45th Annual Gala of Tiresias: 2

 

The slope becomes more slippery as Skyler slides inextricably towards femininity.
Thank you so much for all the reviews and the 'welcome back' messages.
It's nice to have completed a story after six months of writing and rewriting.

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Author's Note: As always, I love reading your comments - both positive and negative. Thank you, thank you, thank you! ~Clara.
 
This version of 45th Annual Gala of Tiresias: 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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Chapter 2
 

"Good morning, beautiful," Hanna said to Skyler in the cafeteria as she kissed his cheek, then sat beside him at the table where he sat doing some homework. She smiled broadly as she prepared to eat her yogurt and fruit. "I don't know about you, but I slept like a baby last night."

Skyler smiled back at her. "I slept pretty well, too, actually."

She squinted at him. "Are you wearing mascara?"

He sighed and looked away, shaking his head. "Yes. Long story, but... this stuff doesn't come off very easily - not at all, actually."

"That's how it's made," Hanna laughed. "And your eyelashes have been curled, too. I like it!" She kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, yeah - Oh, and by the way, thanks for all the hickeys you gave me last night."

"Hickeys!?" Hanna laughed.

"It's not funny, Hanna. My mom would have killed me if she'd seen them. Kathy was covering the hickeys with makeup when my mother walked in. That's how I ended up with 'dinner-date-makeup' last night."

She gave him a big smile and a giggle, then asked, "I guess that explains your pretty eyes. So... have you decided to do the Gala?"

He took a deep breath and said, "I've been thinking a lot about it, Hanna and... if I do it... I don't want you and my sisters making fun of me, ok?"

Hanna put a spoonful of yogurt in her mouth and thought for a moment. "I won't 'make fun' of you, but I need to be able to enjoy it, ok? Like... say... playful things. Things like I said last night. Is that ok?"

He nodded. "I guess so, but... what about everyone else?"

"Like who?"

"Like..." he gestured to everyone in the cafeteria, "... everyone else. Like everyone on campus. What are they going to say about me?"

"Well..." she looked around, "... most of them have no idea who you are now, so they won't be paying much attention anyway, and after you win, you'll be the guy that won all that scholarship money and cash, so... I guess that's what they'll think. I bet they'll be jealous."

He huffed a couple of times. "Ok. I only have one class and a lesson today. So, after that, can you help me fill out the application? If we can send it out before I go to work tonight, that would be great."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "It would be my pleasure."
 

~^~
 

"We are referring to the bill as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill and this legislation will prohibit the discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation in public school classrooms. Teachers who violate these guidelines - even if they are acting as a confidant for a student - can face termination from their jobs and loss of their retirement benefits for even one infraction..."

"Honest to God," Jenny said into her phone, "the world is becoming unbelievably intolerant. I truly do not understand why these people are so afraid of people who are different."

"You've just hit the nail on the head, babe," his wife said from the other end of the phone. "You're different and that scares them."

"How can gay people be the enemy to all these people? I mean, love is love is love, right?"

His wife chuckled. "You're not really that naïve, Jenny. You knew this was going to happen at some point. Besides, you are definitely NOT gay. Queer, yeah, but gay, no. I can attest to that, and so can the bun that is gestating in my womb right now."

Jenny snickered. "No. Not gay, but... I honestly never expected things to go this insane all at once."
 

~^~
 

"What is wrong with you today, Sky?" Professor Kramer asked, shaking her head. "Five days ago. You played this piece as if it was ready for performance. Today it sounds like you're a first year player who is sight reading."

"I know, I know," Skyler said, a little disgusted with himself. "I'm sorry. My head is not in the music today. I have a lot on my mind."

"And I have told you before what the best solution for that situation is, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And what is that?"

"Knock it off and play the goddamned music," he laughed, having done his best imitation of Professor Kramer.

"That's right - and for the love of God, Sky, stop calling me ma'am. I'm only twenty-nine years old. Now, take it from page six, please. Sit up straight, follow the dynamics, use some peddling technique instead of just holding the damper down all the time, and start behaving like that piano is an extension of your soul instead of your enemy, will you?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Sky!"

"I'm sorry! Yes, Professor." He returned to playing the 'Nocturne in B Minor' by Gabriel Fauré, a piece he wanted very desperately to play well.

"Better," his teacher said when he'd finished. "I'll make a legitimate player out of you if it kills both of us," she smiled patting him on the shoulder.

"I'm not in the Classical track, though, Professor," he reminded her. "I'm really much better at pop music."

"You are, and by the time I'm done with you, pop music will seem like child's play. Now... let's look at page six one more time. There's some tricky stuff there."
 

~^~
 

They took the bus from the college to the garage where Skyler's car had been repaired and then drove from there to Skyler's family's house. When they arrived, they saw the car belonging to Skyler's oldest sister, Amanda, in the driveway.

"Hey. You guys are here early," Amanda said with a smile as they entered. She was wearing her nursing scrubs. "I just got home from a shift. We were shorthanded, so, of course, the newer girls had to stay a few extra hours."

"We're just going to do some computer work," Skyler said, giving his sister a kiss on the cheek. "We'll be quiet if you're going to go to bed."

"No, not for a while," Amanda said. "I've got tomorrow off, so I'm staying up so I can have a somewhat normal schedule on my day off. I'm going to have something light to eat and then do some laundry. Want some tomato soup?"

"That sounds great!" Hanna said. "Thanks!"

She sat at the table and opened her MacBook while Skyler retrieved the pamphlet, they'd gotten the day before and Amanda pulled a couple of cans of Campbell's Tomato Soup down from the cabinet. Hanna opened the website and began speaking as she typed.

The 45th Annual Gala of Tiresias application.

Name: Skyler Moynihan

Age: Nineteen

Address: Eight-twenty-seven Maple Ave...

Are you currently a student at an accredited college? Yes

Where? State College

What year? Freshman

Course of study? Music/Performance

Have you ever been paid as a drag performer? No

Do you have..."

"Wait a minute," Amanda said from the stove. "Did I just hear that correctly? Did you just ask Sky if he'd ever been paid as a drag performer?"

"Yeah. I did," Hanna said, smiling.

"Why?"

Hanna offered a brief summary of the opportunity they'd encountered. "Wow, what an opportunity for you, Sky!" She said.

"Maybe," he shrugged, "but I'm not doing a big drag thing. I'll do my best with a womanless pageant kind of thing, but I'm not doing the whole big tits and big lips thing you see on some of those TV shows."

