Terry Waits family is heading for a certain meltdown. Their lives have revolved around some epic arguments that have aroused the neighbor’s attention and have scared the living daylights out of Terry. At least they haven’t been violent confrontations. So Terry is sent to live with his Aunt while Frank and Clara Wait can see if there is anything left of their marriage worth saving.

A novella, complete in two parts. I am posting both parts simultaneously.

Beauty Queen
A Lady-in-Waiting : Part 1

by

Paula Dillon

Terry Wait sat in the front passenger seat of his Aunt Betty’s Land Rover morosely starring out the window as the miles passed by. Even though he was starring, he didn’t see a thing through a haze of tears. Betty Johnson had dropped everything and rushed down I-35 from Fort Worth to Austin, after she got a frantic phone call from her sister Clara.

Clara and Frank Wait were on the edge of a breakup with divorce looming in the not so distant future. Things were starting to get ugly, but at least didn’t foresee any violence. In the thirteen years they had been married, Frank nary raised a hand against his wife, not even to slap her. They did however, have some epic verbal altercations. After one very bad altercation, she had found her eleven year-old, son hiding beneath a quilt, in his closet. The poor boy was crying and shaking. Clara knew she had to get him out of the house; her sister was her only hope. She called Betty that night; and early the next morning, Betty was at Clara’s home. Betty had tried to convince her sister to come with her, as they packed some bags for Terry, but Clara still loved Frank and she had hopes that they could reconcile.

“Betty, Frank is a good man. It’s just lately he’s been so… It’s just so frustrating. One minute everything can be all roses and sunshine, and the next we are shouting at each other so loud, we draw the neighbor’s attention.”

“You need to come with me Clara; it’s getting worse daily, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s getting worse, but Frank is going to see a Doctor this week and we are going to start seeing a marriage counselor.”

“I am not leaving unless you promise me, that if things get worse, you will run to your car and drive directly to my home, Clara! Don’t even take time to pack a bag.”

“I will Big Sis, I promise.”

They hugged each other and then Betty and Terry left.

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Terry’s eyes got really big, as his Aunt pointed out which home he would be living in. He had never been to see his Aunt since she had moved from Corsicana to Fort Worth. Betty Johnson lived in an upscale neighborhood just south of Benbrook Lake.

They pulled up the drive in front of a two and a half story golden clay brick home. The front yard was lush and green and almost as big as the front and back yards of the home where Terry lived.

“Whoa, do you live here Aunt Betty?”

“Yes this is my little patch on this earth. I have a third of an acre up front and about 2 in the back. Do you like it?”

“You live in a mansion. Your home is beautiful Aunt Betty.”

“It’s not quite a mansion, but it is a nice home. Let’ go see what the inside looks like, shall we?”

Eleven year old Terry Wait, helped his Aunt move his bags into her home. The inside of the home was nicer than the outside had been. The home was filled with Victorian style furniture and there were a lot of pictures of pretty girls on the walls. Terry’s mouth hung open, as one picture after another caught his attention.

“Wow, these girls are so pretty Aunt Betty, who are they?”

“They are some of my girls, I work with them Terry,” Betty said, slyly. “You don’t know what I do for a living, do you? I am a cosmetologist and I work as a beauty consultant for pageants. I make a very good living at it.” Betty stopped at one picture, “Do you think she is pretty Terry?”

Terry looked closely at the picture, “She isn’t pretty, she’s fantabulous.”

“How old do you think she is?”

Terry was puzzled as he stared at the picture. At first she looked really old maybe sixteen or seventeen, but she just didn’t look right for a teenager, “I don’t know, at first I thought that she was maybe fifteen or sixteen, but there is just something about her? She just doesn’t look that old.”

“She is ten years and a few months old, in that picture.”

“I don’t believe it… but I guess I do.”

The girl in the picture wore the makeup of a girl twenty or thirty, going on a ritzy date or something. The makeup hid the features of the child.

“I did her hair, makeup, selected her clothes, her accessories and took her portrait, right here, in this home of mine.” Betty opened a photo album and showed Terry a picture of a cute, but relatively plain looking girl, “This is what she looks like without the add-ons.”

“You’re a magician!”

“Something like that.”

Betty led Terry to a room and said, “This will be your room while you are here sweetie. Get your things put away and take a bath. I am going to get us some burgers, will you be alright here alone for an hour?”

“Don’t worry, I will be alright.”

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Betty was tired and a little frazzled. She was worried about her sister and wanted to cry. She just didn’t want to cry in front of her nephew just now. She drove a few blocks away and parked, before letting it all go for a few minutes.

Terry took the things he had brought from his two suitcases and began to put things in the dresser and closets. He was surprised to see that half of the large walk-in closet was full of long dresses and fancy dresses. The closet though, was big and his few things wouldn’t even fill a quarter of the remaining space. He then began looking at the dresses. There were silks and satins, lace and frills, all fancy girls’ clothes. He saw that some were made for little girls and some for girls his age and older. All of them were beautiful.

His room was a pastel blue and even though there weren’t a lot of frills, it still looked like a girl’s room, only not so girly. It wasn’t his choice for a room, but it wasn’t so bad. He considered his Aunt’s business and figured that her girls used this room for dressing or something.

He found the bathroom fully stocked with soap, shampoo, towels and stuff. There was even some hair conditioner, though he didn’t know what it did. Exploring the bathroom, he found some tampons and maxi-pads; he really didn’t know what they were for.

The bathroom had a large bathtub and a separate shower. He decided just to take a quick shower and dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.

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Betty and her nephew sat and ate their burgers, while they talked.

“Do you really think my Mom will be alright?”

“She’s a big girl, Terry and your father isn’t a violent man. I mean he has never hit your Mom, has he?”

“No, he hasn’t, at least I have never seen him hit Mom. But their last argument was their worst, it really scared me, Aunt Betty.”

“I know what you mean kiddo; even your gramps and grandma had their arguments, when they were still alive. They scared your Mom and me too, but they still loved each other and us too.”

“I don’t remember them too much, Aunt Betty. It has been so long.”

Jean and Ricky Wilson had died in a car accident six years earlier.

“It has been a long time Terry, they loved you so much and so do I. Your Mom is going to get through this buster, don’t you worry.”

“Do you want to call any of your friends back home and tell them where you are?”

“I don’t have many friends; the kids at school think I am kind of a freak.”

Terry was different from all the other eleven year old kids at his school. He was taller than they were, a lot taller. He was the tallest kid at Winston Green Elementary. He was even taller than a couple of teachers. He was all of five foot four inches and a hundred and five pounds. At least being tall was better than being short. The short kids sometimes got picked on. He still suffered as many kids avoided him because they were scared of his size.

“You are not a freak; I don’t want to hear that word again. You are just like your gramps. He grew up fast and stopped when he got to five foot nine inches.”

“I guess. I would like to call Mandy Davis; she’s a girl that lives just around the corner from me. She was the closest thing to a friend.”

“Does she go to your school?”

“No, she is a lot older than me; she goes to Jr. High school.”

“Betty laughed and said, “Yeah, that is a lot older than you, she should almost be… what thirteen, fourteen years old?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Wow, I feel incredibly ancient.”

Betty was only thirty-six, her sister Clara was thirty-four.

“How long am I going to be here, Aunt Betty?”

“I don’t know, but it will be better for you, being here right now.”

“What about school?”

“I guess I can home school you for now. Let me talk to a friend about that.”

After they ate, they sat down in the living room and watched TV. As Terry went to sit next to his Aunt, she pulled him down onto her lap. They both needed the closeness.

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Terry woke the next day in bed. He remembered sitting in his Aunt’s lap, watching TV, but he didn’t remember going to bed. Looking out his window, he could see that it was still dark, but just beginning to lighten. He got up and looked for his robe. He stopped and realized that he didn’t bring it. He went into the closet and looked around. He did find a robe, but it was really girly. He thought about gutting it out and not wear one, or getting dressed, but he didn’t like getting dressed so early with nowhere to go, so he put that robe on instead. It was a pink and yellow satin robe, with lots of pretty butterflies printed on it.

The robe felt wonderful on his skin and came down to about mid-thigh. When he belted it, it almost looked like he was wearing a dress. He looked at himself in the full-length mirror on the back of the door. Yeah, he looked more like a girl than a boy. He was a freak, he thought, and then he felt bad about thinking that. His Aunt was so nice to him. “I’m not a freak; he thought repeatedly, hoping it would become true.

He went to the kitchen and looked around. There was a lot of food there, but nothing that appealed to him. He ate like a kid, which was fine, since he was a kid. It seemed his Aunt was a health food nut. All he could find was granolas, fibers and such. He didn’t want to cook anything; his Aunt hadn’t given him permission to do that, so he poured a bowl of granola crunch cereal and added some milk. He had to admit; it tasted pretty good and was crunchy.

He took his bowl of cereal to the living room and turned the TV on volume down. He sat on, keeping the floor and placed his bowl on the coffee table. It took a few minutes to find some cartoons to watch; the cable system had hundreds of channels and was different from the cable system in Austin.

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Betty woke from a deep sleep, after taking care of her screaming bladder, she stumbled towards the kitchen. She was startled to see a teenage girl in her living room watching TV, at least until she remembered that her nephew was here with her. Betty looked at her nephew and let her imagination roam. He looked so cute in that robe.

“Morning Terry, you sure are up early.”

“Yeah, I usually get up early to go to school. I had to ride the bus for an hour and a half to get to school. I was one of the busses first stops in the morning and last in the evening.”

“Let me get my coffee started and get me something to eat and I will join you.”

A few minutes later, Betty came back with her coffee and breakfast, and joined Terry on the floor next to Terry.

“I hope you don’t mind me wearing this robe. I left mine at home.”

“I don’t mind that at all. I keep several around for my girls.” Betty giggled. “You look so cute in it.”

“Gee thanks, that’s just what a guy wants to hear.” Terry said, somewhat sarcastically.

He sounded so girly talking, “Aww, don’t be that way, I was just having a little fun. It looks good on you. I like your long hair too.”

Terry had a head full of dark auburn hair. Somewhere in his background there was a little Scottish, or Irish, ancestry that got mixed in and left a lasting impression on the Johnson family tree. Terry kept his hair just a little longer than collar length. He liked it better than some of the shorter cuts most guys at his school wear their hair at.

“I like it too.”

“Still, I thought you looked so much like one of my girls when I first saw you this morning.”

“I get that a lot, because I am so thin.”

“That with your girlish facial features on a teenage looking body and people see what they want to see. Your face will be more girlish till you start puberty, Terry. I actually know girls who would kill for lashes and cheeks like you have. Add that cute button nose you have and you would be a winner.”

“Stop kidding me Aunt Betty.”

“I’m not kidding you. Anyway, start calling me Auntie, Aunt Betty is just a mouthful.”

“Okay Auntie.”

“You need some kid food, Auntie,”

“What is wrong with what I have?”

“Everything is extra fiber this, or granola this or that.”

