Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 02 Clothes Make the Girl

Summary: Samantha and Jessica want Cindy at camp instead of Frank. A plan is hatched to pull that off, but first, a Makeover!!! Will she ever look like a girl again, or just a boy in a dress?

“Cindy,” Samantha asked? “Had you seen that Sofia the First episode before?”

“Samantha, stop calling me Cindy while I am dressed like this. People are going to make fun of me.”

“What if you were not dressed like that? What if you were dressed as Cindy all the time?”

“That is impossible. Look at me. My mom had a barber give me a bowl cut just before coming to camp and all I have to wear is jeans, shorts, and t-shirts. Mom made sure I would look like a boy no matter what.”

“Jeans and t-shirts? Do you have any problems with trading them?” Samantha asked?

“No?” Frank looked at her confused.

“Come on, let’s go get your clean clothes and see what we can trade to allow Cindy to be here the rest of camp.”

Samantha grabbed her violin and Frank’s hand. He barely had time to grab his flute before being dragged out of the living room. They were half way to the dorms before Frank processed enough to see some major flaws in Samantha’s plan.

“Stop,” yelled Frank as he pulled back on Samantha to get her to stop pulling him. “Cindy can’t be at camp. Frank is registered here. He lives on the boy’s floor of the dorms. I can’t just dress as Cindy to suddenly be her for the rest of camp. It takes more than clothes to make someone a girl.”

Samantha stared straight at Frank with a far off look. She contorted her mouth and just stood there. After a very long minute, Frank inquired if she was okay, but she didn’t answer. She just stood there staring off into nothingness. Eventually, Frank sat down in the grass next to her waiting for her to be animated again.

“Lizzy!” Samantha said as she started to hum and sit down next to Frank.

“Who is Lizzy?”

Samantha did not answer Frank, she just kept on humming. With nothing else to do, he got lost in his own thoughts about how wonderful it would have been if he could have been here at camp as Cindy. It was at least five minutes before Samantha came out of her train of thought.

“Mr. Elks has a daughter named Lizzy. She stopped by the second day of camp. I saw the two of them together when she was leaving. She is married to another girl. They kissed this long yicky kiss just before they got into their car. It was even bigger than the one Belle gave the Beast when he turned back into a man.”

“So, Mr. Elks has a daughter married to another girl. What’s the big deal? There is a kid in my class who has two Daddies.”

“If we introduce him to Cindy, he will let her be here at camp. If he is okay with two girls marrying, he will be okay with a boy really being a girl. All we have to do is dress Cindy up really cute and have him see her play in our little orchestra.”

“I don’t know Samantha. Being married to another girl is a lot different than a boy really being a girl. It is also going against what my mom wanted. Grown-ups do what other grown-ups want them to do. He is not going to let one of his boy campers be a girl for a week.”

“You don’t know that. Now come with me, we have to find George and Jessica.”

It took the two of them a while to find the bigger kids, but they finally found them together at the Band Shell where a jam session was going on. George and Jessica were in the audience watching.

“You two, come with us. We need to talk to you,” Samantha quietly said to the older kids.

“What do you want to talk to us about?”

“Not here. Let’s go over there away from the crowd.”

Reluctantly, George got up after being pulled by Jessica. They all went over away from the music where no other kids were. Samantha explained her plan to give Cindy a chance to stay all week. It was only stopped once when George expressed surprise by Mr. Elks’ daughter being married to another woman.

“Samantha, I would love for Cindy to join us for the rest of camp, but just because we want it that doesn’t mean the grown-ups will allow it,” Jessica explained. “Frank is right, his mom sent him to camp as a boy and Mr. Elks probably will not allow him to be Cindy. We can privately allow Cindy to practice with us, but that doesn’t mean we can get her to be outside of practice. As for the concert on Saturday, I haven’t come up with any way that Cindy can play with us yet, but you haven’t really given me much time to think about it either. Frank’s hair is going to be the biggest challenge.”

