Twenty Weeks - 2

 

Dean, with the help of his classmates, Robin and Jade, explores more and more
of the nuisances of girlhood. Then there's the audition for the school musical and the
excursion to the movies (with boys!)...will it never end?

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Author's Note: Happy Chanukah, and Merry Christmas everyone! Thank you for all of your reviews! I hope you are all well and enjoying the holiday season!!! I am still managing slightly well due to things, but I will make it!
As always, please let me know what you think about this story, both good and bad?
And leave me a review on this story? I always read them! ~Clara.
 
This version of Twenty Weeks - 2 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
 
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.

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Part 2
 

She knew by the ringtone that it was her ex-husband calling. She'd been in bed with a load of financial reports, scouring them, looking at where the Board of Directors spent their money and needed a break anyway, so this was actually a welcomed intrusion.

"Hi, Frank," she said when she answered. "How are you doing?"

"Me?" He laughed. "I'm fine, but more to the point, how are you and Deano doing after your big move?"

She smiled. Amelia and Frank still had strong feelings for each other, but their marriage had been a series of miscommunication and hard feelings that ended in a fairly equitable divorce. They talked and text frequently, but seldom saw each other.

"We're ok. Dean's a little testy about his new school, but other than that, things are ok."

"It's not easy to be 'the new boy' at a school, Amelia. God knows I went through it a dozen times with my dad moving from one posting to another. The Navy was not kind about things like that, but I got used to it. You'll see, in a month he'll have made some friends and there will be boys calling and dropping by to see him. It's just a matter of time."

"I hope so," Dr Martin sighed - in fact, though, having 'boys' drop by was the last thing she wanted. She hadn't told Frank about Dean's required feminization to attend Greenwood and she was rather relieved that he'd never looked at the school's website, or that would have raised some red flags, too. "I think he has met some nice kids already, though. It's just the change that's got him riled up. He'll be ok in a few days, I'm sure."

"There you go," Frank laughed. "Do you want me to talk to him about moving and new schools? I'm the one with experience, you know."

"That's ok," she said, trying not to sound evasive, although she was pretty sure she could count the number of times Frank had talked to Dean in the past thirteen years on one hand, so she didn't think the question was really a sincere offer of help. "He'll be ok if we just let him acclimate to the situation. The less said the better, I think." She looked at her watch and realized it was only eight thirty. That meant it was only five thirty in California. Frank never stopped working until six or six thirty. "Where are you, Frank. It's too early for you to be calling from California."

He chuckled. "I'm in Charlotte, Amy."

"Where?"

He laughed at that. "Charlotte. It's the capital of St Thomas in the American Virgin Islands. My company is involved with a development company down here and I'm heading up a research project on the environmental impact of their proposed, new development."

"Sounds important," she complimented. "How's it going?"

He huffed a bit. "Not well. I'm afraid no one is going to like my report. It kind of sucks when being the good guy for the rest of the world makes you the bad guy for your company."

"I know," she empathized, "but at least you're in the Virgin Islands in January. That's a big perk of your job."

"Yeah, trying to protect their virginity," he laughed. "Hey, Amy," Amy was Frank's nickname for his ex-wife. No one else ever called her that. "It's late and I know you get up early, so I won't hold you. Give Dean my love, ok?"

"I will, Frank. Take care of yourself."

"You too, Amy. Talk to you soon. Bye."

"Bye." She hung up the phone and thought for a moment. In the previous thirteen years, Frank had seen Dean a grand total of one time. It wasn't because he didn't love Dean, he did, in his own way, he just... well, work had always been his priority and, to be blunt, he wasn't a good father. He wasn't a good husband, either. He was a great ex-husband and as an absentee father, he never forgot a birthday and acknowledged every significant event in Dean's life with a gift or a card. He would never understand why she'd asked so much of Dean, but... oh, to heck with it. What Frank didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
 

~^~
 

"Hey," Jade's voice said as it came out of Dean's phone at six fifteen the next morning. "What time does your mom leave for school?"

"In about ten minutes, why?"

"Great. Stay there. Robin's mom is dropping us off early. We'll be there in fifteen."

"Ok... but why?"

"We're sprucing up your look before school."

"My look?" Dean shook his head, a bit confused.

He could hear Robin laughing a bit further from the phone than Jade. "Don't worry, Dee," she laughed, "I won't let her go crazy."

"See you in a few!" Jade laughed and ended the call.

"Go crazy!?" Dean asked, but the connection was gone.

"Are you ready to go?" Dr Martin asked from the hallway.

"Ummm... I'll be there before school starts, mom. Jade and Robin want to meet me here before school."

"Oh?" His mother looked a bit suspicious. "Why?"

"I'm not sure," he shrugged. "They just want to meet me here for some reason."

Dr Martin considered that for a moment. "Ok, but... Deedee, when I heard you tell Robin that you loved her last night... well... I don't have anything to worry about, leaving you here alone with those girls, do I?"

Dean looked at his mother as if she was crazy. "What would you have to worry about, mom? They think I'm a girl."

"Do they?" She looked skeptical.

"What? You think I'd tell them that I'm a boy? Mom, I'd rather they'd think that I'm a girl than a sissy.'

The Chancellor nodded. "Ok... Let's keep it that way, ok? And you're not a sissy. You're just doing what needs to be done."

She buttoned her coat as she thought for another moment. "Deedee? Do you... I mean... have you ever had... feelings... for a girl? I mean... like, have you ever had a crush on a girl? Wanted to date a girl? Anything like that?"

Dean looked away from his mother's gaze and looked embarrassed. "Could we, maybe, talk about this later, mom?"

"Not if you want me to leave you here with two very pretty girls, Deedee. I need to know that you're not going to get up to anything."

He sighed and looked at her more directly. "Mom... I am not interested in either Robin or Jade as anything either than friends. I have never had 'that kind' of feeling for any girl. I like girls just fine, but I'm not interested in having sex with anyone - anyone at all. Is that good enough?"

Dr Martin nodded and touched Dean's shoulder. "Ok. I'm sorry if that was embarrassing, but your at an age..."

"Yeah, ok, mom," Dean interrupted her. "I get it, but... come on... I have given in to every single demand you have made of me so you could have this job. I gave up my life in San Diego. I gave up my friends. I gave up my name and I even gave up my gender for you. At some point, you have to back off and trust me. Alright?"

She smiled at him. "Ok, baby. I'm sorry. I'll see you after school."

Dean nodded and his mother grabbed her briefcase and headed for the door. Just as she opened it, Dean heard her say, "Hi, girls. Deedee's in the kitchen. Deedee, your girlfriends are here! Bye girls."

"Bye, Dr Martin," Dean could hear the girls say in unison and then they appeared in the kitchen.

"Good morning, sunshine," Jade giggled, carrying a small, tote bag.

"Hey," Robin said, but then she noticed that her new friend seemed upset. "What's wrong? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Dean said, taking a breath in order to calm down. "My mom and I were just having a tough morning."

