The beautiful game - Remastered 05

Chapter 5 – Adapt to survive

Sonja never did apologise for the way she spoke to Milos in the bar that evening, and in her quest to torment him further she used the fact that people were now recognising him to justify the continued changes to his lifestyle and body, telling him there would be even more scrutiny over his identity, meaning he would need to work twice as hard to make sure Milena looked the part.

There were numerous facial treatments, where he was forced to sit through smelly masks, peels, and even laser treatments, leaving Milos’ face silky smooth and completely hairless. Milos wasn't too bothered at first as he had never had a lot of facial hair or had the urge to grow a beard, but he did find it a little frustrating how thanks to Sonja that option had been taken away from him.

His ears were pierced, and wearing earrings and jewellery became a daily norm. For Milos, the constant jingling and jangling whenever he moved took quite some getting used to, as a man, he hadn’t even worn a watch but now thanks to the weight and the clanking of his bracelets and earrings whenever he moved, he was constantly reminded of their presence and his feminization at the hands of Sonja.

The introduction of these changes were inconvenient and more than a little annoying but they were something Milos could cope with in his quest to make amends for the car crash. That is until one morning, sat on the pink sofa in the apartment living room, Sonja announced that his nails needed some attention if he was to keep up with current trends. She got to work immediately, filing, clipping, and trimming his cuticles.

Having had his nails doner many times before Milos was used to the attention but when Sonja produced a set of long clear nail tips and started gluing them to the end of each fingertip, he started to worry.

He watched in a trance as she applied some gooey white material over the top of the tips before spreading it out, taking a lot of care to make sure it was even.

His hand was then guided into a strange looking device with a blue light as Sonja started work on his other hand. Milos tried asking her what she was doing but after being snapped at a few times, Milos quickly realised, Sonja was not in the mood to talk.

When she announced him done, Milos looked on in a state of shock as he carefully twisted and turned his hands in front of his face, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

His hands now sported ridiculously long that extended what must have been more than an inch beyond his fingertips ending in a rounded tip.

Milos slowly waggled his fingers watching as the acrylic material shimmered in the light. His heart quickened as he stared down at the monstrous claws that had essentially rendered his hands useless and noted how they weren't all the same colour, most were black, but a few nails had been coloured an off pink colour with some design painted on top.

“Admiring my work, I see”, Sonja announced with a smile, “they’ll take a little getting used to, but they are so fashionable right now, perfect for a celeb like you”.

“Sonja aren’t these a little impractical to play football”? Milos said gasping as he held up his hands to show her his claw-like nails, trying to imagine how he was going to be able to do all the day-to-day activities, he had taken for granted with his shorter nails.

“Don’t be silly, you’ll be fine, it’s football, you can’t use your hands, you’re not the goalkeeper”, Sonja replied smiling towards the other girls who had entered the room halfway through his manicure making them burst into a fit of giggles.

Milos on the other hand was less than impressed by her stupid answer, “Yes, but what if...”, he was interrupted, “shush, it’s done now, you just need to get used to them, Sonja announced, "I bet by the end of the day you won’t even notice them, we all have acrylic tips and we get by just fine”, she added as she, along with other girls, lifted their hands and wiggled their fingers to show Milos their own extended nails, albeit, much shorter nails.

Milos was a frustrated figure as he fumbled his way through the rest of the morning. After trying to remove a nail and feeling a sharp pain, he tried to do as little as possible worried he was going to rip off his actual nail below. But some things were unavoidable like using the bathroom.

With his nails extending so far past the end of his fingers, getting in the way of everything, what used to be a trivial exercise, one worthy of little thought, had now become a complex series of mind-bending puzzles.

Flushing the toilet or washing his hands was now almost impossible, undoing his jeans took five minutes as he tried to figure out how to grip the zipper and unfasten the button, even opening and closing the door was now a chore.

