Silver Bell Wish 3
by Peregrine

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Copyright © 2023 Peregrine
All rights reserved.
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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Chapter 3

Rehearsal

'He was determined to let the comments roll off his back. Still, he wondered how he was going to get through the play.'

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Rian approached the group of elves, who were standing together and talking. One by one, they recognized the new elf. They turned to him and began making a fuss.

“Oh, my God! Rian! Look at you! I can’t believe it,” said Tammy.

“I heard they messed up your costume. You look great,” said Amelia. “That costume fits you like a glove. You look better than Ellie.”

“That’s because they got my top size wrong,” said Ellery. “This top is too tight.” She squirmed, attempting to adjust her top.

“With your bust, any top would be too tight,” said Kimber. “God knows you’ve worn tight tops before.”

“I can’t help it if the universe was more generous to me,” said Ellery. “Are they real, Rian?” She said, pointing to his chest.

“No, Ellie. They’re not real,” said Rian, not believing she asked that question.

“Well, you never know. Seriously, Rian, you look good. The costume suits you somehow.”

“Thanks, just what I wanted to hear,” said Rian sarcastically.

“You’re wearing black stockings! That’s a great idea,” said Amelia. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“It was my sister’s idea.”

“Did she help with your makeup?” asked Tammy.

“She did. She taught me last night so I could do it myself. I hope I did it right.”

“Are you kidding? You look great! You’ll have to show us what you did.”

The five Elves were still talking when they heard Professor Atwood as she started rehearsal.

“Everybody, we have a busy schedule and need to get started.” She looked at the five Elves. “Come on, girls. Get ready for the first scene.”

The girls started laughing as they took their positions. Rian shook his head. Professor Atwood watched the girls take their places and noticed Rian.

“Sorry, Rian. But you look very convincing. I told you that you could pull it off.” She went to sit in the audience. “Alright, people. First dress rehearsal of the day. Lights! Action!” Rian took his spot on stage with the rest of the elves.

Rian thought his costume would be a distraction for him while he was acting. As the rehearsal went on, he began thinking less about his costume and focused on his acting. When the first rehearsal was over, Rian had almost forgotten he was wearing a skirt. Of course, some guys teased him about it during lunch.

~~0~~

Professor Atwood was pleased with how well the rehearsal was going when it came time for lunch. After the cast ate the pizza and soda provided, Professor Atwood wasted little time in getting the second half of rehearsal going. When it was over, a tired cast was congratulating each other.

“Listen up, everyone. I have an announcement.” Everyone quickly settled down. “We will have our dress rehearsal tomorrow at the Children’s Hospital. Be there at nine A.M. for blocking. The hospital stage is a bit different from ours. Any of the kids who are at the hospital will attend the dress rehearsal. So be prepared for an audience. After the show, they are asking for Santa and the elves to do a meet and greet. Before the show, they would like the elves to visit the rooms of the inpatient children. Some of them may not be able to attend the show. So get home, rest up, and I’ll see you all at the hospital tomorrow morning. Good job today, people.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” said Rian.

“What’s got your panties in a bunch?” said Kimber.

“Funny,” said Rian. “I have to do the meet and greet and visit the kids in my costume.”

“What’s wrong with that?” asked Tammy.

Rian stood up and brought his hands from his shoulders to his hips, outlining his body.

“Oh, right… your costume.”

“Are you still griping about the costume?” said Ellery. “We’re wearing the same costume.”

“But you four are girls.”

“Just get over it,” said Ellery. “The way you look and the way you acted, I don’t think anyone would believe you aren’t a girl.”

“You mean he’s not?” commented Kimber, smiling. Rian tried to stare daggers at her.

“Look, the kids will be excited to meet the Elf who saved Christmas.”

“I guess,” said Rian. He reached through his top and adjusted his bra strap. “This bra is so uncomfortable; and these shoes! My feet are killing me and these are what, one-inch heels? How do girls walk in three or four-inch heels?”

“It takes practice,” said Amelia. “We’ve been doing it all our lives.”

“You know the old saying,” said Ellery. “Beauty is pain. And I’m damn gorgeous!”

The others giggled, looking at her. “What?”