"We'll, good for you," she said, sounding more like his mother than his sister, and looking that way too, as she carefully placed a bowl of tomato soup on the table in front of him.

"Have you ever seen him in a dress?" Hanna asked. "He already looks like a girl, even without makeup."

"Thanks for the support," Skyler said, rolling his eyes.

"Of course I have," Amanda laughed. She used one hand to grip her brother's chin and give his face a squeeze. "And he was adorable."

"Alright. Enough teasing," Skyler said, pulling his face free.

"Hey, you know, I have a friend who did some work with pre-op trans people," Amanda said, putting two more bowls of soup down on the table. "She might be to help you out."

"How?" Skyler asked, genuinely confused.

"Well... I'm not a hundred percent sure, but... maybe things like breast forms or the right kind of tape to use... you know... down there." She pointed to her crotch.

"Tape? What would I want to tape..." Suddenly it dawned on Skyler what his sister was suggesting. "Oh, my God! I'm not going to put tape on my... no way!"

"Ok," his sister smirked, "but there are ways to do that without hurting yourself. Anyway, if you're interested, I can get you in touch with her."

"Thanks, Mandy," Hanna responded, as she continued to type. "I'm sure we'll be taking you up on that at some point." She returned to her computer screen and her questions. "So, you need two talents. Piano and singing?"

"Yeah, I guess," Skyler shrugged. "I mean, those are the only two talents that I have." He thought for a moment. "Can I do them together?"

Hanna scanned the page. "I don't know. There's a meeting this weekend for all contestants. I guess you can ask then."

He nodded.

"Do you have to sound like a girl when you sing?" Amanda asked.

"Ohh, another good question," Hanna said. "We should write these down."

Seemed like a good idea, so Skyler nodded, grabbed a pad of paper and started writing.

Twenty minutes later, the application was complete.

"There's a two-hundred-dollar registration fee," Hanna said, when she reached the end of the form. "Can you afford that after having your breaks done?"

"Yeah, I guess," Skyler said. "It'll leave me broke, but I get paid again in a few days, so... Who knows. Maybe it'll be worth it." He reached for his wallet, but Amanda stopped him.

"Tell you what," she said. "If you're really serious about this - I mean, if you're really going to try and win this scholarship, then I'll pay the entrance fee. But I mean it - you have to be in it to win it."

Skyler smiled. "Ok. Thanks, Mandy. I'll give it all I have."

"Alright," she smiled and grabbed her purse from the back of a chair.

Once that was completed, Hanna said, "All that's left is at least three pictures of the contestant in their female persona. Hmmm, I wish Reggie was home. I'd love to be able to use some of her dresses for this."

"I'll text her and ask," Amanda said, grabbing her phone and typing.

Seconds later her phone chimed that she'd gotten a response. "She says you can use anything you want." She smiled at the two younger people. "Come on upstairs. You do his makeup; I'll pull out some clothing options."

Their mother came home to one of her favorite sounds; the sound of her dear, departed mother's beautiful, old, baby grand piano making music in the living room. By the sound of things, Skyler was going to town on a piece of classical music, something she really enjoyed. Before he went to college, Skyler rarely played anything classical. Now he was always working on one piece or another. All four of her children played piano to some degree, but Skyler took it very seriously.

She peeked around the corner and was surprised to see not Skyler, but Regina at the keyboard. She was all dressed up in a shimmering red dress that she'd worn in a pageant about a year ago. Her hair had been curled, but not 'done' by any means and she was playing more beautifully than her mother had ever heard her play before. She stepped into the double-wide doorway of the living room and found her second daughter, Kathy, standing just inside watching as well. Oddly, her oldest daughter, Amanda, and her son's girlfriend, Hanna, were both over by the piano taking pictures of Regina playing piano.

"Amazing, isn't it," Kathy whispered to her mother.

"I should say so," she responded. "Is this for a pageant?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Kathy smiled. "I never would have expected something like this."

"Me neither."

Just then, the front door opened and closed, quietly and someone entered and stood beside Mrs Moynihan, but she didn't notice until the new arrival said, "Holy shit, he looks better than I do in that dress."

Startled, their mother turned to see her youngest daughter, Regina, standing next to her in the archway. She let out a shocked, "Yeep!" followed by, "Regina! What are you..." she looked at her daughter next to her and then at the same daughter playing piano. "If you're here than... that's..."

"Yeah, mom," Kathy laughed. "That's Sky playing piano in the red sequined dress. That's what I meant when I said 'amazing.' Amanda and Hanna dressed him and did his hair and makeup. He looks a lot like Reggie, doesn't he?"

Mrs Moynihan looked from her youngest daughter to her only son and back again several times. "My, God, you two could be twins. I mean, I always knew you looked alike, but... this is uncanny."
 

~^~
 

"It just gets worse every goddamned day," Jenny growled as she listened to the news on the radio and drove along the highway.

The newscaster spoke. "Montana State Representative, Zoey Zephyr, was removed from the House of Representatives chambers for speaking out in defense of trans-gender rights for minors in that state. This is not the first time a state legislator has been removed from hearings such as these in the past few weeks. The country seems to be split on the subject of trans rights and..."

"I just can't stand it anymore," Jenny muttered as she shut off the radio.
 

~^~
 

"I just cannot get over it," Mrs Moynihan said, shaking her head in astonishment as they sat down to dinner. Uncertain as to whether or not they needed to take more pictures, they had kept Skyler in his makeup, but allowed him to wear a less provocative dress for the time being. Currently, he was attired in a rather simple, flowered, peasant dress with rather puffy, long sleeves that ended in little, belled cuffs. The dress had a tea-stained background with the brightly colored flowers setting off the beauty of the simple design. The dress had actually been Amanda's quite some time ago. She had passed it to Kathy who, in turn, had passed it to Regina - who now was now trying to pass it along to Skyler. It was very light and even Skyler had to marvel at its comfort. "You two are absolute twins. It is remarkable."

"And we have certainly remarked upon it," Skyler said, feeling a bit on the spot at the moment. "Maybe we could discuss something else."

"I can't think of anything else as interesting as suddenly having a twin sister," Regina smirked at her brother, who was older by five years, yet somehow suddenly looked more like a high school freshman girl than a college boy. "Of course, my hair isn't that mousy brown color, anymore, and no one seems to be commenting on his posture, but it is cool to have a sister I can share my clothes with."