Feeling frustrated and fed up, Milos planned to spend the rest of the day alone in his room. Unfortunately for him, Sonja had other ideas as she barged into his room, “Millie, go take a shower and find something cute to wear, we’re going into the city to pick up a few things”.

“Well, I won’t be much use then will I? “Milos shot back sarcastically, holding up his hands, “I can’t pick up anything with these”.

“Ha…ha, very funny, now get going, we haven't got all day”, Sonja replied, giving him a look that said don’t you dare argue with me.

After struggling to undress, Milos jumped in the shower. The warm water felt nice on his hairless skin, and as he washed his long brunette locks, with his nourishing floral-scented shampoo, he found the first and perhaps only positive to having long nails.

Raking them along the top of his head and massaging his scalp felt amazing. It was so relaxing, he could have stayed there all day but like almost everything else in his life he enjoyed, Sonja wasn’t going to allow it, banging on the door, bringing him back to reality and telling him to hurry up.

Back in his room, he ran into more problems caused by his long acrylic talons. He couldn’t apply his makeup. If it were up to him, he would have just left the house without wearing any but knowing Sonja would scold him, he asked her for help. Sonja agreed immediately as though she had been expecting the question and quickly got to work painting his face.

When he gazed into the mirror seeing the finished look for the first time, Milos was far from happy, “is she trying to make me look like a whore”? he thought to himself while grimacing at the heavy makeup plastered to his face, more suited to a nightclub than a Tuesday afternoon out shopping.

He turned to look up at Sonja ready to complain, “now not a word of complaint from you”, Sonja said cutting him off, “if you think you can do better, you’re more than welcome to start over”.

For a moment even with his claw-like hands, Milos considered it, but knowing it would more than likely just make Sonja angry resulting in some cruel punishment down the line, he took a deep breath and bit his tongue.

For the next 20 minutes, Milos sat by the vanity wearing just his silky underwear in total silence as Sonja straightened his long hair with a pair of flat irons before walking over to his wardrobe and selected an outfit from his ever-expanding collection of girlie clothes. He watched through the mirror as she placed a pair of black stretchy leggings on the bed, followed by what looked like a white short-sleeved shirt.

“Ok, so before you start complaining again, I’ve picked you out an easy to wear outfit, while you adjust to your new nails”, Sonja said smiling at him through the mirror, “no buttons or zips, so you should have no problems slipping it on, the shirt ties around the midsection if you're wondering”, she added while placing a chunky fake jewelled necklace around his neck.

“Thanks, I guess”, Milos mumbled, still staring at his heavily made-up face.

“Oh, cheer up, it wasn’t my idea to dress you up as a woman, I’m just doing what I can to help you not get caught”, Sonja said tilting her head to one side.

Milos sighed, “I just don’t understand why I have to be such a girly girl; the rest of the girls on the team don’t wear this much makeup and they definitely don’t have nails like these”, he replied holding up his nails once more.

“Are you serious right now”? Sonja announced loudly, “the rest of the team aren’t crossdressing men, you have to look more feminine than them, so no one thinks even for one second that you are anything other than the woman you appear to be, don’t you see that? Do you want to get caught? What will happen to Coach if people find out your true identity”?

Milos closed his heavily made-up eyes, feeling the heaviness of his mascara drenched lashes and sighed once more, “ok, I get it, I do”, he replied, lowering his head not having the energy or the strength to argue with her.

“Good, now get dressed and meet me out in the Livingroom, I need to get ready myself, oh, and before you whine about not being able to fasten your shoes, don’t worry, these are slip-on”, Sonja said with an evil grin, as she picked up the patent platform pumps, Milos had been forced to wear for the last week or so, while he practised walking in higher heels.

Ten minutes later, Milos trotted awkwardly into the living room, the loud clicking sound echoing from the floor with every tiny mincing step he took a constant reminder of the feminine prison he now found himself trapped in.

The other two girls barely looked up from their television show as he entered but gave him a quick compliment on his outfit as he plopped himself down on the sofa feeling exhausted already and they hadn't even left the house yet.

