There can be no more doubt that me being a girl in this timeline is causing major changes. I can't begin to guess as to why having a boy led my parents to decide to stick to one child, but having a girl made them decide to have another go at it. The almost seven-year gap between the two kids might hint at this being accidental, or at them having hesitated for a while. Whatever the case may be, I'm left pondering what other unforeseen and seemingly random effects my sex change might have upon this timeline.
It's now been a few months since I learned about my mom's pregnancy. Her growing belly leaves no room to doubt that someone who didn't exist in my previous life will significantly alter everything going forward in this one. In what ways, however, I can't say yet.
Initially, I thought this didn't change anything. Having a sibling shouldn't affect my friendship with Elliot in any meaningful way, so my goal could stay the same: get back to the statue and wish for everything to go back to normal. However... what's going to happen to my brother or sister if I do? Am I just going to completely erase their existence if I go back to being a boy?
Maybe I can word the wish so that I stay in this version of the world but turn back into a boy? Depending on how things go from here, that might not be a bad idea. Keeping the best of both worlds, so to speak. It's hard to predict how that might affect the people of this version of the world, like what if everyone starts remembering me as always having been a boy, but the girls still remember having shared a changing room with me? That's a scary thought. But hey, I have time to think about it, so I'll keep that plan in reserve for now.
I make it through second grade without the bullying aimed at me ever getting worse, and it's during the summer vacations that my mom gives birth to my baby brother. One evening, my parents leave the house in a hurry, and my grandparents come pick me up after a bit. We travel to the nearest hospital, where I finally meet him.
He's sleeping in my mother's arms, bundled up, completely silent. As I approach, my mom asks:
"Do you want to hold him?"
I nod, unsure of what to expect. With my dad's help, my brother ends up in my arms. He's heavier than I expected.
Our mom looks at us, at my sleeping brother and at my speechless, surprised self, and adds:
"His name is Nicholas. Take good care of him, okay?"
Snapping out of my daze, I nod, smiling uncontrollably. I'm a big sister now, and I'll make sure to treat my little brother right!
In third grade, I end up in a different class than Elliot. This confirms that, for the most part, my school life is still playing out like last time. We meet during recess and after school to play, and things stay relatively stable between us.
Nicholas is also growing up fast. He's now more curious about the world, loves touching everything that gets close enough to him, and seems to have started recognizing me as his sister. I can't deny that it makes me happy to hear a scream of joy when I enter the room where he happens to be, but he unfortunately also wakes me up at night when he starts screaming. Thankfully, I don't have to get up and take care of him, so I usually manage to fall back asleep quickly.
In fourth grade, however, things start shifting significantly. During the summer vacations leading to it, I notice that my mom and Elliot's are getting a lot closer, with mine sometimes staying over after driving me to their house, and his sometimes showing up to our place to babysit us when my parents feel like going out on a date.
Nothing even similar to that happened in the previous timeline. It's normally around that age that I should have started biking to his place, to avoid bothering my parents on weekends, but my mom is still driving me over to get a chance to talk to her new friend. Similarly, Elliot's mom never set foot in our house in the previous timeline, and the disdain she often showed my family in my past life is nowhere to be seen this time around.
Even more surprising is that Elliot ends up in my next class this time around. My mom is a fourth grade teacher, and in the previous timeline, she taught my best friend. Since teaching me would cause a conflict of interest, we ended up being in separate classes on that grade too.
But this time, we're together. As far as I can tell, my mom declared that there would be a conflict of interest in her teaching the son of one of her good friends, leading the school to putting Elliot in the other fourth grade class.
As happy as I was hearing the news, I now can't help but feel hesitant. This timeline is changing too much for my comfort. While Nicholas' existence is already worrisome, it at least doesn't affect my relationship with Elliot much, or at all. Or at least, it shouldn't have, but our moms are now best friends, and I have no way to know if this is any way connected to my brother. This chain of events led to me and Elliot being in the same class this year, which is another major break from the expected path. While I hold on to my hope that this won't affect our future, I'm more and more overwhelmed by everything shifting further and further away from what I know was supposed to happen.
As I'm pondering all of this around dinner, completely lost in my thoughts, I'm dragged back to reality by my mom:
"Andie?"
I blink a few times and swallow the bite I'd been playing with for the past minute.
"Yeah?"
"Your birthday is coming up. How about we invite Elliot's parents as additional guests this year? We don't see his dad often, but his mom has been very good to you and your brother, hasn't she?"
I can tell that she's asking more for her sake than mine, I'm not going to be playing with any of the adults during my birthday anyway, but it's not like I'm bothered by which of them show up. Normally, I would have no issue with it, but right now... That's another break from the timeline.