“I think you’re doing great, Rian,” said Kimber. “Look on the bright side. Today and tomorrow will be your worst days, having to stay in costume almost all day. After that, it will only be during the shows.”

“You’re right. Thanks.”

~~0~~

Rian arrived at the hospital wearing a new bra, panties, and pantyhose. When he got home last night, he found the packages on his bed along with two bras. A note from his mother said she got them for him so he could have clean underwear. He made a mental note to thank her.

The stage was not in the hospital, but was in the Davenport Pavilion, one of the building surrounding the hospital. They had set rooms on the right and left of the auditorium entrance up for the actors to change. The restrooms were along the left outside wall. If Rian wanted to change inside a stall again, he would have to do so in the public restroom. Coming out of the men’s room could be a problem. He sighed and went to the men’s dressing room to change. Of course, as he stripped to put his top on, there were comments from his cast mates. Thankfully, he could pull on the skirt without first removing his pants.

“Did you shave your legs last night, Rian?” came a comment from Jordan, who was leading the verbal barrage. Rian had taken it all in fun but finally had enough.

“Hey, Jordan. Better get ready to shave your legs. I feel a cold coming on and you’re my understudy. Cough…cough...” Everyone laughed except Jordan. Rian finished his makeup and left the dressing room. He didn’t see Jordan making a phone call.

The blocking went smoothly and finished early. The elves were led outside the pavilion to the hospital cafeteria. It was the first time Rian had been outside in his costume. The hospital provided lunch for them before making the room visits. As they were led through the halls, people were smiling and waving at the elves. In the Christmas spirit, the elves waved and smiled back. They would occasionally give out the small candy canes provided by the hospital and wished people Merry Christmas. Even though he had been wearing his costume for what felt like two days straight, he felt self-conscious walking with the girls to the inpatient floors. It was especially bothersome when the girls walked in front of him. He saw their hair swinging back and forth, and their skirts swishing around their thighs. He realized that must be how he looked.

His self-consciousness vanished when they got to the first room. He somehow got to the front and went into the room first. The young girl looked over as the door opened. Her face lit up in amazement as the five elves entered the room. She smiled and laughed as the elves talked with her.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” asked Rian.

“I’m Ellen.”

“Hi, Ellen. I’m Rian. That’s Amelia, Kimber, Ellery, and Tammy.” Each elf waved as Rian said her name.

Ellen gave Rian a strange look. “How come you have normal names?” The elves shared a giggle.

“What names do you think we should have?”

“Elf names.” Ellen scrunched up her face as if she was thinking very hard. “Maybe Holly, Snowflake, Noel, and Tinsel,” she said, pointing to the girls standing behind Rian. The girls giggled as Ellen renamed them.

“Those are wonderful names. Don’t I get one?”

Ellen looked thoughtfully at Rian. “No, your name is okay. I think it’s a pretty name for an elf.”

“Thank you, Ellen. May I give you a hug?” Rian looked at Ellen’s mother sitting beside the bed. She nodded at Rian, who held out his arms and hugged Ellen. The rest of the elves went bedside and hugged the little girl. Rian went to whisper to the mother. “Can she have a candy cane?”

“Yes. Thank you for coming today. You made her day.”

Rian gave Ellen a candy cane, who immediately unwrapped it and put it in her mouth. “I’ll leave another on your bedside table,” said Rian. Ellen giggled.

“Bye Ellen,” said the group of elves.”

“Bye,” said Ellen.

Outside the door, Rian leaned on the wall with tears in his eyes. Tammy noticed. “Are you alright?” Rian tried unsuccessfully to dry his eyes without ruining his makeup.

“She reminds me of my sister about a year and a half ago,” said Rian, trying to wipe tears from his eyes.

“I forgot you said your sister had been sick. Will you be alright?”

“I’ll be fine.” Rian began composing himself. “Let’s catch up with the others.”

“Not until we find a restroom. You need to fix your face. If you don’t, you’ll be the elf who scared Christmas, not to mention the kids. Let’s go. You need to get yourself waterproof mascara. I’ll tell you what I use.”

~~0~~

The remaining patient visits went without any problems.

