Camp Shoni
By Pamela
[email protected]
Chapter 1
"Camp Dah-nes-tsa, where boys are turned into men," Lorin read the
camp motto on the first page of the brochure his mother had handed to
him when he came home from school that day. It was January, cold and
some snow was in the grass and hedges outside the house where he
lived with his mom, dad and older sister Stephanie.
The cover of the brochure said "Confederated Camps of Lake Navajo"
and underneath:
Camp Dah-nes-tsa, for boys ages 8 - 16
Camp Na-as-tso-si, for overweight girls and boys aged 12 - 16
Camp Ne-Zhoni Ah-tad, for girls aged 8 - 16
In small letters at the bottom of the brochure it said, "The
confederated camps of Lake Navajo are owned by Lake Navajo Camps,
Inc."
Lorin had been going to camp Dah-nes-tsa, or "Camp Dan," as it was
affectionately called by the campers, every year since he was 8. It
was a very nice camp. Well, it was the only camp he had known, but he
had had fun every summer and he had made some good friends there.
Since he had just turned 13 this year he was finally going to be
eligible for the "upper camp." This was the camp for the older boys.
They got to do many more exciting activities than the younger kids
including a weekly Saturday evening dance with the girls of camp Ne-
Zhoni Ah-tad.
Lorin had many times heard the older boys discuss the different girls
at camp "Shoni," as everyone called camp Ne-Zhoni Ah-tad. Camp Shoni
had always seemed mysterious to Lorin. The thought of a parallel
universe on the opposite shore of Lake Navajo filled with girls
seemed fantastical. Oftentimes he could see the girls at a distance
swimming and boating in the lake. Once he and his canoe mates had
paddled to the center of Lake Navajo and had encountered several
canoes filled with girls. He could never forget how pretty they had
seemed to him. Anyway, this year he would finally get to meet them at
the dances. It gave him butterflies to even contemplate it. It would
take a lot of courage to ask a girl to dance. He hoped there would be
some ladies choices and a nice girl would ask him to dance.
Lorin was an attractive boy. His parents allowed him to keep his
straight sandy blonde hair long since they were former hippies. There
are many pictures in the family album of his dad with long hair in a
ponytail, even though he now kept his hair short. Lorin's face was
round, his sideburns wispy and he was still quite a ways off from
needing to shave. He had a somewhat light bone structure, which came
with a kind of minimal musculature so that he had never been an
outstanding athlete. His good looks pretty much stopped anyone from
teasing him about his lack of athletic skill. In any case, he was not
a terrible athlete and his social standing among the guys was pretty
nice all things considered.
There was one secret Lorin kept from everyone in the world. The truth
was he kept his hair long because he liked having that in common with
girls. In school or wherever he saw girls he would think, "We've both
got long hair, so I guess I'm sort of an honorary girl." He often
daydreamed about getting his ears pierced. Long silver earrings would
look good when framed by his blonde hair. The fact of the matter was
that Lorin absolutely loved girls and everything about them. He
secretly watched all that they did at school. How they talked and
held their heads. How they walked and laughed. How they took care of
their nails and make up. Their hairstyles. What kinds of skirts or
jeans they wore. How and what kind of barrettes they put in their
hair. Their shoes and stockings. The different tops they wore. He
most enjoyed the hints of their underwear that he occasionally got a
peek at. He was fascinated by the bulging outline of bra straps
across the back of a blouse. Penny sitting in front of him in English
class was his favorite. She often wore white tops and when she did
Lorin could hardly peel his eyes off the delicate outline of her bra
running across her back and up to her shoulders. He had studied bras
enough to identify the outline of the strap buckles that presumably
allowed girls to adjust the length of the shoulder straps. Why this
was sometimes in the back and sometimes in the front was a bit of a
mystery.
Lorin turned the page of the camp brochure and saw a collection of
photos of boys engaged in the various activities of Camp Dan:
boating, swimming, playing ball games. He recognized some of the boys
including his friend Owen. A hand coming into the picture next to
Owen he thought might be his own. Text accompanying the pictures
listed the sports and activities. There was even taxidermy, but only
one boy had ever taken that all the years Lorin had been attending
the camp. It was a boy named Carl who the guys thought was a bit
batty. Somewhat ironically, Carl had ended up accidentally killing a
bat and then stuffing it. Lorin especially liked reading the
affirmation that "boys in the upper camp (Ages 14 - 16) can
participate in a Saturday night dance with the girls of Camp Ne-Zhoni
Ah-tad."
Lorin froze. There must be a typo he said to himself. Ages 14 - 16?
It was always ages 13 - 16. He ran downstairs to his mom and said,
"Did you see this mom. There must be an error. It says the upper camp
is from ages 14 - 16!"
"I'm sorry, Lorin," his mom said looking at him sympathetically.
"There was a cover letter with the brochure saying they had decided
to limit the upper camp to 14 - 16 starting this summer. It's because
they had some problems last year with the younger boys at the dances.
They were horsing around and the girls camp decided that enough was
enough or something like that."
"But mom, that's ridiculous!"
"I know that you're very mature but there is nothing that we can do
about it. It won't be as bad as you think. You always have so much
fun."
Choking up with grief, Lorin turned and walked slowly back to his
room. He sat down on his bed in abject depression. This really,
really sucks, he thought to himself. A whole other year and a half
practically he'd have to wait. Fighting the urge to cry, he picked up
the brochure and continued reading. On the next page there was a
description of the weight watching camp. The kids in these pictures
were invariably smiling. There was an extensive description of the
diet and exercise regimes in a "supportive environment." It was
foreign territory for Lorin. He figured that at least being
overweight gave one the advantage of going to a co-ed camp. It's
probably why everyone was smiling.
Lorin skipped the further description of camp Na-as-tso-si, that his
friends called Camp Nasty, and turned to the description of camp
Shoni. The first page for camp Ne-Zhoni Ah-tad had a slogan like that
for the boys' camp: "where girls learn to become women." The list of
activities included many of the same sports as in camp Dan, but there
was also many more crafts such as basket weaving, embroidery, dress
making, cooking and "salon skills." There were pictures of the girls
swimming, playing volleyball and hiking through a forest holding
hands and smiling. Most of the girls were pretty. Some looked very
athletic. The girls were mostly wearing T-shirts loosely framing
their figures. Some of the girls looked to be busty but it was not
particularly evident.
It was so incredibly unfair to keep him in the lower camp. All last
summer he had been giddy with the idea that finally, next summer, he
was going to be going to the dances. He had spent many a night
imagining his first visit to the girls' camp. To be able to dance a
slow dance with one of the girls would be heavenly. To smell her
perfume, to feel her hair on his cheek and to be touching her pretty
dress. Feeling the urge to cry again, he turned the page and let out
a small gasp of astonishment. There was a picture of the entire upper
girls camp "dressed for the camp ending cotillion," on the last
Saturday night of the summer. There were almost a 100 girls in the
color photo, some seated in front, others standing behind them
wearing the most beautiful assortment of dresses Lorin had ever seen.
