“Monica Hayes.”

More applause followed. Monica laughed and accepted several enthusiastic congratulations from the people seated around her.

“And our third princess will be…”

Marianne opened the next slip.

“Jenna Collins.”

Jenna gasped.

“Yes!”

She grabbed Samantha’s arm and shook it excitedly.

“I’m going to be a princess.”

“You are.”

“With a facial.”

“And a gift basket.”

“And fifty dollars’ worth of makeup.”

“You’ve achieved everything you ever wanted.”

Jenna laughed and hugged her.

Samuel congratulated her sincerely. He knew how much she loved princesses, and seeing her so excited made him genuinely happy.

The person he had wanted to win had already been selected. Feeling safe, he stopped paying attention while Marianne reached into the drum one final time.

“And our last princess…”

She unfolded the paper.

“Samantha Brooks.”

The name struck Samuel like a bucket of ice water.

“This can’t be happening,” he whispered.

Jenna turned toward him with both hands pressed against her mouth.

“Oh my God. We’re doing it together.”

The people sitting nearby immediately began congratulating Samantha. Someone behind her said she would look perfect. Another volunteer leaned over to tell her how lucky she was.

Samuel forced himself to smile.

“Thank you.”

He accepted the congratulations one after another, doing his best to hide the discomfort twisting in his stomach.

How is this possible? I didn’t even put my name in.

When the meeting ended, Marianne asked the four selected volunteers to remain behind. The rental company needed their information immediately so the dresses could be reserved and adjusted in time for the gala.

Each princess received a form requesting her height, dress size, shoe size, and bra size.

Samuel stared at the final category longer than necessary.

Writing down the numbers felt uncomfortably personal. They were not Samuel’s sizes. They belonged to Samantha—to the body he constructed beneath her clothes and presented to the world.

He filled in the form anyway.

While they worked, Marianne explained what the role would involve. The four princesses would open and close the parade, greet guests during portions of the gala, take photographs with the children, and accompany them throughout the procession.

Samantha looked up from the form.

“How long do I have to be a princess?”

Jenna glanced at her.

“That is an extremely un-princess-like question.”

The other volunteers laughed.

Samantha gave them another carefully practiced smile.

 

The following morning, before the children separated into their regular activity groups, one of the group leaders gathered everyone together.

She announced that four adult princesses had been selected for the gala and read their names aloud.

Maya stood beside Samantha, as she had begun doing more frequently during the past few days. When she heard Samantha’s name, she looked up at her.

“How do you do it?”

Samantha frowned.

“Do what?”

“Want to be a princess without being scared.”

Samantha studied her expression.

“But you’ll be an amazing princess too.”

The children would be part of the parade as well, each dressed as either a prince or a princess. Their costumes had already been ordered, and the four adult princesses would accompany them throughout the procession.

Maya lowered her head.

“I’m not doing it.”

“You don’t like princesses?”

“I love them.”

“Then why don’t you want to be one?”

Maya stared down at her shoes.

“Because I’m not pretty enough to be a princess.”

The answer came so quietly that Samantha almost missed it.

She crouched beside her.

“You’re the prettiest little girl I’ve ever met.”

Maya smiled shyly, but she did not look convinced.

Samantha sat beside her on one of the low benches.

“I’m scared too.”

Maya looked at her.

“But you’re pretty.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not scared.”

“But at least you’re going to be one.”

Samantha hesitated, then leaned closer as though sharing a secret.

“I didn’t want to be a princess.”

Maya’s eyes widened.

“You didn’t?”

“No. But I thought maybe doing it would make me stronger, because I’d be facing one of my biggest fears.”

“What fear?”

“Making a complete fool of myself.”

Maya frowned.

“How?”

“Well, imagine me tripping over the enormous skirt in front of everyone.”

Samantha lifted both arms and acted out a dramatic fall.

Maya burst into laughter.

“Or maybe my crown will fall off and roll across the floor,” Samantha continued. “Then I’ll have to chase it while everyone watches.”

“That would be funny.”

“Not for me.”

Maya continued laughing, and Samantha smiled with her.

When the laughter faded, Samantha’s voice softened.

“You don’t have to be a princess if you don’t want to.”

Maya looked down again.

“But if you decide to do it, I’ll be there. I’ll stay with the most beautiful little princess in the whole parade.”

Maya looked at her carefully.

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“We’ll be princesses together?”

Samantha took her hand.

“We’ll be princesses together. I promise with all my heart.”

For the first time, Maya looked excited rather than frightened.

 

When Samantha arrived home that afternoon, she decided not to become Samuel immediately.

The transformation back had become tedious, and Lily was supposed to be attending a dinner that evening. He would have the house to himself, so there was no reason to rush through removing the makeup, uniform, and wig.

Besides, he reluctantly admitted, the volunteer uniform was not that bad.

The skirt kept him cool.

Samantha settled onto the couch and turned on the television while reheating a container of boneless wings left over from several nights earlier.

She had just carried the plate into the living room when the front door opened.

Samuel could not remember ever moving so quickly.

He abandoned the food and ran upstairs.

“I’m home!” Lily called. “Where are you?”

“Upstairs. I’m changing.”

He closed and locked his bedroom door, stripped off the pinafore and blouse, removed the bra and padding, pulled on a T-shirt and sweatpants, and attacked the makeup with a cleansing wipe. In his panic, he left the panties on.

When he was reasonably certain that Samantha had disappeared, he opened the door.

He had taken only a few steps into the hallway when he passed the mirror overlooking the staircase.

Samuel froze.

The wig was still on his head.

His heart began pounding again. He rushed back into the bedroom, removed it, and placed it on its stand before returning downstairs.

Lily was standing near the counter, looking at the plate he had abandoned.

“You’re so weird.”

Samuel tried to keep his breathing under control.

“Why?”

“Why would you heat up your dinner and then go upstairs to change while it gets cold?”

He picked up the plate.

“You’re weirder. That dinner must have been terrible if you’re already back.”

“I forgot my friend’s gift.” Lily grabbed a small wrapped box from the counter. “I only made a quick detour to pick it up. I’m still going.”

“Oh.”

She studied him for a moment.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine.”

“You look nervous.”

“You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“By coming home?”

“By opening the door like a normal person.”

Lily shook her head.

“You really are weird.”

She left a minute later.

Samuel remained in the kitchen until he heard her car pull away. Only then did the tension begin to leave his shoulders.

His phone vibrated on the counter.

A new message.

Congratulations on your prize, Princess. You’re going to look adorable.

Samuel stared at the screen.

Another message arrived.

Remember, tomorrow is the Patron Reception. Cocktail dress, heels, pretty makeup—and, most importantly, your guest.

Then came a third.

I probably don’t need to say this, but Samuel isn’t invited. How exciting! I can’t wait to see Samantha again.

The familiar sickness returned to his stomach.

He had spent days postponing the question of what he would wear. Now the reception was tomorrow, and he still had no answer.

Samuel climbed the stairs and pulled the four garment bags from the back of his closet. He laid them across the bed, then retrieved the only pair of heels Samantha owned—the same ones she had worn to the Graduation Gala.

The sight of them brought back memories of that evening.

Samantha in the fuchsia gown. Her elegant hairstyle. The carefully applied makeup.

That reminded him of another problem: his hair and makeup. The simple routine he used for Willow House would not be enough for a formal reception, and he was not willing to experiment with either of them the night before.

He opened his conversation with Emily.

Samantha: SOS.

Emily: That sounds serious.

Samantha: Patron Reception tomorrow. Cocktail dress. I need help with my hair and makeup.

Emily: What time do you need to be ready?

Samantha: Seven.

Emily: Come to the salon at five. Bring the dress.

Samantha: You’re saving my life.

Emily: I’ll add emergency services to the menu.

Samantha smiled.

At least that was one problem she would not have to solve alone.

Then she began trying on the dresses one by one.

The first was too formal. It was beautiful, but it belonged at a larger evening event, not a reception.

