I choose to tell them once Winter Break comes around

If my parents knew that I signed up for the Student X-Change Program, they would not let me leave the house and go to college as a girl, whether it was six hours away or across the whole country. They would believe that it was too much of a risk, given it would be my first time in the female body while being the only person in the whole family to attend a big university.

So, I keep the whole Program a secret from not only my parents, but even my siblings too. I sure hope none of them tries to call me or worse, FaceTime me while I’m at school. There would be a lot of ignored calls. And with that, I sure hope they don’t think the person they’re calling is being impersonated by someone else.

Once I’ve sent in the necessary forms to the school I’ve chosen, graduation rolls around and my summer is spent working just to get some spending money. Since I’ll be on the west coast, I’ll be away from my family for about three to four months. From what my counselor says, those participating in the Program will have a lot of support systems to help participating students not only get through their lives as young women, but also through school highs and lows.

My whole family sees me off at the airport and I can see that they’re all proud of me. My mother is the most emotional one, since the sheer distance between us while I’m away at university is the farthest we’ve ever been physically. Hopefully, the rest of the family can handle her while I’m across the country.

I’m half excited and half nervous about Freshman Orientation. The plane ride to the west coast goes on without a hitch. There is someone there with a sign with my name on it in the place where I pick up my checked-in luggage. I would say the short limo I ride in was provided by the X-Change corporation and not the school itself. And my assumptions are true as the car takes me to an X-Change clinic. What’s weird is that the driver unloads my bags from the car and I only realize why as I enter the air-conditioned building. Most of what’s in the luggage are clothes and even toiletries, which I remember was only a ruse for my family to see, to believe that I was going to school as Elijah and not my female self. They would most likely keep it here or a safe location until I graduate four years from now. That is if I know I’ll be changing back to a guy after that time. Thinking of that, I wonder if they’ll provide me clothes, toiletries, makeup and even stuff for my periods to replace the luggage I’m leaving with them.

In what appears to be the lobby, there are four other guys who also have their luggage with them. It should be no surprise to me that I’m not the only person who has ticked off the box on the college application for interest towards the Student X-Change Program. “They told us to wait for the liaison to meet with us,” a white guy says, standing up from his seat. His accent is terribly English. My guess he is from one of the countries in Europe. “Name’s Oliver, man.”

The two others stand up and introduce themselves. The Hispanic man’s name is Emilio and the Asian man is named Charles. “Hey, my name is Elijah.” Before we can talk up a storm in the lobby, we turn around as we hear heels clicking on the granite floor. A woman with fiery red hair and a white doctor’s coat comes walking down the hall with the unmistakable womanly sway of her hips. Her appearance and her approach has all four of us silenced. “Gentleman. My name is Ms. Veronica Stephens, your liaison for the Student X-Change Program. Boys, walk with me.”

The four of us guys retrieve our suitcases and follow her down the hall. It is incredibly hard not to be mesmerized by the left and right sway of Ms. Stephens’s hips as she leads us to a room at the end of the hall. She locks the door behind her after we've entered. “You can leave your luggage here. I’m pretty sure you won’t be needing it. Now, please have a seat.” I park my luggage next to the door and put my backpack on top of that, the other three guys doing the same. There are four armchairs facing the door and we each take one. Ms. Stephens steps forward from the door and stops in front of us.

"In a moment, you’ll be asked to sign the disclosure and consent form. I won’t go over everything again since I’m sure you all closely read the disclosure documents we mailed you, right?” For a moment, I think about looking at the other three to see any reaction to her question, but I think better than to be the only one who skimmed over all the provided information three months prior. “But as a reminder, here are the key parts. The implant you are about to receive will release X-Change continually into your system throughout your time at UC Santa Barbara. So, for the next four years, you’ll experience all the joys and all of the difficulties of being a woman. Just like each of our students that were born that way. After graduation, what you do will be up to you. Some of you may want to change back, and some of you may find you prefer life as a woman."

She walks to where a counter is and takes a stack of clipboards. Each clipboard has a small stack of documents attached to them. Ms. Stephens hands each of us a clipboard and a pen for us to use.

"Keep in mind, you’ll have all the concerns of any other woman now. In particular, this includes the possibility of getting pregnant. And remember, if you do get pregnant, we won’t be able to change you back to your male body after graduation. We do have an on-campus daycare though, so at least you’ll be able to continue your studies. Based on your transcript and application, we have preselected a set of implant options we think might appeal to you. You are welcome to visit with one of our implantation specialists if you wish to make any changes from what was selected for you. If you've already contacted us with your preferences and don't have any changes, then proceed to the any of the implant specialist stations in all of the other rooms down this hall."

I see that the documents on my clipboard are unique to me and me alone. My name appears on each of them. I do remember one of them having a list of implant options, so I’m glad I read that one in its entirety before the summer. Something the liaison said about how our grades from high school affected what was preselected for each of us. I see the preselected implant package at the top is called the “Natural Woman Package.” I would be able to enjoy my new body while still being able to focus on my studies, which is why my parents gave me their blessing to even go here in the first place. I make a note not to disappoint them by dropping out. The reason why it’s called Natural is because the transformation I would get would be what happens to my DNA if I took a regular X-Change Pink Plus pill. And since it’s natural, there wouldn’t be any side-effects to look forward to. I just need to remember to not get knocked up. Now, I can change it to something else by going to an implantation specialist, before the implant is activated.

The liaison speaks up, detailing more information for us to consider, "A prescription for birth control pills will also be provided. If you want to discuss other birth control options, then continue on to speak with one of our specialists. A brief discussion will occur after your body selection process. After your change, new identity documents with the female name you provided on your application will be generated for you.” In my case, I’ve selected Eliza as my new name as a female. "If you've changed your mind about this, then please visit with one of our implant specialists and he or she can assist you with changing it before we submit your information officially."