"Well, forget about that," Jade said, laying a number of cosmetic products and tools on the counter. "My mom and I fight at least three times a week. Now, sit on one of those tall stools and let me do your makeup."

"Makeup?" Dean half laughed as he sat. "I'll let you try, but if I don't like it..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jade scoffed. "Let me get it done before you tell me you hate it. Ok? Because you're not going to hate it - you're gonna love it."

"You will," Robin said, supportively. "Jade is really good at makeup." She grabbed a large, flat brush. "I'm going to do your hair while she does your makeup."

"What's wrong with my hair?" Dean actually kind of liked the way his hair looked with just a little bit of wavy curl to it after sleeping with it in braids. When he was living as a boy, he used to just throw his hair in a pony tail at night and give it a quick brushing in the morning.

"There's nothing wrong with your hair, Dee. I just want to dress it up a little."

As Jade went to work, she asked, "So... did you ask your mom about the movies Friday?"

"I did," he sighed. "She says it's my decision."

"Great!" Robin said. "So, we're leaving at five, now, instead of five thirty. The movie is at six and then we'll get something to eat after the movie. Probably just share some appetizers at Unos or something like that."

"Or get ice cream," Robin said. "I prefer ice cream to greasy appetizers."

"Well," Dean said, quietly, "I haven't really decided, yet."

"Why!?" Jade said, still concentrating on her work.

"Is it because of the boys?" Robin asked.

Dean shrugged. "Yeah... I guess. I'm just a little... I don't know... I've just never, you know... been with boys under those circumstances before."

"They're my cousin and his friends, Dee. Not a biker gang," Robin laughed.

"I know you never had a boyfriend before," Jade said, still focused, "but didn't you have guys who were your friends before? Just guys that you hung out with?"

"Well, yeah, of course I did," Dean shrugged, "but... I've changed since then and..."

"Oh, my God!" Jade laughed, stepping back just a little. "Do you think you're so hot that the boys won't be able to control themselves?"

"What!? Of course not!" Dean protested. "I'm just... God, this is the second uncomfortable conversation I've had this morning and it's not even seven in the morning, yet."

Robin put the brush on the counter and grabbed something else. "Ok, look, Dee... The boys are great. They won't be creepy at all. They are a necessity, though because our moms wouldn't let us go without them. Think of them as our security detail. Like the President has the Secret Service, we have Willie and his friends." She started pulling on Dean's hair and doing something odd behind his head.

"What are you doing, now?" Dean asked.

"I'm getting your hair off of your face with a hair band. You hide behind it too much. This will put an end to that."

Before Dean could reply, Jade said, "Look up," and approached his eye with some sort of odd tool.

"What's that?"

"It's an eyelash curler. Now, look up so I can curl your eye lashes."

Curl his eyelashes? Was this really a thing? Girls actually thought about something so minuscule as curling their eyelashes.

"Ok, keep looking up while I put on the mascara," Jade instructed, working quickly.

"Do you wear all of this stuff everyday?"

"Everyday," both girls said together.

"So, you'll come to the movies with us, right?" Robin asked, coming around to see her work from the front. "Ooh... you look nice."

"She looks better than nice," Jade said, nudging her friend.

"That's true," Robin conceded. "You look awesome, Dee."

"Can I see?" He asked.

"Just a one moment," Jade said. "Pucker up, buttercup."

Dean did pucker up and he felt the now familiar feeling of lipstick being smeared across his lips.

"Done," Jade said.

"With minutes to spare," Robin smiled. "Let's go."

"Wait. Let me see it first," Dean said, hopping down from the stool and hurrying to the downstairs lavatory.

"Whoa," he muttered as he looked into the mirror. Now, just a few weeks earlier, when he saw himself in a dress with his hair colored and styled, little faux-pearl stud earrings and slender eyebrows, he'd been taken aback by how much like a girl he looked, but now...

This was a new level of looking like a girl.

His skin looked smooth, his cheeks rosy, his lips a much brighter, cherry red than before and his eyes... his eyes were HUGE compare to usual. He didn't look anything like Dean. This was one hundred percent Deanne. Deanne through and through.

Then there was his hair. It was nicely brushed, held back with a white headband that had a rather large bow on it and that bow sat proudly and girlishly on the top of his head.

"Whoa," he muttered again.

"That's a good 'whoa,' right?" Jade asked. "I mean, you like it, right?"

"I... I..." he couldn't find words to describe how he felt. It was like his life had changed entirely. That was not a boy in a dress looking back at him. That was not a tomboy in a girl's school uniform. That was a girl - a pretty girl - a prissy girl, and she looked adorable. Not just pretty, certainly not sexy, just... adorable.

"She loves it!" Robin said, happily and gave Jade a high-five. "Come on. We've got seven minutes to get to class."

"Wait, wait, wait," Dean said as Robin passed him his coat. "This bow in my hair. Doesn't it look a little... young?"

Robin and Jade looked at each other and shrugged.

"I wore that headband to school last week," Robin said, "but if you don't like it..."

"No... it's not that I don't like it." In fact, he kind of loved it. "I just... it doesn't make me look too much like a little girl, does it."

Jade laughed, "Deedee, the whole point of all of this is so you DON'T look like a little girl. I mean, you're what... five feet tall and ninety pounds? You need to perk up your look to blend in a little better."

"I'm five foot two and weigh one hundred and nine pounds," Dean said, defensively.

"Ok," Jade smiled, "and with that bow in your hair, your two inches taller. It helps."

That actually made some sense. "Ok. Let's go."

They made it to Civics with a few minutes to spare. It went well and so did Algebra, but Dean was a little shocked by the compliments that other students paid him in the hallway. "You look nice, today, Deedee." "I like what you did to your eyes." "That bow is so cute on you, Deanne." Etc. The girls seemed to gush over each other all the time, but Dean just found it odd to be receiving so many compliments. It certainly had never happened before.

When he arrived at his office duty assignment, the older secretary, who had yet to offer Dean her name, spoke without looking up.

"Straight into the Chancellor's Office with you, young lady," she grunted in a voice gruff from, what Dean assumed was, years of cigarette smoking.

"Oh," Dean said apprehensively.

"That's what your mom told me. She wants to see you the moment you get here."

"Ok." Dean could hear a funeral march playing in his head as headed towards his mother's office. He wasn't sure what he'd done wrong, now, but the last twelve hours or so had been rough, so this couldn't be good.

"Come on in," his mother said when he knocked, "and close the door." He sat in one on the chairs in front of her desk and waited until she finished typing something into her computer. She was still focusing on her screen as she hit 'send' and started speaking. "Deedee, I wanted to say that I'm sorry if I put too much pressure on you last night, but..." she finally saw Dean for the first time. "Oh, my..." she said as her serious face turned to a smile. "This is a surprise."

Dean heaved a sigh. "I know. This is why Jade and Robin wanted to me meet them this morning. It's a little much, isn't it?"

