Summer Secrets (part 1 Of 7) free porn video

Summer Secrets By Varian Milagro http://varianm.blogspot.com/ Chapter 1 It should have been a great day. It was a beautiful June morning and the school year was ending in just a couple minutes. All of my classmates were excited; half of them were counting the exact number of seconds left until summer break officially began. I looked around the room knowing that it was probably the last time I'd be in this school. I was a middle school graduate now and would be a tenth grader in high school when school started up again in the fall. I should've have been as excited as everyone around me, but I wasn't. I was not looking forward to summer vacation. I'd gotten into a lot of trouble recently and now I had to spend the summer glued to "a responsible family member". Since it was just mom and me, and my mom worked, it meant that I would have to stay with her at her job. While everyone else was going to the beach or hanging with their friends I'd be stuck at a beauty salon with nothing to do five days a week for the next three months. I'd never been a big fan of school, but right now I was wishing that I could skip summer vacation this year and just go straight to high school. I looked up at the clock; it was two minutes to noon. The last day of school was only a half day and in the past I had wondered why they made us come in at all. Today I was glad for the half day; it meant four fewer hours at the salon. I was pulled from my thoughts when the final bell of the school year rang and a cheer erupted throughout the school. Everyone in the class raced out the door, but not me. I stood, grabbed my Pee-Chee off my desk, and dragged myself out of the classroom. As I exited the building and walked to where my mom was picking me up, I couldn't help thinking that this was going to be a very bad summer. Thirty minutes later my mom was escorting me into the salon where she worked. She motioned for me to take a seat in the waiting area and then she walked back to the salon's office where she spent most of her time. I slumped down in one of the chairs in the waiting room, my army jacket hanging off my slender frame, my unwashed, unkempt, dark blonde hair hanging in my face. The minutes ticked by slowly and I quickly became uncomfortable. The chairs in the waiting area were comfortable enough if you sat in them for ten or fifteen minutes, but weren't designed for the marathon session I was going through. "Please sit up Gary," my mom said when she made an appearance an hour later. My mom's name is Elaine Peterson and she was dressed in a pink dress with white trim. It had a v-neck, three quarter sleeves, a wide white belt, and fell to just above her knees. She wore white shoes that looked kind of like sneakers. I'd seen nurses wearing something similar in the past. Her auburn hair was done up in her usual modified bouffant 'Jackie O' style. My mom and I both stood at five-four, but I was hoping that I would pass her soon. All the guys I knew had shot up last year, but I was still my regular short, skinny self. My mom said that I was just a late bloomer. "This is so boring," I said. "Can I walk down to the Yeager Music?" "Absolutely not," she said as she sat next to me. "You are being punished young man. You won't leave this store until I do." "How much longer" "You've only been here an hour," she exclaimed. "I don't get off work until five." "What am I supposed to do for four hours?" "I told you to bring a book," she replied as she pushed my hair out of my face. "All the books we have are boring," I replied. "In that case, I suggest you use the time to reflect on what you did," she said as she stood. "I have to get back to work." Once she left I slumped in chair again, crossed my arms and shook my hair back into my face. I kicked myself for the hundredth time. It was so stupid to get behind the wheel of Nick's van. It all happened so fast. I made a snap decision and before I knew it the cops were there and then I was being arrested and then I'm standing in front of a judge and now I'm here sitting in the waiting room of a beauty salon for the first of way too many day. A parade of women and children joined me briefly in the waiting area throughout the day before being whisked away to have their hair shampooed, cut, styled, permed, curled, colored, or god knows what else. That first day I did as little as possible, except harass my mom any time she came within earshot, which wasn't often. My mom works in back for the most part; she used to be a full time beautician and while she still does hair occasionally she mostly does the books for the salon and the owners other stores. I could sit in the back with her, but there was even less to look at back there. At least up here things were happening. The salon was divided into four sections. The waiting area, where I was at the moment, was filled with standing ashtrays, a dozen, hard plastic chairs and stacks of magazines, all focusing on women's fashion, home care, child care or women's hairstyles. Dividing the waiting room from the rest of the salon was a long reception desk. It was painted white with a pink trim, a theme that was repeated throughout the