SAY THE MAGIC WORD
by Jenny North
Like a lot of teenagers, Cody McKenna liked to sleep in, but he'd
worked out a system to wake up on time. Some of his friends had ultra-
loud alarm clocks or weird clocks that gradually made it brighter in
the room to simulate the rising sun. One buddy of his even programmed
his phone to make the sound of a crowing rooster. But Cody didn't need
any of that.
If ever he needed to make sure he woke up on time, he just waited to
hear the sound of his sister's screams.
"EEEEEEK!" he heard from across the hall. Cody lazily rolled over and
looked at the clock. Right on time.
"Cody, you miserable shit! I'll freaking kill you!" she yelled.
Cody rubbed his eyes and lay in bed for a moment while she pounded
ferociously on his door. He heard her rattle the doorknob, but he'd
taken the precaution of locking it the night before. That was a very
important step, he'd learned. One time he'd neglected to do so, and
he'd had to get out of bed much less leisurely in order to defend
himself from her vicious, talon-like nails.
He sat on the edge of the bed and yawned as she pounded away, waiting
for her to move on to the next inevitable phase.
The pounding stopped. "MO-OOOMMMM!!!" she wailed, heading down the
hall.
Cody stood up and unlocked the door, padding his way down to their
shared bathroom. After relieving himself, he retrieved his pet
tarantula that was sitting in the sink and headed down to the kitchen.
"Did mean ol' Lindsay scare you?" he cooed, petting the spider.
Their mother Karen was already in her hospital scrubs, sipping her
coffee and nodding sympathetically while Lindsay ranted at her.
"He did that on PURPOSE!" she yelled.
Cody did his best to look wounded at the very idea. "Hey! Steve is just
as much a victim as you! Imagine how he feels with you screaming at him
all the time. You're going to give him a complex."
"MO-OM!" Lindsay cried.
"Mom, you know he gets out of his cage sometimes! I don't know how he
does it!" Cody said.
"Oh, that's rich!" Lindsay countered. "He only ever gets out when--"
"KIDS!" Karen shouted. She rubbed the bridge of her nose. It was way
too early for a headache. "Cody," she said, "put Steve back in his cage
right now. And if he ever gets out unsupervised again, you're grounded
for three days."
"But it's not my fault!" Cody lied.
"You mean you're not grounding him NOW?" Lindsay objected.
Karen held up a hand. "You," she said, pointing to Cody, "cage it.
Now." She turned to Lindsay. "And you need to get ready."
Both teens grumpily stomped back down the hall while Karen rubbed her
aching temples. The balance was restored. Everyone was unhappy.
Lindsay took an extra-long time in the bathroom, sticking her tongue
out at her brother when she finally emerged, fully dressed and ready.
"C'mon, let's go!" their mom called.
Cody stuck his head under the tap in the tub and doused his hair and
then pulled up his dirty T-shirt to swipe on some deodorant. He didn't
have time to brush his teeth so he grabbed a mint from a candy bowl on
the way out and crunched it.
"You are so disgusting," Lindsay told him.
He just smiled and stuck out his tongue, displaying the half-eaten
mint.
"Eww," she said, marching out the door ahead of him.
Their mom looked to Lindsay. "Have a good day, honey," she said,
leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek.
Lindsay retreated from the kiss. "Mom, my makeup!" she objected.
Karen resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Looking to Cody, she said,
"Just...try not to set anything on fire, okay?"
"I always TRY," Cody said, accepting her kiss on his forehead.
"Ugh," Karen said, brushing back his dripping-wet hair. "And later,
I'll tell you about this exciting new invention. It's called soap."
Cody grabbed his bike while Lindsay got into her used car. They even
went to the same high school--Cody a sophomore and Lindsay a senior--
but despite Karen's exhortations, the two wouldn't even see fit to
share a ride in Lindsay's car. Lindsay didn't want to be seen
chauffeuring her brother, and Cody insisted on riding his bike to avoid
the "girly stench of cheap perfume" in the car. However, Karen had to
admit it was probably just as well. When Lindsay had been working on
her driver's permit, Cody had taken great delight in her nervousness,
suddenly screaming "OH, MY GOD! TRUCK!!!" whenever it amused him.
"Where's your helmet?" Karen asked as Cody mounted his bike.
"I forget," Cody said. He'd misplaced it ages ago, but he hated wearing
it anyway. It always messed up his hair.
Karen made a face but let the matter drop, waving goodbye. "I'll see
you tonight!" she called, not knowing that she'd be seeing Cody a lot
sooner than that at the hospital.
Cody never even saw the car coming.
Some time later, Cody slowly awoke, confused and disoriented. He felt
terrible and his head was throbbing. As he opened his eyes he realized
he was in a hospital room. There was a female doctor there, holding a
chart and checking his IV drip.
"What...happened...?" Cody said, his mouth dry.
"You were in an accident," the doctor said gently. "You're in the
hospital, but you're going to be all right."
He knew she was telling the truth. He WAS going to be all right.
Everything she said made so much sense, he trusted her implicitly. It
was eerie.
She shined a light in his eyes. "How do you feel?"
"I have a headache," he said.
She nodded. "You took quite a spill. Your mother says you went riding
without a helmet. You should listen to her."
Cody nodded slowly. "Yeah, I will." That seemed very, very important to
him.
"How are you feeling otherwise? Any nausea? Blurred vision?"
He shook his head.
"Okay, you get some rest now. You need your sleep."
Cody had more questions, but they didn't seem very important all of a
sudden. He closed his eyes.
"You should mind your mother," the doctor said as he started to drift
off. "Both she and Lindsay will be very pleased to know you're okay."
Cody drifted off into sleep, not registering all of the doctor's words,
but knowing beyond doubt that they were very, very important. "Mind my
mother...she'll...say...please..." he murmured as sleep took him. The
doctor's words settled deep into his subconscious.
When Cody awoke again, Lindsay was there, sitting in a chair. She
looked haggard, like she hadn't slept in a while.
"Lindsay...?" Cody said, his mouth dry. "What...?"
Lindsay looked up at him suddenly, jumping up to his side. She looked
really concerned and relieved. Cody had never seen her look at him like
that before. It creeped him out a little.
"You were hit by a car," she told him. "Hit and run. You were out for
days." She looked at him critically. "How do you feel?"
Cody thought about it. "Like you look," he decided.
"Yeah, you're fine," she shot back. "The doctors were worried you might
have brain damage, but I knew the odds of hitting that small a target
were like a zillion to one."
"Brain damage?" Cody asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I guess there was a lot of swelling on your brain and they
couldn't operate for some reason or other. But they used some new drug,
and, well, here you are," she said. "I just hope you can live with the
side effects."
"What side effects?"
Lindsay leaned in close. "I'm not supposed to tell you since they
thought you might freak out, but..." She bit her lip. "They said you
might grow a big pair of boobs."
"WHAT?!?" he cried. His hands darted to his flat chest. He looked in
despair to Lindsay, who had a little twinkle in her eye.
"That wasn't funny," he told her, lowering his hands.
"That was for that spider prank, you little turd," she said. "Though
for all the shit you've put me through, it'd serve you right if you did
grow a pair."
Just then, their mother and the doctor from before entered. His mom ran
over and kissed him in relief. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"I'm okay. Just a little headache. How much longer am I going to be
here?"
