"The only thing I want to change," I informed my parents, "is that I want to go to Lou's party on Saturday."

They glanced at each other for a moment, then Dad said, "As Tinkerbell, or Lite Brite?"

"It's Rainbow Brite," I corrected.
 

Ms. Tandy held up the doll and asked if anyone knew what it was.

One girl said, "A doll."

The teacher replied, "Come on, if it was that easy, I wouldn't have asked."

"Oh! Oh!" another girl called. "I know! I know!"

"That's not what I meant," she countered. "I mean that you have to behave. You can't be tricky and get around the rules. Rules are rules, and if you don't watch out, they can really bite you in the butt. If you're going to be a girl and not get caught at it, you have to keep your nose clean, keep a low profile, and not draw attention to yourself. You might think that teachers and adults are old and stupid, but they ignore a lot of stuff. They let a lot slide. If you flaunt the rules, people will notice, and when they have their chance, they'll lower the boom on you. Do you get me?"

"Mark, look. This isn't some sitcom on TV. It's real life. It's high school. Kids can be very cruel. You never know — one tiny slip, one little detail could give you away, and it would all be over. Then what would you do? Leave school? Run away?"

     I think he's technically my boyfriend."
     "... Okay, and this is bad because ... ?"
     "I can't have a boyfriend!" Christina exploded. She stood on her tip-toes and looked over the counter to see if her uncle had heard that comment. Convinced that he didn't notice, she looked back at Steph and insisted, "I can't have a boyfriend."
     "Why not?"
     "... Because ..." Christina stuttered, "Boyfriends ... and girlfriends ... they do boyfriend-girlfriend things!"

Mom bit her tongue, and said calmly, "Victor, listen to me. If you put on a boy's costume, one of your friends might notice you. But if you dress like a girl, they never will. Think about it."

"But do I have to dress like a little girl?" I asked.

"So what happened to your nephew Mark?" Denise asked. "Did Marcie come instead?"

"Yeah, sort of," Jane replied, laughing. "It's a funny story–"

Before she could start, I blurted out, "I'm Mark. I'm her nephew Mark."

"Oh, my lord!" she cried. "You have to wear a dress every day for the next two weeks?" She actually sat down on the sidewalk, she was laughing so hard. I wanted to smack her, I was so mad. "We're going to have to do some shopping!" She clutched her sides.

"Oh, Marcie," Ms. Price said with a concerned frown, "What happened to you? I thought you'd get here ahead of me."

In answer I looked up at the Queen of Hearts lookalike standing next to me. I wanted to say, What happened to me? She happened to me. That's what happened to me. Then I looked from Ms. Price's eyes to the hand on my arm, to try to tell her, I'm her prisoner now.

     Looking up into Richard's eyes, Christina did not think about whether or not what she was about to do was a good idea. In fact she didn't think it all. She wrapped her arms around Richard's shoulders, and her right hand found the back of his head. Guiding him down, Christina parted her lips and drew Richard into the most passionate kiss they had ever shared.

     "You can't be in here. This is girl space."
"I don't recall 'girl space' being outlined in the zoning regulations."
     "This," Christina stated manically as she outlined a square around her body with her hands, "is a girls-only establishment, hence girl space." She drew a square around Richard and said, "That is boy space. Boy space is not allowed in girl space. You have to go outside."

Christina whispered, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I thought I was kissing you," Richard joked. He leaned in and said, "Let me try again, and you tell me if I've got it wrong."
 

"So, you do like this man?"

"He's a nice guy, Uncle Alek, but he wants me to be his girlfriend, and it's just never gonna happen."

“I do other things beside sell cosmetics, but I don’t want to get into that right now, let’s just enjoy our meal.”

“You know you cannot drive without a driver license,” screamed the nicely dressed non-intoxicated policeman.

“Sure I can. I put something in this here hole next to the wheel that the nicely dressed intoxicated gentleman uses to stir things with and I put this thang here in “R”, get my book about Dick and Jane and Spot and put my foot on that thang down there and the car goes, but there is always that there tree in the way.”
 

Alek stood up and pointed around the room, "Tina, you will pack up all of these things right now, and you WILL come home, and that is FINAL."

Christina screamed, "No way! This is MY life, and I say I'm staying RIGHT THE FUCK HERE!"
 

Poor ole Joe Bockkernodd . Upset with life. Work, work all the time. Whenever he saw a girl with her boyfriend, a wife with her husband, he thought, “Oh how lucky they are. Never having to work. Always having somebody to take care of them. Oh, if only he was one of the lucky ones with someone to take care of him.”

A tear ran down Christina's cheek. "You have to talk to me Nina," she cried. "Please?" she whispered as she dropped her head and sobbed quietly. "Nina, you have to open the door. I'm leaving soon, and I don't know if I'm ever going to see you again. Please, don't be mad at me."

 

Synopsis: Cindy and Allyssa are convinced Terri doesn't need to be so depressed at her situation. They begin trying to change her attitude and self image. They want her open up a bit more.

Christina couldn't stand the devilish look on her aunt's face. "I know," Christina explained, "I got up early to cook something for lunch." She looked pleadingly towards Misha in the hopes she would let the subject drop.

Christina had reached an entirely new stage of embarrassment; she could feel heat pulsating throughout her entire body. "Aunt Misha, I know what you're thinking, but it's not like that at all," Christina protested.

"Come back tomorrow," he beamed.

Blushing, Christina said, "I think you'd work faster without any distractions."

Richard answered seriously, "I need you around to answer any questions that may arise." In a much more playful tone, he added, "Besides, you are far and away my favorite distraction."

Abby shrugged and continued, "Not a word of that, but they did say you two made quite the couple on the dance floor."

"Yeah," Christina admitted with a sneer, "There might have been some dancing."

"If Richard took you to the Clairmont, then he must have you in his sights."

"Is that his thing?" Christina asked.

Abby leaned in and warned, "That Richard Masters is one smooth talker. I swear he has dated more girls than a crocodile has teeth!"

"You don't say."

"Just watch your back, Sugar. He's not one for settling down."

"Oh I will," Christina assured. "I've seen him in action. I'm sure he has all the girls eating out of his hand. But I'm not all the girls. I'm not... even one girl."