There were only three boys in the locker room at the ballet studio. We used to be best friends all through middle school. Then we started to drift apart in high school. I know why I pulled back, and I regretted it, but I had no idea why my best friends had not only drifted away from me but also from each other. We had been such a close-knit group. Standing together against the world. Three “girly” boys.

Yes, we liked ballet. What people don’t understand is that male ballet is NOT girly at all. Admittedly our lack of excess upper body muscles didn’t help. Neither did the fact that I refused to cut my beautiful hair and I had soft facial features. Please note that the facial features were not of my doing. Then it didn’t help that we all three were boy sopranos and sang in a choir. Doug and I dropped out when our voices broke. We could have gone back afterwards but we were cowards and too embarrassed by our tenor voices. Phil’s voice didn’t break. Well, technically it did but he remained a soprano (no connection to organized crime). Phil’s love of music was stronger than the bullies. I admired him. Despite all this Doug was the one that was regarded as the girliest of us (that is the girliest of the girly). There was nothing obvious. He just radiated girlishness. He was bullied mercilessly. Mostly by the girls, even if it seemed like he was getting better at handling them as the freshman year went on.

Anyway, in high school we had started to drift apart. We started to make excuses for not doing things together. We were “too busy”. I really was. But I couldn’t tell them why. Doug and Phil? I have no idea why they coldshouldered the rest of us. We used to go to camp together every year but the year after freshman year we all “had other things to do”. Yes, we definitely were drifting apart. I regretted that. But at least we still had ballet together.

So there we were the first day of sophomore year. The only boys in the ballet studio boys’ locker room. Which was fortunate since I had forgotten something very important. The tan lines I had acquired over summer. Bikini tan lines (and not the most modest either). Doug and Phil aren’t blind so they spotted that immediately. Busted! I had to reveal my big secret to them. I was “Misty” “the Misty(ry) Model”. Girl model that is.

It had all started with my sister getting a modelling gig. My sister is extremely beautiful and also very headstrong. So in the middle of the shoots she got miffed about something, I have forgotten about what, and after telling the photographer to perform an act that is anatomically impossible just sailed out. The lady was not for changing her mind. Too bad the contract had a massive non-performance clause. Mother convinced me and the photographer that I should replace her for the shoot and that would be it. It would have been, if the photographer had fallen in love with me. Not romantically, professionally. Apparently I was a natural. I’ll be honest and admit that the contract they offered me with all that money played a part in me accepting but to equally honest it was the heady feeling to be wanted that was more important. After years of being belittled in school (and by my sister) I was suddenly the center of positive attention. And for once my beautiful hair, that I loved, was an asset instead of a problem. I became a popular girl model. That was why I was always busy. That was also why I couldn’t tell Doug and Phil why I drifted away from them. It was too embarrassing. Well, perhaps not as embarrassing as to stand there with the tan lines I had acquired over summer. I told them all. I felt relieved.

Then Phil started to sing a song that was high on the hit-lists “The Joy of Being a Girl”. How could he taunt me like that? I thought that we were friends even if we had drifted apart lately. To make matters worse the song was the latest hit of an up and coming nauseatingly “cute” girl singer-songwriter. I admit that he did it very well. As a matter of fact he did sing it EXACTLY as she did. He saw comprehension on my face and smiled.

It was the old story of cute boy soprano fiddling around with a song of his own when a studio director friend of his father’s visited. Phil told us that it was the same thing as for me. Partly for the money but mostly for being recognized and admired. Too bad he had to perform as a nauseatingly cute girl but it was worth it. The song “The Joy of Being a Girl” was his ironic statement of his situation, without anyone knowing. Well, except for Doug and me now.

“I know all your dirty secrets. From now on you are my puppets. When I say jump, you jump.” Doug surprised us. How could he do that to us? To my surprise Doug started laughing.

“Meany Mouse?” he asked.
“Meany Mouse” Doug confirmed.

Yes, that was the catchphrase of Meany Mouse, the archvillain(ess) in the most popular teen soap at present. So, he could do a good impersonation. Doug had always been good at that.

Phil and Doug just looked at me.

“I AM Meany Mouse” Doug enlightened me.

As opposed to Phil and me Doug had done it on purpose. Well, he had gone to the audition on purpose. He just wanted to be the mean girl for once instead of their victim. Oh, he knew all about how mean girls can be. He knew it so well that he got the part. The others on the set knew that he was a victim of bullying (but not the boy part) so they had all started to help him how to handle bullies.

I could see that my friends were as relieved as I. No more secrets between us. From that day we boys were the closest of friends again. Or to put it differently: BFF.