"Let's just take it slow for now," the doctor said. "You were very
lucky."
"So the medication worked?" his mother asked the doctor.
"It looks that way," she said, checking his monitors. "We'll keep an
eye on him for a few days to make sure there are no side effects."
"What sort of side effects?" Cody asked. Lindsay grinned when he
touched his chest nervously.
The doctor smiled. "It's nothing to worry about. High blood pressure is
the most common, but we'll watch that. And you don't seem overly
suggestible."
Lindsay perked up at the word. "You mean like he might do things you
tell him to? Like hypnosis?"
The doctor smiled. "It's very unusual, but sometimes patients can
exhibit short-term suggestibility."
Lindsay's face lit up and she looked Cody right in the face. "Oh! Say,
'I'm a big fat stupid moron!'"
Cody just stared at her. "Boy, you got that right."
"Rats." Lindsay grumped.
"Enough, you two," his mom said, holding his hand. "I swear, you gave
me such a fright! It was foolish, riding without a helmet like that. I
never should have let you. I never want you to ride without a helmet
again."
"Yeah, all right," Cody said in a patronizing tone.
"Cody, I'm serious," she said. "Never ride without a helmet again,
*PLEASE*."
Cody was all set to blow her off again, but when his mother said the
word "please," suddenly it seemed very, very important, especially
coming from her. "I won't, Mom," he said earnestly. "I really won't.
Not ever. I promise."
"Okay, he needs to get some rest," the doctor said. "You can visit him
later."
"It's okay, I'm not tired," Cody said.
"Please," the doctor said. "You need to get some rest."
"Whatever," Cody said, reaching for the television remote.
His mother looked at him gently. "*PLEASE*, Cody, just try and get some
sleep. We'll see you later, okay?"
"Okay, Mom," Cody yawned, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.
* * * * *
Weeks later, Karen could hardly believe how much Cody had changed. He
was like a whole new person.
Cody had always been so willful and prone to misbehavior, always taking
up a contrary position, always arguing. Everything was a battle. He was
a lot like his father, Karen thought.
And he hadn't even gotten home from the hospital when he started in
again. They were driving home and he started pestering her for a new
bike, needling her insistently in that way he had.
Exasperated, she just said, "Cody, *PLEASE*! I don't want you riding a
bike for a couple weeks. Just take it slow for a little bit like the
doctor said, okay?"
"Okay, Mom," he agreed. And then he dropped it. Just like that.
Over the next few weeks, it was just the little things. "Cody, would
you *PLEASE* take out the trash?" Or, "Honey, I've asked you before,
*PLEASE* keep your room tidy." He'd even started taking more pride in
his appearance after she said, "Cody, *PLEASE*, don't just wear the
same dirty clothes day after day." That caused him to generate more
laundry, but he even pitched in there without a fuss after she asked
him to help nicely.
She didn't know what had gotten into him, but she liked it.
Mostly.
In other ways, he remained the same stubborn and mischievous teen, just
like before. And he and Lindsay still fought like cats and dogs. After
one particularly acrimonious fight where Lindsay accused him of getting
on her computer and sending out embarrassing messages to her friends,
Karen said, "Cody, you've been so well-behaved lately...why can't you
get along with your sister?"
He just shrugged dismissively.
Lindsay, on the other hand, was convinced that this "new Cody" thing
was all a big sham to get into their mother's good graces. In private
she teased him for being a "mama's boy," but secretly she was getting
nervous that it might be working. As much as Lindsay hated her little
brother's rotten behavior, it was convenient sometimes for keeping
their mother's attention away from her own minor misdeeds.
One evening, their mother called them both into the kitchen and sat
them down.
"Guys, I have some bad news," Karen told them. "Your aunt Patty is in
the hospital. She broke her leg, and I told her I'd go and help out for
a few days while they get settled into the new routine."
"Do we have to come, too?" Lindsay moaned.
Karen paused for a moment. "I've been thinking it over, and I think
you're old enough to be on your own for a few days."
Lindsay and Cody's eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning.
"Settle down, you two," she admonished them. "I've already talked to
the neighbors, and they'll check in on you. And we'll talk every day.
There's food in the fridge, but I'll leave some money if you want pizza
or something." She paused. "You can each have no more than ONE friend
over at a time. No overnight guests." She looked at Lindsay. "And so
help me, if I hear you had a party, you'll be grounded until you're a
grandmother," she warned. "And no boys."
"MOM!" Lindsay whined.
Unmoved, she turned her attention to Cody. "And Lindsay is in charge."
"WHAT?!?" he cried in disbelief. Lindsay was grinning like the Cheshire
Cat.
"I'm serious! No funny business. Okay, you two, I need to get packing."
Lindsay practically skipped down the hall, running off to tell her
friends the good news. Cody stayed behind, looking pleadingly at his
mother.
"Mom..."
She sighed heavily. "I know, I know. But someone has to be in charge.
And your sister is older...and more mature."
Cody sniffed indignantly.
"Yeah, well, you haven't been setting a real high bar there yourself,
mister," she told him. Then, more gently, she put her hand on his
shoulder and said, "Cody, I know you've been working to be on your best
behavior lately. I've noticed! And I appreciate it. But *PLEASE*, for
me, while I'm gone, I want you to obey your sister just as you would
me. Okay?"
"Okay, Mom," he said agreeably. But for some reason he got a shudder
and he wasn't sure why.
And he dropped it. Just like that. She gave him a kiss on his forehead.
This new Cody was a dream come true.
* * * * *
The next day after they got home from school, the house was all theirs.
Rather than retreating into her bedroom to call her friends, Lindsay
was spread out on the living room couch with her feet up and talking to
her best friend, Jordan.
"Oh, my God, this SUCKS!" she complained. "I can't believe I've got the
run of the place, and everybody is either sick or out of town. Katie,
Anna, Rachel..."
Cody was in the adjoining family room playing a video game that his
mother didn't approve of on the big screen TV. He had the bass turned
way up, but he could still overhear Lindsay's conversation. "Mom said
you weren't supposed to have a bunch of friends over!"
"Shut up, you rodent!" she shot back, returning to her call. "I KNOW!
And Jason's up at the cabin with his folks..."
"Mom said no boys!"
"Oh, *PLEASE*! I don't need YOU of all people reminding me of Mom's
rules!"
"Okay."
Lindsay was slightly thrown by his earnest-sounding response. She'd
already picked out a snarky comeback, anticipating his sass. She
shrugged and got back to her call. "Well, why don't you come on over,
at least," she told Jordan. "Maybe we can figure something fun to do
before my mom gets back. I was thinking--"
From the next room, the sounds from Cody's video game rattled the
windows. There was a hail of gunfire, a pair of explosions, followed by
a gravel-throated Sergeant barking orders.
Lindsay put her phone down again. "Will you *PLEASE* turn off that
noise?" she yelled.
Immediately, the raucous din stopped entirely. Lindsay steeled herself
for a confrontation, knowing that Cody had likely paused the game to
have it out with her face-to-face. But when he didn't enter the room
she leaned over and saw that he was still playing his game, but with
the sound muted.
"Huh." She shook her head. "Whatever. Oh, sorry, not you, Jordan. Yeah,
just come on over when you can. Actually, if you want, you can even
spend the night. I can give you a lift to school tomorrow. 'Kay,
later."
