Delbert's New Name free porn video

Delbert's New Name ? by: Mariko If ever there was a boy who hated his name, it was Delbert Alvin Dedrick. He'd hated his name with a passion ever since he could remember, and he dreamed of someday having a new, much better name. Mother, why did you name me Delbert?" the boy asked constantly. It was your grandfather's name," his mother always replied, "and I've always liked it." This answer did not satisfy Delbert at all, but it was the only answer he was ever given. Delbert didn't have any brothers or sisters, and his father had died when he was very young. However, his mother was an Executive Vice President at a large company, and they lived well in a nice house. Delbert was a normal boy, albeit on the small side and not very athletic. He had a thick mop of brown hair and light brown eyes. He was a smart kid who got good grades in school. He loved to read fantasy and science fiction books, but his favorite thing to do was play video games, and his great hope was to one day design games for a living. Every morning Delbert got up and had breakfast with his mother, who was a good cook. Afterwards she drove off to work in her silver BMW while Delbert walked three blocks to Forks Elementary. The last block was always the worst. That was where Darrin, Todd and Lester were always waiting. The three school bullies were sixth graders, while Delbert was only in fourth grade. It seemed to Delbert that they waited near the school specifically for him, although the truth was they teased anyone and everyone they could. This morning, like every morning, they were waiting about half a block from school, like three ravens on a telephone line, just hanging out and looking for trouble. Delbert was walking along, listening to the crunch of gravel and dry leaves beneath his feet, and was on top of them before he realized it. "Good morning, Dilbert!" Todd said. Todd was wearing his black Raiders logo shirt, which he wore almost every day. Delbert wasn't sure if he just liked the Raiders that much, or if he really didn't have any other shirts. "That's not my name!" Delbert said. He clutched his book bag tighter, hoping the three bullies were only into verbal abuse this morning. "Oh, that's right. I'm sorry, Dill-Breath." "With such a stupid name, it's a wonder he's even allowed in school," Lester added. Lester was the tallest of the trio, tall and thin. He was the center for Forks Elementary's basketball team. "Heh heh heh," Darrin laughed. Darrin was the fat one in the group. He never said anything, he just laughed at the other two. He had a really weird laugh, like a retarded monkey in Delbert's opinion. "Dill-Breath!" Todd said. "What a stupid name!" Delbert didn't say anything, because deep down he agreed with them 100%. Delbert was a stupid name. He was certain that if he had a better name he wouldn't get teased so much. "Dill-Breath thinks he's better than us, don't you Dill-Breath?" Lester said. "All because your momma's a rich bitch with a fancy car." "You take that back!" Delbert growled. "Make me," Lester said. Just once, Delbert wished he could land a solid punch in Lester's face, and maybe break a nose or some teeth. But he knew better than to even attempt a swing -- they wanted him to start a fight, and he'd only get beaten up. Even when he'd had his friend Tom to back him up, that had been the result, and now Tom's family had moved to another city and Delbert didn't have any close friends. Now he was on his own. And it was true that his mother made more money than most people in this neighborhood. Delbert lived in lived in a lower-middle class neighborhood, and although their house was quite nice, it was an older house that had been remodeled. But it wasn't as if his mother were rich. She just spent more of her money on good clothes and a nice car, instead of a more expensive house in a richer neighborhood. She always made sure that Delbert wore nice shirts and pants and shoes, but the end effect was to make him an obvious target for the school bullies. "So what's in the bag, Dill-Breath?" Todd asked. "It sure seems important to him," Lester said. "Just school books," Delbert said defensively. He tried to hurry past the three, but Todd was suddenly blocking his way. "Let me see!" he said. He yanked the bag out of Delbert's grasp. "Give that back!" Delbert yelled. But the much taller boy held the bag up, out of his reach, then tossed it to Lester. While Darrin laughed his stupid laugh, and Todd pinned Delbert's arms behind his back, Lester dug through the book bag. "Just school books, pencils, and some stupid sandwich," Lester said. He grinned wickedly, and threw everything into the nearby ditch. Todd gave Delbert a shove, and he stumbled into the ditch himself, landing on his hands and knees in the mud. Laughing and taunting, the three boys headed into the school. So did the crowd of kids who had stopped to watch the spectacle. But one, a girl Delbert's age, came forward. "They're so mean!" Sarah said. She helped him to his feet and then helped him gather his books together. The sandwich, of course, was past redemption. "Don't you pay any attention to them," she added. "There's nothing wrong with your name, or with your mother having a nice car." Delbert sighed, "I know, but they make me so mad! If only I had a phaser, I'd vaporize them all and never have to worry about them ever again!" Sarah laughed, "You say the strangest things sometimes! But you wouldn't really do that would you? That would be murder." "No," Delbert admitted. "I just wish they'd leave me alone though. Maybe if I had a better name...." Sarah laughed again. Delbert liked Sarah's laugh, it was like music or bells or birds singing. It made him feel good, even when she was really, in a way, laughing at him. She walked with him the rest of the way to school, which made him feel better. He cleaned off the mud as best he could in the boy's restroom, then headed to class. Unfortunately, the bullies were relentless. They teased him at lunch, in the hallway, during recess. They usually organized a game at recess, such as baseball or dodgeball, or "smear the queer" football. Whatever it was, they wouldn't let Delbert play. Some of the other boys were willing to play with Delbert, but nobody wanted to cross Todd, Darrin and Lester. Of course, Delbert wasn't the only one they excluded or made fun of, but the others were boys that Delbert didn't really want to play with either, like Sam who always smelled like urine. Sarah Grahame was the closest thing Delbert had to a best friend anymore, even if she was a girl. And she was pretty cool, for a girl. Sometimes Delbert played with her at recess, but other times Sarah would play with the other girls, and Delbert knew that no boys were welcome. Then he would either play by himself, or just wait for recess to be over. *** In the evening Delbert had to walk by the bullies again on his way home. They teased him as usual, but didn't do anything else this time. Delbert stared at the gravel and the dried-up grass as he walked. More and more, he was beginning to hate his entire life. Thinking that way made him feel guilty though -- it wasn't as if his family was poor or his family life unstable. Really, his mom was one of the coolest moms he could ever have wanted. If only he had a better name, and more friends at school, and less enemies, things would be much better. As he turned into his own yard and walked up the cement path, Delbert could hear a dog barking a block or so away. For a moment he wished he had a dog or a cat to greet him every afternoon, but his mother was very allergic to both cats and dogs. He dug into his jeans pocket and removed a house key. It made a scraping sound as it slid into the lock, and then came the scrape and clack of the deadbolt as it slid back. But