Lipstick on Weekends

Lipstick on Weekends

Part 3: Weekends Are for Girls

The first step into Classroom B was slow. Measured. Pretend-confident.

Naveen ...or Nandhini, as the world now knew him felt the prosthetic breasts press firmly against the inside of his salwar. The inner blouse chafed lightly, mixing warmth with a damp, plasticky cling. His skin itched beneath the gum that held the fake chest to his torso. His legs moved awkwardly beneath the tight leggings, thighs rubbing together, the thin synthetic panty sliding slightly as he walked. He hated how the dupatta refused to stay put and how his chest moved every time he walked.

And still, with every step across the tiled floor, he passed as a girl.

He reached the door and stepped inside.

The classroom was small and filled with twenty or so girls already seated. Soft murmurs. A few giggles. He caught only fragments of Tamil. “Adhu oru pudhu ponnu polaye...” “...chinna age a dhaan irukku...”

He didn’t meet anyone’s eyes.

He found a window seat, far corner, and slowly sat down, adjusting his dupatta like Amma had taught. Left side over the shoulder. Don’t show too much shape. Don’t fidget. Don’t scratch. Behave like a girl.

He breathed slowly.

And then it began.

The Girl Who Sat Next to Him

“Oiii, you’re new-aa?”

A voice cut through the low buzz.

He turned slightly.

She was stunning.

Tall, slim, confident. Her kurti was bright red with no sleeves and a low collar, her jeans tight and high-waisted. She had curled her hair into soft burgundy waves that fell across one shoulder. Her eyeliner was bold. A silver anklet sparkled on one bare ankle and her nails glittered with transparent gloss.

“I’m Aarthi,” she grinned, offering a hand like a boy. “Three years in this place. Still not in MBBS. But I’ve learned how to survive.”

Naveen shook it, awkward. “Nandhini,” he whispered.

“Nandhini-aa?” She tilted her head. “Cute. First day?”

He nodded.

“You’re like... sooo nervous. Chill, okay? No one bites. Except me sometimes.” She winked.

Naveen forced a smile.

“I’m sitting next to you,” she said, already sliding her bag onto the bench. “We’re friends now. Deal with it.”

Day One: Strange Comforts

Aarthi was a storm.

She cracked jokes during class, slipped him biscuits under the table, and nudged his elbow every time he drifted off.

She noticed everything. “Adjust your dupatta.”
“Your bindi’s sliding.”
“Do you always blink so fast when someone looks at you?”

Even her whispers had confidence. “Biology’s easy. Chemistry is torture. But don’t worry. I’ll help you pass.”

She even offered to re-tie his braid when it started loosening. “Useless pin work. Come here, I’ll fix it.”

When the teacher asked for names, Naveen tensed.

“What’s your name?”

He swallowed. “Nandhini M.”

“Full name?”

“Nandhini Murugesan,” he said, voice soft and female.

He heard a girl behind him whisper, “Such a soft voice.”

Aarthi leaned toward him. “You handled that well. See? You’re already one of us - neeeeeeeetttt girls.”

Lunch Break and Aarthi’s World

During lunch, Aarthi dragged him to a bench under a neem tree near the campus wall.

She opened her glittery Tupperware box filled with cheesy noodles. “Eat,” she said, feeding him a forkful like a mother.

“I brought idli,” he murmured.

“Keep it. That’s boring. Try mine.”

He obeyed.

“I don’t get along with most girls here,” she said. “Too boring. Too quiet. Always talking about ‘sir’s notes’ and ‘toppers list’. But you… you’re different. You feel things. You blush. I like that.”

Naveen stared at his knees.

“You’d look hot in a skirt, you know.”

His head shot up. “What?”

“Just saying,” she smiled. “You’ve got the legs. Don’t waste them in leggings.”

He was silent.

“I wear skirts to parties. Crop tops too. Amma screams, but Appa funds everything. My house has central AC. You should visit sometime. I have pink bedsheets and a ring light. Want to take photos together?”

Naveen didn’t answer.

She didn’t seem to need him to.

Afternoon Class & Departure

By afternoon, she was poking his ribs and whispering answers before he could even think. She borrowed his pen just to bite the end of it while thinking. When he turned to write, she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Comfy,” she murmured. “Hope you don’t mind.”

He didn’t move.

He was sweating again. Not from heat. From panic.

Back Home, in Nighty Again

That evening, Naveen returned home silent. His mother watched him carefully.

“You okay?”

He nodded.

Nandhini tossed him a soft nighty - this one bright yellow with tiny strawberries.

“Wear. I washed it.”

He frowned. “Do I have to?”

“Yes. You’re a girl. And you don’t want bra lines when you sleep. Trust me.”

He changed into it. The cloth tickled his bare legs as he walked. The breeze touched his thighs in ways he didn’t like. But he didn’t say a word.

He lay in bed staring at the ceiling, the ghost of Aarthi’s voice echoing in his head.

“You should try skirts.”

“You feel things.”

“I like you.”

Sunday: Becoming Nandhini Again

4:45 a.m. again.

Cold water on his face. Powder on his chest. Gum over skin. Prosthetics aligned carefully.

The salwar was mint green today, dupatta lighter. His sister helped apply kajal. Then came blush, a light dab of shimmer powder. A purse, lipstick, sanitary pad, ID card. No mistakes today.

He felt... more efficient. But less himself.

Aarthi’s Day

She spotted him instantly.

“Nandhiniii! Same lipstick shade as me!”

She was in a black T-shirt dress, cinched with a broad pink belt, over leggings. Not one other girl in the centre dressed like her.

“See?” she turned. “Shaped like a dress but covers everything. I got it from Bangalore.”

She grabbed his hand. “Sit here. I’m bored.”

During class, she played tic-tac-toe with eyeliner on the last page of his notebook. She passed him a Dairy Milk under the desk and blew on her nails.

She even scolded a girl who bumped into him. “Careful, she’s delicate!”

At lunch, she leaned closer. “Tell me honestly. Were you always this shy?”

He froze. “No, I... I’m just adjusting.”

“To being a girl?” she whispered teasingly.

He stiffened.

She smiled and touched his arm. “Relax. I’m just teasing. But you’re so real. I love it.”

Then she took out a lipstick. “Now stay still.”

“What?”

Before he could resist, she pressed the red gloss to his lips, slow and steady.

“There. Now you look... sexy.”

He covered his mouth instinctively.

She clicked a selfie. “Perfect. Now let them stare.”

Evening Benz Ride

At 6:10, Naveen waited near the bus stop again.

But there it was the white Benz.

Aarthi honked. “Get in, loser.”

He obeyed.

“I’ll drop you. You’re too pretty to be squished in a bus.”

He said nothing.

She turned the volume low. “You know… if we met outside class, I’d still be friends with you. You’re kind. You listen. You don’t judge.”

He looked at her, stunned.

At his street, she stopped the car.

Before he could open the door, she leaned over.

Soft lips brushed his cheek.

“I really like you,” she said.

He froze.

“As a friend. Or… more, if you want. Just saying.”

She winked and drove off.

He stood on the road, lips tingling, face flushed.

The lipstick still shimmered faintly in the dying sun.

He turned and walked back inside, dupatta fluttering.

Still Nandhini.

Still wearing lipstick.

Still just a girl.