"I can't believe.... that ...you ..of..."I was so mad I was stuttering.

Barb and the gang noticed this and interfered. This was a fight between two guys and they butted in. They grabbed my arms and held them so that that jerk wouldn't get what was coming to him. He just stood there expecting an answer too. I'll give him an answer and but good too.

"Why you dirty rotten...mphhffff"and someone's hand covers my mouth.

"She'll get back to you on that." I'm not sure exactly who said that and I really don't care. The girls dragged me away from him as he stood there with this stupid grin on his face. I wanna pound that grin off his lying dirty sneaky face with a tire iron!

"Let me ...go! He needs his face rearranged with a baseball bat!"

"Belle calm down you don't want to get into a fight."

"Oh you bet I do! I'm gonna tear out his lying throat with a dull fishhook!"

"Belle you have to.."

"I don't have to do anything! My name is Bill! Bee Eye El El! And I'M NOT a g..." Smack!

"Belle Thorne! Enough of this .. God's girl can't you see that we your friends are trying to help you! Do you have any idea at all how all this is making me feel! Do you?" Barb was staring at me with tears in her eyes. I noticed then it was just Barb and myself left as everybody had moved inside or off property to the yellow arches.

"Look Barb I didn't ask you too.." I started but she wouldn't let me finish.

"No you didn't but dammit girl I ... I ..." I could see the tears falling down her face and then she did something unexpected. She kissed me full on the lips and walked away. What just happened? My anger at Jason was totally gone in an instant. I stood there for a full minute at least and put my hand to my lips.

I probably would still be standing there if Darma had not come to retrieve her skirt when she noticed I was not going back to the class. I followed kinda numbly with a sway to my walk. I felt amazing and totally weird. Barb kissed me. My first kiss from a girl. Wow!

Darma all but pushed me into the changeroom to remove her skirt which I did and put back on my sweatpants. My camouflage pants were dry and after a bit of setting up with black thread, courtesy of Ms Anne, I started to work at fixing my pants. It wasn't too bad as it was mostly just threads that broke once I cleared away the rats nest of thread. Ms Anne was nice enough to give me pointers on what to do and how to fix it. My experience with sewing pieces of cloth together to make the pillow, it was that or a dress or skirt I chose the pillow, and I started to mend my pants. It was actually easier than I thought it would be and just 5 minutes into my lunch period I returned from the changeroom wearing my pants again.

As I was leaving I thanked Ms. Anne and with my sweatpants over my shoulder walked back. I did manage to catch myself from doing a curtsey as I left but just barely. Darn deportment class. I released my tshirts from the side knot they were in and they fell back to mostly covering my waist the pants must have shrunk a bit in the dryer as they were not sitting in the same place as before. Not much but they were just a little higher than before.

I tried to talk to Barb about what happened but she wouldn't even let me come close. Jason would just look at me with this sick smile on his face and he seemed to be everywhere I went that day. I didn't want to talk to him at all the ass. For some reason people kept calling me Belle all day even though I was clearly dressed as a boy. I only caught on when I actually listened close. Belle and Bill really don't sound that different if they are said fast.

At one point I really had to go to the washroom. I made it most of the way to the closest boys room when the principal made it clear that the washrooms were not for girls like me. I really gotta talk to mom about that. Since he waited while I used the staff washroom, outside of course.

"Belle we are still waiting for those forms to be filled out and sent to us."

"Mom faxed them last night I think." I replied without thinking. I did wonder why he asked about the measurement form for the costume.

"Oh those were ...I see no problem." and then under his breath but I overheard anyways "Got to convince the super to get us a new fax machine this piece of junk causes more problems ..." the rest I didn't hear as he was walking away. I did make it back to history but got a frown and a Ms. Throne from the teacher but no detention. The homework assignment was punishment enough. Chemistry was my last class of the day thankfully and that was spent with figuring out amino acid chains and how to draw them with the proper number of little lines. It's interesting to know some of the stuff. I still like the dancing sodium on water thing.

Sam and her gang were waiting out front for me. Denise gave me a strange look but I chalked that up to leftovers from this morning. Or lunch with that stupid skirt. Sam just had a smile from ear to ear. It's nice to see a real smile on her face after all she has been through. Now if I could get her to take my place with Jason...