when the door slid open, the house inside was as quiet as a tomb. Setting his book bag on the counter, Delbert went to the cubbard and set about making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then he wandered into the living room, turned on the television, and flopped down on the couch. Star Trek was on, and he could always zone out to that and forget all his troubles. A couple of hours later his mother came home. Soon she was fixing the two of them dinner. Delbert wandered into the kitchen and sat down at the breakfast table. "Mother, why did you name me Delbert?" he asked, as always. "It was your grandfather's name," his mother replied, as usual. "Didn't you consider anything else?" "Not really," she said. "I spent a long time going over possible girl's names, but when it came to boy's names the only one I ever considered was Delbert. I always admired my father, and it always seemed like a good name, so from the time I was little I knew that, if I ever had a boy, I'd name him Delbert. "Why do you ask?" "Because I hate it! I wish I had a different name!" His mother stopped what she was doing and stared at him with a sad expression. "Oh Delbert, have those boys been picking on you again?" She glanced to his book bag, which still had dried mud on it. Delbert sighed, "Yeah, but it's no big deal," he said. His mother wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Of course it's a big deal," she replied. "You shouldn't let them do that to you." "But what else can I do?" "Well, for starters, what if I drive you to school in the morning? I know they bother you on the way to school. It's not very far out of my way, so that solves part of the problem." "Well," Delbert said, "that would be nice -- but they're still going to bother me the rest of the day." "Well," his mother said, "I'll talk to the Principal again. I'm sorry they're being so mean to you, but you must realize that it's not just because of your name. Delbert is a fine name. Those bullies wouldn't be your friend just because you had a different name." "But why can't I have a new name?" "What's so wrong about Delbert?" "It's a stupid name! I hate it!" Delbert's mother sighed. "Well, if that's how you really feel, then I suppose we could have your name changed." Delbert looked up. "Really?" His mother smiled. "Of course. But it's not a simple thing. We would need to file paperwork, and probably pay a fee. It's not something we can do on the spur of the moment. "I'll tell you what. If you still feel this way at the end of the school year, then we'll start the process. Okay?" Delbert's face fell. "At the end of the year? But that's months away! It'll take forever!" "I'm sorry, Del," his mother said, "but this isn't something we can rush into, and I want to make certain that this is what you really want to do." *** Delbert was feeling so low that he didn't even feel like watching television, or playing any video games. He went out into the back yard and sat on the swing, and just rocked back and forth, thinking of nothing. Slowly it grew dark. Presently he noticed something moving through the grass. At first he thought it was a mouse, but then he caught a flash of blue, and something fluttered up into night. It looked like a blue butterfly, but then as it drufted towards him he realized it was something else entirely. Delbert gasped. The thing that landed on the ground before him looked like a tiny, blue-skinned girl with delicate butterfly wings. She had on a gown of darker blue. almost indigo, and eyes that were bright yellow. She looked up at him, blinked, and then said, "Fair evening to thee, child of the earth." For a moment Delbert was too petrified to say anything. What did you say to a blue-skinned, butterfly-winged woman, who stood only six inches or so high? For a moment he thought that he must be dreaming, but he could feel the rubber seat of the swing wrapped around his thighs, feel the slightly-rusted chains gripped in each hand, and feel the slight breeze that blew through the back yard and tossled his thick hair. Those kind of details were never in his dreams. And he recognized what the tiny woman was: a fairy. She looked remarkably like some of the Brian Froud pictures he'd seen. His mother loved the artwork of Brian Froud, and had several big books full of Froud's fairy artwork, and Delbert loved the beautiful and clever pictures of Froud's fairy-folk too. But he'd never thought they might exist in real life. So when he could finally speak, he said, "Good evening to you too. Are you a fairy?" "Indeed," the creature replied, "I am one of the fairy realm. But tell me why you seem so sad. Is there something amiss?" Delbert looked down again. For just a moment he'd completely forgotten the problem he'd been brooding on. "Yeah," he said, "I don't like my name. I want to change it, but my mother says I have to wait until the end of the school year." The fairy sat down at the edge of the grass and folded her hands into her lap. "What is it that you are called?" "Delbert," he said, "but I wish I had a different name." "What, any name at all?" "Delbert is the stupidest name in the world," he replied. "Anything's better than that. I just want a name that doesn't sound so stupid. I want a name that sounds better." The fairy girl frowned. "Truly I do not see what is wrong with your name," the fairy said. "'Tis an old name, from the English, and means "Day-Bright". That seems a goodly name to me." "It's a stupid name!" Delbert said forcefully, "I hate it! I wish I had any other name!" The fairy seemed to come to a decision, and stood up. "Very well," she said, "I can help grant your wish, but you must do exactly as I say. Before you go to bed tonight, write your name on a piece of paper and then burn it. When it has burned, rub the ashes onto your forehead just before you go to sleep. Make three black dots, forming a triangle, with one dot between your brows and the other two above it. When you wake in the morning you will have a new name." Delbert thought this was very strange, but he promised that he would do it. The fairy girl smiled at him and curtsied. "May you wake on the morrow a happier person," she said, and with that, she lept up and flew away into the night. The rest of the evening Delbert could hardly contain his excitement. What kind of name would he have? Surely something much better than Delbert. But how would he know? How would it work? Would he know his name when he woke up, or would he have to ask someone? When the time came to go to bed, he took a ceramic bowl from the kitchen and placed it on his desk. Carefully he wrote his name on a piece of paper and placed it in the bowl. He got out a box of matches, lit one, then held the flame to the paper. The paper began to burn. In less than a minute it was nothing but ashes. He waited to make sure the ashes were cool, then rubbed his finger in the ashes. Using a hand mirror, he carefully made three black marks on his forehead, just as the fairy had described. When he was done he climbed beneath the covers and closed his eyes, dreaming of the wonderful new name that would be his in the morning. *** "Dear, dear! How queer everything is today! I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is, 'Who am I?' Ah, that's the puzzle!" -- Alice, from Alice In Wonderland When Delbert awoke the next day, he didn't feel any different. He sat up and looked around, seeing the bowl on his desktop where he'd burned the paper with his name on it. He grabbed the mirror from the desk and checked his forehead, but the black dots he'd placed there were gone. Had it worked? He concentrated, but he didn't feel like he had a new name. The only name that came to his mind was the one he'd always had - - Delbert. Just then, there was a knock on the door. His mom opened it and stuck her head