My name is Max, and I’m over the moon! I’ve managed, at long last, to land myself a part time job, at the local store. One of my ‘mates’, Mike, had let me know about the position, I’d sent my CV in and was asked to come in to try out, without needing an interview.

I turned up at the store and was sent to the back, to collect my new uniform. I had no idea that that I was being lined up for what they thought was going to be an absolutely epic windup…

Someone chucked me a new uniform and, by reflex, I put it on. It seemed to be a bit baggy in the front, but fitted ok, going right down to just above my ankles. At least it would keep my clothes clean…

Completely innocently, I went out and started working in the store. I didn’t notice the looks I was getting; I just thought it was people not recognising the ‘new guy’. I worked hard, made a real effort, and impressed the store manager, Charlene, when she came out later that morning.

“Great work, Maxine”, she said. “Good first day. You’ll do well.”

What did she call me…?

I looked at my name badge: ‘Maxine’. What the hell…?

Suddenly nervous, I sought out Mike, who had put me forward for the job.

“Alright… what’s going on? How do you know about Maxine?”

“She’s you, sweetie”, Mike said, with a smile and a giggle. “Ms. Maxine Adams. On a ‘Gap Year’ from the local University.”

“No F’ing way is Maxine going out in public!”, I said, going to leave the store.

“In that case, why are you wearing her uniform?”, Mike asked. “I just ‘tweaked’ your application a bit. The boss said she wanted a strong tomboy to work in the store, and I said you’d be perfect. She’s also very impressed with your work, even though she’s a little concerned that you are a bit flat-chested. She thinks there’s something wrong with you, even though your work is so good. Please, just bear with it.”

I just stood there with my mouth open. I couldn’t believe my mate had set me up like this.

“I take it some of the other staff are in on the gag”, I said.

“No, they aren’t”, Mike said. “They were just staring at you because of how good you were at the job on your first day. Anyway, remember, you’re a Gurl now. If you don’t want to have to answer some awkward questions, I’d pad yourself out a little tomorrow.”

“If you think I’m coming back tomorrow, you’re insane!”, I shouted.

Charlene heard this and rushed over.

“Maxine, are you ok?”, she asked, concerned. “Is this idiot causing you problems?”, glaring at Mike.

“Yes, he is”, I said. “The little shit has set me up. It wasn’t supposed to be like this…”

Charlene was furious. Nobody had ever seen her that angry.

“You, out!”, she said, fuming at Mike. “I’ll deal with your lazy arse later. Maxine, please come to my office. We need to talk…”

Mike slinked off. His windup had backfired, badly. I was also having a rough ride; I’d so wanted my first real job to go ok, and this was anything but. I was also having trouble dealing with the feelings about being a woman in public…

You see, I was a secret crossdresser at home. I’d tried on a few dresses, normally preferring skirts and tops, however, because they were nearest to my ‘boy clothes’ and could be changed in a hurry. I’d never been out as Maxine in public. How had somebody found out…?

I was frantically trying not to cry as I got to the manager’s office, and failing. She inadvertently made it worse by hugging me.

I just dissolved.

“Maxine, it’s alright”, she said. “It can be very intimidating coming out the first time, but I wouldn’t really have picked first day on a new job in a public shop to do it…”

“I didn’t!”, I sobbed. “He set me up…!”

“I thought it was something like that”, she said, sympathetically. “Talk about a heartless thing to do, especially to a sweet little thing like you…”

 Charlene hugged me. My sobs gradually turned into sniffles, then stopped.

“That’s better”, she said. “Now, I want to tell you something. I’ve never seen that job done so well on a person’s first day. You’ve actually done everything by the book, perfectly. How did you know so much about retail?”

“I helped out a lot in Mum’s store, before she passed a few years ago. You know, Hendersons.”

“You’re Max Henderson?”, she said, amazed. “I’ve seen some of your dress designs. You’re a genius! Why the hell would you want to work here? You could get a job anywhere!”

“I go by Max Adams now”, I said. “I got embarrassed at how much I knew about dresses and girl’s things. I just wanted a normal life.”

“That’s just it”, said Charlene. “I think your ‘normal’ life is being a girl. I know Mike can be an idiot, but I think he’s inadvertently done you a favour. I’ve never seen someone so energised and happy as you were out working there; you were solving peoples problems so quickly it was unbelievable. The number of compliments I’ve received about you…”

“Are you saying you want me to be Maxine?”, I asked.

“I don’t care. You can be Fred or Freda Bloggs as far as I am concerned, as long as you keep working here. I must admit, however, I’d really prefer you to be the person I saw today, Maxine.”

Before she could stop herself, Charlene kissed me. She was instantly embarrassed and turned away.

I just hugged her…

I thought about it for a long time, then made a decision. If I was going to do this, it was going to be all in, no half measures. Charlene’s support had made be brave enough to try; especially when she said to me “Let me handle Mike; he’s not your problem anymore.”

I asked her to update my employment record to ‘Maxine Henderson’. I still had a bank account in my old name, so getting paid wasn’t a problem, and I’d never legally changed it; however, I had to tell her to pay ‘Max’ not ‘Maxine’ to start with, which she was happy to do.

Luckily, I had been living on my own for some time, so changing over to Maxine full time wasn’t a problem. Still, I got the impression that I wasn’t going to be alone for much longer. Charlene was taking a real interest in me…

My design sense kicked back in as soon as I had ‘transitioned’, and it showed in what I started wearing. I didn’t go over the top, for that would have been wrong for work and given the wrong impression. I just went a bit classier. When I walked into work one day in heels and a little black number, Mike’s jaw hit the floor…

As I walked past him, smiling and happy, all I heard from him was “I never knew. You’re a knockout…!”

I just winked at him and carried on into work, where Charlene was waiting…