"Hanna, what do you make of all of this?" Amanda asked.

"Oh," Hanna shrugged with as much nonchalance as she could muster, "it's no big deal. I mean, I have to admit, when we first discussed having Sky enter the contest, I didn't expect him to look THIS much like Reggie, but I guess it makes sense - them being sisters and all."

That brought some laughter from the family - not from Skyler - from his mother and sisters.

"What's so funny?" Hanna asked.

"You called me and Regina sisters," Skyler said, shaking his head.

"Oops. Freudian slip, I guess," Hanna giggled. "You know what I mean."

"Well, I know that Sky is going to be wearing a lot of Freudian slips for the next few weeks," Regina teased, and it brought on more friendly laughter.

"Hey, what happened to not making fun of me?" Skyler said, sounding a bit pissy.

"Hey, what happened to having a sense of humor," Kathy said, giving him a bit of a maternal scowl.

"Oh, don't mind him," Amanda said, shaking her head at his bratty behavior. "He can't help it. You know how boys are when they're on their periods."

That brought on the biggest round of laughter. Even Hanna couldn't help but guffaw a bit as she reviewed the photos on her phone, which included the photos that Amanda had taken as well her own. Before Skyler could speak, she did. "I think we have all the pictures we need, Sky. You can wash your face and change after dinner."

"Good," he huffed a bit. "I have to be at work in an hour."

Things got quiet for a few minutes until Regina spoke up. "Can I ask a pertaining question?"

"You mean pertinent," her mother corrected.

Regina shrugged. "Ok - a pertinent question."

"Of course," Mrs Moynihan nodded.

"If Sky is going to compete in a womanless pageant, and I've looked at a bunch of these online, then maybe he should be talking to some of the consultants that I use to for my pageants."

"That makes sense," Hanna said.

"But I didn't hear a question," Kathy pointed out.

"Sky," Regina said, "would you like to come with me Saturday morning, when I see my beauty consultant, James? He is the best around and an appointment with James can usually take months to schedule, but if I ask. I'm sure he'll see you at the same time that he sees me."

Skyler was about to laugh at the offer and decline as quickly as possible, but Hanna jumped in too quickly. "What a great idea, Reggie! Thank you!"

"That is a great idea, Reg," Amanda agreed. "After all, Sky is in this to win the big prize, so he needs all the help he can get."

"That's a very generous offer, Regina," their mother said, with a smile. "Why don't you give James a call and see if he'll see Skyler and, if he will, see how much it'll cost. We don't want to invest too much in this pageant, but if it's a reasonable amount, then we should do it."

"Ok," Regina smiled and bounced out of her chair. "I'll call him now." She left the room.

Skyler looked around at everyone. "Seriously!? You all want me to go see Reggie's beauty consultant!?"

"Sky, there's a lot of money on the line I'm this competition," Kathy pointed out. "I guarantee a lot of other boys will be seeing consultants, too."

"Besides that," Amanda said, "I'd bet that all of the other boys are more experienced at presenting themselves as girls. You've got a lot to learn, Sky, and even though mom and Kathy and I have all done a few pageants along the way, Reggie has the most experience, and she has won more pageants than all the rest of us put together. She's your best resource if you want expert advice. If she says you should see James, then I suggest that you see James. That is... if you want to win."

He shook his head and picked up his napkin to dab his lips. "I have to get ready for work. Uncle Bill will be ticked off if I'm late."

Kathy laughed at that. "Uncle Bill is an old softy, and you know it. Besides, of all of us, you're his favorite. He never once raised his voice to either Mandy or me the whole time we worked for him, and let's be honest, neither of us were very good about getting there on time."

"Yeah, well, I am," Skyler said, standing and carrying his dish to the sink to rinse it before putting it into the dishwasher. "Can someone help me get this goop off my face?"

"I think you should go just like that," Amanda teased. "You look very pretty that way. Maybe he'd move you from stocking shelves to the front end. That's a much nicer job."

"Very funny," he said, closing the washer and scowling at them.

"James says that you can come on Saturday and as long as he doesn't have to change his schedule, he'll just charge the usual rates for any services. Nothing for creative services," Regina said, thrilled with the news she was relating.

"That's wonderful, Regina," her mother complimented. "Thank your sister, Skyler."

"Thank you, Reggie," Skyler said, as nicely as he could.

"Oh..." Regina snapped her fingers as she remembered something, "he did ask that you remove your body hair before you come, though."

"My body..."

"Well, that makes sense," all the women agreed.

"He suggested that you used Nair or something along the same line as that. He says that shaving might lead to razor burn, so use a product."

"I'll get you some tonight," his mother said. "I can help you to use it tomorrow afternoon."

Skyler shook his head. This was more than he expected, but it seemed inevitable at this point. "Ok, but... please... can SOMEONE get this makeup off of me so I can go to work?"

"Sure," Regina bubbled. "Come with me."
 

~^~
 

"Hey!" Uncle Bill shouted, as he always did whenever Skyler entered, "Look, everyone! Elton John is here!" Sometimes it was Elton John, sometimes Billy Joel, sometimes Jerry Lee Lewis - Skyler had had to look that one up when he first called him that - or one of another half-dozen piano players of whom Uncle Bill was aware, but he always made a big deal out of Skyler whenever he entered the neighborhood grocery store that Uncle Bill owned and where Skyler had worked part since he was sixteen.

"Hey, Uncle Bill," Skyler smiled, just a bit embarrassed.

"You should hear this kid play piano," Uncle Bill said to the customer at the checkout counter at that moment. "He's like a regular Liberace. Unbelievable!"

"No kidding?" The customer asked, actually interested.

"It's true," Uncle Bill said with a big smile. "This kid is brilliant. You should hear him play. He can sing, too. Someday we're all going to be going down to the arena downtown to hear him in concert. I guarantee it."

The customer looked at Skyler and nodded. "What's your name, kid?"

"Skyler," he replied. "Skyler Moynihan."

"And where can I hear you play?"

"Right now, I'm mostly just playing at my school. I'm a performance major at State."

The customer winked at Skyler. "I'm going to keep my eye out for you, Skyler Moynihan. I look forward to hearing you play."

"Oh... thanks," Skyler said with a nervous smile. He grabbed a clean, store apron, put his head through the opening and tied the string around his waist. "What's on the schedule first, "Uncle Bill?"

"Start in the dairy case, will you, Sky? Check the dates and load up everything for tomorrow."