in. "Are you awake, sleepyhead? You'd better hurry and get ready for school, it's already a quarter till." "Mom?" Delbert asked. "What's my name?" His mother laughed, "Natalie, what kind of game is this?" she said. "Can't you remember your own name?" "Natalie? That's my name?" "Well of course, silly! Now hurry up and get dressed!" Natalie? That couldn't be his name, could it? Horror spread through him, but deep in his heart he already knew it to be true. Now that his mom had spoken the name, he could feel it. His name was Natalie. How could the fairy have messed up? Why had she given him a girl's name? He was a boy, wasn't he? He felt his crotch just to be sure, and felt stupid for doing so. Of course he was a boy. The fairy had only promised to change his name. But that still left the question of why a boy had been given a girl's name. The newly-christened Natalie ate breakfast solemnly, prompting his mother to ask more than once what was wrong. But of course, nothing was wrong -- nothing except that he, clearly a boy, had been given a girls' name by that stupid blue fairy. He was pretty certain his mother wouldn't understand, so he just shrugged and kept eating. "Mom, why did you name me Natalie?" he asked as they drove to school. "Because," his mother replied, "I had my heart set on having a daughter, so I didn't even have any names picked out for a boy." "You didn't want a boy, then?" Natalie asked. "Oh, it's not that," she said. "I've told you this story many times before. You know that I was happy to have you, and that I love you very much. It's just that, I was so certain you would be a girl that I only picked out a girl's name." "Oh," Natalie replied. He stared out the window at the passing scenery. His mother's story sounded true, but in his heart he knew that it was a lie -- the stupid fairy in the back yard was the one that really gave him a girl's name. He'd have to find her again and make her change it -- not back to Delbert, of course, but to something that was a good name for a boy. "You could have come up with a boy's name," Natalie said. "I suppose I could have," his mother replied. "But I like the name Natalie." This answer made no sense to Natalie. The only explanation was that the fairy had done it, and somehow fixed it so that his mother thought she'd done it herself. But what rational person would give a boy such an obviously girlish name? Natalie recalled that some sport's figures had names that sounded feminine. Shaquille or Dominique were really girl's names, weren't they? Of course, if you were seven feet tall and weighed 350 pounds it probably didn't matter that your name was Shaquille. Rock stars sometimes had strange names too, like Marylin Manson and Alice Cooper. But they were famous. Natalie was pretty certain that nobody made fun of Marylin Manson's name, at least not to his face. And hadn't Sarah told him that it wasn't his real name anyway, but just a stage name? Once he'd known a boy named Lavonne too. That seemed like a girl's name to him, but the boy had told him that it wasn't. He was African- American, and said that meant he could have an unusual name. Anyway, it seemed to Natalie that black kids and athletes and famous people could have more unusual names, but he was white and not at all famous or athletic. And he was almost positive that even if he were all of those things, it still wouldn't be normal for him to be named Natalie. "So what's my middle name?" he asked. His mother laughed. "What's with you this morning? You act as if this is all new to you! Your middle name, of course, is the same as Grandmother's: Jasmine. I named you Natalie Jasmine Dedrick." They drove on for a while as Natalie digested this news. So he had a girl's middle name, too. He was starting to get really mad at that stupid fairy. "So what would you have called me if you gave me a boy's name?" he finally asked. "I'd have to think about it," his mother replied, "Is this about you wanting to change your name? Like I said, if you still feel that way at the end of the school year, we can change it. But I've always adored the name Natalie, and never regretted giving you that name. "But if you don't change your mind, I guess we'll need to think of a good boy's name." She paused for a moment, as the school came into view. "How about Delbert? That was your grandfather's name, and I've always liked it." "No!" Natalie said instantly. "Anything but Delbert!" *** Natalie was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that morning that he hardly noticed what went on in class. His whole focus was on what he was going to do when he got home, and how he was going to find that wicked fairy girl and make her give him a better name. So intent was he on this goal, that he completely forgot about Todd, Darrin, and Lester. When recess came he wandered out to the edge of the playfield and sat down against a tree. "Hey there, little girl," someone said. Natalie glanced up, recognizing Todd's voice. The three bullies were arranged in front of him. Todd was wearing his Raider shirt as usual. It was amazing that he didn't wind up smelling like Sam after wearing it every day. He must wash it at night, Delbert thought. Darrin had a football in his hand. Most of the other boys from the top three grades were gathered behind the three bullies. "Did you want to play football, little girl?" Lester asked. Natalie shook her head. "That's good, because we don't play with girls," Todd said. Darrin laughed like an asthmatic hyena, and the other boys laughed too. "I'm not a girl," Natalie said. "Oh, but I think you are," Todd replied. "I mean, whoever heard of a boy with a name like Natalie? That's a girl's name, so you must be a girl." "Yeah," Lester said, "Maybe you should wear a dress to school. I bet you'd look pretty with a ribbon in your hair." Natalie didn't respond. He just stared at his brown leather shoes, and the bullies began to lose interest. "Come on," Todd said. "We don't want to waste all of recess talking to some stupid girl." The other boys laughed at that, and then the group moved out into the field to start their game. Moments later someone sat down beside Natalie. When he glanced up, he saw that it was Sarah. She was wearing a tan courderoy jumper, with a white shirt underneath, white tights, and brown pumps. She usually wore a nice dress or blouse and skirt, and maybe that was why she felt sympathy for Natalie, because her mom obviously made her dress extra- nice for school too. Her blonde hair was tied with ribbons into two cute pig-tails, which was how she usually wore it. "You shouldn't let those boys get you down," she said. "They're just a bunch of dopes anyway." "I know," Natalie said, wrapping his hands about his knees. "I just wish I didn't have such a stupid name." Sarah frowned. "Natalie is a beautiful name," she said. "I'd love to have a name like that. Sarah's such a boring name in comparison." "But it's a girl's name," Natalie replied. "That's true," Sarah said, "but it's a very pretty name nonetheless." "Maybe it is," Natalie said. "I'm sure it's a good name, for a girl, but why did the fairy give it to me? I'm not a girl." Sarah stared at Natalie for a moment when he mentioned the fairy giving him a name, but she didn't ask what he meant. "Well, you may not be a girl," Sarah said, "but you're a lot more fun to be around than those stupid boys over there. Anyway, it could be worse. Natalie is a beautiful name, and even if it's a girl's name, it's a better name than a lot of boy's names I can think of. You wouldn't want a name like Melvin, or Myron, or Delbert, would you?" Natalie glanced at her sharply. "Delbert?" "Or Bartholomew," Sarah added. Natalie had to smile at that. "I can't ever imagine being named Bartholomew," he said. The two of them broke out into a fit of giggles. