“Holy shit. No way! Jamie? Jamie Pogue. That you?”
Jamie bit his glossy lip and adjusted the strap of his bag. “Y-Yeah, it’s me. Hi, Evan.”
“Damn. You look...” Evan trailed off, eyes wide.
“I know.” Jamie sighed. “Different.”
“‘Different’ doesn’t begin to cover it! Wow. Are you trans? I’m sorry, I had no idea. You were always so…macho.”
Jamie shifted uncomfortably. “Macho, yeah. But, um, no, I’m not trans. My mother had this crazy idea before she let me go to college. She was sick of my crap—failing classes, bullying smart guys like you, harassing girls...”
“Wait, so this was your mom’s idea? To send you to college like this?”
“Yeah,” Jamie confirmed, feeling the weight of his books and the pinch of his bra strap. “She said if I wanted to act like a brute, I’d have to learn what it was like for the people I hurt. So she made me take a year off, get...treated.”
“Treated?” Evan echoed, still trying to piece it together.
Sighing, Jamie said, “Hormones, voice coaching, comportment lessons...the whole nine yards. It was that or get cut off—no money, no school.”
“Holy shit! And your dad was okay with this?”
“He passed away when I was little.” Jamie looked down at his manicured nails. “He was a good man, my mom says. Too bad he didn’t get a chance to teach me.”
“Man, that’s rough. But still...you went through with it?”
Jamie adjusted his bra strap. “Didn’t have much choice unless I wanted to be flipping burgers for life.”
“I can’t even imagine...” Evan began. “So what now?”
“Now?” Jamie let out a deep breath and straightened – which had the (probably) unintended consequence of pushing his B-cups out. “Now I attend classes like this and try not to fail… or fall flat on my face in these heels.”
Evan’s eyes softened as he took in Jamie’s conflicted state. “Well, Jamie, I gotta say... you pull off ‘being a girl’ better than anyone could’ve expected.”
Jamie blinked, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. “Uh, thanks?”
“No problem.” Evan flashed a charming smile. “And hey, if you need help with classes, I’m here for you. Used to tutor in high school, remember?”
A smile tugged at the corner of Jamie’s lips. “Yeah, you always aced everything without even trying.”
“That was the illusion, but I studied hard. It’s all about understanding the material.” Evan leaned in closer. “I could help you understand a lot of things—academically speaking, of course.”
“That actually sounds...nice,” Jamie confessed before quickly adding, “For studying! For studying purposes only.” 
Evan smiled, their faces now only inches apart. Jamie couldn’t help but notice a flutter in his stomach. Was it nerves? Or was the hormones playing tricks on him again.
“I’m in room 204.” Evan handed him a slip of paper with his number scrawled on it. “We can start by tackling gender studies together. I’ll bring the beer, you bring the snacks.”
Jamie took the paper with shaky hands. His voice squeaked as he replied, “That sounds... fun. I’ll see you soon?”
Evan winked before turning to walk away. Jamie watched him go. The next four years would be...interesting.