Kenneth read for a while, as he mulled over what Valerie was doing,
and what he was going to do in response.  Finally, he decided that the
best thing to do was match her move, and see what she did.
     He slipped his shoes off, and tried to stick them under Valerie's
legs, but there was too much bone in the way.  She proved silently
agreeable to the idea, though, and they ended up with their feet under
the other one's buttocks.  *Hmmm,* Kenneth thought, a bit sourly, *now
what?*

     Charlie was staring out the window, wondering gloomily why it had
picked today to rain, when Teresa came up behind him.  He could see her
reflection in the glass.  "What?" he asked, when she didn't say anything
for a minute.
     "Just, I mean..."  She paused, and Charlie returned his attention
to watching the water droplets smash into the pool.  "Could we go up to
your room for a while?" she asked.
     "Why?" he asked as he turned around to look at her.
     "I, I wanted to ask you some stuff, privately," she replied,
unconsciously lowering her voice as she looked around for observers.
Charlie had to work not to roll his eyes at her, but he figured if she
thought it was that important, that he'd better talk to her.

     Tucker was getting a little cramped, so he pulled his feet from
under Kenneth.  When Kenneth looked up, he just smiled silently in
explanation, and stood up momentarily before settling back down on the
couch, next to Kenneth this time.  Tucker made a production of arranging
his skirt and legs before returning to his book.  It seemed to take a
while before Kenneth did likewise.  Tucker had to bite his lip to keep
from laughing.

     "I have no IDEA what she's doing with him," Charlene complained.
     Julio asked, "Do you think she's got a crush on him or something?"
     "Oh don't be..." Charlene started scornfully, but trailed off.
After a few seconds of thinking, she said, in a much calmer voice, "I
don't know.  I don't THINK so... she said she was playing a game with
him, but she might have been lying."
     "What kind of game?"  It might have something to do with his
original question.

     Jane passed by the library door entirely before the scene she
thought she'd seen, out of the corner of her eye, registered on the
rest of her brain.  She went back to look, and it was as she had sensed.
Valerie and Kenneth were sitting together on the couch, ostensibly
reading, but within inches of each other.  They both looked up as she
came back.  Kenneth winked as she was about to comment on the two of
them, and she reconsidered.  *He's still playing that game with her, and
if it wasn't her, I'd break it up immediately.  But, with Valerie being
on the other end, I don't think I have to worry about her being
psychologically damaged by anything Kenneth will do.*  Which brought up
the possibility that Kenneth might be scarred by whatever Valerie did to
him....
     Dismissing this train of thought for the moment, she asked, "Have
you seen Teresa or Charlene since lunch?"
     "No, Jane."  "No ma'am," the two teens answered.  Valerie added,
"Have you tried their rooms yet?"
     "No, I haven't.  Thank you," Jane replied, grateful for the exit
that Valerie had provided.
     It took Jane halfway up the stairs, the irony that one of her
students was now providing HER with graceful ways out of uncomfortable
situations.  She had to sit down and laugh into her hands for a while
before she could stand back up and climb the rest of the stairs.

     A knock on the door silenced Teresa instantly.  Charlie looked at
her, then called out, "Come in?"
     Jane opened the door, and smiled when she saw the two of them.
"Oh, good, I'd been looking for you."  Charlie stifled a sigh.  "I was
thinking, some baking would go well on a day like today."
     Charlie looked over at Teresa, who looked as though she wasn't sure
if she should be horrified or relieved.  "Oh, that sounds GREAT, Jane!"
Charlie gushed, and turned her body towards Teresa.  "I know this GREAT
recipie for chocolate death cookies-"
     "Chocolate death?" Teresa questioned.
     "More chocolate than cookie," he explained.  "Wanna help?" he
asked, and winked at her where Jane couldn't see.
     It took her half a second, but she got the hint.  "Sure!" she said
like she meant it, and turned back to Jane.  "Could I, please?"
     *She's getting the hang of things,* Charlie thought warmly.

     Tucker shifted a few critical inches, until he was pushed against
Kenneth.  Besides, he WAS a bit cold.
     "Hmmm?" Kenneth said as he registered the weight shift.
     "Do you mind?" Tucker asked, sounding as sweet and young as he
could manage.  "I, I'm a little cold, is all."
     "Oh, not at all," he replied, and moved an arm around Tucker's
shoulder.  "Is that better?"
     "Uh huh," Tucker replied as he wiggled deeper into Kenneth's
embrace.  The sad thing was, it WAS warmer against him.  Tucker hadn't
quite realized how cold he was in this dress until he'd pressed against
Kenneth.  *Gotta remember this, the next time I stay at Deb's.*

     Kenneth read for a while longer, until he dimly realized that it
was time for him to respond.  And he was thirsty.  The glass of tea on
the table next to him provided him with his next action.
     As he raised it to his lips, Valerie asked, "Oh, could I have a
sip?"  He finished his swallow, then wordlessly handed her the glass.
She raised it with both hands and drank delicately out of it, leaving
only a couple of drops on her lips.  And not, as Kenneth had feared,
draining the glass entirely.
     As she handed the glass back to him, he took the opportunity to
caress her hands.  She smiled shyly as she dropped her eyes, but she
didn't yank her hands away.  Kenneth took the glass back and set it on
the coaster, wondering *Now what?*
     He realized he'd hesitated too long when Valerie grabbed his left
hand and pulled it closer to her.  "Is that your class ring?" she asked,
holding his hand in both of hers.
     "Yeah.  I don't know why I wear it; it seems to be out of fashion
to advertise you graduated from high school nowadays," he added.
     "I'd be happy to get INTO high school," she said, and then looked
at him.  "Did you ever do that thing, where you let your girlfriend wear
it?"
     That hurt, a bit.  "I did, before we broke up and she gave it
back."
     "I'm sorry," Valerie replied, and it sounded sincere.
     "Yeah, me too.  I guess it just wasn't working out, so we split up
before it got nasty."  Which was a good thing, he realized, but he still
wished he and Liz could have worked things out-
     "You look so sad," she observed, pulling him out of his thoughts.
He looked at her, and her eyes were dark with concern and her brow
slightly furrowed as she gazed at him.  "Is," she started huskily, and
let out one breath and drew in another before continuing, "Is there
anything I could do for you, to make you feel better?"
     "Oh?" Kenneth asked, wondering what she was thinking of.  "Did you
have anything in mind?"