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, you can be my girlfriend for the rest of the day." "But I'm not a girl," Natalie said. "I know," Sarah said. "It's just pretend. Okay?" "Well... okay," Natalie replied, although he really didn't want to be even a pretend girl. For the rest of the day, when they weren't in class, Sarah and Natalie played together. He realized that people might think they were boyfriend/girlfriend, but he didn't care. What was wrong with a boy and a girl just being friends? And Sarah was an especially cool girl, because she also liked fantasy books. She read some science fiction as well, but what she really liked were high fantasy stories, with knights and ladies, witches and dragons, and fairies. They talked about what books they'd read and what they liked, and Natalie almost told her about the fairy girl he'd met last night and how his name had been changed. But in the end, he decided that even Sarah would laugh and not really believe him, so he kept quiet. Sarah's friend Kirsten joined them for lunch, which was good because it showed that he and Sarah were just friends. If Sarah was really his girlfriend, they would have eaten alone, right? Kirsten was part Japanese, and had long, straight brown hair that fell clear to her waist. Although they'd never talked much, Kirsten immediately accepted Natalie as a friend. She seemed like a very nice girl. The bullies teased him a little at lunch, but after that they left him alone. The rest of the day passed pleasantly. Natalie couldn't remember the last time school had been so agreeable. Not that school was actually fun, but today it was a lot better than usual. After school Sarah grabbed Natalie's arm in the hallway. "Your mom doesn't get home for a while does she?" Sarah asked. "No," Natalie said, "not until six usually. I just go home and make myself a sandwich and watch television until she gets there." "Why not come over to my house?" Sarah said. "It's Friday, and my Mom's letting me have a sleepover." "A sleepover?" "Yeah. Kirsten and my cousin Rachel are gonna be there. We're going to have popcorn and watch a movie. It'll be fun!" "I don't know," Natalie said, pulling back a little. "I mean, you're all girls...." Sarah rolled her eyes. "So? Anyway, you're my girlfriend for today, remember?" "Well yeah, I suppose," Natalie said, "but... I've never even slept over at anyone's house, except my Grandma's and my cousin Charlie's. And I don't even know if my mom would let me, especially since you're all girls and I'm a boy. Do you think it will be all right?" "Of course it will be all right!" Sarah said. "Look, I'll tell you what. You come over to my house, and we can call your house and leave a message. Then, when your mom comes home, she can call back, and if you want to stay maybe she'll let you, and she can bring your stuff over or else come pick you up. Deal?" Natalie considered the offer. The truth was, he didn't have any other friends at school. Being friends with a girl would cause even more trouble with the bullies at school, but... did he really care anymore? They teased him constantly already. And Sarah was pretty cool, for a girl. Of course, he wanted to look for the fairy in his back yard and ask about his new name, but maybe that could wait until tomorrow. He nodded his head. "Okay," he said, "Deal." *** Sarah's house was several miles from school, so she always rode the bus. Natalie rode with her, and when they arrived he was quite surprised. Sarah's house was even larger than his, and it had a huge yard with a large pond at the far end. Sarah's father wasn't home yet, but her mother was in the kitchen making dinner. When Sarah introduced him, her mother seemed quite surprised. "So you're Natalie?" she asked. "Well what do you know! Sarah's talked about you before, but I assumed... I mean...." "You thought I was a girl, because of my name?" Natalie said. "Well, yes," the woman replied, "Not that it isn't a good name for you, but it really is more of a girl's name, isn't it?" Natalie nodded his head. "Mother didn't have a boy's name picked out when I was born," he said, although secretly he knew there was a better explanation. "Well," Mrs. Grahame said, "that must cause problems for you sometimes." "You don't know the half of it," Natalie replied. After Natalie called home and left a message for his mother, Sarah led him upstairs. She showed him her room, which was too girlish for his taste, but it was nice enough. She had a large collection of stuffed animals, and the walls were covered with pictures of horses. She showed him her book collection, which included all of the Harry Potter books, the Narnia books, the Wrinkle in Time trilogy, and a lot of other fantasy books. There were dozens of Oz books, including a lot of the later stories written by Ruth Plumly Thompson and several other people besides Frank Baum. Natalie had only ever read the first book, and Sarah promised to lend him some of the others. She handed him the second one, called the Road to Oz, right then and there. Sarah showed him the rest of the house, and they wound up in the basement, where a couple of couches and an entertainment center made for a cozy tv room. Sarah had a Nintendo 64, and the two of them played games until the phone rang. "Natalie?" Mrs. Grahame called from the top of the stairs. It's your mother." Natalie picked up the downstairs phone and said, "Hello?" "Natalie?" his mother said. "Where are you?" "I'm at Sarah Grahame's house," Natalie replied. "She invited me over. Can I stay? She said I could spend the night." "Oh, I wish I'd know about this earlier," his mother said. "Sweetie, I'm sorry to drop this on you so suddenly, but I have to go out of town on a short business trip. I didn't know about it this morning, or I would have told you to come straight home. I won't be back until Sunday afternoon, so you'll need to stay at Grandma's." "Mom," Natalie said, "is it okay if I spend the night here at my friend's house instead? She said it was okay." "Well, I don't know. I suppose Grandma could pick you up tomorrow. Maybe I should talk with Sarah's mother." Mrs. Grahame and Mrs. Dedrick spoke on the phone for several minutes. At the end, Natalie's mother said, "Are you sure this is okay, Mrs. Grahame? I really hate to just drop Natalie on you like this." "Don't worry," Sarah's mother said. "It'll be fine. I'd already planned to have a couple of other girls over tonight, so one more won't be a bother at all." "Really? But if it's a girl's sleepover...." "I know, I know, but they're only kids," Mrs. Grahame said, "and Natalie seems like a very sweet boy. I think he'll fit right in. It won't be any problem at all." "Well, okay," Mrs. Dedrick said. "I really really appreciate this. Oh my! It's late, and I have to get to the airport. I don't even have time to bring Natalie's things over! I was going to just drop him by his Grandmother's, but...." "Don't worry, Mrs. Dedrick," Mrs. Grahame said. "I'm sure Natalie can wear the same clothes until tomorrow. If not, I'm sure we can find something for him." "Thank you very much," Natalie's mother replied. "You don't know how much I appreciate this. My return flight isn't until Sunday afternoon, so I'll give you his Grandmother's number, and she can come pick him up tomorrow." *** Natalie was thrilled to hear that he could stay the night, and Sarah was happy too. "This is going to be the best sleepover!" she exclaimed, "We're going to watch Princess Bride. Have you seen that?" When Natalie shook his head no, she added, "It's a fantasy story. It's really funny, and kind of romantic too. I know you'll like it. "In any case, Kirsten and Rachel won't be here for a while. What do you want to do?" What Natalie really wanted to do was check out the pond, so Sarah led the way across the yard and down to