She hung up the phone, waiting for the inevitable comment from Cody
about their mother's admonition regarding overnight guests. But it
never came. Apparently being in charge carried more weight than she
realized.
As she walked through the family room, Cody paused his game. "I'm
hungry."
"Food's in the fridge, vermin," Lindsay said, continuing into the
kitchen.
He followed her in. "I don't know how to work the oven," he whined.
Lindsay rolled her eyes and fetched a casserole dish from the fridge
and tossed it unceremoniously in the oven. She spun the temperature
dial and gave him an exaggerated "was that so hard" look. He returned
to his video game.
The two returned to the kitchen some time later, summoned by the
piercing wail of the smoke alarm. After much shouting, blame-casting,
and recriminations, they restored some semblance of order to the
kitchen as Lindsay put the charred remains of the casserole on the
counter.
"Wow, char-grilled puke," Cody said appraisingly. "Mom's recipe?"
"Shut up."
"So you want to order a pizza, or did you want another shot at burning
the house down?"
Lindsay closed her eyes, suddenly aware of why her mom was always
complaining of a headache. "You know what?" she told him, "THIS is
dinner. Bon appetit." She shoved the burned mess in front of him.
"You're kidding."
"Oh, no! *PLEASE*, help yourself! Eat and enjoy!" she said
sarcastically.
"Okay."
She watched as he pulled a fork out of the drawer and started to dig
into the disgusting charred mess. "Wow, this is actually pretty good!"
he told her.
"That's not funny," she said, frowning as he fervently dug into the
revolting dreck. Eventually she grabbed the dish and pulled it away,
saying, "Okay, joke's over...I'm going to dump this in the disposal.
Maybe we can at least save the dish."
"Mmm!" Cody objected, reaching for the dish with his mouth still full.
"Seriously, this is really good, you should try some!"
Lindsay was getting sick to her stomach watching this. "Just give me
the dish."
"No!"
"Enough already, just give me the dish!"
"C'mon, just one more bite!"
"Cody, would you *PLEASE* just put it in the trash!" Geez, she thought
to herself, she was starting to sound like Mom.
"Okay." Cody walked over to the trash can, scraped the contents into
the trash, licked the fork, and put the dish in the sink before heading
back to play his video game.
Lindsay stood there in shock. What the HELL was that?
She peered at him, calmly playing his video game like nothing had
happened. It was almost like he was hypnotized, or...
"Suggestible," she whispered.
But what triggered it? She'd yelled at him other times and he'd been
his usual snarky, sassy self. She looked at his video game that he'd
muted at her request. "Hey, why'd you turn the sound off?" she asked.
"Didn't you want it off?"
He'd never cared what she wanted BEFORE. Something was definitely up.
When he dumped the casserole, she thought that she sounded like her
mom. Maybe that had something to do with it? It was worth a try.
"Cody, take out the trash!" she commanded.
"YOU take it out," he shot back.
"Mom would want you to."
He didn't even look from his video game. "Yeah, well, Mom's not here,
is she?"
"C'mon!"
"Leave me alone!"
"C'mon, *PLEASE*?" she said.
"All right," he said agreeably, putting down the game controller and
taking the garbage bag out to the trash bins.
Lindsay watched in amazement. Could it really be that easy?
When he came back in, she said, "Stand on one leg."
He looked at her strangely. "Why would--"
"*PLEASE* stand on one leg."
He did.
"No WAY," she whispered in delight. "*PLEASE*...cluck like a chicken!"
she said.
He made a little face and said, "Bawk bawk bawk bawk..."
Lindsay clapped her hands in glee. "No freaking WAY!"
Cody looked worried, not sure what was going on or why he was helpless
to stop her. "BAWK BUH-CAW!" he clucked anxiously.
Lindsay was grinning ear to ear. "Okay, you can put your foot down and
stop now," she told him.
He remained perched on one leg, obviously distraught but unable to
stop. "Bawk? BAWK!" he cried.
"Oh. I guess it's like 'Simon Says,'" she observed, oblivious to his
growing panic. "Cody, *PLEASE* put your foot down and stop clucking."
Cody lowered his foot and stared at his sister in sheer terror. "What
did you just do to me?" he asked.
* * * * *
Thirty minutes later, Lindsay's friend Jordan had arrived. The two
girls were standing in the kitchen with Cody.
"Bawk bawk bawk bawk," Cody clucked.
"See?" Lindsay said brightly.
"Yeah, that's really...awesome," Jordan said.
"No, you don't get it. Here. Cody, *PLEASE* stop clucking,
annnnd...drop your pants!"
Without hesitation, Cody unbuckled his belt and pulled down his jeans.
He wanted to run out of there or cuss out his sister, but she'd earlier
ordered him to be quiet and stand there. He felt like a new plaything
that Lindsay was showing off for her friend.
"Can anybody do it?" Jordan asked. She looked at him and said, "Please
pull down your underwear."
Nothing.
"Huh, I guess only I can do it. And I think my Mom, too."
Jordan looked at her friend nervously. "Are you like a witch or
something? Can you control other people?"
"No, I think it's because of that knock on the head that he got."
Jordan broke into a suspicious little half-smile. "This is bullshit,"
she said. "You guys are just messing with me."
"No, I'm not!"
Jordan narrowed her eyes. "Okay, then, prove it." She got a funny look
on her face and whispered something in Lindsay's ear.
"Eww!" Lindsay laughed. "I'm not gonna do that, that's gross."
"So you're saying you CAN'T do it? Or you don't want to because he
doesn't deserve it?"
Cody watched the two of them anxiously. He didn't like the look on his
sister's face.
"All right, fine," Lindsay told her. Turning to Cody she said,
"Cody...*PLEASE* wet your pants."
Cody felt the warm liquid soak his crotch and run down his leg. His
face burned in shame and he tried to cover up the prominent wet spot
even as the urine puddled on the kitchen floor at his feet.
"EWWWW!" Jordan laughed. "I can't believe he did it!" Turning wide-eyed
to Lindsay she breathlessly asked, "What else can you make him do?"
After Lindsay made him clean up his mess and change into some new
underwear--but no pants, they thought it was funnier that way--the
girls then entertained themselves by making him imitate various
animals, and having him run around on all fours barking like a dog and
oinking like a pig. Lindsay then put some dog food in a bowl and asked
Cody to "*PLEASE* enjoy your new favorite food!" and the girls laughed
as he stuck his face in the bowl and messily went to town on the dog
chow. Jordan suggested that they tie him naked to a tree outside or
make him poop in the cat's litter box, but Lindsay thought that was too
weird.
Later, as the girls debated what else to do with their new plaything,
Lindsay decided that she wanted him to be her butler, ordering him to
fetch drinks, make snacks, change the TV channel and other menial
tasks. Lindsay didn't bother to say "please" for anything because she
knew he would obey out of fear of what she might do to him, and she
liked the idea of him being on the receiving end for once.
As he put a bowl of popcorn out for them, Jordan looked at his crotch
and said, "It's creepy seeing his thing in his underwear like that. Can
you make it go away?" she asked, munching on a potato chip.
Cody's eyes grew wide. "Umm," he fretted.
"I don't think it works like that," Lindsay replied, taking a drink of
soda. "Hey, slave! Why don't you go put on one of Mom's aprons. We
don't want to have to see your little twig."