“We will get some other things today; just don’t expect me to get you some sugar coated sugar cereals. It wouldn’t hurt you to eat more healthy foods.”

“Eww, I don’t eat those things either.”

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Betty and her nephew went shopping at about ten that morning. She was surprised at what Terry called kid food. She bought groceries for the next week, keeping Terry in mind. She checked with him to find out what else he liked. Some of her clients could take heed to what Terry wanted to eat. He selected a couple of whole grain cereals, low fat-low salt snacks and some fruit. She also bought him some hygiene products, a new toothbrush, comb and hairbrush.

“What else do you need, Terry.”

“I don’t know, I guess that is about everything.”

On the drive home, Terry looked more closely at the car. He had ridden in a three or four year old Land Rover the day before, now they were in a newer BMW 335i sedan.

“Are you rich, Auntie?”

“Rich no, but I do well. People pay me big bucks to build their daughters images and train them for the pageant circuits.”

“Isn’t it rather odd that these pre-teens are looking so sexy?”

“Yes it is. I am careful about who I work with. Some of the parents I refuse. Some parents, mostly Moms, constantly push their girls to work harder. Nothing the kids do seem to make their Mom’s happy, short of winning.”

“Like sports Moms and Dads.”

“Yes, many of the kids don’t want to do it and are unhappy about it. If it isn’t fun for the girl, I might not work with her, but if I didn’t do this and do it well, the parents might go to a different person who wouldn’t look out for the girls, like I do. So I do what I need to do, and work to make the girls’ lives better. My girls win, so the parents listen to me.”

“What is it that makes the parents do this to their children?”

“Some Mom’s live vicariously through their daughters.

“Vicariously? What does that mean?”

“The Mom’s see themselves in their children’s place. They wish they could have done those things, or they relive what they went through, through their children. They don’t realize or they don’t care how hard it is on their children.”

“I see, I think.”

“It can be bad, I try to avoid the worst, but I still worry about those poor girls.”

When they arrived at home, they unloaded their purchases.

“I need to spend some time in my office. I am calling clients to cancel my appointments this week, so I can spend some time with you.”

“You don’t have to cancel appointments on my account.”

“Yes I do, I need to get reacquainted with my number one nephew.”

“I am your only nephew, Auntie.”

“My statement is still accurate.”

Terry went to the living room to watch TV and Betty went into the room next to her bedroom. He could hear her talking on the phone, as he watched one of his favorite shows.

After about an hour and a half, she came in. Terry was sitting on the floor and he had the cartoon network on, laughing at the antics of the characters on the TV.

Betty went to his room and got his new brush. She sat behind him and began brushing his hair. He had nice hair, but he needed to take better care of it. He had split ends and it didn’t shine like it should. After she combed out the tangles, she began to brush it till it shined. She took care not to pull or tug at it. Her girls didn’t like their hair being pulled either.

Terry didn’t say anything, but it felt good to him. He loved having his hair brushed. One of the reasons he had grown his hair longer, was so that his Mom would have a reason to brush it. Those sessions became fewer when things started going south at home.

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The next few days just seemed to pass quietly. Aunt Betty had Terry registered into an online home school. She figured they would keep him up to date for when he returned home. They also went shopping to get him some more clothes. The clothes he had weren’t bad, he had just outgrown them. His pants were high water jeans and almost looked like capris. He also had problems with his shirts. He couldn’t keep them tucked and therefore exposed his stomach.

Terry had to have a good belt with some of the pants he got. They had to buy some larger waist pants to get some long enough for his lanky frame. His measurements were 27-26-29; pants that fit his waist were to short, while pants that were long enough had a larger waist. There just weren’t that many five-foot-four, eleven year olds. Betty thought she’d have an easier time fitting him in girl’s clothes. At least he had normal feet for his age.

He was quite the looker when they finally left the stores; Terry wore some of his new clothes out of the store. He wore a pair of slim jeans, a south-western print shirt, with mother of pearl snaps, and some new Justin ropers. Betty almost got him a cowboy hat, but they just didn’t look right on him.

Lastly Betty got Terry his own Wi-Fi capable laptop and printer, so he could do his school work on it.

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Saturday Betty and Terry were lounging around the house. Terry was going through one of his Aunts albums, looking at the before and after pictures, and at awards ceremony pictures. She had a dozen albums that she used as her portfolio to prospective clients.

“Gee Auntie; you are a miracle worker, with some of these girls.”

“Yep, I can make anyone look so much better,” she said. Then for some reason, which she would ponder for many years, she said, “I could even make you look as good as, or better than, the girls in those pictures.”

“I ain’t believing that for one minute, Aunt Betty.”

Betty took the bad grammar as an affront to her skills. She hadn’t planned to push back, but she said. “It’s either ‘I’m not believing that’ or ‘I don’t believe that’, Terry. Civilized people don’t use ain’t and I know that I can do it.”

“No you can’t.”

“Put your money where your mouth is buster. I bet you four hundred dollars I can do it.”

“I can’t bet, I don’t have any money.”

“Okay then, I bet four hundred dollars if I lose. If I win, you will dress up as a girl twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, and go with me for a month to pageants I have clients in, or at least until you go home.”

Terry had a big smile on his face and was counting his eggs before they hatched. “You’re on Auntie.” He hadn’t considered what would happen if he lost.

“Okay, go take a bath and wash and condition your hair. Follow the directions on the bottles of shampoo and conditioner. I need to go pick up a few things. Just have your robe on, when I get back.”

Betty almost had a look of determination and glee on her face as she got her things and left, causing Terry to say, “Uh oh.” His Mom often had a similar look when she was going to prove to him that she was right. Nine times out of ten, she was right.

Still he had a sense of honor, and a bet, was a bet. He got up and took a bath following his Aunt’s directions.

>>>>><<<<<

Terry was sitting in the living room in his adopted robe, with a towel wrapped like a turban on his head. Betty had lost some of her gusto as she shopped. So when she came in the living room she said, “Terry, you don’t have to do this, if you don’t want too. I should never have made that silly bet with you.”

“It’s ok Aunt Betty. I shouldn’t have doubted you to begin with. It will just be between us two, won’t it?”

“It will be just between us, Terry and only for today if you want.”

“Then do your worst to me.”

Betty led Terry upstairs into her work area. Terry hadn’t gone upstairs before today and was amazed to see a salon and a photo studio.

“Sit in the salon chair Terry, I am only going to clip your split ends and give you a male style today. I was going to go all out and do your hair up right, but I’ll just use a wig with you today. It will be easier when you go back to being a boy.”

She did exactly what she had promised. She trimmed his split ends and gave him a male’s long hairstyle . She then covered his hair with a wig cap and began to work on his face.

“You have pretty eyes, Terry. They are a lot like your Mom’s. I love your eyelashes. The only problem you have, are some voids in you brows. What happened to them?”

“I went through a plate glass window.”

“Oh lord, that is bad. At least you weren’t seriously hurt,” Betty could only imagine what might have happened. At least his face wasn’t all scared up. “That could work to my advantage as it gives me more latitude in shaping your brows. Without makeup on, the voids will make it look less feminine.”

Betty had to do some art work on his brows. After she plucked them, she showed him her work. “That doesn’t look to bad for a guy, does it?”

He looked in the mirror and had to agree, his brows didn’t look anything like the girls in the pictures. He could live with them like that. Then Betty began her real artwork. In five minutes she had filled the voids and better defined his brows. They weren’t those very thin brows, or highly arched brows, but he had to admit, they were very feminine.

“I think most women over-pluck their brows, some women can carry those thin brows, but I don’t like them.”

“I don’t think Mom did either.”

“I know, I taught her. Now let’s get you into some more clothes.”

“Are you finished with my face?”

“Heavens no, we are just getting started. There are some things you can put on now. There will be less fuss getting ready later.”

Betty handed him a pair of ice blue lace silk bikini panties and turned to give him some privacy. He slipped them on quickly. Then she handed him a padded brief. He hadn’t worn anything like them before but they went on like the panty. They also had the effect of hiding what little of his male pride there was.

Betty then put a corset on the boy. The stiff boning on the corset would define his shape and improve his posture. The corset wasn’t very restrictive; Betty drew the laces till the sides touched and only took off an inch and a half off his waist. She then considered putting him in stockings, as they would be more feminine in her opinion, but elected having him in pantyhose, as they would be easier on him. She put them on him herself, rather than just telling him how to do it. In the cups of the corset, she placed some helpers which her girls sometimes used. He appeared to have a small size 30A bust, when she finished.

Terry just ran his hands over what he wore, he thought everything was so pretty and the pantyhose felt so heavenly.

Betty thought, “Take it easy Terry, there is worse or better coming yet, depending on how you look at things.” She then got him back in the robe and back into her chair.

She had him face the mirror and told him what she was doing and going to do. She started with foundation and pressed powder. She had a professional makeup kit and easily matched his skin tones. She worked on his brow a bit more and then applied several shades of eye shadow. Betty curled his long eyelashes, used a waterproof liquid eyeliner to create a wing style and three coats of mascara completed the eyes. She was going for an elegant glamour look.

She didn’t like the makeup some of the girls wore in pageants. She hated to admit it, but some of the girls looked like young hookers. That alone almost got her out of the business. There were so many people though, that would try to fill her shoes. Many might not be as good she was, or care as much for her girls, like she did.

Terry’s eye’s got big as saucers, as he saw the transformation continue.

For his hands, Betty used press on nails with adhesive tabs. They were already colored and would save a lot of time. The nails closely matched the lipstick she was about to use.

Betty then started on his lips, they were small, like any prepubescent girl, but she had her tricks. She used a lip plumper, a lip pencil and two shades of lipstick to highlight them and make them look large and luscious. He still had his baby fat in his face and that gave him some nice cheeks, which she highlighted with a nice blush. She then turned him away from the mirror. She sealed the lipstick with a stay on gloss, which would keep the lipstick from coming off for hours.

“I will be finished in just a minute; I need to get a few things. No peeking now.”

Terry didn’t peek, although he wanted to. He knew he was losing the bet, that wasn’t a bet now. He just ran his hands over his nylon-clad legs. He just couldn’t describe the feelings.

His aunt came back into the room, carrying a dress and shoes. The dress was the prettiest dress Terry had ever seen up close. He didn’t know what to call it, but it was a shoulder-less, green silk cheongsam dress. It had a beautiful golden phoenix embroidered on the front. Betty unzipped it and had Terry step into it. She then zipped it up and buttoned the collar. The skirt pooled on his feet, so for the next part, a pair of green satin pumps were necessary. The pumps had a two-inch heel that raised the hem. Next came the wig, she placed it on his head and fiddled with it a bit. It was just about the same color as his own hair, but a lot longer. She had him sit, as she worked with the wig. She took a pair of chopsticks and worked it into a bun, except for two curly tendrils, that framed his face. She stopped and looked at her work. He was missing something and she knew exactly what it was.

“How do you feel about pierced ears?”

“Okay, I guess, there are a few guys at school who got their ears pierced.”