the water's edge. The pond was twenty or thirty yards across, Natalie decided. There was a small wooden dock with a rowboat tied to it. As they neared it, there was movement in the grass at the edge of the pond, and a series of plops, as if rocks were being dropped into the water. The surface of the water rippled in multiple places. "Frogs," Sarah said. Natalie walked out to the end of the dock and stared down into the water, which was dark and murky and choked with weeds. "Are there any fish in it?" he asked. "Yeah," Sarah said, "Dad keeps it stocked so he can fish if he wants to." "How deep is it?" Natalie asked. He leaned out a little further. "I don't know," Sarah said, "Not too deep, I think. Dad had it made when he first bought this house, before I was even born." As Natalie leaned out still further, trying to peer into the depths of the water and hopefully spot a fish or a frog, Sarah added, "Natalie, be careful. The dock's kind of slippery...." But by the time she finished it was too late. Natalie's foot slipped. He tried to grab the edge of the dock, but only succeeded in catching his clothing on a protruding nail. There was a rip, and then a loud splash, and then Sarah screamed. Luckily Natalie didn't panic. He knew how to swim, and when he couldn't reach the top of the dock, he made his way through the muck and weeds to the shore. As he climped out onto the grass, Sarah's mother came running out of the house. "What happened?" she exclaimed. "Natalie fell into the pond," Sarah said, stating the obvious. Mrs. Grahame looked Natalie over. The boy was not only soaking wet, but covered with mud and leaves. "Oh, my, what a mess," Mrs. Grahame said, "Look at you! Are you hurt? Your shirt is all torn...." "I'm okay," Natalie said, "My shirt caught on a nail or something, but I only got a scratch...." "That's not all," Sarah said, giggling. Natalie turned about. "What's so funny?" he asked. He glanced down, seeing the huge tear in the seat of his pants. His underwear was exposed for all to see -- not that there was much to see at the moment, with all of that mud. Mrs. Grahame crossed her arms. "Well, I'm glad you're not hurt. Sarah, why don't you go fill the bathtub, while I hose off as much of the mud as I can. We'll get you cleaned up before the other girls arrive." If any of them had glanced back at the pond, they might have spied a pair of small blue butterfly wings flapping lazily, nearly hidden by the tall grass at the edge of the water.. *** After hosing off as much of the mud as possible, Mrs. Grahame led Natalie through the house to a bathroom, already the tub was filled with steaming water, and not only that: it was overflowing with white foam bubbles. "Bubble bath?" Natalie asked. "Don't you use bubble bath?" Sarah's mother asked. "Not really." "Well, Sarah uses it all the time so she didn't know. I hope you don't mind. Now, off with those clothes, and in you go!" Although he'd stripped in front of his mother before, Natalie was a little embarrassed to strip in front of a complete stranger. He climbed into the tub quickly, glad for the bubbles that hid his lower half. Mrs. Grahame smiled, gathered up his things, and shut the door behind her. It was strange to be taking a bath in a strange house. Natalie sank deeper into the tub, letting the steaming water and bubbles come up to his chin. The bubble-bath had a flowery scent, like the bath oils his mother sometimes used. He wondered if it would make his skin softer, or give it a lingering floral scent. Soon there came a knock at the door. "May I come in?" Mrs. Grahame asked. "Sure," Natalie replied. Sarah's mother entered with a bundle of clothes. "I'm sorry about this," she said, "and I sincerely hope you don't mind, but you know that your mother didn't have time to bring any of your clothes over, and your pants and shirt and even your underwear is ruined. Sarah doesn't have any brothers, and Mr. Grahame's clothing certainly isn't going to fit you, so for now you'll have to wear something of Sarah's." Natalie watched her set the clothing down on the table. He felt a sinking sensation inside. Girl's clothes? There was no way he was going to wear girl's clothes! "The good news is you're about the same size. Now, since it's a slumber party and it's already almost 6 pm, I brought you one of Sarah's nightgowns, and some cotton panties. I thought you might like that over a skimpy nightie." Mrs. Grahame laughed, but when Natalie didn't join her she frowned. "I'm sorry, Natalie. I'd offer you some pajamas if Sarah had any, but no such luck. In any case, Sarah told me that you promised to be her girlfriend for the evening, so now it looks like you'll fit right in." She smiled warmly and added, "don't be afraid, nobody's going to see you but Mr. Grahame and I and the other girls. And Mr. Grahame probably won't even realize that you're not a girl, despite your short hair. So it can be our little secret, okay?" "Okay," he managed. She smiled again. "Good then. Don't take too long, dinner's almost ready, and the other girls should be here any minute, okay?" After she left, Natalie lay in the bath and stared at the clothing on the counter. He could see that the nightgown was white cotton with ruffles and blue flowers and butterflys printed on it. Never in his wildest nightmares had he imagined being in a situation like this, but what was he going to do? Even if his pants were clean, there was still the gaping hole in the rear. What was more embarrassing, walking around with your underwear exposed like that, or walking around in a girl's nightgown? For a while he just lay there in the water, listening to the faint sizzle-hiss of the many dying bubbles and the distant sounds of muffled conversation coming from another part of the house. But he knew he couldn't stay in the bath forever, so he unplugged the drain, got out, and toweled himself off. Then he inspected the clothing, finding the cotton panties that Sarah's mother had left. There was a picture of Tweety Bird on the front. Other than that, the panties were white cotton, with yellow trim. True, the trim had a ruffled edge, but he supposed it could have been worse. He'd been expecting Hello Kitty, or flowers, or something equally girlish. Tweety was almost okay. They fit okay as well. He rubbed the smooth front, where he normally had a fly. He'd have to pull them down to pee, but that didn't seem so bad. The gown felt very odd. It swirled around him, and knowing that his body was naked underneath that shifting, flowing fabric felt decidedly strange. When he looked in the mirror, he had to admit that, even with his short hair, he almost looked like a girl. Almost. Mrs. Grahame had left him a pair of fuzzy white bunny slippers as well. They looked silly, with their floppy ears, pink eyes, black nose and whiskers, not to mention a puff-ball tail on the back. But they felt soft and warm when he placed his feet in them. Natalie opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. He felt very self-conscious. It was bad enough that he was dressed for bed before dinner, and in a strange house yet, but wearing Sarah's gown and underwear was almost too much. He shuffled down the hallway cautiously, inching closer to the kitchen where he could hear people talking. When he rounded the corner, he saw several people at once. Sarah and her mother were there, and also Kirsten and another woman who was apparently her mother. When Sarah saw him, she burst into a fit of giggles. Kirsten's eyes went wide, and she began to giggle as well. Natalie's face turned red, and he was about to run back up the hallway, when Sarah leapt forward and grabbed his hands. With a much more sober expression, she said, "Mrs. Anderson, this is my friend Natalie Dedrick. Natalie, this is Mrs. Anderson. She's Kirsten's mother." It was obvious