“That’ll be it for today, girls,” said their hospital guide.

“But we haven’t visited the rooms down the hall,” said Ellery.

“We won’t be going there today. It’s canine therapy day for those rooms.”

“My sister used to love the visits by the therapy dogs,” said Rian.

“Most of the children love it when the dogs visit. Did you girls enjoy visiting the children?” Rian’s elf-mates giggled. The hospital guide looked at the girls with a confused look. “Did I say something funny?”

“They’re being silly. Yes, we enjoyed meeting the children.” The remaining elves agreed.

“I’m going to ask if you can do it again tomorrow to cover the rooms we missed today.”

“I’d love to!” said Rian.

“Sure, I’m up for it,” said Amelia. The rest of the girls agreed.

“I’ll ask your director. It would be great to have you back again. Let’s get you girls back to the pavilion.” That brought on more giggles from the girls as a confused hospital guide led the way back. Rian had mixed feelings. It would be great to make the kid’s day, but he would have to wear his costume again all day. He sighed and followed the guide.

~~0~~

Before the play for the children, Rian checked his makeup. His cast mates kept the comments to a minimum in the dressing room, which surprised him. The play went smoothly and the audience all cheered when Christmas was saved. As expected, the children enjoyed the meet and greet after the show. At the meet and greet, Santa, of course, was the center of attention. The elves used the attention Santa was getting to leave gracefully, except for Rian, who volunteered to stay and help Santa.

When it was over, Rian walked to the dressing room. After spending nearly all yesterday and today in his costume, he was ready to get himself into his own clothes and head home. All the guys, except Santa, had left, so he didn’t expect any comments now. He walked to his spot and stopped. He saw his clothes were gone. In their place was a sleeveless red mini-dress with white snowflakes. The dress had frills on the hem and sleeve openings. There was a purse hanging from the chair.

“God damn them. Fucking shit,” Rian exclaimed. He continued with the expletives before he sat down, wondering where his car keys, phone, and wallet were.

Carlos was taking his costume off when he heard Rian.

“What’s wrong?”

“They took my fucking clothes!”

“I’m sorry, man. I saw Jordan’s sister bring him something. It must have been the dress. I didn’t know what he was planning. That sucks, man.”

“I’m not blaming you. I should have expected something like this.”

“Can I do anything for you?” asked Carlos.

“Not unless you can pull out a set of clothes from your Santa sack,” Rian said, managing a weak smile.

“If we were at the school’s theater, we could find you something, but not here.”

“I know. Thanks for offering.” He sighed. “I need to know what they did with my keys, phone, and wallet.” He spotted a note on the table, picked it up, and read it.

‘Rian, your phone, car keys, and wallet are in the purse. They put your clothes in the trunk of your car. I’m afraid you are going to need to wash them before you can wear them. I tried, but I couldn’t stop them.’ It was signed by Declan, one of the stagehands.

“You okay?” asked Carlos as he finished changing and packing his costume.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. They put my stuff in the purse. Thanks for asking. I have little choice but to wear this dress to get home.”

Carlos walked over to Rian and saw the dress. “At least it’s a good-looking dress. They could have gotten you something super short and slutty.” He looked at Rian, who was still in his elf costume. “I can wait and walk you out.”

Rian smiled. “No, I’ll be fine, but thanks for the offer. See you tomorrow.”

Carlos left and Rian put his head in his hands. After wearing his costume all day, he would have to wear a dress to go home. He began thinking of everything that had gone wrong. First, his sister getting sick, having to go through treatment, and now waiting to see if it worked. He thought about his audition for the Master’s program and receiving the notice they wanted to see his performance in this play. There was the costume mix-up and having to wear the costume all day going around the hospital, along with the possibility he would do it again tomorrow.

He sighed and took off his costume, packed it in its garment bag, and put on the dress. It surprised him that the dress fit as well as it did. Then he remembered Jordan had been helping with sizing the costumes. He picked up his costume’s garment bag, slung the purse over his shoulder, and left. He wondered what else could go wrong.

Thanks for reading. Comments Welcome.

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Cover picture Credits:
Photo Created with AI using Gencraft (after many tries)
Photo Composite by Peregrine