Uncle Bill was Skyler's long departed - not dead, just departed - father's brother. A born shopkeeper with an endless amount of energy and an endless gift of gab. He was a big guy with a bushy beard and greying, black hair that made him look distinguished. He never married, nor dated to Skyler's knowledge, but always showed up at every event for Skyler, his sisters and all of his cousins. He never missed a concert, a sporting event or a family function for any of them - even if he wasn't specifically invited, he still was there to applaud for his family.

As far as Skyler was concerned, Bill was one of the greatest guys in the world.

As far as Bill was concerned, Skyler was a very special kid. The one with all the talent.

Skyler was only working a three hour shift that night, so he only had one, fifteen-minute break later that evening. When the time for that break came, he bought himself a bottle of apple juice and headed out to the picnic table that they jokingly referred to as 'the break room.' There he met his Uncle Bill who was just finishing up a late dinner.

"So, how's school, big guy?" His uncle asked.

"It's actually really good," Skyler said, sipping his apple juice. "I've got a four-point-oh GPA and I'm doing really well in my classes - especially my music classes."

"Hey, that's great, Sky," his uncle smiled, very proud of his nephew. "You know, your dad played some piano as a kid. Nothing like you can, but he did ok. He was in a couple of bands that were pretty popular around the area. He had this big old organ-thing that he used to haul around from one gig to another. That thing weighed three hundred pounds if it weighed an ounce and he would haul it in and out of one dump after another every night of every weekend. He used to do handstands on the damned thing while he played, too! And he played pretty damned well, too."

He looked at his nephew and smiled.

"He would be proud of you, too, Sky, I can tell you that. I have no idea what got into his head and made him leave, and I have no idea where he is, but trust me - if he knew about your playing, he would be pretty danged proud of you."

Skyler smiled and shrugged, just a little uncomfortable with the conversation. Any conversation about his father made him feel uncomfortable. "Thanks, Uncle Bill. I'd like to think that he would be." He took another sip as his uncle gathered his plastic ware and cleaned up from his meal. "Hey... umm.. Uncle Bill... can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Sky. What's up?"

Skyler thought for a moment. "Well... I have this opportunity to make a lot of scholarship money and even some real money for myself, too, and... well, I kind of promised my mom that I'd do it, but... well... I'm a little concerned that I would, maybe... embarrass... the men in our family if I do it. Men like you."

Uncle Bill smiled and patted Skyler on the shoulder. "Sky... let me be very clear about this. There is nothing that you could do that would ever make me any less proud of you. Whatever you need to do, you do... and Sky... I'm always here if you need me. Ok?"

Skyler nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Uncle Bill."
 

~^~
 

"Look, if you'd rather have your mother help you do this, that's fine with me." Hanna was just about fed up with Skyler's complaining as she spread the hair removal cream all over his body.

"Ok. I'm sorry," Skyler said, apologetically. "This is just all so weird to me."

Hanna shook her head. "Well, it's not weird to me, or your mom, or any of your sisters or any other girl. This is just part and parcel of what the modern world expects from a woman. If you're going to pretend to be a woman for this thing... then you need to man-up and start acting like a girl."

"Ok," he nodded. "Sorry."

She went back to spreading the slightly foul-smelling cream over her boyfriend's body once again as he stood wrapped in just a towel around his waist.

"You know," Hanna teased, "even after the contest, you may find that you prefer to be hairless. A lot of guys trim their hair."

"Trim, yeah," he smirked. "Remove... not so much."

She stood straight and handed him the bottle. "Here. You do your privates. If I do it, I suspect you'll get too wound up." She smiled and winked. "Sometimes a girl needs to do things for herself."

He took the bottle and poured some of the fluid into his hand, then reached beneath his towel and spread the cream everywhere.

"Now, wait ten minutes and shower it off. Hopefully, that takes away all your hair. Although you don't have all that much and it's pretty wispy to begin with."

He stood there with the cream spread thickly across his skin, feeling very uncomfortable. "God, why do women put themselves through this?"

"For the same reason you are," Hanna smiled. "To look pretty. Now, remember, tomorrow, when you go with Reggie to see this guy, James, you need to be upbeat and cooperative the whole time. No sulking or whining. James is doing Reggie a favor and Reggie is offering you the most help she knows how to give. Don't disrespect that, ok?"

"Why would I disrespect that?" Skyler asked, a little surprised that Hanna would suggest such a thing.

"Well, because you've been kind of weird about this whole thing. Like... one minute you're one hundred percent going to do what needs to be done in order to win, and then someone tries to help you and you're surly and mean to the people who are trying to help you." She waved her hands over his coated body. "Case in point: Your mother offered to help you with this, and you went from being ok about having her help to being a whiny little bitch about it. You've even been a bit of pain in the ass to me about it, too. Just... be nice to Reggie, ok. This is a big deal to her."

"Me looking like a girl is a big deal to her?"

"Her being able to help you is a big deal to her. She's never been in the position of being able to help someone like this before. She's really excited to be able to share her expertise with you. Just... be nice and go with the flow, ok? Whatever she suggests, whatever this guy James suggests... the answer is just 'yes.' Ok?"

Skyler nodded. He loved his younger sister, and he helped her anyway that he could - that's how he ended up in this situation in the first place - but he could be a bit superior towards her at some times, and he knew it. He understood what Hanna was saying. "Ok. Whatever Reggie or James says, I'll just go with the flow."

Hanna smiled and looked at her phone. "I'll start the shower. You'll be ready to rinse off in a minute or so."
 

~^~
 

"Turn in here," Regina instructed her brother as he drove. "James' place is in the back of those stores. Pull around back and you'll see it."

Skyler had never expected that he'd be spending a Saturday morning seeing a beauty consultant, but this was where things had led him. He had even worn a pair of shorts that morning, a pair that Regina had insisted that he wear in order that James could see how nice his legs looked in heels now that all of his body hair had been removed. He was wearing a pair of Croc slides to drive, but Regina had brought along several different pairs of heels in varying heights for James to see.

"Around this way?" He asked as he took a left into what seemed to be a loading area.

"Yes," Regina nodded. "See, over there? That door that says 'Dancer's World'?" They sell all kinds of things for dancers and pageant contestants and even brides and stuff. His salon is in there."

To say that this whole thing seemed a bit sketchy would be an understatement. It looked very shady, but all of his sisters had gone to James at some point, so he must be legit.

He pulled into a parking spot and shut off the car's engine.

