A few moments later, Erika was standing before the two of them with breasts. Breasts that looked real unless they were examined closely. She cupped her new appendages with her hands and lifted slightly, before releasing them to allow their full weight to pull at her chest again. "Now, don’t go playing with those." Samantha warned. "Girls don’t go around playing with their own breasts."   Camp Kumoni By Anistasia Allread

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Chapter 21
 
"Let’s go wash you up." Sasha directed, as he led Erika back around the cutting circle to a couple of sinks lining the wall in back. "Have a seat." Sasha pulled a cape out of a cupboard and draped it over Erika.

"Does your friend know your birth gender?" Sasha asked, casually?

"What?" Erika looked confused at first then paled.

"Your blonde friend, Samantha. Does she know you were born a different gender?" Sasha restated the question. The hairstylist sat down next to Erika and rested a hand on her knee. "Sweetheart, you may be fooling people in this town, but you aren’t fooling me."

The color drained from Erika’s face. "I… I…. I think maybe I should leave." Erika blurted out.

"Calm down hon." Sasha smiled. "I won’t let your secret out. You just look lost and I thought I might be able to help." Sasha looked at Erika, until she met his eyes, then he smiled warmly. "I’m sorry, hon, but I can tell that you haven’t been doing this long, and it must be very scary and difficult."

Tears started welling in Erika’s eyes. It had been difficult and very scary. It had been scary not knowing if that every time that she changed clothes, or went to the bathroom that she would be found out. Terrified, that very time she took a shower, one of the other girls would walk in on her. Petrified that her male genitalia might slip out of her bathing suit in front of the entire camp.

"Does your friend know?" He asked again.

"Yes… she helped me." Erika began crying. She had been trying so hard for the last week, and one visit to a hairstylist and she is found out. "How could you tell?"

"Oh sweetie." Sasha gave her knee a squeeze. "You don’t have the mannerisms down yet. You still walk a bit like a boy and you sit like a guy. And dear, I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but your breast forms aren’t fitting you correctly."

"I’ve been trying." Erika protested looking like a deer in headlights.

"What are you using to keep the forms on?" Sasha inquired.

"Duct tape when I swim." Erika admitted. "I didn’t have anything else."

"Oh sweetheart, that is horrible." Sasha was a bit startled. "You aren’t using duct tape to tape your genitals, are you?"

"Yes." Erika admitted. The damn holding back tears broke.

Sasha cringed upon hearing that. "Ouch, that must hurt." He mumbled. "There, there, Erika. Believe it or not I can help." He gave her a reassuring look.

"How can you help?" Erika wiped tears from her eyes. "What could you possibly do to help me? I’ve gotten myself into this mess, and I’m not sure how to get out… I’m not even sure if I want to get out."

"Well, first I can get you a tissue to dry those tears." Sasha went over to a shelf and grabbed a box of tissues. "Your friend will be back before too long and It wouldn’t look good if you had raccoon eyes." He smiled. "Second, I can give you a beautiful haircut. You do, have a beautiful face, one that can wear almost any kind of hairstyle, so it will be my job to find what fits you and make you even more beautiful."

Erika blew her nose in the tissue and used another to wipe her eyes.

"The next question is, do you want out?" Sasha probed.

"I… I don’t know." Erika admitted.

"Well, my dear girl. That is something that you need to figure out… and soon." Sasha kept his voice soft. "Because the longer you are in, the harder it is to get out… Now, Erika, sweetheart. This is not something you have to decide today. It’s something that you need to really, really think about."

Erika nodded. What did she want? Did she want to go back to being Eric? Did she want to go back to being the outcast? The ‘plague’. Or did she want to continue this charade and have friends… to be liked…accepted.

"First you must learn to blot your eyes, or draw the tears away so that you don’t drag your mascara and eyeliner all over your face." Sasha’s smile was warm and comforting. He took a tissue and blotted at Erika’s eyes. "Now, lay back and let me wash your hair." He directed.