that Mrs. Anderson was the Japanese half of Kirsten's family. She was shorter and more petite than Sarah's mother or Natalie's mother, and her hair was a dark, shiny black. She smiled at Natalie and nodded her head, and when she spoke it was with a slight accent. "It's nice to meet you, Natalie. You're already dressed and ready for the sleepover, I see." She smiled pleasantly. As far as Natalie could tell she didn't even realize he was a boy. After talking for several minutes Mrs. Anderson said, "I better be going. You girls have fun tonight. Don't cause trouble!" You girls, Natalie thought. She really didn't realize that he was a boy. "Ohmygod!" Kirsten squealed as soon as her mother was gone. "Natalie, she really thought you were a girl! How funny!" "But he does kind of look like a girl," Sarah said. "If only his hair were longer, you wouldn't be able to tell at all." "Don't you wish you were a girl, Natalie? We'd have so much fun, just the three of us." "I think he'd make a wonderful girl," Sarah added. Suddenly Kirsten hugged Natalie, then pulled back and said, "You look adorable, Natalie! You're going to stay a girl all night, right? You have to promise me!" "Um... I'm not sure I have a choice," Natalie said. Sarah laughed, "He's right. His pants have a huge hole in them, and he doesn't have any other clothes. But that's okay, now he really is my girlfriend. We can have a real girl's-only slumber party now, and just talk about girl's things. This is going to be a blast!" Kirsten grinned mischeviously. "Okay, it's settled then. For the rest of the night, Natalie is a girl. But Natalie is such a pretty name, so we have to make sure that she's a very pretty girl, don't you think?" Both girls laughed at that. Natalie wasn't sure if they were serious or just teasing him. But the question made Natalie think. What would it be like if he really were a girl? *** By dinner time, Natalie was beginning to really enjoy his charade. As promised, Sarah's father didn't seem to realize that Natalie was a boy either. He did say, "That's a very short haircut for a girl, isn't it? Is that the style now?" But even when Sarah and Kirsten burst into fits of giggles he didn't seem to catch on. After dinner the three girls went back downstairs to play some more video games. An hour later, Sarah's cousin Rachel finally arrived. Rachel was a year older than the other girls, and taller. She had red hair, done up in a thick braid that hung to the middle of her back. She had beautiful green eyes, and freckles and wore glasses with a wire frame. She was wearing jean shorts and a blue halter-top when she first arrived. When she was introduced to Natalie, she looked him up and down with a critical eye. "You're a boy?" she asked. Natalie nodded. "Is Natalie really your name?" He nodded again. He thought she was going to make fun of his name, but instead all she said was, "That's a beautiful name! I wish I had a name like that." "Well," Natalie said, "it's not a very good name for a boy." "Nonsense!" Rachel replied. "There's nothing wrong with a boy having a pretty name. If you were famous nobody would care. For that matter, there's nothing wrong with a boy looking pretty, and you really do, you know." Natalie wasn't sure what to say to that. Maybe looking pretty was okay with a girl like Rachel, but he guessed that Todd and the other bullies would have a different viewpoint, and would surely let him know what it was in no uncertain terms. "Rachel's right," Kirsten said. "And we promised to make you a very pretty girl, didnt' we? I think it's time we do exactly that!" The girls all laughed and agreed on the plan. Natalie wasn't sure what to expect. First, the three girls got ready for bed. Kirsten wore a cotton gown of light blue, while Sarah's nighty was pink with white trim. Rachel wore red knit capri leggings and a sleeveless red top. The three gathered around Natalie and went to work. They filed his nails, then painted his fingernails and toenails lavender. They gave him a full makeup job, then attached clip-on earrings to his ears. There really wasn't much they could do with his hair, as short as it was, but in the end they all declared that he was much prettier than before. Afterwards they played a few more computer games, and then Sarah started the movie. Natalie had never watched 'The Princess Bride' but it turned out to be one of the funniest movies he'd ever seen. Afterwards the girls laid out sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows on the floor of the den, and then sat around and talked. Mostly the other girls wanted to talk about boys, so Natalie just listened and didn't say too much. After a while Sarah's dad announced that he and Mrs. Grahame were going to bed. He turned out most of the lights and said, "You girls don't stay up too late, okay?" before heading back upstairs. As Natalie snuggled beneath the covers, he realized that nobody had laughed or giggled when Sarah's father had said 'you girls'. It was as if he were one of them already. He was so happy and content, that for the moment he'd completely forgotten about his new name and the fairy that had given it to him. *** In the morning Natalie had a new dilema. Mrs. Grahame had washed his clothes, even though they were too ruined to wear again. As the other girls were getting cleaned and dressed for the day, he padded into the laundry room, but when he pulled his jeans from the dryer and searched the pockets, he couldn't find his house key. "Why do you need your house key?" Sarah asked. "I though you were going over to your Grandmother's anyway." "Yeah, but I was going to stop at my house to get some clothes." "You can wear some of mine." "Thanks, Sarah," Natalie said, "but I can't go to my Grandma's dressed as a girl. I'd be too embarrassed, and Grandma wouldn't understand." "Oh," Sarah said. "That's funny, I almost forgot that you're a boy. Well, I'll help you look." They searched the laundry room, then the house, then outside the house and around the dock at the pond, but the key was not to be found. "Well I guess you can't get any of your own clothes until your mom comes home," Sarah said. "But what am I going to do?" Natalie asked. "My pants are too ripped up to wear." "You'll just have to wear something of Sarah's," Mrs. Grahame said. Natalie's face filled with dread. "To my Grandma's house? But...." "I'm sure she'll understand, once we explain it to her." "You don't have to go over right away do you?" Sarah asked. "Why don't you stay here for the day?" "Yeah, we're going over to Kirsten's to go swimming!" Rachel added. "They have a pool in back! Come on, it'll be fun!" "But I don't have a swimsuit." "Don't worry," Sarah said. "I've got one that will fit you." Natalie blinked. "A girl's suit?" "Well, of course. Why would I have a boy's suit?" "But I can't wear a girl's swimsuit!" "Oh, come on!" Kirsten said, "Why not?" "I'm a boy, of course!" "You weren't a boy last night, were you?" Rachel asked. "Yeah," Sarah said, "you're still my girlfriend for now, aren't you? Don't worry, it's not like anyone's gonna see you but us, and we don't care one bit. Do we?" In the end, Natalie gave in. Sarah's mom called his grandmother to arrange things. Meanwhile, the three girls and one pretend girl trooped off to Sarah's room to see what they could come up with. First Sarah produced a one-piece bathing suit for him to wear. It was white, with a blue dolphin on the front. Natalie eyed it dubiously, certain that he'd die of embarrassment before he wore it in public, but he accepted it anyway. Next, Sarah began to dig through her closet. "Here," she said, pulling something out. "You can wear this." She held up a yellow sleeveless sundress with a sweetheart neckline. "Oh, that will look adorable," Rachel exclaimed. Kirsten seconded the notion. "A dress?" Natalie