Cody hurried into the kitchen and returned wearing a flowered apron.
"Ha ha, that's great!" Jordan said. "From the front, it looks like he's
wearing a skirt." She fished out her phone and took a picture.
"Yeah, it does," Lindsay agreed. "How, 'bout it, slave? You look so
domestic like that, you think maybe we need to find you a husband?"
Cody shifted nervously. "C'mon, Lindsay, you've had your fun, let me
go, will you?"
His sister smiled. "Oh, THAT'S right. You don't like looking like a
girl. You're the gullible little twerp who got all nervous when you
thought you were going to grow a big set of boobs in the hospital."
Jordan sat up, excited. "You should totally do that!" she said. "Make
him grow tits!"
Cody looked alarmed. "Now, w-wait--!"
Lindsay shrugged. "Eh, I guess it's worth a shot. Cody, *PLEASE* grow a
big pair of breasts!"
The room fell silent as all three of them stared at his flat chest
expectantly. Cody thought he felt a little twinge in his nipples, but
his heart was beating so hard it was difficult to be sure. But nothing
happened.
"Shit, that would have been awesome," Jordan said, eating another
potato chip.
Lindsay studied his chest for a few moments longer. "Maybe he has to
grow them naturally, like a girl does?"
"I guess," Jordan said. Giving Cody a leer she said, "Just think, maybe
you'll have something fun to show off when bikini season rolls around!"
"Come on, Lindsay!" Cody objected. "I don't deserve all this!"
"Oh, REALLY." She gave him a knowing look as an idea popped in her
head. "Well, let's find out then, shall we? Cody, *PLEASE* always tell
me the truth."
Cody gulped.
"Now, then. Who hacked my Facebook account and posted all of those
embarrassing things under my name?"
"That was me," Cody admitted.
"And who let your spider out to scare the life out of me?"
"Me, again."
"All those times?"
"Yeah, he can't get out of his cage unless I let him."
Lindsay shook her head. "Fucking little..." she muttered. "Oh! What
about that time my car had a flat tire and made me late for finals?"
"I did that," Cody said. "But Kyle helped."
Jordan looked appalled hearing that her little brother--Cody's best
friend--was implicated. "Why, that little shit!" she exclaimed. "Hey,
what about that time my bikini clasp broke at the pool party?" she
jumped in. "Was that really an accident?"
Cody didn't answer.
"Well, how about it?" Lindsay demanded.
"Kyle did that," Cody told them. Then added, "But it was my idea."
Lindsay jumped out of her chair. "You SEE?" she said to Jordan. "You
see what I've got to live with? The crap he gets away with? I swear,
every single time I..." Her voice trailed off as something occurred to
her.
Cody licked his lips nervously as his sister turned slowly to face him.
She moved in close. "Two years ago," she began, looking him in the face
and holding up a finger accusingly. "Two years ago, after I got into an
argument with Becky Caldwell, someone vandalized her car, and everyone
thought it was me."
"I didn't mean for it to go that far..." he said weakly.
"OH, MY GOD!" Lindsay exclaimed. "I KNEW that was you! I just knew it!"
she yelled. "I got kicked off the cheerleading team for that, you
little delinquent!"
"Jesus," Jordan whispered in disbelief.
"That is the single worst thing you've ever done to me, you know that?"
she said accusingly.
Cody looked down and cleared his throat.
Lindsay turned slowly to face him. "What."
He made a pained face. "It was that time after you broke my game
console..." he started.
"Which was an accident!"
"YOU say!"
Lindsay held up a hand. "What. Did. You. Do?"
Cody cleared his throat again nervously. "I...was the one that started
the rumor around school that you had herpes." Then, he winced and
added, "I'm sorry?"
Lindsay was speechless, and Jordan's mouth was wide open.
"Oh," Lindsay finally said. "Oh, you are so dead."
"What are you going to do?" Jordan asked. "Make him confess?"
"Confess?" Lindsay echoed. "Why, so my mom can do...what? GROUND him?
Take away his video game privileges for a month?" She shook her head
and scowled at Cody. He'd never seen her like this. "Oh, no. No, no,
no, little brother. I can do WAY better than ground you. Now...you come
with me."
* * * * *
Shortly, the girls stood by as Cody typed away on his computer with a
pained expression on his face. With Lindsay's oversight, he was
systematically redesigning his Facebook identity. "You did such a good
job with mine, I know how excited you must be to redo your own,"
Lindsay teased. "Now, I'm going to give you a choice. You can either do
it yourself right now, or I'll turn you into the faggiest little queer
that ever minced, and THEN I'll make you do it...and also leave you
that way for school tomorrow. Up to you."
Cody logged into his account and started typing.
Now, his profile listed him as "gender fluid," single, and interested
in guys. He dropped all of his interests in sports, TV shows, movies,
and video games, and replaced them with local gay social groups, pro-
LGBT alliances, and a bunch of queer and/or super-girly entertainment
and media sites. Lindsay smiled as he posted a short but very heartfelt
"coming out" message to all his friends and family, thanking them for
their support and understanding as he took this super-exciting step
into his new life. Lindsay then prodded him to identify the "cutest"
guys in his class, and post public messages to see if they'd be
interested in a date. "Don't play hard to get," she warned. So he
filled up his classmates' profiles with messages like, "I'm so gay for
you, Josh!" or, "Kurt, if you go steady with me, I'll TOTALLY go down
on you! *wink*"
Even as he was typing, his list of notifications and messages lit up
like a Christmas tree, with people laughing, sending him angry messages
that NO they were not interested, sending homophobic rants, and the
like. He even got a few messages of support, including one from a girl
that he liked and had been wanting to ask out. "Maybe you can find a
couple cute guys and double date with her," Jordan teased.
Lindsay looked over his new profile with the big rainbow flag graphic
at the top. "It's not bad," she said to Jordan, "but it just...lacks
something, y'know?"
Jordan nodded. "A personal touch," she agreed. "Something
like...pictures!"
An hour later the girls were walking out the back door into the yard
while Lindsay yelled over her shoulder, "C'mon, it'll be getting dark
soon, I don't want to lose the light!"
Just inside the door, Cody was shivering in fear, wearing his sister's
old cheerleading uniform. "At least SOMEONE should get some use out of
it," she'd said with a taunt. "And since you obviously enjoyed
pretending to be me on Facebook, just think--now you get to pretend to
be a teenage girl in real life!"
When he'd balked at shaving his chest, arms, and legs, Lindsay pouted
and held up a pink razor and said, "*PLEASE*, Cody, won't you shave off
all that ugly boyish hair?" And soon, he was stepping out of the shower
and the girls were complimenting him on his sexy silky-smooth legs as
he patted them dry.
His sister "lovingly" gifted him with one of her lacy white bra and
panty sets. As she helped him on with his brassiere and stuffed the
cups with pantyhose, she laughingly told him how thrilling it was to
finally have a little sister that she could share clothes with.
After the girls helped him on with the uniform's top and miniskirt,
they started in on his makeup. Since this was to be his "big debut"
they promised that it would be bold and dramatic. Cody felt nauseous at
the thought.
While Jordan put the finishing touches on his eye makeup, Lindsay went
digging around in their mother's closet and came up with a long
chestnut brown wig.
