~o~O~o~

Claude Lafleur, is my dad in case I had not mentioned it. Did you notice there is no freaking hyphen in his name? I would really like to discover there is a Louise or something like that. No such luck his middle name is Jacque. Well anyway he is a geologists working for one of the major oil companies. He leaves for work before I head out to school getting home about six pm. Sort of like mom, the lawyer who is at work just after sun up. She is home by five. On the weekends dad likes to wash and wax his BMW while I mow the lawn.

Dinner is usually at seven because of Dad’s long workday. The weather has warmed during mid May not that it is ever really cold here. At the dinner table I raised a simple question that should not have been a big deal.

“Do you mind if the lawn mowing waits until Sunday?”

Dad gazes at me his bushy eyebrows doing that curl signaling a long explanation about how the world order must be maintained.

“What is so important that you must postpone mowing the lawn?”

I blink thinking, ‘here we go again.’

Craig and Evan want me to go fishing with them at Round Lake.”

I use their proper names because dad does not like Rocky and mom freaks when I say Boner.

“What time do they plan on leaving? Those boys are not known for early rising.”

“Uh eight o’clock I am suppose to meet them at Craig’s house.”

Dad thinks a minute before his ridiculous answer.

“You can go right after you finish mowing.”

I blink protesting, “but dad Mrs. Cox next door is a doctor and the mowing will wake her up.”

My mother laughs as she glances toward dad. Mother always manages to get in the last word with a single glance.

“He has a point Emily works hard all week. It is not right to make noise that early Claude.”

Dad takes a deep breath.

“What time will you be home?”

I smile thinking I may have won.

“About five I guess.”

“Make it three you can mow then.”

There is no point in complaining because I know what the answer will be. I call the guys after dinner explaining I have to be back early. I get the usual teasing about being a daddy’s girl and not manning up. Whatever the hell manning up means.

The next day the three of us walk down Market street to the railroad tracks. We turn following the tracks south. Since the tracks form one leg of a triangle with Market and Exchange Streets, we save considerable distance. About a mile along the tracks we reach Round Lake. It is a short run through the field to the fishing hole. Boner suddenly stops as he spies a roll of brown paper in the brush.

“Whoa what is this?”

He picks up the package which has no ID on it and opens it. There is a flat piece of wood that looks like one of those six foot measuring sticks. There are lines every inch or so etched into the wood. As he tosses the paper aside a cd falls out. It is in one of those paper sleeves.

“What does that say? Symbols of Arcadia, whoa this is big time.”

I blink at Rocky’s excitement.

“I never heard of it.”

By now Boner has ramped up his expectations as well. I look down at the ground to spot a tiny web cam that fell out of the package.

“What is this?”

Boner grabs it from me excitedly.

“The cam goes with the game. Where have you been it is all over the net?”

Sheepishly, I admit I had never heard of it. Rocky fills me in.

“It is a role playing game where the game builds your character for you automatically. You use the included web cam to take your picture. You have to stand next to the stick. The game calculates your height and weight and muscle build from the scan the cam does. That is why the special cam. You then play your character and if you get through all levels the game company pays the team one thousand dollars each.”

Boner even more excited than before pushes Rocky to tell more.

“I heard about it. The game cost a hundred bucks or something like that. Let’s give it a try.”

Rocky shakes his head.

“I do not know I read where the government is saying it is dangerous”

Boner looks at Rocky like he is a jerk.

“These are the same fools who tell us Happy Meals will make us fat. Give me a brake the government is a bunch of idiots.”

We all said the same thing.

“You got that right.”

So much for the fishing trip. We turned around heading home. Having agreed to meet at Boner’s house at noon. Which would give me time to mow the damn lawn. After telling dad the fish were not biting, I got the mower out. It was the fastest mowing job I ever did. Meaning after dad checked it and I did it over again the job took an hour. Finally, after promising I’d be home by five I was off to Craig’s.

It did not take us long to install the program. We did not read the several dozen pages contained in the eula. In hindsight we should have. There is a hidden warning I discovered once it was too late. It said something about not playing the game in longer than three hour increments. The setup struck me as weird having never seen anything like it. The screen loaded asking the question “do you wish to create a character?” Boner jumped right in clicking the yes button. He was instructed to type in his name which he did. The screen flashed with a blue script against a white background it read.

