Heather Play's Dotty
A Heather Delilah Soenksen Story
The fundraiser was the brainchild of Lisa Croft, our town's only veterinarian, who was also the owner and proprietor of Benton's only animal clinic and was also a charter member of Benton's only no- kill animal shelter 'Benton Animal Rescue' and was also a chairwoman on the board of directors. It was Lisa who dreamed up the idea that each month, a brave girl, and sometimes a brave boy, would volunteer to dress up in a dalmatian costume and assume the role of Princess Dotty the dalmatian princess.
The brave, or foolish volunteer would then go on stage, and then for the amusement of the gathered masses they would perform a number of tricks before a live audience. Often somebody the volunteer was close to, say a mother, or a best friend would be the one calling out the tricks. Such tricks like, sit, speak, hand-shake, roll over, fetch and play dead. This person would take on the role of Dotty handler.
Once a number of tricks had been performed, and yes this stunt was often filmed to shown on national television and was often live streamed too to boot, the brave or foolish volunteer would guided over to an large, oversize wading pool that had been painted and dressed up to look like a dog's food bowl. Then their 'Handler' would guide them into the pool, sit them down and then proceeded to dump four or five massive mop buckets full of chili on them.
Yes, you heard me right, they would get buckets of chili dumped on them. Smothering them from head to toe and the crowd would love it. Now in Benton, it's become common for somebody to dare somebody to play Dotty. For one nobody can turn down the dare as it goes to help puppies and kittens and everybody loves puppies and kittens. And two, a person who volunteers is often always the one getting the role, because often volunteers are in short supply since everybody knows what they're signing up for when they fill out the permission and release forms. Rarely does more than one person at a time sign up to play Dotty. And Three as often the case in small towns, once somebody volunteers the word is leaked to the press.
One of the drawbacks to volunteering is knowing what is in store for you. But on the plus side you often become a minor celebrity in town. Your picture gets put in local paper, they post your picture on the groups Facebook page too, it's announced on the groups twitter page. JTVS, our regional news station will even come down and do an interview with you.
And so you become trapped, you find yourself having to do it.
Now after I'd appeared on the Noelle show. I'd become something of a hot topic at Benton Academy. You see, I was a transfer student. I'd transferred from the local public school, Benton High to Benton Academy following a fight with my mom and dad when I came out as transgender I think. And since then I'd started living with a woman called Gwendoline Potter who had kind of adopted me. Anyway, short of giving me the 'Potter' name she had taken on the task of raising me to productive womanhood.
And that included giving me the best possible education this are offered. And since the Potter Clan pretty much owned the land, no they do, the school pays them rent, that Benton Academy was built on. It was a no-brainer she would send me there to complete the remaining two years I had in High School.
And that is how I found myself volunteering. Or being volunteered. You see Gwendoline's niece Jamie, full name Jamie Sarah Potter had volunteered and had raised a good bit of money, and her brother, Jamie dad had bragged on it. Gwendoline, thinking I could raise just as much if not more, decided that I would volunteer. Now I've learned something, when Gwendoline says something her word is good as law. So yes, like it or not I found myself volunteering.
Now, I did not expect a lot of people to donate. Just a few groups to make the token donation they always do. And so, I did not bother to keep track of the money being donated to fuel my public humiliation. Well not till the last minute of course.
It was a sunny afternoon. It was just a few days before Halloween. Now I'd considered Halloween to be my birthday because it was the day I think I fully accepted being Heather Delilah Soenksen. I'd been struggling to accept that fact for a week or better before that night. But that night the stars just aligned and everything fell into place. Blessed be I'm thankful for it.
Anyway back to the story, it was a sunny afternoon as autumn in the south is often a mixed bag of fruit. Normally the days leading up to Halloween are bright and sunny but normally the day the holiday falls on, the weather turns cold, and the first frost of the season is often seen upon freshly mowed lawns. A light rain might fall and quickly turn to ice. Perfect weather for cuddling around a roaring bonfire and telling ghost stories while in the comfort of your boyfriend's strong arms. Add a mug of hot chocolate topped with fresh whipping cream and sprinkles, or if you're in a more adventurous mood a cup of mull wine. Then you are in for the night of your life!
Anyway as I peered out behind the red curtain I noticed that the assembly hall of Benton Academy was almost overflowing with people. Even the balcony area was filled to the brim with people. There must have been at least three hundred people squeezed into that small area. The air was filled with the buzzing of low level chatter as students from all grades whispered and giggled among themselves.
I then noticed something that made my cheeks flush a bright red color. In the center of the stage there seemed to be a large wading pool that had been painted yellow. And my name 'Heather' had been painted in the middle with big blue words.
“Hello Benton Academy!” A sudden voice boomed and then from the other side of the stage. Then a blonde haired girl strolled out. “It's that time of the month again. A time hollow to us. A time when a brave boy or as often the case a brave girl has volunteered to dress up as a puppy and get gunged after performing a number of tricks for our entertainment. All for the sake of charity and saving puppies and kittens and providing medical treatment free of charge for sick animals!” The girl said as she winked toward the crowd.
Then it hit me, the girl, I knew who she was. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a refined southern accent, slender as a willow branch, and curvy to boot! That had to Jamie Sarah Potter, the fable princess of Benton Academy! And most shocking of all she was dressed as a bunny girl! She was dressed in a black leotard that emphasized her figure. Curvy and slender with a noticeable valley up top. Bare legs that showed her creamy long legs, and finally glossy black shoes finished the look.
I must have been seeing things!
“Hello Benton Academy! Jamie called again as the roar of the crowd died down a little.