“I have to give it to you kid, for a little seven-year-old, you have a great brain in that head of yours,” George complimented. “I am twice your age and I rarely see things as full of as much possibility as you do. Jessica, let’s give the Littles a chance. The worst that can happen is Mr. Elks says no. The reality is that we have no idea what he will say. If he says no, we are exactly where we are right now. He might say yes, especially with his daughter being a lesbian.”

“What’s a liz-bee-an?” Frank asked?

“It is when a girl is in love with another girl,” George explained. “Samantha is right. Since Mr. Elks accepts his daughter, he will most likely accept Cindy. It doesn’t mean he will let her stay the week, but he shouldn’t be upset by her existence. If you girls can get Frank to look like a cute little girl, instead of a boy in a dress, then I will arrange for Mr. Elks to attend our next practice session.”

“Cindy, are you okay with us telling a few other people about you in order to get you ready for tomorrow?”

“I don’t know Jessica. I am worried about getting Mommy mad again. I want to be Cindy, not Frank, but . . .,” Frank was looking down at his shoes moving one around on its tippy toes. “I guess. If that is what it takes, then it has to happen. If Mr. Elks says yes, then everyone will know anyways.”

“Okay George, you can go. Us girls have some work to do. Frank and Samantha wait here I will be right back. Jillian is at the jam session. We need her help.”

Jessica and George went back to the jam session. A couple of minutes later Jessica returned with Jillian. She was sixteen and one of the oldest kids at camp. She also had amazing hair. Every day it was styled a little different, but always amazing. Jessica explained that Frank, really a girl named Cindy, was just pretending to be a boy so she wouldn’t be teased over the horrible haircut her mom gave her just before camp. Jessica asked Jillian if there was anything she could do to help fix Cindy’s hair so she wouldn’t look like a boy anymore.

“A makeover?” Jillian gleamed. “I love doing makeovers. A bowl cut, hmmm. It is going to be a tough job, but I am sure we can turn it into a cute pixie cut. We will need my emergency hair kit, Mary, and Elizabeth. Let’s see, it’s 3:50 now and dinner is at 5:30. Meet me in 30 minutes in the Livingroom. Cindy bring your favorite dress and some hair accessories. You littles always have a collection of cute ones.”

Jillian went running off, leaving Jessica, Frank, and Samantha looking at each other.

“Well, that went well,” Samantha broke the silence.

“I can’t be dressed as a girl for dinner or when I go back to my dorm tonight,” Frank looked at the other two. “What are the other kids going to think?”

“It is Sunday night,” Jessica explained. “There is no assigned seating. You sit with Samantha and the other little girls. She can explain you off just the same way we did to Jillian. Don’t worry about it Frank. As for going back to your dorm after dinner, that is easy. With a pixie haircut it will still look fairly boyish when the hair accessories are taken out. With most pixie haircuts, the only way you can tell the difference between boys and girls is from the clothes they are wearing or if they have any hair accessories in. Boys don’t put hair clips, bows, or hair bands in their hair.”

“Don’t you think the Grown-ups will notice if I go to dinner dressed as Cindy?”

“I usually sit at the table with Miss Greenburge. She still hasn’t remembered my name and I have sat at her table every day since camp started. We could dress a bear up in a dress and she wouldn’t notice. You will be fine sitting with us. Jessica, you have been here a few years. Do you know what Miss Greenburge does here at camp? The only time I see her is at dinner.”

“Old Grumpy Greenburge? Yeah, unfortunately I do know her. She is the piano instructor. She stays in her room all day working with one kid at a time on improving their piano skills. You can never get enough right with her to make her happy. She will always find something to complain about your playing. One of the reasons she can’t remember anyone’s names is that she can’t see you. She has very poor vision. She can’t read sheet music anymore, but she knows so many songs by heart it really doesn’t matter, I guess. Sitting at her table for dinner is a good one with her poor vision and only working with piano students. She will have no idea that there is no little kid camper named Cindy.”