I want to refuse, to try to keep things as aligned as possible, but I also realize that saying no here might cause a butterfly effect in a completely different direction. My mom and Elliot's are already close friends in this version of the world, it's too late to try to oppose that. While refusing to invite her might seem like the choice that would minimize further deviations at first glance, it's entirely possible that the strategic choice here is to not get in the way of their friendship. There's already been so many changes that, at this point, playing along might just be the path that doesn't alter the timeline further.
"Yeah, they can come. Miss Moore is often taking care of Nick and I, I'd be happy to see her at my birthday!"
My mom smiles, relieved. I think she noticed that I was a bit distant with her new friend at first, an involuntary reaction to all the memories I have of her badmouthing me in my past life, so seeing me so enthusiastic about having her over for my birthday must put her heart at ease.
After I realized that this version of Elliot's mom wasn't treating me like garbage, I managed to start seeing her as a kind and dependable person. I don't know why she's treating me so differently this time, but that's a question I'll have to keep to myself for now.
On my birthday, the house is packed, and a bunch of gifts cover the living room floor. We have aunts and uncles over, as well as my cousins, and Elliot and his parents as special guests. I remember Elliot sometimes being there for my birthdays in the other timeline, but it wasn't every year. His parents, however, were never invited.
We kids get together and play on the Wii while the adults discuss various topics. I don't pay attention to them, our games are much more interesting! Since there are too many of us, we take turns, but it's still entertaining to shout at those playing to tell them that they're doing things wrong. Eventually, dinner is ready, and I get my gifts immediately after.
I don't remember most of the birthday gifts I got as a kid, so there's always something exciting about getting to rediscover that part of my childhood. That being said, there are differences. Despite me dressing as a boy every day and keeping my hair short, some members of my family still clearly see me as a girl, leading to the occasional doll or pink notebook showing up among the gifts. And while I don't remember what I got in my previous life, I do feel very confident that these never passed through my hands when I was a boy.
Not that I mind. I did play with my dolls when I was younger, and despite my appearance, I'm not bothered by being seen using more feminine items. I am a girl, after all. And this year, I get a bracelet-making kit, full of small, colorful beads meant to be used together to design my own plastic jewelry. And instead of frowning or wondering what use I could have for this, my initial reaction is to get excited imagining all the ways I can mix and match the colors in there to create pretty combinations.
As I catch these thoughts, I can't help but wonder if this is a part of me I've previously suppressed to fit in as a boy. Have I always, deep-down, wanted to wear cute bracelets but simply never got the chance, or are these thoughts caused by my body now being different?
I don't have time to dwell on it. After thanking my aunt who got that gift for me, I move on to the present from Elliot's family. I don't know if my best friend even was here for my 10th birthday in my previous life, which means I have no idea what's under the wrapping. But since it's from Elliot, the person who knows me best, I expect to like whatever I get.
I start tearing the paper apart, slowly revealing a red box. With a bit more removed, a familiar white logo makes it appearance. My heart starts beating faster as I frenetically rip the rest of the wrapping away.
There's no way. There's just no way they got me that. It's impossible!
And yet, here I am, starring blankly at a brand-new Nintendo Switch. I start feeling lightheaded, in part because of the realization that I just received an extremely expensive gift from a friend's family, and in part because this is yet another major departure from my previous life.
Seeing me speechless, staring at the gift, my mom gives my shoulder a nudge, making me realize that I should probably thank the family in front of me. As I hug them, I notice Miss Moore and my own mother exchanging a knowing glance, making me think that they talked about getting me a brand-new game console ahead of time.
My suspicion is confirmed when I open the gift from my parents, revealing the box for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Thankfully, with the console itself having already broken my brain, I manage to maintain my composure and thank them properly. A lot of thoughts and emotions are bouncing in my head, but since I'm still the center of attention, I try my best to act like I always do.
As my dad works to get the Switch ready to play on the living room TV, I reflect on what this birthday will mean for the future. I know that Elliot already has his own Switch, so it's likely we'll be playing together a lot more than in the previous timeline. It's also a clear indicator that his parents, or at the very least his mom, really like me. I know that they're rich, but that's still an extravagant birthday present to offer to their son's friend.
So, in other words, things are going completely wrong. We already deviated a ton from the previous timeline, but this is really cementing the idea that I can't in any way predict the future anymore. I should be panicking. I should be worrying about how this is all going to affect my chances at going back to being a boy. I should be coming up with crazy plans to force things back on track.
So why do I feel so happy about all the changes instead!?