Erika had never had her washed like this before. She lay there with her eyes closed as Sasha’s firm fingers scrubbed her scalp. After a rigorous scrub, and a rinse, Sasha applied a conditioner that he drew through the ends of her hair. He then began a slow, lingering scalp massage, hitting certain pressure points that relaxed her even more so. Her mind was about to drift off into nothingness when Sasha’s fingertips left her head and began rinsing again. A deep sigh escaped from her lips.

"I hope that helped." Sasha spoke softly. He towel dried her hair and assisted her into a sitting position. "Come on hon, let’s take you from simply beautiful to gorgeous." Sasha led Erika back into the circular cutting area.

"I take it you haven’t been a girl for long?" Sasha asked combing through Erika’s hair.

"No. I just started." Erika was a bit embarrassed talking about the subject.

"How do you like it so far?" Sasha parted off her hair and clipped some of it up.

Erika was silent for a few moments. How did she like it? It was a bit more work in some ways, shaving not only her face, but her legs, chest, and arm pits. Fixing her hair was more work, putting on make-up and doing the ‘girly’ things, but it was also kind of fun. Putting on the polish the other day started out as a nightmare, one that Eric would not and did not like, but after a few minutes of bonding with the girls and getting used to having a bright color on her nails, she decided it wasn’t so bad.

Sasha looked at her in the mirror waiting for an answer.

"It’s different than I thought it would be, but I am liking it." She confessed. “It sure beat being picked on.”

"Picked on?" Sasha inquired.

"At my school, I was known as ‘The Plague’." Erika confessed. "Anything I touched or did, turned out wrong."

Sasha cringed with a nod. "Everyone goes through an awkward stage." he combed her hair down and took his shears to it. "I was a klutz myself."

"It was more than just being a klutz." Erika closed her eyes; the back flashes always brought out painful memories. "I didn’t fit in anywhere. No one would even sit at the same table as me at lunch. At least until Summer came in and sat across from me."

"Who’s Summer?" Sasha asked, half-paying attention.

"She was Samantha’s sister." Erika could feel a lump forming in her throat. She really didn’t like talking about Summer much. "She committed suicide a year and a half ago."

"I thought I saw some sadness in Samantha’s eyes." Sasha nodded. "Although they tend to sparkle a bit more when she looks at you." He paused. "I’m only taking half an inch off your length." Sasha informed his dark-haired client. "Even though you can wear shorter hair, I want to keep it long for now."

Erika smiled at him, using the mirror. Sasha pulled down another section of hair, combed it down and quickly ran his shears through it.

"One of the reasons, Samantha came to camp with me, was to find out why her sister killed herself." Erika continued.

"She doesn’t know?" Sasha inquired.

"I don’t think anyone does, but me." Erika divulged. "They made up some excuse as to why she did it… Most everyone bought it."

"But you didn’t?"

"She was my best friend… My only friend." Erika dabbed at her eyes with the tissue. "Something happened and she couldn’t handle it. The pain was too great, so she stopped it the only way she knew how."

Sasha paused and looked in the mirror at her with intensity. "I’m sorry that she was in so much pain. I know what it is like to lose someone like that." He pulled down another section of hair. "Now, I can always take more off, I just can’t put it back."

Erika was starting to feel uncomfortable. This was something that she had to sit down with Samantha and talk about. She needed to change the subject before she lost all of her composure. "How do you know so much about this stuff?" Erika asked.

"I’ve been doing hair for many years." Sasha grinned.

"No," Erika protested she darted a look around to see if anyone was nearby. "I mean about breast forms and stuff."

"I used to be a Las Vegas performer." Sasha began. "I was one of many who would dress in drag to entertain. Many of the performers I worked with were transgender."

"Transgender?" Erika interrupted.

"People such as yourself, who are born with the wrong physical bodies." Sasha explained. "Some of the people I performed with used special appliances that helped in the illusion of being a woman, such as breast forms, gaffes, make-up, wigs, and the like. Others take female hormones and had surgery to re-form their bodies to look the same as how they felt on the inside."