     *Deb's gonna kill me if she finds out about this,* Tucker thought
as he reached up to Kenneth's face and kissed him on the lips.

     "'Lo?"
     "Mike?"
     *Naw, this is the NSA surveillance team,* Mike thought.  "Yeah, w-"
     "This is Debbie, hi, listen, I wanted to ask you something...."
     For some reason, the hair went up on the back of his neck.

     Kenneth was half expecting her to kiss him, so he rolled into her
and put his other arm around her waist.  As he sort of expected, she
didn't fight; instead, she pressed up against him and moaned softly in
her throat, a sound which made his spine tingle.
     They kissed for a long time, and finally broke for breath.  Valerie
was breathing harder than usual, but she smiled at Kenneth and rubbed
against his arm.  Kenneth removed his hand from her waist and caressed
her shoulder gently.  "How do you manage to keep your skin so soft?" he
asked quietly, marveling at the satin texture.
     She looked down, smiling, and Kenneth thought he could see traces
of a blush on her face and neck as she softly replied, "I guess it's a
girl thing."  Without looking up again, she moved a hand and ran a
fingertip along his neck.  Kenneth's eyes closed in sensual
appreciation.

     "Well," Charlene commented quietly as they crept away from the
library towards the kitchen, "at least they're not kissing again."
     Julio wasn't sure if that was as good as Charlene made it sound.
He'd seduced a few girls himself, and he knew that if they were touching
you like that, you had it made.

     Jane kept glancing outside as the rain fell.  It seemed a
melancholy sort of rain today, and she hoped it wasn't going to be there
tomorrow.  She had plans...
     "Oh, damn," she uttered without hearing herself.  "Valerie has
choir practice tomorrow."  That would throw things off...  On the other
hand, with the apparent bad blood between her and Sandy, perhaps it was
best if she didn't come in, at least not at the same time.  *Who worked
on her last time... Lori?  Perhaps I should set up a separate
appointment with her.  Normally, I wouldn't, but that child is one of
the best I've ever seen.  I don't think I have anything to worry about,
at least as far as exposure goes.  At this point, she has quite a bit to
lose here.  I think that will keep us safe.*
     A rumble of thunder shook the windows, and she sighed, leaning back
in her chair.  It was just that kind of day.

     Tucker was sitting there, sucking face and wondering just how he
got into these kinds of messes, when Kenneth shifted both of them a
little bit, which would have been fine except for the sharp spike of
pain that lanced through Tucker's foot a moment later.
     "Gghhhh!" he exhaled into Kenneth's mouth as he jerked forward, and
he felt his teeth smack into something, none of which mattered nearly as
much as the knife blade he was sure was pinning his foot to the floor,
except it moved when he jerked it-
     Eyes watering, he looked over the edge of the couch and saw the
tome Kenneth had been reading, lying innocently on the floor - and a
white-fading-to-pained-red spot on his foot that would, he knew, match
perfectly to the corner of the hardbound cover.
     "Christ!" he complained as he pulled his foot up into his lap to
pet it and reassure it, "Haven't you ever heard of _light_ reading?"

     "You were thinking what?!"  Charlie couldn't believe his ears.
     Teresa glared at him.  "Shut UP!" she hissed.  "Someone might
hear!"
     Charlie wanted to roll his eyes at her.  Nobody was coming in...
But he lowered his voice anyway.  "So WHAT were you thinking?"
     Teresa sighed, and looked away from him.  "I was just, I mean, I...
I DON'T LIKE it here," she emphasized, as if it had some kind of real
meaning.  Charlie didn't like it here either, but he had about as little
choice as-
     "So I was thinking, that maybe he could get me out of here," Teresa
continued.
     "Kenneth?" Charlie confirmed.  "You think he'd kidnap you?"
     "It's not kidnapping if that's what _I_ want to do!" Teresa
disputed.
     Charlie retorted, "It is if you take off without Jane's permission,
it is.  Isn't she, I mean, wasn't she appointed your guardian or
something like that?"
     "Yeah, something like that.  So?"
     Charlie sighed.  "So, she's got the same legal position as a parent
of yours, and since you are WELL under eighteen, then what she says
counts.  And I don't think she would agree to you just deciding to take
off with Kenneth.  Furthermore," he emphasized, "Kenneth would have to
be an idiot to take you with him!  If he moves across state lines, then
he could get busted for kidnapping!  That's FEDERAL."
     "But-" Teresa tried desperately.
     "Look," Charlie explained, a little calmer.  "He came here, for
whatever reason, to visit Jane.  Not you or me or Valerie.  Right?"
Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "Plus, he thinks you're a
girl.  So the only reason he'd take you with him is if he was interested
in you-"
     "But, I mean, he HAS to know!  Doesn't he?"  She sounded much less
certain about it.
     Charlie shrugged.  He would have assumed that Jane would have told
him, but the way he was kissing on Valerie...  "No, he doesn't.  So if
you ask to go running off with him, then he's gonna think you have the
hots for him or something, and the only way he would agree to it...."
He left the rest for Teresa to figure out.
     Eventually, she did, judging by the way her shoulders slumped.  "So
I'm stuck here?"
     "You're stuck here," Charlie confirmed.  "Unless you want to take
your chances with a lust-crazed college guy who's willing to commit
federal crimes to take you with him.  That is not," he pointed out,
"what I would call a good situation."
     Teresa stared at the floor for a while, then threw an apple with a
vile curse in Spanish.  He didn't know what it was, but he could tell it
was nasty.  "You said it," he agreed, to be sociable.  "So, could you
get, um, butter, and the milk?"

     "Sorry about your lip," Valerie apologized as he smeared some
ointment on the place where she'd attempted to bite it off.
     It had bled, a lot, but he thought that he'd kept the blood off the
carpets and upholstery.  "Nur," he commented offhandedly.

     "Good Lord," Jane commented as she gazed at the bottom of the Visa
bill and discovered just how much Valerie had been costing her.  She was
accustomed to paying thousands of dollars per student, but this was a
bit excessive, even to her.  "And Kenneth took her out, AGAIN,
yesterday.  Oh my Lord..."

