Chapter 5

"Good, you guys are here," Melanie Piper said when Jessi Mears and I arrived for our shift during the "Santa's Toy Give-away" our sorority was sponsoring for underprivileged children in our community.

The pledges were to be "Santa's helpers," helping Santa Claus pass our gifts to children. It sounded like a worthwhile cause on a Saturday morning after ballet class.

"Jessi, you'll be getting Amber's uniform as soon as they're done," Melanie said. "Lucas, you're getting Caroline's."

I was a little bit stunned. The uniforms were...well...Santa dresses and boots, dresses that matched the Santa suit, red with fur white trim that came down to just right above the knee. The boots were red with white fur trim on top. And of course, there were the Santa hats.

"Aren't there any boys' costumes?" I asked, pretty much knowing the answer.

"Whoever heard of a boy Santa's helper?" Melanie replied.

"Well, there are elves," I said. "I could wear an elf costume."

"Stop being a drama queen, little sister," Gina Lenetti said.

I didn't notice her come up.

"It's not like you haven't worn a dress before," Gina said. "You've worn a skirt for field hockey. You even wear a girl's leotard in gymnastics. Besides, I think you're going to look really cute."

Really cute wasn't quite the look I was going for. But I saw the line of kids, so I wasn't going to put up a fight.

I took the hanger from Caroline and went into the men's restroom, hoping no one would come in while I changed into the "Santa's helper" dress. It was a bit of a fight trying to put on the thing. It was a bit tight to begin with, but this wearing clothes with a zipper in the back, what idiot came up with that idea?

I was relieved when no one came in. I quietly slipped out of the bathroom door hoping no one would notice.

"Don't we look CUTE!" Jessi said when she emerged from the women's bathroom.

"Come on you two, we've got to get a picture," Gina said, directing us toward the mall fountain. We put our arms around each other and smiled for the camera.

"No one is going to mistake you for a boy, anyway," Melanie said. "So I don't know what you're worried about."

I wasn't convinced and wasn't looking forward to meeting the guy who was playing Santa. Surely, he would figure things out.

Surely, I was wrong.

"I want to get my photo taken with these two lovely girls who are my helpers," the man said.

He was a pretty convincing Santa. White hair, white beard, glasses and all.

Jessi and I granted his request, posing with him at his Santa chair.

"So what are your names, ladies?" the man said.

Jessi and I looked at each other and laughed.

"I'm Jessi and this is Luke," Jessi said.

"I swear, I don't get this giving a girl a boy's name," the Santa said. "I'm sure Jessi and Luke are short for other names."

We told him they were, but stopped short of telling him the "Luke" was short for Lucas. What he didn't know wasn't going to hurt him.

The kids were amazing. Seeing their faces light up as we passed out gifts to them made pulling a two-hour shift in a dress at the mall actually worth it. Jessi, the Santa and I posed with several kids wanting pictures.

Many of the kids were dirty. Some wore rags. They tugged at your heart strings.

"Hey mommy, I got a Hannah Montana doll," one girl said after I gave her a gift. She gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

One boy got upset because he didn't get a Hannah Montana doll like his sister.

"I think one of Santa's elves thought you would want a boy's toy instead," I said. "Let me ask your mommy if it's okay. I'll see if Santa has another Hannah Montana doll for you."

"Why thank you for asking," his mom said. "It's okay for him to have one."

I found a doll for him among the extra toys we had in one of Santa's bags.

"My mommy said she saw you at a gymnastics meet," another little girl said. "I want to take gymnastics, too!"

"Maybe if you're a good girl, your mom will let you take lessons," I said.

"My Aunt Paige is giving a free clinic over in Dyersburg today," I told the girl's mother. "She sometimes gives free lessons. Here's her number."

"I want to be pretty like you when I grow up," another girl told me.

I promised myself I wouldn't tear up. I couldn't keep that promise.

"Here's a tissue!" Jessi said. "I'm so glad we got to do this!"

#####

Beth was waiting for me at the end of my shift. She couldn't resist getting a photo of me in my "Santa's helper" suit before I passed it off to another Les Amies pledge.

"Your mom told me she was taking you to your Aunt Paige's gymnastics clinic," Beth said. "She asked me if I wanted to come along."

"So you're going with us?" I said. "Cool!"

My cousin Claire was waiting at the door when we finally arrived at "The Barn."

"There are a ton of ankle biters in there today," she said. "Mom's waiting for us to help with registration."

"Okay Lucas, go get on your leotard and help Claire at the registration table," Aunt Paige said.

I searched my dance bag. I forgot to bring a practice leotard.

"Aunt Paige, I forgot to bring one," I said. "All I have are my dance clothes."

"Go into the boutique and pick out one your size and put it on," Aunt Paige said. "Then get back out here and help with registration."

I walked into the boutique. The only leotards my size were floral print ones.

I'll never live this down, I thought, not with Beth and Claire outside. But I also knew Aunt Paige wasn't about to budge. Claire and I were supposed to be "role models" today.

