I won't go through every detail of the day, but I will say that it didn't take me long to realize that Alice was joking when she said that waxing was fun. AND that it was nothing like waxing floors.

I won't go through every detail of the day, but I will say that it didn't take me long to realize that Alice was joking when she said that waxing was fun. AND that it was nothing like waxing floors. Her friend told me that I didn't really need it, but that if I wanted, she could pick off some stray hairs here and there.

When she pulled the first strip came off, I let out an astonished shriek that made Alice's friend jump back. The woman turned to Alice and said, "She really doesn't need it. She's too young, and there's no point."

Alice asked her to take a look at my back and chest, which she did. "No," the woman confirmed. "She doesn't need it! I'm not going to torture her. You're all done, hun."

The other thing I ought to mention is that my hair (the hair on my head, I mean) went from being long and shapeless to cute. At first I didn't think I could deal with the new look, but soon I couldn't stop looking in the mirror. The biggest difference was the bangs, which — being a guy — I had never had before. The rest of my hair was parted in the middle and fell straight down. It was shortest in the front, near my cheek bones, and then got longer and longer as it passed my shoulders and hung maybe three inches down my back. I loved it.

PLUS, she colored my hair, so that, instead of a vague brown, it's a caramel color, slightly closer to blonde, which I also loved!

Alice made me buy a hair dryer and a styling brush, and told that it would take me a half hour longer to get ready in the morning. "So start earlier on Monday, okay? And practice tomorrow, so you're not late for school."

She helped me carry all the bags inside, and then sat down to talk with Aunt Jane. I was exhausted. I dropped all the stuff on the floor in my room, kicked off my shoes and fell on the bed. I was almost asleep when the phone rang. Aunt Jane stuck her head in.

"Hey, cutie! Phone's for you. A little girl named Nina?"

Nina? I ran to the phone. "Hi, Nina. It's Marcie. How are you?"

"I'm good," she said. "My brother needs to talk to you."

When she handed the phone to Jerry, I teased, "That's a little low, isn't it? Getting your sister to make the call?"

"It isn't what you think," he said. "She really needs to ask you something, but I figured I ought to explain first.

"Tomorrow my father's company is having this outing for employees' families. We've gone the last couple of years, and it's deadly boring. When I say it's 'boring', I'm making it sound much better than it is. Even if I could invite you, I wouldn't, because you would hate me forever for bringing you there."

"Is it really that bad?"

"It's worse than I can convey in words. Anyway, Cassie and I have tried everything on earth to get out of it. My mother doesn't even want to go, but we have to, or it will make Dad look bad. It's our family duty."

"So what does Nina have to ask me?"

"Hang on." He took the phone away from his face to talk to Nina. "Nina, will you go in the kitchen a sec? I have to get all mushy with Marcie. I'll call you when you can talk to her, okay?"

I heard Nina say, "Yuck!" and Jerry returned to the phone.

"Sorry, but I had to get rid of her to tell you this. My parents have taken pity on Nina, and they'll let her stay away, but there's nowhere for her to go. Unless you'll watch her. She wants to go to Tierson Park, for the pony ride and the merry-go-round and stuff like that. Would you mind? My parents will pay you to babysit her, but Nina can't know. She really likes you, and she wants it to be like a friend thing."

"Okay," I said.

"Okay?" he repeated. "Wow! Great! Listen, you don't have to do this. I'll understand. But you'll be rescuing a poor little girl from a fate worse than... well, worse than school, anyway."

"I'll do it," I said.

"You're a lifesaver. I wish you could babysit me too."

"Hmm," I said. "Maybe we can arrange that some other weekend."

"All right," he joked. "For future discussion. Now I'll put Nina back on."

The next morning at ten thirty, the Auburn family came to pick me up. Jerry's father and mother were in front. Nina was sitting between Cassie and Jerry in the back.

"Where do I go?" I asked.

"You can sit on my lap," Jerry said.

"I don't think so," his mother said. "Nina, slide onto Cassie's lap."

"Jerry, you're forgetting that Marcie has to hold your love child," Cassie put in.

"What's a love child?" Nina asked.

"Do you see what you're teaching your sister?" Mrs. Auburn asked. "Never mind, Nina. Please don't repeat it."

Jerry got out so that I could slide in, between him and Cassie. They were both a little dressed up: Cassie was wearing a dress, and Jerry wore a dress shirt with a collar, and some freshly-pressed khakis.

Cassie asked me, "Why didn't you bring your stroller?"

"Nina told me she had something better," I replied.

"It's a surprise," Nina said, smiling.

Mrs. Auburn turned to face me. "Cassie?" she prompted.

Cassie handed me her cell phone. "For emergencies only," she said. "If it rings, don't answer unless it's my mom or dad. Understood?" Her face was red from embarrassment.

"I won't even look at it unless I have to," I promised. "Nina can watch me."

Cassie showed me how to find the numbers for her mother and father.

"How do I dial 911?" I asked.

"Duh," she replied.

"I never had a cell phone!" I protested. "It could have been something different."

Cassie rolled her eyes.

"Okay, girls," Mrs. Auburn said. "Marcie, in the trunk there's a backpack with water and a picnic lunch. It will get lighter as the day goes on." She handed me an envelope. "Here's money for the little train and the pony ride, and whatever else you girls do." She winked at me.

"Nina knows her way around, so she can be your guide. Just be back at the front gate at 5:00. I'll call you when we're on our way."

When the Auburns dropped Nina and me at Tierson Park, I was about to struggle into the backpack, but Nina stopped me.

"You have to put my surprise on first," she told me.

Nina's surprise was a baby carrier. It's a harness that you wear on the front of your body, with the baby facing forward. If I wasn't wearing the backpack, it would have been fine, but as it was, I felt like a sandwich, with one weight behind me and another in front of me.

"Let me know when you're hungry, Nina," I told her.

"Oh!" she said. "How come the pack will get lighter? Mom said it would get lighter as the day goes on."

"It's got food and water in it," I replied. "Every time we eat and drink, we will be taking stuff out of the pack."

"Mmm," she said. "Oh! What's a 'love child'? What did Cassie mean?"

"It's when two people who aren't married have a baby together."

"How can people who aren't married have a baby?" she asked.

"Oh, Nina..." I hesitated. "Do you know where babies come from?"

"No," she said simply.

I sighed. "Well, I'm not going to tell you. You have to ask your mother that one."

"Okay," she agreed. After a few moments she said, "Oh! I have to ask you something about tomboys."

"Fine," I said with a sigh, "but let's walk while we talk, okay?"

© 2006, 2007 by Kaleigh Way