The second was far too conspicuous. Samantha would already attract enough attention without wearing something that seemed designed to ensure every person in the room noticed her.

The third was the simplest and, for that reason, Samuel’s favorite. Unfortunately, the zipper jammed halfway up. After several increasingly frustrated attempts, he decided he could not risk becoming trapped inside it on the night of the reception.

Then there was the fourth dress.

The moment he looked in the mirror, the decision was over.

As if his friends had somehow sensed it, Natalie sent a message just as he finished trying it on.

Natalie: Does everyone have a dress for tomorrow?

The others quickly confirmed that they did.

Maddie: Tell me you tried every single one.

Samuel: Obviously.

For several seconds, no one responded.

Riley: Did you just say “obviously”?

Samuel: How else was I supposed to choose?

Natalie: Which one won?

Samuel: You’ll see tomorrow.

Maddie: That is unbelievably selfish.

Riley: Traitor.

Samuel smiled. He liked the relationship he had developed with them more every day.

Another message appeared, this time from Andrew.

Andrew: Suit and tie acquired.

Samuel: Congratulations.

Andrew: Should my tie match your dress?

Samuel: No.

Andrew: What color is it?

Samuel: Nice try.

Andrew: See you tomorrow, Samantha. Should I pick you up?

Samuel: I don’t know yet. I’m still trying to figure out how to leave without Lily discovering she has a little sister. I’ll tell you the plan tomorrow.

Andrew: Understood.

Samuel hesitated before typing again.

Samuel: Thank you. For everything. I’m serious.

Andrew: That’s what friends are for.

Three dots appeared.

Then another message.

Andrew: Accompanying their cross-dressing friends to formal receptions.

Samuel laughed.

He changed out of the chosen dress, returned all four to their garment bags, and put the heels away.

Tomorrow, Samantha would attend the Patron Reception.

But tonight, Samuel fell asleep smiling.

Patron Reception

The day had finally arrived.

It was Saturday morning, and Samuel went downstairs expecting to find the kitchen empty. Instead, Lily stood at the stove in sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt, transferring strips of bacon onto a plate beside a stack of pancakes.

Samuel stopped in the doorway.

“You’re cooking?”

Lily glanced over her shoulder. “I’m tired of never getting a decent breakfast because I’m always rushing to work.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re cooking.”

“Do you want pancakes or not?”

Samuel pulled out a chair. “I want pancakes.”

She placed a plate in front of him, added two strips of bacon, and returned to the stove. For several minutes, they ate together without talking about anything important. Lily complained about her internship supervisor’s inability to schedule meetings during normal hours. Samuel listened, offered the occasional sarcastic response, and stole a third piece of bacon when she was not looking.

It was an ordinary moment between them.

That made what he had planned for the afternoon feel even stranger.

Lily reached for the syrup, then paused.

“Why do you have glitter on your nails?”

Samuel looked down.

Several tiny silver specks remained near his cuticles. He had washed his hands repeatedly after Willow House, but glitter seemed to obey different physical laws than every other substance on earth.

“It’s not glitter.”

Lily stared at him.

“It is very obviously glitter.”

“One of my friends needed help with some craft thing.”

“Which friend?”

Samuel poured more syrup onto his pancakes.

“You wouldn’t know her.”

Lily smiled.

“One of the mysterious ones?”

“They’re not mysterious.”

“You refuse to tell me their names, where you meet them, or what you do together.”

Samuel took a bite so he would not have to answer.

Lily shook her head and returned to her breakfast.

“What are you doing today?” he asked as casually as possible.

“Staying home.”

Samuel’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth.

“All day?”

“My boyfriend’s coming over. We’re going to watch movies.”

“Oh.”

“You can join us,” she said. “Bring your mysterious friends.”

Samuel gave a dry laugh.

“I already have plans.”

“With them?”

“Maybe.”

“Very informative.”

At least Lily would be occupied. That was something.

Samuel finished breakfast while quietly reconsidering every part of his plan. Leaving the house as Samantha would be impossible if Lily and her boyfriend were sitting in the living room. Returning later would be even worse.

The real problem was getting out of the house. If he transformed before leaving, Lily and her boyfriend might see Samantha walk through the front door. The alternative was arriving at the salon as Samuel and allowing Emily to see him before the transformation was complete.

Uncomfortable as that felt, it was still the safer option.

Better for Emily to see Samuel become Samantha than for Lily and her boyfriend to see Samantha leave the house.

After breakfast, Samuel packed everything into a small suitcase: the chosen dress, the only pair of heels Samantha owned, undergarments, padding, the wig, makeup supplies, and the jewelry he had temporarily borrowed from Lily without permission.

He checked the suitcase twice.

Then a third time.

By the time Andrew pulled into the driveway, Samuel was waiting near the garage with the suitcase beside him.

Andrew leaned across the passenger seat and pushed the door open.

“You look nervous.”

“I’m carrying an entire person in a suitcase.”

“That would sound much worse without context.”

Samuel placed the suitcase in the back and climbed in.

As Andrew drove away, he glanced toward him.

“So this Emily knows?”

“She knows Samantha.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

“I’m not sure, but I think she knows enough.”

Andrew nodded, although his expression suggested he was still trying to reconcile everything Samuel had told him at the restaurant.

“You still don’t believe me.”

“I believe you.”

“You sound convincing.”

“I saw the photograph,” Andrew said. “I know Samantha exists. I’m just having trouble understanding how you become her.”

Samuel looked out the window.

“You’re about to find out.”

“I’ll admit I’m curious.”

“You say that now.”

The salon appeared closed when they arrived. The lights near the front were dim, the reception desk was empty, and a small sign on the door indicated that appointments had ended for the day.

Samuel carried the suitcase upstairs and pressed the bell beside the entrance.

For the first time since arranging the appointment, he wondered whether Emily would be surprised to find a young man standing outside instead of the woman she knew.

The lock clicked.

Emily opened the door, took one look at him, and smiled.

“Samantha. Good to see you.”

Andrew’s eyebrows rose.

Samuel tried not to react.

“Thanks for doing this.”

“Emergency formalwear situations are part of the job.” Emily stepped aside. “Come in.”

They entered the quiet salon. Without clients, ringing phones, or dryers running in the background, the space felt almost private.

Emily locked the door behind them and turned toward Andrew.

“And you must be the guest.”

“Andrew.”

“Emily. There’s an office in the back where you can change whenever you’re ready.”

Andrew held up the garment bag containing his suit.

“Thanks.”

Emily’s attention returned to Samuel.

“Let’s see the dress.”

Samuel placed the suitcase on a styling station and removed the garment bag. Emily unzipped it just far enough to examine the neckline, sleeves, and fabric.

Her expression brightened.

“Oh, you chose well.”

“I had help.”

“Of course you did.”

She carried the dress toward the fitting room and hung it where the fabric would not crease.

“Hair first. Put on the wig.”

Andrew settled into a chair near the wall while Samuel unpacked the wig. He secured his natural hair beneath the cap, positioned the hairline, and adjusted the sides with the concentration the process still required.

Andrew watched silently.

Once the long light-brown hair was in place, Emily stepped behind Samuel and began brushing through it from the ends upward.

Andrew leaned forward.

“That’s already weird.”

Samuel looked at him through the mirror.

“Helpful.”

“I don’t mean bad weird. I mean—you still look like you, but not exactly.”

“That’s generally the point.”

Emily smiled but continued working.

She gathered the hair low at the nape of Samantha’s neck, arranging it into a polished low bun that complemented the wide neckline of the dress. A few soft pieces remained around her face, enough to keep the style youthful rather than severe.

Then Emily began the makeup.

She prepared Samuel’s skin with the quiet concentration of an artist priming a canvas. Foundation evened his complexion without covering the structure of his face. Concealer softened the shadows beneath his eyes. Contour and blush subtly reshaped the way the light moved across his features.