Boner jumped right to it beaming with excitement. I watched as nothing appeared to happen when the screen suddenly changed. It instructed the next player step up to rod. Repeat steps one through five.

Rocky walked to the wall repeating the process. Then it was my turn to join the game. Nothing seemed to happen other than my picture was taken. The game suddenly shifted to a screen saying page two. We waited patiently as we were told character creation working on player one. A few whirls later the screen reported creating character two. Then number three and finally it reported please wait.

Then the game reported player one press enter. Boner hit the enter key to read this message.

Welcome Craig your character is Raul the ranger. Male, height five foot ten inches, one hundred eighty pounds. Health one hundred percent with a rating of hero level one. Craig looked at us with an amazing expression. The game reported Raul is team leader because of his pure heart and bravery. There was a picture of his character. A well built handsome warrior.

“They got the height and weight exactly right, amazing.”

Rocky received similar treatment. Welcome Troy the mage. Male, height five foot ten inches. One hundred seventy five pounds. Health one hundred percent with a rating of hero level one. Your spell casting ability serves Raul well as a valuable team member. Another well built handsome player appeared on the screen.

“Wow I am a hunk. This looks like a great game. Bring on the bad guys.”

Yeah those guys sound wired now it is my turn. I press the button with a sense of dread. I do not know why I felt dread. That is what I felt. Then came the sickening report.

Welcome Jean Marie your character is Saris the healer. Female, height five foot two inches, ninety eighty pounds. Health one hundred percent with a rating of heroine level one. The game reported mine is a pure heart filled with compassion. You are a virgin princess in love with Raul. The total babe staring back scared the hell out of me. I jumped back.

“Fuck this I am so out of here.”

Boner and Rocky pleaded they could not play the game or win the money without me.

“Come on Saris you have played a girl before one more time will not hurt.”

It was a desperate plea from Boner who was joined by Rocky.

“A thousand dollars each man we have to win it.”

They both whined causing me to fold insisting they don’t call me Saris. We forged their way through pillaged villages battling several types of villains. After working our way up to level three, we took a breath satisfied with our progress. Then it happened the game crashed. It did not really crash it fired up a warning.

We played another hour until I felt a bit dizzy. It was five pm and time to call it quits.

When I got home I took a shower and changed into my running shorts. There was more than an hour before dinner so I went outside. It was a warm evening and my tee was sticking to my skin. My chest was itching like hell when Pam showed up.

“Hi Jean Marie how have you been?’

I smiled at the pretty girl marveling at her perfect skin. How her light tan was enhanced by the color of her blouse. Her light makeup was perfect for her. Before I could finish my thoughts, she spoke again.

“What is that expression for you look odd?”

I blinked thinking of nothing I could say. Rather than keeping quiet my mouth spilled out a regrettable series of words.

“It is your blouse it really compliments your complexion.”

I knew at once I should not have said that or my follow up comment.

“Nothing is wrong my chest is itching something crazy.”

Pam smiled again receiving the compliment well but noting it strange a boy would notice such a thing. She flushed not sure if she should tell me what she heard.

“Do you remember Dave from the food court? He was asking about you. I thought you would get a kick out of it. Though, I did save your butt.”

I blinked again. I seem to be doing a lot of blinking lately.

“I remember him. He is the only guy who every flirted with me. How did you save my butt?”

Pam is now giggling having a hard time avoiding a full blown laugh.

“He wanted your phone number. He hinted he was going to ask you to the Spring fling Dance at school. I told him your parents did not allow you getting calls from boys. He looked defeated when I said that.”

Being a wise guy, I quipped something I also regret.

“Too bad he is such a hunk.”

Pam’s eyes flew open with surprise while her voice suggested suspicion.

“Are you Gay?” She softens her voice adding “I am only kidding I know better than that.
You worry me Jean Marie. You notice fashion style such as how my blouse compliments my skin. You tell me that Dave is a hunk and your chest itches. I am beginning to think you might be a girl. If you want to go to the dance, I have a dress that would look smashing on you.”

