Zoe took all her girl clothes back into her old bedroom, which was where she slept for the night. When she woke up the next morning, her dad had already left for work, but her mom was still home. "Hi Zoe," her mom said.

"Hi Mom," said Zoe.

"How does it feel? Waking up as a girl?"

"It's...kind of weird," Zoe admitted. "I was hoping yesterday would turn out to just be a bad dream, but it wasn't."

"Don't worry," said Zoe's mom, "Being female isn't all bad."

"I know," said Zoe. "It's a lot easier to go to the bathroom now."

Zoe's mom laughed. "I'll bet."

"So...what about school?"

"What?"

"Summer school. What are we gonna tell everyone?"

"Dad and I were talking about that last night after you went to bed," said Zoe's mom. "We decided that the cover story would be that Zack ran away to live with his uncle in Canada, and you're our daughter that we decided to adopt. You're gonna start at your new school Interstellar High in just a few weeks."

"Oh." Zoe wasn't sure if that explanation would wash, but it wasn't like she had a better idea. "So...no more summer school?"

"Nope. In fact, I think you and I should go shopping."

"Shopping? But I already got a bunch of girl clothes yesterday."

"Yes, but I can help get you some other stuff," her mom said. "And maybe we could get some lunch while we're out."

"Alright."

***

Zoe and her mom went to Walmart for some more girly stuff for Zoe. The first thing they scouted out was the purses.

"You need a purse to carry your things in," Zoe's mom said.

"Why? I've already got my pockets."

"Yes, but purses are more...feminine."

Zoe sighed. "I guess I'll go with that one," she said, pointing to a small white purse with enough space for a Chihuahua to curl up inside.

"Great," her mom said. "Now, for makeup..."

"Uh-oh."

"Relax, it's fun," Zoe's mom said, leading her to the makeup aisle. "And it makes you look even prettier."

Zoe looked at the lines of lipstick, mascara, and other makeup kits. As a boy, Zack had always ignored the aisles of makeup at the store, since he knew that that stuff wasn't for him. But now that Zoe actually had to pick out makeup for herself...it felt so overwhelming. There were just so many different brands, and colors, and variations.

"I guess I can get that thing of lipstick?" Zoe said, pointing at the first pack of lipstick she saw. "And that concealer stuff?"

"Sure," Zoe's mom said, taking the makeup tubes Zoe had pointed at. "It's always best to start with the basics."

"Anything else I need?"

"Probably some hair ties and barrettes for your hair."

Those turned out to be really easy to get. The barrettes and hair ties came in packs, and they all looked pretty much the same. So there was no need to fuss-Zoe could just grab a pack of each and be done with it. "Okay," she said to her mom. "Anything else?"

Zoe's mom thought for a minute. "Tampons," she said. "That's bound to start sooner or later."

Zoe gulped. "Okay."

Once Zoe and her mom had picked out some feminine hygiene products, they went down to the cash register. They had to wait a while while the mom and kids in front of them had their cartload of groceries rang up by the cashier. But when it came their turn, Zoe looked at the cashier and gasped. She knew that guy! It was Nate Frederickson. He'd gone to Interstellar High with Zack, though he'd graduated a year ago. But now he was here working at a Walmart cash register.

"What?" Nate asked.

"Oh." Zoe had to remind herself that nobody she knew-except Miles-would recognize her. "Nothing. I-I thought I recognized you."

Nate looked Zoe up and down, but then he noticed her mom. "Hey, are you Mrs. Fletcher?"

"Yes, I am. And you're Nate Frederickson?"

"Yes, that's me," said Nate. "How's Zack doing?"

"He ran away," Zoe's mom said sadly.

"What?"

"Yeah. He left a note saying that he was tired of suburban life, so he was gonna go up to Canada to live with his uncle. I haven't heard from him since, but I hope he's doing okay."

"That sucks," said Nate. "Zack's a good guy."

"He was. Hopefully we'll see him again soon."

The irony of all this made Zoe feel sad. Zack WAS here, she thought. He'd just been turned into Zoe by that stupid magic bathroom. Zoe didn't know how close Mr. Al was to finding that witch who'd put a curse on the bathroom, but she hoped he'd find it soon. And, better yet, there'd turn out to be a cure for her predicament.

After they'd paid for everything, Zoe and her mom left Walmart and went to Subway for lunch. They both ordered their sandwiches and found a table to sit at. "So did you recognize Nate?" Zoe's mom asked.

"Yes," Zoe said miserably. "I wish he knew it was me."

"I'll bet," her mom said. "Dad and I actually talked about telling everyone you came out as transgender, but we realized that if there really was a witch out there, then that might paint you as a target for her."

"Why would she be out to get me?" Zoe asked. "She wasn't targeting me with that bathroom...was she?"

"Probably better not to take any chances," her mom answered.

Just then, the door jingled as someone else entered the store. When Zoe saw who it was, her heart leapt. It was Brittany Meier and a couple of her friends. Brittany was in Zack/Zoe's grade at Interstellar High, and Zack had had a crush on her from the moment he first laid eyes on her. He just loved her smooth skin, beautiful brown eyes, and wavy brown hair that she sometimes dyed black, or blue, or some other color. Zack would've thought that, now that she was Zoe, she'd have different hormones and therefore wouldn't be attracted to Brittany anymore, but she found that that wasn't true. She still felt the same elation at the sight of Brittany, the same-

"Zoe?"