Betty smiled and got a new piercing needle out of its sterile package, she liked to use a needle instead of a piercing gun, and she could be more precise with earring placement with a needle. She had a pair of gorgeous diamond studs she was going to use. She disinfected his ears and then pierced them and put the studs in. She added a few more pieces of jewelry, before touching his makeup up.

Walking was different in this getup, he found. Not only because of the heels, but the skirt restricted the length of his stride by several inches. The dress did have a slit in the back, which Terry found helpful. Betty helped him walk and gave him some instructions.

She smiled at the beautiful girl that sat before her. Betty took the new girl to a mirror. Terry had that wonderful doe caught in the headlights look on his face, as he looked himself, or should it be herself over, she thought. Something happened inside Terry, something that confused him to his very core. He really liked what he saw and something deep inside of him said, that this was so right.

“Wow, I look beautiful,”

“Yes you do Terry. I knew you would.”

“I guess I lost the bet big time.”

“No you didn’t, I will pay you the four hundred and you don’t have to dress as a girl. I shouldn’t have made that stupid bet with you in the first place. I just want to get some photographs, if you feel like it, that is.”

A somewhat shocked Terry said, “Okay, let’s do it.”

Betty led him over to her studio and after a few minutes she began to take her shots. Terry was a little stiff at first, but Betty made it fun, so he began to relax and enjoy himself. Betty didn’t want the classic studio portraits; she wanted to take fashion shots. Terry had never done anything like this, but he listened to what his aunt was saying. As he began to have fun, he loosened up and Terri started vamping for the camera, giving his aunt some poses he had seen in some girls’ magazines . Betty smiled as Terry began to really model for her. She took over a hundred and fifty digital photos, before she called an end to it. The last fifty were really quite good.

“Come on, let’s get you changed back into a boy and get something to eat. I am hungry.”

“Me too, but do I have to change right now, this has been fun.”

“No as long as you are careful with that dress. It cost me over a thousand dollars.”

“You spent a thousand dollars on a dress, for me?”

“No, of course not. I keep all those dresses around for my girls to wear, for portfolio shots. You are the third or fourth person to wear that dress for photos.”

“It’s yours if you want it though,” she teased. “Just be careful with it.”

Betty helped her nephew, come niece, and taught her how to gracefully descend down a staircase. She had him do it three times, the last time by himself. Betty noticed how comfortable he was in heels. Some of her girls never did it this well, but Terry did well.

Betty made them both soup and sandwiches for lunch. As they sat and ate she noticed just how proper Terry tried to be as he ate. It was good seeing him sit up straight. She figured that he had been trying to disguise his height. Now though, he was trying to act like he thought a LADY would act, she guessed. She wasn’t too far off either. He was a bit rough, but all diamonds start out as rough stones.

Terry opened up more and talked about himself as he ate. It broke Betty’s heart, as he talked about his Mom and Dad. She could see that he was upset about it, but he wasn’t crying. He needed to release all that worry, sooner was better, but he also needed to feel good about himself. This might be good for him, as long as she kept it fun.

After he had talked himself out, Betty said. “You know what, I feel positively underdressed sitting next to my gorgeous niece. How would you like it if I dressed up as nice as you?”

Terry looked at his Aunt. He knew she was old; she was thirty-six if he remembered correctly, but she was still very pretty. He liked it when his Mom dressed up.

“I think I would like that a lot Auntie,” Terry said smiling.

“You just sit here and watch TV and let your Auntie get all dolled up.”

Terry kissed his Aunt’s cheek before she left and he turned on the stereo’s FM radio to listen to some music. He tried to dance dressed up, his Mom had taught him the basics one night when they were having fun; he tried to remember how she had danced.

Betty went to her room and began to get dolled up, so to speak. One thing she learned over the years was, she had to look good herself, but never upstage her charges and this was no different to her. She wanted Terry to feel special. She went for a mother of the bride look, pretty and feminine but playing second fiddle to the bride. She went with a pink-skirted suit and a white blouse over her sexiest lingerie and stockings. That was how she liked to feel special.

The phone rang as she was just finishing up her makeup. She heard Terry answer the phone, so she didn’t rush to answer it.

Terry went to his Aunt’s room and knocked before sticking his head in, “Aunt Betty there is a Mrs. Jackson on the phone for you.” His eyes got real big as he saw how pretty she looked.

“Thank you sweetie, I was expecting her call.” Betty said, getting up to get her phone.

Betty talked with the lady on the phone for a couple of minutes and then made another call. After she hung up her phone, she turned to Terry, “I know I said no business this week, but something has come up that is very important to one of my girls. Will you be alright if I step out for a bit? My clients will be coming over later today. I should be back in time to transform you back into Terry before they get here.”

“That’s alright,” Terry said, with just a hint of sadness in his voice. “I understand.”

“If you want too… I suggest you practice acting like what you think a princess would act. No never mind, just do what you want to do. You have my cell phone number; call me if you need me.” Betty kissed Terry’s cheek, got her purse and hurried out.

Terry had never thought about trying to act like a Princess, and much less about being a Prince. He just never thought that highly about himself. The idea intrigued him. He looked up princesses on the Internet, but none of the young princesses intrigued him till he found Princess Diana and Princess Grace Kelly. He watched a few video tributes to them on YouTube. Terry thought they were both so regale and beautiful, especially when they were younger. He spent a little while practicing their mannerisms and grace. He even got the royal wave down, holding up his right hand and just turning it a little left and right. He giggled to himself, as he looked a little foolish and pretentious to him.

He didn’t realize how much time had passed until he heard the doorbell ring, it had been close to three hours. He thought about not answering it, but he knew that it was very important to his Aunt. So he stood and mentally shifted into “Diana Mode” and went to answer the door. He stopped in front of the door and took a deep calming breath and opened it after releasing the breath.

There were two ladies at the door; one looked like a Mother and the other a very pretty girl that was a little taller than he and a couple of years older than Terry. In fact he recognized the girl from his Aunt’s photo albums.

“Hello, may I help you?” He said, to the two ladies.

“Yes we are here to see Ms. Johnson, is she here?” the older lady asked.

“No, she had to step out. She should be back shortly. She went to get something for a client. Would you like to come in and wait for her?”

“Oh good, Yes and thank you. We are the clients. I am Melinda Douglas and this is my daughter Amanda Fae Douglas.”

“I am Terry Wait and Ms. Johnson is my Aunt. Please come in.” He held his hand out like he had seen girls do when they shook hands; both ladies smiled at him and shook his hand as they came in.

Melinda was thoroughly confused; she had thought that Ms. Johnson had said her nephew was in town, when she was called by her canceling appointments Thursday. This lovely creature couldn’t possibly be her nephew, or could it be. If this was a game, she was going to have fun; she just smiled and treated Terri like the lady he appeared to be.

Terry led the two women, to the living room and invited them to have a seat. “Would you like to have something to drink?” Terry offered.

“No thank you,” Mrs. Douglas said. “A diet coke if you have some,” Amanda said.

“I am sure we do, if you will please excuse me.”

Terry went to the kitchen and got a couple of diet cokes and the phone before he returned. After he gave Amanda her coke, he called his aunt on the phone, “Aunt Betty, the Douglass’s are here,” he said, after his aunt answered her phone.

“I am so sorry; I didn’t make it back in time. Are you alright with this, sweetie.”

“Yes, everything is fine here Auntie.”

“Alright, I am about twenty minutes out, so can you entertain them till I get there.”

“Of course I can. Don’t worry everything is okay here.”

“Good, tell them there was a little problem with the shipment, but I got everything sorted out. Take care sweetie.”

Terry turned to the two ladies, and said, “My Aunt will be here in twenty minutes. She said that there had been a problem with the shipment, but that she got it sorted out.”

“Oh good, we were so worried. Your Aunt was getting us a shipment of some extra-long human hair extensions. Amanda’s beautiful hair was one of her best features, till that cretin Paul Smith took out a chunk of her hair out with a pocket knife.”

“Oh no, I saw my Aunt’s picture of you. Your hair was so beautiful,” Terry said, looking at Amanda. He saw that her mid-shoulder length blonde hair was now a collar length bob. “But I disagree, your eyes, nose and cheeks, are your best feature, Amanda.”

Melinda smiled. Terri seemed to be pretty sharp, if she were a guy.

“Thank you, Terri,” Amanda said, smiling warmly. She lived for compliments. “At least I saved the hair that Ms. Johnson had to cut, to even things out. I am braiding it into friendship bracelets for my friends. So are you a contestant too?”

“Oh no, I am just not into that, if you know what I mean.”

“Yes, we do. Doing the pageant circuit is so trying. It’s not something every girl is into.” Melinda said. “So do you live around here?”

“Oh no, I live in the Austin area.”

“Excuse me Terri, but might I use your bathroom, please,” Melinda asked.

“Of course you may, do you know where it is?”

“Yes, we have been here many times.”

Melinda got up and headed to the bathroom.

Amanda was sitting next to Terri and was a little confused, “So why did you come here to visit your Aunt in the middle of the school year?” She asked.

Terry looked a little sad and looked down at his hands on his lap, “My Mom sent me here to get me out of the house. Things between her and my Dad were getting a little rough.”

Amanda was shocked, after she extricated her foot from her mouth, she said, “I am so sorry. I should have thought before I spoke.” She wrapped Terry up in her arms and hugged her so close.

The dam behind Terry’s emotions broke, as the girl hugged him and he released a torrent of tears on Amanda’s shoulder. Terry was still crying when Melinda came back in. Amanda saw her and waved her off. She quietly walked to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee.

“I am so sorry, Terri. How are things between them? Has he hit her, or you?”

“No, Dad has never been violent with us, but he argues all the time with Mom. I just got so scared, if you know what I mean.”

“Yes I do, unfortunately. I had a girlfriend whose father went ape shit on her and her Mom. Let it all out girl,” Amanda said, rubbing Terri’s back.

Terry felt so good crying on Amanda’s shoulder, he loved the way she was rubbing his back. After a couple more minutes, he started to get a little embarrassed. What must this girl think of him? Then he remembered what he looked like and got more embarrassed.

“I am so sorry, I shouldn’t be crying like this,” Terri said, and then he felt worse as he saw his makeup staining Amanda’s pretty white blouse. “Oh no, I stained your blouse. It was so pretty.”

“Don’t worry about the blouse. It isn’t as important as friends are.”

“But… you don’t even know me.”

Amanda didn’t understand why, but she felt very protective about this girl. “That’s okay; we can still be sisters can’t we?”

Terry began crying again, out of shame. She would take that back and hate him if she knew, but he felt that he had to tell her.

Amanda wrapped the girl back up in her arms. It felt good comforting her.

Terry just whispered in her ear, “but… but… Amanda, I’m not a girl.”

Shocked, Amanda said, “You’re not a girl…”

Terry shook his head on her shoulder and muttered, “No I am not.”

