Sapphire's Place - Melanie Brown's - " The Reluctant Cheerleader 2 "

The Reluctant Cheerleader

by Melanie Brown

Part 2

As I stood there silently watching Jeff regain his composure and wave off obvious questions from teammates asking if he was okay, several members of the squad came running up to me.

"Chrissy, are you alright?" Brandi asked. I looked around and saw Stephanie helping Mandy get up from the ground.

"Yeah, I'm fine...I guess." While the other girls were standing in front of me, I quickly made a final adjustment of my panties. My bra was askew as well, so I made a quick adjustment of that too. Another quick inspection showed me that I didn't get the stuffing knocked out of me...

Mandy brushed off her uniform and started clapping her hands and yelling, "Okay guys, come on! We got some cheering to do!" The show must go on.

We started to set up our interrupted stunt again. While going through the moves, I couldn't help but worry about what could happen if Jeff had seen me exposed. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but then, his hitting on me was entirely his idea. I really would have preferred he'd just stayed away. I also didn't want him to get pissed and pound me into the ground. My reverie was broken by Mandy's shouts for me to pay attention to what I was doing.

I kept an eye on Jeff for any indication that he knew. Not once during the rest of the game did he look in my direction.

* * *

The game finally ended with our team winning 13-12. If I hadn't been so worried, I might have even found it interesting. My ordeal as cheerleader was over, but now I had to worry about Jeff spilling the beans and having tons of humiliation piled on top of me. While folks were celebrating the outcome of the game and slowly loading all the equipment back on the busses, I just sat dejectedly on the back bumper of the band's bus. I heard some footsteps crunching on the grass.

Turning, I saw it was Jeff. Oh God, here it comes, I thought. He flashed a very quick, weak smile -- almost a grimace -- at me and then looked at the ground, as if he really couldn't bear to look in my direction. He continued to walk slowly toward me and then just stood there, looking off into space for a few moments. Then he sucked in a deep breath.

"Hey...uh..." Jeff started to say as he finally looked up at me. "Look, uh, hey Chris, jeez I'm sorry about what happened outside the locker room tonight,” he blurted. Then he looked away again. "I didn't know, okay?"

I just looked at him for a moment, then slid off the bumper of bus and took a step toward him. I folded my arms defensively and said, "Jeff. Look man, I wasn't trying to fool you. The girls just asked me to help out. No one was supposed to know that I was on the squad. I hoped that no one would guess it was me while I was in this uniform."

"I just got through talking to Coach Renwick." Jeff said, seemingly ignoring my comment. "I asked her why the hell did she have a guy pretending to be a girl in the cheerleaders." The way his voice went up, I could tell he was getting pissed. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you let me..." he paused for a moment. He screwed up his face like he was about to spit out something nasty and continued, "...k..kiss...you?"

"What?! I didn't 'let' you kiss me." I sputtered. "It was your idea and it took me totally by surprise!"

Jeff ran his hand through his hair as he looked at the ground. After a pause he looked back at me and said, "You're right. I shouldn't have...even if you'd been a girl I shouldn't have." He looked around for a second, shrugged and continued, "Look, I understand why you're doing this and Coach Renwick asked me to keep what I saw quiet, since you were doing her a favor. " He pointed at me and said, "You don't tell anyone that I kissed you, got it?"

I nodded and said, "No problem there. Trust me, I don't want anyone to know that either!" And with that, he turned away from me and slowly disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

I was really dreading going to school that Monday. Even more so than usual. It was overcast, dark and drizzly as I walked the few blocks to school. Jeff's car whizzed past me, the splash from the puddle he roared through just falling short of hitting me. A couple more cars drove past me as I walked on. A car slowed down behind me and a horn honked. I looked around and it was Mandy.

"Hey girl! Like, what are you doing walking on a day like today? Come on, get in!"

As I climbed into her car, I said, "I appreciate the ride, but please don't call me 'girl', okay?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. I've just gotten so used to thinking of you as just one of the girls."

We rode the rest of the way in silence. When Mandy parked her car I turned to her, smiled and said sheepishly, "Hey, don't tell anyone I said this, but I really did have fun being a cheerleader. I'm glad it's over, but it was fun and I'm glad I got to know you guys."

She could tell I was being sincere and said, "I'm glad you had fun. You're really a very good cheerleader, Chrissy -- uh -- Chris. Don't take this the wrong way, but like, it's too bad you're not a girl."