The eye makeup was more glamorous than anything Samantha had worn since the Graduation Gala. Emily used cool slate and deep-blue shadows that echoed the dress without looking overly matched. The darker tones defined the outer corners of his eyes, while lighter shimmer brightened the center of the lids.

False lashes made his eyes appear larger and more expressive.

The lip combination came last: carefully defined pink color beneath a glossy finish that made Samantha’s lips look fuller, softer, and almost luminous.

Andrew had stopped making comments.

Emily caught his expression in the mirror.

“Starting to believe him?”

“I believed him before.”

“Of course.”

She painted Samantha’s fingernails and toenails in deep navy, curing each layer beneath a small lamp before moving to the next.

When everything was finished, Samantha looked more elegant and mature than she had at Willow House. The transformation was polished, but not perfect. Samuel still recognized his own eyes, the line of his nose, the careful set of his shoulders.

Emily turned the styling chair away from the mirror.

“No looking yet.”

“I’ve already seen most of it.”

“Not with the dress.”

Samuel carried the garment bag into the fitting room.

The undergarments and padding came first. Then the dress.

He had almost finished pulling it into place when he noticed the black bike shorts beneath it.

Emily knocked lightly.

“Everything okay?”

“I forgot I was wearing bike shorts.”

“Let me see.”

Samuel opened the door slightly.

Emily looked at the hem.

“They’re too long.”

“They’re comfortable.”

“They’re going to show the second you sit down or the skirt moves.”

Samuel frowned.

“I don’t trust short skirts.”

“This is a cocktail dress, not a school uniform. Take them off.”

“Emily—”

“You are not wasting that dress with black shorts visible underneath it.”

Samuel muttered something under his breath but removed them.

Once the dress was properly in place, he turned his back toward Emily.

“Can you get the zipper?”

She drew the concealed zipper upward and adjusted the fabric around his shoulders and waist.

“Perfect.”

Andrew had gone into the office to change, leaving Samuel alone with Emily when she guided him back toward the styling area.

“Ready?”

“No.”

“Good enough.”

She turned him toward the mirror.

For several seconds, Samuel said nothing.

The cocktail dress was a deep navy, made from subtly lustrous structured fabric that held its shape without appearing stiff. A wide square neckline framed Samantha’s collarbones, while the fitted bodice followed her slim figure into a clearly defined waist. A small tie detail in the same fabric softened the center of the dress.

The elbow-length balloon sleeves gave the silhouette a touch of drama. Below the waist, the skirt opened into a full, feminine flare that ended above the knee. It was youthful and polished, formal enough for the reception without approaching the scale of a gala gown.

Samuel ran one hand carefully along the side of the skirt and found the hidden pocket.

Despite everything, he smiled.

At almost the same moment, the office door opened.

Andrew stepped out wearing an electric-blue suit, crisp shirt, and tie.

He adjusted one cuff as he walked into the salon.

Then he saw Samantha.

He stopped.

His mouth opened slightly, but no words followed.

Samuel suddenly became aware of every inch of the dress. The exposed length of his legs. The heels waiting beside the chair. The glossy lips. The false lashes. The fact that his closest male friend was seeing Samantha in person for the first time.

“Well?” Samuel asked.

Andrew blinked.

“That’s you.”

“We established that.”

“No, I know. I just…”

He looked at Emily, then back at Samantha.

“You make a surprisingly convincing girl.”

Samuel sighed.

“I walked right into that one.”

Emily laughed.

“Where are your accessories?”

“In the suitcase.”

Samuel pointed toward a small jewelry pouch. Emily opened it and arranged the contents across the counter: earrings, a delicate necklace, a slim bracelet, and several rings.

“All borrowed?” she asked.

“Temporarily.”

“Does the owner know?”

“Not currently.”

Emily selected the pieces that best complemented the dress. Once the earrings, necklace, bracelet, and rings were in place, she stepped back for a final inspection.

“There.”

Samantha looked into the mirror again.

Complete.

More composed than the girl who had appeared at the Graduation Gala. More practiced. More aware of how each detail worked together.

But the nervousness beneath the surface had not disappeared.

Samuel thanked Emily repeatedly before they left. She made him promise not to sleep in the makeup, not to pull at the low bun, and not to let Andrew step on the skirt.

“It isn’t long enough for me to step on,” Andrew pointed out.

“That wasn’t permission to stop paying attention.”

The drive to the Patron Reception felt shorter than Samuel wanted.

He had become more comfortable moving through the world as Samantha. He could manage the voice, the posture, the clothing, and the small social expectations without consciously rehearsing every second.

Being this elegant was different.

Every reflection in the car window reminded him of the dress. Every movement of the skirt against his legs reminded him that he had left the bike shorts behind. Every glance from Andrew made him wonder whether something looked wrong.

“You’re staring,” Samantha said.

“I’m adjusting.”

“To what?”

“The fact that my friend spent the afternoon becoming prettier than me.”

Samantha laughed.

“You’ll survive.”

When they arrived, relief passed through her the moment she saw Natalie, Maddie, and Riley near the entrance.

Her three closest friends were already there.

Samantha crossed the room toward them before she had time to worry about anyone else.

Maddie saw her first.

Her eyes widened.

“You chose the navy one.”

“I told you it was perfect,” Natalie said.

Riley walked around Samantha once, inspecting the dress with exaggerated seriousness.

“And you kept it secret.”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“That almost makes the betrayal acceptable.”

The girls hugged her one after another before turning their attention to Andrew. Introductions followed, along with several jokes at Samuel’s expense that Andrew enjoyed far more than Samuel considered appropriate.

For a while, surrounded by the four people who knew the truth, the evening almost felt manageable.

The formal presentation began shortly afterward. Willow House staff shared attendance figures, fundraising goals, testimonials from families who had benefited from the organization, and plans for future programs.

Samantha listened from a table near the side of the room. The numbers gave shape to everything she had seen during her time there: the activity rooms, the donated supplies, the exhausted mothers arriving after work, the children who returned every morning.

Maya was not merely one child who liked sitting beside her.

She was part of something much larger.

After the presentation, the atmosphere relaxed. Guests moved between cocktail tables, volunteers greeted sponsors, and conversations spread across the reception hall.

Samantha noticed Jenna and several other volunteers gathered around a cluster of high-top tables and went over with Andrew.

She introduced him as her guest.

One of the volunteers smiled immediately.

“Your boyfriend?”

Samantha and Andrew looked at each other.

Then they laughed.

“No,” they said at nearly the same time.

“Definitely not,” Samantha added.

Andrew placed a hand over his heart.

“You didn’t have to sound so certain.”

The volunteers laughed with them. Within minutes, it became obvious that Andrew and Samantha were close, but not romantically involved. Their ease with each other felt more like the familiarity of people who had known one another for years.

Samantha began to relax.

Then a voice sounded behind her.

“Hey, girls.”

Her body tightened before she turned.

Daphne stood beside the table wearing a smile that seemed almost too pleased.

At first, the sight of her was enough to make Samuel uneasy.

Then he noticed the two people standing beside her.

Tiffany.

Tiffany wore a hot-pink cocktail dress made from softly lustrous fabric. Its plunging V-neckline and gathered waist opened into a light, flared skirt that ended above the knee, while an oversized floral ruffle bloomed dramatically over one shoulder. Her hair was styled in an elegant high ponytail, and delicate gold heels completed the look. She was beautiful—bright, polished, and painfully familiar.

Standing beside her was the young man from the Graduation Gala.

The same one who had asked Tiffany to dance. The same one Samuel had watched from across the ballroom until jealousy, fear, and humiliation had driven him away before Tiffany ever saw Samantha.

Now he stood beside her again.

Samuel forgot how to breathe.

Tiffany’s gaze shifted briefly to Andrew. Surprise crossed her face before he gave her a small, reassuring nod. Whatever questions his presence created would have to wait.

Daphne’s smile widened.

“Samantha, I’d like you to meet my little sister, Tiffany.”

