Zoe walked into a departmental store and went straight to pick a few snacks before heading to the counter.
"I need to ease myself. Can I get the keys?" She asked as she dropped the money on the counter.
"Sure. Over there," The young lady at the counter said, handing over the keys to her.
Zoe placed all the items she had gotten into her backpack and carried it with her to the toilet. Immediately she entered the toilet stall, she took off her clothes and quickly wore the breast chest binder and male top and short she had carried earlier.
She looked into the mirror and nodded in approval at her look. The only thing remaining was her hair. She needed to get a haircut and buy a wig that looked a bit like her hair.
She cringed at the thought of cutting her hair. She loved her long hair and couldn't imagine cutting it off, and more than that, she knew her family, especially her mother, would have a fit if they ever found out she cut her hair.
But after seeing Ann's hair this morning, she had to admit that having a short mop of hair didn't look so bad.
She paused as another idea occurred to her. Maybe she could go to a salon and ask for a wig that she could wear regardless of the length of her hair. That would serve the purpose and also save her the stress of having to explain to her family why she had cut her hair.
She really didn't want to cut her hair, only to find out it didn't look good on her.
A slight knock on the door reminded her that this wasn't her private space. She quickly folded her gown into her bag and stepped out.
"You look different," The young lady who had given her the key said.
"Yea. Thanks," Zoe said before quickly stepping out of the departmental shop. Her next stop had to be at a salon. There was absolutely no way she was going to the family beauty salon, so she decided to go elsewhere.
She stopped a cab and asked him to take her to the nearest salon around.
About an hour later, Zoe stood in front of the mirror, looking like a beautiful young man. She was grateful she had not needed to cut her hair. The wig cap held her long hair firmly in place.
She quickly paid the lady more than the amount which was required before rushing out. She was already some minutes late, which wasn't a good way to create a first impression.
She quickly hailed a cab and gave him directions to the dance academy. Immediately the cab stopped in front of the building. She paid and ran into the building with her bag.
The elevator was just about closing when she quickly ran in without thinking, thus bumping into the young man who was in the elevator.
"Uhm, sorry," She said with wide eyes.
"Don't you think you should take those hands off my chest before apologizing?" The man asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Oh! I'm sorry," She said again as she quickly withdrew her hands from his chest.
"I take it you're here for the dance lessons?" He asked after looking her over. Zoe simply nodded without saying a word.
"Seeing as I've never seen your face around here, I guess it's your first time," He said matter-of-factly, and Zoe nodded again.
The elevator opened before he could say any other word, and Zoe quickly bowed to him before rushing out to join the others.
The moment she pushed open the door, all eyes were on her, making her shift from foot to foot uncomfortably.
"You are?" The dance instructor asked, looking at the list of names he had in his hand.
"Jiang Zane. But my friends call me Zee," She said, clearing her throat so as not to sound too feminine. She had picked a name similar to hers so that it would be easier to remember.
The dance instructor looked through the list before looking at her again. "You do realize that you're late? And lateness is not tolerated here," The dance instructor said to her.
"I'm sorry," Zoe apologized.
"I wish it were that easy. Someone, please show him the rules," The dance instructor said.
Everyone pointed at the wall behind her, where a small board was hanging. She walked over to it and frowned when she saw the rules.
She checked for the one that had to do with lateness. She blinked rapidly when her eyes fell on the line. She quickly checked her wristwatch. She was about sixty minutes late, which meant she had to do sixty press-ups.
That was preposterous. How the heck was she supposed to do that? There was absolutely no way.
"For every minute you spend standing idly over there, the number of press-ups you're to do increases. So I'll suggest you start now so you can join us in the next round of training," The dance instructor suggested.
***************
"I ruined it, didn't I?" Ann asked Grace with teary eyes after their meeting with the foreign investors.
"Well, you did your best. I could have done better, no doubt, but you tried," Grace said with a wry smile. Ann had actually done better than she had expected. She had said things Grace hadn't thought of. And Grace had certainly been surprised to see the investors smile and nod in agreement several times.
"I think you should go and talk to them before they leave. Please, Grace, if you don't do this, I won't ever represent you at something like this again," Ann said, clearly on the verge of tears.
"Okay, hold on, let me see what I can do," Grace said as she hurried after the investors.
A few minutes later, she returned with an unreadable expression on her face. "Well? What did they say?" Ann asked nervously.
"They said they meant what they said earlier about getting back to us later," Grace said with a shrug.
"I'm sorry, Grace. I ruined it," Ann said before bursting into tears.
"No, no, no. You can't do that. Grace Jiang isn't a crybaby," Grace said, covering Ann from view.
"Pull yourself together. I think they were more impressed by your presentation than mine. I've been trying to get them to invest with us for several years, so if it doesn't pull through, I won't be disappointed," Grace assured her.
"Really?" Ann asked, dabbing at her eyes gently.
"Yes. So please cheer up. Besides, we need to go shopping now," Grace said.
"Shopping?" Ann asked with a frown.
"Yes. We don't wear the same shoe size. This shoe is too tight and is giving me blisters. And I need to get a few clothes, too," Grace explained.
"Can't you do all that by yourself?" Ann asked wearily.
"No, I can't. I want you to watch me shop. After that, we will head to the clubhouse to catch up with the girls," Grace said.
"No. I'm not going anywhere close to those noisy friends of yours. So far, I've been able to see you have good taste in everything apart from the kind of company you keep," Ann said.
"Grace Jiang has her ow--"
"Yes, I know. But I think some things about you need to be worked on. Those girls are so vain and noisy," Ann interrupted her.
"Let's get you new friends. Besides, I thought I heard something about a welcome party for you?" Ann asked with a smile.
"Ann!" Grace called through gritted teeth.
"I've been thinking. Maybe this happened so we both could become better people. I want to help you become a better human being," Ann said before walking away.
"Ann, I'm being friendly and polite with you only because you possess my body. I have no intention of mixing up with people beneath me," Grace told her before they got into the car.