Tim’s Work Ethic

Classes done, Tim met up with Nancy one more time to make out, then hopped the bus to head home. He still resented his sister wrecking his car and being stuck on public transit. Hopefully he’d have good news from the insurance adjuster soon so that he could buy a new-to-him car.

Still, transit had its advantages. Not driving made it a lot easier to check his makeup. It also gave him a chance to catch up on the reading for his classes, something he hadn’t done while commuting before. The information he gleaned from going through the texts made so much more sense since his trade with Stacy. Before the trade, he hadn’t even been smart enough to know that he wasn’t smart!

Another advantage was the attention. Being magically attractive, Tim loved having women, perfect strangers, checking him out. Again a voice in the back of his head bemoaned that he hadn’t dressed in something more revealing. Had he done so, he would have gleaned twice as many stares!

As it was, Tim had nothing to complain about. More than a few women openly gawked at the bulge in his jeans, causing the source of the bulge to twitch. He would smile at the women, who would blush and turn away, pretend to look at their phones, or just stare out the window. It was a fun game! A smile here, a wink there, and make the girls go crazy!

He wasn’t even worried that his beautiful new girlfriend Nancy would care. She all but told him to mess around with other women, so what did a little flirting hurt?

Back at home, Tim found himself alone in the house with his sister, Tabby. It was a Monday, a day his parents often worked late.

“Hey Tim,” she greeted him as he walked into the kitchen to grab a drink and a snack, “You look… interesting.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tim asked.

“You’re clothes,” she indicated with her left hand, “don’t you usually dress up a bit more for school?”

“Yeah yeah,” he sounded dismissive, but couldn’t shake the feeling that she was right, “I’m just trying something different.”

“Well you look fine,” she said, returning to dipping her tea bag into her mug, “You can dress however you want. It’s not like you own anything that would actually make you look bad.”

Tim’s relationship with Tabby had never been the closest, but this was a very kind thing to say! Before he even put a thought into it, he crossed the floor and gave his sister a hug from behind, his face smooshing into her back, as she was now so much taller than he was.

“What’s that for?”

“You’re just so sweet!” He said, letting her go and turning to the fridge. Inside was a bottle of Coke and a piece of pie that he had been hoping was still there.

“I’ll be upstairs,” he told his sister, then left her to her tea. He has more studying to do. It seemed that the trade for grades didn’t just raise his GPA and make him a flirt, it also gave him Stacy’s study habits. While he had waited for the bus at school, he had pulled out a piece of paper and made a studying schedule for the week based on the classes he was taking and the expectations of the teachers. He knew that even though he had gotten ahead on the bus, Tim would need to do at least an hour and a half of additional reading, plus start working on a paper if he was going to retain the grades he had just taken.

Not that he minded. He had time. And, it turned out, he was looking forward to it! Gone was his procrastination, replaced by an eagerness to work.

But before he did, since Tim wasn’t going out for the rest of the night, he slipped into the bathroom and slipped out of his makeup. While he had begun to enjoy the taste of the lipstick he had been sporting, he loved the feeling of a fresh washed face, free from the intense regiment of paint he applied every day.

Then, back in his room, he decided to get out of his tight jeans and into something more relaxing. There had to be something in his closet that he could wear that would be more comfortable than the restrictive garments he was in.

His experience in the closet was entirely different than his previous visit. Not a hint of dread or resentment did he feel. Instead, there was a sense of curiosity, of discovery. His body, his wardrobe, had changed. There was no sense fighting it. So what if he had to dress like a woman. Look at all he had gained!

He found no sweat pants, no track suits, but he hadn’t thought he would. After some exploring, though, he did find a brown sweater dress that would come down to his knees, the closest thing he could find to a cozy outfit. Pulling it down from its hanger, he examined it. He was just at home, so he might as well wear it. It wasn’t as if he was having people over, just his family. It looked comfy enough to get some studying done, and maybe cute enough that he could flirt a bit with his mom and sister. You know, just for fun.

And so Tim settled in. It would be a couple hours before dinner, so cozy and warm in his sweater dress, he dove into his studies. There was lots to do. He’d lost a lot in his trades, but he’d be damned if he let go of what he’d gained.