It was near the end of the school year, and the fifth-graders of Northwood Elementary School were going to fifth-grade camp. The fifth-grade camp was right next to the ocean, and it was all about studying...well, the ocean.

No one could've been more excited than eleven-year-old Kyle Hiatt. He was a Boy Scout and was all about the great outdoors. He'd trekked through the Redwood Forest, climbed Mount Diablo from the bottom to the top, and rode his bike from the Nevada border to the California coastline. But the ocean was a new horizon for him. He could not wait to learn about how waves were formed, and about the ecosystem that existed in the sea.

Kyle got off the bus with his friends Colton Hawkins and Shelly Stanton. "Oh my goodness," Kyle said as he looked out at the camp before him. "This is gonna be awesome!"

"It will be," said Colton.

Their teacher, Mrs. Alderton, spoke up. "Okay, kids," she said. "The first thing we're gonna do is bring all of our stuff into our cabins. Mrs. Hopkins, you wanna show us to our cabins?"

The camp director, Mrs. Hopkins, came up to them. "Welcome to Camp Ocean Lab," she said. "Follow me, and I'll take you to your cabins."

The kids followed Mrs. Hopkins across the camp's courtyard and towards the cabins. There were two cabins-one for the boys, and one for the girls. "Now, the first rule of this camp is that boys are not allowed to visit girls' cabins for any reason, and vice versa. If they do, well..." she cast a secret, knowing smile. "There will be consequences."

Kyle curiously looked at the girls' cabin's door. He had always loved being a boy. Sports, superhero actions figures and trading cards, and the great outdoors had captivated him since he was born. But there were times where he was curious about what it was like to be a girl. As repulsive as princesses, stuffed animals, and the color pink were to him, he wondered how it felt to have a perspective where he liked that stuff. Kyle had grown up in a family of brothers, so his exposure to girly stuff was very limited.

"C'mon, Kyle," Colton said, snapping Kyle out of his thoughts. "We gotta get our stuff in."

Kyle carried his suitcase and his backpack into the boys' cabin. He got out his sleeping bag and pillow and laid it on one of the beds. After he had slid his suitcase under the bed, he looked up and saw Colton pulling a stuffed-animal squid out of his bag. "You have a stuffed squid?" Kyle asked.

"I do," said Colton. "My aunt gave me it for my birthday."

"You outta show it to the naturalists," Kyle said as he unzipped his backpack. He took his sea life encyclopedia out of the backpack and placed it on the nightstand. "I'm sure they'd like it."

***

The day's routine wasn't as strict as Kyle thought it would be. There was a sand crab activity on the beach where Kyle, Colton, and Shelly dug through the sand looking for sand crabs. They brought up about six sand crabs and impressed the naturalists. Then there was a lab where all the kids were given microscopes and looked at tiny organisms that were inside little drops of water. Kyle had a total blast hearing the naturalists spout facts about everything they saw.

But come bedtime, and things weren't so awesome. The cabins only had two bathroom stalls, two urinals, and four sinks for about thirty boys to share. There was a long line outside the bathroom, and more than a few kids were doing the potty dance. And it wasn't just using the bathroom, either. The boys all had to brush their teeth at the sink, too, so that made the wait even longer. And when Kyle actually got into the bathroom...ugh. The less said about the toilets, the better.

Worst of all was when the chaperones declared "lights out." Kyle was quick to find that the beds were very squeaky, and they let off a loud squeaking noise at the slightest movement. Plus, every once in a while someone would cut the cheese, and then all the still-awake boys would chortle. This made it very hard to fall asleep.

Kyle wished he was sleeping in the girls' cabin. Every boy his age knew it was medically impossible for a girl to fart, and even if they could, they weren't gonna laugh at it. Plus, he was sure their bathroom was much cleaner. But for now, Kyle was stuck in a noisy boys' cabin. And it took him an hour to finally nod off.

The next morning, Kyle chatted it up with Colton and Shelly at breakfast. It turned out Colton's sleep wasn't much better than Kyle's, but Shelly was a different story.

"It was very quiet," Shelly said to them. "The beds were squeaky, but everyone stopped shaking them once they realized that."

"I'm jealous," said Kyle.

"And even better?" Shelly said. "Mrs. Hopkins told us that the girls' cabin has a hidden secret, and someone was guaranteed to find it this week."

"Huh," said Colton. "Did she say what the secret was?"