Tiffany stared at her.

For one suspended moment, the room seemed to stop around them.

Nearly a month had passed since Samuel and Tiffany had seen each other. They had loved each other—or perhaps still did—and now they were standing only a few feet apart.

Except Samuel was not standing there as himself.

He was Samantha, the girl who was supposed to have disappeared after the Graduation Gala.

Tiffany’s eyes moved across the deep-navy dress, the elegant makeup, the low bun, and finally returned to Samuel’s face.

Recognition arrived immediately.

So did pain.

Daphne continued as though nothing were wrong.

“Tiffany, this is Samantha, our newest volunteer. I’ve thought she looked strangely familiar from the moment I met her.”

The words tightened around Samuel like a wire.

Tiffany understood that something was happening, although she could not yet know how much.

Samuel forced himself to speak.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Tiffany’s expression barely shifted.

“You too.”

Two people who had shared months of love, secrecy, and loss reduced everything between them to the politeness of strangers.

Daphne glanced toward Tiffany’s guest.

“Aren’t you going to introduce Samantha to your boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Tiffany said quickly.

The young man looked uncomfortable, but Daphne appeared amused.

“Oh. My mistake.”

She turned toward Andrew.

“And have you told your boyfriend that you’ll be one of our princesses at the gala?”

Samuel felt heat rise beneath the makeup.

“He’s not my boyfriend either.”

“How disappointing,” Daphne said lightly. “Everyone seems to be arriving with the wrong person.”

Tiffany looked at her sister.

Something in her expression had changed.

Daphne was enjoying this.

Samuel could see that Tiffany had begun to notice.

Then Daphne leaned one hand against the high-top table.

“So tell us, Samantha. Where did you go to school?”

Samuel’s fingers tightened around the stem of his glass.

Daphne tilted her head.

“You and Tiffany are about the same age. You didn’t happen to attend St. Catherine’s together, did you?”

Silence settled over the small group.

Samuel looked at Tiffany.

He saw the exact moment the pieces came together.

Daphne’s familiarity with Samantha.

The pointed questions.

Samuel’s fear.

The impossible fact that Samantha still existed.

Tiffany stood abruptly.

“Excuse us,” she said.

Then she looked directly at Samantha.

“I need to use the restroom. Will you come with me?”

Samuel did not know whether the question was an invitation or a rescue.

“Yes,” he said.

Tiffany turned away without waiting.

Samantha followed.

When they reached the restroom, they stopped in front of the sinks and faced each other.

Neither of them spoke.

Only a few seconds passed, but after nearly a month apart—and after the impossible introduction they had just survived—the silence seemed to stretch between them forever.

They tried to break it at the same time.

“So… you moved on,” Samuel said.

“So Samantha came back,” Tiffany said.

They both paused.

“Well, not exactly,” they answered together.

A fragile laugh escaped them both. For one brief moment, the tension loosened, and they almost sounded like themselves again.

Tiffany spoke first.

“He’s my best friend’s cousin. He’s gay, but his parents don’t know. We sometimes pretend we’re dating so they’ll stop asking questions and making things difficult for him.”

“Oh.”

Samuel hated how much relief fit inside that single word.

Tiffany folded her arms.

“And Samantha?”

Samuel glanced down at the navy dress and gestured toward himself.

“This wasn’t exactly a personal decision.”

Tiffany’s expression changed.

“What do you mean?”

“Samantha was supposed to disappear after the visit to St. Catherine’s,” Samuel said. “But someone found out.”

“Who?”

He said nothing.

Tiffany watched him carefully. The fear in his face answered before he could.

“Is Daphne forcing you to be Samantha again?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“You just did.”

Samuel looked toward the restroom door.

“Tiffany, please. You can’t confront her.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t know what she’ll do. She could send everything she has. She could expose me, the girls—everything that happened at St. Catherine’s.”

Tiffany’s voice lowered.

“What does she have on you?”

Samuel hesitated.

Then he told her.

He kept his voice low, glancing toward the restroom door every few seconds. Tiffany did not interrupt. As he continued, the confusion in her expression gave way to disbelief, then anger.

By the time he finished, Tiffany’s hands were clenched at her sides.

For several seconds, she said nothing.

Then she turned toward the door.

“Stay here.”

Samuel moved after her.

“Tiffany, wait.”

She was already leaving.

“Tiffany, I’m serious. Please don’t make this worse.”

She did not promise him anything.

By the time Samantha reached the restroom door—moving at the fastest pace her still-developing relationship with heels allowed—Tiffany was already crossing the reception hall toward her sister.

Daphne saw her coming and straightened.

Tiffany stopped directly in front of her.

“Daphne. We need to talk. Now.”

Bittersweet Memories

“Hi, Samantha,” a young woman said softly. “You have no idea how happy I am to finally meet you. Truly.”

Samuel looked up from the table.

For several seconds, he could not move.

He had arrived first, exactly as instructed, and spent the past ten minutes waiting for the person who had watched him at the Graduation Gala, photographed him, and threatened to expose everything. He had imagined dozens of possibilities. A student from St. Catherine’s. Someone connected to the school. A stranger who had followed the girls.

He had never imagined Daphne.

The blood seemed to drain from his face and rush cold through the body he had once again transformed for someone else’s benefit.

Daphne stood beside the empty chair across from him, watching his reaction.

It had been seven or eight months since he had seen her. Their last conversation had not even happened in person. It had ended through a phone screen, with Daphne confessing feelings Samuel had not known how to return and both of them saying things that had finally destroyed what remained of their friendship.

Now she was standing in front of him as the author of an extortion attempt.

“You?” he whispered.

Daphne pulled out the chair and sat down.

“You look surprised.”

Samuel stared at her. “How could you do this?”

“I think you’re skipping a few questions.”

“How did you know?”

Daphne rested her phone on the table between them.

“The day Samantha appeared at St. Catherine’s, I went to pick up Tiffany. I did that pretty often.”

Samuel said nothing.

“I saw Natalie, Maddie, and Riley near the entrance. I already knew all three of them.” Daphne’s eyes remained fixed on his. “But there was another student with them. Someone I had never seen before.”

Her fingers moved across the screen.

“She looked familiar. Not enough for me to understand why, but enough that I kept looking. The idea that crossed my mind was ridiculous, so I dismissed it.”

Daphne turned the phone toward him.

A photograph filled the screen.

Samantha stood outside St. Catherine’s in the school uniform, surrounded by Natalie, Maddie, and Riley. She was turned partly away from the camera, laughing at something one of the girls had said.

Her phone was visible in her hand.

Daphne enlarged the image until the device filled most of the screen.

“I recognized the case,” she said. “And the St. Gabriel’s sticker on the back. You’ve carried that phone around for more than a year.”

Samuel’s stomach tightened.

He remembered that afternoon. The relief of getting outside without being caught. The exhilaration of seeing Tiffany again. The careless way he had taken out his phone without considering that Samantha should not possess anything so recognizably Samuel’s.

“I took the picture because I needed to look at it later,” Daphne continued. “I compared your face with hers. The eyebrows. The nose. The way you stand when you think no one is paying attention.”

Samuel looked away.

“It still seemed impossible,” she said. “But after a while, impossible became the only explanation that made sense.”

She swiped to another photograph.

Samantha at the Graduation Gala.

The fuchsia gown. The carefully styled hair. The makeup that had taken hours. Samuel stood near the edge of the ballroom, unaware that Daphne had already found him.

“I didn’t know whether she would appear again,” Daphne said. “So when I arrived at the gala, I looked for Natalie, Maddie, and Riley. I thought that if the mysterious girl was with them, I’d have my answer.”

Samuel stared at the picture.

“And there you were.”

“You sent the message.”

“Yes.”

The words appeared in his memory with perfect clarity.

I can’t deny it, Samuel. You look very pretty tonight. That fuchsia dress makes your eyes impossible to miss.

Daphne watched him carefully.