"No, honey, it's not. You actually look lovely. I mean that. They did a lovely job on your makeup and I kinda love the bow in your hair." She stood and walked to the front of her desk and looked more closely. "They made your eyes look just lovely, too. Honestly, I am so impressed. Do you like it?"

He shrugged. "I was a little surprised when I saw myself, but all the other girls have been really complimentary, so... yeah... I guess I like it."

Dr Martin smiled when her son said, 'All the other girls...' She was glad that he was accepting his situation. She took his face in her hands and smiled down at him. "I'm glad you like it, baby. You look just lovely."

She kissed his forehead and returned to her desk chair. "Deedee," she said, returning to her more business like demeanor, "I want to apologize for pushing you as hard as I've been pushing you. I know this hasn't been easy for you and sometimes I get too hyper focused on doing my job well, so... I guess I just push you a bit too hard... although, it seems like you may have been pushed further by your friends than I ever pushed you."

"They think they're helping me, mom. They just want me to fit in."

She nodded. "I know, but... Deedee... I want to make you an offer. Should you decide to go out with your friends on Friday... and I will not force you to go... but should you decide to go, then I will give you fifty dollars to enjoy the evening with your friends. Ok? That's all I wanted to say."

Dean nodded. "Mom... thank you for the apology. That really means a lot, and I'm going to try to relax a bit more and try to fit in as best I can until the end of the year."

Dr Martin nodded.

"As for Friday," he took a deep breath and looked around the room, "I guess I'll be going to the movie. I don't think that Jade and Robin are going to let me off the hook, anyway."

His mother smiled. "I think that's a good decision, Deedee. I think you'll have a great time and I think that once you've been out with kids your age dressed this way, you'll be able to enjoy yourself more frequently."

Dean nodded. "I guess."

"Ok," the Chancellor nodded. "There are a couple of hundred newsletters that need to be collated and stapled on the counter out there, so why don't you go out there and get to work. We'll talk some more at home."

He stood and started to leave.

"You should ask the girls what they're wearing Friday," Dr Martin said. "You don't have a lot of clothing choices, yet. Maybe they'll have a suggestion."

"Ok."
 

~^~
 

"That's all for today," Ms Highland said. "Last reminder: Tomorrow is audition day. Come prepared. Bye girls."

Dean grabbed his things and joined the class as they exited the theater/classroom.

"You never gave us a solid answer this morning," Jade said.

"Yeah, you ARE coming to the movie, right?" Robin asked.

Dean smiled, having made his decision already. "Yes, I'd love to go with you. Thanks for inviting me."

"Excellent!" Robin said.

"Oh..." Dean said, remembering what his mother had said, "... what are you guys wearing to the movie?"

"Nothing fancy," Robin said.

"Jeans and a sweat shirt, I guess," Jade offered.

"Oh..." Dean said, and the girls could tell by his tone that he had concerns.

"What's the matter?" Jade asked.

"Well... nothing... but..." he breathed a sigh. "It's just that I don't have any jeans... or... any pants, actually."

There was a moment of shocked silence until Jade said in a very concerned tone, "You don't own ANY pants?"

How could he tell them that anything resembling male clothing was put into storage back in San Diego so that he had no choice but to wear skirts and dresses?

"I did," he finally said, "but... they haven't arrived yet. Not everything from our place in San Diego has gotten here, yet."

That seemed to be a satisfactory answer for the girls.

"Alright," Robin said. "We'll wear skirts, then. No biggie."

"Yeah," Jade smiled. "It'll be fun to get a little dressed up."

"Ok," Dean said, smiling, knowing they were working hard to make him feel comfortable.

XXX

"Good morning, Dr Martin," the girls said in unison as they arrived at the Chancellor's house even earlier on Thursday morning.

"Morning, girls," Dean's mother replied, heading back into the kitchen with both girls behind her. "Here to do Deedee's makeup again?"

"Yep," Jade said with a smile. "Did you like how she looked yesterday?"

"I did, Jade. You did a wonderful job. When I first saw her, I couldn't believe that was my little girl. She looked so grown-up. And I LOVED the bow in her hair. If I'd suggested that, she would have said 'no' right off the bat."

"The bow was Robin's touch," Jade explained.

"I'm glad you liked it, Dr Martin," Robin smiled. "Leave her to us and she'll be a fashion-plate in no time."

"That's wonderful," the Chancellor chuckled. She liked these girls and she was glad that her son had such two wonderful tutors. She called up the stairs, "Deedee! Your friends are here!"

"Coming," Dean said as he hustled down the stairs, his uniform skirt billowing as he jumped the last few steps to the first floor.

"Very ladylike," his mother said, still chuckling. "Your hair and makeup team are up and ready to go before you are. That hardly seems fair."

"Trust us, Dr M," Jade said, pulling out her makeup accoutrements, "in a week or two, Dee will be as good at this as we are."

"Well, won't that be wonderful," Dr Martin said half-teasing her son.

He didn't seem to notice it was a tease, though and just nodded.

"Alright, ladies. I will see you at the school," Dean's mother said. She then planted a big kiss on Dean's cheek and made a loud 'mwah' sound. "Be a good girl, Deedee." Then she left.

The girls went to work on Dean just as they had the day before, but this time he was able to relax and enjoy the experience. After all, yesterday his new look had been very well received by his classmates.

"Are you ready for auditions?" Robin asked.

"I guess," Dean shrugged.

"What are you singing?" Jade asked.

Dean shrugged. "Whatever Mrs Tracy teaches us from the show, I guess. Ms Highland said it was fine if we did that."

"I'm so excited to be doing 'Chicago,'" Jade said, focusing on her work on Dean's face. "Last year we did Oklahoma. It was fun, but the music is so old fashioned and the story so... blah."

"Agreed," Robin said as she slipped a new Headband into Dean's hair. "But at least you got to be Ado Annie last year. I was just a member of the chorus. I like this show, though. Murder... sex... and lots of parts for girls. I'm psyched!"

"Look up," Jade said, again, as she got to Dean's eyes. He knew what to do this time, though, so he relaxed as his eyelashes were curled, then thickened with mascara. "I only got to be Ado Annie because the first girl they cast moved away."

"You still had a part," Robin said. "You were the only freshman girl to get a part. I was jealous."

The school day went by quickly, but there was a palpable excitement amongst the student body as the hour of auditions approached. The Greenwood Academy had excellent sports programs, but it was renown for its plays and musicals. Because of the remote location of the town of Greenwood, the performances were very well attended. The community loved coming to the academy's state of the art theater and enjoying an evening of entertainment. Ms Highland put on several plays each year and one, huge musical. All of them were well attended and big money makers for the school.

As the end of day bell rang, Jade grabbed Dean by the hand and said, "Come on. We've only got a few minutes."

Before he knew what was happening, Dean was running on his tip toes to keep up with Jade, and Robin was right behind him. "Where are we going? I thought auditions were in here."