Regina looked at him, excited. "Ok... so... James is kind of... oh... a touchy-feely kind of guy, you know? Don't freak if he starts to touch you. He just does that so he can explain how he can help." A big smile spread across her face. "Are you ready?"

Skyler let out a big sigh. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

"Ok!" She bubbled. "Let's go!"

They got out of the car and as they approached the door to the shop, Regina took her brother's hand and gripped it firmly. "This is so exciting!"

Nerve-wracking would have been a better description to Skyler, but he chose to follow Hanna's advice and just go with the flow. So, he smiled and let Regina lead him into the salon.

He was a bit surprised by the look of the facility. It was bright, neat and had a feminine flare to it - lots of pink and pastels - but it also had a certain manly quality to it as well.

"There she is!" A very good-looking man in his thirties said, entering the salon. "Come here, my little champion and give me a hug." The man was very well put together, but nothing like the swishy stereotype of the male hairdresser that Skyler expected. This guy obviously worked out and took his fitness very seriously. He had a very trim, muscular body, a tight button-down shirt that showed off his physique, and biceps that were in danger of ripping the short sleeves of the shirt that he wore. He engulfed Regina in a fraternal hug that spoke of a very close relationship. It actually made Skyler a bit sad that this stranger seemed to have a closer relationship with his sister than he did. "Are you ready for your pageant this afternoon?"

"I will be after you're done with me," Regina's smiled.

"Well, who do we have here?" James said, looking at Skyler.

When their hug ended, Regina indicated Skyler and smiled. "Well. Here he is. This is Skyler. Sky, this is James."

James extended his hand and gave Skyler a firm handshake. "Nice to meet you, Sky. So... you're here to become a champion, huh? Well, let's see what I have to work with here?" He looked more closely at Skyler and then started touching his shoulders. "Stand up straight for me, sweetheart," he said, not paying much attention to the fact that he was speaking to a boy - a young man, in fact.

"Hmmm..." he mulled. "Good figure... needs some shape, but we can provide that. Nice hair, good length, needs some color and a little shape, but lots to work with. No more elastics to hold your ponytails, please, sweetheart." He sighed. "It'll take some work to get those dents out."

He scrutinized further. "Small shoulders - good. Soft features - good. You need to start moisturizing, my dear. A princess doesn't have dry, flaky skin on her forehead, now does she?"

Skyler looked at Regina intending to roll his eyes at her, but she gave him a look that said, 'answer him.'

"I... guess not," he managed to reply.

"Alright," James said, stepping back and eyeing Skyler to get the 'big picture.' "I'd say we have a lot to work with, but we have a lot to do as well. When is your pageant?"

"Umm... the COMPETITION is in three weeks," Skyler said, hoping that he could distinguish his serious attempt at scholarship money from Regina's frivolous beauty contests."

"Three weeks!" James said with a ton of dramatic flair. "Well, in that case, young lady, we don't have a second to spare. Let's start with the basics. In the chair. Go on, go on. Hair style and color, eyebrows, good Lord you don't even have pierced ears. Come on. Chop, chop! Lots to do and little time."

Before he knew what was happening, the back of the chair in which Skyler was seated was laying down flat and his head was in a sink, and he was being shampooed by another person for the first time since he was a very young boy. This time, though, the water was very hot, and the scrubbing was very aggressive. It didn't exactly hurt, but it was certainly different than he expected a shampoo to feel.

"I think a honey blonde, just like yours, is our best choice, what do you think, Reg?" James asked Regina. "You share the same skin tone and facial features, and heaven knows you look amazing. So, why not just repeat our success on Sky?"

"Makes sense to me," Regina said with a smile and a shrug. It did make perfect sense to her. She'd had mousy-brown hair, darker than Skyler's in fact, before James took over her look. She loved the way she looked now, and besides, she had won several pageants with this hair color, and she had received hundreds of compliments on the color. If it worked well on her and she won pageants, then having Skyler mimic her look made a lot of sense.
 

~^~
 

"He says that they're just around the corner and will be here in a minute or two," Kathy said, looking at her phone in the living room of her mother's house.

"Boy, I hope so," Hanna said, shaking her head and looking at her phone. "If he's not here in the next few minutes, we'll never make it to the orientation on time. I thought this was just a consultation."

"It was supposed to be," Skyler's mother said, "but James had to get Regina made-up for her pageant, and he can get carried away - and when he does... there's no stopping him."

"They're here," Amanda said from her spy post in the front window.

Hanna grabbed her purse and they all hurried out the front door. Hanna needed to hurry and join Skyler so they could get going. His mother and sisters wanted to wish Skyler good luck and see if James had made any suggestions, but all four of them came to a dead stop when instead of seeing Skyler and Regina stepping out of the car, two Reginas stepped out. Yes, the one on the passenger side was dressed better and had more makeup on, while the one on the driver's side was wearing a pair of what were obviously boy's shorts and a tee shirt that displayed a flat chest - not that the real Regina had been granted an abundance of bosom - but for the most part, these two people were twins - no - clones of one and other.

"...because you asked him to make you look beautiful, Sky," the real Regina was ranting as they got out of car. "That's why you go to a beauty consultant in the first place! To make yourself beautiful! And James did that, Sky! He made you beautiful enough to win a pageant."

"He made me look just like YOU, Reggie!"

"And I win pageants, Sky! What are you not getting here? I look this way because James brought out the best in me. You already looked a lot like me, so when he brought out the best in you... tada! Twins!"

"Alright, enough!" Their mother shouted. "Do want the neighbors to think we're all crazy in this house?"

"Come on, Sky, let's go," Hanna said, taking his hand in the hopes of (A) getting their trip to the meeting underway and (B) putting an end to the ranting that she (correctly) imagined had been going on since Skyler and Regina had left James' salon.

"Go?" He said. "I'm not GOING anywhere, except maybe a barbershop so see if I can undo some of this!" He indicated his face and hair and that was the moment that Hanna realized that her boyfriend's eyebrows had been sculpted and his skin looked smoother and its tone more even than ever before.

"Oh no, you are not going to a barbershop," Amanda said, sternly. "I've already invested in you, Sky. You said you'd do whatever it took to win. Well, this is a start. Now, you start acting like a man and go to that meeting to make sure you know what you need to do to win."

"And I'm sure that whatever services James provided will cost me a pretty penny," his mother said. "You told us you were committed to doing this, Skyler. Now, stop acting like a twelve-year-old and go do what you need to do to win that money."