"Surgeries?" Erika looked shocked.

"Breast implants, liposuction, some even had their genitalia reconstructed." Sasha parted off sections of hair, combed them up into the air and snipped. "How do your parents feel about your transformation?" He asked.

"My parents don’t know." Erika mumbled.

Sasha froze in mid-snip. "They don’t?"

"I began dressing like this when I came to camp." Erika confessed. "The only person who knows about this, is Samantha, and now you."

"The camp doesn’t know?" Sasha inquired. "Are you in a girl’s cabin?"

Erika nodded. Her heart in her throat. She had said too much.

"The girls in the cabin don’t know?" Sasha was bewildered.

"No, I don’t think so. I have already had a couple of close calls and I almost told them once, but the timing just seemed wrong." Erika admitted.

"The timing is never right, to say, ‘Hey, I’m not really a girl.’" Sasha chuckled. "You should have seen my parents faces when I told them I was gay." Sasha combed through her hair, looking it over with a critical eye. "I’m going to give you a long fringe." Sasha sectioned off a bit of hair and combed it down in front of her eyes and snipped it off at the tip of her nose. "After I dry your hair, I’ll go ahead and finish cutting them. That way they won’t shrink up into Betty Paige bangs.

Sasha took out a large round brush and blow drier and began blow drying Erika’s still long, dark hair. Once the hair was about half way dry, Sasha started using the round brush with the drier to add volume and direct the hair the way he was envisioning.

There are guys out there that choose to be girls. Erika thought as Sasha’s brush strokes fell into an easy hypnotic rhythm. Are they gay too, or do they just feel more like a girl than a guy? They must like being girls if they take hormones and have their genitalia operated on. Eric cringed inwardly at the thought of someone voluntarily having their penis and balls cut off. This is just for the summer. I’m not going to have anything cut off. How do they hide their dicks if they are wanting to be women? I’m sure that they don’t use duct tape. It hurts too much to remove. I guess it might help if I shaved better down there, but the tape still tears at the skin. I’m already red and sore down there.

Sasha switched off the blow drier and looked to the front of the salon. "We aren’t ready for you yet, sweetie."

Erika caught a glimpse of Samantha in the mirror. She had been on her way back to join them but stopped.

"If we are going to do this right, we have to have a reveal." Sasha explained. Sasha looked from Samantha to Erika. "Would you like me to help fit you with better forms and maybe a gaffe?"

"Uh… Sure, I guess." Erika answered. Better fitting forms? A gaffe? What was a gaffe?

"Have a seat for a few minutes out there." Sasha invited Samantha. He went back to finishing blowing out Erika’s hair. He then turned her away from the mirror and looked at her.

Erika looked through the curtain of her long bangs at the flamboyant stylist. His eyes studied her face and eyes for a long moment.

"Okay hon. This fringe is going to take some time to get used to. It’s supposed to be long enough for you to see through it. Like a veil, but not tickling your nose. It’s supposed to draw attention to those beautiful blue eyes of yours."

"Okay." Erika smiled. "I’ve had to look through thicker ones."

"Close your eyes." Sasha brought his shears in close to her face. "I don’t want you flinching and ruining my work of art."

Erika felt the tickle as hairs being cut fell down her face, brushing her lips and cheeks as they fell to the cape.

"Keep them closed just a little bit longer, hon. I’m almost done." He explained as he worked, in real close to her face. "Okay, I’m going to wipe some of the loose hairs off. Erika flinched slightly as a towel brushed against her face removing the severed hair. "Keep them closed for a moment longer. I want to blend the fringe into some facial framing."

Erika felt Sasha comb some hair down and forward and listened to the sound of the shears as they chipped into her hair. She then listened as Sasha stepped back.

"Okay, love you can open your eyes." Sasha instructed.

Erika opened her eyes and felt hair tickling her eyelashes. Sasha stepped away from the mirror and allowed Erika to view herself for the first time since he had begun blow-drying.