The kids all headed off to the dorms. They decided that Frank would wear the dress he wore to practice today, but Samantha would bring some others, especially the one she brought for the concert on Saturday. She would also get some hair accessories. Frank would change in the single person bathroom in the hall between the library and the Living room.

While walking to the dorms, Samantha also talked about the clothes swap idea she had to get Cindy some girls clothes for the rest of the week. She was going to offer up one of Franks outfits for a dress or something much more girly. Samantha explained how the moms of the Littles always pack extra clothes, so all the girls have at least one outfit they can sacrifice to a good cause. Most of the girls prefer shorts and t-shirts for every day wear at camp, but moms always pack some dresses. This should make it easy to trade for some dresses.

“Brilliant idea Samantha,” Jessica smiled. “My mom this year packed only dresses for me to wear for the two weeks. Even if this clothes swap doesn’t work for Cindy, I bet I can use it to get rid of my dresses. I wish I had thought of that a week ago. I hate dresses, and would love to have something else to wear.”

Jessica went off to do something in her room, while Frank and Samantha darted off to the dorms to put away their instruments that they had been carrying around all this time. Then they headed for the living room. It had a TV with a few couches and chairs around it in one corner, big window looking out onto the campus, and some tables and chairs in another corner. A few of the six and seven-year-olds were at the TV watching Vampirina on the Disney Junior channel, and the rest of the large room was empty. Samantha and Frank went over to the tables and sat down.

Handing Frank a bag, “Go change into these Frank. The bathroom is in the hallway between the Library and the Living room. The Librarian is covering this floor, but she never leaves the Library to check on this room unless there is lots of loud noises in here. Go.”

Frank took the bag and headed for the bathroom. Locking the door behind him, he opened the bag and looked inside. There were Disney princess light up sneakers, socks with frills at the top, the dress, and lots of hair accessories. It didn’t take long for Frank to be changed. The sneakers were a little tight, but Cindy would put up with that to be wearing the girl shoes. Once dressed, he rejoined Samantha. They put the accessories on the table, and the extra dresses on the back of a few chairs. As they waited for the others, they talked about how and when they each started playing music.

Jessica was the first to arrive. She had with her three beach towels. Two of them she put under a chair, and the third was for a bib around Frank when he got his hair cut. Shortly after the towels were in place, Jillian, Mary and Elizabeth showed up. They were all fifteen or sixteen years old and towered above Samantha and Cindy. They had with them a collection of different things.

“Boy kid,” Mary stated. “Your Mom did this to you? She must have been really mad at you for giving a cute little girl like you a bowl cut. I understand why you would pretend to be a boy at camp. Yikes.”

“Mary,” Jillian expressed. “That is why I asked you hear. I am great at finishing touches, but I need a hair stylist to cut her hair. We need to turn that ugly bowl cut into a pretty pixie cut. Do you think you can do it?”

“hmmmmmmmm,” Mary said walking all around Cindy. “Stand up kid.”

“My name is Cindy.”

“Sorry Cindy,” Mary expressed. “I get a little withdrawn from the world when I am thinking of how to mold a new fashion.”

“She’s good,” Elizabeth said. “Last year I got gum stuck in my hair and she gave me a whole new fashion after cutting out the gum.”

Jillian looked around, “Elizabeth, can you stand watch, making sure the Librarian stays in the Library and doesn’t come in here while we cut Cindy’s hair.”

It took about 20 minutes for Mary to work her magic. When she was done, she took off the beach towel around Cindy’s neck and handed her a hand mirror. She also held a second mirror up behind Cindy’s head. “Take a look Cindy and tell me what you think.”

Cindy looked at her new hair. It was short, but now it didn’t look like a bowl had been put on her head and everything cut beneath it. It looked like a boy’s cut, but somehow it looked different. Regardless, Cindy’s smile grew the more she looked at it.