Many puffed out from the hips held out by crinolines and petticoats.
The girls looked like they had been to the beauty parlor. They had
the prettiest hairstyles and the most tasteful makeup. The palpable
aura of massed femininity was so intense that Lorin felt a deep stab
of envy. He wanted to be a part of the picture in the worst way. To
be one of the girls standing there arm-in-arm in a pretty dress,
wearing a little locket around his neck like so many of the girls in
the picture. It was too much to bear. He felt a raw pain in his
chest. Not only did he have no chance of being one of the girls, he
would not even be able to dance with them this summer.
He thought of praying to God to make it happen somehow. He starred
closely at the picture and looked into the eyes of each of the girls,
one by one. He noticed that for two of the seated girls he could see
a hint of lacy crinoline peeking out from their skirts. He looked at
the entire row of prettily stockinged legs and admired them. At least
God, could You at least make it so that somehow I get to see the
girls on the night of the cotillion? Could I just even be able to see
them? That is not asking too much is it? He imagined what it would be
like to dance with one of the girls. The swish of her dress against
him as he held her and she held him. Maybe that was OK, but if by
some miracle God could let him be one of the girls, he would never
ask God for anything else again.
Lorin was taken out of his reverie by the sound of his mom. "Are you
done looking at the camp brochure?"
"Yes, mom," he said ruefully.
"I need you to complete the application. It asks you to check off
your five favorite activities and to write a sentence or two about
what your interests are. We've got to get it in the mail in the next
day or two to make sure you get in. If you don't get in it could give
us a big headache with our trip." Lorin's mom, dad and sister were
traveling to Japan and China for the summer while his dad conducted
some business. Lorin had wanted to go also, but his dad nixed the
idea. "You're a picky eater and we'd have a hard time feeding you!"
Lorin's dad was big time into Sushi. The thought of finally being in
the upper camp had quelled any regret that Lorin had had at being
excluded from the family trip.
"OK, mom. But are you sure I can't go to Japan and China with you and
dad? I promise I'll eat everything you place in front of me."
His mom laughed. "Sorry honey. You'll have so much more fun at camp
Dan than you'll have traipsing around with us."
"Not in the lower camp!"
"Please honey. You know there is nothing we can do about it, and I'm
just as disappointed as you are."
"OK mom. I'll fill out the form for camp disappointment!"
"Very funny. I've left an envelope on the dining room table with the
deposit check. When you're done with the application put it in the
envelope and put it in the mail box on your way to school tomorrow
morning."
"OK, mom," Lorin said.
"Don't forget!"
"I won't."
That night before going to sleep Lorin took out the brochure and
turned to the picture of the girls dressed for the cotillion. The
dresses were in every color including white, ivory, peach, pale blue,
pale pink and with every kind of lace decoration imaginable. He
studied the two girls whose petticoats he could see. Their stockinged
legs were surrounded by the delicate lace netting that puffed up over
their laps.
"Why can't that be me, God?" Lorin prayed. "If You just made me a
girl for the summer I'd be so grateful!"
He felt misty eyed and then scolded himself for his self-pity. "I'm
such a moron. It's just a dress." He lay awake for an hour pretending
he was in camp Shoni. It was the week before the big cotillion. The
girls were excited about getting their dresses ready. He had his
dress hanging on a hook next to his bunk. It smelled faintly of
perfume, like the way Penny sometimes smelled. He fell asleep.
Awakening in the morning Lorin pantomimed putting on a dress and
crinoline. Half way through, he stopped to start all over again, this
time first putting on an imaginary bra, panty and stockings. He had
never worn a bra or even touched one but he had thought about them
and studied them enough, mainly from the "One Hanes Place" catalog
that came every month or two for his mom. Probably a hundred
different bras were displayed in every issue, and he enjoyed studying
them, usually during the afternoons when he was the first one home
and had gotten the mail. Often he knew he had an hour or two until
his sister or mom came home, and in that time he could sit in the
living room and admire the pictures of the ladies. He loved the fact
they were always smiling. There must be something about wearing a bra
that makes girls smile. A favorite game of his was to imagine what
would have been going on in the minute or two before the pictures
were shot. Part of this was thinking about how the model would be
putting on her bra, and from this Lorin felt that if the opportunity
ever arose, he would know what to do. The fantasy intensified when he
imagined that he had breasts that awaited the bra. How big should
they be he wondered. He broke out into a sweat and he felt his heart
racing. I must be going straight to hell he told himself.
As he often did in moments of frustration he recalled the glance he
had once gotten up the short sleeve of Penny's white blouse. Her bra
had been remarkably white against her skin and he had not thought
such white was possible. If he ever wore a bra he'd have to check
that out. How white would it look against his skin?
He got dressed and went to the breakfast table. His mom was just
leaving for work. "Did you fill out the application like I asked?"
"Yes mom," he lied.
"I know you're lying. Don't dawdle with it!"
"I fell asleep last night. I did start it. Don't worry I'll get it in
the mail today."
"This morning."
"This morning."
She left for work. Lorin had a half hour before he would have to
leave for school. He sat down at the dining room table with the
application in front of him. In the upper right-hand corner there was
a box listing the three camps and his mom had checked the box next to
camp Dah-nes-tsa. After this was the usual information, his name
printed carefully "LORIN BAXTER", his address and the family phone
number. His mom had checked a box saying "returning camper" and
underneath this she had written "5" in a space for the number of
previous years. She had written in the name and phone number of their
family doctor and the name of the school he attended. He found the
deposit check. It was made out to "Lake Navajo Camps, Inc." Next on
the application was a space in which his mom had written in his
birthday. She had also checked a box saying "lower camp". In small
print in parenthesis it said "8 - 12 for the girls in camp Ne-Zhoni
Ah-tad and 8 - 13 for the boys in camp Dah-nes-tsa." "Rats!" he said
to himself. He put down the application and once again flipped open
the brochure to the picture of the girls in their pretty dresses.
"God, can't you make me a girl so I can wear a dress like that and
have these girls as my friends?" Lorin waited and nothing happened.
Miracles never happen. That's for sure. He remembered after his
grandpa died how much he prayed he would come back and he never did.
"How about it God if you just let me go to Camp Shoni?" He laughed at
the thought of being the only boy at the camp. It was getting late
and he would have to go to school. Suddenly he tensed up and a jolt
of electricity went through his stomach and into his heart. Why can't
I go to Camp Shoni, he thought? I'd just have to pretend to be a
girl. I could be one if I wanted to. A thousand thoughts darted
through his mind. It's such a great idea. It's so easy. No one would
ever find out. He got a clear vision of himself pretending to be one
of the girls in camp Shoni. What a joy it would be!