     "Okay, so... are we done?"  Julio hadn't quite realized how much
effort was involved in actually making cookies.  Now he knew why the
older women in his life had had such strong arms.  HIS arms ached from
the mixing, and he'd only done half of it.
     Charlene sighed, and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.
It made him feel better, to see that she was as tired out as he was.
"Almost.  Now, we find about a million baking sheets, and put the
cookies on them."  She scooped a fingerful of dough from the bowl into
her mouth.  "'N tess ev'r'thin," she mumbled, grinning.
     Julio imitated her, and found it to be entirely to his liking.
"Mmmmm!" he commented as he reached for some more.
     "Naht!" Charlene reprimanded him as she slapped his hand.  "Just
one more, and then we start dropping it on the sheets."

     They had both gone back to the library, but by mutual consent, they
were sitting on opposite ends of the couch this time.
     Kenneth glanced at Valerie, who was seemingly absorbed in _Double
Star_, and wondered, *She couldn't have done that deliberately.  Could
she?*

     Julio reached for a cookie, but realized a little too late why
Charlene had insisted he wait.  "Owmmmph!" he complained as he stuck his
burned fingers in his mouth.
     "I told you," Charlene gloated.  "Now, go run cold water on 'em to
take the sting out."  Without waiting for him, she led him over to the
sink and pulled his hand down to the stream of cold water.
     "Yowch!" he heard from behind him, and when he looked over his
shoulder, Kenneth had HIS fingers in his mouth.  Julio looked back at
Charlene, and they both started to snicker.

     *Must be the drugs,* Tucker decided as he looked at his face in the
vanity mirror.  *Besides, I think I really got Kenneth bothered.*
     *Blood does that to some people,* the annoying part of his mind
mentioned.  Sarcastically, too.
     "Shut up," he told himself.  "It was an accident!"

     Jane had gone with the flow, and declared that instead of the usual
afternoon tea, that they would have milk and cookies.  Naturally,
everyone approved, especially with the smell filling the house and
making everyone's stomach grumble anxiously.
     However, the bloody mark on Kenneth's lip worried her, even though
she knew that he could handle himself.  The wink he gave her told her as
much, but she still worried about it.  And Valerie was limping slightly.
     *What did those two DO?*

     "Kenneth?" Jane mentioned as he got up to leave.  "May I speak with
you a moment?"  Despite the polite words, he knew it was an iron
command.
     Repressing the twinge of fear he felt, he answered calmly, "Yes, of
course, Jane."

     "You're in trouble," Charlie stated with confidence when they had
all made it out of the parlor.  He KNEW that tone of Jane's.
     "Oh, fuck off, Shar," was Valerie's over-the-shoulder comment.
     "What has gotten into you?" he insisted.  "You and him were
practically having sex right there-"
     Valerie turned around and pinned Charlie up against the wall.
"Charlene," she stated.  "Shut.  Up."
     Charlie was going to push back, when he noticed the flush spreading
down from the girl's cheeks, where it was covered by makeup, all the way
down to her shoulders, where it wasn't.  *Mmm hmm,* he thought.  *Got
that in one.*  Which raised about a billion questions MORE-
     "Would you two stop?" Teresa asked from behind Valerie, and Valerie
moved in surprise to look at her, giving Charlie the chance to move away
from the wall.  "What's the big deal anyway?"
     Charlie was trying to think of how to explain this, but Valerie got
in first with an explosive, "Nothing!  Charlene's just jealous that he's
more interested in me than her."
     "WHAT?!"

     Julio watched the two girls bicker for a while, before finally
walking off in disgust.  *Women, I swear.  I will NEVER understand
them.*
     As he passed by a mirror in the main hallway, he checked his makeup
to make sure it would pass Jane's scrutiny, if she appeared suddenly
like she had a habit of doing.

     "HOW can you POSSIBLY think-"
     "Look, Shar," Tucker said in a low voice, "how about we continue
this in our rooms?  Or someplace other than the main hallway?  Hmm?"
     She huffed, but started upstairs, glancing behind her a few times
to make sure he was following her.  They had gone into her room, and he
had no sooner shut the door that she was all over him again.
     "What the HELL are you talking about, me being jealous?!"
     "Well, I mean, if that's not it, what IS your deal?"  She was waaay
too upset over this to be simply concerned for his welfare.  He crossed
his arms as he watched her splutter her way to an answer.
     "He- you- it- but-"  She sighed, then tried again.  "I mean, he's a
GUY!"
     "I'd noticed that," Tucker smirked.
     She stared at him, her mouth open.  "But," she finally managed,
"but you're KISSING him!  And he's, and you're-"
     "It's all part of the game, Charlene," he explained patiently.
"I'm not really interested in him, okay?  But, it works for appearances,
and isn't this bullshit," he fluttered his skirt at her to emphasize
what he was talking about, "all about appearances?"

     "I'm just worried about you," Jane explained patiently.
"Valerie... has a skill, of getting people into situations that-"
     "I know, Jane," Kenneth sighed at her.  "And I'm not going to let
it get that far.  For EITHER of us," he emphasized.
     "Well, it looks as though that is exactly what you are NOT doing."
She stood up and sighed.  "Kenneth, I just don't want either of you two
to get hurt in this, this game you two are playing with each other."
     "We won't, I promise," he said patiently from behind her.  She
wished she could believe him, but she knew from her own experiences that
sometimes the moment could simply overwhelm one's self-control and
sense, while the regrets would last a lifetime.
     And he already had a cut lip.

     "I just, I mean, if he's taking dance classes," Debbie explained,
"who's he dancing with?"
     Kathy sighed, and looked up at the ceiling for inspiration.  Off
white, she noted, was not especially inspirational.  "Deb.  It's a dance
class, right?  Not a dance CLUB," she emphasized, "where people just mix
and mingle.  It's a formal class, with partners and count-off-by-twos
and all that.  And it's not like they're gonna have time to DO anything
there, not in the middle of class!"
     "But what if, I mean, some women like young fresh stupid guys!"
Debbie exclaimed.  "And Tucker would be just the thing for some
menopausal bitch to dominate him and control him!  And he wouldn't know
what hit him!"
     *Like certain juniors I could name?* Kathy thought but didn't say.
"So did you have something in mind to save his soul from the evil
clutches of theoretical black widows in New England, or was this all
just an exercise in paranoia?"

