By Melanie E.

Rudy/Ruby has been having a heck of a time with the Princess program. It all seemed like such a great opportunity to indulge, but it turns out it's a lot of work! Add in a mysterious valentine, and what's a boy/girl to do?

-==-

Holy crap.

Holy crap holy crap holy crap.

Crap.

"Hey."

"Eeep!" I squeaked as I spun around, my skirt flaring just so when I did. It was the type of twirl I'd spent hours in front of the mirror practicing, that perfect feminine twirl that comes close but doesn't quite show off your undies every time you do it. For the moment, though, I couldn't really appreciate it.

There, standing behind me, was a boy.

A tall boy. Looking down at me with concern.

Gulp.

"You okay?" He asked in the same scratchy-cracked voice he'd used before. "You just look like you've seen a ghost."

"Eeep," I said again, as fantastic with words as always.

"...Oh-kay. I'm just, umm... bye," he said, giving me one last worried look before hurrying off, leaving me alone in the hallway to yet again stare at the surprise I'd found waiting for me in front of my door.

It was a small vase, with a couple of pink roses in it, and an attached envelope.

An envelope with my name on it.

Holy crap.

Holy.

Crap.

Who'd give ME a valentine?

I spun around again and threw my door open, then just as quickly closed it behind me as soon as I was inside.

I needed to calm down. Calm down calm down calm down.

Deep breath. Hold it in. Let it out.

Whoosh.

Whew.

Okay.

A little calmer, I sat down at my desk and loaded up a few stories on my laptop I'd been meaning to catch up on, something to keep me occupied while I had a good hard thunk.

Joining the Princess program had been a dream come true. I'd never really fit in at my old schools, and we'd moved around so much because of my dad's job as a transportation engineer that the friends I would make had always been the temporary kind. I'd always been the small boy, the "girly" boy, and I hadn't thought that a private school would do a lot to change that. Dad had insisted, though, talking about how great Kingston had been to him as a boy. I'd been willing to come just for the chance to stay at the same school for more than a year or two.

Then I'd found out about the Princess program.

This... this couldn't be for real, could it? I'd asked myself that countless times after we were told about it at the first assembly and introduced to the "girls" who were a part of it.

Most people thought being small and girly was a bad thing, but it was one of the only things I'd ever really liked about myself, so much so that I'd made it a goal of mine to stay just that as much as I could. I'd skip meals, I'd go out of my way NOT to do things the other boys did just in case it made me more like them. It wasn't that I didn't like them or anything, but there was just something about being feminine that had always called to me. Mom had always been okay with it, and Dad had given up once he'd realized how much it upset me when he tried to make me change, so I'd grown up getting to spend time playing dress-up with my sister and indulging myself any time I wanted, so long as we were at home at least.

I'd thought that would all have to end coming to Kingston, though I'd packed a few things just in case. Then the Princess program was revealed, and I knew, just KNEW, that I'd be joining.

That had all been months ago.

It turns out that HAVING to dress up wasn't as much fun as GETTING to. Oh, sure, I still enjoyed it, but doing it in front of people other than my own family was so much more nerve-wracking, and my nerves had never been the greatest in the first place. I've always been a bit of a clutz, but the Princess Program seemed to bring out the worst of that, made all the worse by the boys.

Oh, goodness, the boys.

A lot of them were either indifferent or outright ignored me. I could deal with them okay. A few were a bit hostile, and I could deal with them too, even if I preferred not to. But it was the OTHER boys that made me nervous. I was used to being looked at by people trying to figure me out, but I wasn't used to getting Looked at by people trying to CHECK me out.

It was kind of a thrill, I'll admit, but it was also really really scary too.

And now this.

I closed my useless laptop distraction and instead turned my attention back to the envelope.

The envelope that had a card inside.

The card that had a heart on it.

Gulp.

I hadn't opened the card yet. I didn't want to open the card. But I did. But I really, really didn't.

But I really really really did.

Whoo. Okay. Come on Rube. You can do this. Buckle up and be a man about this.

Be a man? Hah! Not in this blouse!

It took another minute to work up the nerve to pull the card out of the envelope. It was a nice card, not expensive or anything, but it was very pretty; the kind I'd seen lots of guys get for girls they wanted to impress.

Double gulp.

Was there a name? Not on the outside of the card, no writing of any kind: just the flowery lacy heart design on a pale pink background. Likewise the envelope was bare except for my name, room number, and the logo of one of the florists in Persistence.

No choice. If I wanted to know who it was from I had to open it.

I started to lift the front.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Eeep!" I squeaked for a third time in the last fifteen minutes, the card falling out of my hands.

"Hey, Ruby! Ready for dinner?" Came the muffled but distinctively deep voice of my dorm-mate through my door. I'd asked them to always knock on the front door rather than using the bathroom one, 'cause it might make me jump, but not nearly as much as the fright of having someone trying to climb out of the bathroom would.

Sigh. "Yeah, coming Amanda!"

The valentine would have to wait. I gave it one last weary glare as I stood up and--

"Oof."

-==-

"You're such a clutz, Ruby."

"Yeah, yeah," I groused, though the nasal sound of it made Amanda smile. My nose took entirely too much abuse from the floor.

Dinner was almost normal for me. Almost, except that I was even more paranoid than usual.

Was that boy looking at me oddly? What about him? Could it have been one of the other Princesses? None of them seemed the least concerned about my unusual behavior. Then again, me being lost in my own world during meals wasn't actually that unusual, come to think of it.

Despite my distraction I made it through the meal without stabbing myself in the hand with my fork more than once. Sadly, though, I was none the wiser as to who could have sent the valentine, though I did get a few nervous smiles from boys when I must have spent too long scrutinizing them.

I begged out early and made my way toward the doors out of the cafeteria, wondering if maybe leaving on my own would get the sender to follow me, then desperately hoping it wouldn't. Luckily for me I remained unfollowed and made it back to my dorm safely.

I had to know.

I just had to know.

I picked the card up and started to open it again.

Then I dropped it with a shiver.

Come ON, Rube! You can do this!

I picked it up again.

I stared at it.

The heart eyelessly stared back, taunting me.

With one last gulp in preparation, I opened the card, and read the cursive inside.

Dear Ruby,

Mom, Dad, and Sis

I read the card again.

One more time.

Once more, just to be sure.

Mom. And Dad. They'd sent me a Valentine's card.

I fought back the sniffles, but it wasn't any good, and soon I was laying flat on my back on my bed, tears running down my face.

The cry didn't last long, but it did a ton of good. Once I felt like I could talk again, I immediately picked up my phone and hit the first speed dial.

"Hey, Mom? Yeah, it's me. I got the card...."

-==-

So, I wanted to do something for Valentine's day, but I spent all day trying to come up with an idea that appealed to me, and buh. Nothing. Not until 10 O'clock in the evening. With just two hours left to go, I started typing, aaaand... here ya go, another Kingston Academy Short. I hope people enjoy it, and maybe this will give a bit of a glimpse into just why Ruby is the way he/she is :P

Melanie E.