Then suddenly he groaned with the realization that the idea was
fundamentally flawed. How dumb can I be! What about parents' day when
the camps are opened for parental visits? Mom and Dad come every year
and what a shock it would be if they found out that he wasn't at camp
Dan. But just as fast he broke into a smile. Mom and dad will be in
Asia! They can't come to visit!
Excitedly he looked at the application form again. With a sense of
mounting tension he noted that his mother had used a pencil to check
off the camp he was to go to. He got up and found a pencil and sat
down again in front of the application. The eraser was new and clean.
With trembling hands and racing heart he rubbed out the check mark
next to Camp Dah-nes-tsa, turned the pencil around and checked the
box next to Camp Ne-Zhoni Ah-tad. He next examined where his mom had
printed his name. It was in ink! Damn! His mom must have switched to
a pen after checking the first box, which was the only thing written
in pencil. He starred at his name "LORIN". He was named after the
great conductor Lorin Maazel, whom his parents had heard conduct the
Cleveland Orchestra in Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. They were fond of
telling the story of how the evening had been a revelation for them
as to how wonderful music could be. And when Lorin was born a short
time afterward they felt that naming him Lorin was the least they
could do to honor the beauty that Maazel brought to the earth.
Lorin got up and found a pen with black ink. He noticed that there
was a slight gap between the "O" and "R" in "LORIN". He carefully
added a stroke turning the "O" into a large lower case "a" and then
placed a thin "U" between the "a" and the "N". He also turned the "I"
into a capitol "E". The result was "LaUREN BAXTER." This spelling of
Lauren as in Lauren Bacall had long been the name he had given to
himself in his fantasies. He considered it providential that the
sound of his name was appropriate to both girls and boys. It was just
one more thing that made him feel like he was close to the opposite
sex. He had even once kept a secret diary in which he signed the
entrees as "Lauren" but had been so scared that his parents or
someone else might find it that he had ripped it up and thrown it
away.
The only thing left to fix on the application was the information
about being a returning camper. This would be hard to correct. It was
getting late. He did not have time to think of something. He
scribbled on top of the "5" so it was illegible and then put a large
"X in the box for new camper and scribbled lightly over the "x" his
mother had written in the box indicating a returning camper. He
looked at the result. It looked pretty weird, like how could someone
make a mistake about whether they were a returning camper or not? It
would have to suffice.
Quickly he turned to the part of the application his mom wanted him
to fill out. Under activities was a list of items, such as swimming,
archery and so forth and the instructions were to check one's
favorite five. He checked "arts and crafts", "dress making", and
"theater" and then decided he had better put down a couple of more
athletic activities, so he also checked "swimming" and "dance". In
years past he had always put down "riflery" but it didn't seem like
something that Lauren would like. The last thing was to write a few
lines about himself. He could not think of anything. In years past he
had said that he liked doing things like white water rafting, but
that had never been an activity for the lower camp. Only the boys in
the upper camp took an overnight canoeing trip each year. I've got to
just stick something there he said to himself. He wrote in a swirly
handwriting that was like Penny's: "I've always liked fashion and I
can't wait to see the pretty dresses at the Cotillion this year. I'm
looking forward to making new friends with some nice girls." He read
it back to himself and groaned. God does that sound stupid! He
glanced up at the wall clock. I'm outta here! He put the application
and check in the envelope his mom had left and sealed it. He ran
around collecting his books and lunch and raced out of the house
locking the door behind him.
Clutching the camp letter in his gloved hand, Lorin walked quickly
down the block toward school. He knew there was a mailbox on his
route, two blocks away, and when he got to it he stopped in front of
it. His misgivings about what he was doing had grown with each step
he had taken. The more he thought about what he was about to do, the
guiltier he felt about his deceitfulness. He hesitated in front of
the box not knowing what to do. It was way too risky. It was crazy
even. His parents would find out and how could he ever explain what
he had done? They'll send him to a psychiatrist, for sure. He
trembled at the thought of his dad knowing he wanted to pretend to be
a girl. I can just rip open the envelope and change the application
back to being correct. It would be messy, but it would still be OK.
He resumed walking toward school. He had gotten just a few steps when
he remembered the picture of the girls at the Cotillion and he
stopped. I can't miss that, I want it so bad! What is really not fair
is that Camp Dan won't let me be in the upper camp. I can just say
that I had to go to camp Shoni because it was not fair otherwise!
Lorin took a step back toward the mailbox and then stopped again.
God, help me. I just want to go to the Cotillion. Is that bad?
Trapped in indecision, it finally occurred to him that if he did not
mail the letter, he would have to face the agony of regretting that
he had given up this opportunity to be Lauren. However much guilt he
would feel for his deceit, it would not be as bad as the pain he
would feel for not having tried to be her. He ran back to the
mailbox, opened the lid and let the letter slip from his fingers. The
moment it fell in he felt a wave of fear at the enormity of what he
had done. He walked away in a state of shock. What in the world have
I done? How can I get so obsessed? What happens if Camp Shoni is
full? Being a new camper I will be put behind returning campers. I
could end up not having a camp to go to. It would ruin my parents'
trip to Asia, besides the fact that they would find out that I had
tried to sneak myself into a girls' camp. What an idiot I am, he
thought. The anxiety he felt was close to becoming unmanageable.
Maybe I should just confess what I've done. There is still time to
get a new application for camp Dan. He could send it to the camp with
a note explaining that the other application was a joke. He could say
that a friend of his had done it as a practical joke. He'd also have
to tell his parents about the same lie. It would be impossible to
convince them of that. He heard his name being called and looked up.
It was his best friend Kenny coming toward him. This was going to be
the fist secret he had ever kept from Kenny except for his big
secret, of course. Uneasily, he decided to just try and forget what
he had done. He would deal with it later. The die had been cast. He
would have to wait and see if he got accepted at Camp Shoni. If he
did, who knows, he might just end up at the cotillion wearing a
pretty dress.
Chapter 2
During English class, while the teacher Mr. Oster wrote twenty five
spelling words on the blackboard for the class to copy, Lorin starred
at Penny's pretty back. The outline of her bra strap was easy to see
and he was sure that he was in love with her. He would have loved to
ask Penny on a date, but he knew that she hung out with a group of
kids that were older and cooler than himself. He could not imagine
that Penny would want to date him. His thoughts drifted to Camp
Shoni. He might just end up going, he realized. It was possible that
everything would fall into place and then he'd be there with all the
pretty girls and he could be with them all the time. He imagined
himself in a skirt and camp tee shirt and white tennis sneakers in a
crowd of girls. He'd be wearing a bra just as Penny was now. By the
end of the summer he'd probably feel as natural in a bra as Penny
does. But the initial time would probably be a shock. It was hard to
imagine how that would be, and then later at the end of the summer
when he might actually find himself getting ready for the cotillion.