     Julio had made himself a cup of cocoa, even though it was June,
because it seemed that kind of day - dark and dreary and unusually cold.
Or maybe it was just him.
     Either way, he was sipping at it and watching the rain from the
living room for a long time.  *Sometimes I wonder about all this,* he
thought.  *I mean, this is really NOT how things are 'supposed' to be.
Me here, in this...*  Glancing down confirmed to him that he hadn't
hallucinated the last few weeks.  *Mother Mary, has it ONLY been that
long?*  It seemed like forever, today, since he had been outside, since
he hadn't been covered in what felt like a wrapping of the grey clouds
from outside.
     Or satin, or something else frilly.  He sighed.

     "Now, if you could help Teresa a little bit..."
     Kenneth sighed and got up.  "Yes, Momma-Jane."  Jane smiled at the
sobriquet.  It still remained to be seen what he would do with Valerie,
but at least he would be distracted for a while.
     Which meant she would have time to talk to Valerie herself.

     Kenneth found Teresa sitting on one of the couches in the living
room, sipping at a mug that smelled like cocoa.  His nose twitched as he
identified the scent.  *That smells strangely good,* he thought.  *Maybe
I could get her to make me a cup?*

     "Jane, would you just CHILL?!"  Tucker couldn't believe she was
going on like this.  "I mean, YOU're the one that said I had to act like
a girl, remember?"
     Jane snapped back, "I said a LADY, Valerie.  Not one of these,
these, animalistic uncontrolled hormone-befuddled sexpots the media
tells young women-"
     "My GOD, Jane!"  Tucker was aghast.  He'd thought Edith White was
lost in spacetime, but this...  "It's the nineties, wouldja believe?
Get WITH!  There ARE no more princes, so it's no USE acting like a
princess any more!"
     Jane seemed to have calmed down as he spoke, which made him
nervous.  "There are always times when being able to act like a lady is
to one's advantage..."  Tucker had to agree with her there.  Times like
when he was forced on dates with over-testosteroned basketball players,
for one.  "And you haven't shown me that you can act AS A LADY," she
emphasized.
     "Hah!" Tucker challenged.  "What do you think I've been DOING the
last month?  A Conan the Barbarian impersonation?"  Tucker forced away
the vision of Arnold Schwartzenegger in a frilly dress as too
distracting.  He needed all of his CPU time for this argument.
     "YOU have been acting out, is what you have been doing, young miss.
And if I don't see some improvement, then you are going to 'flunk' out
of here and be sent back-"
     "WHAT?!"  No way he was going to let THAT happen.  "I can do it
TONS better than Charlene, and she was BORN to it!"  How a girl like her
could live to her age and be so repressed was something else he wondered
about sometimes, but this part of the country seemed to generate them.
*But she's from L.A.,* he reminded himself.
     "You have shown absoLUTEly no sign of that, young miss," Jane
snarled, "and I am beginning to think you are incapable of it.  I
THOUGHT you had what it took, but-"

     Valerie reacted just as Jane had planned.  Her hair almost stood on
end as she snarled, "I can do it better than anyone in town and you KNOW
it!"
     "Oh?" Jane prompted, adding doubt and contempt to her voice.
     Valerie almost let loose a sentence, but snapped down on it so
violently that her neck and jaw muscles clenched to whiteness under the
makeup.  Jane was proud of her control; she wouldn't have been able to
manage that a few weeks ago.  She was indeed a quick student.  What the
girl finally let escape was a quiet, solemn, "Bets?"
     Jane snorted, but before she could say anything, Valerie added in a
calm controlled voice, "Or, as the saying goes, care to put your money
where your mouth is?  Ma'am?"  The last was pure challenge, and while
part of her knew it, and wanted to applaud Valerie for her control, the
rest of her just HAD to rise to meet it.

     Kenneth was smiling at him, and it made him feel weird.  Like, he
knew that Valerie had been kissing on him just a little while ago, but
the way Kenneth was looking at him, Julio wasn't entirely sure that it
had been enough for him.
     *Maybe that idea about talking to him was a bad one,* he decided as
he handed the mug to Kenneth.  The way Kenneth smiled at him confirmed
that, for once, he had made the right decision.

     Marie was happy to find both Teresa and Kenneth in the kitchen when
she went in to start preparing the evening meal.  "Oh, good.  Would you
two mind helping me fix supper tonight?"
     The two of them looked at each other, but it was Teresa who replied
first, "Of course not, Marie!  I'd be happy to help."  It was a good
sign, when the students agreed with such enthusiasm, but it didn't
usually happen until much later in the program.

     Kenneth knew that something had happened between Valerie and Jane,
and he was dying to know what it was, but he knew he couldn't pump
either of them for information until the other wasn't around.
     Finally, after dinner, he had his chance, when Jane stood up and
announced the end of the meal.  "Jane, may _I_ speak with YOU for a
moment?"
     Her eyebrows quirked up, and a moment later so did her mouth, but
he kept a bland, pleasant expression on his face until she indicated the
parlor.

     "Would you forget about listening at the door?" Charlie complained
as Valerie mentioned it one more time.
     "What got into you?" she complained back.  "I have a right to know
what's going on, as much as-"
     "Sure, and you tell that to Jane when she catches you at it.  I'm
sure she'd listen to reason on the matter."
     "The only way she'd find out is if someone told her," Valerie said
darkly, and it took him a moment to realize what she was referring to.
     "Oh, please," he sighed, causing Teresa to pause with the last load
of dirty dishes from the dining room.  "I wouldn't have to tell her.
Marie would, assuming she didn't know about it already.  She's got the
house completely wired," she said confidently.
     "No she doesn't," Valerie shot back.  "She just wants you to think
she does."
     "Like you know?"

     "Shar?"  Tucker tapped on the door again, unsure if she was inside.
     She finally opened the door, looking ready for bed.  And irritated.
"What?"
     He hated asking - it made him feel like a perv or something - but
he forced out, "C-can I sleep with you tonight?  Please?"
     She rubbed her face, and for a moment he thought she was going to
say no, but she finally grumbled, "Yeah, sure, come on.  Just don't
snore."