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment...I think." I let out an embarrassed laugh and said, "Well, I gotta get...it's almost time for class and I still need to get to my locker first. See ya!" I got out of Mandy's car, waved back at her and ran through the cold, light rain toward the school.

As I walked through the halls, I worried about running into someone from band. After Friday night, they're all going to think I'm a girl. I was trying to think of some snappy answer should anyone ask why I was dressed as a boy or some other embarrassing question. Thankfully, for the most part, everyone ignored me as usual.

As I stopped at the water fountain for a drink just outside my first period class, I overheard some kids walking past me. I didn't know any of them, two boys and one girl, but one of them said, "Hey! Someone was telling me that new cheerleader is really a guy!" Gulp!

The other boy said, "No way! That chick was hot!"

"Yes way. At least that's what I heard."

The girl chimed in with, "Oh bull! Of course she's a girl! Trust me, I know a girl when I see one!"

"Twenty bucks says it's some faggot."

"You're on!"

I almost started to announce I wasn't gay, but I realized discretion was the better part of valor and thought it best to lay low. An image of villagers chasing the Frankenstein monster with torches and clubs suddenly popped into my head. Who's spilling the beans? Was it Jeff? Someone from the band? Did someone just put two and two together, or was it just one of those rumors that somehow always get started? Well, it was best to just keep a low profile anyway.

It was about twenty minutes into the class when one of the girls from the office knocked on the door and motioned the teacher over to her. Everyone stopped their work to watch the exchange, but no one could hear. The teacher frowned and walked over to me and handed me a slip of paper.

In a low voice the teacher said, "You're wanted in the principal's office, Christopher. Go ahead and take your books. I don't think you'll be back before class ends."

I wondered what this was about. This time there wasn't an arrangement. I couldn't imagine what it was I could have done. No sir, I didn't like it.

On the way to the principal's office, I caught a glimpse of Jeff coming out of the bathroom. He stopped for a moment and looked quizzically at me. I just shrugged at him and continued on my way.

As I entered the office, the receptionist directed me to go straight into Ms. Thornapple's, office. She has been the principal at JWB High since Moses was a student there. I took two steps into the office and stopped dead in my tracks. What the hell was going on here? Moshed into the cramped office were Ms. Thornapple, Coach Renwick, and all five of the cheerleaders. I had a bad feeling about this...

"Come on in, Christopher," said Ms Thornapple. "The coach here was just telling me what an asset you are to the squad. Personally, I was very impressed at both the pep-rally and the game."

"Thank you," was all I said. I was still trying to figure out why all these people were here.

The principal continued, "I don't know if Coach Renwick has mentioned it to you yet, but the squad did manage to win the sponsors. They were most impressed by both you and Mandy. By the way, great shot of you two on the front page of the sports section in today's paper." Ms. Thornapple held up a piece of newspaper with a picture of Mandy and I (and someone's arm) doing a cheer.

I gave a quick thumbs up to the squad members and said, "Cool! Way to go, guys! That's great news. Well, I need to get back to class." I started to turn around and leave.

"Hold it right there, buster!" snapped Ms. Thornapple. "You're not going anywhere. There's some issues to be discussed here." She motioned for me to sit down in the only empty chair.

In a melodramatic way, Ms. Thornapple leaned across her desk with her hands folded and she looked at me intently. "Christopher, while I was indeed impressed Friday, I was also unaware that you were a boy." I started to say something, she waved me off, and continued, "That is to say I didn't know Nikki's replacement was a boy, until Coach Renwick informed me this morning." Busted! Ms. Thornapple continued, "She told me your name when she said she'd found a replacement, but I have to admit, that I didn't know you from Adam. I thought 'Chris' was just short for 'Christine.'"

"Well, I...”

Ms. Thornapple interrupted by saying, "It's very serious business impersonating a girl and trying to make everyone believe you are a girl on the school campus." She looked over at Coach Renwick and said, "Coach Renwick overstepped her authority when she asked you to pretend to be a girl, regardless of her reasons to do so."

"Well, I..."

"So now we have a problem," Ms. Thornapple continued. "Now we have sponsors that were not only impressed by, but also will only donate funds to the school if a certain cheerleader named 'Chrissy' continues with the squad." She frowned and made 'Chrissy' sound like a dirty word. I looked over at Coach Renwick and she was studying the floor.