salon. Everything was either white with pink accents or pink with white accents. To the left, up a couple steps, were all of the domed, hair dryer chairs. Four beautician stations were just behind the reception desk, each had a large white, vinyl salon chair, a giant mirror and a waist high cabinet overflowing with combs, brushes, scissors, hair spray and perm rods. Past the beauty stations were two large sinks for washing hair. Along the opposite wall sat two small tables where they painted fingernails. Down a narrow hall were a couple bathrooms, the office--were my mom worked--and a break room where they made the coffee and a storage room. Eventually my mom's shift ended and we headed to her Ford Pinto to make the 40 minute ride home. I was hungry and tried to talk my mom into stopping at McDonalds, but she said no. My mom wasn't a big fan of fast food at the best of times and as she reminded me every time I spoke to her that day, these were not the best times. The one thing nice about Bremerton, the town where my mom worked, was that they not only had a McDonalds, but they also had a music store and a movie theater. Port Orchard, the tiny town we lived in had none of this. The only thing it had for entertainment was a small bowling alley and an Eagles lodge. Once we arrived home it was left over meatloaf for dinner in our tiny two bedroom apartment. After dinner I retreated to my bedroom to sulk. There were only a few things worth doing in the apartment and my mom had taken all of them away. Television I could live without; there were only a couple shows I liked and now that it was summer it was all reruns. Not being able to play my records was going to really suck, but it was nothing compared to the big one; my mom had taken away my guitar. Chapter 2 My guitar was my solace, my refuge. It gave me comfort when the rest of life gave me misery. It kept me sane. My guitar was a Gibson Les Paul and it had belonged to my dad. It had been his most prized possession and now it was mine. He'd given it to me the day before he moved out and left me and my mom alone. As much as I loved the guitar it was a poor consolation gift. My dad is an amazing guitar player and it was his one true passion. He played all the time and had even played professionally for a few years. I don't know when he started teaching me to play; my earliest memory was playing a guitar with my dad. I started out on a small acoustic he'd picked up at a pawn shop. Later he bought me an electric and we played together all the time; it was our special time. When he left, my first impulse was to smash his guitar out of spite, but I am really glad I didn't. While playing the guitar without my dad really sucked at first it soon became my way to escape when the world became too unbearable, which seemed to be all the time. I hadn't always been unhappy; at least I didn't think so. I seemed to remember Elementary school being okay. In grade school my dad still lived with us, school was still a nice place, and I was still friends with Nick. Nick had been pretty much my only real friend since shortly after his family moved onto the same street as mine when I was in first grade. Since he was the same age and I could walk to his house without parental supervision we played together a lot. I don't know if we'd been friends if we hadn't lived on the same street, but since we were the only two kids our age within walking distance of each other we stayed friends all through grade school. Nick had a mischievous streak and he had a knack for getting into trouble. I hated getting into trouble and I was always trying to talk him out of doing something bad. I was a good influence on Nick and he had a good influence on me in his own way. If it had not been for him I probably would have stayed inside and just played my guitar all the time. He got me outside and into adventures. For my part I kept him from being constantly grounded by his parents. A couple years before my dad split Nick talked his parents into buying him a bass and getting him lessons. Soon Nick and I were playing guitar together whenever my dad was too busy to play, which was more and more often as I got older. It all seemed to change in the summer before middle school. My dad left, I moved away and my friendship with Nick began to fall apart and school became a living hell. I went from seeing my dad everyday and being able to play guitar with him a couple times a week to seeing him once a year if I was lucky. My dad's parents lived on the east coast and after he split he moved out there. He calls me every year on my birthday and Christmas, but I haven't played guitar with him for nearly three years now. Middle school was torture for me. I didn't really fit in with any of the cliques; I wasn't a brain, a jock, a sosh, a drama geek, or a head. My school had a music department, but only for instruments that made up the marching band. Guitarists need not apply. The girls never seemed to pay me much attention and the attention the guys gave me wasn't the kind I wanted. In middle school when all the other guys got taller and larger I stayed the same. I was small and timid and therefore an easy target for ridicule. Gym class