The spring semester started with a heavy load of classes I had to take. I continued advancing my studies in game programming. On top of that, I enrolled in a creative writing course. My computer science professor from last year said it would be smart to at least understand basic storytelling in the event of making a game. According to his background of working with triple-A companies, it could take days, weeks, or months to be considered hired to work on games. Garanties usually vary. Working with small teams was the best choice for him and that was the advice he gave to his students.

The class I enrolled in taught how to use 3D software. There were students I recognized from last semester, but it was mostly full of fresh faces that were guys. The class had two geeky-looking girls sitting in the front row. I learned their names to be Shannon and Misty after our professor did roll call. Shannon had blonde hair and Misty had brown hair with half of her hair buzzed off. They sat together in the front of the class, right in front of me out of all places. The ratio between them jumped a point when Yosefin strolled in.

“Hiya!” Yosefin said. The girls lifted their heads to see her. They watched her walk around them and they didn’t look away when she kissed me on the cheek. “You smell good. What do you got on?” Her compliment made me too shy to answer in front of them. “It smells like grapes.” She guessed correctly. I bought a new scent after the brand I liked wasn’t in stock at the grocery store.

“It is,” I said. Misty smirked. She turned her body halfway over her chair and asked if she could get a whiff. Shannon laughed. Yosefin didn’t find it amusing. She gave her one of the most terrifying death stare I had seen.

“What? It was a joke,” Misty said.

“Come take a whiff.”

Yosefin leaned over my desk from the aisle, putting herself between me and MIsty. She told her to come again and curled her finger to hurry up. Misty refused. She even apologized. Thank god Yosefin stopped pressuring her. Yosefin would have made a simple joke turn into some stupid fight or argument.

“Are you okay?” I said. “Did you get off the wrong side of the bed?”

“If being on the wrong side was stomach cramps,” she said quietly. “Then yes.” It took her, Kat, and Naomi for me to figure out that women tend to have varying types of mood swings and other issues when they are on their period. Yosefin got snappy most of the time. Sometimes she would get passive-aggressive with me but I knew not to take them seriously since she wasn’t acting out of anger.

“How bad is it?” I said. I rubbed my index knuckle on the side of her thigh to judge what I could do next once she reacted to it. Her leg moved away from it. It was only an inch but it was all I needed.

“I’m good, for now.”

“Let me know if it gets annoying. I can rush down to the RX wing.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Yes.”

“That’s so sweet of you,” she said before giving me a tight lip smile. She gently grabbed my hand and pressed it down on her thigh with both hands. “Hey, what are your plans during spring break?”

“I don’t know,” I said, mumbling my words. I was so busy looking at her hands that I didn’t hear a single word she said. My mind was shooting with excitement to see her grab me after she denied my touch. “Wait,” I said to cut her off from speaking without knowing I wasn’t listening. “Please, start from the beginning. My mind was somewhere else.”

“Oh, sure thing. My cousin is getting married during spring break.”

“Nice!”

“My family and I are going. And she’s allowing the families to bring an extra.”

“Ah,” I said before I had one of the biggest mild heart attacks sink into my stomach. “I see where this is going. Sadly I—”

“Damnit!” She said before I could finish my sentence. “What’s the excuse now, dude?”

“No excuse. I just need a suit.”

“Oh!” She said, cupping her mouth. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to cut you off and snap like that.” Her words spoke with care. She got close so no one would hear her.

“I know,” I said, keeping my voice down. “So, do I need to wear anything special?”

“Um,” she said, moving closer. “But could you wear a vest and tie?”

“Sure.”

“Perfect!”

Two days into spring break, I got a text from Yosefin saying that her family was heading out to the wedding. We left at the same time but she had a head start. The drive took two hours to get there. Her cousin chose a non-traditional spot out in the country. The building was a barn made out of stone. Behind it, I could see where everyone would take their seats for the actual wedding.

I parked on the grass and texted Yosefin I made it. She told me she was waiting at the entrance. All I had to do was find the “pretty tatted girl” awkwardly standing by herself. I saw her messing with her fingers when I was a few yards away. Her beauty stopped me in my tracks. She looked stunning in a navy blue dress. It stopped above the middle of her thigh. Her legs had on dark nylon leggings. She had a small white purse strapped over her left shoulder that matched the color of her high heels.