Amanda didn’t know what to say. She knew that there were people like Terri out there. She liked the Terri she saw, if he wanted to be a girl, so be it. She then whispered into Terri’s ear, “Of course you are a girl. You are my sister now and all sisters are girls. It’s alright for sisters to cry on each other’s shoulders.” She felt an incredible attachment to this girl.

“You… you… mean you don’t care?” Terri whimpered.

“Of course I care about my sister. That’s what girls do.”

Terry was confused, “Did you really, understand what I said.”

Amanda held Terri at arm’s length and smiled, “Yes, I understand that you might have been born a boy, but understand this buster, you are still my sister, whether you like it or not.”

Terri tried to giggle, cry, smile and frown all at the same time. It was rather amusing watching her try to do that.

“Mom, I am taking Terri up stairs to fix her face.”

“Oh let me do that Amanda,” Melinda said, coming out of the kitchen. “She looked so lovely before, she needs to look special for her Aunt.

Melinda knew her daughter was good at makeup, but she wasn’t as good as Betty. Melinda was very good, but she wasn’t as good as Betty either.

Melinda had just cleaned off Terri’s ruined makeup when Betty got home. Betty seeing the living room empty, called out, “Terri, Melinda and Amanda, where are ya’ll.”

“We are up here, Betty,” Melinda called back.

Betty came up to her salon and saw Melinda throwing a makeup wipe away.

“What happened?”

“I stuck my foot in my mouth, Ms. Johnson. While my Mom was in the bathroom, I asked about Terri’s parents. I am so sorry. Terri just had to have a good cry on my shoulder.” Amanda said, showing Betty her blouse.

“Yes things are kind of sticky at her home right now. My sister wanted me to bring… her up here for a while. Do you feel better sweetie.”

“Yes, thank you, Aunt Betty.”

“Oh you poor girl, of course you needed a good cry,” Melinda said, understanding the situation. “Please you must make this precious child look amazing again, before you attend to my Amanda.”

Melinda was good people Betty thought, as she sat down to work on Terry. She used some eye drops to take out the redness from crying and then began to work. Amanda held Terry’s left hand, as Betty worked.

Betty quickly worked her magic and soon Terry went from very pretty to quite lovely again.

“Oh she is so precious,” Melinda said. “By the way, how old are you girl?”

Betty began to snigger and Terry looked at his Aunt.

“It’s up to you kiddo.”

“I am eleven.”

Melinda and Amanda were both shocked.

“Stand up girl, let us give you a look.”

Terry stood and gave the women a twirl.

“She is so tall for her age. She is going to be a heart breaker when she gets older,” Melinda said, smiling.

“Alrighty, now let’s make you look beautiful again, Amanda. Terry please get a robe for Amanda, will you darling.”

“Of course Madame, will there be anything else,” Terry vamped in a weak British accent and a courtesy. He acted like a maid he had seen on TV.

“That will be all for now,” Betty said, failing to suppress a laugh.

Terry went to his room and started to get a robe out of the closet. He stopped and looked at the one he was using. The thought of him wearing his robe after Amanda wore it, intrigued him. He would be able to be closer to her, at least in his mind, so he took that one.

Amanda smiled when Terri offered her the robe. She stood and took off her blouse and slacks right there in front of everyone, handing her clothes to Terri to hold for her. She liked that Terri wanted to act like a maid for a while. She put the robe on and Betty got to work on her. Terri neatly folded her new friend’s clothes and set them on a table.

It took Betty a long while to section and begin the process of attaching the extensions to Amanda’s hair, a single strand at a time. She had four different hair lengths of hair. Today she just added the shortest extensions. It was tedious work and she only added a couple of hundred extensions.

“You’ll have to come back every day for the next week,” Betty said, rubbing her hands.

“Can I spend the night here with Terri, Mom? It will be just like a sleepover.”

Betty and Melinda were both speechless, they didn’t know that among the four of them, that Terri’s secret was no secret to any of them.

Not knowing what to say Melinda said, “I suppose, if it is alright with Betty,” putting the decision on her shoulders.

Betty didn’t know what to say, either. It wasn’t unusual for her girls to stay over, and she really didn’t want it to seem strange not to let them, “I guess it’s okay.”

Terry looked at Melinda and somehow he figured out that she knew, but didn’t want to let her daughter, or his Aunt know she knew. Betty knew of course, but she didn’t want to let Amanda and Melinda know. Amanda knew that Betty knew, but she wanted to conceal it from her Mom.

“Aunt Betty, Mrs. Douglas and Amanda everybody knows,” Terry said. “I promise nothing will happen between my sister and me. After all, we are sisters.”

They all looked at Terri and then at each other and nodded.

“How did you know, Terri?” Amanda asked.

“I don’t know, call it women’s intuition.”

That comment had the three other people laughing. They went downstairs to the kitchen and Betty made coffee and tea.

Terri then went over her story for everyone at the same time. For now at least, she was a girl and pointed this out. When she finished her story she just sat there quietly.

Melinda just wanted to know one thing, “How do you feel about all of this, Terri?”

“I don’t know, but maybe I needed something like this. I have been scared and afraid, but now I have been able to talk to others and lean on them for support. So for at least as long as I am here, I am a girl.”

They had a group hug that almost started Terri crying again.

“I guess I need to go buy you some more clothes, Terri. You can’t wear thousand dollar dresses all the time.”

“And her own makeup too, so she can learn, Ms. Johnson.”

“And I need to get you some clothes for your sleep over, Amanda.”

The two olds got their hugs and went out the door. Amanda took Terri by the hand and led her into the living room. She sat down on the couch and pulled Terri into her lap, holding her sister to her chest.

“You are my princess, Terri.”

“No, you are the Beauty Queen; I am just your ‘Lady in Waiting’.” Lady-in-Waiting was something Terry had read about; he liked the sound of it as soon as he said it.

“Well then my ‘Lady in Waiting’, you may help me dress.” Amanda took Terri by the hand and led her back upstairs.

Terri balked a bit and was worried, but Amanda smiled and kissed her cheek, “Don’t worry we are sisters.”

Terri untied the belt of the robe and lifted it off her shoulders; she then helped her into her blouse and buttoned it for her, before helping her with her pants.

“I liked the way you took such good care of my clothes, Terri. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. They were nice things, I didn’t want to see them get all wrinkled. Sorry about the stains on the blouse.”

“You had a good cry and you needed it. Those stains will come out. You know this is fitting. A Lady-in-Waiting was first a Lady. In other words, she was herself a noble Lady, of lower rank, who the Queen, Princess, or even a Duchess trusted. The Lady-in-Waiting brought honor to her family, by attending to their needs; by being their assistant, their secretary, their confidant and friend. Being a Queen, Princess or Duchess, can be a lonely responsibility. They needed someone who understood the pressures they had on themselves. The Lady-in-Waiting wasn’t considered a servant, but she did what was necessary to make things easier for her charge. Remember, you are not a maid, you are my ‘Lady in Waiting’.” Amanda said, kissing the cheek of her friend.

“Is it lonely being a Beauty Queen?”

“It can be, other contestants, for the most part, aren’t your friends. They are your opponents; that is one thing I can’t forget. They will smile with you on stage, but stab you in the back in the dressing room, if they feel it can help their position. I always need more friends.”

“Well count me in.”

>>>>><<<<

Melinda returned; first she sat in the living room and talked with Terry. She wanted to know more about this person, “Tell me about yourself Terri?”

“Well, I don’t have many friends at school. I sort of stuck out like a sore thumb. From the third grade to the fifth grade I grew tall fast, but didn’t fill out at all. At least I wasn’t picked on like some of the short kids, but I was still called a lot of names.”

“My few friends were from my neighborhood and they were all girls. I was the only guy between eight and twelve for four blocks. The guys where I live, were either under five, or over fifteen.”

“Tell me Terri,” Melinda asked, “Have you ever dressed as a girl before?”

“No ma’am. I never even thought about it. I’m afraid my Dad would kill me if he saw me like this. No I take that back, he wouldn’t kill me, but he might bust my ear drum with his yelling at me.”

“You didn’t dress as a girl for Halloween, either.”

“No ma’am. Today was the first time.”

“Did you ever do any acting?”

“A few school plays yes, but it isn’t hard being a tree.”

“Where did you learn to act so much like a girl?”

“I don’t know. I guess I just watch people. I did study Princess Diana and Grace Kelly, on the Internet, while my Aunt was out getting Amanda’s hair. What happened to your hair, Amanda?”

“At school I sit in front of a guy name Paul Smith. His girlfriend, is a girl I sometimes compete against. I know what you said about my face and I appreciate it, but what helped me win so much was my long hair. Cindy Gray knew this and I think she got Paul to cut a large lock of my hair off.”

“He is not a good boy, Terri,” Melinda said. “He has confronted Amanda before over Cindy. Cindy Gray is a pretty girl, but she doesn’t really have any talents. Child and Teen beauty pageants are just like the adult ones on TV. To win you have to sing, dance or do something that is classified as a talent. There have even been girls who have even done Karate and that is an acceptable but unusual talent. Cindy can’t seem to do anything well. We did get a measure of satisfaction though; Paul’s family is having to pay for all of this, to the tune of two thousand five hundred dollars. Real human hair hair-extensions, as long as we got, are very expensive. ”

“What do you do Amanda, for a talent?”

“I can sing, dance, quote Shakespeare, or play the violin.”

Amanda stood and you could see a change in her demeanor. She became frazzled and was nervously rubbing her hands as if washing them as she walked around.

Yet here's a spot.
Out, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why,
then, 'tis time to do't.--Hell is murky!--Fie, my
lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we
fear who knows it, when none can call our power to
account?--Yet who would have thought the old man
to have had so much blood in him.
The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?--
What, will these hands ne'er be clean?--No more o'
that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all with
this starting.
Here's the smell of the blood still: all the
perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little
hand. Oh, oh, oh!

(MacBeth Act 5)

“Wasn’t that from ‘Macbeth’?” Terry asked.

“Yes it was,” Melinda said, surprised to see that Terri knew what play it was from. “She did that scene nicely, I think. Do you know the play, Terri?”

“My mom and I watched that movie on PBS. The one where Patrick Stewart played Macbeth and Suzanne Burden played Lady Macbeth.”

“There is a lot of superstition attributed to that play,” Amanda said.

“Enough of what Amanda likes to do. What do you like to do Terri?”

“I don’t know, staying out of trouble more than anything, but I like to read. I like Joan Lowery Nixon, Franklin Dixon, Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Carolyn Keene. Any good mystery as long as it isn’t too grisly and graphic.”

“Do you play video games, Terri?” Amanda asked.

“Some, but those games can be too gory for my tastes. I don’t understand the fascination with eviscerating your opponent.”

“Well you have a superior vocabulary, compared to your contemporaries.”

“I keep a BIG!” Terry demonstrated by holding his hands apart, “dictionary by my bed. I look up words I don’t know.”

“Did you wear nice clothes as a boy?” Amanda asked.

“Not really, and not because they were too expensive, I out grew my clothes too fast for the last year and a half, except for my shoes. I didn’t mind going to the resale store. Mom bought me a really nice suit once and I got to wear it twice before I outgrew it.”