was a daily torture session of humiliation. The only person I'd really talked to at school was Nick and now he wasn't my friend anymore. Shortly after my dad left, my mom sold our house and moved us into an apartment complex on the other side of town. Being miles away from Nick and not being able to drive meant that we couldn't hang out nearly as much as before. For the first couple months we'd been able to talk one of our mothers into driving us to each other's house, but we went from hanging out daily to once or twice a week. Once middle school started we found that we didn't have any classes together. We ate lunch together and saw each other every other weekend or so. I don't know if it was because I wasn't there to talk sense into him or if Nick just got worse because he was older, but he started getting into more trouble once he got into middle school. He also started being mean to me. He'd always liked to tease, but before it had felt like it was playful and good natured. After elementary school his teasing developed an edge to it and it felt hurtful and bitter. If wasn't for our guitar sessions and the fact that he was my only friend I probably would have stopped hanging out with Nick. I think I could have dealt with not having a friend more than giving up the guitar sessions. I'd grown up playing guitar with my dad and with him gone I needed someone else to play with. I was too shy to find another person to play with; Nick was all I had. Sometime in eighth grade Nick met Barry who was not only a drummer, but he also had parents who weren't bothered by noise. I was hesitant at first since this meant playing in front of a stranger, but I finally relented. At first I was happy since Barry was pretty good at drums and now we were a power trio like Rush or Cream. In the beginning we all took it seriously and tried to learn to play songs just like the real musicians played them on the LPs or on one of Nick's many bootlegs of live concerts. Eventually they stopped trying to sound better and just tried to make as much noise as possible. I still took it seriously and tried to be the best guitar player I could be, despite them. Then came the pot. Once Barry and Nick started getting high they became fairly intolerable. They would tease me whenever I wanted to play the same song twice. They would tell me that I was never going to be good enough to play for real so I shouldn't take it so seriously. Anytime I made a mistake playing they would laugh and remind me that I was wasting my time. It hurt, but even though they were assholes they were all I had. In ninth grade Nick started getting into even worse trouble and I think Barry actually encouraged him. He was suspended a couple times and even arrested. His youth saved him for the most part, but the local judiciary system was tiring of his antics. It was a little after noon on Sunday, June 6th, 1976 when Nick called and my life went into the crapper. He wanted me to come over so we could rock. Barry was going to come over with some weed and they thought it would be awesome to play stoned. At first I said no since I didn't smoke pot. He kept at me, saying that he wouldn't try to get me to smoke this time. The thought of getting out of the house and hanging with my old friends, even if they were wasted was tempting. Playing the guitar with others pushed me over the line. Unfortunately my mom was out so I didn't have a ride. Nick said not to worry he would pick me up. I thought he meant that his mom would pick me up, but when I met him in the parking lot thirty minutes later it was just him and Barry in his parent's panel van. I should have turned around and gone back upstairs, but I got into the vehicle. When I realized that they had started smoking weed before they picked me up I should have told them to stop and let me out. When Nick went wide around a turn and put the Van in the ditch I should have grabbed my guitar and split. When he asked me to switch positions and say that I was driving I should have told him that he was out of his fucking mind. But he begged and cried and said that he would go to real jail for sure. In a moment of colossal stupidity I switched seats and before I could change my mind I was being hauled out of the van by a cop. If I'd known at the time that I'd lose my guitar I would never have switched seats with Nick. Chapter 3 The next morning while my former classmates were surely sleeping in on the first full day of school I had to wake up at 6:30am in order to get ready and have breakfast before leaving the apartment with my mom so that she could open the salon for the day. Once we arrived I took my seat in the waiting area and sat, bored to tears. At around noon my mom took me to lunch at a diner that was located a couple stores down the strip mall from the salon. After that it was back to waiting again. At around 2pm Gloria Rogers, the shop owner, entered the shop. Gloria was in her 50s and still beautiful despite her age. She was stylish and had a confident, sophisticated air about her. She, and her husband, Jerry, were the reason I was sitting in a salon instead in juvie. Jerry knew a lot of people and one of them was Judge Wilkens. Since Jerry had