“I hadn’t originally planned to contact you that night. I thought I would wait until I understood more. But then I saw how far you had taken it.” Her gaze moved over Samantha as she sat across from her. “And how convincing you were.”

Samuel pushed the phone away.

“Natalie, Maddie, and Riley helped you, right?” Daphne asked.

It was phrased as a question, but her tone made it clear she already knew the answer.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Samuel hesitated.

Daphne leaned back. “It wasn’t a joke. No one creates an entire person, enters another school, and attends a formal event because of a joke.”

“It started as one.”

“But that isn’t why you did it.”

Samuel lowered his eyes toward the table.

“Why, Samuel?”

He hated hearing his real name while sitting there as Samantha. It made him feel exposed in a way the photographs could not.

“I wanted to see Tiffany.”

Daphne’s expression changed.

Samuel continued before he lost the courage.

“Your parents made it impossible for us to meet. I couldn’t enter St. Catherine’s as myself, so the girls joked that I could go as someone else. Then the joke became a plan.” Samuel didn't want to tell her that he was the one who had asked about the boys who snuck into St. Catherine's

“And Tiffany knew?”

“Not at first.”

Daphne waited.

“She found out while I was there. She knew Samantha was me.”

Daphne looked down at the photograph again.

“So the three of them helped you create Samantha, and you did all of this to see my sister.”

“Yes.”

“I’m impressed,” Daphne said quietly. “I’m not going to lie.”

Samuel looked up.

“And a little disappointed.”

“Why?”

“You went through all of this for Tiffany.” Daphne gestured toward him—the hair, the makeup, the clothes, the entire carefully maintained illusion. “But you did nothing for me.”

Samuel stared at her.

“I’m not asking you to return the feelings I confessed months ago. This isn’t about that.”

“Then what is it about?”

“I missed my best friend.”

The answer caught him off guard.

Daphne gave a small, humorless laugh.

“You trusted three girls you barely knew with something this enormous. You trusted Tiffany. You let all of them see the most vulnerable version of you imaginable.” Her voice softened. “But you never told me.”

“We weren’t friends anymore.”

“I know.”

“You’re the one who made me walk away.”

Pain crossed her expression, but she did not deny it.

“And even if I wanted to fix things,” Samuel continued, “I can’t just start spending time with you again. Your family already made it clear I wasn’t welcome. If I start showing up around you again, they’ll assume I’m trying to get back to Tiffany. Being around you means being around Tiffany, and apparently everyone has decided that isn’t allowed.”

Daphne’s expression shifted.

A slow, dangerous smile formed on her lips.

“Maybe Samuel can’t spend time with me.”

Samuel felt the unease return.

“But Samantha can.”

He stared at her. “What are you saying?”

“I want to see you again. I want us to talk. I want the chance to have my friend back.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t give you that.”

“You can.”

“No. Samantha was supposed to disappear.”

Daphne’s smile faded.

“She doesn’t have to.”

“She does.”

“Actually, she can’t.”

Samuel’s hands tightened beneath the table.

“What does that mean?”

Daphne folded her arms.

“Willow House is running its summer program,” Daphne said. “We have more children enrolled than usual, and we’re one volunteer short of the staffing level we committed to. If we don’t fill the position, we may have to reduce the number of children who can participate.”

“The open position is specifically for a female volunteer.”

Samuel stared at her.

“I’ve already submitted Samantha Brooks’s name,” Daphne continued. “As far as Willow House is concerned, she’s the young woman filling the final position.”

“You signed me up without asking me?”

“I made the arrangements.”

“You want me to volunteer as a girl.”

“I want Samantha to volunteer.”

“Samantha isn’t real.”

Daphne glanced deliberately at the clothes, makeup, and hair he had been ordered to wear.

“She looks real enough from where I’m sitting.”

Samuel leaned closer. “And if I say no?”

Daphne’s eyes moved toward the phone.

“Don’t make me show these photographs to Lily.”

His stomach dropped.

“Or your parents,” she continued. “Or Natalie’s, Maddie’s, and Riley’s parents. I’m sure St. Catherine’s would also be interested in knowing how four students managed to bring an impostor onto campus.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I don’t need everyone to believe me immediately. I only need to send the pictures and ask the right questions. I’m desperate, Samuel. Give me a chance.”

“This isn’t giving you a chance. It’s blackmail.”

Daphne flinched at the word.

“Call it whatever you need to call it.”

“I can’t maintain this.” Samuel gestured toward himself. “I’m not a woman.”

“I’ll help you.”

He gave a bitter laugh. “You’re going to teach me how to be a better girl?”

“I’m going to make sure no one catches you.”

“How considerate.”

“I’m serious.” Daphne’s voice sharpened. “If you’re going to be around staff, parents, and children, you need to be convincing enough that no one looks twice.”

“More feminine.”

“Safer.”

Samuel said nothing.

“I’ll pay for an appointment with Emily, my personal image consultant and stylist.” Daphne continued. “She’ll help with the wig, the makeup, and anything else you need.”

“And she won’t ask questions?”

“She knows how to be discreet.”

“You’ve planned all of this.”

“I prepared for the possibility.”

“The possibility that you could force me into it.”

Daphne looked away for a moment.

Then she slid the phone back toward herself.

“I’ll let you know when your appointment is. Make sure Samantha is ready.”

Samuel’s voice came out quieter than he intended.

“How long?”

Daphne stood.

“For as long as necessary.”

She picked up her phone and looked down at him one last time.

“Everything is arranged. Willow House is expecting Samantha.”

 

Tiffany led Daphne away from the reception hall and into a quieter corridor overlooking the courtyard.

Samuel tried to follow, but Tiffany was moving quickly and his still-developing relationship with high heels did not allow him to do the same. By the time he reached the far side of the room, Andrew was already beside him.

“Sam.”

Samuel stopped.

Andrew looked toward the corridor, then back at him. “What happened?”

“She knows.”

“Tiffany?”

Samuel nodded.

“And she’s going after Daphne.”

“Do you want me to stop her?”

“I don’t know.”

Andrew placed a steadying hand on his arm.

“You don’t have to decide in the next five seconds.”

“Yes, I do.”

Samuel looked toward the place where both sisters had disappeared. His heart was pounding beneath the fitted bodice of the navy dress.

For weeks, every decision had been delayed, avoided, or made for him.

He could remain in the reception hall and let Tiffany fight the battle.

Or he could finally enter the conversation himself.

“I’m going,” he said.

Andrew nodded. “Then I’m coming with you.”

Samuel looked at him.

“I’ll stay back,” Andrew added. “But I’m not leaving you alone.”

Together, they crossed the room.

By the time Samantha reached the corridor, Tiffany had already begun.

“How long have you been doing this to him?”

Daphne’s face changed when she noticed Samantha approaching.

“He told you.”

“He shouldn’t have had to.”

“This isn’t what it looks like,” Daphne said. “There’s an explanation. It isn’t as simple as you think.”

“You threatened him.”

“I gave him a way to protect the secret.”

“You forced him to keep living as someone he never agreed to become.”

Daphne’s eyes flashed.

“You haven’t seen him at Willow House. You haven’t seen who he becomes when he stops fighting every second of it.”

“That still didn’t give you the right to decide for him.”

“You don’t understand.”

“I understand that he’s terrified of you.”

Daphne looked toward Samantha.

“That wasn’t what I wanted.”

“But it’s what you did.”

Daphne turned back to her sister.

“At least I was there. I saw what Samantha could do. I saw how much the children loved her.” Her voice grew sharper. “You decided it was easier to move on.”

Tiffany recoiled.

“You caused all of this. You read something that wasn’t yours, and you handed Mom and Dad exactly what they needed to keep us apart. You were the reason I was forbidden from seeing him.”

“And you were willing to let that be the end of it.”

“You don’t know what I fought for.”

“I know he created an entire person just to see you, and you arrived tonight with someone else.”

“He is not my boyfriend.”

“That isn’t the point.”