"Wow, you look really different," Beth said as she took my picture.

"Not one word of this to anybody," I said to her and Claire, who had this huge grin on her face.

"You look really pretty, cuz," Claire said. "Now here, help me write name tags and put them on each girl."

"Hey, you're the girl who was the Santa's helper!" one girl said. She was the girl who wanted to take gymnastics lessons.

"I am so glad you told me about this," her mother said. "It's all she’s talked about."

"Look, mommy, she has the same leotard I have! Awesome!" the girl said.

My Aunt Paige gave her the leotard for free.

"So what is your name?" I asked her.

"My name is Marley, M-A-R-L-E-Y!," the little girl said.

I wrote her name on the name tag and put it on her leotard.

"Well Marley, you can be my little twin sister," I said.

Claire and I were the examples Aunt Paige used at each apparatus. Claire demonstrated the more complicated stuff. I showed the real basic stuff.

We took a break for lunch. Marley came and sat down beside me with her little brown bag, which contained a sandwich. She also showed me her little "makeup kit," which contained makeup and play nail polish for little kids.

"Can I put some on you, then we'd really match!" she said.

Sure, I said and watched as she carefully painted my finger nails and toenails purple.

I even let her put on some purple lipstick before our lunch period was over.

"Lucas, I just want you to know how proud I am of you taking up the time with that little girl," Aunt Paige. "This is probably something she'll never forget."

It was also an experience I'll never forget.

#####

"Hey look, there's a little fairy," were the words I heard from the bleachers during our second gymnastics meet. This time it was a tri-meet with with Creekmore and Bellemead high schools.

I wondered if it were one of the boys who played on the field hockey team.

A uniformed officer went into the stands to find the perpetrator.

"He'll be taken out of here," the Creekmore principal promised Coach Mills.

"Lucas, don't worry about him," she said. "Just relax and stay focused. I know you can do better on your second vault."

I made a 7.9 on my first vault. Kaycee's best was an 8.1, so I needed to do much better to help our team.

I raced down the lane, did a handstand Aunt Paige showed me before hitting the vault.

I soared through the air, flipping, and then landed on my feet.

I was amazed by the applause.

"Look at you!" Kylie said. "I know it's going to be a good score."

"The score for Lucas Lacy...a 9.1," the announcer said.

It was my first ever 9-anything. It also put us solidly in first after one event. Kylie led the way with a 9.8.

I noticed some excitement as we went to our next event. A uniformed officer carried a boy out of the stands. It was one of the boys who played on the Creekmore field hockey team.

"It figures!" Jessi said to me. "I hope they suspend him."

It really didn't bother me too much. I'd put up with a lot worse.

We closed the meet on the floor. We actually pretty much had the meet wrapped up.

"Just go out there and have fun!" Coach Mills told us. "There's no pressure whatsoever!"

That made things a lot easier for me. I did my usual tumbling passes and handstands. I also tried to use a little "hippage" as Dominique would say...at least as much as I could to "And My Heart Will Go On."

I was mobbed by my teammates when I came off the floor.

"That's the best I've ever seen you do!" Shelley said. "You haven't even done that well in practice!"

I posted a 9.0. It was our fourth best score. It was the first time my floor score counted toward our team score.

"Keep it up Lucas!" Coach Mills said. "We've got some big meets coming up after Christmas."

####

"Here are your sandwiches," Beth's mom said, bringing a tray into her room.

"Thanks Mrs. Garrison!" I said.

"Thanks, mom!" Beth said.

"What polite kids," Beth's mom said. "Your mothers must have raised you right!"

I went over Beth's house after the meet. I still had my warmups on and leotard underneath...that was until I kicked off my shoes and my warmup pants. I still had my warmup jacket over the top part of my leotard.

I was just trying to get comfortable since we were trying to play an endless amount of video games.

"Hey Lucas, check this out!" Beth said.

She had taken a break and was looking through her telescope out of the window of her room.

I put on my warmup pants and headed to the window. I have to admit her telescope was one of the coolest things in the world, I thought.

"Oh my gosh!" I said. "That's really beautiful. That's really amazing,"

It was the first time I'd ever seen Saturn and its rings up close. Beth also showed me Jupiter, Mars and a really close up shot of the moon.

"You know, I really wouldn't mind being an astronaut some day," she said.

"I think that's really cool!" I said. "I really haven't given it much thought of what I want to be."

"Luke, can I ask you a question?" Beth asked.

"Sure, what's up?" I asked.

"Jessi was telling me about the Les Amies winter formal next month," Beth said. "I was wondering if you had a date."

"I was thinking about asking you," I said. "Or hoping you'd ask me. This being the only boy in a sorority thing has me a little confused about etiquette."

"I'd love to be your date, Lucas," Beth said.

"I'm glad you do," I said before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"So what should I wear?" Beth asked.

"I dunno," I said. "You'll probably have to get a coat, tie and a pair of slacks to match the dress I'll be wearing. But I haven't even picked one out yet."