She pokes me teasingly before returning to her giggle.

I blush telling her in confidence.

“I was only kidding but this itching scares the hell out of me.”

“If it keeps up, you better tell your mom. Traci’s mother is a doctor you know. She could help.”

Mom calls me in for dinner and I say goodnight to Pam.

“Thanks Pam. I will consider what you said. Don’t give that guy my number I don’t need to hear from him.”

On Sunday the three musketeers were back in the world of Symbols of Arcadia. It did not take long to weave our way to level five. Ten levels to go for our thousand dollars. The game was getting weirder by the minute. We directed our players movements and actions. In level four they began to speak exchanging dialogue using our voices. It really freaked me out when Saris said to Raul “I love you.” She used my voice it sounded like me.

“Whoa dude this is bitching.”

I screamed out while Boner and Rocky almost fell over. I could tell they were freaked too. Cautiously Boner insisted we finish this level and shut it down. Rocky agreed and I was not about to argue. Saris and Raul stepped out into a meadow with Troy following. The screen flashed “Bonus opportunity.” We looked at each other puzzled. Boner clicked accept challenge. The screen changed again fading to black then revealing a chamber in what looked like a castle. Saris was lying naked on the bed.

“Whoa dude you are a babe.”

Yelled Rocky as two naked males entered the room. It was there Raul and Troy characters approaching the bed. Troy said you first then it is my turn. Another message appeared, with successful impregnation you advance to level seven skipping over level six. That was enough for me. I leaned over and turned of the breaker on the power strip crashing the computer.

“What did you do that for Jean Marie? It was just getting interesting.”

I looked at my buddies with a look that could kill.

“Guys the lady talks using my voice. If you did not notice we could actually smell the fires and the food in the game. If you think I am going to let you screw me you are nuts.”

They both laughed needling me a bit.

“Jean Marie it is only a game.”

Boner pleaded acting like he was hurt. I was having nothing to do with it. Rocky powered up the computer and punched the game’s icon. The welcome screen appeared followed by the blue screen of death and a warning.

“Whoa look at this you toasted it.”

Three of us stared at the tray to see a melted disc blended into the tray.

“Holy Shit!”

Boner was not happy blaming me for his ruined drive and loss of the game. I had to promise to buy him a new drive. In fact he walked me to the local computer store where I forked over thirty bucks for it. That pissed me off but I know damn well if I did not fry the game I would have ended up pregnant. How was I supposed to explain that to mom?”

Since it was only two in the afternoon and both guys were pissed at me, I wandered over to Traci’s. Mrs. Cox met me at the door.

“Hi Jean Marie, Traci is upstairs with Pam and Becky go on up.”

The girls appeared surprised to see me. Traci blurted out in a low voice.

“You look like you got run over by a truck.”

Still shaken from my experience in that game. I told them what happened. Like a shot all three girls tackled me.

“Group hug,” they yelled as I fell on my back. Each one kissed my cheek. I could not believe three gorgeous girls just kissed me.

“What is that all about?”

I asked from the bottom of the pile. As they climbed off Becky spoke.

“You proved to be a stand up guy by protecting that girl.”

The others joined in with “yes you did.”

I blushed enjoying the attention.

“I know you think I am nuts but if I did not stop them I would have gotten pregnant for real.”

Pam took my hand gently trying not to laugh.

“Silly it was only a game, you could not get pregnant.”

We talked for awhile and I confessed my fear had been real. I understood the worry girls have when they are pressured by boys. Again each one hugged me but none were convinced my fear was grounded in reality. Pam again offered to loan me clothes if I wanted to go to the dance. Again I refused.

The itching continued but I said nothing to mom or dad. My downward spiral continued Monday after school. It was the final track meet of the year. I did win one race and for the finale all single race winners were lined up for a final one hundred yard dash. This was a mixed male female race. I did not do too bad coming in second. As I bent over catching my breath I glanced up to see Dave McCauley approaching.

“Hey Jean Marie you ran a great race.”