“Yosefin!” I said. She slightly jumped.

“Josh!” Yosefin said, opening her arms out. “You look handsome! I love it!”

“Thanks.” After we hugged, I kissed her without warning. “You look so beautiful, Yosefin. My heart is pounding.” Her makeup choice was perfect. She had on a different nose ring. It was silver like her dangling earring orbs. And her lips shined with some sort of mild glitter gloss. They smelled like bubblegum.

“Come here,” she said, closed her eyes, and lept her lips back to mine for two extra kisses. “Was the drive here okay?”

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“Long and boring.”

“I’m sorry. Hopefully, my cousin’s wedding will uplift your spirits.”

Yosefin took me by the hand to head inside. It was rowdy. There were a lot of people standing in groups, talking and drinking. We walked into a line to grab some snacks and something to drink before the wedding began. Their food wasn’t anything special. I got a couple of blueberry muffins and an iced cola.

“God, I’m gonna get fat off this stuff,” Yosefin said as she chewed on a donut. She grabbed two more donuts before we took our seats with her family.

“Hello, Joshua,” Mrs. B said. “You’re looking good, dear.” Mr. B gave me a nod of approval. He was sipping on steaming coffee when he saw me.

“He would look way better if he let his hair down.” She reached for my hairband but she was out of reach. “Hierher kommen.” (Come here.) Her fingers kept curling in and out. “Kommt, kommt.” (Come, come.) I leaned over to let her take it off.

“I don’t know,” I said. My hair was long enough to go behind my back. “I might cut it all off.”

“No!” She cried playfully, gripping my hand and putting it over her heart. “Don’t do that.”

“Honey, it’s his hair,” Mr B said.

“But, I love it the way it is!” Mrs. B shook her head and laughed under her breath. “It’s so cute,” she whispered facing me using the half-eaten donut to cover the side of her face from her parents.

“Okay, I won’t.”

“Thank you, Joshy,” she said without speaking it.

The people in charge of the wedding made everyone step outside to get ready for the bride. Once the music came through the loudspeakers, everyone stood up to witness the bride coming down the walkway. Teagan looked wonderful in her wedding dress. I couldn’t help but think about seeing Yosefin wearing one. After she talked about having children and being married after we got into a relationship, I kind of wanted to pick her brains to visualize that life with her. I didn’t pursue it until after the whole event died down. We were snacking on leftover sweets after the establishment served us dinner when I mentioned what she said to me.

“Teagan looks nice in that dress, yeah?” I said.

“Mhmm,” Yosefin said.

“If I were to ask you to marry right now, would you say yes?”

“Hmm!?” She said with her mouth stuffed. She quickly chewed her food and swallowed it. “Hell yes! Do you got a ring?”

“No,” I said a bazillion times. “I’m just wondering.”

“Dude,” she said with her hand over her heart. “You scared me. I thought you were going to drop on one knee.”

“You’re crazy,” I said somewhat scoffing. “We’re too young in this relationship to consider that.”

“I don’t think so.”

“I don’t have money for this.”

“That’s fine. It cost nothing to have a wife.” The sheer amount of cuteness from her statement was awe-inspiring. “I’m cheap.”

“You are something else, Yosefin.”

“I know,” she said, resting her head on the side of my shoulder with her phone up to her face. “Hey, my dad said Teagan is looking for me.” Teagan walked by us the moment Yosefin spoke. “Teagan!”

“Yes?” Teagan said. She looked at Yosefin like she was confused. Her head was tilted and she wasn’t smiling. “Can I help you?”

“It’s me, cousin!”

“Yose?”

“Congratulations! I hope you and your husband have a wonderful life.”

“Thanks...” Something felt off about the way Teagan kept looking at her. She looked like she was unsure of what she was seeing. I don’t think Yosefin saw what I noticed. She was smiling while Teagan wasn’t. “What happened to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You look like a woman!” Yosefin’s smile went away faster than I could blink. “I heard something strange happened to you years ago. Was it this?”

“Um... y-yes.”

“Wow!” Her eyes blew open. She slapped her hands on the side of her face hard enough to make them clap. “Wait... You didn’t go through any medical procedures, right?” Yosefin said no. “So,” she said with her hand waving around Yosefin’s crotch. “Is it still there?”

“Of course it is,” Yosefin said after gasping. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“And your voice. How do you not sound like a guy?”