     The conversation between Kenneth and Jane had gone quite pleasantly
for hours, but he was feeling a bit tired, and Jane noticed it with her
usual perspicacity.  "Perhaps it's time to retire for the evening?" she
said graciously, getting up.
     He yawned before replying, and grinned sheepishly as he agreed
with her.  Before he went upstairs, though, he realized that a little
more reading would be the perfect way to end the evening.  "I'm gonna
find my book, and then I'll go right to bed, Jane, I promise," he
assured her as she paused on the stairs.
     "Alright then, but I will need you fresh and alert tomorrow.
Teresa has her first outing then, and I think it would be best if you
watch Valerie so I can concentrate on her."
     "Babysitting, Jane?" he teased her.
     "More like a witness, I think," she shot back.  "I have no real
doubts that she will win that bet, but it would fit if she somehow
managed to cause some kind of mayhem while doing it.  And I think I
could use someone to keep track of what actually happens.  And the
damages."
     "I think you're going a little overboard, Jane," he started to
assert before his lip cracked unpleasantly under its coating of
ointment.
     "Mmmm hmmm."  She'd noticed the wince, of course.  "In any case,
don't stay up too late, alright?"
     He promised, "I won't, Momma-Jane.  And you get some sleep too,
alright?"
     She turned and resumed climbing the stairs, but the warm, "Yes,
dear," that floated down told him that she took his concern as it was
intended.

     Charlie was in the unusual position of having to explain Valerie to
his friends at school.  "I dunno, she's just this girl I met over the
summer," he kept telling them, but it seemed as though everyone else
thought they were engaged.  He finally cornered her to ask her what the
hell was going on, but before he quite realized what was happening, she
was kissing him, and rubbing against his body, before she pushed off
from him and slid her dress from her shoulders, leaving her completely
nude, and completely female, and completely wanting him-

     Tucker woke up when Charlene grunted and stiffened, but before he
could remember how to talk so he could ask her what was going on, she
practically jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom.  "Nuh," he
commented to the room, and decided that he could, in fact, roll back
over and sleep some more.
     "Oh, crap," he commented a couple of minutes later as his bet with
Jane floated to conscious memory.  "Damnit."  He pulled the pillow over
his head, in the hope that he could stave it off a little longer via
sheer willpower.  But he knew that Jane was going to want to see him in
a real gown this morning, and therefore he was going to have to change
before he went downstairs.

     As Jane settled in her chair and Kenneth pushed it in before
returning to his seat at the other end of the table, she began, "Girls,
we have a lot to do today.  Teresa, Charlene, if you two would be so
kind as to dress lightly today, we have some errands to run this
morning.  Teresa, Marie is laying out what you will be wearing today.
Kenneth, Valerie needs to make it to choir practice this morning by
nine, would you be able to take her there?"
     "Of course, Jane," Kenneth replied calmly, with just a hint of a
smile.  Jane knew the reason he was smiling was that he had divined the
'errands' Jane had planned this morning.  Charlene also, by the way she
carefully concealed a sigh as she looked at her plate.  Even for the
older students, going to Marisha Chalet was not on their list of
favorites.
     "Thank you, Kenneth," Valerie spoke unexpectedly.  Jane glanced at
the girl, and she was smiling gently in his direction.  *Well, I may end
up losing that bet after all,* she decided.  *On the other hand, for one
day of absolute obedience from her, it seems well worth the cost.*

     "What to wear, what to wear..."  Tucker sat on the bed, trying to
figure out what would give the best overall sum in the games he was
playing in.  "Gotta look nice for Kenneth, gotta look 'sweet and
feminine' for Jane, and can't look too out of place at choir today.  Oh,
and I wonder if I could talk him into sushi for lunch?"  He smacked his
lips in anticipation, and a notion came to him.  "Ooooh, yeah," he
agreed with himself as he got up, "that one, where did I stuff it, and
is it wrinkled?  Damnit!"  Clothes flew as he dug.

     Kenneth was waiting downstairs for Valerie, and looking at his
watch every few seconds.  *Jane couldn't have taught them about being
late,* he kept telling himself, but the time kept ticking away, so fast
he could almost feel it-
     "Ready?" a voice asked him from the top of the stairs.
     "Of course," he replied automatically as he swung his gaze.
Valerie was smiling at him again, and gently descended the stairs as if
to model her outfit for him.  Today, she was wearing a white sundress,
with matching heeled sandals and purse, and a large sunhat pinned into
her hair.  She looked absolutely gorgeous, and exceptionally stylish.
"You look fantastic," he commented as she neared the bottom of the
stairs.
     "Thank you," she smiled gently, and raised her hand, which he found
himself taking quite before he realized what he was doing.  She clung to
his hand, as if unsure of her footing, and smiled at him as she waited
for him to lead off.

     Charlie could have done without the trip to the salon, but it was
almost so routine, he was more annoyed with the anticipated boredom than
anything else.  *At least Sandy will be busy with...*  He looked over at
Teresa, who looked more than subdued; she looked like she was about to
freak out at any moment.  *Uh oh,* he thought.

     *She couldn't.  She wouldn't!*  But it appeared that Jane was going
to anyway.
     A hand at his back almost made him break and run, but it was
Charlene, looking concerned.  "Just chill out, okay?" she said quietly
and calmly.  "You'll do fine in there if you just remember your manners,
okay?"  She snorted.  "Hell, even Valerie made it through there without
anyone having to call the cops."
     Knowing Valerie's penchant for throwing sand in Jane's gears, he
snorted in amusement, and the thought made him feel better.
     "That's it," Charlene encouraged him.  "Just be nice, and stay
calm, and nobody'll be the wiser."
     "Quite true," Jane added, and Julio flinched, not having realized
how close she was.  "Success here rests more in your hands than anyone
else's.  If you remember and apply what you were taught, then you will
do fine."

     "I'm really sorry about your lip," Valerie felt it necessary to
comment as they turned onto the main road.  He was a little tired of her
apologizing, but it beat the uncomfortable silence that had oppressed
the car before she spoke.
     "It's okay, Val," he reassured her.  "I know you didn't mean to."
*At least, I'm pretty sure.*  "It'll heal quick enough."
     The silence came back, and grew, until he finally thought of
something to ask her.  "So how did you get into a choir?"

     "So you are Jane's latest sissy-boy," the stylist commented slyly.
Julio almost swallowed his tongue.