"That kind of looks like your mom's hair," Jordan observed as Lindsay
held up the wig and brushed it out.
"Mom had to wear it after Lindsay tried to color her hair for her,"
Cody offered.
"That's right," Lindsay said through a forced smile. "And now YOU get
to wear it! Don't worry, I'm sure Mom will let you borrow it all the
time once she sees how cute you look in it," she taunted as she put the
wig on his head. After a few more minutes of fussing with his makeup
and tying a couple colorful ribbons in his hair that matched the team
colors, they spun him around to see the full effect in the mirror.
"I look so...skanky," Cody said, staring at his heavily made-up
reflection. The girls busted out laughing.
"Well, then, I guess we know the sort of boys you're trying to attract,
don't we?" Jordan laughed.
Lindsay handed him a couple of big puffy oversize pom-poms and pulled
him up out of his seat. "Okay, you can gawk at your pretty face later.
Your adoring public awaits!"
Now, standing at the threshold to the back door, Cody stood trembling
as Lindsay beckoned him. The backyard area was wide and open with a
couple of trees and a small garden, but there were no fences and the
family shared the space with several other homes that backed off onto
the area. It was a nice evening and a few doors down Cody could see one
of their neighbors out barbecuing. It was still light for a little
while yet, and with his flashy cheerleader uniform, it was a good bet
he'd be noticed.
Cody froze, shaking his head emphatically and causing his long brown
hair to dance around his face prettily.
Lindsay put her hands on her hips. "Cody, *PLEASE* come out here so we
can take some pictures!"
Against his will, he found himself walking out into the middle of the
yard where they were standing. He looked around nervously, wondering if
anyone had overheard his sister call him by his male name. He saw two
little girls a couple doors down stop playing and look up at him when
they saw him come flitting out in his cheerleader's uniform with the
big pom-poms. His face burned in shame as the late afternoon breeze
caressed his bare legs and blew his long hair around.
At first the girls had him do some still poses, holding his pom-poms,
posing with one hip outthrust, or taking a few smiling glamour type
shots either standing or kneeling down by the colorful flowers in the
garden. When his first few poses were nervous and surly, Lindsay
admonished him, "Cheerleaders are cheerful, hot legs. So why don't you
*PLEASE* try to act like the enthusiastic little cheer girl you're all
dressed up as?" After that, the girls laughed in delight at Cody's
bright smiles and more exuberant manner.
After a while, knowing they only had a little more usable daylight
left, the girls decided they wanted to get some "action shots" of Cody
doing some cheers.
"Gosh, Lindsay," Cody said, obviously nervous but still stuck with his
upbeat cheerleader's disposition. "That sounds super tough! I don't
even know if I know any real cheers."
"Oh, that's so cute," Lindsay said. "Well, *PLEASE* just do your best
to remember what you can, and just show a lot of energy and enthusiasm,
okay?"
"Okay!" he smiled, putting his pom-poms on his hips.
Cody's best wasn't very good, but it was still enough to send the girls
into fits of laughter. He remembered a couple cheers, but didn't really
know all the moves or the steps to go with them, so he'd just yell, "T-
I-T! A-N-S! GOOOOO TITANS!" and jump up and down waving his pom-poms
energetically with a huge smile on his face.
By the time he was dancing and singing, "We got spirit, yes we do! We
got spirit, how 'bout YOU?" Lindsay wiped a tear from her eye and had
to intervene. "God, this is painful," she laughed. "Okay, now listen,"
she told him. "*PLEASE* pay close attention to what I do, 'cause I want
you to do it the same way."
"Sure thing, Lindsay!" he bubbled.
Over the next few minutes, Lindsay taught him a few simple cheers, with
Jordan taking lots of pictures of the two McKenna "sisters," with
Lindsay apparently teaching her attentive and grinning little brother
how to be a cheerleader. His performance lacked polish, but the girls
laughed and applauded as he finished his sexy hip-swinging dance
routine.
"Well, what have we here?" a man's voice came. It was their gray-haired
neighbor, Mr. Bryant.
Cody froze in a panic. If Mr. Bryant recognized him and told their
mother what he'd been doing, he was done for. His best bet was to just
try and act like one of the girls. For once, he didn't mind the sunny
disposition that forced him to maintain a friendly girlish smile on his
face.
"Your mom told me she was going to be out of town for a couple days.
You kids staying out of trouble?" he asked.
"Oh, sure," Lindsay said. "We're just fooling around and taking some
pictures."
"That's just fine!" he agreed heartily. "It's a nice night for it, and
you three girls are just about the prettiest little flowers I ever
saw," he said, looking straight at Cody. "Say, where's your brother at?
He feeling better after that accident he was in?"
"Ask him yourself," Lindsay shrugged. "That's him right there," she
said, pointing at Cody.
Mr. Bryant looked at Cody, puzzled.
"Um, hi!" Cody said with a bright smile, feeling mortified in his cute
little outfit as their neighbor stared at him incredulously.
"Now, don't be shy," Lindsay said, pulling Cody in closer where the
older man could get a better look at the glamorous teen queen, whose
cheeks were now burning beet red with embarrassment. "Oh, I guess
you're wondering what's going on," she told Mr. Bryant innocently.
"*PLEASE*, little brother, why don't you explain what we're doing?"
A winning smile was still plastered on Cody's face, but he shot his
sister as dirty a look as he was able to muster. Then, turning to the
shocked older man, he cheerfully said, "Well! Me and the girls were
talking about my sister's old cheerleading days, so she dug up her old
uniform!" He tugged at the hem of his miniskirt with his thumb and
finger and then dropped into a bouncy little half-curtsey. "The girls
thought it would be super-fun if I tried it on, so they helped me get
all dolled up, and then we thought we'd come out here where they could
teach me some cheers and take some pictures!" He broke into a winsome
smile, thrust out a hip, and gave his pom-poms a playful little rustle.
He wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
The old man nodded slowly. "Soooo...is this like a costume, or for a
play, or something?"
"Nope!" Cody chirped, FAR more cheerfully than he would have wanted.
Obviously curious but not wanting to follow this line of questioning
any further, the old man just nodded and said, "Well, then. You
girls...er, young ladies..." He paused, looking at the smiling Cody.
"...you have a good night," he said, heading back indoors.
Still stuck in his cheerleader persona, Cody looked to Lindsay. "Well,
golly, that wasn't very nice, telling him I was really a boy," he
simpered with a coy little smile.
Lindsay spun on him. "Oh, I'm sorry, was that the tiniest bit
embarrassing for you?" she taunted. "Tell me, did it feel anything like
I felt when I got dumped two weeks before junior prom in front of
EVERYONE and then having every guy in school treat me like I was some
kind of plague rat because YOU felt like spreading rumors about me?"
She fixed him with a glare. "Make no mistake, little 'brother,'" she
said, poking him in his fake bosom. "If I wanted to, I could make you
eat your own shit, strip naked, and then jerk off on every front porch
in the neighborhood. So, my advice? If you're feeling a little
embarrassed, I suggest that you pull up your big girl panties and deal
with it. A few days of embarrassment is more than adequate recompense
for what you've done to me over the years. Now get your ass inside,
'cause we've got a LOT more pictures to take."
