Title: *Dressed for Surprises: A Shower Mishap That Turned Into Opportunity*

It was the beginning of his sophomore year, and Max was already behind schedule. He stumbled out of the shower, towel haphazardly slung around his waist, cursing his alarm for not doing its one job. First class: Intro to Psychology. Professor Linwood did *not* approve of tardiness. Still half-damp, Max dashed down the hall and ducked into “his” room, already tugging at dresser drawers for underwear. Clearly, his housemates hadn't finished unpacking—half the stuff in here didn't look familiar, but when you’re late, speed trumps logic. He seized a pair of underwear and yanked them on, followed hastily by a matching bra. Was this new? Maybe Ma sent him a weird laundry package again? Whatever. He wriggled into some tights he found on a chair, pulled on the first dress his hands found, and topped the whole ensemble off with high-heeled boots, hoping for the best. Running to class, Max noticed his clothes felt… tighter than usual, and the boots made him walk as if he was balancing on beams. People turned to stare as he passed, but in college, weird was pretty standard. The basketball captain, Derek, shot him a dazzling grin and declared, “Love your look, gorgeous!” Flustered, Max managed a nod and kept going, trying to work out what was wrong. At his desk, he caught his reflection in the window: smooth tights, floaty dress, and—peering down—yeah, definitely not boxers. Slow realization dawned. This wasn’t his room he’d dressed in, it was Sara’s, across the hall. The dress, the boots, all hers. For a second, Max considered panicking or running back to the apartment. But then he caught sight of how he looked—confident, bold, interesting. People were smiling at him, flirting. Maybe Derek was onto something. So Max just grinned and shot Derek a wink, deciding to own the moment. Looking like a girl wasn’t half bad—maybe even great. After all, campus was about trying new things. And who knew? He might even get a date out of it.