Since the afternoon had turned out nice I pushed Sammi all the way home. The girls chatted with her about this or that and I didn't pay to much attention. I was just happy that for once I was going home the same way I left as a boy! A block from our house the last of her friends peeled off and it was just the two of us. I decided to ask for her advice.

"Sam."

"Yeah Bill?"

"What do I do about uhm you know? I mean he won't leave me alone and I want nothing to do with the ass."I started to get a bit upset at just thinking about it.

"I never thought I would be giving my little brother big sister advice on how to handle boys as a girl." She started laughing

"That's not fair Sam!" I tried to not chuckle as it did sound funny.

"Well its true!"

"Sammi..."

"Fine but for this I'll talk to you as Belle okay?"

"But I ... I mean .. same person you know?" okay I totally flubbed that part.

"Well Belle when a pretty girl like you refuses a hunk like Jason, who I might add can have the pic of any girl in school, he finds them like forbidden fruit that he has to have them some way." She started " Follow me so far?"

"Sorta. I'm not trying to be pretty or anything I'm trying to be a boy for crying out loud."

"Your doing a terrible job at it Ms. Thorne who speaks like a girl all the time now even at home!" Blink blink.

"Still Jason feels he has to have you so he keeps asking and asking till he wears you down and you say yes... or charge him with harassment." Oh goody legal stuff again.

"Uhhhh.."

"Yeah calling the cops on a schoolmate is not the best idea. So you have to get him to lose interest. One get a boyfriend."

"No way no how! Not even gonna consider that..."

"Two go out with him once to satisfy him but make it a horrible date." I think even my brain sputtered at that one.

"Or three talk to him and treat him only as a friend which deflates it." huh what does she ohhhhh....

"So that why I got those 'Let's just be friends' comments when I asked out girls before."

"Exactly"

"That works?"

"Did it work on you?"

"I guess.." dammit. "So do I really talk like a girl all the time?"

"Yes you do although I don't really hear it unless I look for it but you do."

"How about if I talk like this" I tried to talk in my normal deep range. It was a little harder than I thought. Sam just started laughing really really hard.

"What?" I asked dropping back to the higher range.

"You...you... oh gods Belle you sounded like a girl trying to talk like a boy and doing a really bad job at it."

"I guess I need to practice."

"Just a bit! Let me get my keys. Hold your history book" She fumbled with her purse and put the key into the lock only to find the door already unlocked.

It didn't take me long to get her chair over the threshold as our front door sidewalk comes up pretty close to the bottom of the door. It was something we did years ago. A few years ago dad and I, along with a much younger and tomboyish Sammi had moved around a bunch of dirt so that the lawn would slope away from the house instead of towards it. We also had to pour some concrete over the original front sidewalk so that our new sidewalk would be over the grass and not a foot under it. I think we may have made it a bit steep as the new sidewalk actually comes about an inch below the doorsill. Although you can't tell there is actually a number of big stones in that concrete. We kinda needed filler for it and Dad went a little overboard with the metal bar stuff.

After pulling off my pink and white sneakers, gotta find a way to dye those as they are really comfortable, I pushed Sam past the living room where dad was ensconced doing his accountant bit with the bills. Dad has this thing where he sits on the couch with this old adding machine from like the 90's or something and types away at the keys with all the bills and receipts for groceries fuel etc. I never figured out what he does or how it is supposed to work but he takes it very serious.

"Hey dad."

"Hi daddy!" yeah shes a daddy's girl groan.

"Hi girls" and he just waves without looking up and goes on punching the keys. I once suggested using a computer. It was a bad idea apparently even mom gave me the look at that one.

Did he just say "Hi girls?"

Lil Jacilynn pushed herself back from her vanity and stretched. Her arms barely held high enough as she was still in her uniform from school. It was a bit of a pain having to go to school on a Saturday but it did allow them to have another month off school over public kids so it did have it's good side.

She moved out of her room still without changing as she wanted something to drink. As she neared the kitchen though she heard Tante Andrea with lil Dottie talking in the kitchen. Curious she tried to listen without being seen.

"You can come peel the carrots Jacilynn."

"How did you know I was.."

"Magic" Said Andrea Dimaggio with a grin.