"We're going to the lav to freshen our makeup," Jade said, as if Dean's question was absurd. "We have to get there before the other girls or it'll be mobbed."

They exploded into the ladies room just outside of the theater where several girls were already at the counters touching up their own makeup.

Jade laid claim to an area at the far end and pulled out her makeup tools in a rush. "Here. Get started on your lips," she instructed, handing Dean a tube of lipstick. "Your eyes look good. I'll just touch up your checks after I've done my own."

Robin had already begun touching up her own look. "I'm pulling my hair back so it doesn't get in my way. Dee, are ok with your hair as it is?"

"I guess," Dean said.

"Can you tie mine up in bun for me?" Jade asked, finishing her own makeup and turning to inspect Dean's face.

"Sure." Robin went to work on Jade's hair.

The girls were working fast and the ladies room was filling up with other girls who wanted to use the mirrors for the same reason.

Suddenly, the doors opened and a half dozen older girls entered the room. "Alright, GIRLS," one of them said in a commanding voice, "make room for THE WOMEN."

There was a definite groan from the group assembled, but the crowd of girls did part and the newcomers sauntered to the center of the counter.

"Ignore them," Jade whispered. "That's Donna Linkletter and her friends. They're rich and nasty."

Dean glanced at the new girls. "Aren't you all rich?" He asked. "I mean, I thought the school was expensive."

"Robin's family is well-to-do and I'm here on a scholarship. Donna's family is really rich. Like millions and millions rich. She's the most popular girl in the school and the meanest, too."

"She makes Regina George look like Mother Theresa," Robin whispered.

"And her friends make The Plastics look like social workers," Jade agreed.

'Oh," Dean said, having no idea what his friends were talking about.

"Oh, look!" Donna Linkletter said in a loud, self-important way. "It's Ado Annie and her best friend - Chorus Girl number seventy three."

"Shit," Jade muttered. Then in a louder voice, she said, "Hi, Donna. Break a leg today."

The older girl rolled her eyes. "Oh, I will. Tell me, why are you trying out? This isn't the kind of show that requires comic relief in the form of a poor, trampy girl who sleeps around."

"Hey!" Dean said, turning to the older girl.

"Oh, look," Donna smiled, "someone brought a sixth grader with them. How cute."

Dean could tolerate a lot, but he hated being treated as if he was younger than he really was and the idea of this bitch treating his new friend badly REALLY got up his nose.

Jade could feel him tensing up and whispered, "Ignore her."

"I'd be careful if I were you, Donna," Robin said.

"Oh would you?" Donna said with a sardonic laugh. She was about to say more, but one of her crew whispered something into her ear. "Oh... so THIS is the new Chancellor's daughter, huh? Well, listen, honey... this school is only open because my family supports it. So, in a way, your mommy works for me. So, don't you ever get uppity with me. Got it?"

"We're done," Jade announced, suddenly. She grabbed her makeup, threw it into her bag and smiled at Donna Linkletter as she pulled Dean towards the door. "Best of luck, Donna. I hope you do well," she said as she leaned against the exit door, pushing it open.

"Oh, I'm sure I will," Donna smirked.

Once in the hallway, Dean looked at his friend and said, "Why do you let her talk to you like that?"

"She's just being the spoilt brat that she is, Deedee," Jade replied. "I can't change that and I don't want to deal with her today. Besides, she's a senior. In a few months she'll be out of my life forever. So... what's the point? "

"Forget about her," Robin said. "Let's go sign in to the audition."

They did just that, then filled in the audition forms and returned them to the students who were helping Ms Highland and Mrs Tracy, the music teacher, organize everything. Soon, once everyone had checked in, they split the entire group into two smaller groups. One group went off with the choreographer to learn a short dance sequence while the rest stayed to do their singing auditions.

Mrs Tracy took over. "Look at your audition materials, girls. We're going to learn that section of 'All That Jazz.' If you want to sing something different, that's fine, too, but let's all learn this, anyway. Here we go."

For the next ten minutes, Mrs Tracy played the same part over and over again until everyone was comfortable - well, as comfortable as they were going to be - with the song section.

"Alright," Ms Highland announced, "now we're going to start the singing auditions. We'll go alphabetically. June Anderson, you're up."

The first girl did a fine job and the teachers continued to work their way through the list. Jade was the first of Dean's group of friends to sing and she sang with power and confidence that shocked Dean. He had no idea she was so talented. No wonder she got a role in last year's musical, even though she was only a freshman at the time.

Not long after Jade came Donna Linkletter who decided to sing a song from a different show. "My vocal coach recommends that I sing 'Maybe This Time' from 'Cabaret' instead of something from 'Chicago.'" She announced in a rather snotty manner as she gave the sheet music to Ms Tracy.

Dean was rather disappointed to hear Donna Linkletter sing because she was actually very good. He would have preferred that she had been terrible.

Robin was called up a few people after Donna Linkletter and Dean was once again shocked to hear her sing. She was really, really good. Maybe not as good as Jade, but very, very good.

Finally, it was Dean's turn. Now, he had sung in some plays in elementary and middle school, but it had been awhile. So, he was nervous. As he walked up to the piano to sing, he heard Donna Linkletter say, "Oh, look, the sixth grader is going to sing, too. Isn't that adorable," to her friends. They all laughed and that raised his ire substantially.

"Ready?" Ms Tracy asked, when Dean had turned and faced the rest of the girls.

He nodded.

Ms Tracy played the little introduction he'd heard her play for the twenty girls before him, and as the vocal section arrived, Dean glared at Donna Linkletter and let himself sing as well as he possibly could. "Oh, I'm no one's wife but
Oh I love my life
And all --------
That--------
Jazz--------"

When he was done, everyone applauded for him, as they had done for everyone, but he felt very satisfied when he glanced at Donna Linkletter and she looked irritated that he had done so well.

"Alright, girls," Ms Highland said when all the girls in the first group were done, "you all head to the main stage where Ms Evelyn, our choreographer, will teach you a sequence. Then, we'll let you all know who we need to stay to read."

They all headed in the direction of the bigger theater as the kids in the second group were headed in the opposite direction.

"Hey, Robbie," a male voice called.

"Oh, hey!" Robin said as she hugged the boy who was speaking. "When did you get here?"

"About a half hour ago," the boy said. "There's eight of us here to audition."

"Cool!" Robin said. "Hey, come meet my new friend. Dee, come here."

Dean walked over to where the boy and Robin were standing and said, "Hi," but he felt very odd doing it. The boy was handsome. Really handsome. And he had his arm around Robin. Was he her boyfriend? Dean hopped not, but he wasn't sure why he felt that way. Was he jealous that his friend was paying attention to this boy instead of him, or was he jealous because he wanted the boy to be paying attention to him instead of Robin?

"Dee, this is my cousin, Willie," Robin said. "Willie, this is Dee. She's coming to the movies with us tomorrow."