"Well, I..."

"There's a word, Christopher, for doing something like dressing up as a girl in order to trick someone into giving you money." She paused for effect, then said, "I think you know what that word is. It's called fraud!"

"Well, I..."

"So now the school is in a bit of a fix. And, since I gave permission, so am I. If we suddenly don't have a cheerleader named 'Chrissy', the school loses a major sponsor and the squad doesn't go to the state competition, people start asking where 'Chrissy' went all of a sudden, and then it gets out that you're really a boy and that the coach and I tried to fool everybody for money. Heads roll (mine and Coach Renwick's), the whole squad is humiliated and scandalized and Christopher here will probably get the livin' shinola beat out of him. Does that pretty well cover it?" Ms. Thornapple painted a rather bleak outlook.

"Well, I..."

"Now, if you Chris, were to stay a girl and we all stuck together, we'd all come out of this with our skins." Ms. Thornapple finally stopped talking and all eyes turned expectantly toward me. This had all taken a sudden turn for the worse.

"What do you mean if I *stay* a girl??" I blurted. "I have no intention of staying a girl. Not now, not ever. How could you say such a thing?" I was absolutely beside myself with such a suggestion. "Nobody would believe I was a girl for very long anyway. The whole idea is just loony!"

Suddenly a voice came from behind me, "Half the school already thinks you're a girl. I really don't think it'd be hard to convince the rest." Jeff was standing there in the doorway looking at all the surprised faces.

Looking indignant, Ms. Thornapple said, "Mr. Kowalski, just what do you think you are doing? This is a private meeting!"

"I saw Chris out in the hall, heading to the office. The secretary left right afterward, so I peeked in through the door and saw all the co-conspirators sitting in here and so I got curious," Jeff said.

"Ms. Thornapple, Jeff knows about Chris." Coach Renwick said. "He's cool, right Jeff?" Coach Renwick shot a glance to Jeff that if it had been a projectile would have taken his head off.

"Sure, I'm cool,” said Jeff as he sat down on the edge of Ms. Thornapple's desk. "I just want some action in whatever deal you're hatching here."

I turned to face Jeff and said, "What makes you think there's going to be a deal, Jeff?"

Jeff just smiled and looked down his nose at me and said, "Because, Chris, you and the rest of the gang here are up to your eyeballs in shit. I kinda need a reason to keep quiet." Jeff smirked. Here was a side of Jeff I hadn't seen before.

I smirked right back and said, "Okay Jeff, here's your reason to keep quiet. Jeff here planted a big fat wet kiss on me just before the game Friday night. He practically licked my tonsils." Mandy started laughing and the rest of the girls sucked in a gasp while Jeff's face turned the brightest red I've ever seen.

Jeff sputtered for a moment and then blurted out "It's just your word against mine!"

Ms. Thornapple said, "Jeff, your blush has betrayed you. It looks like we all have something at stake in keeping this quiet, eh?"

Mandy stopped laughing and got serious and turned toward me. "So, Chrissy, what will it be? Become like, one of the girls and be a hero, or stay uh your dull boring self and like destroy the lives of everyone in this room, trashing the reputation of the cheerleaders, and of the whole school? Not to mention, like, bringing shame on your whole family and stuff!"

Heavens to Mergatroid! Why not just give me horns and a pitchfork and make the image complete?

Brittney spoke up and said, "Chris, please stay on the squad. We like really do need you!"

Coach Renwick placed her arms in her lap, leaned forward and said, "You already know how I feel Chris. I think you'd be a great cheerleader. In fact, if you'd gotten the training earlier, I think you'd excel at girls gymnastics. Don't do this for me or the squad, Chris, do it for yourself. I saw quite a change in you the short time you were a cheerleader."

"Do you folks realize what you're asking me to do?" I looked at all the expectant faces. "In order to make this work at all, I'd have to pretend to be a girl until the end of school next May!"

"That's right," said Ms. Thornapple. "You'd have to live twenty-four-seven as a girl until the end of the school year."

"But I don't want to be a girl!" I shouted.

Mandy folded her arms and said, "What? Is there like something wrong with being a girl?"

"No," I said. "Nothing's wrong with it if you were *born* a girl!"