squeaked. "Come on! I can't wear a dress!" "Of course you can," Sarah said. "If you're going to dress like a girl then why not? Anyway, with hair as short as yours, you need to dress as feminine as possible. You want people to think you're a girl right? Instead of a boy in girl's clothes." Sarah's circular logic didn't convince Natalie in the least, but she was not to be denied. In the end, after much pleading and coaxing, Natalie put the sundress on. Sarah slipped some leather sandals on his feet. Natalie felt very exposed -- bare shoulders, bare arms, bare neck, bare legs, wearing nothing but girl's panties beneath the loosely swirling dress. He was at once embarrassed and strangely excited, and blushed when Mrs. Grahame exclaimed that he did, indeed, look adorable. "Natalie, I'm afraid I've got some good news and some bad news," she said. Natalie froze, wondering what could possibly be the bad news. "What is it?" he asked. "Well, the good news is that you get to stay. The bad news is that your grandmother isn't feeling too well, so she was relieved to hear that you wanted to stay here longer. In fact, she really didn't sound very well at all, although she says it's just a bad cold and she just needs some rest. In any case, it looks like you'll be sleeping here again tonight, until your mother comes home tomorrow." *** Natalie stared out the window of the Grahame's station wagon. Trees and cars flashed by. The station wagon's shadow raced along the concrete. The sunlight shone bright, and everywhere it seemed that the world was busy and filled with life. But to Natalie, the world was spiraling out of control. Here he was, with a girl's name, wearing a yellow sundress, riding with the three girls he'd been with at a girl's sleepover the night before... in his hands was a rolled-up towel, and buried inside it was a white girl's bathing suit. And if that weren't enough, he would be dressed as a girl for the rest of the weekend. It was as if the world had conspired to turn him into a girl. What had he done to deserve all of this? He didn't want to be a girl. Did he? For a moment he turned the idea over in his mind. What if he really were a girl? How different would it be? Would he have to talk about boys and be interested in makeup and dolls? He didn't think he'd like that. But was it so bad, just pretending? Sarah, Rachel and Kirsten were fun to hang out with. They played video games like he did, and were interested in some of the same things. Maybe being a girl would be okay. And yet -- what boy in his right mind wanted to be a girl? He'd never thought about wearing a dress before, or considered what it might be like. It felt strange. When the wind blew, he could feel it against his bare legs, feel the dress swirl about him and brush against his thighs. He felt exposed. He was acutely aware that, beneath that swirling fabric, he wore nothing but a pair of girl's underwear. And yet, he kind of liked it. What on earth was wrong with him? They arrived at Kirsten's house and piled out of the car. Soon they were being introduced to Kirsten's mother, who was a little surprised and perplexed by Natalie, after everything was explained to her. "Is all of this true?" she asked, incredulously. "Is all of what true?" Kirsten asked. "She thinks I'm weird," Natalie said. "Oh, no!" Mrs. Anderson exclaimed. "I think you make a lovely girl, Natalie! Why, when I saw you yesterday, I was completely fooled. But -- are you certain you're only doing this because you have no other clothes?" "What do you mean?" Natalie asked. "Why would I wear a dress, otherwise?" "Well," Mrs. Anderson said, "it could be that you're just a curious little boy who thought it might be fun to be a girl for a day or two...." "No! That's not it at all!" "But then, is your name really Natalie?" Natalie frowned and looked down at his feet. "I -- I guess it really is," he said. "At least, for now." This answer seemed to satisfy Mrs. Anderson. In any case, she didn't freak out or insist that his cherade was a bad thing, so Natalie was relieved. She treated him just like the other girls. The pool was out back, behind the house. A fence surrounded the pool area on three sides lined with leafy green trees to help keep the area private and cast a little shade. There was a changing booth near the pool, and the girls began taking turns putting their swimsuits on. Sunlight drifted down into the blue-green water, the smell of chlorine filled the air, and water lapped lazily against the white stones at the pool's edge. Natalie could hear insects buzzing and birds chirping, the breeze rustling through the trees, and somewhere in the distance a lawnmower's growl. It was a hot, sunny day, perfect for swimming. When his turn came, Natalie stepped into the booth and shut the door. Inside was cool and shadowed, bright ribbons of light between the boards. He hadn't seen anything from the outside but now it seemed like anyone could see him. He quickly undid the dress, which buttoned in the front. He slipped off his sandals, slid the panties down his legs and bunched them up. He hid them under the dress, embarrassed to even look at them. Then he unrolled his towel and held up the bathing suit. For several moments Natalie stood there, frozen by indecision. Did he really want to wear something like this in public? For one thing, it would be obvious to anyone that he wasn't a girl, but a boy in a girl's bathing suit. He'd look silly, wouldn't he? But he could hear the other girls splashing in the pool, and catch glimpses of them through the cracks between the boards of the changing booth. The sun was beating down; it was a hot day. His desire to go swimming was proved stronger than his fear of embarrassment. Natalie stepped into the bathing suit and pulled it up to his waist. He slipped the straps over his arms and tugged and pulled the suit until it was all in place. The suit covered more skin than his own bathing trunks did, but those covered him from the waist down and were loose. This suit covered from the crotch up, and was skin-tight. Natalie felt naked and exposed, but after all, the other girls were wearing similar suits. He pushed the door open and stepped out. "Yay!" Kirsten exclaimed. "You did it!" "You look great, Natalie!" Sarah added. "No I don't. I look silly," Natalie said. But the support of the others made him feel less self-conscious. Soon he was splashing around the pool with them, playing tag and other games. Kirsten's mother started up a barbeque and began to cook some hamburgers, which smelled wonderful. And somewhere amid the laughter and splashing, the warm sun and the sizzle and smoke from the grill, Natalie completely forgot that he was dressed odd or was different from the other girls. Later, after they ate, Kirsten showed them her room. They played some video games, watched a video, and then decided to head back to the pool. Soon, Natalie and Sarah were floating in the water, alone. The other two girls had gone inside to look for a beach ball. "How do you feel?" Sarah asked. "Great!" Natalie replied. Then he thought about it, and his face scrunched up. "Actually... I was thinking about all of this on the ride over. It's like everything is spinning out of control. Like someone is arranging things on purpose to make me dress and act like a girl." "Is that such a bad thing?" "I'm not a girl! But now I'm stuck as a girl all weekend...." "Aren't you having fun?" "Well, sure, but...." "But nothing! Look at it from the other side, Natalie. It's not that you're stuck as a girl until tomorrow -- it's that you get to be a girl until tomorrow, and then you have to go back to being a boy." "I suppose." "You're my girlfriend, right? At least until tomorrow." Natalie blinked. That last bit had struck home. "Sarah... after tomorrow, you'll still be my