"Oh, for crying out loud!" He said, as he turned, stamped his foot and stormed back towards his car.

"Umm..." Hanna said, "maybe I should drive. You seem too upset and I don't want to end up in an accident."

Amanda, Kathy, Regina and their mother stood on the walkway until Hanna backed the car out of the driveway and had pulled around the corner before they relaxed a bit.

"Oh, my God, Reggie," Amanda laughed. "You had James make him look just like you!"

"That wasn't very nice," her mother said, also laughing, but her laugh was a bit more nervous. What had she been thinking entrusting Skyler's transformation to a fourteen-year-old?

"I didn't do anything," Regina defended herself. "James said that he'd done so well on me, and I've won a lot of my pageants, so it only made sense to make someone who already looked a little like me, look just like me so she could win her pageants, too."

"He, Regina," her mother corrected. "HE can win HIS pageant."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Kathy chuckled. "Except for being flat chested, I think that Sky looked a lot more like a SHE than a HE."
 

~^~
 

"Your name?" The woman sitting at the greeting table asked, with a shockingly low voice for such a lovely face.

"Skyler Moynihan," Skyler replied.

"Ahh," the woman said, finding his pink name tag. "We didn't have a stage name for you, so we just wrote 'Sky' on your tag. I hope that's ok."

"That's perfect," Hanna said, taking the tag to hurry things along. She could hear the sounds of the meeting coming to order in the ballroom behind the greeting table.

"And you are?" The woman asked Hanna.

"Oh... I'm his girlfriend. "I'm just here for moral support and to take notes."

"Oh, his girlfriend?" The woman said, sounding a bit surprised. "You'll need a name tag, too. Your name?"

"Hanna," she said, sticking Skyler's name tag to his shirt. "Just one 'H.' H. A. N. N. A."

The woman scrawled it in a flamboyant script onto a standard 'Hello, My Name Is ____" adhesive tag and handed it to Hanna. "You may both go in, now," the woman said. "Be sure to grab a gift bag by the door."

They entered and Hanna grabbed a bag for Skyler, then guided him to a seat in the fifth row, towards the side of the room. The meeting had not yet begun, but the man at the podium was asking everyone to take their seats.

"Wow," Hanna muttered looking into the gift bag. "There's some real high-end makeup and hair products in here. A gift certificate for services at a day spa and a little bottle of shampoo that probably costs sixty dollars at Neiman's or Bergdorf's. Geez, this stuff is nicer than anything I own!"

"Alright ladies and... well... ladies," the MC said into the microphone eliciting a soft rumble of laughter. "Let's get this started so we can all go home. So..." he smiled and looked around, "as you all probably know already, the Gala of Tiresias takes place in different parts of the country every year. Now, let me emphasize - THIS IS NOT A DRAG SHOW. This is a salute to our mothers, our sisters, our aunts and our female friends. If you present yourself as a cartoon of a woman, I doubt that you will get through the early rounds, which are just based on presentation and a question-and-answer section. Understood?"

A hand went up in the front.

"Yes?"

The questioner, who was a tall, thin, bald man, stood up, but immediately began to flounce in a very drag-queen-esque manner. "So, this is drag show, but no drag is allowed? Bitch, what are you playing at?"

The audience laughed a bit at that.

The MC was unflustered. "I'm telling you that the intent of the show..." the MC squinted to read the man's name tag, "...Miss Goodlay."

"It's Emma Goodlay, actually," the questioner persisted. "And Baby, my name is my promise to you." He became very flirty to the delight of the crowd.

The MC had obviously seen it all before, though. "Yes, I'm sure. Now, if I may continue..."

He went on to explain that the completion was laid out in five rounds over three to four hours:
 
 
Round 1: Presentation in formal wear and Q&A

Round 2: First round of Talent

Round 3: Swim suit

Round 4: Second round of talent. Should be a different talent.

Round 5: Final five contestants in cocktail dresses for final Q&A and judges' decision
 
 
"The questions in round six will all be regarding how you plan to use the scholarship money and the cash prize. So, think about that." The MC said.

"Now, once again," he continued, "you are expected to present yourself as beautiful women. The kind of woman that you might see everyday."

Hanna leaned over to Skyler and whispered, "Well, since you definitely see Reggie every day, I think you're on the right path."

Skyler just rolled his eyes and gave his head a little shake.

"Now, before I talk about some homework you all need to do," the MC said, "I'd like to introduce last year's winner and one of this year's coordinator's, Miss Jenny Jacobs. Jenny, come on up."

A rather tall, but startlingly beautiful woman walked from the back of the hall to the front and up the couple of steps to the dais. She was dark skinned with long, straight hair and flawless makeup. She was wearing a tailored pantsuit with what appeared to be no shirt or blouse beneath the jacket.

"Hi, everybody," she said in what sounded like a natural woman's voice. "I just want to wish everyone good luck in the competition and to just tell you a quick story. See, about this same time last year, I was about to start my post graduate work to become a lawyer."

The word 'lawyer' drew some boos from the audience.

"I know, I know," Jenny said with a laugh. "It's like the old joke: What do you call a million lawyers' bodies at the bottom of the ocean? A good start. Right?"

That got some laughs.

"Anyway, I had no idea where I was going to find the money for school until my wife came home with the brochure for this event, which took place in Illinois last year. Now, I had actually attended the 35th Annual Gala of Tiresias when I was a teenager back Indiana and then again, a few years later, but I was just in the audience. Anyway, up until that moment, I'd never once even thought about dressing as a woman, but it turns out that with the help of a determined wife - or sister, or mother or girlfriend, or boyfriend - you can accomplish a whole lot more than you might expect. So, my advice to you is to take the next three weeks of prep time very seriously. Spend as much time as possible 'en femme' and when you arrive for the show, leave any manly parts of you outside. This is a 'Girls Only' club. No boys allowed. Ok?"

There was some applause and some hoots as well.

The man at the podium thanked Jenny, kissed her cheek and retook control of the meeting.

"Ok, so there's forty of you signed up for the event. Check the paperwork in your gift bags. It has the descriptions of what we expect for the formal wear, swimsuit and cocktail dress portions of the event. Also, we want to make sure that no one is planning on doing the same talent presentation as anyone else. So, we need all of you to submit your planned presentation no later than a week from today. Please be as specific as possible regarding what you are planning."

A hand went up.

"Yes?"