"Oh, that's great!" Willie said, extending a hand to Dean. "Very nice to meet you, Dee."

"You too," Dean said, shaking Willie's hand and feeling an odd relief that Willie and Robin weren't a couple, but honestly not being able to fully understand that feeling.

"I better get in there and do my singing," Willie said. "I'll see you guys at the readings."

"Hopefully," Jade said. "There's a lot of girl's parts in the show, but there's like forty girls auditioning. There's only eight of you guys, so you'll all end up reading."

"Oh, you guys will read," Willie smiled. "Gotta run," and he disappeared into the smaller theater.

The dance audition was actually pretty easy. Dean hadn't really danced before, but the choreographer just gave them a series of simple moves to see how they did. Of course, they had filled out all of their training and experience on their audition forms, so Miss Ellen, the
choreographer, knew which of them had real dance training. As it turned out, both Robin and Jade had had a lot of dance training. Dean, of course, had not, but his gymnastic training had given him a lot of 'body awareness,' and he felt like he did ok.

"One last thing," Miss Ellen said. "Can anyone do a back-flip?"

Three girls raised their hands immediately, and then Dean did as well.

Each of the girls went first. Each had had a lot of dance training and prepped their back-flips by taking several well rehearsed, very stylized steps and then performed the flip.

When it was Dean's turn, he went to the center of the stage and said, "I... ummm... I was taught to do my backflip differently. I just do it from here, if that's ok."

"Sure," Miss Ellen said, writing a few notes about the previous girl.

"Ok," Dean shrugged. He stood still for a moment, just standing there in his school uniform with the heeled shoes. He bounced just a little a time or two before he suddenly squatted and then exploded upwards and into a perfectly executed back-flip, causing the girls to scream in support of his ability.

Even Miss Ellen seemed impressed and applauded. "Can you do that anytime you want?"

Dean nodded. "I think so."

"Do it once more for me," she said, smiling.

Dean took a moment, then squatted and quickly repeated the flip.

"Excellent," Miss Ellen said.

They were all sent back into the first theater and waited as Miss Highland, Miss Tracy and Miss Ellen all discussed a few things. Then Miss Highland turned and announced who she needed to stay to read as characters. She ran down the names of the people she wanted to stay. Of course, all the boys were asked to read, but she made it clear that she was only keeping fifteen or so girls to read. She went down the list alphabetically and she'd already called out fifteen names without calling Dean's. He was sure that he wasn't going to be asked to read and was preparing to wait outside when Miss Highland said, "And lastly, Deanne Martin."

Dean was shocked. Both Robin and Jade reached over and squeezed his hands in support.

The first group went up to read from the script. Both Jade and Robin were part of that group. Dean stayed in his seat and watched. It was nothing amazing, just kids reading and trying to act as best they could. Jade was actually doing a great job, at least Dean thought so.

"Hey," a voice said from behind Dean. "It's Deedee, right?"

Dean turned and saw Willie leaning over from the row behind him to talk. "Oh, yeah... and you're Willie, right?"

"Yeah," he smiled and that smile... Dean was captivated. God, he was handsome! "So, how did you end up starting here mid-year. I thought that all of the private academies around here had a strict policy against that."

"They do," Dean giggled. He giggled? Why? "but my mom is the new Chancellor here. They let me start mid-year because that's when she started, too."

"Ahh... I get it. So... where are you from?"

"San Diego." Why was Willie smiling so broadly and why was his smile so... wonderful?

"Wow! California, huh? That's a big move."

"Excuse me," Ms Highland called from the stage in a voice meant to get the attention of everyone. "William, if you wouldn't mind joining us on the stage..."

"Oh, sorry, Ms Highland," he said, a bit embarrassed about getting caught talking. Then he whispered to Dean, "I'll be back."

When he left, Dean realized that his heart was actually racing. Why? What was happening to him?

The auditions went on for another forty five minutes or so. Dean read for a couple of parts, including one part that seemed to be entirely in Hungarian. He thought he did ok sounding it all out, though.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," Ms Highland finally said, "I think we have tortured you enough for one day. The production team and I will consult and make our decisions over the weekend. The cast list will be posted on Monday by the end of the day. Thank you all! Bye bye."

Dean stood and grabbed his backpack and joined Robin and Jade as they walked to their lockers. Willie caught up with them halfway down the hall. "Hey... so... tomorrow. We'll meet you in the lobby before six, ok?"

"Sounds good," Robin said.

"Alright. See you then," he smiled that big smile and bent to kiss Robin's cheek, leaving Dean with that odd, jealous feeling once again. Then he waved at Jade and gave Dean a wink, causing a shiver to run down Dean's spine.

What the hell!?
 

~^~
 

"How did it go?" Dean's mother asked as he joined her in the kitchen. She had a half finished bowl of salad in front of her.

"Alright, I guys," he replied. "We'll find out if we are in the show on Monday."

"And did you feel like you did your best?"

He smiled and shrugged. "Yeah. I guess... I mean... I think I did."

"Excellent, then. That's all you can do. Well, that and trust that Ms Highland will use her best judgement when casting the show. Would you like some salad?"

He considered that for a moment, but shook his head. "Nah. I think I'll just have some Ramen."

His mother scowled. "How many times have you had Ramen this week?"

"I dunno... two or three."

"Deedee, that stuff is loaded with salt and has almost no protein. It's going to give you high blood pressure and you'll gain weight with all that salt and starch. Have some salad with me."

"Ok," Dean sighed, not being a huge fan of salad, but knowing that his mother was right about Ramen not being the healthiest meal choice.

Dr Martin got up and poured some of the spinach salad mix out of its bag and into a bowl. "Dressing?"

"Ranch, if we have any," he said. "Do we have any bacon bits?"

His mother grunted, but brought her son both the ranch dressing and the Bac-Os. "Use them sparingly, now. The dressing is high in fat and the bacon bits are just smokey flavored, salt covered soy bits. If you use a lot, then it'll be less healthy than the Ramen, and a girl needs to watch her weight."

Dean just rolled his eyes.

For the next half hour or so, they discussed the auditions and Dean told his mother about how well his friends did. He also mentioned how he'd taken an instant dislike to Donna Linkletter.

"Yeah, I met her parents. Charming people. They hold money over your head like The Sword of Damocles," The Chancellor said, shaking her head.

"What does that mean?"

"The Sword of Damocles? Well, it's a long story, but essentially it means... well... if you have The Sword of Damocles hanging over your head, it means something bad is about to happen."

Dean thought about that. "You don't mean they'd defund the school if Donna didn't get the part she wants, do you?"

"Who knows," she said, dismissively. "From what you said, though, Donna is fairly talented, right? So she'll probably get a good part."

"I guess."

As they nibbled on their salads, she asked, "Were there any boys there?"

Dean nodded. "I think there were eight or ten. Robin says that they'll all be cast in the show because they need boys."