His dress would be on a hanger waiting for him to put on. The girls
would be sitting in the cabin in their slips putting on make up,
combing their hair and chatting with each other. Everyone would be
making an extra effort to be really nice, telling everyone how much
they liked everyone's dresses and how pretty they were. They would be
talking about the different boys they had met that summer and who
would be their dates at the cotillion. The uneasy thought passed
through Lorin's mind that he actually did not have a dress and it was
hard to figure out how he could ever get one. Maybe they give the
girls dresses to wear, he wondered.
Lorin was taken out of his reverie by Mr. Oster saying, "and you Mr.
Baxter, pronounce the next word out loud and see if you can figure
out what it means."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Oster, what word did you mean?"
"Lorin, it's not like you to daydream in class! Pay attention."
"I'm sorry, sir."
"We were up to the third word."
Lorin looked at it and read aloud: "'deception'. I guess that means
when you trick someone into believing something to be true that
isn't."
"Very good. Now use it in a sentence," Mr. Oster said.
Lorin thought a minute and said, "John's deception had gone on long
enough. He would now have to admit to being a boy."
The class laughed uproariously and after a minute Mr. Oster said,
"very good Lorin, a bit strange, but very good."
***
For the next several weeks the uncertainty of not knowing whether or
not he was accepted at Camp Shoni weighed heavily upon Lorin and he
was in a state of perpetual anxiety. If he could at least know that
he was rejected by the camp, then he could confess to his parents,
suffer whatever punishment they wanted to give him, and then
hopefully end up in another camp. He would have learned a big lesson
and he could go forward with his life from there. On the other hand,
as soon as he knew that Camp Shoni accepted him he could start the
seemingly impossible task of figuring out what he had to do so that
he could fit in with the girls.
While waiting for the verdict, every day his mind fostered ever more
anxiety producing fantasies in which something would go wrong to
cause him and his family great pain or embarrassment. A recurring
scenario centered on his parents' reaction to finding out he wanted
to pretend to be a girl. In this his mom and dad became so upset they
had to cancel their trip to Asia at which point his dad lost his job
and the family became homeless. In another fantasy, his secret got
discovered a month into the camp season and the director called the
police who came and locked him up at the police station until his
parents came back from Asia. His parents never forgave him for what
he had done and he ended up in a foster home. Clearly, it would be a
miracle to somehow get through the whole summer without being caught.
Just one more reason why he had been incredibly stupid to have done
what he had done.
The worrying became so omnipresent that Lorin prayed that an answer,
any answer, would just come quickly. He thought of calling the camp
office and telling them to switch his application to Camp Dan. They
would certainly remember Lorin Baxter at the same address as Lauren
Baxter. He would just say that someone had changed the application as
a practical joke and he had only just learned about it. Of course,
the secretary might want to speak to his parents, in which case his
mom and dad would want to know whom the practical jokester was. Lorin
would be stuck. He could never ask Kenny to pretend being the
culprit. In fact, it was painful to imagine Kenny knowing about his
secret desires! That would be the end of his friendship and surely
everyone at school would find out about his wanting to be a girl in
about two seconds.
Lorin had trouble concentrating at school or on his homework
assignments and his grades began to take a dip. He felt antsy and
slept in fits. And then finally one night when he had taken a shower
and was drying himself off he looked in the long mirror inside the
bathroom door and realized that he had never even thought about the
most important thing of all: people would have to look at him and see
a girl. Not a boy. It was not just about pretending to be a girl or
wearing girls' clothes. It was about the girls in the camp seeing him
physically as being a girl. He starred at his penis. It was a dead
give away. If he had to shower with the other girls like he used to
shower with the guys at camp Dan, then he would not even make it one
day at camp. "What have I gotten myself into?" he asked himself. He
looked up at his face and saw a boys face. He took his hair and
arranged it so that it covered his ears and framed his face. "At best
I sorta look like a rock musician," he thought.
Later, in bed, he got out the camp brochure and opened it up to the
pictures from Camp Shoni. He examined the faces and hairstyles of the
girls, longing to see why they looked like girls and why he did not.
It dawned on him that if he only had bangs, like many of the girls in
the pictures, he might then look a million times more like a girl.
How could he get bangs he wondered? It would mean having to find
someone who knew how to cut girls hair and then getting them to cut
his. Not just cut his hair. Change him from boy to girl. He could not
even have his hair cut before he left for camp. It all seemed so
impossible. He felt a huge, new, wave of anxiety.
One evening a week later his mom paid him a visit in his room after
supper.
"Lorin, today I got a call from Mr. Oster. Apparently your teachers
had a team meeting and in their discussion they compared notes about
you and came to the conclusion that you are not being yourself. They
feel there is something that is distracting you from doing the A work
they have always gotten from you."
"I'm not failing anything!" Lorin exclaimed.
"No, no, they say that your grades are now mostly in the B range. For
anyone else they would not even notice, but you have always been a
solid A student. They were hoping that I could tell them what might
be weighing upon your mind."
"I don't know mom. I guess I didn't study enough for a couple of
tests. I'll try and study more."
"The question is why didn't you study enough for the tests. What is
distracting you from studying?"
"Nothing mom."
"Lorin, don't be evasive. We both know there is a problem here and if
you tell me then I'll be able to help you with it."
"But mom, there's no problem."
"Are any of the boys bullying you?"
"No way! Where did you get that from?"
"I'm just guessing. Well, perhaps I need to bring your father in on
the discussion."
"No wait mom. The only thing is I guess that I've been thinking a lot
lately about..."
He hesitated, feeling embarrassed. "Go on, Lorin," his mother said
kindly.
"I think about Penny. She sits in front of me in English."
Lorin's mother face broke out into a smile. "A girl? Is that what
this is all about?"
"I think I guess I have a sort of crush on her." He thought about her
bra strap and then his favorite memory of her white bra against her
skin.
"That's a perfectly normal thing for a young boy. Your father could
talk to you about it."
"I know mom. I guess I was thinking of talking to dad about dating.
You know I sort of want to ask her out. But..."
As gently as she could his mom said, "But what, Lorin?"
"But I'm afraid to. I'm afraid she'll have no interest in me. She'll
laugh at me!" For some strange reason Lorin felt tears coming on and
stopped talking.
"These fears are perfectly normal. But I'm sure that Penny would
never make fun of you for asking her out. Even if she did not want to
see you, say she had another boyfriend, she would still be flattered
by your attention. I know, since I was a girl once a long time ago
and every girl loves to be asked out. Particularly by someone as
handsome and smart as you."