“You took away my choices, too,” Tiffany said. “Because of you, they took away the person I loved.”

Daphne’s face tightened.

“And you took away my best friend.”

“Stop.”

Both sisters turned.

Samantha stood a few feet away, breathing hard from the walk in heels and the effort of holding everything inside.

“Please,” Samuel said. “Stop talking about me like I’m not standing here.”

The anger in Tiffany’s face faltered.

Daphne lowered her eyes.

Samuel looked at Tiffany first.

“Neither of you is as cruel as the other one wants to believe.”

Tiffany opened her mouth, but he continued.

“If we had trusted each other enough to talk before everything exploded—if we had found a way to face your family together—maybe Samantha would never have had to exist.”

Tiffany’s gaze dropped.

Samuel turned toward Daphne.

“And if you had respected your sister’s privacy—and mine—Samantha would never have had to come back.”

The faint satisfaction that had begun to appear on Daphne’s face vanished.

Samuel took a breath.

“Going to St. Catherine’s gave me something I don’t regret. But attending the Graduation Gala as Samantha was my decision, and it was a mistake.”

Pain crossed Tiffany’s face, although she already knew the facts. Hearing Samuel call it a mistake made their weight feel different.

Samuel continued before the conversation could turn back toward the gala.

“Willow House wasn’t bad. Maya wasn’t bad. The children weren’t bad.” He looked directly at Daphne. “But I should have been the one who decided.”

Silence filled the corridor.

Daphne’s shoulders lowered.

“I know.”

Samuel had expected another defense.

Instead, she wiped beneath one eye.

Tiffany gave a disbelieving laugh. “Do you?”

Daphne’s eyes moved toward Samuel.

“I told myself Willow House made it worth it. I told myself the good you were doing meant I hadn’t really hurt you.”

“And then?” Samuel asked.

Daphne looked down.

“Then I started enjoying the fact that you couldn’t say no.”

Her voice dropped.

“That was when I should have stopped.”

She looked at Samantha.

“Samantha did something extraordinary there.”

“What I did,” Samuel corrected.

Daphne went still.

“You gave the orders,” he continued. “I did the work.”

The words landed between them.

Daphne looked at Samantha again.

Not at the polished low bun or the carefully blended blue shadow. Not at the dress she had teased him about wearing or the heels he had been ordered to bring.

She saw the rigid shoulders. The hand unconsciously gripping the side of the short skirt as though he needed to hold it in place. The fear beneath the makeup. The exhaustion in his eyes.

For weeks, Daphne had seen a convincing young woman, a capable volunteer, and proof that her plan was succeeding.

Now, for the first time, she saw Samuel beneath all of it—tense, overwhelmed, and still waiting for her next command.

Daphne’s eyes filled before she could look away.

“I’m truly sorry.”

A tear slipped down her cheek.

Samuel did not know what to say.

Daphne turned before either of them could stop her and walked back toward the reception hall.

Tiffany watched her go.

Then she faced Samuel.

“When you told me everything in the restroom, I understood what happened,” she said. “I don’t think I understood what it meant until now.”

Samuel remained silent.

“You created Samantha because you wanted to see me. Then you went to my Graduation Gala knowing how terrified you were of being discovered.” Her eyes filled with tears. “You were willing to risk so much just to be close to me, and I spent the past month trying to convince myself that forgetting you was the only way to survive.”

She lowered her gaze.

“I never stopped to think about what any of it had cost you.”

Samuel’s throat tightened.

“I’m sorry,” Tiffany whispered. “I’m sorry I didn’t understand sooner.”

He wanted to answer.

No words came.

The first tear escaped before he could stop it, cutting a thin line through the makeup Emily had applied so carefully. Another followed.

Andrew approached from the far end of the corridor. He looked at Tiffany, then at Samuel.

“I think it’s time to go.”

Samuel nodded.

Tiffany stepped aside.

Neither of them tried to say goodbye.

 

Andrew drove him home in silence.

Samuel remained in the heels for the entire ride. By the time they reached the house, his feet hurt and he was too exhausted to care about the sound they made against the pavement.

Once inside, he climbed the stairs without turning on the lights, each step announcing him with the sharp click of his heels. The borrowed jewelry made small sounds whenever he moved.

In his bedroom, he removed the dress, the heels, the wig, and the accessories. He placed them wherever his exhausted hands could manage rather than returning them to their careful hiding places.

He did not remove the makeup.

He did not clean the navy polish from his nails.

He barely managed to pull on an old T-shirt before collapsing onto the bed.

When he opened his eyes the next morning, mascara had collected beneath them and foundation marked the pillowcase. His head hurt. His throat felt raw, and for several seconds he did not remember why.

Then everything returned.

Daphne.

Tiffany.

The corridor.

The words they had finally said after weeks of silence.

His phone vibrated on the nightstand.

I need to see you. Please. I really need to.

Samuel stared at Daphne’s message.

He did not know whether he wanted to answer the person who had frightened, controlled, and humiliated him.

He also did not know how to hate the person whose actions had led him to Willow House, Jenna, and Maya.

Before he could decide, there was a soft knock at his door. It opened a few inches.

“Can I come in?”

Samuel reacted instinctively, pulling the comforter over his face.

Lily stopped just inside.

Samuel kept the blanket pressed over his face.

Lily sighed.

“You can stop hiding. I saw you last night.”

His entire body went still.

Slowly, he lowered the comforter until only his eyes were visible.

Lily held up a package of makeup-removing wipes.

“I thought you might need these.”

Samuel watched her as though the smallest movement might make the situation worse.

Lily crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. She pulled out one wipe and held it toward him.

When he did not take it, she began carefully removing the mascara beneath one eye.

Samuel swallowed.

“How long have you known?”

“I didn’t know,” Lily said. “Not at first.”

She folded the wipe and cleaned the other side.

“I started noticing that you were acting strange a few weeks ago. You were quieter than usual, but I thought it was because of graduation.”

“That would have been reasonable.”

“Then you started going out all the time.”

“I have friends.”

“You do not have that many friends.”

Samuel gave her an offended look.

“You know what I mean.”

She used another wipe to remove the foundation from his cheek.

“Then I found the hair tie outside your room. After that, there was the day you heated your dinner, ran upstairs to change when I got home, and came back acting like I had almost killed you by opening the front door.”

Samuel looked away.

“And yesterday there was glitter on your nails.”

“Oh.”

Lily smiled faintly.

“Until then, I thought you had a girlfriend you didn’t want to tell me about.”

“That was your conclusion?”

“What else was I supposed to think? Hair ties, glitter, secret plans, strange girls you refused to explain.”

Lily’s gaze shifted toward his desk.

Several of her accessories were lying there exactly where Samuel had abandoned them the night before.

He followed her eyes and winced.

“But then some of my jewelry disappeared.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I noticed.”

Lily placed the used wipe beside the others.

“I decided I was going to wait for you to come home and catch you with it. I thought you had loaned everything to this mysterious girlfriend, and if I surprised you, you wouldn’t have enough time to invent another excuse.”

Samuel’s stomach tightened.

“So I stayed downstairs with the lights off.”

He looked at her.

“I heard the heels first,” Lily continued. “Then I saw you come in wearing the dress.”

Samuel closed his eyes.

“The room was dark, but I saw enough.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You sounded upset.” Lily’s voice softened. “And you looked exhausted. Whatever had happened, I could tell it wasn’t the right moment to make it worse.”

Samuel looked at her again.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

She handed him a clean wipe.

“So,” Lily said, “do I actually have a sister?”

Samuel laughed weakly and shook his head.

“No.”

“Just checking.”

For the next several minutes, he told her everything.

He told her about Tiffany, St. Catherine’s, Natalie, Maddie, and Riley. About the Graduation Gala and the messages that followed. About Daphne, Willow House, the volunteer uniform, Maya, and the promise he had made.

Lily listened without interrupting.

When he finished, she sat quietly for a moment.

