The Princess and the Plague (Life after Camp Kumoni) By Anistasia Allread Edited by Nick B “Would it be all right with you, if I used the last name Summers?” “Oh, that is so perfect!” Tricia clapped her hands.

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“Did you ask your mom about coming over for the slumber party?” Tricia asked as they left the theater.

“I did,” Eric nodded. “She said that she’d have to think about it. It doesn’t sound too promising though.”

“Are you sure it wouldn’t help if my parents spoke to her?”

“I don’t think so. Let me ask her again and let her think about it. Given some time, she might come around.”

“I think I might have an idea on how to get Erika into school.” Victoria volunteered. Four pairs of eyes focused on the newspaper editor. “I registered as a front office aide. I might be able to get into Eric’s transcripts. If I can, I can try and change the name and gender on the paperwork, then Erika would be able to register.”

“There are an awful lot of ‘ifs’ in there,” Krystal pointed out.

“Do you have any better idea?”

“Samantha, you hacked into the camp computers. Couldn’t you hack into the school computers?” Eric asked.

“No, the security for the school computers is a lot tighter.”

“You could try registering the first day of school and tell them that your transcripts are in the process of being sent,” Krystal suggested. “It might work until one of us can break into your files and pull your transcripts.”

“That might work,” Victoria agreed, “There are a lot of new students the first few days of school and the front office is swamped. It would take them a while to figure out that you didn’t have your transcripts.”

“We’ll need to do something about your name though,” Samantha thought aloud. “Erika Martinez is too similar to Eric Martin. You could look amazing as Erika, but people will figure out with your names being so close sounding.”

“We already know her by Erika,” Krystal brought up. “It might get confusing for us or for her.”

“Keep her first name Erika but change her last name.” Victoria bit her lip deep in thought.

“What do you think for a last name?” Samantha looked to Eric.

“We’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves,” Eric stated, “We don’t even know if we can pull this off.” He stared off in to space for a moment then looked at Samantha. “Would it be all right with you, if I went by the last name Summers?”

“Oh, that is so perfect!” Tricia clapped her hands.

Four sets of eyes were now watching Samantha. A smile spread across her face as tears misted her eyes. “I think Summer would be honored if you took her name.” Samantha threw her arms around Eric and squeezed him tight.

“Anyone up for getting some gelato?” Victoria asked.

“I’ve got to call my mom.” Eric pulled his cell out of his pocket. “She wanted a call if plans changed.”
 

–o0o–
 
A few minutes later, the five friends stood in line at the gelato stand

“Someone call the C.D.C. We have a plague alert,” a voice called in passing.

Eric blushed.

“Who was that?” Tricia looked to Victoria.

“One of the student body representatives.”

“Oh my, we definitely need to get Erika enrolled.”

“I’m sorry,” Eric apologized. “maybe I should go over there and sit at a different table.”

“Bullshit.” Samantha slapped Eric’s arm. “Snap out of it. You’re our friend and you are sitting with us.”

“But people from school are watching.”

“Let them. They need to grow up.” Tricia took Eric’s hand.

The five friends sat down at a table and ate their gelatos.

“We need to make a few arrangements if we’re going to have Erika with us at school.” Victoria looked around the table. “She’ll need a place to change. She’s going to have to leave and return home as Eric, but somewhere before she gets to school, she’ll need to change into Erika. Where does everyone live in relation to Erika’s house and the school?” She pulled a piece of paper and pen out of her purse and began making a rough map of the area.

“Someone is going to have to double up on laundry too,” Tricia observed. “She won’t be able to wash her female clothes at home.”

“How about we all take turns?” Samantha suggested. “Each week one of us does her laundry, that way we’ll only be doing it one week per month.”

“That sounds good,” Victoria agreed.

“I’m about four blocks from the school,” Tricia observed. “She can use my place as a pit stop between home and school. Besides, I’m sure Leeza would be willing to help out. I know she’d like to see Erika from time to time.”

“You’re going to need school clothes.” Samantha pointed out.

“I’ve got some clothes.”

“Those are summer clothes. You’ll be able to use a few of them, but you are going to need a wardrobe. You might be able to fit into a few of my clothes, my skirts and perhaps some of my larger tops, but that is about it.” She looked at Victoria. “Do you have anything that might fit Erika?”