* * * * *
A few hours later, Cody was exhausted and the girls had all the
photographic blackmail evidence they'd ever need on him, even though
that was hardly necessary since he was forced to obey his sister's
every passing whim. No longer in a hurry to get him dressed to go
outside during the daylight, Lindsay and Jordan took their time getting
his poses "just right" and having him try on several more of her more
girlish and frou-frou outfits.
"This is the dress I was going to wear to junior prom," Lindsay told
him as he slipped on the silky violet halter-neck gown. "Don't you just
love how it feels? It seems a shame for it to just go to waste, so
maybe I'll make you wear this to your next formal. I'm sure we can find
you a date by then. Don't worry, I'll make sure you get LOTS of
practice in your high heels!"
They also took several pictures of him "getting ready" by himself,
brushing out his long hair with a smile, putting on makeup while
sitting at the vanity, or painting his nails while he laughed and read
fashion magazines.
Once they were finished, the girls copied the photos to the computer
and sat him down so they could figure out which ones he should upload
to his new Facebook profile. "Ooh, it's so hard to choose!" Lindsay
said. "I love the cheerleader pics, but the prom dress really brings
out your eyes, don't you think?"
"How about this one for his main profile picture?" Jordan suggested,
pointing at the one of Cody with his lips pressed into a provocative
pout as he dabbed on a fresh coat of lipstick.
Despite Cody's pleading, Lindsay made him upload several of their
favorite shots, but set the privacy settings so that they weren't made
public. Yet.
"Just think," she teased, her finger hovering over the mouse button,
"one little click...one little twitch of my finger...and everybody gets
to see the new you."
Just then, the phone rang.
Lindsay checked the caller ID and picked up. "Hi, Mom! How are things
with Aunt Patty? Oh, sorry to hear that. Yep, no problems here, we had
the casserole, it's been pretty quiet." She looked directly at Cody.
"Oh, yeah, no problems at all, actually. He's been an absolute DOLL.
Just MODEL behavior," she said with a smirk.
She put her hand over the receiver. "She wants to talk to you. Feel
free to tell her how much fun you've been having dressing like a girl,"
she grinned. "Oh, but *PLEASE* don't tell Mom about what the word
'please' does to you, or try to trick her into releasing you from its
effects."
Cody took the phone, trying to hide his frustration. "Hi, Mom," he
said, brushing his hair back from his ear and feeling his earring click
against the earpiece. "Mmm hmm. Yeah, the casserole was really good!
Oh, we're just playing a game. Okay, I will. I love you, too." He hung
up the phone.
"What did she say?"
"She said I should finish my homework."
Lindsay smiled. "That's a really, really great idea."
"What about the pictures he uploaded?" Jordan asked expectantly.
Lindsay looked at the computer and then looked at Cody, who was
practically trembling in fear. He knew that for all the other stuff he
posted earlier that evening, he could claim that somebody had hacked
his account to embarrass him. But once those pictures went live, his
life would be ruined.
"Okay," Lindsay said finally. "You don't have to post all those
pictures."
"Aww, boo!" Jordan objected.
Cody sighed in relief. "Oh, thank you. Tha--"
Lindsay held up her hand. "But you have to post ONE. You can caption it
how you like, but you choose which one you post."
Cody's heart sank. He scanned over the pictures. They were all
horrible. He started to rule them out. Not the ones putting on makeup.
Not the ones where he's smiling gaily in his cheerleading uniform.
Maybe...? The mouse hovered over one of the pictures. He looked to
Lindsay, but she just shrugged.
He clicked the mouse, publishing the picture to the world.
Jordan looked over his shoulder. "Oh, come ON!" she complained. "You
can hardly tell it's him!"
The picture was one of his photos wearing Lindsay's prom dress. It was
a longer shot from far away that was full-length and showed off his
legs and heels. He was smiling broadly, but was slightly turned away
from the camera so his wig was covering part of his face. If you knew
you were looking at Cody, you could absolutely tell it was him. But if
you didn't know, he might get away with it. Maybe.
Cody added the caption, "Thanks to my good friend--" he paused, trying
to think of a girl's name, "--Erica for giving me the courage to come
out to the world!" He figured he could play it off as a picture of some
random girl that his "hacker" uploaded when they hijacked his profile.
"'Erica?'" Lindsay laughed. "Yeah, good luck with that. Now, go to your
room and start on your homework. I'll be there in just a minute to, ah,
help."
Cody glanced down at himself. "Can I take these clothes off, now?"
"Not just yet," Lindsay said. "I've just got one more little assignment
for you."
He nodded sullenly and left the room. Lindsay smirked at the sound of
his high heels clicking on the floor.
"I don't know why you're letting him off so easy," Jordan said.
"Because," Lindsay replied, "that little twerp has made my life hell
for YEARS. If I out him all at once, it's over--damage done. I want to
see him squirm."
Jordan looked at her friend appreciatively. "You're more devious than I
gave you credit for," she said with a smile. She watched as Lindsay
opened up her computer browser to a popular music site. "Now what are
you doing?"
"Oh, just finding one more homework assignment to add our little girl's
course load."
* * * * *
The next day, Cody was exhausted. He was up late the night before
finishing up his "homework," and Lindsay wouldn't let him take off his
girl's clothes until he was done. Since she wasn't very impressed with
his dancing skills as a cheerleader, she made him learn some moves by
watching all of Aurora March's music videos, the popular teen queen pop
artist. "I know she's just a pretty prefab pop princess," Lindsay told
him, "but I think that's about your speed." When Cody balked, she said,
"Oh, *PLEASE*, Cody, you're like the biggest Aurora March fan ever!"
Cody was ashamed to admit it, but as he thought about it, he really did
enjoy all the ditzy and glitzy girl glam stuff Aurora personified. She
was all about "girl power," and since she used to be a cheerleader
herself, several of her songs had a cheer cadence. Cody found himself
enthralled as he watched the video to "Lucky Girl," prancing around in
his high heels and trying to emulate Aurora's moves. "G-I-R-L! I'm a
super-lucky girl!" he sang. It was really humiliating being forced to
dress in his sister's clothes and wiggle his hips and dance and sang to
such girly music, but at least the music was good. Aurora was just SOOO
talented, he thought!
It was well after midnight by the time he learned the moves for his
dance routine, and even then he couldn't resist watching a few episodes
of "Aurora," her self-titled cable sitcom. They were pretty cheesy, but
Aurora was SUCH a good actress that he really enjoyed them.
By the time Cody scrubbed off his makeup and got to bed, it was very
late. But despite how tired he was, he made sure to get up early the
next morning, before Lindsay and Jordan were up. He was worried that
Lindsay might use her command over him to go to school dressed as a
girl or something, so he hurried out before she could do anything to
him.
Cody grabbed his backpack and headed out to the garage. Since his bike
got totaled in the accident, he was forced to take Lindsay's old bike,
a girl-style bicycle with bright pink striping. He couldn't find his
helmet--and thanks to his promise to his mother he had no choice but to
wear one--so he grudgingly settled on Lindsay's old pink and white
helmet.
"Cute bike!" some of the girls teased as he rode up to school. But he
got there early enough that fortunately not too many people saw him. He
found a place to sit to try and finish his actual schoolwork before
class, working on a Writing and Composition assignment.
He had his headphones on and was humming along to Aurora March's
"Glitter Grrrl" when someone roughly grabbed his arm.