“We may not be the perfect brother and sister,” she said, “but you should know you can trust me. Mom and Dad won’t hear any of this from me.”

Samuel smiled.

“Thank you.”

“And next time you need jewelry—or clothes—just ask. I’m not promising everything will fit, but I probably have a skirt or a dress you could borrow.”

Samuel stared at her.

Lily smiled. “Only if you need one.”

“Right.”

“And I can tell you which accessories actually work with it instead of letting you steal half my collection.”

Samuel laughed again.

Lily smiled.

“Any other sister-to-sister advice you need?”

He leaned forward and hugged her.

She seemed surprised, but returned it immediately.

When they separated, Samuel looked toward his phone.

“Now that you know everything, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“What should I do about Daphne?”

Lily considered the question.

“I’m not defending her.”

“I know.”

“What she did was wrong. But she used to be your friend. Your best friend.” Lily glanced at the message still glowing on the screen. “Give her one chance to talk. You don’t have to forgive her, and you don’t have to keep her in your life. If you don’t like what she says, you walk away.”

Samuel nodded slowly.

“But maybe she says something that helps,” Lily added. “Even if it only helps you decide that you’re done.”

“You’re right.”

“I usually am.”

“Thank you, sister.”

“You’re welcome, sister.”

Samuel stared at her.

Lily tilted her head.

“Brother?”

“Let’s stay with brother.”

She laughed and stood.

“I’m making breakfast. You can come downstairs as Samuel or Samantha.”

“Samuel.”

“For now,” Lily said. “But someday I want the full sister experience.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Lending you clothes, fixing your hair, doing your makeup, getting ready together, and finding out whether you complain about heels as much as I do.”

“I already complain about heels.”

“Perfect. We’re halfway there.”

She left before he could respond.

Samuel listened to her footsteps fade down the hallway.

Then he picked up his phone.

He read Daphne’s message one more time before typing.

Should I wear a dress or a skirt?

The response arrived almost immediately.

Neither. I want to speak to Samuel. Same restaurant. Eight o’clock.

Free Will

Sunday felt unlike any other day Samuel could remember.

He had spoken to Lily in a way they never had before. For years, they had occupied the same house as siblings who cared about each other without ever becoming particularly close. Now, after one impossible morning, something between them had shifted. For the first time, Samuel felt that Lily had seen something vulnerable in him and responded without judgment, disgust, or fear.

She had seen Samantha—and instead of pulling away, she had offered makeup wipes, discretion, clothing, and what she had enthusiastically described as the full sister experience.

It was a connection Samuel had never expected to share with her. One he was beginning to understand Samantha had given them.

The rest of the day was less peaceful.

His emotions rose and fell without warning as he replayed everything that had happened at the reception. It had been one of Samantha’s most carefully prepared appearances. Samuel had allowed Andrew not only to meet her but to watch her emerge. Emily had seen the entire transformation as well, from Samuel arriving at the closed salon with a suitcase to Samantha leaving in a navy cocktail dress, borrowed jewelry, and heels.

Then he had seen Tiffany again.

After nearly a month apart, one look had been enough to remind him that he had not moved on. Tiffany was still the woman he imagined when he thought about love, even if the possibility of being together had seemed impossible.

And then there was Daphne.

She had frightened him, controlled him, and forced Samantha to remain alive long after Samuel had intended to let her disappear. He should have hated her.

He did not.

That realization troubled him almost as much as anything she had done.

As eight o’clock approached, Samuel dressed for the restaurant.

He put on khaki chinos, a white button-down shirt, and brown loafers. The clothes were ordinary. Familiar. Entirely his.

Yet when he looked in the mirror, he experienced the strange sensation that something was wrong.

For weeks, every meeting with Daphne had required preparation. A skirt. A dress. Makeup. The wig. A version of himself assembled according to someone else’s instructions.

Now there was only Samuel.

He ran a hand through his own hair, picked up his keys, and left.

The drive to the restaurant felt longer than it had the first time.

On that night, he had arrived in a green satin dress and heels, terrified of meeting the stranger who knew his secret. Tonight, he wore a white shirt and chinos, and the person waiting for him was no longer a stranger.

Daphne was already seated when he entered.

She looked up as he approached but did not smile.

Samuel sat across from her.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

The silence should have been uncomfortable. Instead, it felt strangely familiar, like the quiet they had once shared when they were younger and neither of them needed to fill every moment with conversation.

Daphne broke it first.

“I’m sorry.”

Samuel looked at her.

There was no playfulness in her expression. No carefully controlled smile.

“I know you may never completely understand what I felt or what made me do any of it,” she continued. “But I’m not going to use that as an excuse. None of what I did can be justified.”

Samuel remained silent.

“It began because I genuinely wanted to spend time with you again. I missed you.” Daphne folded her hands on the table. “And I won’t lie—the idea of Samantha amused me. I thought it might be a way to punish you a little for shutting me out.”

“A little?”

“I know.”

She lowered her gaze.

“I kept telling myself it was a game. That I would never actually expose you. But I made you believe I would, and that was enough to control you.”

Samuel’s jaw tightened.

“When I realized how much power that gave me, I went far too far,” Daphne said. “Every time you followed an instruction, it became easier to give you another one. I began to enjoy knowing you couldn’t refuse me.”

“That part I noticed.”

“I’m sure you did.”

A faint, ashamed smile appeared and disappeared.

“I loved having you back,” she said. “Even if Samantha was the only way I could do it. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy spending time with her, too.”

Daphne reached for her phone and opened a folder.

She turned the screen toward him.

The first photograph was the one taken outside St. Catherine’s: Samantha in uniform, her phone in her hand.

The second showed her in the fuchsia gown at the Graduation Gala.

Below them were screenshots of the anonymous messages and a small collection of ordinary photographs taken at Willow House events—Samantha helping children at an activity table, standing beside Jenna during a staff meeting, crouching beside Maya while they worked on a project.

Nothing indecent. Nothing Samuel had not done openly.

Still, seeing his secret life gathered inside a single folder made his stomach tighten.

She selected everything and pressed delete.

The photographs disappeared.

Then she opened the recently deleted folder and erased them again. She deleted the screenshots, the anonymous conversation, and the temporary number she had used.

When she finished, she placed the phone facedown on the table.

“I promise you, by the friendship we once had, that there are no other copies.”

Samuel studied her face.

“I would have liked to keep one picture,” she admitted. “Not as evidence. Just as a memory of Samantha.”

For the first time that evening, Samuel’s expression softened.

“I knew you weren’t completely terrible.”

Daphne looked up.

A timid smile passed between them.

“I also want you to know that you don’t have to return to Willow House,” she said. “I’ve already arranged to cover Samantha’s remaining shifts.”

Samuel frowned.

“You did?”

“I wanted you to have a real way out before I spoke to you. I can explain that she had a family emergency and couldn’t complete the program.”

“And the gala?”

“I’ll take her place.”

Samuel raised an eyebrow.

Daphne sighed.

“I’m not thrilled about crowns, giant skirts, and crinolines, but I assume I hate them less than you do. I’ll be the princess I was trying so hard to turn Samantha into.”

Samuel continued staring at her.

Daphne shifted uncomfortably.

“There may be one final confession.”

“What did you do?”

“Technically, you never entered the princess raffle.”

“I know that.”

“I entered you.”

Samuel narrowed his eyes. “That still shouldn’t have guaranteed I was selected.”

Daphne winced.

“I prepared the slips before the meeting. I folded yours more tightly than the others and wedged it just beneath the inner rim of the drum. The first three drawings were completely fair. Before the fourth, I turned the drum so your slip was directly beneath Marianne’s fingers.”

Samuel stared at her.

“You rigged the raffle.”

“Only twenty-five percent of it.”

“Daphne.”

“Marianne had no idea.”

Daphne covered her face with both hands.

“But I’m going to make it right. Publicly wearing a princess gown and walking in a parade should be sufficient punishment.”