"Oh my God." Erika gasped. She could barely recognize herself in the mirror. Eric was no longer visible anywhere in the mirror. The haircut totally feminized her features, erasing every last hint of her male gender. Sasha was right. The veil of fringe drew attention to her eyes. But she would have to make a conscious effort not to brush them to the side. It was going to take while to get used to. A smile slowly crept across her face. "Sasha, this looks incredible."

"Can I see yet?" Samantha begged, bouncing in her chair. "I wanna see."

Erika turned her head from side to side and watched as her hair flowed, bounced and moved. The facial framing that Sasha added at the end, did just what he said it would, it framed her face. "Sasha, you are amazing." It came out just above a whisper.

"I’ve gotta see." Samantha jumped out of the waiting room chair and strolled across the salon to stand behind Erika, and looked at her in the mirror. "Wow! I told you he’d do a good job." She smirked. "Erika, you look amazing. The ‘plague’ has been eradicated. You are absolutely beautiful."

Erika didn’t know how to take the compliment. She was beautiful she had never wanted to be beautiful before, but now, she glowed at mention of the word and it’s pertaining to her. Eric was a ‘plague’, but Erika was beautiful.

"You were beautiful before you sat in my chair." Sasha placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "It is my job to show the rest of the world."

The two girls looked at one another and smiled. Erika was blushing quite red at this point.

"My receptionist won’t be back for another forty-five minutes, so, if you want to follow me." Sasha unsnapped the cape from Erika’s neck and flung it to the next chair over. He looked directly at Erika. "I think I can set you up with some better breast forms and some advice."

Samantha looked anxiously at Erika. "He knows?" she mouthed.

"He saw right through it." Erika explained. "He knows and said that he could help."

"How?" Samantha looked at Erika. She couldn’t get over how incredible her friend looked with her new haircut.

"She needs better fitting breast forms, to begin with." Sasha entered the conversation. If you will give me a moment, I’ll run upstairs to my apartment and grab some stuff. We’ll do the fitting down here, in the back." With that Sasha turned and disappeared in the back of the salon.

"Don’t you have to go shopping with Krystal?" Erika inquired, as she kept looking at her new hairstyle in the mirror.

"Yeah, but I can’t leave you alone." Samantha stated. She sat in a salon chair next to Erika. "I told her to start looking, and that I’d be over as soon as I picked you up."

"This might take a little while." Erika pointed out.

"I know, I know. But I can’t leave you alone with a guy we’ve just met."

"I’ve been left alone with people, all of my life, Samantha." Erika protested.

"I know you, have, but you weren’t a girl then." Samantha pointed out. "As a girl, everything changes. Girls have to rely on each other for safety. Girls have to use the buddy system, so that they aren’t taken advantage of."

"But I’m a guy under all of this." Erika waved her hand down her body. A body that she was still becoming used to.

"Yes, as hard as it is to believe, you are a guy under all of that, and Sasha is a gay man. Who knows what could happen." Samantha looked pointedly at Erika. "It shouldn’t be hard to find a suit for Krystal, so she can just wait for a little bit, while I do my girlfriend duty and protect my girlfriend."

Erika was speechless. She didn’t know how to feel. On one hand, she was appalled that she needed a ‘babysitter’ while a stylist worked on helping her fit in. On the other hand, she was thrilled and elated that Samantha, a girl she had always dreamed about getting attention from, was acting so concerned, so protective over her.

"Ladies, could you join me back here." Sasha called from the shampoo area.

Erika and Samantha wandered around the curved wall and found Sasha with a box of a variety of items.

"Okay, I know this is going to sound a little strange, but Erika, I need you to take off your top and bra. Let’s see what I have here, that can help you. Sam, why don’t you have a seat right there." Sasha pointed to a seat next to the two of them.

Erika pulled her top over her head and began unhooking her bra.

"How large do you want to be?" Sasha asked. "You’re currently about a ‘b’ cup, so I wouldn’t go much larger than a ‘c’. It might look weird if you showed up at camp today with ‘DD’s." he grinned.