The guy was a senior on the wrestling team, and huge. "What was that
about wanting to suck my dick, you fag?" he threatened.
"Kurt!" Cody said in a panic. "Th-that wasn't me! Someone hacked my
Facebook account and posted all that junk, I swear!" He winced in pain
as the older guy squeezed his arm roughly.
"Yeah?" Kurt said, looking to his two wrestling buddies. "Well, you
better fucking clean it up, asswipe. I don't need people thinking I'm
giving a little twerp like you a boner." He shoved Cody back violently
and walked off.
As Cody picked up his headphones he could hear Aurora sing, "Glitter
glam and fashion twirl! Be my man, I'll be your grrrl!"
His second period class was gym, and standing in the locker room
surrounded by guys, Cody was hoping that nobody would notice his shaved
legs. But as he started to pull off his T-shirt, he got another
surprise--he could feel he was wearing his sister's bra under his
shirt! He pulled his shirt down in a panic, hoping nobody had noticed.
As he did, he suddenly remembered something his sister had told him the
night before.
"Hey, 'sis,' I know you're super-excited to wear my clothes, so why
don't you *PLEASE* wear a bra and panties under the clothes you wear to
school tomorrow! But maybe you could buy some of your own? I can't have
you always borrowing mine!" she laughed. "I'll put some 'suggestions'
in your bag. Oh, and *PLEASE* don't be aware of these commands until
you start to take off your clothes in gym tomorrow!"
"Oh, that BITCH," Cody whispered to himself. Seeing the guys getting
dressed around him, he knew he couldn't put it off much longer without
drawing attention. But, wait! He might have a way out. Lindsay had said
he had to wear his girl's undies under the clothes he wore to school--
she didn't say anything about his gym clothes!
Shyly, Cody reached down to pull his T-shirt and bra off together in
one motion. He held his breath as he did so, knowing that if he was
wrong about the commands, he'd be standing in a room full of teenage
guys wearing nothing on top but his sister's lacy brassiere. But as he
did so, he felt both garments come off, the bra still hidden in the
folds of his T-shirt. He breathed a sigh of relief as he dug in his
locker for his gym shirt.
As he did so, he turned his head and made eye contact with Julian
Goddard, one of his classmates. Julian was openly gay and had gotten a
lot of hassling from the other guys. Even Cody had made some
disparaging remarks in front of his friends, showing off. Julian had
learned the hard way to not look like he was checking the other guys
out as they changed, but he did a double-take when glancing at Cody.
Puzzled, Cody looked down and noticed that his brassiere had left
little red marks on his skin. He quickly covered up with his gym shirt
and looked around nervously, but nobody else seemed to have noticed.
But Julian gave him a knowing smile.
After gym, Cody was one of the last ones dressed since he had
difficulty discreetly wiggling back into his bra and panties under his
regular clothes. He was hurrying out the door to his next class when
Julian stopped him, blocking the door. "Hey, hot stuff," he told Cody.
"Saw your profile updates last night...guess you decided to switch
teams, huh?"
"That was just a prank somebody pulled, posting all that stuff about
me," Cody said. "I'm not gay. 'Scuse me," he said, trying to push past
Julian.
There was an audible "snap" as Julian snapped the elastic bra strap
across Cody's back.
Cody turned nervously to face his grinning classmate. "That...that's
just my sister having some fun with me," he said weakly.
"Your sister?" Julian asked. "You sure? Seems to me like you're the one
having 'fun,'...ERICA," he said, using the name that Cody had posted
with his picture on Facebook.
Cody went deathly white. "Please," he begged, "Please don't say
anything."
Julian looked very smug. "So I guess all that fag-bashing shit you said
was just a cover, huh, pussy cakes?"
"I'm really sorry about that," Cody said.
"Kind of sad you backpedaling on coming out...I guess you got cold
feet," Julian remarked. "But you know what? Since it's Spirit Week, why
don't you dress up pretty tomorrow? It's 'Opposite Day'...I bet you can
find something in your closet that's appropriate. Or you can ask your
mom or your sister."
Cody swallowed hard. "Look, this is all a big misunderstanding--"
"...or, I could just post an 'attagirl' message to the world, saying
how sweet you look in your little prom dress."
Cody just looked down and nodded in resignation.
Julian leaned in close and whispered, "Don't worry, cutie, you're gonna
have the time of your life! I know I will." He gave Cody a quick kiss
on the lips, and left.
At lunch, Cody's friends needled him endlessly about his Facebook
profile, though at least they seemed to buy his story about it having
been hacked by someone as a prank. While they were sitting there, his
friend Kyle looked over at a few underclassmen who had dressed up for
the School Spirit Week, with the day's theme being "the 1970s."
He shook his head. "Ugh, they're such dorks," he said. "I can't believe
anybody would be lame enough to do that."
Cody just gave a wan smile and left the lunchroom to head to his
locker. Along the way he spotted his sister talking to some friends.
When she spotted him, she subtly ran her fingers along her bra strap
and gave it a little tug before giving him a wink.
After school, Cody hopped on his girly bike, happy to get away from the
scrutiny of his classmates but dreading the "assignment" his sister had
given him. Reading the note that she had left for him in his bag, he
groaned inwardly.
He arrived shortly at the nearby outdoor mall and held his breath as he
read the directory entries for "Women's Fashions" and "Accessories and
Jewelry." Among other things, Lindsay had instructed him to purchase an
Aurora March inspired outfit for when he debuted his dance routine for
the girls that evening. He went to two places that sold cheap
accessories and costume jewelry, trying to decide if he needed a tiara
in case he was doing her "Rhinestone Glitter Princess" look. A few feet
away, a couple of younger teens laughed as they tried on accessories.
"Oh, my GOD, Bridget," one of them laughed, "just LOOK at this junk!"
She perched an oversize polka-dot hair bow in her head and put on some
hipster-inspired glasses and cocked her head to one side. "Let's go to
the Aurora March concert!" she said, mimicking a little girl.
"That's AWESOME!" her friend laughed. "I can't believe Becky was
wearing something like that last week. She says she doesn't like
Aurora, but I just KNOW she does, she's so lame. Couldn't you just
DIE?"
Cody blushed as they spoke, fighting down the urge to jump to Aurora's
defense. Instead he just waited for them to move on before picking up
the items they'd discarded. After some searching he also found some big
Boho-chic chandelier earrings and a matching necklace to go with some
bracelets he'd found. "Oh, how cute! I'm sure she'll love these," the
cashier told him.
He had no idea what he was going to do about a dress, but as he walked
by one of the storefronts for a teen girl store, he stopped dead in his
tracks. One of the mannequins was dressed just like Aurora in her
"Lucky Girl" video! It was a fuchsia skater dress with a flared skirt,
short sleeves, and a sweetheart neckline. He slipped inside and looked
at the display, seeing that the singer had apparently come out with her
own line of clothes. Cody's face flushed as he started going through
the dresses.
"Can I help you find something?" a saleswoman asked him politely.
Cody started at the question. "Oh! Um, do you have any dresses like
those?" he asked, pointing at the display mannequin.
The saleswoman smiled and took him to a rack of the fuchsia dresses.
"What size is she?" she asked.
Cody's mind went blank. He hadn't thought to look at the labels of the
dresses that Lindsay had dressed him in the night before. "She's about
my size," he said nervously.
