Stop Working, Start Cooking

After practice, you change back into your normal clothes. Luckily, the locker room for Swim Team had individual shower stalls that you could duck into to put your embarrassing underwear back on. You had decided to wear the other black pair today, but even still you weren't confident that you weren't wearing underwear designed for girls. Jeff had even called them panties once.

The rest of the day goes by quickly and uneventfully, with two exceptions.

First was the text from Jeff. It was short and cryptic and just read: "come straight home after school. no work."

You tried texting back, but never got an answer. You were a little anxious since you normally worked a couple hours at your IT job after school, and wanted to maximize your earnings for a new game coming out later that month.

The next exception was gym class. Unlike the Swim Team locker rooms, there were no shower stalls in the gym class locker rooms. Just one big communal shower room the football team used after their practices, and that wouldn't hide you at all. If anything, going in would draw more attention to yourself since it was attached to the locker rooms and totally open.

So you did what you had to and changed as quickly as possible into your gym uniform. Luckily, no one said anything, but you weren't sure if anyone saw or not. The same happened after practice. A quick change - but you're sure you could feel a few glances thrown your way.

After school, you go straight home.

You walk in and find Jeff lounging on the sofa watching a war documentary on Netflix. You knock on the door frame a couple times to get his attention. Why the hell did you have to skip work if he was just relaxing on the couch?

"Ah, Aiken! Welcome home! Have a seat, here, let me take your bag for you." He gestures you onto the sofa next to him and puts your bag by the stairs.

"Uh, is something wrong, Sir? I was really hoping I could get in another ten hours this week to buy a game I really want..."

Jeff shrugs and makes a so-so motion with one hand. "No, nothing wrong, per-se, but... I wanted to talk to you about something- and I hope you'll understand that what I'm about to tell you is something that I've thought a lot about. I think it's for your best..."

"Uh-huh... what is it?" You feel your stomach churn a little. You didn't like where this was going, but you didn't want to be a brat again, so you decide to hear him out patiently and with as little criticism as possible.

"I want you to quit your job. Actually, I called your little 'tech center' already and told them you wouldn't be back. See, I want to transform you before your mom gets back from her business trip. I want you to look like a completely different person when she gets home, and I think we've made terrific progress already, but I want you to learn responsibility now."

"Going to a job everyday isn't responsible?" You try to keep your voice neutral - pleasant, even, to avoid it sounding like back-talk.

"Well... no. Not if you spend it on video games. Plus, what do you really do at your IT job? Run an anti-virus program that someone else made on some old lady's ancient laptop? Not exactly hard work, Aiken. So from now on, I'm putting you in charge of making every meal every day - including weekdays. I know you'll be at school for most of the day, but you can pack my lunch ahead of time in the morning. On top of that, I want you to stay on top of housework. That means cleaning, tidying, and laundry. I'll handle all the outdoor work, so don't worry about that."

"B-but... How will I make money, Sir? I mean for... school supplies and stuff?" You felt the corners of your mouth twitch with irritation, but tried to stay smiling to avoid getting a spanking.

"Oh, don't worry about that, sweety! Step-Daddy will give you an allowance if you're good. It might even be more than what you were making before! Oh, and I might need your help when I work from home sometimes, too. You'll get to be my little assistant - isn't that great?"

"W-wow, Sir... Um... yeah! Super great... Thank you..." It sounds ****, even to you.

Jeff hesitates and narrows his eyes like a fox, then adds, "Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you! It was meant to be for your mom, but since you're the house-wif- I mean, house-helper now, I think you've earned it." He stands and goes to fish something out of a cupboard, coming back a few seconds later.

The package is thin and lumpy, and wrapped in brown paper. You open it and pull out the contents. A 1950s-style apron unfurls in front of you. The apron skirt is black with white polka-dots, and a little pink bow on one side. The top part that covers the torso is white with pink polka-dots and has yet another bow in the top middle. The shoulders flare out with pink ruffles, and the entire thing is fringed with pink frills, which tie around back in, of course, a huge pink bow.

"I want you to wear that whenever you cook, honey. To keep your nice clothes clean and neat. Actually - you could use a new wardrobe too, now that I think about it. How would you like to go shopping this weekend? I want you to put more effort into your outfits. Really wow me. Anyways, what do you say for the nice new apron?"

"I... th-thank you, Sir..." you manage with a **** smile.

Jeff chuckles. "Good boy. Now put it on and get into the kitchen."

You obey, pink ruffles bouncing with every step.