Doing his best to avoid watching the mind-numbingly boring show on the TV, Milos fidgeted to try and find a comfortable position to sit in his tight pants. He still couldn’t believe Sonja was making him wear these shoes for their outing. Not only would he stand out on a Tuesday afternoon but the longest he’d ever managed to wear these feet crippling shoes was an hour in the apartment with its flat smooth floors.

Shuddering as he recalled the intense ache of his calf muscles and the throbbing of his toes after taking them off that day, Milos knew he was in for an uncomfortable afternoon.

(See image 5.1)

Three hours later.

Having been dragged from shop to shop, navigating uneven pavements, and going up and down, what seemed like every set of steps in the city, Milos had lost all feeling in his toes. His feet were now pulsating with a hot sharp stabbing pain as he hobbled along behind Sonja trying to keep up and not fall.

Seeing Sonja stop to look in a shop window, Milos tottered up and tried once again to convey to her just how much pain he was in, “please, Sonja, I can’t feel my feet anymore, what if I fall and break an ankle" he moaned, "if I hurt myself,  I won’t be able to play for the team anymore, what will Coach say about that”?

Sonja turned slowly with an annoyed look on her face, “fine, you big cry baby, you win, one more stop and we’ll head back home", she said in an angry tone, "now you know how women feel, forced by men to wear uncomfortable shoes, all in the name of fashion, now stop complaining and suck it up princess, ten more minutes and we’ll head back”.

Easy for her to say, thought Milos, looking down at Sonja’s comfortable looking trainers but deciding to keep the thought to himself.

Flash, flash, flash, the bright lights from in front of them catching them off guard and momentarily blinded the pair. Milos putting his head in his hand wondered if this day could possibly get any worse as he spotted a man with an expensive-looking camera snapping pictures.

Sonja tutted before taking a step forward, “how dare you take our picture without asking you cockroach”, she screamed, “now get lost, before I shove that camera up where the sun doesn’t shine”. The man looked terrified, apologised for disturbing them before quickly scuttling away.

turning back to face him, Sonja smiled, “I guess you really are a celebrity now, Millie, isn't it a good thing we’ve been working so hard on your disguise”?

===================================================================

The coming Saturday, the Tigers had an important game. Thanks largely to Milos, the team had fought their way back up the league and today faced the team directly above them. Their opposition were a good team with a solid defence, but if the Tigers could come away with the victory, they would leapfrog them into second place.

It was a dull first half with few chances created by either side. Milos was having a quiet game, playing with his new nails, felt uncomfortable and awkward not helped by the opposite team taunting and calling him names in the hope of putting him off.

The second half played out much like the first and with the fourth official indicating there would only be two further minutes of added time, Dejan watching from the sidelines shouted out some words of encouragement to his team. 

The words seemed to have an instant impact with Milos deciding to show everyone who had been taunting him all game, exactly what he was capable of.

With the score still tied at nil-nil, the opposition team had the ball and were attacking with pace, having thrown everyone forward sensing they could find a winning goal.

The ball was out on the right-wing, in possession of the muscular opposition winger who ran past the left-back like she wasn’t there. Cutting inside she looked ready to unleash a shot on goal as the whole stadium held their breath expecting to see the net bulge. And if not for Katerina, it probably would have, throwing herself in front of the ball to block the powerful shot.

The ball now loose, flew up into the air as the crowd strained their necks to follow it. It seemed to be in the air for what seemed like an eternity before it finally came racing back towards the Earth. 

Milos who was standing just inside his own, having come back to help the team defend, watched the ball as it dropped rapidly towards him. Spotting the clock on the large scoreboard out of the corner of his eye and seeing mere seconds remaining, he wound back his foot for a speculative effort on goal.

(See image 5.2)

As the ball dropped over his shoulder, Milos leaned in and swung his body towards the ball. Striking the ball on the volley his connection was pure.