     Kenneth had asked him questions about choir all the way there, and
it had been a minor strain to remember to choose his words so he'd
report back to Jane that he was keeping up with their wager.  But Tucker
thought he was doing pretty well, so he was happy enough when they
pulled to a stop in front of the choir house.
     Unfortunately, when he got out, so did Kenneth.  "Um, what's up?"
Tucker managed to ask, rather than the "Whafuck?" that was on the tip of
his tongue.
     "I was thinking, maybe I could meet some of your friends?" he
smiled at Tucker.
     *Oh, yeah, JUST what I want this morning,* Tucker thought, but
managed to keep it all off his face.  "Oh, well, okay, come on, but we
don't have much time before practice starts."  Before he forgot, he
added, "Oh, and if you come back out to the car, don't sit on my hat,
please?"

     "A permanent?!" the boy-girl in front of Carolyn literally
squeaked.
     "Of course, dear, it'll be so much easier to manage than having to
wrap your hair in curlers every night," Sandy commented, loud enough to
be heard in the next stall.  "Now, I know a lot of girls are worried
that we'll damage their beautiful hair when they get their first perm,
but we're professionals!"  She leaned closer to Teresa's ear, and added,
sotto voce, "And if you don't start acting like you want one, then, why,
we might just have to explain to all our disappointed customers why the
pretty boy in the pretty dress doesn't want his hair messed up.  And I'd
bet you don't want that kind of attention, do you?"

     "Where'd you meet him?" Missy asked as they filed into the choir
room.
     "Oh, he came down to visit," Tucker said neutrally.  "He's staying
for a couple of days or something.  I'm not sure when he's gonna leave,
actually.  Maybe he'll stay the whole summer."
     "With YOU, in the same house?" Missy confirmed, her eyes and voice
both glinting with the hint of scandal.
     "Well, we DO have separate rooms, you know," Tucker didn't answer.
*My my my, she sure seems intrigued with the idea.  Maybe I should
suggest he go stay at her house for the summer.*
     "Is that why you're so dressed up today?" Ellen asked, and Tucker
detected a hint of sly malevolence in her tone.

     As Charlie sat in the 'hot seat,' he tried not to yawn.  *It's bad
enough I have to go through this BS every two weeks, but why does it
have to smell so bad?*  It was one of those unanswerables, and so he
didn't worry too much about it.  When Carolyn came back, he was almost
glad for the diversion.
     "How do you feel about acrylic nails?" she asked smiling in that
you-don't-really-have-a-choice way that all of Jane's cronies had.
     "What, like fake nails?" he confirmed, and she nodded.  "I don't
think that's such a good idea, with the skating I'm doing, do you?"
     "Oh," Carolyn commented with mock sadness, "but Jane would be so
disappointed if you didn't."
     *Gee, life's tough,* he thought, but he knew he wasn't going to win
this one.  "Well.... wait," he said as something he'd read floated past
him.  "Doesn't it mess up my normal nails if you do that?"
     Her eyebrows came together as she replied, "No, not at all.  They
come off eventually..."  Her expression got less pleased, which Charlie
figured was because she had let slip that such nails actually come off
at some point.
     "No, no, that's fine," he hastened to say, and smiled at her.  "As
long as they're, um, 'active length,' I think you call it?  I'd love to
have a set put on.  But, what happens if I crack one?  I mean, can I get
it fixed, or do I have to come in here, or what?"

     When Miz Bishop let them out for their break, Tucker rushed out
like the rest of the girls, eager to drink a little orange juice and not
sing on demand.  And, lo and behold, there was Kenneth, sitting in the
car, and now looking up as the girls poured out of the building.  *What
the...*
     "He's waiting for youuuu," Missy teased.
     "Yeah, sure," Tucker snapped back automatically, as Kenneth got out
of the car and waved in his general direction.  "I think he wants to
talk to you, Missy, come on!"  With that, he grabbed her arm and started
to drag her over.
     "What, me?  Wait!" she protested, but not enough to dissuade him.

     As Julio sat under the hair dryer, completely miserable, his eyes
lit upon Charlene.  She was having her nails done.  He was grateful it
was her and not him, until he realized that he was probably next.
"Urrrr," he vocalized in horror.
     Charlene must have heard him, even though he was trying to be
quiet, because she glanced over at him.  She smiled at him, and stuck
her tongue out when the woman wasn't looking at him.  Strangely enough,
it made him feel a little bit better.

     Kenneth had never been surrounded by this many women at one time,
and it made him feel a little strange.  Especially since a lot of them
were trying to catch his eye or chat him up.  When the choir director
finally called them all back in, he sighed in relief.  "This is getting
strange," he commented to himself as he walked back to his car.  "Maybe
that's what Jane was talking about," he mused.
     An unexpected flash of white caught his attention, and when he
looked at it, it was a note folded under one of his wipers.  Pulling it
out, he discovered it had a phone number on it.

     Charlie was completely bored, waiting for Teresa to get done with
her nails.  And there was nothing interesting to do in a salon, either,
except-
     "Hey!" said a half-familiar voice, and he looked over and saw
Pauline and Trish coming in.  "Whatsup?" the older girl asked, signing
for her sister's benefit.
     "Oh, just getting my hair done again, and Jane sprang for nails
this time," Charlie replied, waving his fingers in the air at them.
     Trish wiggled her hands and arms, and Pauline translated, "Way
cool!"
     "So what're you in for?" Charlie asked.

     Julio had thought he'd reached the end of his limits when he sat
down oh so carefully in the nail chair - which was in full view of
everyone in the salon - and tried to keep up a conversation with
Carolyn.
     As usual, whenever he thought it couldn't get any worse, it got
worse.  This time, it was by the appearance of a couple more girls,
these apparently locals, whom Charlene had the sadistic idea of
introducing to him.  "This is Pauline, and this is Trisha; she's deaf,
so Pauline has to translate.  And this is Teresa," she indicated.
     He managed to force out a weak, "Hi?" as his heart sped into the
red zone and he started to sweat.

     Pauline wondered at the girl's nervousness, but then figured it
out.  *Man, if I was dressed like that and outside, I'd be scared too.
She looks way too nice to be normal.  Like one of the usual prisses, I
guess,* she realized.  *Guess that Miz Thompson makes 'em dress that
way.*  It made sense.  Any girl nowadays could wear jeans and T-shirts
without worrying about it - they had to learn how to wear the nicer
stuff, and she figured the best way to do it was keep the girls in
'pretties' all the time.
     *Glad it's not me,* was Pauline's last thought on the matter,
before Sandy called her over for her appointment.  "Hey, see ya later,
okay?"
     "Sure!" Charlene said eagerly, and even Teresa managed a weak
smile.