stuck up for me and I had not been in any real trouble before, the judge put a seal on my case, but he said that if I got into any more trouble that summer he would reopen the case. If I was trouble free by the end of summer he would throw the case out. Since Nick's parents had not given anyone permission to drive the van I could be charged with auto theft and that would mean a long stay at juvenile hall. Judge Wilkens had told my mom that I looked like a good kid and I'd probably just been led off the path by peer pressure by known trouble makers. He'd strongly suggested that I be supervised by a responsible family member until the end of the summer so that the incident with the van wouldn't mar my permanent record. My mom took the advice to heart. Gloria and Jerry were always really nice to me and even bought me birthday and Christmas presents. They were always inviting me and my mom to their family events. We went to some of the big events like weddings, but my mom usually came up with an excuse to avoid smaller events like barbeques or birthday parties. When I was little Gloria had said I could call her "Grandma" and I did at first, but I could tell that it bothered my mom so these days I just call her "Mrs. Rogers". "Hello Gary," she said as soon as she saw me. "How are you holding up?" "I'm bored," I replied. "Your punishment will be over in due time," she said. "Would you like something drink, perhaps a soda?" "Yes, please," I said, sitting up. "I'll have Luanne bring you one from Joe's Deli." "Thank you, Mrs. Rogers." She smiled at me and tousled my hair. Gloria said hello to the three beauticians on her way to the back of the salon; all three wore a pink uniform like my mom. There was Luanne, who was closest to my age. She had red hair and was very pretty. My mom said that she had just graduated from beauty school. She did nails, took appointments and greeted customers mostly. There was Heidi who was a bit older and was a little taller than me. She was very friendly and smiled a lot. She had short, dark hair that was tight against her head. Patricia was the tallest of the women in the shop and had what my mom called "big bones". She wasn't fat, just solidly built. She wasn't pretty like Heidi or Luanne. Not that she was ugly, it was just that her face was too angular and her jaw a little too square. She was somewhere around my mom's age and wore more makeup than any of the women who came into the salon. Gloria did not stay long. She came out from the back a few minutes after Luanne had brought me my coke. She had a bunch of pay envelopes in her hand, which she was delivering to her other businesses. She smiled warmly at me and tousled my hair again on her way out. My mom came up front a few minutes later and handed out paychecks to the three ladies. The rest of day was a snooze fest. The Coke was nice, but it went quickly. Chapter 4 Saturday was a killer. Without my guitar or even TV I had nothing to do. I'm not that into television, especially since it was summer and it was all re-runs now, but I did like watching Hong Kong Fooey and Land of the Lost on Saturday mornings. I tried to read for a while, but I'd never been a big reader. I had a couple music magazines, but I had already read them a couple times. I looked over my sheet music, but that just made me miss my guitar even more. My mom made me stay inside with her all day. I couldn't even stand in the grassy area between the apartment buildings. I sat in my room by myself to avoid the smell of my mom's smoking. Saturday was actually worse than all day at the salon on Friday. Sunday was more of the same. I kicked myself all weekend for being stupid enough to let Nick talk me into taking the rap for him. It all happened so fast. One minute were on the road and the next in the ditch and stuck. Nick started freaking out. He kept saying that he'd go to jail for sure. He pleaded with me to sit in the driver's seat. He said that I had a clean record so they would go easy on me. Even though I hate getting into trouble, I wanted to help more so I swapped seats. I immediately started having second thoughts, but before I could do anything a cop spotted us. Next thing I know I'm sitting in the back of a patrol car being driven to the police station. I could tell my mom the truth, but I doubted it would help at this point. It wouldn't change what the judge had said. It would be my word against Nick's and there was no way Nick would cop to it now. My mom might go a little easier on me, but that would also mean being a nark. I wasn't about to become a nark. I had never ratted on anyone and I wasn't about to start now just because I was bored. Monday morning it was back to the salon bright and early. It was actually a little better than being home. There were people around and I could listen to people talk even if it was only women and small children. All the men and older boys went to the barber a few shops down. A few of the ladies gave me strange looks; I don't think they were used to seeing a boy my age waiting in a beauty salon by himself. All of the smoking was annoying, but if the people weren't smoking in the waiting area itself it wasn't too bad. It all changed the