friend, right?" "Of course! I've always been your friend, haven't I?" Natalie nodded, because it was true. But it wasn't really the same thing at all. Girls and boys weren't best friends. They didn't hang out together like he and Sarah had been doing this weekend. The only boys and girls that hung out together at school were boyfriend/girlfriend, and Natalie and Sarah certainly weren't that. He'd been so preoccupied with his problems with being a girl that he'd forgotten how much fun it was to be Sarah's girlfriend. "Sarah, you're the best friend I've ever had." "Really?" "Yeah. I haven't even had a close friend since Tom moved away." "Well you're pretty cool for a boy. If you were a girl, you could be my best friend, but I guess since you're a boy you can be my best friend who's a boy, okay?" Natalie frowned. He supposed that was the best he could hope for. "Sarah," he said, "do you always remember calling me Natalie?" "What do you mean? It's your name, right?" "Yeah, but has it been my name ever since you've known me?" "Of course." "Because until two days ago, my name was Delbert." "Delbert?" Sarah made a face. "That's kind of a dumb name, isn't it?" "Yeah, it is. That's why I had it changed. Only the fairy who changed it gave me a girl's name instead." "But you've always been Natalie, ever since I met you in first grade," Sarah said. "Well, that's how it works I guess," Natalie said, and he told Sarah the whole story about meeting the fairy and getting his name changed. "So when you woke up, it was like your name had always been Natalie?" she asked. Natalie nodded. Sarah thought it over. "I always wondered how a boy could get such a girlish name," she finally said. "Are you going to try and find the fairy again, and get your name changed back?" "Yeah, but not to Delbert again. I want a different name, but not a girl's name." Just then, Kirsten and Rachel were back with the beach ball, and Natalie let the whole conversation slip from her mind. *** Late in the afternoon, the girls decide to walk to the store and get some ice cream. "Walk down the street?" Natalie exclaimed. "I can't do that!" "Why not?" Sarah demanded. "Because!" Natalie looked down at himself, indicating the obvious. "I'm wearing a dress!" "So?" Sarah replied, "So am I." "But I'm not a girl!" "Sure you are! You promised to be one, remember? Just for today." "But...." "Look," Sarah said, "If you want to stay behind, then fine. You don't have to come with us. But I can't bring you an ice cream cone; it'll melt before we get back. So if you want one, you have to come with us. Okay?" Natalie finally agreed, but he felt self-conscious as he walked down the sidewalk in his summer dress. But nobody paid him or the girls any attention. It was several blocks to the local Dairy Queen. They each got an ice- cream cone and sat in one of the booths. Natalie was glad he'd come -- the ice cream tasted great - - but by the time they were done, he realized he had another problem. "I need to use the bathroom," he whispered to Sarah. "Okay," Sarah said, "Go ahead." "So? Use the girl's then." Natalie looked horrified. "I can't go in the girl's bathroom!" Kirsten and Rachel were giggling at him. Sarah rolled her eyes. "Why not? You're a girl, aren't you?" "Only pretend!" "Look," Sarah said, "I'll come with you. It won't be any big deal." Having Sarah come along didn't make Natalie feel less conspicuous, but he slipped into a booth and took care of business while she waited just outside. The girl's restroom wasn't very different from the boy's, of course -- there was an extra booth, instead of a urinal or two, and Natalie imagined that it smelled nicer, for some reason. As he was washing his hands, a woman entered; he froze momentarily, but she hardly spared Natalie or Sarah a second glance. Still, Natalie was happier once they were back at their table. In fact, the whole trip to the Dairy Queen had been far less of a problem than Natalie had anticipated. He was almost used to wearing a dress, and far less self-conscious than he'd been earlier. But all of that changed on the trip back to Kirsten's house. Two blocks from Kirsten's, they ran into the three people Natalie wanted to see least. Standing on the sidewalk near an empty field were Todd, Lester, and Darrin. Natalie and the girls had been talking and not really paying attention, and were almost upon the trio before they realized it. By then it was too late to avoid the boys, who'd already spotted them. "Well, well, well," Todd said. "What do we have here? Four little girls, wearing dresses!" Lester, the tall skinny one, smirked. "You look good in a dress, Natalie," he said. "You should wear one to school, so people can see what a little sissy girl you are." Darrin, the fat one, burst into laughter. He sounded like a spastic moose with a whooping cough. "Maybe you should wear a dress, too," Kirsten retorted. "At least you'd have something to wear besides that stupid Raiders shirt." Kirsten had bought a sundae to bring back to her mother. With a snarl, Todd grabbed it and knocked it to the sidewalk, then stepped on it for good measure. "Oops," he said, laughing. "How clumsy of me! Oh, can you ever forgive me?" Darrin laughed like a demented jackal. "What did you do that for?" Kirsten growled. "You bully!" Natalie yelled. "You'd better pay for that!" "Are you going to cry, like a little girl?" Todd asked. Natalie took a swing at Todd, who dodged it easily. The next moment, Lester and Darrin had Natalie's arms pinned behind him. He struggled, but it was no use. "Is she wearing panties like a good little girl?" Lester asked. "I don't know," Todd said, "Let's find out." Natalie kicked and screamed, but the older boys were far too strong for him. Todd pulled the him of his dress up, so that everyone could see the panties he wore underneath. "Leave her alone!" Kirsten jumped forward, but Todd shoved her back. She fell on the sidewalk, skinning her knee in the process. Todd suddenly grabbed Natalie's crotch. "You pervert!" Sarah screamed. "Uh oh," Todd said. "It looks like our little girl has something she's not supposed to have. A penis!" "Girls aren't supposed to have those," Lester said. "Maybe we should cut it off," Todd said. "No!" Natalie screamed. But Lester and Darrin drug him into the grassy field and yanked him to the ground, pinning his arms and legs. Todd had to knock down Sarah and Rachel, and then Kirsten again. Then he laughed and produced a pocket knife. He stood over Natalie, waving the knife in the air. "Now, Natalie, don't struggle. We just want to make sure you're a proper little girl." "Stay away from him, you sicko!" Sarah yelled. "We're calling the police!" Rachel added. Todd ignored them. He bent down and slid the blade of his knife through one leg of the panties, then pulled up, slicing the fabric. Natalie was pleading and whimpering, and tears were rolling down his cheeks. Todd cut the other leg and pulled the butchered panties free. "Listen to her crying!" he said with glee, "Just like a little girl!" Darrin was laughing like a brainless ape. "But she's not exactly like a little girl, is she?" Lester said, grinning. "No," Todd said, "but we're gonna fix that." He held the knife up, so Natalie could see it, and then.... Something bright blue flashed across the grass. Todd froze in mid- motion, and remained frozen. His skin, his hair, even his silver and black shirt had turned bluish. It was almost as if someone had coated him in a thin layer of blue plastic. "What the...?" Darrin said. It was just about the first time Natalie had heard him say anything and it was also the last. He started to get up. There was another blue flash, and Darrin was also frozen in mid- movement. Lester jumped up. "Wait!" he yelled. "We were just going to scare him! We weren't going to do any...." And then he, too, wa