     Trish had something in mind, and she wasn't in the mood to argue.
Finally, when the woman refused to look at the note any more, she went
to fetch Pauline.  <She's not listening to me!> she signed when she had
her sister's attention.
     <What?> Pauline asked as she sat up and looked at the note Trish
handed her.  <Oh, no, you can't be serious!  Mom said->
     <Mom said she wouldn't pay for it,> Trish signed forcefully.
<That's why I'M paying for it.>
     <Mom's gonna kill you,> Pauline remarked.
     <No she won't, and besides, it's my money.>  Trish grinned, and
added, <Besides, I can always remind her of her first perm.  Remember
that story Grandma told us?>
     Pauline snorted, and Trish knew she'd won her sister over.  Now, it
merely remained to convince the stylist that she meant what she'd
written on the note.  <So tell her that THIS is what I want, okay?>

     "Oh, God," Julio said as their destination became apparent to him.
They were quickly approaching a store, one FULL of women's clothing,
that was ominously named 'The Style Shoppe'.  The sign added, in smaller
lettering, 'Elegant Fashions for the Young Miss'.
     HE'd rather go swimming in the proverbial swimming pool full of
razor blades.
     "Don't choke now," Charlene whispered into his ear.  "This'll be no
problem.  It's just hot."  She huffed, irritated, and added, "You'd
think a place like this could pay for more A/C in the dressing rooms,
but no way.  Sheesh!"

     "Oh, jeez," Tucker complained to himself as several of the girls
actually beat him out to Kenneth's car.  He would have said it to
someone if there was anyone left, but all the single girls were in
hunting mode.  "Now we'll never get out of here.  And my throat HURTS!"
     *Maybe you could convince everyone that drinks would be a good
idea,* he thought.  "Hmmmm."  ANYthing was better than waiting around
for the sharks to lose interest in this out-of-town hunk of meat he'd
brought.

     "Charlene!" Teresa whispered in half-strangled tones.  "Help!"
     "What?" Charlie whispered back, peeking into her stall to see what
the problem was.
     "I can't go out there like this!  I'm half naked!"  She was, too,
not that it mattered to Charlie any more.
     Charlie sighed.  "Look, you're covered enough, and nobody really
comes back here, okay?  Just be cool with it, and look like you don't
care about it.  Like a locker room, right?"
     "But I've never been in a GIRL'S locker room!" she pointed out.
     *Like that makes a difference?*  "Look, same thing.  Except this
place doesn't smell."  The idea of a locker room's distinctive reek, in
this place that was full of ultra-feminine silks and satins, made him
snort, which made Teresa chuckle, which et cetera, which finally led to
Jane coming into the dressing room to see what all the noise was about.
     When she came in, Teresa almost choked, but managed to lift an arm
and point, and gasp out, "Coach!"  Charlie almost died.

     "It's not that I'm ashamed,
      to face the light of da'ay.
      It's really just a case, of self-deluuuusion,"
     Tucker was surprised when Kenneth had Erasure in his CD case, but
it was completely cool with him.  *Almost as good as Blues Traveller,*
he thought as he tried to remember the next verse.

     Kenneth was sure that there was some explanation for why he was
wandering around a mall with a half-dozen females, but he wasn't quite
sure what it was.  He just knew that Valerie had somehow started it.
     *Speaking of whom...*  She wasn't in the cluster of window-shoppers
any more, and he hadn't seen her leave.

     Trish had the complexion to carry off either blond or red, but it
was the way she'd combined the two of them that left Tucker breathless.
She'd had the hair on the sides trimmed down to a couple of inches, and
had those areas colored blond, but the top and back had been left
untouched by scissors, and was now a brilliant red.  "Oh, my GOD!" was
all Tucker could say.
     <Awesome, huh?> Trish preened.  Pauline was shaking her head, but
Tucker was at a complete loss for words for several moments.
     Finally, he forced out, <JEEEEZUS, that's PERFECT!>  Pauline made a
noise of disgust, but he didn't care.

     Julio rapidly got tired of trying on clothes, but every time he
started to really get bugged, Charlene would whisper something to him
like, "Hut!  Hut!" and he'd have to hold his mouth shut so he wouldn't
start laughing again.

     Just before he got really concerned, Kenneth saw Valerie in the
company of Pauline, and some other girl with two-toned hair.  *Now I
know where she got the idea from,* he snorted.

     When Kenneth looked at his watch, Tucker knew that something was
coming up he wasn't going to like.  "Valerie, did you remember you have
a hair appointment at one?"
     *Bing!  Right on the money.*  "No," he replied honestly.  Trish
moved, and he gasped, "Oh, my GOD, that'd be-"
     "NO."  Kenneth seemed firm about it.
     "Oh, but, come ON, it is soo COOOL!" Tucker protested.
     "NO!"

     Kenneth had finally disposed of the snooty bitches from choir
practice, which would have been cool except that he took Valerie off to
the salon for her appointment.  Trish sighed.  *Now what?*
     Pauline must've caught her sigh, because she signed, <Hey, Kenneth
said something about Charlene and that other girl being over at the
Style Shop.  You wanna go see what they're up to?>
     Trish was on the verge of getting bored, so she said yes, and they
went off to find the place.  It was one of those clothing places that
they never went, 'cause it was so expensive, but sometimes Trish had
secret longings for the super-feminine creations they showed in the
windows.

     Pauline knew that they were out of place in the shop, but after she
fended off a couple of sales-GIRLS, they were left in peace.
     Trish elbowed her in the ribs, thankfully silent this time, and
signed, <Hey, what's over there?> and pointed to a hallway.
     <Like I know,> Pauline replied, but she knew she shouldn't have
taken the time to talk, because Trish was already walking quickly
towards the door.  *Oh, damnit, she's gonna get us thrown out again!*
she thought as she rushed to try and catch her sister before she did
something else dumb.