"One of the many advantages of having a penis, I guess," his mother laughed.

"I have a penis and it's not doing me much good at the moment," Dean said, a little sarcastically.

His mother took that as the shot across the bow it was meant to be, but opted to not rise to the bait.

After a few moments of silence, Dean said, "I met Robin's cousin Willie. He's going to the movies with us tomorrow night."

"Oh," she said, glad that the conversation had renewed. "And what do you think of cousin Willie?"

"He's very nice," Dean said. Then he went quite for a few moments before he said, "He's very good looking."

"Oh?'

He nodded. "I mean... you know...it's kind of obvious that he plays sports and he's pretty tall. He's, like, one of those guys who is just kind of... perfect. You know?"

"I do." Then his mother asked, curious as to where this was going. "Did you talk to this boy?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "We talked quite a bit, actually. He was very friendly."

"So, you liked him?"

"Yeah, sure. I liked him, fine, I guess."

Ok, where was this heading? She hadn't 'turned her son gay' had she? No. Of course not. That was impossible. And besides... he'd only been in a girl's school for four days. No one is just suddenly gay because he hangs around with girls. If anything, being surrounded by girls all day would be exciting for a straight boy.

But was Dean a straight boy?

He certainly never showed any interest in girls as anything other than casual friends. He didn't even show any interest in the one female friend who showed an interest in him.

"Are you looking forward to seeing this... Willie... again tomorrow night?" She asked, cautiously.

Dean shrugged. "I guess. Oh! By the way, I did talk to the girls about what they were wearing to the movies and we're wearing skirts and tops."

"Ok," his mother nodded and set her empty bowl aside. "And do you have a skirt and top to wear? I mean, something that you like and will be comfortable wearing?"

"Well," Dean used a napkin to dab his lips as he chewed, "I was thinking of that longish, brown skirt you had me wear to get my hair done and go shopping that first day you dressed me up as a girl. Remember? But now... I'd like something a little more..."

"Flirty," he mother blurted out.

"What? No, mom! What are you talking about? I was thinking of something a little... younger. You know, so I'd fit in better."

"Of course," she smiled. "You know, there's a nice little boutique in the town. If you want, I could call it quits around three tomorrow and we could shoot down there and find you something you'd like. What do you think."

"I'd like that," he smiled.

That was a huge change from just a few weeks earlier when he refused to get out of the car at the salon where she'd had his hair colored and styled. There was more to this than just getting comfortable in his new persona.

Interesting.

Concerning... but interesting.

That night, as Dean crawled into bed, his golden blonde hair in two, tight braids and his body wrapped in the mostly gray, soft rayon, three quarter sleeve nightshirt (his mother's term for the nightie) that buttoned all the way up the front and had a little lace to decorate the breast pocket, which emphasized the shape of the bra his mother insisted he wear at all times, and a little more lace to decorate the bottom hem that came to just above his knees, he had an urge to do something he'd not done for weeks.

Tentatively, he raised the hem of the nightshirt until he could touch himself through the soft material of his panties. Then he began massaging himself through that material.

It wasn't working.

So, he thought of a girl from a TV show he'd watched recently. Her apple-cheeks and cherry red lips. In his mind's eye, she was wearing a pink dress she'd worn on the show. The dress looked soft and flouncy and just by looking at it, he could imagine how soft if felt. How it would cling to his bra-ed chest and how it would feel against his legs. So soft and light and he'd look so pretty in that dress! Maybe he could find a dress like that tomorrow when he...

Wait!

What was happening!?

Concentrate, Dean.

The girl from the show... She was so cute. Her eyes just popped when she looked into the camera and her hair! Her hair was so pretty and blonde. She was young and just starting to blossom into being a woman and when she smiled...

Smiled...

Smiled...

Yes, she had a beautiful smile, but not as beautiful as Willie's. Willie's smile was kind and strong and kind of manly, and when he smiled at Dean, it was as if the whole world faded around that smile. As if nothing else in the world...

"Wha...!?!?"

"Oh, God!" He muttered as he released his load into his panties. "Shit," he whispered to himself as he got out of bed carefully and removed the soiled garment. He used the clean part of the panties to wipe himself up down there, then hurried to his lavatory down the hall (his mother had her own lavatory off her bedroom) and used a damp wash cloth to clean himself some more. He dropped the panties into the hamper, making a mental note to throw some clothes into the washing machine in the morning, and hurried back to his room. He pulled on a clean pair of panties and climbed back into bed where he fell asleep and dreamed dreams that would confuse him in the morning.
 

~^~
 

Dean was a good student.

He was a conscientious student.

He was an achieving student.

He never did badly in school.

He always wanted to impress his teachers, make his mother proud and make himself proud, too.

Then why was he having so much trouble that morning? Why couldn't he concentrate? All he could think about was going to the movies that night. About being out with the girls and, well, of course the boys would be there, too, but, more importantly, all he could think about was what kind of a skirt would he buy to impress everyone with how nice he would look? What kind of top? What kind of shoes?

He'd never been this excited about going out ever before and he could not concentrate on his school work at all.

"Miss Martin?" The voice was familiar, but it seemed distant.

"Miss Martin?" It intruded louder into his consciousness.

"MISS MARTIN!" The voice was suddenly startlingly loud and roused Dean from his day dreaming.

Dean blinked himself back to reality and looked into the face of his Algebra teacher, who did not look happy. "Yes, Mrs Kelleher?" He asked.

"Nice of you to join us on planet Earth, Miss Martin," the teacher snapped and a some of the girls giggled at that. "Now, if you don't mind, would you please go to the computer on the projection table and solve problem twenty three for us."

"Yes, Mrs Kelleher," he said as contritely as possible and he rose and went to the projector table where a computer was hooked up to display the work on the computer onto the white board mounted on the wall in the front of the room. He stared at the screen for a few moments, organizing his thoughts, until at last the shapes and letters suddenly made sense to him.

He began to type in the numbers and equations required to solve the problem, and then, slowly but surely, he arrived at his answer which he typed into the final box.

"Interesting," Mrs Kelleher said as she looked at the answer.

"It's correct, isn't it?" Dean asked. He was pretty adept at Algebra and he was fairly sure he'd answered correctly.

"It is, but you went about solving the problem in an odd way. There are procedures that we follow, Deanne, but you went out of sequence, yet solved the problem anyway - and you shouldn't have been able to do that. I find that... interesting."

Just then, the bell rang. "Alright, girls, you're dismissed. Deanne, stay here for a moment."

Dean was actually frightened as he waited for the classroom to empty. He'd never been in any trouble at school before and Mrs Kelleher looked a little ticked off.

When the room was empty, the teacher looked at Dean and said, "I'm going to ask you point blank, Deanne: Did someone give you that answer?"

"No, Mrs Kelleher. I figured it out myself. Honest."

She nodded but seemed unconvinced. "Walk me through your process."