"Oh-nothing," Zoe said defensively.

Zoe's mom followed her gaze and saw Brittany. "Oh," she said. "You see Brittany Meier?"

"Yeah."

"You don't...still like her, do you?"

"Well...I don't know how to say this, but...I kind of do!"

"Really?"

"Yeah. I know it's weird, but..."

"I guess your sexual orientation didn't change. Did it?"

"Well, I was attracted to girls when I was a guy," said Zoe, "But I haven't seen any guys that I feel attracted to yet, so..."

"Maybe you somehow kept your feelings for Brittany when you transformed?"

"Probably. I don't know how it works." Zoe watched Brittany and her friends get their sandwiches and find a table to sit at. "But I'm pretty sure Brittany is straight, so..."

"That doesn't mean you can't be friends with her," Zoe's mom said. "And since you're a girl now, it'll probably be easier to talk to her."

"Maybe. I don't know." Zoe took another bite of her sandwich before saying "But it's not just Brittany. Everyone at school that I knew won't 'know' me. They'll think I'm a new girl that just came to the school."

"At least you still have Miles."

"Yeah, but he's just one guy."

"Well, if you already know a lot of people at Interstellar High, then I don't imagine it'll be that hard to interact with them. And if they find you easy to talk to, then you'll probably make even more new friends."

"Let's hope so."

***

School was coming. Zoe's parents had to go through a lot of paperwork to get her signed up for her "first" year at Interstellar High, but they got it all done. Zoe got her schedule in the mail, and to her delight, she had three classes with Miles-and one with that girl Avery from the foster home.

But the most important update came just a week before school started. Zoe had just gotten out of the shower when Miles called her and said Mr. Al wanted her to come to the foster home. Apparently there was something he wanted to talk with her about. So Zoe had her mom give her a ride to the foster home and meet up with Miles there.

"Hey Zack-I mean, Zoe," said Miles. "Jeez, it's gonna take me forever to get used to calling you that."

"I know," said Zoe. "What does Mr. Al want?"

"He found a lead on the witch responsible for..." He gestured at Zoe. "This."

Zoe's heart leapt. "Really?"

"Yes. But he wanted to explain it to you himself."

Miles led Zoe into the foster home where Mr. Al's office was located. When they entered they were greeted by Mr. Al. "Hello, Zoe," he said. "How's the female life?"

"It's...different," said Zoe. "Different clothes, different personal hygiene...different everything."

"She says she's getting used to it okay," said Miles.

"Good," said Mr. Al.

"I hear you wanted to tell me something," said Zoe. "About that witch."

"I do indeed," said Mr. Al. "I don't know if I mentioned this to you before, but there are people working for me all over the city. I've got accomplices working in social security, the school board, the post office, and even the police force. Everyone who's secretly affiliated with me keeps an eye out for any signs of witch activity and reports them to me."

"And someone's given you a report," Zoe guessed.

"Yes," said Mr. Al. "One of my social security associates has looked into the genealogy records of a woman we know was a witch and traced her family tree to the family whose daughter worked her magic on my son."

"The one you staked out. The one whose daughter escaped."

"Right. The witch had actually had two daughters, but one of them was placed for adoption when she was very young. The second daughter was the one that the witch kept-and the one that escaped when my men and I stormed the witch's house. We didn't know what the daughter's name was or where she ended up-until now."

Mr. Al opened up a window on his computer and turned it around to show Zoe and Miles. "We think this is the girl who escaped," he said. "Her name is Skylar Gregson."

Zoe and Miles both gasped. "No way!" Zoe exclaimed.

"Do you know her?" Mr. Al asked.

"Know her? She's only, like, the most popular girl at Interstellar High!"

"Interesting," said Mr. Al.

"But we don't, like, know her-know her," Zoe clarified. "We know who she is, but I don't think she knows us."

"Well, all the evidence we have points to her being the witch we're looking for," said Mr. Al. "Miles, you might remember Tammy-she actually saw the witch who turned her into a girl, and she said she had blonde hair and pale skin-just like Skylar does. And Skylar's 'parents' adopted her right around the time we stormed her real mother's house."

Miles glared at the picture of Skylar Gregson. "I always knew there was something I didn't like about that bitch," he said.

"So why are you telling us this?" Zoe asked.

"Because I need your help," said Mr. Al. "Zoe, you're gonna be a 'new girl' this school year at Interstellar High, so that gives you an advantage. I need you to try and ascend in the social ranks and get closer to Skylar. If you can find any concrete evidence of her being a witch-any at all-then that's all we need to know she's the one we're looking for. Then we can capture her and put an end to her crime spree."

Zoe gulped. Mr. Al was asking a lot of her. Trying to get close to a potential witch could be very dangerous. But if Zoe helped bring Skylar to justice, then there'd be fewer people in the same situation as her. "Alright," said Zoe. "I'll try to prove Skylar."

"Excellent," said Mr. Al. "And if you need help from Miles, or Avery, or anyone from my foster home, just ask."

"I will," Zoe promised.

To be continued...