She smiled and picked a dress off the rack. "This has a little stretch
to it so I think you'll be okay. Does she need anything else? Some
shoes, maybe?"
In the video, Aurora had worn motorcycle boots, but Cody doubted that
Lindsay would let him get away with that. He swallowed hard. "Do you
maybe have any shoes like what Aurora wore in her 'Rhinestone Glitter
Princess' video?" he asked hesitantly.
The woman gave him a knowing little smirk and showed him over to the
shoes. He found some sparkly sling-back stilettos that looked like what
Aurora sometimes wore, and with a little coaxing from the saleswoman
even tried them on in a quiet corner of the store "just to make sure
they fit 'her.'" He blushed as the woman complimented him on how well
he was doing in the shoes and was so flustered that he didn't object
when she talked him into getting a couple pairs of pantyhose and some
nail polish from the "Aurora" line.
"Hope you enjoy!" she said brightly, handing him his bags which were
boldly emblazoned with the name of the store.
Cody's last stop in the outdoor mall was the one he was dreading the
most. The name of the store was "Femme," and it was a local lingerie
store. His heart was hammering in his chest even as he saw the displays
in the window with the scantily clad mannequins and posters of buxom
brassiere models. He held his breath and went inside.
The cool breeze of the air conditioning hit him as he entered, followed
closely by the sweet smell of perfume. The walls and decorations were
all pink, and a girly pop tune was playing on the speakers. All around
there were several racks of women's clothes and lacy undergarments on
display. Even more than the last store Cody felt wildly out of place,
like he was violating some feminine sanctuary. He looked down shyly at
himself in his T-shirt and jeans, which seemed to scream, "I DO NOT
BELONG HERE." He accidentally brushed his arm against a soft feather
boa on display and practically jumped.
There were a few women shopping inside, and Cody felt like a pervert as
he crossed to the back of the lingerie store, surrounded by the frilly
intimate clothing and knowing why he had been sent. He walked shyly up
to the counter, feeling like every woman in the store was staring at
him. The salesgirl behind the counter made eye contact with him and
smiled. "Ooh, looks like you've been doing some shopping!" she said
cheerfully, noticing his bags. "Can I help you with something?"
Cody felt the sweat begin to form on his forehead, and his mouth went
dry. He looked at the salesgirl stupidly. He noticed that she was only
a couple years older than he was, and quite pretty. "I...uh..."
Sensing his anxiety, she gave him a warm smile. "First time, huh? Don't
worry...nothing here is going to hurt you. Let me guess...shopping for
your girlfriend?"
"Actually..." Cody looked over his shoulder, seeing who was in earshot.
There was a well-dressed woman in her thirties browsing a display of
brassieres nearby, so he leaned in closer to the salesgirl and
whispered, "...I kind of to need to buy some breast forms."
Her smile faded, and was replaced by a different look. Amused,
but...sinister, somehow. "Oh," she said, using the same tone you might
use when you step in gum. Loud enough to be overheard, she continued,
"unfortunately, breast forms aren't really my department."
The woman nearby paused in her examination of the bras to look in their
direction. Cody felt his face flush as she looked him over.
The salesgirl smiled at his embarrassment, saying, "You'll need to talk
to my supervisor. Oh, there she is." She called out to a young woman
sorting panties at a display near the other end of the store. "Sharon?
This young man needs some breast forms."
Cody's face burned brightly as it seemed like every woman in the store
paused in their shopping to look over at him, their faces filled with
either amusement or disgust. He lowered his eyes, afraid to meet their
gaze. Sharon finished folding the panties she was holding and walked
over to them. The wait seemed to take an eternity.
She was a little older than the salesgirl, maybe in her mid-twenties
with short styled hair and sporting a few tattoos and piercings. She
seemed confident and bemused by Cody, and her demeanor made him even
more nervous. When she arrived, she looked him over clinically. "We
have several sizes and styles of falsies available. Tell me, what size
tits would you like?"
The salesgirl managed to stifle a giggle.
"I need s-some duh-dee cups," Cody stammered, relating Lindsay's
instructions in her note.
Sharon looked at him uncertainly. "Sorry, I didn't catch that. Did you
say you wanted to have 'D' or 'double-D' cups?"
Cody looked at her blankly, his mouth moving soundlessly. He prayed for
the ground to open up beneath his feet, but his prayers went
unanswered. Sharon and the salesgirl shared a glance, and the female
shopper standing nearby looked at Cody with undisguised amusement.
"Well. We'll see if we can find you something...fun," Sharon said. Cody
almost jumped when she wrapped a tape measure around his chest. She
showed the measurement to the salesgirl saying, "Kimberly, why don't
you bring a pair of the Venus forms from the back room, will you?"
Cody watched as the salesgirl scurried off. She was gone for a few
minutes, finally returning carrying two big flesh-colored forms in her
hands, almost like grapefruit. They jiggled in her hands as she walked
over to the counter.
"Do you think these will be big enough for you?" she asked mockingly.
"Those look...fine," Cody managed to answer. The thought of dancing to
Aurora's music with those things bouncing about on his chest made him
feel sick to his stomach.
Sharon smiled at him. "Will there be anything else? Some panties? Maybe
some high heels? We have a special..."
"No, that's fine, thanks." Cody handed the woman his debit card. His
jaw dropped when he saw how much the silicone falsies cost. So much for
buying a new bike, he thought ruefully.
As Sharon started to ring up the purchase, the salesgirl placed the
jiggling breasts on the counter.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't find the cases for these, and we just ran
out of bags," she said with a mock-hurt expression on her face.
"Fortunately though, I was able to find this convenient travel
carrier," she said playfully, as she held up a large black lace
brassiere.
Cody would have stormed out of there but he knew there would be dire
consequences if he disobeyed Lindsay's orders. "No, thanks," he
muttered.
Sharon interjected, "Oh, no! I must insist! I wouldn't dream of letting
you walk out of here without something to protect your lovely breasts!"
She glanced down at his debit card, then turned to the salesgirl.
"Kimberly, why don't you take Cody here to one of the changing rooms
and help him with his new purchases?"
Cody tried to argue, but the forceful young woman made her position
quite clear. Picking up the silicone breasts and the bra, Kimberly
grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the changing booths. "Unless
you want to do it right here at the counter?" she offered. He followed
her without further argument.
"Take off your shirt," she commanded once they were inside. He thought
of rebelling, but realized that would serve no purpose. So he shyly
removed his shirt, revealing Lindsay's lacy white brassiere.
"It's okay, we're all girls here," she said playfully, turning him
around to unclasp his bra. She removed it and helped him on with the
bigger bra, slipping the straps of the bra over his shoulders and
closing the clasp behind him. She smiled as she tucked the falsies into
the cups of his brassiere, giving them a playful pat.
"Oooh...you're a BIG girl, aren't you? The boys are going to just LOVE
these. I'm a little jealous...just think of all the attention you're
going to get."
Cody closed his eyes as she adjusted the straps, desperately hoping
that the nightmare would end. And there was no WAY he was going to wear
these home. He'd take these out the second he could and put them back
in when he got home. If Lindsay wanted to humiliate him in that way,
she should have asked 'nicely,' he thought.
"Lindsay is a friend of ours, you know," Kimberly said, as