Erika slipped out of the bra and pulled the taped-on forms from her chest, and set them down in a nearby chair. Self-conscious, she crossed her arms over her chest. She realized what she was doing and started to drop her arms, but if felt weird. It had been only a week, and she was getting used to the idea of breasts? Already the missing weight on her chest made her uncomfortable. How was she going to react at the end of summer when she went back to being Eric? How would Samantha treat Eric at the end of summer, once he stopped being Erika? Would he be back to being ‘the plague’ even in her eyes?

"Let’s see how these look." Sasha held up some fancy breast forms. Much fancier than the ones that Samantha had given him. These even had nipples.

Erika took the forms and held them up to her chest, and looked from Sasha to Samantha.

"A touch lower." Sasha grinned. "You are young, but you shouldn’t be riding that high. You want to appear natural."

"Wow, those look great." Samantha agreed.

"Shall we apply them." Sasha asked looking from Erika to Samantha, then back to Erika.

"You’re going to have to show me how." Erika admitted meekly.

"I expected as much. Don’t worry, all transgender women have to learn somehow, some time." Sasha smiled. "First you need a clean, dry, chest. If you need to, shave before applying." Sasha took out a bottle out of the box and began applying its contents to the back of one of the forms. "Put some on the form, and some on your chest. That way you can get a nice seal." Sasha approached Erika with the bottle, "Do you mind?"

"No, go ahead, Sasha." Erika gave the stylist permission.

Sasha spread the cold adhesive across Erika’s chest, then attached the form to her chest. "Make sure you smooth out all of the air bubbles, and then you can lift the seams a little bit, apply the adhesive and smooth them down. That way it all blends nicely into your skin." Sasha released the form, and allowed the weight to fall on Erika’s chest.

"Whoa." Erika gasped. "That feels strange."

"Probably because you are getting your breasts all at once, where we get ours over time." Samantha commented, while watching the procedure.

"You do the other one." Sasha prompted.

Erika re-traced Sasha’s steps of applying the first form on the second. A few moments later, Erika was standing before the two of them with breasts. Breasts that looked real unless they were examined closely. She cupped her new appendages with her hands and lifted slightly, before releasing them to allow their full weight to pull at her chest again.

"Now, don’t go playing with those." Samantha warned. "Girls don’t go around playing with their own breasts."

Sasha pulled out another bottle. "This is a solvent. It will help you remove the glue." Erika looked at Sasha in confusion. "You’re going to want to take them off every few days, and clean your skin." The stylist explained.

The bell on the front door rang, as someone entered. "I’ll be right back." Sasha excused himself. "Go ahead and put your bra and top back on."

The two girls heard Sasha talking with someone in the front area as Erika began to get dressed.

"You know, I’ll bet you could wear a two-piece bathing suit with those breast forms." Samantha’s mind was churning.

"Having breasts that won’t fall out of a bathing suit is one thing," Erika pulled her top on. "Having certain body parts below falling out, let alone show, is a completely different problem." She started to pull her fringe out of her eyes, but remembered to give it a chance and fingered them back into place.

"I’ve got something for that too." Sasha came around the corner. "No more duct tape for you, missy." Sasha reached into the box and pulled something else out.

"What is that?" Samantha looked at the devise.

"This is called a gaffe." Sasha explained. "It’s to help Erika hide her male parts."

Erika blushed, and blushed even more as Sasha explained to her how to position, tuck and apply the gaffe. Samantha didn’t help any; she smirked, smiled and tried to hide her amusement as Sasha explained the process. He handed the gaffe to Erika and pointed her to the bathroom. "Go ahead and try it on in there. Just understand, that it won’t be the most comfortable thing you put on for a while."

"Neither were bras." Erika sighed.

Sasha sat down in a chair across from Samantha. "So where are you two from?" he asked.

"The city." Samantha looked in a nearby mirror at her hair, while running her fingers through it.

"How did you and Erika meet?" Sasha pried.