The attention caused a few tears to roll out of Lorin's eyes and his
mother felt a pang of love for her son's vulnerability. She slid next
to him on the bed and gave him a hug. Lorin composed himself and
said, "I know it's wrong to let my thoughts of Penny distract me, so
I think I can stop doing that. I also will see about asking her out."
"Good, you should. I hope you will talk to your dad about it. He was
pretty good with getting himself dates, and I think that I prove
that!"
Lorin and his mom laughed at the joke. Before leaving his room his
mom said, "I love you Lorin."
"I love you too mom," Lorin replied.
After that conversation Lorin felt even guiltier than he had before.
It was true that he thought about Penny and about asking her out. But
he knew it certainly was not the reason for his not studying. He
decided that come what may, he would get his grades back up again, if
for no other reason than to prevent his mom and dad from poking
around into what he was thinking about.
Several weeks went by and finally on the first of April he came home
just before dinnertime, after playing at Kenny's house after school.
His mom called to him when he came in saying "there's a big envelope
for you from Camp Dan." Camp Dan? How could that be? How could Camp
Dan be admitting him? It was such a surprise. How could they? The
camp secretary must have realized who he was and put him back into
Camp Dan. Lorin felt a huge disappointment. All that worrying for
nothing! It all made sense. The secretary would take one look at the
name Lauren Baxter and figure out that someone was playing some sort
of joke. Lorin went to where the mail was kept on a small table next
to the front door. He saw a large white envelope and picked it up. It
was addressed to "Lauren Baxter." Why did they spell my name wrong he
wondered. Since the envelope was large he knew it had to be an
acceptance. Why else would they send such a large bulky envelope? He
walked up the stairs to his room and shut the door. Sitting on his
bed he starred at the front of the envelope. Lauren Baxter, plain as
day. He couldn't believe his mother hadn't noticed. He flipped over
the envelope to look at the return address. Expecting to see Camp
Dah-nes-tsa, instead he saw in large letters, Camp Ne-Zhoni Ah-tad
and its address at Lake Navajo. Oh my God! Mom must not even have
looked at the back of the envelope! She had just assumed it was camp
Dan! He danced around the room pumping the air with his fist. I can't
believe it! I got in! I'm going to be Lauren this summer! I'll be at
the cotillion! He twirled and twisted around the room in excitement.
He fell on the bed and then jumped up and got the brochure and once
again looked at the Cotillion picture. "I'm going to be there! I'm
really going to have a pretty dress and be there with all the girls."
He closed his eyes and imagined wearing stockings and putting on a
petticoat and a dress and make up and arranging his hair. "And I'll
have beautiful shoes with high heels!"
He sat back on the bed and then shivered with the thought of what
would have happened had his mother seen the return address. Why
hadn't he thought of that? It unnerved him to realize how exposed to
being caught he had been. He should have come home straight from
school every single day like he usually did, so he could be the one
to check the mail. He vowed that from then until he left for camp
that was what he would have to do in case Camp Shoni sent any other
letters.
He ripped open the envelope and took out the contents. Before looking
at what was inside he tore the empty envelope in such a way that the
words "Lauren" and "Ne-Zhoni Ah-tad" were cut down the middle. Then
he ripped off the bits of paper containing these words, wadded them
up and put them in his mouth and then spit them into the trashcan.
One less piece of evidence, he thought.
He next looked at the top sheet of the camp papers. It was a
personalized letter:
Dear Lauren:
Welcome to Camp Ne-Zhoni Ah-tad!
We are so pleased to have you join us for a wonderful summer of fun
on the shore of Lake Navajo! Accompanying this letter you will find a
list of recommended items to bring to camp, an activity questionnaire
for you to fill out and mail back and an information booklet that
describes some of the rules of the camp, guidelines for getting to
the camp including a bus schedule for picking up campers from the
Greyhound bus station in Poughkeepsie, and other useful information.
Bunk assignments, a list of your fellow campers and other last minute
details will be sent to you in early May. A return envelope is
included with which to mail the balance of the camp fees: due May 1.
We look forward to seeing you this summer!
The Directors
Lorin danced around his room again, skipping, twirling, giddy with
happiness. "I'm going to be a girl! I'm going to be a girl!" He
couldn't believe it. How had he actually gotten his application
accepted? It didn't matter. It was done! He sat down on his bed and
looked at the next sheet in the packet. At the top it said,
"Recommended Items for Camp Ne-Zhoni Ah-tad." There was a long list
of things. It started:
Clothing:
6 bras (2 sportsbras)
12 panties
2 pair pantyhose
6 pair white socks
6 pair anklets
1 half slip
1 full slip
6 shorts
3 skirts
12 blouses (3 buttoned)
2 bathing suits
2 pair sneakers
2 pair walking shoes
1 pair hiking boots
1 pair heels
2 nightgowns
2 dresses
1 gown and crinoline (for cotillion)
Toiletries/makeup:
lipstick, eyeliner, rouge, nail polish and remover
hair spray
brush/comb
hand mirror
hair dryer
deodorant
razor and shaving gel
2-3 month supply of Tampax
cotton balls, Q-tips
At the bottom it said: "Camp Ne-Zhoni Ah-tad does not permit
piercings of any kind except earrings."
He went back to the top of the page. 6 bras? How in the world would
he ever get six bras? He had never thought about how he could
possibly get even one. And the slips, skirts and dresses? And
pantyhose? How would he get this stuff? How did he know what size to
get? Where could he get it?
A knock on the door interrupted his reverie. "Honey, can I come in?"
he heard his mom call.
He collected the papers from the camp and clutched them tightly.
"Sure, mom."
His mother entered. "Dinner is in a couple of minutes. You should
wash up. What did the camp say?"
"I got in. It's just the usual stuff. What to bring and you know, the
activities questionnaire."
"Right. Let me have the list of things to bring, and I suppose I need
the transportation info."
"I'm... still... looking it over, ...sort of" Lorin said haltingly.
"Well, let me have it when you're done. I need to see what we ought
to buy."
"OK, mom." He said this in a clipped voice like he was obviously
nervous.
His mother looked at him strangely. He prayed that she wouldn't ask
him what was the matter.
"Are you still bothered about Penny?"
"Yeah, a little. But I got a 95 on the science quiz. I studied real
hard."
"I'm glad to hear that. Your dad says you haven't talked to him about
dating. I think you should."
"OK mom, I will tonight."
"Good. Dinner is in five minutes. Wash up and come down to dinner."