next day. A little after ten in the morning Heidi sat down next to me and changed my life. If she'd minded her own business like Luann or Patricia I would have spent the summer sitting in the waiting room and this would have been a very short story. "Hello Gary," Heidi said as she stuck out a hand. "I don't think we've actually been introduced, but I'm Heidi." She pointed to her white name tag with bright pink letters spelling out her name. "You look really bored." "Yeah," I replied. "Well, so am I," she said. "I don't have a lot of appointments today." "Oh," I said. "I'm hoping you can help me," she said. "Would you like to help me?" "Okay, I guess, what do I need to do?" "Nothing just let me wash and trim your hair." "I don't want my hair cut," I said, leaning away from her. "I don't want to cut it, Gary. I want to trim it; you know, even it out. I love your hair; cutting it is the last thing I'd want to do." I pondered for a moment. It was probably better than just sitting there. "Okay," I said finally. "Great," she said and gave my knee a squeeze. "Follow me." She led me to her salon chair. Once I sat she draped a plastic smock around me and then brushed the tangles out of my hair before leading me to the sink. She had me lay back in the chair so I was looking at the ceiling and my hair fell into the sink. "How would you like a scalp massage since we're here and I don't have an appointment for another hour?' I answered with a shrug. "A scalp massage it is then." Five minutes into the massage I decided that I loved it. I'd definitely be asking for one next time I had my hair washed at a salon. She almost put me to sleep; her fingers were so relaxing. I forced myself to stay awake so I wouldn't miss it. After fifteen minutes of heaven she led me back to her chair. She started by running a comb through my hair. "My goodness!" she said. "What?" I asked alarmed. "You have eyes," she said with a smile. "Ha Ha, very funny," I replied with a smile of my own. "This is how much I would like to cut off," she said while holding the comb at the end of my hair, which hung just past the bottom of my shoulder blades. "That's less than an inch. Will that be okay?" "Yeah," I replied. "What I would love to do is give it some highlights and feather it. You have such great hair, so full of body; I could do so much with it." She smiled at me in the mirror. "Maybe next time. So what do you like to do when you aren't hanging out in beauty salons after school?" "Nothing else, when I'm not hanging here I stay at the salon down the street," I replied. "They have better magazines than you do." "You're funny," she said with a laugh. "You do anything else besides reading Women's World and Vogue at our competition?" "I play guitar," I replied. "Acoustic?" "I can play an acoustic, but I play an electric mostly." "Nice. How long have you been playing?" Heidi asked as she snipped a tiny bit of hair. "As long as I can remember." "What kind of music do you play?" "Cream, Stones, Cactus, Deep Purple, Blue Cheer, Zeppelin, that kind of stuff." "You have great taste in music," she said. "I love Credence myself." "CCR is cool," I replied. "My dad loved them too. He taught me "Proud Mary", "Bad Moon Rising" and a bunch of others." She stepped back a step and turned the chair around and looked at me directly. "I would love to hear you play sometime." "I don't know about that," I replied, feeling embarrassed. I liked Heidi; she seemed genuinely interested in me and that was pretty new for me, but playing guitar in front of people scared me. Heidi used a hand blow dryer to dry my hair afterwards. I was afraid for a moment that she was going to ask me sit in one of the chairs with the plastic, dome hair dryers; that would be too embarrassing. So far I had yet to see one guy sitting in one of those things. "You know Gary there are women who would kill for your hair," she said once she'd finished drying it. "Yeah, well I'm still using it," I replied and we shared a laugh. Chapter 5 Wednesday it was back to the usual boredom, except for the few times when Heidi was in between clients and would come sit by me and talk. She was funny and pretty and she treated me like a real person, not some kid. I could make her laugh too and I liked the sound of her laughing. When it was slow Patricia and Luanne would head to the back since they could smoke back there. Apparently Gloria did not like her employees smoking up front. This made me happy; the place was smoky enough from the customers smoking. I was also happy that Heidi wasn't a smoker, one of the few adults I knew who didn't. Just after lunch Heidi came up to me just after finishing with a customer. "How would you like a job?" "Uhh, okay." "I hate sweeping and you look bored so would you like to help me out?" she asked. "I can't pay much though." "You don't have to pay me, I'll do it for free," I replied. "That is really generous of you, Gary," she said, looking a little astonished. "I'll owe you one." She showed me where the broom and dust pan were located and I quickly swept her station. Twenty minutes later I swept Patricia's station without being asked. Her enthusiastic thanks both thrilled and embarrassed me. When