The Big Development

          “I can’t go to school looking like this! Everyone is going to stare at me!” I turned and raced out of the room. I was so upset I didn’t even realize I had climbed the stairs until I slammed my bedroom door.
 
         Normally I looked forward to going back to school after summer vacation. But this year was different. I was actually dreading it. This summer some things had changed; two things to be exact. And both of them were on my chest. Everyone was going to notice.
 
         The day my mother and grandmother noticed, I thought I was going to die.
 
         “Oh my Julia, your bosom has really developed quickly,” Grandma said. “Maggie have you noticed how large her breasts have become?”
 
         “Of course I noticed. I was planning on talking to her today about buying some bigger bras. Those training bras just aren’t going to cut it anymore.” Mom said. “Do you feel like going shopping, Julia? We really need to get some support for your boobies.”
 
         I couldn’t answer. My face was burning. I knew it was fire engine red. Sweat dripped from my forehead. “I just came to get a drink.” I grabbed a soda from the fridge and bolted from the room.
 
         The day we actually went shopping for bras was a nightmare. My mom took me to some department store where they sold old lady bras.
 
         “Now you are going to have to try some on to see what size you wear. Or we could get a sales lady to measure you,” Mom said.
 
         What a choice; some strange lady wrapping a measure tape around my boobs or trying on 20 different sizes and showing my mom so she could see which one fit right. “Give me those.” I snatched the bras my mom was holding and headed for the dressing room.
 
         The good news, I only had to try on 3 to find the right size. The bad news, the bra had 3 hooks in the back and was a blinding white that would glow in the dark. I didn’t care. I was happy it was over.
 
         “I know the bras we picked out are not all that pretty but support is much more important,” Mom said on the way to the checkout counter. “You don’t want them sagging down by your stomach when you’re 35.”
 
         My face began to catch fire. “I’ll be in the car.” I said, staring at the floor.
 
         When we returned home I went straight to my room, flopped on my bed and picked up a magazine. I had to admit it was going to feel much better to not have to squeeze myself into those tiny bras anymore.
 
         The tree branches outside my room began to shake. Maybe we are going to get a storm, I thought as I checked the sky. There was no storm outside but one was brewing in the house. One of my new bras was hanging in the tree. Each strap placed carefully on the same branch. “Ryan!” I screamed as I flew down the stairs.
 
         I found my younger brother in the kitchen filling the cups on another new bra with bird seed. “Hey sis,” he said. “I decided to put your new over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders to good use. These should keep the birds fed for a year.”
 
         And now on top of all the embarrassment I had already faced, I was going to be starting 9th grade tomorrow wearing the same bra my grandmother was probably wearing. I’ve always felt everyone looked at me like I was different because of my weight. Being one of the biggest girls in my class didn’t exactly let you blend in with the crowd. My mom could never really understand how I felt. She always said I was just big-boned. And now I was big boobed, too. I just wanted to be like everybody else. My outfit was going to take some serious planning, if I was going to pull that off.
 
         The ride to school the next morning went by much quicker than I ever remembered. I had resigned myself to the fact that hiding the new larger inhabitants on my chest was going to be impossible. I fidgeted with the buttons on my shirt, trying to prepare myself for the ridicule that lay ahead.
 
         My friend, Carly, was waiting for me as my mom pulled the car into the drop off area. “Hey Jules,” she said. “Hurry up! You’ve got to see this. Mark cut his hair really short and died it orange. And Lisa’s got an earring in her nose.”
 
         “What? Lisa’s mom let her do that?” I asked. My surprise was genuine. Not for what Carly had said, but what she didn’t say. No “what happened to you” or “look at those”.
 
         “Come on. Let’s go have a look at them before we go to homeroom,” she said. “By the way, that shirt is so cool. It looks great on you.”
 
         “Hi Jules. Hi Carly.” Emma met up with us on our way to class. The 3 of us had been the 3 musketeers since 4th grade. “I missed you guys so much this summer. I have tons to tell you.”
 
         “How was Europe?” I asked.
 
         “We can talk about that later. First I have to tell you what my mom did to me the other day. Can you believe she took me to the store and made me buy the ugliest bras you’ve ever seen? I was so embarrassed. She made me try them on in the store and everything. Next time I am making her take me to Victoria’s Secret.” It wasn’t until that point that I realized Emma’s chest had changed just as much as mine. And I hadn’t even noticed.
 
         I spent the rest of the day noticing changes in just about everyone. Whether it was height, weight, hair color, hair cuts, piercings, facial hair, voices or even boobs, almost everyone was changing. The funny thing was it all seemed normal. Nobody ever stared at me, laughed at me or treated me any different. I realized we were all just growing up. And I wasn’t so different from everyone else, after all.