I blushed not knowing quite what to say. Coming from the other direction was my mother. ‘What the hell is she doing here?’

“Hi Dave how have you been? I did not win so what the heck.”

He smiled warmly and without a condescending note he said.

“Jean Marie you beat the best runners in the district and they were all guys. That is impressive for a,” before he finished mom spoke.

“Great race honey I took some time off work to watch. Who is your friend?”

Before I could speak, Dave jumped in holding his hand out to greet mom.

“Dave McCauley Mrs. Lafleur. I tried to call Jean Marie but could not find your number.”

I jumped in quickly noting it was unlisted while I continued holding my breath. I prayed no one mentioned gender. I expected that bomb at any minute. Mom to the rescue one more time.

“Dave here is the number I will write it down.”

I offered more useless information to change the subject.

“Dave goes to Exeter Academy with Pam, Traci and Becky.”

“You do Dave? I hear great things about that school and those three girls are really nice. I am so glad they are friends of Jean Marie’s. How did you meet?”

“I met Jean Marie at the food court with the girls last weekend.”

My breathing is getting heavier as panic increases. ‘Just go please go’ my thoughts begged.

Mom broke the silence when she turned to me.

“Honey I have to go back to work. I am proud of your running. I am afraid I won’t be home until seven. I have an important case and there is much to do.”

That is when Dave came to the rescue.

“Mrs. Lafleur, I could take Jean Marie to dinner we could be back by seven.”

“How nice of you, do you mind honey?”

I nod sheepishly saying “I am all sweaty and my clothes stink.”

Fishing for any excuse waiting for Traci to come by offering me something to wear. Thank god, she did not. Dave zooming in on his opportunity like a hungry trapper said.

“I can run you home to change or we could do Burger King.”

“Burger King will be fine.”

I offer as mom smiles tossing out another great idea.

“You know honey we were thinking about sending you to Exeter. You are an honor student and we approve of your girlfriends. What do you think Dave?”

Oh yes Dave jumped on that as his smile grew. I did not know there were that many white teeth in a single mouth. I am thinking ‘mom leave just leave.’ Then my chest started itching.

It was the longest meal of my life. I ate a salad what is with that? I do not like grazing. I never did. Dave ate two Whoppers and a large order of fries. I bet he thought he was being cute when he suddenly reached forward feeding me one of his fries. Real cute, I looked around hoping nobody I knew was anywhere near. Before I forget to mention it, he asked me to the dance. I declined with the most gentle let down In my vocabulary.

“I am only fourteen and my parents do not allow me to date.”

He did not say much on the drive home. We arrived before my parents did, thank God. Dave opened the door for me and as I stepped out he looked like he was going to kiss me. Before he made a fool of himself, and me too I dropped the bomb on him.

“Dave, I think you have mistakenly assumed I am a girl. I am a guy.”

There I said it. I came out with the truth. There is no other way out. As I waited for his reaction it struck me. No way can I go to Exeter now the little fag story would be all over the school. My life there will become a living hell. I did not give another possibility a thought. The idea Dave would be so embarrassed he could not mention this at all. ‘How do I convince mom public high school is better?’

He stared at me for the longest time. I closed my eyes bracing for a punch. When suddenly his arms wrapped around me and his lips pressed against mine. It was the most amazing kiss I ever experienced. Considering it was my first kiss it would have to have been the best ever.

“That was the most creative turn down from a girl I ever heard.’

Dave said as his eyes flashed prior to his laugh.

“Jean Marie you are a very pretty girl and I love your sense of humor.”

He kissed me again and again I melted. When I caught my breath I muttered, “call me.” Then ran inside throwing myself on the bed crying my eyes out. What kind of an idiot says call me? My chest is pounding which is a good thing because it masks the constant itching.

I was in the shower when mom and dad came home a few minutes after seven. I heard dad call out.

“Jean Marie please come downstairs.”

That is when I got the news. They agreed Exeter will be an excellent choice providing a doorway to the best colleges. I am mixed about this. Sure it is a great school but what happens when Dave sees me in my guy uniform? I shrugged thinking, ‘what the heck that is five months off. Anything can happen in five months.’ Then I began to worry.