my mom came up front for one of her infrequent clients she was shocked at the site of me sweeping up. This changed to pride when I swept her station forty minutes later. Sweeping only ate up a few minutes an hour, but it interrupted the boredom. The next day Luanne recruited my help as well. Soon I was making coffee, emptying ashtrays and trash in addition to sweeping. My mom was so thrilled that I was helping out that she even took me to Yeager Music and bought me the latest issue of Guitar Player magazine. After lunch I swept and made more coffee. An older lady who was a customer's of Patricia said I was "such a good boy" for helping out. It made me smile. I definitely preferred being helpful over just sitting. Near the end of the day on Friday, when I was putting the broom away after sweeping Patricia's station, Heidi grabbed me again. She was leading a client to the shampoo sinks. "Got a new job for you, Gary," she said. "How would you like to help me wash Mrs. Jackson's hair?" "Okay," I replied. "Put this on," she said as she handed me a smock. "We don't want your clothes to get wet." She didn't actually let me wash the customer's hair, but she had me stand next to her and she gave me described what she was doing. When the next client arrived she had me watch her again. Heidi seemed really into the whole teaching thing so I paid attention and tried to remember everything she said. For the rest of my mom's shift Heidi had me watch her wash her client's hair while she narrated her actions. I was really beginning to enjoy my time at the salon. Between the praise when I swept and Heidi's attention it felt like people cared about me. Saturday and Sunday it was back to boredom. The only break in the grueling weekend was when my mom dragged me to a luncheon with three of her friends. This was worse than sitting in the waiting area at the salon. They all ate slowly and once they finished eating they talked and smoked while drinking endless refills of coffee. It might have been a little tolerable if they talked about anything remotely interesting. Once the marathon lunch was over it was back home where I could at lease relax on my bed. On Monday I decided to leave my army coat at home. I'd begun to feel self conscious wearing it at the salon. Everyone was always dressed so nice. Heidi and the other beauticians wore pink uniform dresses and practically all of the women who had their hair done were wearing something nice. I found a dress shirt that my mom had bought me for Christmas and put on a clean pair of jeans. I started making coffee as soon as we arrived at the salon that morning. Patricia, Luanne and Heidi showed up a few minutes later. They told me that I looked nice and it made me feel pretty good. The salon got busy quickly soon and all three had clients. Heidi was first to finish and I grabbed the broom and swept her station while she was taking payment. I sat back down in the waiting area as she greeted her next customer. A couple minutes later she asked me to help her wash hair again, but this time she had me do the actual washing. The customer was a lady around my mom's age and one of Heidi's regulars. The lady was really nice and didn't even get mad when I accidently sprayed her face with water. Heidi had me wash all of her client's hair that day. The only thing that really bugged me was that people kept mistaking me for a girl. I'd been called a girl before, but it was mostly just guys at school teasing me. At the salon I was mostly mistaken for a girl from behind, but a few customers still thought that I was a girl even when I turned around. One lady even told me that Gary was a strange name for a girl when Patricia called me by name. When she realized that I was actually a guy she seemed annoyed, I think she was just embarrassed about her mistake. The time seemed to fly by on Monday. Between sweeping making coffee, dumping ashtrays and washing hair I barely had time to sit in the waiting room, which suited me just fine. I'd be happy if I never sat in one of those chairs again. My mom was shocked when she first saw me washing a customer's hair, and she was worried that Gloria wouldn't approve, but she let me continue. Near the end of the day she even let me wash her hair. I got mistaken for a girl many times during the day. I was kind of used to it. With my long, blonde hair people who saw me from behind assumed I was a girl. A few women even thought I was a girl from the front. One lady thought I was teasing her when I told her that I was a guy. I guess they didn't expect a guy to be working in a beauty salon. Tuesday morning I considered wearing my army jacket to the salon. I wasn't mistaken for a girl when I wore my army jacket. I left it at home and wore another dress shirt. It didn't bother me that much when people thought that I was a girl and I wanted to look nice. I felt like I fit in when I dressed nicer. I was the official hair washer for the salon that day. A couple times when I was busy washing hair, the beauticians swept their own stations. Patricia even let me wash perm solution out of one of her customer's hair. I was having a lot of fun. It felt good to be needed. It liked talking to Heidi. She