     Julio had just stepped off the stage from showing off the latest of
Jane's picks, when the applause he heard almost made him trip as he
whirled around.  It was the two girls from the salon, applauding.  *Oh,
shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit...*

     "Oh," Carolyn remarked, "Jane said you were going to be working
with Lori today?"
     "Uh huh!" Tucker confirmed.  "She did SUCH a nice job on my hair
last time, I've just GOT to have her again."  Not to mention, she hadn't
attempted to strap him down in the seat.  That counted in Tucker's
ratings.
     Carolyn glared at him, but he just smiled back, daring her to
contradict him.  Then he remembered the hat.  "Um, is there some place I
can put this," he asked, gently starting to pull it off, "where it won't
get crushed?"

     "Now, ladies, this is a PRIVATE showing, and Miz Thompson has
reserved this room for-"
     "Yeah," Pauline interrupted the older woman, "I know, but, I mean,
Charlene's our friend, and we won't get in the way, we promise!
Please?"
     <Please?> added Trish, looking innocent for once.  Pauline knew it
was useless, though, because she was the only one that spoke sign
language in the room.

     While everyone else was involved in the discussion with the two
girls that had almost caused Julio a heart attack, they weren't paying
attention to him.  He thought longingly about sneaking to the dressing
room and getting out of the dress he was wearing, but realized it would
probably cost him more in 'good-behaviour' points than it would be
worth.  Instead, he found the chair Jane had been sitting on, and swept
his skirt forward as he eased into the seat.
     Charlene was right, too; this place was a lot warmer than it needed
to be.  And, come to think of it, he could seriously use a drink.  He
wondered if a place like this would have a coke machine, then almost
laughed at himself.  *No way.  Maybe an espresso bar or something
trendy, but cokes?*  He sighed.

     "Jane, why don't we just let them stay, okay?"  Everyone's eyes
turned to Charlie.  "I mean, it's not gonna hurt anything, and..."
Jane's glare in particular was making him nervous.  "Um..."
     "Please, Miz Thompson?" begged the older girl, but Trish waved her
hand to get everyone's attention, and then started 'talking' to her
interpreter.  "Um," the older girl translated, "she said that if we can
stay, we'll, um, we'll-"
     "How about getting some drinks?" asked an unexpected voice from
behind him.  He turned around, as several people did, and it was Teresa.
She looked bushed.  "Jane?  It's really hot, and it's making my throat
hurt," she rasped.

     *Even when she's not here!  It's as if the child has infected the
very air around her!* Jane fumed silently as she dug in her purse.

     Tucker caught sight of Sandy as he was sitting under the dryer, and
he stuck his tongue out at her.

     Pauline fumed as she stood in line to buy drinks.  "How come it's
always ME that has to do these stupid errands?"  At least it wasn't her
money this time.

     Carolyn caught Valerie as she was getting up with Lori from the
hair dryer.  "So, how would you like to get your nails done?" she asked
rhetorically.
     "What, like fakes?  Um, I mean..."  The boy-girl thought for a
moment, then said, "Acrylics?"  At Caro's nod, she asked, "Well, but,
how durable are they?"

     Kenneth was saved from boredom only by the fact that he had
cleverly brought his book in with him.  At least until someone feminine
sat down beside him.  He put his bookmark in before he closed the book
and looked up to see who it was.
     It was one of the girls from choir.  "Hi!" she said nervously.

     Trish thought she just might possibly die.  It had been SO long
since she'd dropped the tomboy camouflage that she wore, that it was
like taking off a pair of hiking boots after a solid weekend of wearing
them.
     Now, she was draped in chiffon, with silk 'dainties' underneath,
and it was like being transported to heaven.

     Pauline shook her head as her sister took the stage and twirled
around gently.  "I always knew..." she said to herself.
     "What?" Charlene asked.
     Pauline sighed, a little embarrassed.  "She's always been a tomboy,
but sometimes she plays dress-up, and it's like she's a whole different
person.  She's almost reasonable."
     After a few moments, Charlene replied, "She does look kinda
different."
     Trish looked over at Pauline, so she gave her sister two thumbs up,
which she really did deserve at this point.  She did look good, even
with that stupid haircut.

     Tucker held the nails up so he could see them better.  "Cool," he
said honestly.  "And they match my hair?"  Carolyn nodded wearily.  "So,
um, what do I do if I break one?"   Tucker figured it was a legitimate
question; the wince that crossed her face didn't make any sense to him
at all.

     Jane was rather surprised to see how eagerly the deaf girl, Trish,
changed into gowns and dresses that her charges would usually choke on.
She also noticed an interesting side effect - both Charlene and Teresa
seemed to perk up whenever Trish was showing something.  Her enthusiasm
really did seem to be infectious.  *Hmmmm...*
     "Miz Thompson?"  Jane turned, and it was the older one, Pauline,
who was still in her street clothes.  "Thanks, I mean, for letting her
try stuff on here.  This, I mean, Mom can't afford this place, and so we
never came in before.  But she REALLY digs this stuff sometimes.  I
think it made her whole month!"
     Before she could stop herself, Jane mentioned, "Well, why don't we
find something for you, hmmm?"
     "Um," Pauline replied, looking around nervously.  "Me?"

     Kenneth was saved from the predations of this particular female
when Valerie walked over to him and smiled.  "All done!"  Unfortunately,
he wasn't sure he wanted to be saved.
     "Well, you look fantastic," he commented as he stood up.  She did,
too.  Caro had apparently added some makeup, and the brilliant colors on
her face matched both her vivid hair, or what could be seen of it under
her hat, and her new nails.
     "Really?" she asked breathlessly, as if it truly mattered to her.
"Thank you!" she smiled, and stuck her arm in his.  "I'm starving; can
we go to lunch someplace?"
     The girl sitting in the waiting chair did not look pleased at all.
At least, not until he gently removed Valerie's hand from his elbow.
Then she looked quite pleased.

     "What was that all about?" Tucker asked as they strolled towards
the food court.
     "What?"
     "That bit in there, when you blew me off in front of Missy," Tucker
reminded him.
     Kenneth stopped, and so Tucker did too.  "Look," he said, staring
Tucker in the eye and quite serious, "you're going too far with this."
     "With what?"  Tucker put on the female version of his innocent
face, and hoped it worked better than when he usually tried it.
 
Copyright 1997-1999 Ellen Hayes, all rights reserved