“Now the clothes will make all the difference here,” Mary said. “Although it is a girl’s pixie cut, when wearing boy clothes, you will look like a boy to most people. Make sure you either have girl clothes on or accessories in your hair until it has time to grow out. The trick for the difference between boy’s and girl’s short hair styles is the layers. Girls have layers and jagged parts. It gives it more depth and individuality. Yours came out pretty good. Whoever cut it left enough hair for me to do something with it.”

“That is great Mary,” said Jillian. “Now, go switch places with Elizabeth, we need her over here.”

“Wow,” Elizabeth expressed as she came back over to the table. “Mary did a great job with you. Now for my part. Let’s see what you brought to accessorize with.”

Elizabeth looked over the things on the table and looked into a bag she brought. “Cindy, what did you look like before the terrible haircut?”

Cindy got out the picture that had been in her pants pocket, and showed it to Elizabeth and Jillian. “This was taken the day of the haircut.”

“Oh,” Elizabeth melted. “You looked absolutely adorable. You’re what, six?”

“Nine actually, but I fit into Samantha’s clothes and she is seven.”

“Hmmmm,” pondered Elizabeth. “Do you want to look little or like a nine year old?”

“What do you mean?”

“With the right clothes and accessories you could look like a six year old or a nine year old. I have been watching you for the last twenty minutes. You are currently looking and acting more like a six year old than a nine year old. You are wearing Disney Princess sneakers and enjoying the shows on Disney Junior. That would suggest you enjoy little kid things.”

“Well I still am a little kid.”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth continued. “But most nine-year-olds have outgrown Disney Princess clothing and don’t enjoy Disney Junior shows as much as you appeared to be while getting your hair cut. So, do you want to be a big kid or a little kid while at camp. We are giving you a complete make-over. We can make you anything you want. No one here knows you, so it doesn’t matter. Camp is a great place to try out different elements of your personality or interests.”

“Little Kid,” Jessica interrupted. “For tomorrow when we play for Mr. Elks, I need her to look as cute and adorable as possible. How little can you make her look? Mr. Elks is a father and Dad’s give into the cute innocent little girl look. Cute and innocent, that is the look we want.”

“You know you can’t win the top performance on looks. You have to have some talent,” Jillian looked down on Jessica. “Some littles and a tween don’t have a lot of chance of winning against the teenagers. Some, like me, have been here for ten years. A seven, nine, and what eleven year old are not going to win against us teenagers.”

“Don’t worry,” Jessica said with a big smile. “We have the talent, and I’m almost thirteen, not eleven.”

“I know you are good Jessica,” Elizabeth said. “But you are making a big mistake bringing in these two Littles. They obviously haven’t been playing that long and they can’t be that good.”

Cindy looked at Jessica, then Samantha, and then Elizabeth. Interrupting the current battle, “Okay, Jessica is right, tomorrow I need to look like a cute innocent little girl, but I am not sure I want to look like a six year old every day here at camp.”

Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth turned back to Cindy, “Clothes and accessories define the look. Let me show you.”

For the next 15 minutes, Elizabeth and Jillian showed how different outfits and hair accessories could totally change the look of Cindy and Samantha. Cindy really could look nine or six. There was one thing Cindy was certain of, she definitely looked like a girl, not a boy.

“Okay, now for the finishing touches,” Jillian said. “Your too young for make-up, but let's do those nails.”

“Wait,” Jessica forcefully interrupted. “Jillian and Elizabeth, you two have been absolutely wonderful in helping Cindy here and showing how we can make her look different with a simple outfit change. Cindy would look great with nail polish, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I can’t explain now, but trust me on this. No fingernail polish until tomorrow.”

Jillian and Elizabeth were confused, but did not push the issue. There was another discussion of how different colors or polish can also give that little kid effect, especially little girl pink nail polish. Samantha looked at her pink nail polish when this was said. The three teenagers left, happy that they had passed on their knowledge to the younger kids. Jessica took the towels and dumped the hair outside behind a bush.

“They did it,” Samantha gleefully bounced up and down. “They really did it. You now look like a girl.”