“So, tell us about your new app!” Colin- the show’s host- asks the four of us as we sit on the studio’s sofa in our expensive clothes.

“Well,” Becca replies, “it’s basically a ‘hub’ for all things Out of Heaven-related! On it you can find links to all our videos, our personal blogs and Instagram pages.”

“There are also features that are exclusive to the app,” Kayla explains. “Special behind-the-scenes footage from our tours and our recording sessions, exclusive competitions you can enter, games…”

"Dad..." I said in my practised feminine voice. "I- there's something I want to tell you..."

"Yes, I can see that," dad replied, still in a state of shock at my appearance.

"I- I'm transgendered," I said confidently as Ophelia walked through from the kitchen, a mixture of shock and pride on her face. "I want to be a woman. I feel like a woman inside. I want to live the rest of my life as a woman." What felt like an eternity passed as dad tried to process what he had just been told.

"...I think people might be staring," I whispered to Ophelia as we walked through the cramped shopping centre.

"What they wish to do with their eyes is their business, not ours," Ophelia replied, holding her head high even as every head we passed turned to look in our direction.

"Easy for you to say," I mumbled as I tried not to let my cheeks go too red.

Over the course of the next few weekends I was given- and took- the opportunity to become Jacinta several times. Despite her own limited storage space, Ophelia (which, by October, was the only name I addressed my friend by) was more than happy to keep 'my' clothes at her house.

She was also happy to wash the clothes for me, especially the underwear- which came as a huge relief to me when I saw that she'd bought me a packet of thongs.

I try not to fidget as the middle-aged man sat in front of me finishes reviewing the information we provided. My clothes aren’t exactly comfortable- but under the circumstances, they could easily have been a lot LESS comfortable.

“Aiiiieeee!” I shriek as I’m suddenly startled by several loud bangs, and my vision is dazzled by multiple flashes of light. For a moment I’m so dazed I almost forget where I am, before my vision and hearing return to normal and I stare, slack-jawed at the scene in front of me.

“Happy birthday!” Jamie squeaks, giving me a tight hug before leading me into the crowded main room of Charlotte’s house, where I’m greeted by yet more hugs, more bangs from party poppers (which cover my hair in streamers) and more flashes from the partygoers’ phones.

“Ooh, baby, do you know what that’s worth?” Becca, Adeola, Kayla and I sing into our microphones, trying our hardest not to grin as we’re almost drowned out by several thousand screaming fans. “Ooh, heaven is a place on Earth… They say in heaven, love comes first, we’ll make heaven a place on Earth, ooh, heaven is a place on Earth!”

“…Well, I guess that’s that, then,” Rob sighs. “You all know what this means.”

“We tried so hard to avoid it,” I mumble. “But in the end, I guess we’re just going to have to face up to it.”

“Yep,” Neil says. “I think in the end, we all knew this was going to happen sooner or later.”

“Yeah,” Rob sighs, leading to an awkward pause. “Next game… We open up box 8.”

It's said that every step you take in your life leads up to one moment, one defining point of your life that you can look back on and say 'this is who I am, this is my contribution to the world'. If this is the case... Then it's a very strange set of steps that led me to where I am today.

“God, I don’t know why I’M so nervous,” I mumble as I fidget in my seat. “It’s not like I’m going to be the one dancing up there…”

“Happy birthday dear Rachel…” The assembled crowd sang as the birthday girl cringed behind her voluminous blonde hair, “happy birthday to you… To you… To you… To you to you to you… To you… To you… To you to you to you!” Rachel giggled at the crowd’s use of the tune of Cyndi Lauper’s hit ‘Girl Just Wanna Have Fun’ to extend her embarrassment further, before brushing her hair out of her face and blowing out the 29 candles that had been placed on her cake- which was, of course, shaped exactly like the hat she and all her friends wore as part of their uniform.

A wide, happy grin creeps across my lips as I dance for the cheering crowd. My face has been made-up with thick stage make-up, making me look a lot older than my thirteen and a half years. My shoulder-length blonde hair has been tied into a bun, and a white, feathered headdress has been pinned to my hair- but none of this compares to my costume.

“I, Nicola Christine Thomas,” I whisper as tears start to trickle from my eyes. “Take you, Sarah Jennifer Phillips…”

“Beep,” the minister says, derailing my train of thought. “Beep, beep, beep, beep….” I let out a long sigh as the pristine white veil of my wedding dress is replaced by the dark brown veil of my hair, which had flopped down in front of my face whilst I was sleeping.

“Morning,” I whisper to the beautiful girl whose face is the first thing I see every morning when I wake up- and whose own brown hair is, of course, tied back and away from her face.

"How- what- why-" Stephanie stammered as the flame-haired Scottish girl looked at her expectantly.

"I think you might need to sit down," Lauren giggled. "As I said, I've got a car waiting..."

"Umm, okay," Stephanie said, following Lauren to her car in a state of near-shock. "Why- why did you-"

“Stephanie…” Beverly whispered. “Even if I wrote you a prescription, it’d still only be dated from today. I can’t backdate them for the time you were supposed to have been taking hormones.”

“It’s still better than nothing,” Stephanie insisted. “Please, if I have to get down on my knees and beg, I will.”

“Stephanie,” Beverly sighed. “We’ve been over this time and time again, you know that oestrogen isn’t a magical cure to all your problems-“

“Not all of them, but this one, it is-“ Stephanie interrupted.

Jamie-Lee Burke yawned as the alarm on her phone woke her from a dreamless slumber. It had been a long week, but it was now Friday- a chance to relax and let her hair down, which she had every intention of doing that night, surrounded by all her friends.

"Morning, sexy," Jamie whispered in the ear of her still-sleeping fiancé, who mumbled incoherently as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Does it have to be morning?" Stuart moaned, eliciting a small giggle from Jamie.

“Laura…” Mum sighs as I head toward the front door.

“What?” I ask with mock-innocence, before sighing as mum simply stares at me.

“You know what…” Mum says, and I can’t help but roll my eyes as I tug down the hem of my short, straight grey skirt. “ALL the way.”

“Oh- come on,” I moan. “What am I, a nun?”

“No,” mum replies. “You’re a fourteen year old girl.”

I grimace as I feel the pressure increase on my back, and grip the armrests of my chair for support whilst my ‘friends’ all whoop and cheer. I force the corners of my lips to turn upwards into a smile, though that smile soon fades when the roar of the jet engine is drowned out by a loud squeak from my right hand side.

“Oh! My! God!” Georgie squeaks, shredding my nerves more and more with every word she says. “This is so awesome!”

“Try and relax!” Stuart urges me as I stretch my bikini-clad body on the sun lounger. “It’s a nice hot day, you’ve got a VERY nice, VERY hot body…” I snort a laugh as Stuart takes off his loose t-shirt and sits down next to me, rubbing sunscreen into his hands. A genuine smile creeps over my face as I roll onto my front and Stuart unties the back of my bikini top, before smearing the cool liquid into my back.

“Mmm… Soft,” Stuart laughs as I remain silent. “Jamie… Please try and relax. Please? I hate seeing you stressed like this…”

“You know, you look familiar,” the cashier says to me as she rings up my items. “Did you used to be on TV?”

“Umm… You must have me mistaken for someone else,” I reply in my soft, androgynous voice.

“Huh,” the cashier says. “I could’ve sworn I’ve seen your face somewhere before.”

“…Just got one of those faces, I guess!” I giggle as I bag my purchases and head out of the store, sighing as I examine the items in my bag- foundation, mascara, two colours of eye shadow and a tube of dark red lipstick.