“Did you know, some girls might spend hundreds of dollars for a dress and only wear it once,” Melinda said. “Do you like that dress Terri?”

Terry ran his hands over the dress. The silk felt exquisite and he loved the embroidered Phoenix.

“I don’t like this dress, I love it. I can’t describe the way the fabric feels so right, but it is very nice. The embroidery though, makes this the prettiest dress I have ever seen.”

“You’re wearing a corset now, is it tight?” Amanda asked.

“Not really, except for right here,” Terri said, indicating the narrowest part of his waist, “Aunt Betty said it was to make me sit straighter and give me a little more of a figure. I slouch too much. I guess I did that out of habit to hide how tall I am, when I am at school.”

Betty had been gone for about two hours. It was hard to tell that there was a body behind all the bags when she came in. It looked like the bags had two arms and two legs. That was all that was visible.

“I just bought a couple of outfits till we can take you out and go shopping,” as she dumped all the stuff in front of Terry.

“Just a few outfits?” Terry asked in amazement.

“That’s only enough clothes for two or three days, maybe more if you mixed and matched. You really don’t know what a girl needs, do you Terry?” Melinda said.

Terry and Amanda began to go through the bags, with Betty and Melinda sorting, folding and stacking things. Betty bought everything that Terry would need, bras and panties for a week, four blouses, three skirts, four T’s, two pair of slacks, two pair of jeans, another corset, panty hose, two purses, a wallet, five pair of shoes, makeup and makeup brushes, shorts, socks, two casual jackets, three night gowns and a black sleeveless dress.

“Terri, this isn’t half as much as I have to take for some pageants.”

Terry didn’t believe that for one minute. Melinda knew what Terri was thinking and said, “Believe it Terri. Amanda sometimes has to do maybe six or seven changes at a pageant and then there are her normal street clothes. You can come with us next weekend and see for yourself. I sometimes get adjoining rooms for us. One room is for the clothes and stuff and one for us to sleep in.”

“We were going to that show anyway, Melinda,” Betty said. “I have your daughter and Leslie Walker, at that show.”

“I know, but I thought it would be nice to ask Terri personally.”

“Thank you Mrs. Douglas. I would love to do that… Something though has been bothering me. Don’t you think it’s strange… I mean… I am a boy dressed as a girl… and everyone is so accepting of me. I know if I went to my old school, even the smallest guys would pick on me.”

“I don’t care who you are, or what you are Terri. You make a credible girl and my daughter likes you. My grandparents were hippies, till they got bit by the capitalism bug and my Dad made his money in Silicon Valley. Those geeks are some strange dudes. I learned not to judge people by the way they look and I believe in ‘live and let live’. And another thing, the way you make that dress look, I am just glad that Amanda doesn’t have to go up against you at a beauty pageant.”

“You said it Mom, Terri is just too cute,” Amanda said, “I could just hug her to death. She is my good luck teddy bear.”

“You seem like a good kid, Terri. Until you prove otherwise, I am going to treat you like a good kid. I am also going to treat you like you portray yourself. If you want to be a girl in Fort Worth, far be it from me to say nay. Considering your circumstances, being a girl for a while can’t hurt, if it will get you to let the bad things go. This will be our secret, nobody else in this world will have to know, Terri,” Melinda said.

Terry was almost crying when he got up and hugged Melinda. She hugged the girl, Terri, for a few minutes.

“Fashion show,” Amanda said. “It will be good seeing someone else put on the spot for a change.”

“You can try on everything here Terri, you will probably have to have our help,” Melinda said.

Betty helped Terri out of the cheongsam, while Amanda selected an outfit.

“Is that a wig, Terri?” Melinda asked.

“Yes, I have collar length hair, but it is a boy’s cut.”

“It looks very good on you.”

“My own hair is pretty close to the wig in color.”

After Terry dressed in the first outfit, Betty took out the chop sticks and fluffed out the wig.

“You look good in long hair, Terri,” Amanda said.

“Yes she does, doesn’t she?” Melinda said.

“I would grow mine longer, but my dad is already on the warpath about my hair.”

Terry had fun changing in and out of the clothes, his aunt had bought him, no her, she was a girl for now and girls wear girl’s clothes, which means she is a girl. Sure it was circular logic, but it meant something to Terri.

They made Terri prance back and forth. Amanda taught him how to walk like a girl on a runway. One of the new shoes had a three-inch spike heel; Amanda called it a stiletto. It took him, no her, a few laps to get used to them. Terri really didn’t need the added height, but the shoes looked good. Betty, Melinda and Amanda were surprised that she walked so well in the shoes. Terri was only a little awkward in the heels.

After the show, Melinda went home. Amanda and Terri took their things to Terri’s room. Amanda helped Terri arrange her things in her dresser and closet. Terri took off her clothes and hung them up. Amanda helped Terri out of the corset. Terri took a bra, a pair of panties and her robe into the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth, took off her wig, placing it carefully on the Styrofoam head. She shook out her own hair and, undressed the rest of the way and washed herself a bit with a bath cloth. She pulled on her panties and then figured out how to get into a bra, stuffing the cups with those silicone bits. She felt better with her small breasts than her flat chest. When Terri came out of the bathroom, Amanda wasn’t there, so she, yes she was a she; she slipped a nightgown on and went to bed and turned her lights out.

Five minutes later Amanda came in, “Can I sleep with my sister and Lady in Waiting.”

“You don’t have to ask, Amanda.”

>>>>><<<<<

Terry slept better than she had in a long while. It felt comforting having Amanda sleep behind her, although Amanda’s breath did tickle the hair at the back of her neck. She slipped out of bed and into the bathroom. Before she left the bathroom she had to readjust the bra, it and her breasts had ridden up while she slept. She wished that they were real. She took out the new corset and figured out how to get into it and it didn’t take much to tighten it all the way. Looking in the bathroom mirror, she tied it off in a bow behind her, like her aunt had done. She put the wig cap on, tucking her own hair underneath. She shook out the wig and with some effort, got it in place. She liked the way she looked. She just added a touch of pink lipstick, from her new makeup kit.

She dressed in her robe and a pair of feathered mules, before she left the bedroom, with Amanda softly snoring. The mules were wedges, with about a two inch heel and were pretty comfortable.

She had seen how her aunt made coffee and started the pot. Terry found tea bags and there was a kettle on the stove. Terry hadn’t been a tea drinker, but she knew her Mom was, so she turned the burner on underneath the tea kettle. She got a bowl of cereal and when the kettle whistle blew, she made a cup of tea, with cream and sugar. She decided that she liked the tea, after tasting it.

She finished her tea and cereal, and had cleaned up, before anybody else got up. Amanda came waddling in, followed shortly by her aunt.

“Morning Amanda, Morning Auntie.”

“Morning,” came the reply in unison. “Did you two sleep well,” Betty asked. “I know you slept together.”

“We are sisters, Aunt Betty.” Terry added confidently.

“Yes, I guess you are in a way.”

“I slept better than I have in a long time. May I call my mom, later?”

“Yes but make it after ten. Amanda, let me eat and get woke up, and then I will add another layer of extensions.”

>>>>><<<<<

Terri watched her Aunt work on Amanda’s hair, inserting one hair at a time. She helped by handing Betty one hair at a time. Amanda’s hair was starting to look significantly longer and fuller. Betty didn’t work as long today, but still added about two hundred hairs.

Betty then taught Terri how to braid Amanda’s hair.

“Extensions last longer if they are braided, when possible,” she said.

Terry tied a big blue satin bow at the bottom of the braid. Amanda smiled, when she finished and kissed her cheek.

“Thank you Terry and thank you Ms. Johnson.”

“It won’t be as long as it was Amanda, but it will be fuller and we will be able to do more things with it. I am glad you are getting the cost back out of that boy.”

“Mom also got a restraining order; Paul can’t come within two hundred feet of me. He has to change classes and he can’t go to the pageants that I will be in. I am making sure I attend the same pageants that his girlfriend does. It will kill them both.”

At about ten Betty got her phone; she carried it into her office and closed the door.

“Clara how are things were going.”

“Frank went to the doctor and is going to go to anger management classes, as am I,” she said. “We only had one minor argument and it wasn’t loud enough to alarm the neighbors. The therapist is really helping me. I was a barrel of nerves and now I’m learning to be a more calm and assertive, without being over the top, but its going to be a month or so, before I would feel safe enough to have Terry come home.”

Betty told Clara not to worry about Terry; he loved it here and already made some good friends. She also told Clara that she had enrolled Terry in a home school online program. Clara was relieved about that, she hadn’t even thought about what he would do about school. She did call his old school and told them why he wasn’t coming. They understood and were relieved that he was safe at least. Betty also told Clara to be really careful around Frank.

Betty called Terry into the office and gave her the phone. Then she went and sat with Amanda.

“How is Terri’s mom, Ms. Johnson?”

“She is doing as good as can be expected, Amanda. These type things can take a long time to resolve… and sometimes they are unrecoverable.” Betty took both of Amanda’s hands in her hands. “Learn from this Amanda. Never become some man’s punching bag. There are times it is better to walk away from a bad situation, than to try to hold on to something dangerous. If you get married, set some money aside each month in a savings account at a different bank, in case you have to leave in a hurry.”

Twenty minutes later, Terry came out of the office. He was just starting to cry a bit.

“I miss my Mom, Aunt Betty and I am worried about her.”

Betty pulled Terry into her lap and tried to comfort the child. He cried on her shoulder. Betty whispered into his ear, “I know, sweetie. I’m worried about her too, but she is strong, she will get through this.”

Amanda took one of Terry’s hands and held on to it, wishing that there was something more she could do.

Terry was all cried out in about twenty minutes. Betty set the child down next to Amanda, who wrapped him up in a hug. She then went to fix lunch for the three of them.

When Betty finished getting lunch ready, the kids weren’t in the living room, so she called out.

“Terry… Amanda, lunch is ready.”

“Be there in a minute, Ms. Johnson.”

When the kids came out of Terri’s room, Terri was all made up and was acting like a lady.

“You look nice Terri, do you feel better?”

Terri nodded and gave his aunt a half smile and a hug.

>>>>><<<<<

Amanda had taken him back to his room, to get her sister and Lady-in-Waiting back. Once she started on Terri’s eyes, Amanda could sense a change in Terri’s bearing. Terri went from a hurt child, to a proper Lady. Amanda smiled and continued to work.

Terri was happy to see what Amanda had done. This was another new look and so she tried to remember what Amanda had done. She saw that Amanda had done many of the same things his aunt had done, but she used less makeup and lighter colors.

When they heard Aunt Betty say lunch was ready, Amanda was almost finished. She just needed to add lipstick.

Amanda led Terri to the kitchen. Betty smiled when she saw Terri.

Terri sat like the lady she wanted to be at that time and swept her skirt under her as she sat. She told Amanda and Aunt Betty about her talk with her mom. Her mom had been more upbeat when she talked with Terry, than she had been, when she talked to Betty. She didn’t want Terry to worry. Terri felt things were a little better, but not as good as what his Mom had told him.