The entire stadium gasped as the ball flew like a missile towards the opposition goal. The trajectory was straight, and the ball didn’t waver at all from its path as the scrambling opposition goalkeeper had no chance of saving it, even if she had been on her line.

The ball almost broke the net as the crowd roared, jumping wildly from their seats having just witnessed one of the best goals of all time. Mobbed by his teammates who piled on top of him, Milos missed the referee blowing the final whistle to bring the game to a close. The Tigers had done it, they had won the game.

After the celebrations died down a little, his teammates hoisted Milos onto their shoulders and carried him from the field to a hero's exit as the crowd chanted Milena over and over again.

Trying to take it all in Milos felt on top of the world. It felt like all his dreams had come true, but little did he realise, with that goal, he had opened Pandora’s box as every media outlet in the country would now know his name.

Back in the changing rooms, the celebrations continued as the team sang and danced as Milos enjoyed the attention he was receiving. After a few more minutes of celebrating, Milos slipped away and went looking for Coach.

He’d been wanting to speak to him for the last few days about the situation with Sonja and thought today, with everyone in such a good mood, it might be a good time to approach the subject.

He found the door to his office open but gave it a gently knock anyway. Dejan, who was sat behind his desk stood up upon seeing Milos, almost ran across the room and gave him a huge hug, “wow, Milos, what a goal, I’ve never seen anything like it”, he said gripping him tightly.

“Thanks, Coach, I didn’t really think about it, I just hit it”, Milos said enjoying the embrace and glad to see Coach happy for once.

“Well, it was spectacular, come take a seat”, Dejan said as pulled away and pointed towards his desk.

He sat down and after watching Milos take his place opposite, he offered him a drink as a worried look appeared across Milos’ face.

“Ah…don’t worry, I meant a soft drink, you know water or something”, he said to reassure him, “I’m off the alcohol again now, I’ve been sober for seventeen days. I have to admit, it got bad again there for a while but thanks to you Milos, I’m back on the straight and narrow again”, he added with a warm smile, “now what brings you in here? Why aren’t you celebrating with the girls”?

Noticing how happy and how much healthier Coach looked, Milos suddenly had second thoughts about threatening to quit the team, like he had intended to, when he made his way over to the office, instead, he decided to try a different tactic.

“Well, you see Coach, it’s Sonja, I know you told her to help me with this disguise”, he said lifting his hands and moving them down his body slowly to emphasise his point, “the thing is, she might be taking things too far and jeopardising everything”.

“Go on”, Dejan said, as Milos noted the concerned look on his face and felt happy that his tactic was working.

“Well, recently she’s been forcing me to go out drinking in the city where people are recognising me and taking pictures, there is even talk of going out to a bar later tonight!” Milos exclaimed, emphasising the last word and sure that Coach would put a stop to it as one of the team rules was no drinking or nights out during the season.

Dejan paused for a second, “you know Milos, perhaps I’ve been a little uptight in the past, team spirit has never been better, and we have won every game since you joined the team", he said before pausing once again as Milos looked stunned by the words coming out of his mouth.

"You know what, I’m going to change the rule, in fact, tonight I’m going to throw you a party here at the club", Dejan announced loudly, "tonight, all food and drinks are on me, you deserve it for what you’ve done recently”, he said standing up”, thank you, Milos, for all you’ve done recently”, he added putting his arm around him and walking towards the door, “I really appreciate your sacrifices and tonight to show my gratitude, we party”.

===================================================================

“A party, are you serious? Coach’s throwing a party”? were the surprised comments heard throughout the changing room as the news spread quickly.

Sonja walked over and stood above the bench where Milos was sat still shocked from the announcement, “So, Millie, I hear Coach is throwing you a party tonight, how wonderful”.

“Er…. it’s not like that Sonja, it’s not just for me, it’s for the whole team”, Milos said feeling nervous seeing her grinning face looking down on him.