As soon as his mom left the room, Lorin stole a quick look at the
activities sheet. It said that the girls at Camp Ne-Zhoni Ah-tad
bunked 8 to a cabin, with one counselor per cabin. Each cabin of
girls were classified as being either "Wolves" or "Bunnies" depending
on whether they preferred athletics to more artistic pursuits such as
music, theater, painting and crafts. Usually each age level had at
least two bunny cabins and two wolf cabins. The camp classified each
camper into bunny or wolf depending on how they answered the
questionnaire that they were supposed to mail back as soon as
possible. It said that the camp tried to keep as many bunnies
together and wolves together as possible. But if you were a bunny and
found yourselves with the wolves or a wolf and you found yourself
with mostly bunnies, you'd still have a marvelous summer. Lorin
laughed at that. He knew he was going to be a bunny. He did not mind
playing sports but he knew that he would be far more interested in
activities that would give him a chance to hang out with the other
girls and just talk about girl things. If they let the girls help
plan the cotillion he would definitely try and be on the committee.
It would be fun to make decorations or whatever else they might need
to do.
He put the papers underneath his schoolbooks and headed downstairs
for dinner. He remembered that his mom wanted the list of what to
bring and the transportation info. He hoped she would forget about it
until he had time to think of an excuse for not giving it to her. He
could just pretend to have lost it, but that might make her angry. In
any case she would certainly call the camp for a replacement copy.
Whoever answered the phone at camp Dan might say there is no Lorin
Baxter signed up for the summer. He felt conflicted inside. He did
not like one bit the thought of having to make so many lies to his
parents. One big lie was enough. A lot of little lies felt bad and he
did not see how he could get away with too many of them before he was
found out.
When dinner was over and he was clearing the dishes his dad said,
"Lorin, your mom says that there is something you would like to
discuss with me."
"Oh yeah, dad," Lorin said.
"What's that Lorin?" his sister Stephanie said.
"NOYB" Lorin said.
"It's a man-to-man talk?" Stephanie said.
"Yeah, it's man-to-man and I can't discuss it with you," Lorin said.
Stephanie chuckled. "It must be about dating. Do you have a crush on
a girl?"
"Stephanie!" Lorin was not happy about being teased.
"Yes, Stephanie," his dad said. "Lorin and I are going to have a man-
to-man chat. And if I end up imparting to him some of the famous
Baxter dating technique, well all I can say is that there will be a
bunch of very happy girls out there!"
Lorin blushed while his dad and sister laughed. From the other room
Lorin's mom said, "I heard that! When you're done with your chat you
Baxter boys can use some of your Baxter techniques to clean the
dishes. I've got to bring some soup to Mrs. McGonagle who's feeling a
bit piqued today." Mrs. McGonagle lived in the house whose yard
abutted Lorin's family's property across the back fence. She was a
recent widow: her husband had been a train engineer and had been
killed in a freak accident while switching engines at the train yard.
"So what's up?" Lorin's dad asked. "I heard that your grades have
jumped back up and you've fallen head over heels for some girl in
your class."
"Well I sorta guess so dad. It's Penny who I sit behind in English
class. She's very pretty. Sometimes it's hard to not look at her."
"Her back?"
"Yeah, well it is her back but I can sometimes see." Lorin hesitated.
He did not exactly know where he was headed and felt embarrassed.
"See what?"
"I can see her straps. Under her blouse. And I once saw through the
arm hole of her shirt."
"Oh, you mean you saw her bra?"
"Yeah, I saw a good view of it." Lorin was sweating profusely. He
could not quite figure out why he was telling this to his dad.
He glanced at his dad's face. He was smiling from ear to ear and his
eyes had crinkled to little slits. It seemed like his dad was trying
to control himself and then all or a sudden he burst out into a huge
laugh. He guffawed and shook with laughter. "I'm sorry Lorin. I'm
truly sorry. I shouldn't laugh." He lost control of himself and
laughed some more.
Lorin looked at him smiling. Even though he felt a bit ridiculous. It
was nice to have made his dad laugh so hard.
His dad finally collected himself and said, "it's perfectly normal.
It's just normal, Lorin. Those little straps. Those little peeks men
take at them and anything else they can see. All men are doing that
all the time. It's what those straps symbolize. Something that's over
the great divide. It's something that you and I will never know
about. A world that is forever lost to us. A bra strap on a shoulder.
A tiny little thing, but it's so packed with meaning since it's only
for women. It's something only they know about wearing. And it's
something that only they know about wearing since only they have you-
know-whats."
Inwardly, Lorin felt scared. Hearing his dad say "it's only for
women," made him see that he had been too easy on himself these past
few weeks. No matter how much he wanted to be in the cotillion, it
did not suffice to make it OK to do what he was doing. The lying, the
deception (Mr. Oster would be proud of him) were wrong. Just wrong.
"So it's OK to think about that? I mean I think of Penny's bra a
lot."
"And what's in them?" his dad said.
Lorin blushed bright red. "Yeah, of course," he said. But the truth
was that he had never gotten that far. The bra itself had been as
much as he could handle. His father was clearly enjoying this
opportunity to have an intimate conversation with his son.
"Lorin. Did you ever hear of Victoria's Secret? A billion dollar
industry devoted to purveying underwear for women? Why do they do
such a huge business? Why are they in every mall? Or take France for
example. Every block in Paris has its perfumery, its bakery, a cafe
and a little shop selling bras. It's because of exactly what you and
every man feels when he sees a woman wearing those pretty little
things."
What he wanted to say to his dad but was afraid to say was: "I think
of Penny's bra a lot because I want to have one of my own. I wish
that I could wear bras the same way she has to, and all the other
girls. I feel left out. Some days I am so jealous of Penny I don't
know what to do. I don't think that it's fair that she gets to wear
bras and I can't."
"I guess I was afraid there was something wrong with me," Lorin
finally said.
"Where do you get such notions?" his dad said. "You probably need to
talk more with your friends. That's probably the way most boys sort
of learn about girls. Even better than that, once you get a few dates
under your belt you'll feel so much more comfortable with girls. Of
course they will always be a mystery to guys. They think differently
than we do and I don't know if there has ever been a man who
completely understands them. If he did, he'd make a gazillion
dollars."
Lorin and his dad laughed. Their conversation turned into a monologue
in which his dad boasted somewhat nostalgically of his dating
exploits. It was pretty interesting and also informative and Lorin
hoped that he would have the courage to ask Penny out on a date. When
they were done talking, Lorin felt closer to his dad than he could
ever remember being. He also felt a low dull ache in his heart
thinking of the secret he was hiding from him and what his dad would
think of him if he found out. "Thanks dad for the little talk. I feel
better and I think I will ask Penny out."
Later that evening Lorin thought about what his dad had said in their
conversation. Not only did he have to look like a girl and have all
the girls see him as one, he would have to talk like a girl, say
things a girl would say. He could not talk the way boys do in front
of them. It was just one more impossible thing he would have to
figure out in the next three months. As his mind flitted through the
myriad things he would have to do before camp and the myriad problems
he would have to solve, it occurred to him that he needed to
formulate a plan. He would have to be systematic, he decided. What
he'd do was start a diary and in his diary he'd put down all his
ideas for solving his problems.