After lunch, Betty worked on Amanda again, for about an hour. Amanda was pleased with how things were going.

“You need about four more sessions Amanda to be finished and then I will style your hair and give you a perm.”

“I can’t wait, I loved my long hair. Terri, will you braid my hair for me again, please?”

Terri began to work with her friend’s hair and finished it off with the blue stain bow again.

The afternoon was a little more upbeat. Amanda took Terri and began teaching her how to use her makeup. She made it fun, she wanted Terri to love being a girl and Amanda felt she needed her. She would do the right side of Terri’s face and have Terri try to match the left side. Terri did learn to remove the makeup real well, as she had to start over several times. They would have Betty critique their work. The last time, Amanda had Terri do everything.

“How come you know so much about makeup? How long have you been wearing it?”

“Honey, I have been wearing makeup since I was six. It isn’t unusual to see girls all ages made up extra fancy at pageants. Mom started me in pageants back then. Most normal girls don’t get a chance to start wearing makeup till they get to somewhere between thirteen and sixteen. I started doing my own when I was eleven. I always wear a little, but Mom won’t let me wear more than mascara and lipstick to school. I still practice my makeup almost every day. If you’re my Lady-in-Waiting, you need to look good too.” Amanda tickled Terri causing her to laugh and streak mascara over her right cheek.

Terry looked mad at Amanda for a second and then they had a tickle war. Amanda gave up, as Terry had her pinned face down on the bed and was relentlessly tickling her feet. Amanda cried Uncle and Terri relented. They both had to clean off their faces and redo their makeup.

“I wished you could go to school with me, Terri.”

“We wouldn’t even be in the same grade. I am in the fifth grade and you are what, seventh or eighth?”

“Eighth. Still it would be good to have my best friend with me in school.”

“Why, don’t you have lots of friends?”

“Not so many, and the ones that want to be my friend, are pretty shallow. They want to use my looks to attract boyfriends. Then others like Cindy, despise me. Like I said yesterday, Royalty are sometimes lonely people.”

“We will see each other often and you can call me every day.”

Amanda hugged Terri and said, “Thank you.”

The two kids talked about what music they liked, which actors and actresses they thought were cool and other things kids talk about.

Amanda had to leave and go home at five that afternoon. She had to go to school the next day.

>>>>><<<<<

Terry slept well, but missed Amanda’s warmth. She got up early the next morning and took her bath. She kept things simple, she had to sign onto the home school site and take some tests. The site wanted her to turn on her webcam and they expected a boy. She wore some girl’s slacks over her panties, with one of Terry’s boy shirts, without her bra and breast padding.

The way the site worked, was the children logged in every day in the morning and turned on their webcams. The teachers would lecture them for about thirty minutes a class and then in the afternoon, the kids would do their assignments. They had to have their webcams on in the morning, so the teachers could see that they were actually present for the lectures. In the afternoon, they had teachers who could start a chat if the students needed help.

Back home, Terry’s grades had begun to slip a little, but she did well in testing today. The teacher was pleased and that afternoon, after five hours of testing, they assigned him to the sixth grade in most classes and the fifth grade in others.

Ten minutes after the tests, Terri was in her corset and doing her makeup. She was in full girl mode when Amanda arrived.

Amanda had a ninety minute long session with Betty, and Terry braided her hair afterwards. The four of them sat around and talked. Betty and Melinda talked about the next pageant. Terry and Amanda talked about what they had done today.

“You should have been there today. Paul came in and sat behind me. Before class started, the principal came in and read him the riot act and pulled him out of class. He was sent to the alternate school. He will be there till the end of the semester and then he may have to go to a different school the next year. Cindy was livid, but she couldn’t do anything.”

“Was he mad at you?”

“Oh yes he was mad, but I think his mom and dad got to him. He looked crossly at me and just left. He never said a word.”

Terry smiled and hugged his friend, “Just be careful, I don’t want my best friend hurt.”

“I will. Oh I have something for you.” Amanda said. She took out a bracelet she had made out of her hair. She had taken some longer sections and braided it together with a gold chain. She placed it around Terri’s right wrist. “This is made out of my own hair. I want you to have it.”

Terri smiled and hugged “Amanda. “I love it, thank you Amanda. I will wear this at special times and when we are together.” Terri kissed Amanda’s cheek. “I just wish, I had something to give you.”

“You did, you’re my friend.”

“Amanda, we have a violin lesson, so we have to go,” Melinda said.

The two girls hugged and then waved, as Amanda and her Mom left.

>>>>><<<<<

The next few days, Terri was schooled in the morning. She would get into full girl mode at lunch, and do her assignments and then watch as her Aunt Betty dealt with other clients. Amanda had more rounds of extensions and she was pronounced finished. She would come back the next day for styling and a perm.

Aunt Betty dealt with two other girls this week, one was a pretty perky eight-year-old girl. Leslie Walker was a mass of black curly hair and unlimited energy. She had a huge smile that endeared everyone to her. Aunt Betty worked with the girl’s stage presence, in other words the way she walked, the way she talked and the way she posed. She would be the other girl that was going to the pageant on Saturday. Leslie liked Terry and spent a lot of time with her. Terry liked the little girl and it was apparent to her that the girl was having fun doing all of this. What surprised everyone was during a break, Leslie climbed up into Terry’s lap, made herself comfortable, and took a short cat nap. Forty winks later (about five minutes) Leslie was wide awake and full speed ahead.

The other girl Betty worked with that week, was an eleven year old girl name Wendy Green. Wendy was eleven, but was about four inches shorter than Terry. She seemed a little less happy about all this ta-do, but her Mom, Charlotte, pushed her to always do better. Terry got a chance to talk to the girl, which surprised Wendy. The girl liked going to pageants some, but there was so much work in between. When other girls had time to play and have fun, Wendy had to practice this or do that, to make her mom happy. Wendy liked going to school, it was there she could be herself and have fun. Wendy said that she liked working better with Ms. Johnson, than her old coach. Her old coach was worse than her mom about having her work harder and longer.

Aunt Betty talked to Terri about her girls. Terri gave her impressions about Wendy and Leslie. Betty smiled as Terri talked about the two girls. It was obvious that her niece was very observant and she was happy that she got along well with her girls.

“Terri, Wendy is one of those girls I almost didn’t take on as a client. I did it so that I could try to help her to have some fun. I have seen to it that things are better with her. I would drop her but then I am afraid that her Mom might go back to the other coach or to a worse one.”

“Wendy likes you Aunt Betty, so does Leslie. I think Leslie will do well in her pageants.”

“Yes, it was like she was born to be a beauty queen. Well, I need to take you shopping, if we are going to the pageant on Friday. You need more clothes.”

Aunt Betty and Terri hit the mall. Terri was surprised to see, ‘how much in her element’ her Aunt was. Betty knew just the right shops which would have clothes that Terri loved and would look good in. Even though it was her first time going out in full girl mode, Aunt Betty made her feel good. She didn’t have time to feel self-conscious. Terri seemed to thrive in the feminine environment. She was only a little uncomfortable her first time in the ladies restroom; she just smiled and acted as naturally as she could.

Their first stop at the mall was the lingerie shop. In the lingerie shop, Betty bought some really expensive breast forms, which would be attached with an adhesive. These forms had a high quality, natural skin appearance. When they were attached and treated with a special makeup, they matched Terri’s skin tones very nicely; they looked and felt real too. Terri stared at them in the mirror for several minutes, turning left and right to get a better look at them. She then jumped and shook her shoulders to make them jiggle. Betty laughed and whispered to Terry that her new breasts would help her mix in better with the other girls at pageants, make her look a little older and she would be less likely to give herself away as the attached breasts forms wouldn’t shift out of place at an inopportune time.

The shop owner was a friend of Betty’s and didn’t think it was strange that Betty was doing this for one of her girls. In fact this wasn’t the first time they had done this. There are some girls that don’t start growing their breasts till they are thirteen or fourteen. In a beauty pageant, breasts can make quite a difference in this age group. It wasn’t supposed to be so, but it was. Teen girls with larger breasts did better than girls who were less endowed. The shop owner gave Terri and Betty a lesson on how to attach and take care of the breast forms.

When Terri was measured, she found out that she was a full 32B with these forms attached. She had to buy some new bras and she still had some that she had never worn yet. Her tank top was stretched nicely over her new bra, but it was apparent that Terry would need some new tops.

Terri whispered to Betty, “Gee, I have only been a girl for a few days and I am still outgrowing my new clothes.” Terri was alluding to her previous growth spurts as a boy.

Betty broke out in giggles. Don’t worry, those other clothes weren’t that expensive.

Terri liked the way she jiggled now when she bounced up and down and they would shift when she turned left and right. Betty had to calm her down a bit.

Betty bought two more corsets for Terri, since she seemed to like wearing them and they did some wonderful things to the girl’s figure. Both new corsets had a two-inch smaller waist, than the ones at home. She was laced into a new one, till the sides touched in the middle. She now had a twenty-two inch waist. She liked the way she looked wearing it. She had obvious hips now and her bust looked bigger with it on. Terri thought she would sleep in the other two and wear these two during the day.

Betty then went from one teen fashion store to another; Terri found many outfits to make her look her best. Being a tall teen meant that Terri didn’t have to endure those overly cute outfits that some girls had to wear. You know, those froths of taffeta, lace, ribbons and organza that make girls look like a modern day Shirley Temple. Those dresses made girls look younger instead of older. Terri looked more mature like a young teen well on the cusp of womanhood when she dressed. The clothes were everything a fourteen or fifteen year old girl would love. At least the fourteen-year-old girls that liked to dress up, that is.

Terri seemed to drift towards the softer, more feminine fabrics and more vibrant colors. She liked being girly, as long as it was a big girl girly. Betty liked the new Terri and seemed to forget about who she really was.

In one store, Terri saw that they had a mother/daughter corner. She went up to a sales lady and asked for her help to find her and her aunt similar outfits. Terri told her aunt that she wanted to pick out the outfits. The sales lady had to the two of them stand side by side, asked what their sizes were. They wore an 8T and a 0. Betty did tell the lady what she needed in an outfit. The sales lady brought out three choices in outfits.

Terri loved the burgundy skirted suit the lady suggested, Betty said we were both autumns and that they could both carry it off well. The suit coupled with a ruffled long sleeve Antique Rose blouse and of course they had to have matching burgundy pumps. The only pumps that matched, had three and a half inch heels.

Betty bought the suits, matching blouses and heels. They had dinner at the mall and talked about the weekend. Terri could stay with Melinda and Amanda at the pageant, but Betty would have to work with both Amanda and Leslie. Terri was alright with that and promised to be on her best behavior.

Before they left the mall, Betty bought Terri a set of soft side suit cases and two matching garment bags. She would need them for the added clothes girls had to carry.