Jeff had an odd look on his face. "I do have something to gain from this if Chris decides to stay a girl. I think Chris would benefit too." Jeff slid off the desk and examined his fingertips for a moment. "I haven't told anyone this, but remember that hard tackle I got in the first game this year that took me out of the game? Well, the damage done to my leg is such that the doctor told me if I don't stop playing football, I'll be stuck in a wheelchair. He said I could probably go the rest of the season, but I'd be taking a chance. In other words, I can kiss all those football scholarships good-bye. If I want to go to college, I need to get an academic scholarship."

"I'm sorry to hear that Jeff, but what's that got to do with me?" I asked.

"Well, the councilor told me that if I started making almost straight 'A's until graduation I'd have a shot at a scholarship. Maybe not as good as a football scholarship, but better than nothing. So, I don't have time to be distracted by things like girlfriends and I need a tutor. If Chris decides to stay a girl, he can pretend to be my girlfriend to cut down the number of girls trying to get me to ask them out and to be honest, the way 'Chrissy' looks, she'd need the protection of having a boyfriend to keep down the number of guys pestering her for a date."

I was totally dumbfounded. I couldn't believe I'd heard him say what he said. That was ridiculous! That was disgusting! That was outrageous!

"That's perfect!" squealed Brandi. I saw the others nodding in agreement. What the hell were they thinking?!

Ms. Thornapple said, "Chris is a straight-A student so he could help Jeff keep his grades up. Jeff doesn't need the dates to take time from his schoolwork, Chris can't date anyone who'd want to date 'Chrissy' and nobody would want to cross a big guy like Jeff, we keep our cheerleader squad together, and the coach and I keep our jobs. It's a great idea. It's settled."

"Settled!?!?!" I yelled, sounding somewhat like John Cleese in the Parrot Sketch. "Don't I get a say in this??"

In unison, they all turned toward me and loudly said, "NO!"

"There's too much riding on this Chris," said Ms. Thornapple. "You've got to be a man about it and take on this responsibility. We're all counting on you,” she said flatly.

I slumped back in my chair, totally numb. This just couldn't be happening!

"You don't think this could lead to jail time?" I argued.

Jeff said, "Chris, unless you plan to disrobe in front of the whole school, no one is going to think you're anything other than a girl. You sure fooled me."

Ms. Thornapple continued, "Chris, starting tomorrow, I want you to start dressing more like a girl. Nothing elaborate. I just want to end any further confusion folks may have about you still being a boy."

"I am a boy, dammit!"

She ignored me and said, "Start wearing a little make-up, and do something about that hair!"

"I don't want to wear make-up! It's a pain! And I like my hair!" I protested. In vain.

Stephanie said, "This is great Chrissy! We'll come by your house and get you after school and we'll all chip in to get your hair done! We'll help you pick out clothes to wear for school. It'll be fun!" Yippee.

"And Chris," Ms. Thornapple began. "Don't worry about your school records. We'll change them to indicate that you're female, then upon graduation, we'll change them back. And, I'm scheduling your old band period for a homemaking class."

"You know my life is over, don't you?"

"Nonsense!" Ms. Thornapple said with a dismissing wave of her hand. "This seems to be the best course of action for every body."

"Except me." I was completely devastated. "I have to tell my parents you know. They may not like this little decision."

"I'm sure you can persuade them. Now run along, I have a lot of work to do."

I started to leave, but Ms. Thornapple had one more question, "Oh, Chris wait. You don't live on a farm do you, or your dad have any farm equipment?"

"No."

"Good. That eliminates at least one other thing from going wrong." Ms. Thornapple then shook her head and mumbled, "Poor Nikki..."

I turned to the others in the room as they were filing out and said, "What have we learned today kiddies? That ethics are great unless it's your ass in the sling, then we fall back on situational ethics where anything can be justified!"

Brandi just said, "Oh, don't be silly!"

I left the school office a completely broken man. A man with absolutely no control over his destiny. I didn't think the decision was fair, but I didn't know how I could fight it without causing so much calamity on everyone. The bell rang and the halls were suddenly filled with students, but I was utterly alone.

* * *

I deeply dreaded walking through that door. It was the door to my own house, and inside would be my parents innocently waiting for my bombshell to drop on their heads. Dad had to be home as his car was in the driveway. I delayed going home until after five o'clock. No point in delaying any longer. I slowly opened the door and stepped through.

Mom and Dad were both sitting at the kitchen table, reading different sections of the newspaper. Mom looked up and said, "Oh, hi Chris! I expected you home sooner. Dinner should be ready in about half an hour." For some reason, I'd lost my appetite.