"No," said Shelly. "But I hope I find it."

Well, this whole secret thing really got Kyle's gears turning. Whenever the teachers at his school teased a "secret," it turned out to be a wad of cash or a cool new book or something like that. He wondered if maybe he could sneak into the girls' cabin, find that secret, and keep it for himself. The trick would be to not let anyone know that he'd snuck into the girls' cabin, or else he'd suffer the "consequences" Mrs. Hopkins had warned him of.

As the day went by, Kyle devised a plan. There was supposed to be a bonfire that night at dusk, so Kyle would slip away while that was going on. And that is exactly what he did. After dinner, Mrs. Alderton and the naturalists started directing the kids down toward the beach. While everyone else was lining up, Kyle ducked behind a nearby bush and waited. He knew Mrs. Alderton was notorious for being lazy about taking roll, and tonight he was going to use it to his advantage. Kyle watched as Mrs. Alderton led the kids out of the courtyard and down the hill toward the beach. Kyle waited a few minutes after they left to make sure no one was coming back.

Once he was sure that his class was gone, Kyle went straight for the girls' cabin. He was half expecting the door to be locked, but to his delight, it was unlocked. He opened the door, closed it behind him, and turned on the light. He looked around and saw all the girls' beds. There were sleeping bags, giant toddler-sized teddy bears, and blankets with pictures of Disney princesses embroidered on them. Kyle thought about rooting through the girls' suitcases to find the secret, but then he realized that the secret probably wouldn't be hidden in there. If the cabin had a secret right from the start, then why would it be in one of the visiting girls' suitcases?

Kyle looked under every bed, and under every nightstand, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. He was nearing the end of the room when he suddenly started feeling nausea. "Oh shoot," Kyle moaned. Colton had told him not to eat that second hot dog at dinner, especially not with all that cheese fondue on it, but Kyle hadn't listened. And now he was paying the price for it. He could feel the bile travelling up his throat, and he started to panic. He knew it would look bad if the girls came back and saw a bunch of vomit all over the floor.

Kyle ran for the bathroom and locked himself in one of the four stalls. He threw up the toilet lid and knelt down in front of it. He vomited directly into the toilet, the taste of stomach acid filling his throat. It was a most unpleasant sensation, his throat burning and his taste buds overloaded with the taste of vomit. As he looked at the chunks of vomit floating in the toilet bowl, Kyle promised himself that he'd never eat hot dogs again.

Now that he had lost his lunch (or, in this case, dinner), the nausea was starting to leave Kyle's stomach. He slowly stood up and flushed the toilet. "Okay," said Kyle. "Now I-I just-" He broke off as his voice cracked. "What was that?" he asked in a slightly higher voice. As he said it, he felt a burning sensation spreading throughout his body. The sensation hurt his entire body, but especially his chest and private area. He threw open the bathroom stall and looked in the mirror. In the mirror, he saw the sight of his life.

Kyle's hair was growing out to his shoulders and turning blonde. His face was rounding out, his nose was shrinking, and his lips were getting bigger. He suddenly felt a painful itch on his nipples as they chafed against his shirt. He took off his shirt, and he was shocked to see that his nipples were puffing up, and two tiny developing breasts blossomed on his chest. He reached down to scratch the itch on his crotch, but he was shock to feel his penis shrinking. Underneath Kyle's hand, his crotch flattened and grew a soft vagina. He, or rather she, looked in the mirror again and saw her reflection. She was now several inches shorter, with shoulder-length blonde hair that curled slightly, thin, narrowed shoulders, and the small, still-developing breasts that every eleven-year-old girl had. Her hips and butt were now sticking out ever so slightly, on their way to forming a beautiful hourglass.

"I-I don't believe it," said Kyle. "I'm a girl now!" She watched as her jeans shrank down and turned into a pair of green-and-white-striped pajama pants, while her tighty-whities stretched into a pair of panties. Her discarded shirt turned into a lime green pajama shirt.

Right then, she heard the cabin's door open. "What?" Kyle screamed, shocked. "They're back already?" Her heart rate was starting to speed up. How could she explain there being a new girl in the girls' cabin, and how one of the boys was suddenly missing. She frantically looked around, wondering what to do.

Shelly suddenly burst into the bathroom. "Kayla! Are you okay-gah!" Shelly averted her eyes.

"What-"

"Why are you half naked?" Shelly asked.