>>>>><<<<<

Terri angled the camera up a little on her web cam. She didn’t want to take her breast forms off, and she didn’t know how the instructors would take having a boy with breasts. Terry was sure her Aunt hadn’t thought about that, but she didn’t care, she loved the way she looked right now.

If they did notice the change, they didn’t say anything. They didn’t, but then again they didn’t care. They had more than a few transgendered students enrolled. They knew it was safer for their transgendered students to be home schooled, rather than go to school and face ridicule and violence. This was one area they saw a huge jump in their enrollment. They just cared that their student was online for the classes and did their work.

Amanda came by after school; Betty styled, colored and permed the girl’s hair, then gave her fills on her acrylic nails. Terri helped by handing her aunt the rods and end papers as she rolled the hair. She was fascinated by the whole beauty process. Her mom regularly went to the salon, but Terry never got to go along with her. The whole process seemed so arcane at times and hardly bearable with all the strong odors. But when Amanda was finished, she could tell that the results were worth the hardships. The results were outstanding; Terri could see why her friend thought her hair was her best feature. She smiled and had to hug her best friend; Amanda looked as good as, or better than, her portrait in Aunt Betty’s albums. Amanda loved Terri’s reaction; she didn’t have to ask how she looked and she knew there wasn’t any falsehood behind her eyes.

Terry whispered in her ear, “You look so amazing, Amanda. I can’t believe anyone could be as beautiful as you are right now.”

“Except maybe for you Terri, when we get you all dolled up. Let’s go to your room for a few minutes,” Amanda whispered back. “Mom, Terry and I are going to her room for a few minutes,”

“Ok, Betty and I need to talk, but we can’t stay long, we have to get home and begin to get ready.”

Amanda almost pulled Terri into her room, “What did you do to yourself girl, you look great.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have some nice titties, girl.”

“Oh, my aunt took me to a store and they had these things attached to me?”

“Breast forms?”

“Yeah, that’s what they are.”

“Let me see girl,” Amanda said, pulling up Terri’s t-shirt.

Amanda saw the new below the bust corset, the bra and the breast forms; at least they had to be breast forms. She unhooked the girl’s bra and took a peak at her breasts. They looked so real, it was hard to tell, they looked great on Terri.

“I love your breasts, they look so real. What size are you now?”

“A 32B.”

“You look good with them. I had to grow mine and use padding to get a B cup. The birth control pills helped me a little, but yours are better right now.”

“I wish mine were real like yours,” Terry said, not thinking. “I like these, but I can’t feel them, if you know what I mean.”

“Are you going to be by my side this weekend?”

“You know it girl, I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

Amanda hooked Terri’s bra back and pulled her T back down and then opened her purse. She pulled out a pretty jeweled broach and pinned it on Terri’s T.

“This is my gift to my Lady-in-Waiting. It is a jeweled pelican. It is just costume jewelry, but I liked it.”

Terry looked at the broach; it was about one by two inches tall and was covered in different colored crystals. It really caught the light and sparkled like diamonds. It was the prettiest thing she had ever been given. She smiled and began to cry. Amanda came up behind her and hugged her. Terry turned in her arms, threw her arms around her neck and kissed her friend on the lips.

>>>>><<<<<

“You know Betty, you have a real problem.”

“I know, Terri has gone completely fem, I think. I hope I didn’t do this to him.”

“From what I know and I admit I am not an expert, there is not much you can do to make someone be that way. What I mean is, you can’t easily make someone become transgendered. There has to be something there already. You might have pulled the trigger, but the gun was already there, so to speak.”

“Do you think this could be just a phase?”

“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t take bets on it. I don’t know enough about this type thing, but I know that there are experts. She needs to see a gender specialist.”

“How do I tell her mother?”

“How do you tell anybody anything? Come out with it and tell her the truth, at least as you know it. Is she enough like you to accept this?”

“Yes she is, but I don’t think Frank will be happy?”

“Then she needs to know soon, this might be a deciding matter on whether she stays with him or leaves. The sooner you get this over with the better.”

“I have taken pictures and have been debating on whether to send them to her or not.”

“I can’t tell you what to do?”

“She does make an adorable girl, doesn’t she?”

Melinda leaned close to Betty and whispered into her ear, “You bet your sweet ass she does. I just love thethat girl.”

>>>>><<<<<

Things happened fast after Terri finished her classes for the day. She and Betty loaded the Land Rover. Terri saw why his aunt went with that vehicle, instead of the B’mer, there was a lot more storage space than her other vehicle had. It was still full, as they headed out. Betty checked with Delores, Leslie’s mom and Melinda, before they drove away. They were headed to a state wide pageant in Houston and the first two places, in each age group, would move on to a regional pageant, in Atlanta.

They drove on I-20 to US 287 to Ennis and then south on I-45 to Houston. The pageant was to take place in the George R. Brown convention center. Betty and her girls all had adjacent rooms at the Four Season Hotel, just a few blocks away. Terri just chattered away for the first hour and then became a little quieter, before she fell asleep, just past Corsicana. Betty, just had her driving and her country music to keep her company. She woke Terri up, as they drove through Huntsville and pointed out the tallest statue of an American Hero, General Sam Houston. The statue is 67 feet tall.

“My gosh, he is big.”

“Yes, that is just one of two statues of Sam Houston in Huntsville. There is one at the college in town and a likeness on a large tombstone.”

“Who is Sam Houston?”

“He was the General who defeated Santa Anna at San Jacinto. He was the first President of the Republic of Texas, the first Governor of Texas, a Governor of Tennessee, and a US Senator.”

“Oh a politician.”

>>>>><<<<<

An hour and a half after passing Sam Houston, they arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel. Betty and Terri arrived first. That is when they found out that there was a problem. Instead of three rooms, they had two adjoining rooms. Betty called the mom’s. They decided that the girls should use one room and the three adults would share the other. At least they were large rooms.

Terri changed into a nice dress and with Betty’s help, did her own makeup. Betty thought that Terri needed more than just a little makeup. There would be a lot of other pageant goers around and she didn’t want her niece to be the only girl not looking her best.

Betty and Terri got their luggage up to the rooms and sorted them out. Leslie and Dolores arrived and Terri sort of took charge of the little dynamo. She helped the young girl to get her things arranged in their room. As large as the room was, they were going to be overwhelmed. Amanda had told Terri what she had to bring. Leslie then got dressed and added just a little lipstick, eyeliner and mascara to her face, just like a pro.

Melinda and Amanda arrived just as everyone was getting ready to go get a bite. Terri and Leslie helped Amanda, while Betty and Delores helped Melinda. Amanda undressed while walking, Terri picked up after her. She took a quick bath cloth wash job and dressed in something Terri had gotten out for her. She took a little more time doing her makeup and went for a good evening look.

Leslie took one hand from both girls and they went into the other room. Melinda was just finishing up her own makeup.

That night, they ate at the Hotel, and as expected, there were many pageant goers all around. As Betty had expected, most had dressed up and made up their faces. Many of the pageant girls were already posturing, as if they were being judged. They also were measuring themselves by the competition.

The girls sat at one table, while the adults sat where they could see their girls, but still have an adult conversation. This was a treat for them too.

Amanda and Leslie were busy pointing out who was who, when they saw someone they knew. Contestants often run into each other at the various events. It is a small community, when it comes to the competitive girls. Amanda told them stories of some strange parents. One story was of a mom that went schizo when her girl placed second, for the third time, in two months to the same girl. Security had to protect the girl who had won. The mom accused the judges of favoritism, nepotism (it wasn’t true) and a bunch of other tisms.

The contestants themselves sometimes lose it when they are beaten. It isn’t unheard of girls having a big cat fight over losing at these events. Others have a crying meltdown. A therapist could make a killing with all the bruised egos at a children’s beauty pageant.

“Ninety five percent of the contestants are good kids. We could do without the other five percent. Those contestants will keep acting up till they get banned, but there is always someone that takes their place,” Amanda said.

“Why don’t you compete Terri? You’re really pretty enough.” Leslie asked.

Terri didn’t want to come out to Leslie and tried to come up with a reason. “How much time do you put into pageanting every week?”

“I don’t know… but it is a lot.”

“I put in twenty maybe thirty hours a week before a major pageant. I would expect that Leslie puts in ten to twenty hours in the week before she competes.”

“Well before I came to visit my Aunt, I sorta knew about pageants and a few girls that went to them. I just didn’t have the inclination, or the desire, to put in the time to be good. Also I was pretty much a Tom boy.”

“I can’t see you being a Tom boy, you’re too girly, Terri,” Leslie said. “Maybe girly isn’t the right word.”

“Feminine. You are too feminine to have ever been a Tom boy,” Amanda said, smiling at her friend.

Terri was lost for words. She had half expected something like that from someone who didn’t know her secret, but when Amanda said it, it really confused her.

“You really think that Amanda?” Terri asked.

Amanda thought for a second before answering, “I know you might have been a Tom boy, but if I just met you today, I wouldn’t have believed it. Leslie is right, in a way.”

“Okay, granted, I have the looks, and I might have the girly act down. I never liked dressing up before I came to stay with my Aunt and I never learned any talents like you and Amanda.”

“Neither do half the girls that compete, Terri,” Leslie said, giggling. “Janice Parker always sings and her singing is so bad, she can break glass.”

“Oh Lord, Leslie, when she hits a loud bad note, she could start a stampede at the exits. I heard her preacher asked her to join the choir… at another church, preferably out of state.”

“That’s not nice; does she at least try to do good?” Terri asked.

“Yes and that is what makes it worse. But you are right; we shouldn’t make fun of her.”

>>>>><<<<<

“I like your niece, Betty. I think she is a good influence for my daughter Leslie. I liked the way she took charge when we showed up. She had an easier time than I usually do, trying to get her sorted out. She is so cute, why isn’t she doing the pageant thing?”

“Yes, she seems to be an organizer. I don’t think her parents are into that scene and the only way I got her all dressed up and made up, was on a bet. I think she likes what I do and maybe that is the way she will go.”

“I think so too. When my Amanda was getting her hair done, Terri was there helping her aunt out. She is so gorgeous though, when she is made up.”

“Well, I am impressed with her too. She helped my Leslie when we came over for our session. One thing she did, that I really liked, was when she talked to my daughter was, when she got down on her knees, at Leslie’s level, so she didn’t have to look up to Terri. I think my girl appreciated that too. It was a small gesture, but I think it did wonders.”

Betty smiled and said, “I remember Mrs. Carpenter, she was my first grade teacher, she used to do that with the kids in her class, especially when she had to correct one of us. She didn’t dominate us, or Lord herself over us, she didn’t have too. There was no doubt she was in charge. That simple gesture endeared her to us. We just loved her.”

“Whatever, while I wouldn’t trade my Leslie for anyone else, I would still be proud to be Terri’s mother,” Delores said.

>>>>><<<<<

Amanda helped Terri by keeping Leslie occupied, while she took a bath and got ready for bed. Leslie wasn’t in on Terri’s secret, so Terri dressed in her sleep shirt, her panties and her padded brief. The brief kept what little she had up front, tucked away and unseen. Betty had attached her wig with an adhesive and her breasts didn’t need to come off for a while yet. Before Terri left the bathroom, she checked to see that there was nothing of Terry in the mirror.