He remembered that his sister had been given three diaries for
Christmas from different friends and relatives. She had made clear to
all that she never kept diaries and that she certainly did not need
three at once. The diaries had been put in a drawer in the living
room that held paper supplies and other stuff for school. Lorin went
downstairs and seeing that no one was around opened the drawer and
saw the diaries. Two of them were relatively plain white leatherette.
The third was pink with daisies on it and had a picture of Barbie on
the front and a slot within which was a card saying "This Barbie
diary belongs to," with blank space to write a name. There was also a
latch with a small key taped next to it, which could be used to lock
the diary shut. Lorin took the Barbie diary and raced back up to his
room and closed the door and sat down on his bed. He took out the
card and wrote on it "Lauren". He sat back on the bed and read "This
diary belongs to Lauren." He took the key and tried it in the lock.
It turned and he pulled at the latch and opened the book. The pages
of the diary were a light pink color with a faint picture of Barbie
smiling from the upper left side. The first few pages had places to
write in the names of ones best girl friends, what one wanted to be
when one grew up, ones favorite song, movie, TV show and other
things. The last few pages had space to list boys you had a crush on,
and the name of your boy friend.
He turned to the first blank page. On the top left was written "Dear
Barbie," and to the right was a place for the date. Lorin wrote,
April 1. On the first line he wrote:
"I've decided to be a girl for this summer. Please don't be mad at me
Barbie, I need you to be my friend. I have so many problems. I'll
never be able to solve them all if you aren't there to help me. I
need you to give me ideas. You're a girl, really the prettiest girl
there is. If anybody can give me good ideas it will be you. Anyway,
I'm scared of what I've done. I'm going to use this diary to tell you
about my problems and how I'm going to solve them. Please help me
Barbie!
I know you are wondering what my problems are. Well they can be
broken down into a few categories. First of all I have to learn how
to talk and think like a girl. Secondly, I have to look like a girl,
and thirdly I have to get all the girls clothes and other stuff I
need for camp. There are also other problems which if I think about
them I will cry. I love you Barbie. Your buddy, no, your girl friend
to be, Lauren."
He sat back smiling. This is going to be so much fun. His own Barbie
diary. He wondered if Penny had a diary. He closed the book and
locked it. Once again he heard his mom calling for him from outside
his door. "One minute, mom," he yelled out. He lifted up his mattress
and stuck the diary underneath and then opened the door.
"I just came by to get the camp stuff, before you lose it."
"Oh, OK, I'll bring it to you in a minute. I'm almost done looking at
it."
"Be quick about it. It's getting late!"
"OK mom." He forced himself to smile at her. The moment she left his
face contorted into an expression of anguish. What in the world was
he going to do? He took another look at the camp forms. All he could
do was say he had lost them. Camp Dan certainly did not have bunnies
and wolves! The guys wouldn't be expected to bring 6 bras to camp,
would they?. He could just say that one minute he had them, the next
minute they were gone. She would believe that about two seconds! He
looked at the info sheet and saw that the camp had a web address:
www.ne-zhoni-ah-tad.com. What if camp Dan also had a website? He
wondered if they had any camp information there. He ran to the
computer on his desk and typed in an equivalent web address for Camp
Dan. It came back with a message saying that the website did not
exist. Damn! He then typed in the address of camp Shoni. It came up
in a few seconds. At the top there was a button for "home". He
clicked on it, and a page appeared saying "Camps of Lake Navajo."
Below that was a button to click for each camp and he clicked on the
one for Camp Dan. It brought him to the homepage of Camp Dan. Thank
God, he thought. The web address was exactly www.dah-nes-tsa.com.
Puzzled he looked at the history and saw that he had previously typed
in www.dah-new-tsa.com. What an idiot he was! On the Camp Dan web
page was a section entitled "information for campers." He could not
believe how lucky he was! In the information section there was a page
listing recommended items. He looked it over and saw that it was
exactly like the one for camp Shoni, but did not say anything about 6
bras! Another page gave bus information and everything just like camp
Shoni. He hit the print button and a minute later he had the forms
for Camp Dan in his hand. All he was missing was the cover letter and
he was sure his mom would not care about that. He hurried to his
mom's room and gave her the pages.
"Here mom. I guess the camp looks pretty good, I guess, even though I
won't be in the upper camp." He didn't exactly know why he had to lie
just then, but he felt compelled to do so.
"I'm glad you're trying to make the best of it. It's always good to
have a positive attitude."
Lorin went back to his room feeling relieved that he had successfully
passed the first big test of his deception. He wondered what other
difficult situations were in store for him in the months to come and
would he be as lucky the next time around as he was this time.
Chapter 3
In English class the next day Lorin took frequent peeks at Penny
sitting in front of him. She was wearing a gray, ribbed top with a
collar and the outline of her bra was barely visible if at all. He
was determined that he was going to ask her out on a date this very
day. Besides the fact that his mom and dad would probably continue to
bug him about it until he did, he also had to admit that being on a
date with her was probably right up there with going to the
cotillion. Well, that would be true if Penny felt towards him as he
felt towards her. She would have to want to hold his hand or even
kiss him. Then he imagined she would encourage him to gently place
his hand on top of her bra and then slowly move it inside her bra
cup. He felt overcome with desire for Penny. He knew that if he did
not do something about it soon he would bust.
After English class was lunch. Sometimes Lorin found himself walking
to the cafeteria next to Penny in the crush of kids. It would be a
perfect time to ask her out. When the bell rang signaling the end of
the period, Mr. Oster excused the class and Lorin watched Penny to
see what she did. She got up and looked around. When she saw Lorin
looking at her she smiled at him and Lorin looked away and then back
at her. It seemed to him she might be looking for one of her friends
to accompany her to the cafeteria. Before she did so, he would have
to act. He summoned up his nerve and said, "Penny?". She stopped and
turned toward him. While they had known each other for quite some
time, they had not had many occasions to get to know each other on a
more personal basis. One exception had been in biology lab where they
and two other kids had dissected a frog together. There had also been
an occasion during a class trip to Philadelphia when their tour had
stopped at Betsy Ross's house. Lorin had asked the docent if there
was any real proof that Betsy Ross had sewn the first flag since he
had heard that historians claim otherwise: the story that she had
done so was just a myth perpetrated by her family to gain notoriety.
Penny had overheard his remarks and chimed in saying that she had
heard the same thing. Lorin had been happy to have this affirmation
since the docent had been less than excited at hearing Lorin's
comment. Later, when he had boarded the school bus for the trip home
he had seen Penny sitting alone in a seat next to the window. It was
the perfect opportunity to sit next to her and he had looked at her
and had seen that she was looking at him. He had been about to sit
next to her when her eyes left him to look at someone further behind
him boarding the bus. In that split second he lost his nerve since he
thought it might mean that she wanted to sit with someone else. Lorin
ended up sitting in the seat directly behind her where he could see
the top of her head but she could not see him. Later, another girl
sat next to Penny and Lorin had subsequently felt regret for the lost
opportunity to get to know her better.