“I don’t know.” She began to raise her voice. “It all ended when I was sixteen.”

“Are those real?”

Teagan pointed at Yosefin’s boobs. I could see Yosefin was slowly getting agitated. Before she spoke, she would breathe in and hold her breath for a moment. She never smiled while she was drilled with personal questions about her body. It got worse when Teagan involved her parents and other family members in the conversation. They were shocked by the unnatural transformations that Yosefin had to undergo. Their questions had no regard for privacy or respect. She answered them as best she could. I wanted to tell her she didn’t have to, but I wasn’t brave enough to stop their interests. I didn’t find the courage to pull her out until I heard Tegan’s dad talk to Mr. B behind Yosefin’s back criticizing him for not stepping in to stop the mutations.

“Yosefin, I think we’re done here,” I said.

“Okay,” Yosefin said. I took her hand and hurried out of the building.

“Yose,” Teagan said, jogging up to us. “Wait a sec! You didn’t introduce me to your friend!”

“He’s not my friend!” Yosefin said. She stopped while I was moving.

“Don’t tell me, are y’all together? Did he know about this?” Again, she waved her hand as a means to point out all the specifics of Yosefin’s mutations.

“Yosefin,” I whispered out of earshot from Teagan. “Let’s go. You don’t have to answer her.” I took out my hand for her to grab. She took it and walked with me after answering Teagan’s question with a great response.

“Yes, and he doesn’t care.”

Yosefin decided I should be the one to drive home. I gladly accepted that response. After that shocking charades of inappropriate comments, it was best she stayed clear from her family. I drove half an hour in silence. Every few minutes or so, I would check to see if she was okay by looking at her body language. She never looked at me. Most of the time she looked out the window or had her eyes closed.

“Yosefin,” I said.

“Yes?” She said, looking at me.

“Wanna get a shake?”

“I had too many sweets today. I don’t wanna get any fatter.” We didn’t speak again until some time later.

“Are you okay?” All she gave me was a sigh. “Don’t let them get in your head.”

“It’s hard not to after all of that shit.” I raced to figure out how to leave her in high spirits. There were arcades, museums, and parks I saw on the way to the wedding we could visit. I asked if she wanted to go to one, but she declined.

“I can’t bring you home like this.”

“You might have to.”

More and more options left the table the closer we got home. I couldn’t cheer her up with food, small talk, or staying quiet. There was one option I thought would piss her off if I tried to use it as a way to make her happy. I didn’t ask it until I drove into her neighborhood.

“Would you like to use me as a means to rant?” I said. Her mouth shifted to the left side of her face for a second. She moved it down then to the right. When it came back to the middle, she tried not to smile.

“I don’t know.”

I didn’t wait for an answer. The second I walked into her room, I stripped naked and waited on the bed. My boldness worked in the end. She locked the door, threw off her dress, slipped off her panties, and sat in my lap to make out. Her parents came home an hour later. They wanted to speak with her, but she told them off.

“Leave us alone,” Yosefin said.

We stayed locked in the room for the entire evening and a few hours into the morning, feeding off snacks and sodas. Before I left, she asked if she could sleep over my house for the night. She didn’t want to sleep by herself or be around her parents after the day she had. I brought her to my home without my family knowing until the next morning when we were making breakfast.

“Hello, Mr. McEwan,” Yosefin said. I had my back to them when my dad came through the door. My heart rate shot up. I thought he would ask why she was here. To make the matter more scary, she was wearing a tank top. Her tattoos were exposed.

“Good morning,” my dad said. “What y’all cooking?”

“Eggs, bacon, and against my better judgment, muffins.”

“Do you not like muffins?”

“She had some yesterday,” I said.

“Your son is going to make me fat at the end of this month.”

I screamed in my head. Why would she say that?

“As long as you don’t overeat what you usually eat, you’ll be fine,” he said and walked off after making coffee.

“Ou! I wonder what he drinks?” She said. She opened the hatch of the coffee maker to see what pod my dad used. “Yuck, mocha. Smells good though. Taste like dirt, unfortunately.”

“You seem happy now,” I said.

“I am,” she said, smirking. “Thanks.” Her smirk didn’t last long as I would like it. I didn’t want to nag her with questions to make sure she was truly fine. If she needed me with anything, I was available twenty-four-seven.