Amanda and Terri slept in one bed and Leslie slept in the other, but when morning came, Terri found herself sandwiched between the two of them, at about five thirty. She managed to extricate herself from between the two of them, but it cost her a kiss on Leslie’s cheek, as she became half awake. She grabbed the outfit she wanted to wear that day and headed to the bathroom. Terri spent a few minutes stretching left and right, front and back, touching her palms to the floor. She had a bit of a bed head, so after brushing her teeth, she spent a bit brushing her hair. After re-lacing herself in a corset and dressing in her burgundy suit and Antique Rose blouse, she sat in front of the mirror doing her makeup.

At six thirty, she woke Amanda, she would need more time to get ready than Leslie. Terri could hear the adults starting to get up and get ready. Finally she woke Leslie and began to help her get ready.

Amanda and Leslie just wore casual clothes at breakfast; as they would change into their costumes, in the dressing room, at the convention center. Breakfast was light, and served in the adult’s room; they all had a few butterflies in their stomachs.

It was amazing to see how many bags had to go with them to the George R. Brown. There were a half a dozen garment bags, four suit cases, Betty’s professional makeup kit and several boxes. Betty drove her Land Rover with all the stuff in it, with Terri, while the others took the shuttle the few blocks to the center.

At the center, Terri stayed with the clothes, as her Aunt parked. The others had already joined her, as her aunt got back. At the desk, everyone got their credentials. Security at these events was always high. There were many areas you couldn’t get in without the right credentials. The dressing room area was tightly controlled, so the girls could feel safe there. There were many girls running around half dressed, as they got ready. Betty got Leslie ready, as her age group was first to show. Amanda had Terri help her. She taught Terri how she liked to do things.

Amanda was dressed, when Betty was ready for her. Betty quickly began to sort out the young lady’s hair and makeup. She took great care to create the look she wanted, on the older girl and did a wonderful job.

Betty would have loved to see Amanda on stage, but by the time the girl was on stage, it would be time for Leslie to have her second change. That was how it was when you had multiple girls at the same show. Terri did go with Amanda and stood offstage, as her friend’s time came to walk on stage, for the introduction of the contestants.

Amanda walked to center stage, posed left, then right, before walking down the catwalk. Terri thought she looked so amazing, dressed in the lovely formal dress. She walked to the end of the catwalk and then posed for the crowd.

After everyone had their walk, the girls, as a group, walked on stage, while some man sang the pageant’s theme song. After that, they rushed back to the dressing room area. Amanda’s age group had to change to swimsuits.

Amanda again had Terri help her undress and get into the swimsuit. Terri never balked as she helped her friend. Melinda didn’t mind and had the chance to enjoy things for a change. The swimsuit was an orange red one piece. Amanda showed Terri how she used a swimsuit adhesive at strategic points, to keep the suit from migrating between her butt cheeks. The girl got into her matching heels and Betty adjusted her makeup.

Beauty Pageants are run like a military operation. There was a lot of frantic hurry up and wait times, before a few minutes on stage, before frantic hurry up for the next part of the operation.

When the lunch break came, Melinda had gotten everyone something to eat. Amanda and Leslie sat and ate, dressed in satin robes, with Terri. They talked about how they thought they done so far. Both girls had already been on stage twice. Leslie would make one more appearance and Amanda had two.

Leslie was ecstatic, this was her first show with Betty and she felt that she was already doing better than she ever had.

Amanda smiled and gave the younger girl some tips. She also felt that she was doing good, but only time will tell. The older the girl, the more fierce the competition was. Her strongest areas would be this afternoon and Sunday.

All too soon, Amanda had to get ready. She had her talent and poise competitions today. Today she was going to sing ‘Cabaret’ for her talent and had to get dressed to fit the song. Her costume was a little racy for a teen, but milder than Liza Minnelli’s version. The costume was sort of like a corset, but with a blouse top included. There was a short skirt, stockings, supported by garters straps, high heels, short fingerless lace gloves, top hat, a cane and a bow tie. Her makeup was a very dramatic glamour look.

Terri had seen the movie ‘Cabaret’. Along with the movie ‘Chicago’, it was one of her Mom’s favorite movies. She had loved the glamour of the Roaring twenties and thirties movies. Seeing Amanda dressed on stage, in her costume, Terri could imagine Amanda being in a cabaret, singing, with the patrons drooling over her. She was a bit jealous of those patrons. What really surprised Terri though, was her friend’s singing. The girl’s voice was golden; to say she sang like an angel, was an understatement. Her dancing was mildly provocative, but would still get in a PG-13 movie. Her act was polished, unlike some of the girls that had gone on before and after her. Terri would put her as number one, or two, out of the fifteen girls there.

Terri picked her friend up in a hug, when she got off stage, “You were fantastic, Amanda.”

“Thank you Terri. It wasn’t too much was it?”

“I thought it was fab.”

Amanda and Terri rushed back to Betty, who was finishing up on Leslie.

“How did you do Amanda?” Betty asked, seeing the two kids arriving.

“She was wonderful, Aunt Betty. I think she did pretty good.”

“You need to change out of that outfit and get all of your makeup off.”

Terri helped her friend out of the costume and into a robe. She then took several makeup wipes and began to clean her friends face. Amanda loved having someone do these things for her. She just sat back and relaxed.

The poise competition dress was semi-formal, afternoon glam. The contestants were interviewed on stage. The contestants had been given a list of twenty questions; they would be asked three questions off of the list and one question that wasn’t on the list.

Terri tried to be objective, as she listened to the other girls’ canned responses. Some of them were so plastic and cliché, like the Miss America contestants that want to cure all diseases and obtain world peace. Amanda was a little better than most. She had to tell the judges what they wanted to hear, it was all part of the game after all, she explained; but she put more of herself into the answers. Amanda had a little more warmth and expression, as she answered her questions.

After that round, Amanda and Leslie changed into some casual clothes and with the adults along, they headed to the exhibition hall.

The girls and their adults, went through the hall, checking out a lot of the exhibits. They looked at what might be the latest and greatest to come out. Terri was amazed at what she saw. There were beauticians, dress makers, modeling agencies, jewelry makers, beauty show coaches, gadget sales, DVD sales, and games for girls. The hottest sales were the souvenir sales. They sold pins, banners and bumper stickers, associated with pageanting.

After about an hour and a half later, they packed up and headed back to the hotel. Betty and the Moms were so happy that their girls had done so well. Everyone changed into dressier, formal dresses. Betty checked her three girls, before they went out and headed to the ‘State Grille’, a very nice restaurant, which had an anti bellum, civil war era type feel to it. The elegant dresses they had chosen, fit in with the restaurants décor. Terri had wondered just where she would wear the dress her aunt bought her.

Their group wasn’t the only one from the pageant there. There were three or four other groups of mothers and daughters there. Terri was amazed at how elegant Leslie looked and how grown up she acted.

All eyes in the restaurant turned, when an older man and woman, in their late sixties, entered the place. Their clothing could have been used in ‘Gone with the Wind’, or any other civil war era movie. The older gentleman was quite dapper in his powder blue linen suit and vest. His shirt had a high collar and the sleeves had a bit of ruffle at the cuffs. He had a pocket watch and chain, which dangled from his vest, and his shoes were period and had no instep. He wore Ben Franklin spectacles and had a strange top hat in his hands. The lady wore a light green silk dress, with a bustle. There was a lot of ornamentation on the bodice, including a white lace panel, over white fabric in the middle, where it buttoned, and green silk vertical ruffles. There was a dark green ribbon belt, with a large bow, just above the bustle. She wore a green silk hat, with black net trim and pheasant feathers, and button hook high heel shoes. The couple became stars that night, as many of the patrons asked if they could have their pictures taken with the couple.

Those two people showing up, broke some of the tension that night, and allowed everyone to enjoy themselves a little more.

>>>>><<<<<

They packed up and checked out of the hotel after breakfast. They then made their way back to the convention center after loading up the cars.

Sunday, both the girls had just one costume change. They both had a catwalk run, to demonstrate their modeling skills, before lunch and then a change for the awards ceremony, after lunch. The atmosphere wasn’t as frantic, but just as tense.

Leslie and Amanda both wore their best formal dresses for the catwalk. While the girls were walking, the moderator gave a description of the dress and a little background information on the girl. Leslie was fairly new to pageanting, but she did fairly well. Amanda did really well; it was easy to tell she had done this many times.

The girls were nervous, as they hardly ate lunch, both knew that they had done well, but they had the jitters. You never knew how the judges liked them, till the announcements.

The awards ceremony started with the very youngest and ended with the high school girls. Leslie was in the third age group, she was chosen as the second runner up, or third place. She was so excited. She received three hundred dollars, a sash, a trophy; that was almost as tall as she was and a large stuffed bear. When she came off stage, she ran to her mom and gave her a big hug.

Amanda was in the fifth group. She was on pins and needles, as the fourth runner up, the third runner up, the second runner up and the runner up was announced. She felt a little let down, till they announced her as the winner. She received two thousand dollars, a large trophy, a tiara, a sash and a large bouquet of roses. She also qualified to go to regionals in her age group. Terri waited till she hugged her mom, before she gave Amanda a hug.

There were two more age groups after Amanda and then they had the winners come out for the grand champion. Amanda placed second to the girl who won the 15-16 year old group. She won an additional two thousand dollars, another trophy, another sash, a dress from some Boutique and another bouquet of roses.

Amanda and Leslie had their pictures taken, which took another hour, they all changed clothes to something more comfortable, shorts, sneakers and blouses, except for Terri, who wore a miniskirt, heels and blouse. She knew she had packed some shorts and sneakers, and had seen them in the hotel room, but apparently, Amanda had hidden them. They departed Houston and started a four-hour journey back to Fort Worth. Leslie and Amanda talked their mom’s into letting them ride with Betty and Terri. Terri was sandwiched in the back seat. Leslie fell asleep strapped in, leaning into Terri, who just wrapped her arm around the smaller girl. Terri and Amanda talked.

“I just can’t believe I’m going to regionals.”

“You did great Amanda and I know that you will do even better at regionals.”

“With you by my side, I know I will.”

“I may not be able to go with you Amanda. I want to go back to my Mom and Dad.”

Amanda remembered why Terri was here and began to cry on her shoulder.

“I am sorry Amanda,” Terri said, trying to comfort her friend.

“It’s not your fault. I just forgot. I just liked having you around.”

“I might be able to talk my mom into letting me come, but…”

Amanda whispered into Terri’s ear, “but you wouldn’t be my lady in waiting, would you.”

Terri was a little sad that she would have to become a boy again, it had been so much fun being a girl, but she had missed her Mom and her Mom expected a little boy back home, “No, but I could be something just as good, a friend who cares a lot about you.”

“Promise.”

“I can’t promise to be there, but I can promise to be your friend.”

(continued in part 2)