The next day, I woke up excited.  It was the first day for a big change and I was excited to see how things would go.  A bit disappointed that my hair hadn't grown inches overnight, I pulled myself out of bed and went to grab something to wear for the day.  As much as I wanted to ask Mum for a dress to wear for the day, I fought those urges and put on my usual clothing.  A white button-up with leather suspenders to help keep my work pants up.  They were a size too big and despite Mum tailoring them for me, they still never seemed to fit quite right.  It was another workday, so I really didn't have a choice but to wear the outfit.  Sporting a dress there would've not only got me fired but also sent me to an insane asylum.  Most of the people I worked with there knew I leaned towards feminine things and they didn't like it at all.  Even at work, I had to be careful with what I said or did.  Anything considered too feminine was a no-go there.  So unless I suddenly had the ability to convert into a woman overnight without anyone knowing I was ever a man, then no.  I'll be presenting as masculine as I can for now.

A bit more energized than normal, I headed downstairs to grab a quick breakfast of some bread and butter.  It was almost always my breakfast of choice.  

"Heading to work?"  Mum poked her head out of the living room.  

"Yea."  I nodded.

"Alright.  Could you pick up some sweets while you're at the shop?  We just ran out of sweets for the candy bowl."

"Oh, yea, I'll get those.  The mint ones, right?"

"Mhm.  I'll get your father to pay you back later."

"Okay."

"Oh!  Is the 30th still a day off?"

"Yea."  I nodded.  It was the 4th of November and unfortunately for me, I didn't have any days off until the 30th.  I was supposed to have Sundays off, but Dad was making me work out back to 'gain some muscle' during those days.  Thankfully, the 30th was a Tuesday, so he wasn't making me work.

"Okay, good to know."  Mum smiled.

"Why?"

"You'll have to see!"  She grinned like a child.  I could even hear her giggling to herself.  "Anywho!  You better get going!"

After glancing at the time, I realized I was going to be late if I hung around any longer.  With my breakfast in hand, I grabbed my jacket and rushed out the door.

"Bye, Mum!"  I called out as I left.  When she got to respond, I was already out the door.  As I munched on my bread, I pondered why Mum wanted to know my day off.  Was she planning something?  Surely not.  She wasn't the type to surprise me.  Though, having said that, she did surprise me a fair bit the night before.  I ran through all the possibilities in my head but was unable to come to a conclusion.  I suppose I was going to have to wait and see.

Working went how it normally did.  Restock, package, and sell.  That day was a particularly bad day for snotty customers.  With that shop being the one main candy shop in town, we got customers of all classes, ages, and personalities.  Don't get me wrong, most of them were very kind and patient.  Others, however, were not.

On this lucky day, part of the Hawthorne family walked in.  A very well-known and respectable family.  Among all the families that lived in our town, the Hawthornes were the highest of class, hence them being so well known.  Hell, they were even known in places far away from where they resided!  I suppose with Mr. Hawthorne being a highly requested ambassador between states, that made sense.  

The family was quite a large one like most families were.  Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne had 8 children together.  The youngest of the bunch was a bit younger than me at age 14.  She was born way after the rest were.  The remaining siblings were between the ages of 20 and 30.  Normally, Mrs. Hawthorne would come with the youngest child and they would shop for candy, but this time it was a group of the older siblings.  There was Angel, whose name fit her perfectly with her angelic light brown hair and stunningly soft facial features.  Even her body was angelic.  Nice hips, a bit of pudge, and a fair height.  Secondly, there was Reginald.  Don't ask why his parents thought that would be a good name, because it really isn't.  He was the eldest of the siblings, and like Angel, had light brown hair that was a bit shorter than mine and looked very soft to the touch.  He stood taller than I did and although thin, had a muscular look to him.  Lastly, there was Beatrice.  Oh, Beatrice.

Picture Beatrice to be the worst person you've ever dealt with, then multiply it by 100.  The woman practically came with her own evil theme music that included thumping tubas and sinister violin screeching.  Every time she walked through that door, my colleagues and I knew it would be an awful day.  Some newer employees tried to be hopeful, but once they heard her screeching about how fattening candy was, they knew there was no hope.  Lady, you're in a candy shop.  What do you think we sell?