"Will our plans be confidential? I mean, if we submit specifics of our act, no one else in the competition will know about it, right?"

"I'm sorry, but no. We will be posting your performance plans to our webpage. We are only doing this to avoid having... oh, say... a half dozen contestants dressing up like Dorothy from 'The Wizard of Oz,' and lip syncing 'Over the Rainbow.'"

That got a comical groan of disappointment from the crowd.

Suddenly Hanna's hand was in the air.

"Yes?"

"If a contestant plans to play piano, will one be available?"

"Yes, there is a nice baby grand at the The Ansonia Mansion. It's a Mason-Hamlin, I believe. There is a Yamaha grand in the lobby here and we can use that for rehearsal purposes."

"Ok. Thank you. And if a contestant plans to sing, rather than lip sync, that's ok as well, right?"

"It is," the MC nodded, "but keep in mind that she needs to sound like a woman."

"Understood. Thank you," Hanna finished with a big smile. "You've got this," she whispered to Skyler. He wasn't as sure, though.

As the meeting adjourned, Skyler stood and headed for the door, but Hanna grabbed his arm and led him to where Jenny Jacobs was standing, talking to one of the women from the greeting desk.

"Excuse me, Ms Jacobs," Hanna said.

"Oh, hi!" The reigning queen of the competition said with a wide, engaging smile.

"Hi," Hanna returned the smile. It was hard not to, Jenny seemed so personable and engaging. "Umm, my name is Hanna, and this is my boyfriend, Sky. I was wondering if, maybe, we could buy you lunch, or a coffee or something and ask you a few questions? See, this will be Sky's first womanless kind of thing, too and I was wondering if you might have some advice."

"Well," she said, still smiling, "I am VERY hungry and frankly I'm dying for some company. Maybe just a coffee and a nibble in the hotel restaurant. I can give you forty-five minutes or so, if that'll help."

"That will be wonderful!"
 

~^~
 

Amanda's phone rang and she picked it up. "Hey, Elsie, thanks for calling back."

"No prob, Manny," the voice of her nursing colleague said. "What's up?"

She gave a quick explanation of her brother's attempt to win The Gala of Tiresias, then asked, "I was wondering if, since you worked with trans women who need prosthetic breasts, I thought you might be able to help him out with some artificial breasts?"

There was a chuckle from the phone. "Normally, there wouldn't be much I could do to help, but you're in luck right now. We just changed suppliers, so I have a lot of samples from the old supplier that are going to be disposed of. I can help by using some of those. They may or may not match his skin perfectly, but a little makeup will fix that."

"Oh, Elise, that would be great!" Amanda said.

"Do you know how big he wants to go?"

"Actually, I think the plan is for him to be the same size of our little sister, Regina. She's kind of small. I'd say an A cup or maybe a small B. We can measure her before you come over, though."

"Cool," her friend replied. "I actually have a lot of choices in in smaller sizes. Are you still living at your mom's?"

"I am."

"Great. I'll come by after my shift - say around six - and let's see what we can do for him."
 

~^~
 

"You're kidding me?" Jenny asked as she nibbled on her BLT. "You've never dressed before? Little girl, you look like you were born and raised in panties and dresses."

Skyler glanced at his smiling girlfriend, then replied. "Thanks, I guess. I'm only doing this to try to win the scholarship money, though. I have three sisters. One already finished college, but my mom is still paying for that, another sister is a senior and my younger sister has already been winning pageants that offer scholarship money in order to have that money ready when she goes to college."

"And how old is that sister?"

"Fourteen."

"That is one intelligent and determined young lady," Jenny said, impressed. "She must be very pretty."

"Now that Sky has had his hair colored and styled, he looks almost exactly like Reggie. Oh - that's her name. Reggie." Hanna was beaming with pride at how pretty her boyfriend looked.

Jenny reached across the table and lifted Skyler's chin so she could see his face more clearly. "Then she must be a very pretty girl indeed."

She smiled in such a way that Skyler couldn't help but blush a bit. "Thank you." He felt the need to tell Jenny that his new look was not his choice. "I didn't... plan on looking like this... like Reggie. She just... she brought me to see this guy... a beauty consultant, I guess you'd call him, and... Well, that guy and Reggie... they did this to me."

"And you don't much care for what they did?"

"I feel like... like... like I'm not me anymore, I guess. Like I'm a clone of my little sister."

"Hmmm..." Jenny thought. Then she said, "Ok. Some advice. First, from the moment you get home, you should start wearing girls' clothing. Not necessarily a dress all the time, but panties and - and this is very important - a padded bra or a bra with falsies of some kind. Sky, I am telling you, no matter what you may think, if you are not used to wearing a bra and presenting as having breasts, you will be thinking about the fact that you have breasts during the pageant and it will throw you off. Most of the other boys will have been wearing their sister and mother's bras for years. You need to have one on twenty-four seven from here on out. Ok?"

"Well, yeah..." he said, "...but... what about school? I still have classes and things to attend. I can't just show up on campus wearing a bra."

"Then you won't win," Jenny said flatly. "Those clothes feel very different than your normal clothes. If you are thinking about your clothing when you are talking in the Q&As or performing in the talent segments, then you will not be living 'in the moment.' And besides, trust me, with that hair and those eyebrows... you'll look much more natural with breasts than without them."

He nodded, knowing that what she was saying was true.

"Second," she said, "remember that the winners don't just dazzle the judges with their talents. They are charming and entertaining. They smile and invite the audience to smile with them. To be honest, I'm not sure I've seen you smile one time since I met you."

"I guess I'm not really a smiler," he shrugged.

"Then become one," Jenny said, firmly. "Think of it as an acting exercise if you want, but if you want to stand any chance of getting into the final rounds, let alone win the whole competition, then you need to make the judges believe that you could win a regular beauty pageant - a pageant with real women." She leaned forward a bit. "Do you know anyone who has won a real beauty pageant?"

He nodded.

"Who?"

"My sister. Reggie."

Jenny smiled. "So, maybe it might be a good idea to listen to what your sister Reggie has to say, then, hmm? Maybe she and her beauty consultant have actually helped you to look the most beautiful that you can look already. What do you think?"

He sighed and looked at Hanna who gave him a sort of 'I told you so' look.

He then sat up a bit straighter and blinked a few times. "Yeah. Ok. I see what you're saying."