"She was friends with my sister…" Samantha looked away from the mirror, and down at the floor. "Before she died. Erika has had a hard time at school, and I thought that I’d try and help her have a good summer."

"Did you have anything to do with Eric, changing into Erika?" Sasha looked at the blonde beauty.

"I helped her get clothes, showed her how to put make-up on and am still trying to teach her how to walk and act like a girl." Samantha admitted. "You wouldn’t believe the change in her already." Samantha finally looked up from the floor and met Sasha’s eyes. "Before this past week, Eric, wouldn’t, or couldn’t look you in the eyes. Now Erika not only looks you in the eyes, she smiles and laughs as well." Samantha’s mind wandered over the past, very busy week. "She is already very well-liked by all of the girls in the cabin and one of the more popular girls at the camp." They like her even more than they like me. Samantha admitted this last bit of information to herself, and it stung a little bit.

"Are you sure this is something that Eric wants? Or is it something that you want?" Sasha asked. "Someone to step into your sister’s role?"

Samantha was caught off guard by the question. Before she could think of a reply, the door to the bathroom opened up and Erika stepped out. "I think I’ve got it on right." She said. "Can you tell me if I did, Sasha?"

"Sure, hon." Sasha got up and approached Erika. "How do you want to do this?"

"Here." Erika lifted up her skirt and showed Sasha her genital region with only a slight blush.

"It looks like you’ve got it." Sasha stated after a few seconds of looking at how the gaffe fit. "Now you’ll pass as a girl a lot easier… and you won’t have to worry about anything… slipping out."

"How much do I owe you for all of this, Sasha?" Erika was worried, that she wouldn’t have enough money. Although after the week she has had, she would be willing to give all of the money that her parents had given her to spend at camp.

"Sweetheart, I don’t want a red cent from you." Sasha looked Erika in the eye. "These are just some old items that have been collecting dust in my storage closet. I’d probably have thrown them out soon anyhow. Just think of it as a welcoming present of sorts… Welcome to being a girl and all of the benefits that go with it."

"Benefits?" Erika looked skeptical.

"It’s only been a couple of weeks. You’ll see." Sasha winked.

"Especially since you don’t get to experience the enjoyment of the monthly curse." Samantha scowled.

The three walked to the front of the salon. Two ladies, who looked to be mother and daughter, sat in the waiting area, perusing through some hairstyle pictures.

"How much do I owe you, Sasha?" Samantha asked.

"For the fringe trim, and the make-over?" Sasha debated in his head. "Minus the one-day camp sale… Let’s say twenty, should cover it."

"Are you sure?" Samantha inquired. "Your receptionist quoted a lot more than that."

"I had fun, and it was a pleasure meeting you two." Sasha nodded. "Yep. Twenty. Just make sure you come and see me next time you’re in town." He smiled warmly at Samantha then his look became pointed. "Think about what I asked you."

"Mom, could I get my hair like hers?" the teenager asked her mother.

"Like who’s dear?" the mother asked.

"Like hers." The teen pointed to Erika.

"That is cute." The mother grinned as Erika, startled by being pointed out, smiled meekly at the two.

"Thank you, Sasha." Erika met him on the side of the counter and gave him a big hug. "Thank you for everything."

"You’re welcome sweetie. Now go out and break some hearts." Sasha waved the two out the door.

The two girls exited the salon. Erika had to fight the urge again to pull her fringe out from in front of her eyes.

"There she is!" a familiar voice called out from across the street.

Erika turned to see Katie pointing in their direction.

"Samantha, where have you been?" Dani admonished. "Krystal needs your help in the store."

"I’m coming." Samantha called back across the street.

"Erika, is that you?" Katie gasped, as Erika and Samantha made their way across the street. "Oh my God! It is you! You look fantastic!"

"Doesn’t she though." Samantha acted as if presenting a piece of art to the girls.

"Okay, you are coming with me to help out Krystal… she’s becoming all distraught in the store." Dani took Samantha’s hand and began dragging her down the street.