As for looks, Beatrice stood apart from all her siblings.  Most of them had light brown hair, but hers?  No, it was platinum blonde and in dreads.  It was so blond it had the potential to blind others when she stood in the sun.  Thank god she almost always had a hat on when she went out or a lot of people would be losing eyesight.  Nothing about her was like her other family.  While most of her family was a bit chubby, she was stick thin with very strong cheekbones that were sharper than a blade.  It almost gave her a more edged look so people wouldn't approach her.  Her siblings loved to dress in vibrant colors, but Beatrice?  Black.  Everything had to be black or some variation of dark clothing.  As the saying goes, once you go black, there ain't no coming back.  The only thing that was similar between all the family members was the emerald green eyes.  Luckily for Beatrice, they matched perfectly with her snake.  Yes, you heard me right.  The woman has a pet snake.  A Green Mamba to be exact.  One she named Fluffy at the ripe venomous snake owning age of 14.  I have no idea why or how her parents got it for her as a kid.  My guess is that she ignored them to the point that they simply gave in.  Thank god he was a gentle snake though because letting him roam like Beatrice did could've been dangerous.  

"Here we go again."  My coworker grumbled.  "How about you deal with them?  I'm not in the mood."

"I don't want to either…"  I mumbled.  Sadly, I didn't get a say in the matter.  He scuttled out of there before I could, leaving me to deal with customers.  With an annoyed groan, I went over to the group of three.  

"Hi!  How can I help you?"  I asked in my best customer service voice.  Apparently, offering help was a reason Beatrice saw to complain.  I could just see it in her face with the way she scowled and glared at me.  

"Your voice is awfully high for a man."  She pointed out.  It took almost every fiber in my body to not groan.  As with most people, my voice went up an octave when I was nervous.  Not only that, but I had been consciously trying to speak in a higher voice all day.  However, it didn't make much of a difference as my voice was already quite neutral sounding.

"Oh, sorry."  I apologized.  Feeling a bit pissy, I intentionally let my voice drop to an abnormally deep level for the next phrase.  "Is this better?"

The pain that voice caused my throat was well worth the look of horror on her face.  Angel and Reginald got a good laugh out of it while Beatrice went red in the face from anger.  Being teased like that wasn't something she liked.

"You can talk in the other voice."  She said, rather dismissively.  Despite appearing quite irritated, she held her composure quite well.  

"You can't tell someone what voice to talk in."  Reginald raised a brow at her, clearly disapproving of his younger sister's words.

"Watch me."  Beatrice retorted.

"Well, while you two argue, I'm getting some sweets!"  Angel beamed.  "Do you have any of those twisty ones?"

"Yep!  They're just over there."  I nodded while pointing at the jars on the shelf.  Happily, she went over to see what there was for an assortment.  Seeing her happy made me smile.  It gave me the energy to turn my view back to Beatrice with a small smile.  I was about to ask if she was looking for anything, but instead noticed her snake poke one of the nearby candy jars with his nose.

"Oh, uh, Miss Hawthorne?"  I said nervously while motioning at Fluffy.  "You can't have your snake getting in the candy jars."

"Fluffy, dear, you can't have that."  Beatrice pulled him away from it and let him wrap around her arm.  "You're already overweight.  You don't need more food."

"Thanks,"  I mumbled.  "So, can I help you with anything?"

"Do I look like I eat candy to you?"  Beatrice glared.  

"We're just here for Angel."  Reginald groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.  "She wanted some candy, and since it's her birthday, we took her out to get some."

"Oh!"  I turned over to Angel, who wasn't too far away.  "Happy birthday!"

"Birthdays aren't a reason to pig out,"  Beatrice grumbled.  

"You're just upset it's not your birthday."

"Why in the world would I be upset about that?  Who in the hell wants to age?  That means wrinkles!"

"Mhm.  Oh!  Winter mint candies!" Reginald perked up at the sight of them.  Winter mints were one of the shop's prized possessions.  They almost always sold out.

"They just restocked them." I smiled.

"Great!  I'm going to pick some up for my wife.  She loves them!"

"Right, cuz she needs to get even fatter than she already is,"  Beatrice grumbled with a very sour tone.  "She shouldn't even be allowed them-"

"Say another word and you're not welcome to stay with us for the rest of the day,"  Reginald said sternly.  He was stern enough that Beatrice shut up pretty quickly.  It did make me wonder what she wanted out of their time together.  Possibly there was bribery involved?