"Oh, yeah..." Kyle picked up her shirt and put it back on. She winced at it brushed against her sensitive nipples.

Shelly looked at Kyle again. "Are you okay?"

"Uh...yes."

"Oh, good," said Shelly. "We were worried about you all throughout the bonfire."

Another girl-Chloe-poked her head into the bathroom. "Kayla? Are you doing okay?"

"Kayla?"

"Yeah. You," said Chloe.

Kyle, or Kayla as the other girls were calling her, looked at her quizzically. "I'm not Kayla. I'm Kyle."

"Kyle?" Shelly asked. "We don't have a Kyle at our school."

"Is something wrong?" a female voice asked. Shelly and Chloe stepped aside to let Mrs. Hopkins enter the bathroom. When Mrs. Hopkins saw Kyle, her mouth pulled into a tight sneer. "You two go," she said to Shelly and Chloe. "I'll help Miss Hiatt out."

As Shelly and Chloe left, Mrs. Hopkins went up to Kyle. "So, you wanna tell me why you went snooping around in here?" she asked.

"I...I was looking for your secret, and I...well...I was curious..." Kyle forced out.

Mrs. Hopkins breathed real heavy out of her nose. "You were curious to know what it was like to be a girl, weren't you?" she asked. "That's what a lot of them say."

"A lot of them?"

"Oh, yes, every year at this camp, somebody discovers this cabin's secret," said Mrs. Hopkins. "It transforms mischievous boys into good little girls."

"But-but I'm not trying to be mischievous!" said Kyle. "I was just curious."

"Oh, but you know what they say," said Mrs. Hopkins. "Curiosity killed the cat. Or, in this case, your innocence."

"I'm sorry!" said Kyle. "I won't do this again, I promise! Just please make me a boy again, and-"

"I cannot do that," said Mrs. Hopkins. "Your old life is rapidly disappearing. Very soon, everyone will remember you as Kayla Hiatt."

Kyle opened her mouth to respond, but she suddenly heard a new voice in her head. It was really girly and feminine. It said, Kayla Hiatt! Yes, that's my name!

"No!" Kyle said out loud. "I...I'm Kyle!"

Who's Kyle? the voice in her head said.

"I don't know," Mrs. Hopkins said, as if she could hear the voice inside Kayla's head. "Now, I can see that you're feeling better, so why don't you get ready for bed?"

"Sure," said Kyle and the voice inside her head simultaneously. Wait...did they both have the same thought? Before Kyle knew it, her body was walking entirely on its own.

I'm Kayla, and I'm ready for bed after a long day! the voice in her head said. "Hi Samantha!" The voice left Kyle's mouth without him forming them. With a chill, Kyle realized that the new voice in her head was taking control! Kyle froze as she wrestled with the voice in her head, who was apparently the new Kayla Hiatt. No, Kayla! Kyle said in his mind. I...need...to...get out of here!

Like, why? Kayla thought. This is the girls' cabin! I belong here!

"No...no...no!" Kyle forced out of her mouth. But the effort ate up the last of her mental energy. Yes, of course I belong here! Kayla's voice said in her mind. My name is...

"Kayla? Is everything okay?" Shelly asked.

Kayla took full control over the body, turned to Shelly, and smiled. "Yes, of course it is!" she said. Kyle furiously tried to regain control, but his efforts were feeble. His mindset was being overpowered by his new female persona. Before he knew it, his consciousness started to fade away. No, he thought as this happened. He didn't mean for this to happen, he didn't mean to...

***

Kayla sat down on her bed. The annoying male voice in her head had gone away, allowing her to think clearly once more. She looked to her right, where her best friend Shelly was changing into her pajamas. "So Shelly," Kayla asked. "How was the bonfire?"

"It was great," Shelly said as she took off her shirt to reveal a blue training bra. Kayla did not flinch at the sight, as she herself had been wearing bras for over a year now. "We ate s'mores, and sang songs."

"That sounds so nice," said Kayla. "It's too bad I got sick."

"Well, tomorrow's a new day," said Shelly. "It'll be better than today."

Kayla laid down and smiled. She looked forward to the next day, where she could finally show off her new beautiful bikini that she had bought at the mall last weekend. She knew all the other girls would be jealous. And, as a plus, one of the naturalists would be taking all the girls to sunbathe while the boys worked to clean the kitchen. Life as a girl was awesome, Kayla thought. She couldn't imagine ever being a boy.