"Do you?" Jenny asked. "Let me be very clear, just in case you don't. I won last year's competition. I'm giving you advice and your response is to be resistant. Then you tell me that you have a sister who is a pageant winner and you're not listening to her advice, either. In my opinion, you are not serious about winning this competition."

He didn't know quite how to respond to that, so he just looked at the tabletop.

"I wonder if you might be willing to get serious enough to win, though?" Jenny asked. "Serious enough to listen to my advice. Serious enough to listen to your sister's advice. Serious enough to smile and be a pretty girl - because that's what it takes to win, and it sounds like your family could use the kind of financial help that winning would offer."

Skyler nodded. "Yes. Yes, I can do it."

Jenny looked at Hanna. "You heard him say that, right?"

"I did," Hanna smiled. "I heard him and I'm going to hold him to it."

Jenny looked Skyler and smiled. "Her," she said. "From now on, until after the Gala, Skyler is not a boy. Understood?"
 

~^~
 

There was someone sitting at the kitchen table who Skyler did not know when he and Hanna got home from their lunch with Jenny. The lunch was meant to last forty-five minutes, but had extended to nearly three hours.

"Here he is now," Amanda said as he entered. "Skyler, this is my friend, Elise, from nursing school. Elsie, this is my brother, Sky, and his girlfriend Hanna."

Elise stood and shook Skyler's hand. "Nice to meet you, Sky." She smiled, but Skyler noticed that she was eyeing him oddly. Without speaking any further to him, she looked at Amanda and spoke. "I think we picked the correct pair. They should work perfectly."

"What should work perfectly?" He asked.

Elsie smiled and picked up a box from the kitchen table, held it in front of her and opened it, revealing two very realistic looking breasts. "These."

"Oh, shit!" Skyler said, taking a half step back as if he was afraid of the items.

"Wow," Hanna said, reaching out and poking the side of the silicone prosthetics. "It even feels real."

"They hang realistically, too," Elise said. "If they are attached correctly, that is."

"How do you attach them?" Hanna asked, still touching the breasts.

"I use an adhesive," Elise said. "Usually, I use a medical grade adhesive that can hold the appliance in place for weeks, but I can also use a theatrical grade adhesive that will allow the appliances to be removed after a rehearsal, or performance."

Hanna glanced at Skyler, who was both frightened by the breasts and fascinated by the idea of having these faux pectoral pieces attached to him. "Well, if we take Jenny's advice seriously, you should probably have them attached with the stronger adhesive so that you get used to wearing them. Right?"

Both of Skyler's hands were suddenly on his cheeks as he considered the ramifications of suddenly having not only the haircut and color he was currently sporting, but a pair of realistic breasts that couldn't be hidden.

"I mean," Hanna continued, "if you're going to be wearing a bra all the time, anyway, then you may as well have breasts in the cups."

"Why would you be wearing a bra all the time?" Amanda asked, finding the idea odd.

"So, he won't be distracted by it when he's performing in the pageant." Hanna went on to explain what Jenny had told them. "So, wearing breasts all the time will help, too. Don't you think, Sky?"

He just looked worried and tried to find a reason to say 'no.' "Gee, Hanna, I don't know..."

Hanna looked surprised. "You don't know? You just told Jenny that you would follow her advice and take the advice of the people with expertise." She looked at Elise. "What would you recommend he do? Wear them full time or just when needed?"

Elsie shrugged a bit. "Well, I have to say, this is the first time that I've ever dealt with a client who wasn't a pre-op trans-girl, so this is a bit of a different situation than I'm used to, but... Yeah, I suppose that, if you want to be completely acclimated to wearing the appliances in three weeks, then... yeah... wearing them full time would make the most sense."

"Alright," Hanna said, rubbing Skyler's back. "Are you ready to get more girly?"

He sighed. He had actually made a lot of promises to do whatever needed to be done in order to win, so... what choice did he really have? "Ok. I guess I am."

About a half hour later, Kathy entered with Regina in tow, both carrying grocery bags. They were about to put the bags down when they spotted their brother standing in the living room with a lacy bra on, and that bra was encasing two very realistic looking, although modest, breasts.

"Wow," Kathy smiled. "Sky... is there something you haven't been telling us?"

"Holy cow, Sky," Regina giggled, "you look even more like me now than when you left for the meeting? Did they give you some shots, or something?"

"They're fake," Hanna laughed, "but they look pretty freaking real, don't they?"

"They do," Regina giggled, bouncing over to her brother. "Are we exactly the same size? That girl, Elise, measured me so we'd be as close as possible."

"Judging by the way your bra fits him, I'd say you're a little bigger, but he's close enough to share your clothes," Amanda explained.

"That's great," Kathy nodded. "That way you don't need to buy anything for the pageant."

"Or school, or bed, or anything else," Hanna said, her smile turning a bit mischievous.

"Why would he need to wear Reggie's clothes to school?" Kathy asked.

"Because" Amanda explained, "his breasts are on until Elise takes them off. Kind of... semi-permanent, I guess you'd say. He's 'avec décolletage' until after the pageant."

"What does that mean?" Regina asked as she looked at her new mirror image of a brother.

"It means that he'll be borrowing bras from you every day for the next three weeks," Kathy said with a smirk. "Isn't that adorable?"

"I think it's pretty cool, actually," Regina said, smiling broadly. "Can I dress him everyday?" She didn't ask the question of Skyler, she asked the other women in the room.

"As a matter of fact, you can," Hanna said. "Tell Reggie what Jenny said."

"Who's Jenny?" Regina asked.

"She won the pageant last year," Skyler explained.

"Oh. And what did she say?"

Skyler sighed. "She said that, since you've won so many pageants, I should..." he mustered his courage before saying the next part. "... I should do whatever you tell me I need to do to win."

Regina's mouth fell open, followed by her body bouncing and her hands clapping in joy! "Oh My God! This is awesome! You are going to be the cutest brother in the world for the next three weeks. This is even better than winning the pageant I was in today! I can't wait to start picking out your clothes!"

"Ok, now, let's not go crazy," Skyler said.

"Go crazy!?" Regina said with a look of shock on her face. "Sky - when I'm getting ready for a pageant, I start about six weeks ahead of time, getting my hair looking just right, making sure my skin is flawless and wearing the cutest clothes I own so that, come pageant day, I feel confident and beautiful. You've only got three weeks, little sister. Get ready for a whole lot of pretty!"
 
 
MUSIC LINKS:

Faure Nocturne in B Minor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKblUPU5_QE
 
 
To Be Continued...