"Ok." Dean began at the first angle he'd figured out and went from there, slowly explaining how he'd figured out the problem.

When he was done the teacher shook her head. "Alright, that worked, but what's going on with you today, Deanne? I mean, I haven't known you all that long, but all week you've been on top of everything. Today, you're a space cadet of the highest order. You're not paying attention to anything and, even though you got the correct answer, your order of procedures on this problem was a disaster. Where is your head?"

Dean sighed and shrugged. "I don't know, Mrs Kelleher. I just feel kind of... out of it, I guess."

The teacher nodded. "Is this your first time in an all girls environment?"

"Yes."

"It could be hormonal, then. Sometimes new girls have to adjust to all the hormones flying around this place. I swear all of you girls eventually get on the same cycle. Every twenty-eight days is a rollercoaster ride at Greenwood Academy."

She laughed, but Dean just looked confused. "Our cycles?"

"Yes, Deanne, your cycles," the woman laughed, but when she realized that Dean wasn't understanding her, she explained. "You know... your 'cycle.' Your menstrual cycle. Your period, dear, your period."

"Oh!" Dean finally understood - well he understood what she was saying, but not really understanding exactly how a woman was impacted by her period or why the teacher leapt to that conclusion. "No, I'm pretty sure that's not it, Mrs Kelleher." He smiled.

"Well, whatever it is, come back as Smart-Deanne on Monday, ok? This glazed over girl I saw today isn't someone I want in my class."

"Yes, Mrs Kelleher. I'm sorry."

The rest of the day didn't go a lot better. His mind was constantly elsewhere. What he'd like to wear. What he'd be doing with the girls. Would Willie sit near him? Would Willie be dressed up, too? These were the thoughts that ran through his head instead of Civics, Algebra, Literature or anything else.

"We'll be back to pick you up in two hours," Jade said as they all grabbed their coats from their lockers.

"Ok," Dean beamed, happy to be getting closer to the evening's events.

"And it's skirts and tops, right?" Robin asked.

Dean nodded and Jade said, "I need to get a new skirt, actually. My mom is taking me to Ella's on the way. Dee, can I change at your house if I have to?"

"Yeah, sure," Dean said. "Is Ella's the boutique in town?"

"Yep."

"My mom is taking me there, too. Maybe I'll see you." Dean said.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Robin said. "If you guys are going shopping, I'm going too. What time?"

"Around three fifteen or three thirty, maybe," Jade shrugged. "I gotta get out to my mom's car. I'll call you guys. Love you."

"Love you, too!" Both Robin and Dean replied.

"I gotta run, too," Robin said, closing her locker door and spinning the lock. "See ya in a bit. Love ya!"

"Love ya, too," Dean smiled and waved, then walked to the office to see when he mom might be ready and see if his mom was willing to meet up with Robin's and Jade's moms.

"Well, hi, sweetheart," his mother smiled from her desk chair. She pulled her glasses off and let them hang from a strap around her neck. As Dean closed the door behind him, she said, "So, one week down and nineteen to go! Not so bad, right?"

"I guess not," Dean admitted. "I have a favor to ask, though."

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well, Jade mentioned that she was going to that boutique in town to get a new skirt and I said I was going too, so Robin said she wanted to go as well, so... long story short... can we go at the same time they go?"

"Ok, well let me start by saying that you certainly did not make that long story short, but, yes, you can go skirt shopping with your girlfriends."

Dean blushed a bit, but felt it necessary to defend himself a bit. "Yeah, that's hilarious, mom."

"I'm not being funny, Deedee. I'm serious. I loved going clothes shopping with my friends when I was a girl. Now that you're a girl, too, it makes sense that you'd enjoy it just as much as I did."

He had no response to that. He kind of was a girl, now.

"To tell it the truth," Dr Martin said, grabbing a few files and putting them into her attaché case, "I'm glad they're coming. I think I picked some overly conservative clothes for you when I went shopping for you. It'll be nice to have the other girls there to give their opinions."

Dean nodded, trying not to show too much excitement.

"And it'll be more fun for you, too, to have your friends there," his mother said.

Deans phone rang. "It's Jade," he told his mother. "Hi," he said into the phone. Then he listened for a few moments and said. "Ok. Sounds great. See you in a few. Love you, too." He disconnected the call and said to his mother, "Can we go now? The girls will be there in ten or fifteen minutes."

"Sure," Dr Martin smiled and grabbed her attaché case and coat, then headed out the door with Dean in tow. She spoke to at least a half dozen people on the way out, which made Dean even more anxious to get out of the building.

Finally they were in the car and headed into town. This was actually the first time Dean had gotten a good look at his new environment. They'd arrived in the evening of the previous Saturday and it was already dark. Sunday was unpacking and the reception for his mother and then he'd been in school all week.

"There are a lot more trees around here than we had in San Diego." He said in passing.

"There are," his mother agreed. "I love the ocean, but I could get used to this part of the country, too. The trees, the hills, mountains off in the distance... it's kind of like living in a postcard. You know I went to college in Massachusetts, right? Not around here, but in Massachusetts."

"Yeah, it's nice here, but I don't love the cold."

"But it's not cold all year. Besides, you have more friends after a week here than you had in fifteen years in California. That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"It is," Dean admitted, "but come June, I'll lose them when I become Dean again."

"Maybe Dean could be their friend, too."

"No," he said sadly. "Not like Deanne is friends with them. It'd be too different."

His mother reached over and squeezed his hand. "I know I put you in a tough position, sweetheart, but it'll be ok. I promise. You're a stronger boy than you think."

"I don't feel like a boy at the moment, mom." His mother took that to mean that his clothing made him feel like a girl, but what Dean really meant was that he no longer felt like a boy at all. He was starting to feel much more like a girl than he ever expected he would, and feeling like a girl was starting to feel a lot more natural than feeling like a boy ever did.

They arrived in town and his mother drove to a parking area behind a few of the Main Street stores. As they got out of the car, both Robin and Jade appeared with their mothers. Both of their mothers had been at the reception on Sunday, so they both greeted Dr Martin warmly and the older women chatted as Dean and the girls hurried into the boutique.

Now, here's the thing: Dean always hated clothes shopping. Being five foot two inches tall and very slight meant shopping in the boys' department which always meant that he was shopping in the midst of boys who much younger than he was and that his clothes looked like little boys clothes. He hated that.

One thing he'd noticed about wearing the uniform was that he looked, more or less, the same as the all the other girls, which took a little getting used to, but meant that he didn't stand out as 'the little guy' any more. Yes, he was smaller than most of the other students in his grade, but not by much and his clothes didn't mark him as different any more.

So, as he approached the door to the boutique, some of his exuberance about being with his friends vanished as his old worries about shopping hit him.

But he needn't have worried.

From the moment they entered, Robin and Jade were pointing out items of clothing that would look great on each of them.

"Ooh, that's a cute skirt. It'd look adorable on you, Dee." "Jade, this top would go great with that grey skirt you have." Oh, look at this, Robin! The color of this dress would go awesome with your red hair!"