“Oh, don’t be so modest, you just scored the goal of the season and won the game, of course, it’s your party, now let’s get off home, so we can get our special girl ready for her big night”, Sonja said with an evil glint in her eye.

===================================================================

Four hours later.

Milos was back at the football ground albeit it dressed rather differently. The hours after the game now seemed like a blur to him having rushed back to the apartment, where the girls went into overdrive, glamming him up ready for the party.

Standing outside the football club on his wobbly legs, he could hear the faint beat of the music from inside the building and shivered as a large gust of wind blew up his short dress, tickling his legs.

His slender legs refused to budge as he looked down shaking his head. He still couldn’t believe he wearing a dress out in public, or anywhere for that matter. It was his first time wearing one, having refused point-blank up until now.

The feeling of having his smooth hairless legs covered only by a pair of shiny nude coloured tights exposed to the elements was more than a little strange. He was used to wearing shorts, but the open bottom of his dress made him feel different, vulnerable.

The skin of his legs beneath felt so smooth and sensitive as the swish of his thighs rubbing against each other as he walked, and each gust of wind sent a shiver down his spine in what was a very distracting feeling.

He was once again perched atop the painful 6-inch platform pumps, he had worn on the night out in the bar. By now he was starting to get used to the feeling of having to walk around balancing on his tiptoes after Sonja had forced him to wear these shoes almost 24 hours a day in an effort to adapt to higher heels.

But even after walking up the old uneven path from the car without tripping once, Milos still felt nervous, knowing it would only take one false step to send him toppling off the ankle-breaking death traps loosely attached to his aching feet.

(See image 5.3)

Out of the main door stepped Teodora, one of his teammates, as Milos knew it was now too late to back out. Spotting him standing there the girl smiled and waved before making her way over to greet him.

Trotting up the perilous path to meet her halfway, Milos was extra careful where he placed the thin stiletto heel of each shoe.

He was greeted with a hug and an air kiss, “wow, Milena, you look gorgeous tonight, are you sure you’re really Milos under there”? The girl joked.

“Hi Teodora, you look nice yourself", Milos answered blushing, "yes it’s definitely me, even if I have to pinch myself sometimes to believe it".

“I know, I’m only teasing you, but seriously you look really beautiful, I love your dress and those shoes, how do you walk in them”? She said stepping back to get a good look at him.

“With difficulty”, Milos replied while brushing a long curled piece of hair from in front of his face, “to be honest with you, I’m still not sure how I even made it up here without falling”.

Teodora giggled, “Well, I’d say you look like you were born to wear them, shall we go inside”? She announced, linking her arm through his, “everyone will be really excited to see you”.

Teodora was right, the whole room stopped and turned as Milos tottered in through the doors. All together they cheered loudly and gave him a round of applause to welcome him to the party.

The night actually turned out to be more fun than Milos initially thought. All night people wanted to chat with him. it was strange but as Milena, he received more praise and attention in one evening than Milos had had in his entire life.

The only thing that stopped him from fully enjoying the evening were his torturous heels, and after a few hours, the pain became unbearable, forcing him to find a seat to rest his throbbing feet.

But sat watching the room of people having fun, Milos didn't feel upset or annoyed, instead, he began to reflect on what had become of his life and for the first time since becoming Milena, he thought that perhaps life as her, wasn’t so bad, given that it was only temporary.

Having grown up without a family, Milos had always been alone and left to fend for himself, but now he had the Tigers. The team had given him something he had never had before, a home, a place to belong, and he was determined to do whatever it took to keep it.

The team partied late into the night with more than a few events that would lead to stories that would be told for years to come.

Milos spent the rest of the evening sat watching, but even so, nothing could ruin his mood, not his aching feet, his flimsy outfit, the scowl on Sonja face every time he looked her way, or even the awkward conversation with Coach after he came over to join him and didn’t know where to look. He was living in the moment and in that moment, life was in a bizarre way, good.

(See image 5.4)