"And you, Hot stuff are coming with me." Katie took Erika’s hand and took a few steps in the opposite direction, but almost bumped into a local, she was so busy studying Erika’s new look.

"Where are you taking me?" Erika inquired, as she was being led down the sidewalk.

"You are getting nails, girl." Katie avowed.

"Nails?" Erika almost groaned inside.

"It’s obvious you need something." Katie held up Erika’s hand and waved her short, ragged, hot pink nails around. "You bite your nails and they look horrible. By getting acrylics, you’ll have a much harder time biting them, and then maybe you can break the habit."

"But…. But…." Erika stammered.

"No buts, or excuses." Katie scowled at her cabin mate. "Dani and I are kicking in to help pay for them… our treat."

"But…" Erika continued to be pulled down the sidewalk.

"But we don’t have much time if we are to get back to the Laundromat and the bus on time."

Katie dragged her down two more storefronts before entering a door and into a mostly pink nail salon. The odors of acrylic and acetone assaulted her nostrils. Five dark haired heads, all wearing masks, turned and looked at the newcomers.

"You back?" a voice came from a masked woman at the front nail station. "Why you back?... Is problem?"

"No." Katie smiled. "No problem. I brought my friend to get a full set, but we are in kind of a hurry. Our bus will be leaving in just over an hour. Is there time enough for her to get a set?" Katie bit her lower lip in worry.

The masked woman looked at the clock. She glanced at the work she was doing and then at the progress of the station next to her. She looked back up at Katie and Erika. "You pick color." Her eyes darted to a rack of colorful nail polishes on the wall. "Be five minute."

Katie led Erika over to the wall. "Have you ever had nails before?" She inquired.

"No, I never have." Erika was boggled by all of the various shades of red and pink arrayed before her. "I can honestly say that the thought had never occurred to me."

"What color are you going to pick?" Katie’s eyes were wandering over the wall-mounted rainbow. "Dani got a dark red, I went more conservative with a pink." She showed Erika her nails.

"You and Dani are paying for a chunk of this, so why don’t you choose for me." Erika felt a relief as Katie smiled at her then turned and started picking up different colors and going through them.

"Okay, you next." The masked lady gestured for Erika to sit in the vacated seat.

Erika looked to her tall friend then, tucking her skirt under her, eased into the seat not knowing what to expect. The masked woman took her hands and looked at them very quickly and clicked her tongue with disdain. She pulled out a bottle of acetone and cotton and began scrubbing the hot pink off of her nails.

"Your nails, bad." She shook her head and clicked her tongue some more.

Erika blushed a bit. Eric had never cared about how his nails looked, he was too busy dodging bullies, or trying to get school assignments done. Nails were the least of his concerns. Erika looked over to Katie for some help, but the tall model, yet to be discovered, was too busy treasure hunting for the perfect color.

Her fringe was starting to tickle her eyelashes, but her hands were being held at the moment. She blew upward and felt her fringe flutter around and settle back into place.

"You got pretty eyes." The masked woman glanced up at Erika. "Who do you hair?"

"Sasha, just cut it." Erika winced as her cuticles were being pushed into place.

"Sasha do good job." The woman said. "He do my daughter hair."

Katie sat two bottles down on the station. "I don’t think you are a red or pink girl." Katie looked down. "So I picked this purpley-plum color and this royal blue… You pick."

"Both pretty." The masked woman agreed.

"I kind of like the blue." Erika looked at both colors.

"Cool, it reminds me of your pretty eyes." Katie grabbed the plum color. "She needs them to be sport length and if possible, a little thick on the acrylic. We have a lot of sports to play." Katie instructed the nail technician.

Katie deposited the rejected color back into its slot and collapsed in a chair near Erika.

"Can I ask you some personal questions?" Katie looked poignantly at Erika.

"It all depends upon the question." Erika returned her look. Her heart quickened just a bit. Don’t ask about me being a boy. She prayed.

"When did you know?" Katie looked at the desk to avoid eye contact. "I mean, when did you know that you were attracted to girls?"

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End of Chapter Twenty-One