Their enthusiasm was contagious, too, and pretty soon Dean was grabbing items of clothing, displaying them to his friends and offering his own opinions and, strangely... they took him seriously! They agreed with him or offered their own critiques, but his opinions mattered! In a clothing store! He couldn't wait to show his mother what he'd chosen.

Soon, Dean was in a changing room trying on one cute outfit after another. After each outfit was on his body, he would hustle out to see himself in the mirror and hear the critiques of his friends and all three mothers.

"Only three outfits, Deedee," his mother said as he tried on his last ensemble. "Pick the three you like the most and I'll get those for you. I really liked the jean skirt with the hooded top, myself, but you choose what you want."

He actually liked that jean skirt outfit quite a bit, too, and both Robin and Jade had said he should wear that outfit to the movies. So, he picked that outfit as well as dark blue shirt with bright white flowers printed on it that went with a two piece top consisting of a pink, tank top type shirt that was paired with a button up sweater of the same color, and a rather short, tartan plaid, pleated skirt that had a long sleeved, faux-silk blouse that hung loosely about his upper body.

The mothers paid for the clothes and the boutique owner gave Dean and the girls permission to change into their new outfits in the changing rooms. This way, Jade's mother could drive them all to the movie theater from the boutique.

Dean said goodbye to his mother, who demanded a kiss before he left. Normally, Dean would have just rolled his eyes and left his mother hanging, but Robin kissed her mother goodbye, so it seemed to be the expected thing to do. He gave her a peck on the cheek and received the same in return.

They listened to music in the car, something that Dean seldom did since his mother favored NPR talk shows, and Jade freshened up everyone's makeup. They were at the theater before he knew it. They waved goodbye to Jade's mother, went inside, bought their tickets and played a few arcade games before the boys arrived.

"Holy smokes," Jade laughed as they watched Dean win level after level on a game that he knew well. "Girl, you are on fire! I've never seen anyone wipe out a game like this!"

Dean laughed. "All I did where I lived before was play video games. I'm pretty good at them, I guess."

"I guess," Robin laughed, also impressed. Then she looked over her shoulder and said, "Oh, look... the boys are here!" That caused Dean to look over his shoulder, which was all it took for the bad guy in the video game to kill his avatar, making the game play sad music to indicate that the player had lost the game.

"Shoot!" Dean scolded himself. He'd really wanted to impress Willie with a high score.

"No biggy," Robin chirped, happily, not understanding the connection between human and technology that a true gamer felt when playing a game.

The boys bought their tickets and came into the lobby where the arcade was located.

"Hi, guys," Willie said, leading the pack of young men across the lobby. "All set for a night of international intrigue and sexual encounters?" He asked, smiling.

"We are!" Jade answered, happily.

"Whoa! Why are you three so dressed up?" Willie asked, looking at all three of the girls.

"We got all dolled up for you guys," Robin teased as her cousin hugged her and kissed her cheek. "What do you think guys?"

There were four boys in total and they all offered some sort of complimentary remark.

"Let's get some snacks and go in," Willie suggested as the lobby was starting to get busy. They all headed for the line, but it was already getting long.

"You know what?" Willie said, being pragmatic. "We're going to be in line out here for a while. Girls, why don't you three go into the theater and save us some seats. See if you can get that row by the walkway that has a low wall in front of it that we can use that as a table. I'll get you what you need. What do you guys want?"

Robin took the lead. "You guys want anything other than popcorn and a drink?"

Dean and Jade said that was fine.

"Get one large bucket of popcorn and we'll share it, and three Cokes," Robin confirmed.

She opened her pocketbook to get some money, as did Dean and Jade, but Willie said, "That's ok. I'll pay for it."

"Oh," Robin shrugged. "Ok. We'll pay you back after the movie then."

"No need," Willie smiled. "I have a job now, remember. I can afford it."

"Ooh..." Robin teased. "Look at the big shot! We'll see you inside.

The row that Willie preferred was available so they sat there and held the seats, waiting on the boys.

Then Robin's phone vibrated. She looked at it and said, "Oh, Willie needs me to carry some stuff. I'll be be right back.

The other three boys arrived, not carrying much, and stepped over Jade and Dean to get into their seats.

"Why don't you move to the end," Jade suggested. "There are seven seats in the row, so if the three of us sit at the end, Willie can sit between us and the boys."

"Ok," Dean agreed and moved to the first seat in the row, next to the middle aisle with Jade sitting next to him.

Within a few minutes, Willie returned with a full tray of drinks and Robin carrying the popcorn. Willie stepped aside and let Robin step into the row first. She passed Dean and then said to Jade, "Move down a couple of sets. I'll sit in the middle and hold the popcorn."

"Alright," Jade said, a little surprised.

She got up to move one seat, but Robin said, "No, no... sit next to John."

Still thinking it was odd, she sat next to the closest boy. Robin sat next to her and looked back to Dean and said, "Come on. Move down to this seat." She tapped the seat between Dean and her. So Dean moved over one seat.

Willie stood in the walkway that divided the seating width-way across the theater, placing the tray of drinks on the low wall. He placed a cup in front of each girl and one in front of the empty chair. Then he took that end seat, next to Dean.

Dean turned and looked at Robin, his eyes wide with a 'how did this happen' look on his face, but Robin was looking at some trivia questions being projected onto the screen.

"So, what was that game of musical chairs all about?" Jade whispered to Robin.

Robin leaned towards Jade and whispered, "Willie wanted to sit beside Dee."

Jade's mouth dropped open. "Oh, my God!" She looked over at Dean, who was still looking in that direction and she mouthed the words 'OH, MY GOD! TALK TO HIM!'

Dean cleared his throat, looked at Willie and said, "Umm... thank you for the popcorn and drink. I'll pay you back, if you want."

"Nah, that's ok," Willie said, smiling. "Ummm... like I said in the lobby, you look really nice."

"Oh, well... thank you," Dean said. "You look very handsome, too." Ok, that felt weird... but good at the same time.

Willie chuckled at that. "I'm not dressed up, though. I'm in jeans and sweatshirt. You're all looking nice. You especially. I like you in civilian clothes."

"Civilian clothes?"

"As opposed to the Greenwood Academy uniform. No offense, but they're kind of... old fashioned, I guess."

"Don't you wear uniforms?"

"We have a dress code. Dress pants, dress shirt, tie and suit coat. Same thing at Saint Johns. We all look similar. You guys all look like clones." He laughed at that and smiled at Dean.

"No, we don't," Dean protested.

"Yep, you do, but... you stand out from the other clones."

Dean froze for a moment. Did Willie know he was a boy? "What do you mean?" His face screwed up a bit in a mask of concern and confusion.

"I mean... I noticed you as soon as I saw you in the hallway the other day, I thought, 'That girl is special and I want to get to know her.'"
 
 
To Be Continued...