Victoria looked at Eric and thought. “I might have a couple of things, but I have a sister that is more Erika’s size. I might be able to get some of her cast offs.”

Samantha looked at Eric with a sparkle in her eye. “It looks like we’ll have to go shopping.”

“School starts in just over a week. When are we going to be able to?” Eric asked.

“We need to get you to the slumber party,” Tricia asserted.

“I told you, I don’t think my mom will let me.”

“Can you tell her you’re going to another friend’s house?”

“I don’t have any other friends.”

Tricia bit her lip in frustration and thought.

“My mom’s going to be here in just a few minutes,” Eric informed his friends.

“Eric?” Samantha asked. “What did you do with your breast forms and camp clothes?”

“I hid them.”

“Where?”

“In my room. The only thing that I couldn’t hide was the dance dress. It’s in the back of my closet behind a long coat.”

“Has your mom gone looking through your room?”

“If she has, she hasn’t mentioned it. I put some porno magazines under my mattress to hopefully throw her off.”

“We’ll need to move those out of your house. Is your mom working tomorrow?”

“No.” Eric shook his head. “I might be able to get some time during her soaps though.” He looked outside to see his mother’s car pull up. “I’ve got to go.”

“I’ll call you later.” Samantha promised.
 

–o0o–
 
Eric lay on his bed, letting his mind wander. School would be starting soon, which meant an earlier bedtime. He wanted to enjoy these late nights as much as he could. His mom and dad had gone to bed an hour ago.

Eric hoisted himself out of bed and piled his comic books onto the floor. He pulled a skirt and top out of the box along with a bra. He reached behind his stereo and pulled out the T-shirt wrapped forms and sat down on the bed.

Eric stared down at the breast forms that had been an intimate part of his body for most of the summer. Did he want to do this? Did he really want to be Erika or was it a matter of being accepted?

He pulled off his shirt, put on the bra and fitted the forms into place. The familiar weight felt good, felt natural. He cupped the breasts in his hands and allowed his fingers to run over their shape. He almost sighed with the ‘rightness’ of it.

Erika dug through her drawer and pulled out a pair of panties. She pulled the gaffe on and tucked Eric’s genitalia into place. It was less comfortable but felt secure. She then pulled panties on, followed by the long white skirt.

Erika unfolded a pink blouse and slipped it over her head tugging it to place over her curves. She slid her legs into the embrace of panty hose and pulled them up over her thighs. The prickly stubble on her legs reminded her that it had been a week since she had last shaved. She longed to have silky smooth legs again.

Erika turned the light in the bathroom on and dug out her makeup. She laid what she had out on the counter and admired herself in the mirror as she applied mascara, a touch of blush and lip gloss.

She fluffed up her hair a little and turned one way then another as she admired herself in the mirror. Why did she feel so comfortable dressed like this? She had spent years dressed like a boy, wearing loose pants, baggy shirts. They were roomy, clothes that Eric could lounge around in. She had only spent a few weeks wearing girls’ clothes which tended to fit more snugly.

Erika cast a final look at herself in the mirror and went to her computer and signed on. She created a email address at Yahoo, then created a profile at Facebook and Myspace. If her friends were able to pull off a miracle and she was able to attend school as Erika Summers, then she would need to create a history and background. She uploaded pictures from camp that Phoenix had sent them. Her heart swelled with longing as she looked at the picture of herself in the blue dress right before they went to the dance. Was that really her? It seemed so long ago.

Erika looked at the clock and yawned. It was almost two in the morning. She set her computer on standby and went into the bathroom. She scrubbed her face with a washcloth before stashing her makeup in the bottom towel. She slowly undressed, folding her clothes and putting them back in their hiding places.

Eric wrapped his breast forms up in the camp T-shirt and tucked them back in their hiding place. He missed the nightgown that he had worn in camp. When he had donned it those first nights in the cabin, it had felt like an embarrassment, as if he was wearing a costume, only it wasn’t All Hollow’s Eve and he was afraid that someone would notice and start laughing at him. That nightgown, however, became like a security blanket, it wrapped around him at night and kept him warm, safe and covered.

Eric went over to the box with Erika’s clothes buried at the bottom and dug out the nightgown. He held it up before him and looked it over. Then as if there was a time limit, he turned it around and slipped it over his body, freeing his long hair from its collar and climbed into bed.

 
C.D.C. - The Center for Disease Control
 

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To Be Continued...