“Hello, hello, hello. Yes we love you too! Now, as you know it's almost Halloween and since it's almost Halloween we've decided to bend the dress code a little. This costume is up to code I'm sure. But what the heck!” She said with a little smile.
I had to admit I'd admired the girl's courage. It took some real courage to wear a bunny suit. I'd worn one myself. But while you would expect to see a bunny girl say on television would you expect to see one in a school house? A private school at that? A private christian school at that? I guess so.
“Anyway, today we have a special show for you. That stunning new beauty, Heather has volunteered to play Dotty. Now Heather's a bit of an unknown here in Benton Academy. She transferred last year from Benton High and so far as kept to herself. She is something of a wildflower if you. So when she volunteered, many of us thought it would be a flop. Because let's face it, only the popular girls seem to want to play Dotty.” Jamie said blushing as she addressed the crowd.
The crowd was silent. Silent as the grave.
“But! We just ran the numbers. Heather has raised over two thousand dollars. Because it seems she went from one business to the other asking for donations. Benton is a small town. But this town is so full of love it's just busting at the seams and let's face it. We all love puppies and kittens. And we all want whoever volunteers to play Dotty to get the full Dotty experience.” Jamie said, smiling a little as she reached down and pulled out a pink lead.
“Now, y'all hang tight now.” And with that Jamie walked across the stage. A few moments later she was approaching me with the lead in her hand. Smiling sweetly she reached up and clipped the lead to the brass ring that was attached to the pink collar I was wearing.
I felt my cheeks start to blush.
“Now, get down on all fours and bark like a good dog.” Jamie commanded.
I tilted my head to the side and blinked. But then again this was all part of the act. So without giving it a second thought I got down on my hands and knees, and made a barking sound.
“Good girl!” Jamie praised as she then gave the lead a firm tug. And with that she led me out onto the stage. And again the crowd roared with approval as I stepped out onto the stage. Once I was led into the middle of the stage Jamie stopped and smiled and turned toward the crowd.
“And here she is, our brave volunteer. Does she not look adorable in her Dotty Costume?” Jamie cooed as she reached down and picked up a bright yellow tennis ball and smiled. She then tossed it across the stage.
I watched the ball roll and then taking a deep breath I followed behind it. I've seen others play Dotty before so I knew what was expected of me. I took a deep breath, bent down and picked the ball up with my mouth and then waddled over to Jamie, dropped the tennis ball at her foot and then barked.
“Such a good girl!” Jamie cooed as she reached down and ruffled my hair. And so it started. I did all the classic Dotty tricks, sit, speak, roll over, play dead, fetch again, then shake. I don't understand why people seemed to love it. But they did. The crowd roared with laughter. And for fifteen or twenty minutes I made a total fool of myself there on that stage in front of the whole damn town.
Then it was time for the main event. You see people don't just donate their money to see how much a fool the person will make of themselves. No, it's more to it than that. Way more, the main draw is watching the person getting covered in chili. Thick, brown chili that smells like dog food, looks like dog food, and is greasy enough to grease the wheels of the diesel locomotives that pull those mile and a half long freight trains between Yazoo City and Benton.
Why is that so popular? Because public humiliation sells I guess? Anyway once I've done all the tricks I was guided over to the wading pool that had been made to look like a dog food bowl and slowly I climbed over the plastic wall and settled myself onto a small wooden three legged stool that had been placed in the center of it.
Blushing I eased my bottom down upon the wooden seat and peered up at Jamie. Jamie just smiled as she reached down and picked up the first huge bucket. The bucket was a plastic mop bucket. For a moment Jamie seemed to struggle as she tried to lift the bucket up. Then by some superhuman feat of strength the managed to pick the bucket up and lifted it above her head.
A few seconds later, an massive avalanche of brown chili came pouring down. Before I could catch my breath I felt the verbal landslide flop down on me. The whole of my world turned brown. Then the smell hit me like a ton of bricks, I can't really put it into words. It smelled like dog food, felt like dog food, but was not dog food.
The greasy chili quickly covered my blonde hair. Then it covered my shoulders and then a few large chunks started to roll down my back. As soon as I managed to wipe away as much of the first bucket as I could from my eyes I'd noticed that Jamie was already straining to lift the second bucket. I took a deep breath as again by some superhuman feat of strength she managed to lift the bucket up.
Again, an avalanche of brown chili came rolling down on me. The bulk of this fell down in my lap. The costume was not soaked in reddish brown gravy, that was mixed with pebbles of what passed for meat that were mixed in with lumps that must pass for beans.
“Oh GOD!” I barked as I got a full taste of the stuff. “Who in the world would eat this stuff?!” I bellowed as I looked down. I'd gone from being an adorable girl to a human trash dumpster. A soft whimper escaped my lips as I picked a few strands of my once pristine blonde hair up and sniffed it. It smelled of chili.
“On trust me.” Jamie said tipped the third bucket over me. “It will come out in the wash! Just use some baby shampoo and let it sit for about half an hour. Just don't let it dry or else you might have to cut all of your hair off to get rid of it.”
I don't know if Jamie was teasing me or not.
“I hope your joking!” I was cut off as the third and fourth bucket was tipped over my head. I was now covered from the very top of my head down to the bottom of my feet in chili and the crowd was loving it. They showed their love by laughing, shouting and clapping. And so my Dotty adventure came to an end. And I joined that elite group of girls who had braved the perils of playing Dotty and had endured the public humiliation of getting covered in chili while playing Dotty. And another misadventure in my life comes to an end.