"Yes?" Penny said as she walked toward the door.
Lorin could see that this was going to be an out-of-body experience
for himself. He heard himself say, "I wanted to ask you something."
"What Lorin?"
Lorin followed her and glanced around to make sure no one else was
within earshot. "I was going to ask..." he said and then paused
afraid to go on. Then suddenly he said, "you know I like you?" He
felt ridiculous and imagined that Penny might laugh at any second.
"Sure. Why shouldn't you?" she said.
Lorin suddenly could not think straight. Her answer raised as many
questions as it answered. "I wanted to ask you out," he said finally.
They were almost to the door of the classroom.
"Why didn't you?" Penny said.
Her answer was so unexpected Lorin laughed. He could not tell if she
was making a joke or being encouraging, and he was not sure what he
should say next. It was clearly so much more complicated than he
thought it would be.
"I mean, I am asking you out. I wanted to see you. I thought we could
go to a movie or something."
Penny smiled at him. "Sure Lorin that would be fun." She said it
simply and sweetly. "Call me," she said. "Do you have my number?" He
shook his head. She got out a pen and wrote it on Lorin's notebook.
Then she said, "I've got to meet Janice," and she took off down the
hall.
It would be an understatement to say that Lorin was happy the rest of
the day. Even though he saw Penny during his afternoon classes, he
did not talk to her. He felt very aware of her presence and what she
was doing. He was fearful of ending the magic feeling that he had: no
matter what else might ever happen, there was an afternoon in his
life when Penny wanted to go out on a date with him.
That night after doing his homework Lorin took out his diary and
wrote:
Dear Barbie:
I had the courage to ask Penny for a date today but I've got to call
her and I'm afraid. Please wish me luck. Anyway, it's weird but no
matter how much I want to see Penny, I can't let it stop me from
getting myself ready for camp. I think the first thing I should get
are my bras cause if I can get them then I guess I can get everything
else.
So what do you think? My plan is to buy them and I'm totally scared.
I'll let you know what happens.
Love, Lauren
Lorin checked his cookie jar and found that he had $192.37. He
figured that should be more than enough to get some bras. He opened
up a recent "One Hanes Place" catalog that he had taken out of the
paper recycle bin. The sheer number of different types of bras
confused him and he often wondered how women ever figured out which
style to wear. For reasons he could not identify it made him sad that
many girls were probably not wearing the best possible bra for their
body, since they had likely never even had a chance to explore all
the different kinds of bras. Now for the first time he could not
afford to remain confused. He had to figure out what bra would be
appropriate for a 13-year-old girl and that was the kind he would
have to get. There would be no opportunity to decide at an actual
store, since he imagined that it would be bad enough just walking
into the bra section to pick out a bra or two, let alone look at lots
of bras trying to decide on a good one to get. His plan was to know
exactly what to buy so he could just go right to it, take it off the
rack and bring it to the sales clerk. He hoped the clerk would be a
kind older woman who would not think that anything extraordinary was
going on. If she might actually give him a wink of understanding, to
make him feel more comfortable, all the better, but he doubted that
that would occur.
He opened up the catalog and saw on the first page a woman wearing a
blue bra and matching panty. In large type it said "bras that
breathe." Seeing the color made him wonder if he should get some bras
of different colors. He thought that most bras were white, like
Penny's, but he also had hoped that at least one of his bras might be
pink. Now he wondered if having many different color bras might be
even more natural than having only white bras. He decided that he
would have to pay a visit to his sister's bra drawer and see what
colors she had. He turned the page and saw pictures of women wearing
similar kinds of bras to the blue one. They looked like they had
large breasts; not at all like what he imagined he would look like in
a bra. The next page had bras with "convertible straps" and then
"action backs" where the straps came from the center of a band in the
back. On the next pages the bras were supposed to offer "cotton
comfort." He thought that many of the bras were pretty, particularly
a Wonderbra "Love it Lace," but the model looked to be almost his
mom's age and he figured the bra could not be for him.
He came to several pages of seamless underwire bras. He counted 21
bras spread over 4 pages. Most were white but several were pink and
blue. There was a Bali "Live it Up" bra that had pretty red and pink
flowers on a white background. The design was called "Rosy Petals."
According to the description, by wearing this bra "one could achieve
the lift and shape one never knew one had." It couldn't be referring
to him, Lorin thought. He could not imagine that putting on that bra
would give him breasts. There was then a page of special needs bras
for posture, maternity and leisure styles. He skipped this and came
to a full page of a model wearing a beautiful pink bra. The section
was "Classic underwires" and the bra was a Flower Bali. There was a
cute thin bow in the middle of the bra between the cups and a sort of
lace design over the top part. The woman had her arms crossed in a
very feminine way with her hands holding her elbows. The description
of the bra caught his eye: "USA's best selling department store full
support underwire!" It came in pale pink, black, white and light
beige. Lorin was encouraged by the idea that it must be for sale
everywhere. It's probably selling right here in town, he thought.
On the next page was a section on minimizer bras. "Minimize your bust
line up to 1 1/4". Some women must want to not look like they have
big breasts, Lorin thought. He then felt discouraged. All these bras
are for women with breasts. I'll look stupid wearing a bra with no
breasts in the cups. He threw the magazine down on his desk with
disgust. How in the world did any woman decide what kind she wanted
to wear? Maybe they try on every single one until they find one they
like. He wished he could ask his mom about it. He imagined coming up
to her one day while she was cooking dinner and saying, "Mom, I have
a question for you."
"Yes, dear?" she would say.
"Well mom I was wondering how you decided what bra to buy. What kind
of style, brand, color? It's so confusing!"
His mom would blush a little and so would he. Finally she would say,
"You know Lorin, you're right. But I buy the kind of bra I buy
because...." And that was exactly where the little fantasy would end.
He had no idea what she would say.
Lorin went back to the catalog. He knew enough about bras to know
that they had different cup sizes; the guys frequently made jokes
about girls having "D size" boobs. He assumed that he would never
qualify for a C or D bra and probably not even a B. But he wondered
if A would be right for him. He looked through the pages to see if
there were any "A" cup bras for sale. He saw that there were a few
here and there but the great majority of the bras started with B cups
and then went larger. He wondered if there might be a section devoted
to just "A" cup bras. He turned through the pages beyond where he had
gotten and came to a section devoted to bras lacking underwire. There
were many pictures but the women in them looked to be just as busty
as the ones with underwire. A number of the bras did come in "A" cup
size but still they did not seem like they would fit him. After this
there was a special section devoted to bras in half sizes. The women