I sat down at the table with my hands folded in front of me. I stared blankly at the back of the paper Dad was reading. Might as well get this over with. I cleared my throat, then said, "Mom...Dad...I've got an announcement." They both put down their newspapers and looked expectantly toward me.

"What is it, Son?" Dad asked as he scratched his nose.

"Well...you know how you've always wanted me to try doing something athletic. Well, I um, well...I joined the cheerleading squad today."

Mom smiled and said, "How funny, considering how much grief you used to give Diane about being a cheerleader."

Dad took a drink of his beer and said, "Hmmm. I didn't think your school had any guy cheerleaders. Are they starting something new?"

I coughed nervously into my hand and said, voice squeaking, "Um, no Dad. They don't have any boy cheerleaders at JWB High."

Dad's eye started to twitch. He hesitated then said, "Wha...what do you mean, Son? You just told us you joined the cheerleading squad." Mom started to frown.

"That's right, Dad. I did. The downside to this is that it's an all girl squad. The really funny part is that the school wants me to pretend to be a girl for the rest of the school year. Ha ha...isn't that a scream?" Mom and Dad weren't smiling now. Dad's eye was twitching like crazy. His mouth hung open and he was making some strange gurgling noises.

Mom reached across the table and actually slapped me. Not really very hard, but it was still a slap. She said, "Just what the hell are you thinking, Chris? I thought we were done with this dressing as a girl non-sense!"

Rubbing my cheek I said, "Jeez, Mom! They need me as a cheerleader. They actually came to me and told me how much the school could benefit."

"The school doesn't need *you* to be a cheerleader! They can get *anybody* to do that!"

I got a little incensed at that. "Actually, Mom, being a cheerleader is hard work. Just anybody won't do! You have to be a combination gymnast, dancer, strong but graceful..."

"Chris!" Dad's voice boomed across the room. "Listen to you! The relative qualifications of being a cheerleader are irrelevant to the fact that your school has an all-girl cheerleading squad and that you aren't a girl."

Ignoring Dad for the moment I said, "Mom, you're right. They could have picked any girl to replace Nikki. But they don't want just any girl. They want me." Of course, I couldn't say the real reason they wanted me.

"But why you? You're a boy!"

"They asked me to try out. Coach Renwick used to watch me practice with Diane. She felt I could get up to speed faster than someone completely new." At last, something I could be completely honest about.

"Well, that's just stupid!" chimed in Dad as he plunked the sports page of the newspaper down on the kitchen table. "There's no way anyone is going to believe you're a girl."

I picked up the sports page, turned to page one, and handed the paper back to Dad. "Dad, see that picture of the cheerleaders?"

Dad looked at it suspiciously and said, "Yeah, what about it?"

"See the girl on the left?" I asked.

"The cute one?" observed Dad.

"Yep. That's me," I said.

Both of Dad's eyes were now twitching, so I'm not sure how well he could see, but he jerked the paper up for closer inspection as he said, "Bullshit!" He then sheepishly looked over at Mom and said, "Sorry, dear." Both he and Mom studied the photo.

Mom let out a small giggle and said, "Oh my God! That looks just like Diane!" She looked back toward me, and after a moment of study said, "If you were blonder, you could be her twin in this photo!"

In anguish-tinged words, Dad groaned, "You mean you've already gone out in public as a girl? When did you do this? How could you? I...I...” His voice trailed away as the veins started to pop up on his forehead.

I really didn't want Dad to go back to the clinic, so I tried to say as calmly as possible, "That was last Friday night, Dad. I was originally just going to be a cheerleader that one night." I then proceeded to tell Mom and Dad the whole sordid tale of how I got sucked into being a cheerleader and how I was now supposed to pretend to be a girl to cover everyone's tails. I cleverly left out all references to Jeff's kiss.

Both Mom and Dad sat there totally dumbfounded. They both stared at the floor in absolute silence for almost a full minute. Finally, Dad turned to Mom and said, "This just completely sucks! I don't want my son prancing around school like some...some teenage drag queen!"

Mom said flatly, "Well, I don't either. But he's obligated himself to all those people and apparently they've already set the ball in motion."

Dad argued, "We can't let this charade continue just so we don't inconvenience anyone! Chris, do you really want to spend the rest of the school year as a girl?"