“It won’t be necessary,” Samuel said quietly.

“And I promise to be the most graceful, feminine princess Willow House has ever—”

“I’ll do it.”

Daphne continued as though she had not heard him.

“I only hope I don’t fall over the skirt or get lost inside one of the crinolines—”

“I said I’ll be the princess.”

She stopped.

“What?”

“I’ll do it.”

“Why?”

Samuel looked down at the table.

“I thought you wanted to be free of all this,” Daphne said. “I thought you wanted to lock Samantha away and never see her again.”

“At first, I did.”

“And now?”

Samuel considered the question.

“I still don’t love everything about it. That dress sounds enormous, and I’m not particularly excited about spending another day in makeup and heels.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

“But I don’t hate being Samantha once in a while.”

Daphne watched him carefully.

“What I hated was not being the one who chose.”

Something in her expression changed.

Samuel continued.

“There’s also Maya. I promised her I would be there. I told her we would be princesses together.”

“I can stay with her.”

“No.”

“Samuel, you don’t have to prove anything.”

“I’m not trying to prove anything.”

“Then why?”

“Because she needs the person who made the promise.”

Daphne was quiet.

“And you don’t need to cover Samantha’s remaining shifts,” Samuel added. “She’ll finish the summer program.”

“You really don’t have to do that.”

“I know.”

“Then why would you?”

“Because I want to.”

The simplicity of the answer seemed to affect Daphne more than anything else he had said.

“I’m not doing it for you,” Samuel continued. “I’m doing it for myself. For Maya. For Willow House.”

Daphne nodded slowly.

“I understand.”

“And maybe a little for Samantha.”

A faint smile touched her lips.

“I’m glad.”

Samuel lifted a hand.

“Don’t misunderstand me. You never get to decide when Samantha appears again.”

“I know.”

“Not the outfit. Not the place. Not the reason.”

“I know.”

“If she comes back, it will be because I chose it.”

Daphne met his eyes.

“I promise.”

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Samuel surprised himself.

“I also want to thank you.”

Daphne blinked. “For blackmailing you?”

“Not for that.”

“Good. I was concerned.”

Samuel looked toward the window.

“At Willow House, Samantha became a friend. She became someone the children trusted. She was a little light for people who live with a lot of darkness.” His voice softened. “She became an anchor for a girl who didn’t trust anyone.”

Daphne’s eyes began to shine.

“I used to think none of that belonged to me,” Samuel said. “That Samantha had done it because Samuel never could.”

He paused.

“But I did it. Samantha just helped me discover that I was capable of it.”

A tear slipped down Daphne’s cheek.

Samuel quickly looked away before his own could follow.

“And,” he added, “you’ve given me a much greater appreciation for everything my future wife may have to do when she wants to look beautiful for me.”

Daphne laughed through her tears.

“You’re welcome.”

“Apparently false lashes are an act of devotion.”

“And don’t forget that I introduced you to the comfort, freedom, and refreshing breeze of wearing a skirt.”

“I was hoping to forget that part.”

“You can’t deny it.”

“I absolutely can.”

Daphne wiped her cheek.

Samuel took a breath.

“I forgive you, Daphne.”

Her laughter faded.

“And I believe you,” Samuel continued. “I believe the pictures are gone. I believe you would never expose me.”

Daphne searched his face.

“You still trust me?”

“Yes.” He allowed himself a small smile. “That doesn’t mean I’m giving you control of my wardrobe again.”

Daphne laughed softly, tears still bright in her eyes.

“I can live with that.”

Samuel looked down for a moment.

“When we’re both ready,” Samuel said, “maybe we can find out whether our friendship still works.”

“I’d like that.”

She smiled.

“I might even consider accepting you as my brother-in-law someday.”

Samuel laughed.

“I doubt your parents will be thrilled.”

“They may surprise you.”

“I also doubt Tiffany wants a boyfriend who walks in heels better than she does.”

Daphne leaned back.

“We’ll see.”

Her expression became strangely confident.

“You might be surprised.”

 

When Samuel returned home, he opened Samantha’s suitcase to put away the few things he had left out after the reception.

The black satin nightgown lay near the bottom.

The last time he had worn it, Daphne had ordered him to lock the door and send a photograph. For a moment, the memory made the fabric feel like evidence again.

Samuel could have thrown it away.

Instead, he lifted it from the suitcase.

He had chosen the nightgown before Daphne ever asked to see it.

He changed into it before bed.

There was no wig, no makeup, no camera, and no message waiting for proof. Only the cool satin settling against his skin and the quiet certainty that no one else had made this choice for him.

This time, the nightgown belonged to Samuel.

 

On Monday morning, Samuel woke before his alarm.

There was no anonymous message waiting on his phone. No instructions about what to wear. No threat explaining what would happen if he stayed home.

He could have turned off the alarm and gone back to sleep.

Instead, he got out of bed.

He transformed anyway.

 

Another week at Willow House came to an end.

By Friday afternoon, the gala was only eight days away. Every staff meeting had become a list of final preparations: food, decorations, sponsors, staging, children’s costumes, parade positions, emergency supplies, photographs, music, and the complicated logistics of getting four adult princesses into enormous gowns.

When the meeting ended, Samantha left the building in the uniform she had once hated.

The white blouse no longer felt like part of a costume. The pale-blue-and-white striped pinafore had softened after weeks of washing, and its pockets carried the familiar collection of pens, tissues, hair ties, and small objects children had asked her to hold.

Her hair was arranged in the braided bun Jenna had taught her, and her badge still read:

Samantha Brooks
Summer Volunteer

She reached her car but did not start it immediately.

A series of messages had appeared in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Skirt.

Maddie: I can’t believe Samantha is going on a shopping trip without us.

Riley: Traitor.

Natalie: Let’s see if she is as helpful as we were.

Samuel: Don’t be jealous. There are enough Samantha shopping trips to go around.

Riley: Trips? Plural? I’m saving this message.

Maddie: You’re forgiven. Temporarily.

Natalie: I want another turn choosing your clothes.

Samuel: I promised one more trip. Nobody said anything about unlimited access.

Riley: Too late. Screenshot taken.

The passenger door opened.

Lily slid into the seat and looked at Samantha with undisguised delight.

“So,” she said, fastening her seat belt, “are you ready, little sister?”

Samantha locked the phone.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

They drove toward the same mall where Samuel had purchased most of Samantha’s wardrobe.

This time, he needed something unusually specific.

Walking beside Lily as Samantha felt different from shopping with Natalie, Maddie, and Riley. The girls had helped create her; Lily had known Samuel his entire life and still linked her arm through Samantha’s as though the two of them had always gone shopping as sisters.

A saleswoman glanced at them and smiled with the easy recognition people gave siblings. Lily noticed the assumption too.

She smiled back without correcting it.

Samuel pretended not to notice how much that affected him.

The costume coordinator had provided exact requirements for the princess shoes: closed-toe, silver or pale blue, secure enough for the parade, and a heel of approximately two inches so the gown would fall at the correct length.

Lily had offered several pairs from her closet. None fit properly. The heels from the Patron Reception were too high and too delicate for a gown that would already be difficult to manage.

After visits to four stores, Lily found a pair of silver satin pumps with rounded toes, broad two-inch heels, and narrow ankle straps.

“They’re practical,” Samuel said after walking across the store.

Lily looked offended.

“They’re beautiful.”

“They’re stable.”

“They can be both.”

Samuel turned toward the mirror.

The silver caught the light without appearing too bright. The heel was high enough to set the gown at the correct length and improve his posture, but low enough that he could imagine surviving several hours in them.

Lily appeared beside his reflection.

“Those are the ones.”

“You sound very certain.”

“I’m your sister. This is the kind of authority I’ve been promised.”

Samuel smiled despite himself.

“Fine.”

Lily linked her arm through his.

“Now we need stockings.”

Samuel closed his eyes.

“I knew there would be a second part.”

“There is always a second part.”