ransvestia

kinds of weird costumes and make-up on me. I went along with it, do- ing everything they said." She produced a rueful smile. "I was likely the greatest 12-year-old stripper in town, male or female. Those girls used to drool when I did my Sylvia Stripper routine. But then they did something terrible to me." Annette was shocked by the anger that had crept into Tina's voice.

"

"They didn't have to do it. Melanie Cody had some kind of hor- monal imbalance. She was terribly worried about the hair on her face, I remember. The other girls could reduce her to tears in seconds by just mentioning 'hair.' I don't know who it was, Lois claims it wasn't her, but one of them got the idea of feeding Melanie's hormone pills to me.' She was becoming very hoarse. "They had a devastating effect. I didn't know what was happening to me when my breasts started to swell, my waist to slim, and the rest of my body to soften. It became so bad that my school principal packed me in her car and drove me to Wesley to see a special doctor. They thought I was changing because of some natural imbalance. When I told the doctor about the dressing up, he told my parents they should hasten the change." She stubbed out her unsmoked cigarette.

"I stayed in Wesley for a year. I lived only as a girl and they pumped me full of drugs. Oh, it was heaven. The only truly happy time of

my life." There were tears in her eyes. "I was treated as a somebody. I went to dances as a girl and the boys were kind. I was glad when they finally operated." She fell silent, lost in her own thoughts.

"So you don't enjoy being a woman," said Annette.

"It's absolute hell," tears flowed across Tina's cheeks. "After the operation, I had to go back to Devon. That was eighteen months ago. Everyone there thinks I'm the greatest freak since the world began. I left when I couldn't stand it any more."

"But no-one knows you in another city. It should be better anywhere else," said Annette.

"Not if you're like me," said Tina bitterly. "You see, I'm not a transsexual, a person who would change their sex, at all. I've found out that I like women. I'd like to marry, have a child, be a real father. But what do I have to look forward to now?" The words choked her. "I don't mind the dressing up as a woman. In fact, I rather like it, which is why I was such a confusing mess to the Wesley doctors."

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