I hesitated, then honestly said, "Well, if I had my druthers, no. But I was outvoted and everyone is in trouble because once again, I didn't just say 'no'."

Mom turned to Dad and said, "Look, here's what we'll do. I'm sure they already have everything in place for Chris to show up at school as a girl tomorrow. If he doesn't, it'll cause problems, which will lead to a scandal, which in this town will get into the news, then we'll all be scandalized and it'll be a mess. I'll call Ms. Thornapple and see if we can't negotiate some way to reverse Chris' situation. If we let him pretend to be a girl for too long, it may be impossible to reverse."

All Dad could say was, "The world has gone completely nuts." His eye twitched.

Before Mom could say anything else, the doorbell rang. I said, "Oh, that's the girls from the squad. They came over to help prep me for tomorrow."

Mom said, "Okay, go ahead and play your little game for now. I hope in the future you're more careful about what you agree to. And Chris, there's a lot more to being a girl than just playing dress up." She got up, and shaking her head, walked back to the stove.

Dad just sat there staring into space and said, "Why me? Why me all the time?" I noticed that he had a slight tick from the corner of his mouth.

* * *

We all gathered in my sister's old room. Mandy shut the door and said with a grin, "Look what we got for you Chrissy!"

Stephanie said, "Ms. Thornapple decided that she'd help you out, so she gave us some money to get you a few clothes to get you started. We bought you some new make-up too."

They emptied several shopping bags of clothes onto Diane's old bed. There was quite a collection of jeans, tops, skirts and dresses, shoes, make-up, and even some lingerie. I couldn't begin to imagine how much this had to set back Ms. Thornapple.

Mandy coyly asked, "So, Chrissy, like, what have you been using as a bra stuffer?"

"Gym socks" was my reply.

Mandy grinned an evil grin, removed some items from an unmarked sack, and giggled, "Look at these! I don't know where Coach got them, but she said to give them to you!" Mandy handed me a pair of realistic breast forms, with protruding nipples. From the way my face felt, I know I turned an extremely bright red. They all enjoyed a good laugh at my embarrassment. I was now officially a size 36-C.

When she was done laughing, Mandy said, "Oh! Before I forget -- Ms. Thornapple like, wanted me to go over the plan for tomorrow. Brandi and I will pick you up in the morning and uh bring you to school and we'll like, walk with you to your first class. Until you get uh used to things, one of us will always be with you in the halls. And you don't ever go into the girls room unless one of us has like, scoped it out, okay? She said, if possible, use the faculty restroom in the gym -- Coach will let you in."

I nodded. Yeppers, it was going to be a whole lotta fun not being able to just step into the john whenever nature called.

Brittney said, "Come one guys, we got to get her ready or she'll be late for her appointment!" They had gotten me an appointment at Mr. Rick's Salon, the salon that Sandy had given me the card for. I went light on the make-up and tried on one of the new short denim skirts they got me. The breast forms surprised me with their extra weight and bounce.

* * *

As we entered the salon, we were greeted by Mr. Rick himself as he floated across the room. He was wearing a powder blue satin shirt, opened to reveal his hairy chest and several gold chains and his hair spiked out in some truly strange arrangement and he sported diamond studs in his ears. If this guy were any lighter in the loafers, he'd be in orbit. I did learn later that this was all an affectation. He was married with three kids, and used to be a welder until he became unemployed after his back got injured when an acetylene bottle rolled off a loading dock and hit him. In other words, he was a faker...like me.

"Good evening ladies" Mr. Rick greeted us. "How may I help you this evening?"

Pointing at me, Stephanie said, "Chrissy needs a new do. Can you help her?"

Mr. Rick reached out and lifted a limp strand of hair and said "My my girl, what *have* you been doing to this hair. Do you brush it with an eggbeater? Look at these split ends! You brought her here just in time. I think we can save the patient."

As he led us to the back he said, "First a shampoo. I'm going to leave it long, but I do have to take a little length off."

And so began the first of what would become several visits to Mr. Rick. I have to admit, he was quite an artist. When he was done, I really believe my own mother would have a hard time telling my sister and me apart. I looked in the mirror and saw this little teen hottie staring back at me. I wanted to date myself. I'm not trying to brag, I was truly amazed at how I looked.

I suspected school tomorrow was going to be decidedly different...

* * *

End of Part 2

since 05/01/03