was an adult, but she was cool. The salon was no longer a prison. I was beginning to think it wasn't so bad that I'd gotten into trouble. It all fell apart near the end of the day though when Gloria and her husband Jerry stopped by the salon. I was in the middle of a shampoo. Gloria walked up to Heidi and whispered in her ear. Heidi nodded and walked over to me. "I can take Mrs. Newbaum from here, Gary," Heidi said as she took the sprayer from me. "Gary, why don't you wait with Jerry while I talk to your mom," Gloria said to me. "Did I do something wrong?" I asked. "It's not you, Gary," Gloria replied and then turned and headed into the back. When I entered the waiting area Jerry stood, grabbed my hand and shook it forcefully. "How have you been, Chief?" he asked with a broad smile. "Are you still playing the guitar?" "Yes sir," I replied. I liked Jerry. He was another person who always seemed interested in me whenever I saw him, which wasn't often. "What grade are you in these days?" "I'm starting tenth grade in the fall." "Are you keeping your grades up?" "I'm not very good at school," I replied. "Why not?" he asked kindly. "I don't know?" I shrugged. "You will be starting High School this year, correct?" "Yes, sir." "This is the perfect time to reinvent yourself, Gary. The Gary from middle school is gone. The Gary who is going to high school can be anything he wants to be. If you want to be a good student you can be. If you put your mind to it and work hard you can be whatever you want to be. Always try your best, that's all anyone can ask. It will get you far in life" Luanne she stuck her head into the waiting area. "They'd like to see you in back, Gary." I started to leave, but Jerry put a strong hand on my shoulder. "Gary, remember that your Gr... remember that Gloria loves you and this wasn't an easy decision for her." I was really nervous as I made my way to the office. Jerry made it sound like I was getting punished. When I entered the office and Gloria asked me to close the door I was sure of it. "You won't be able to wash hair at the salon anymore, Gary," Gloria said. "A few customers have complained and I cannot afford to lose any business." "Did I screw up someone's hair?" I asked feeling horrified. "No, you haven't done anything wrong," Gloria assured me. "There are people who have very set ideas what it comes to jobs for women and men. There are those that think that working in a beauty salon is not the proper vocational training for a young man." "Does that mean I have to go back to sitting in the waiting area?" "I'm sorry, Gary," Gloria replied. I was devastated. I didn't think I could go back to sitting for hours on end with nothing to do. My mom and I left the salon a little while later and I stewed over my fate on the ride home. I found that I was really frustrated because I did not know who to be mad at. I wasn't mad at Gloria, she was just doing what she thought was good for her business. I was mad at the customers who complained, but I did not know which ones to be mad at. Chapter 6 Wednesday was even more horrible than I'd feared it would be. Besides the boredom I also missed the praise I'd received when helping out at the salon. Even though it embarrassed me it also gave me a warm feeling inside. I wasn't used to getting praise. At school I didn't get very good grades and the teachers seemed to reserve their praise for the A students. In PE I sucked at everything and was teased by everyone, even the coach. My mom tended to point out when I screwed up rather than when I did something good. My dad always praised me on my guitar playing, but he wasn't around anymore. Now, just as I was getting used to being praised, it was taken away from me. The day crawled. I found myself wishing that school was still in session. Heidi took pity on me and brought in some of her old Rolling Stone magazines for me to read. Whenever she had a break she would sit by me and we would talk about something that I had just read. Thursday was more of the same. Halfway through the day, while my Mom was in back, Luanne was doing someone's nails back by the sinks, and Heidi was at lunch, Patricia came into the waiting area and sat by me. "There is a way that you could still wash hair," she said as soon as she sat down next to me. Patricia had a husky voice. My mom said it was because Patricia smoked too much, but my mom and Gloria smoked a lot and their voice wasn't as deep as Patricia's "Really, how?" "Those customers complained about a boy working in a salon. They wouldn't be upset if a girl were working in the salon," she said. "What does that have to do with me?" "You could be that girl." "You want me to dress up like a girl?" I asked. I wasn't sure if she was serious. "Yes, it wouldn't be too difficult to make you look like a convincing girl. You've already got the hair; we just add the uniform dress and a little makeup and no one will suspect that you're really a boy." "I don't know what to say," I replied. "I liked washing hair, but I don't know about this." "If you want to, you will need to convince Heidi to help you," she said. "Why Heidi?" I asked. "Why not you?" "It will be better that way," she replied. "I'm not sure I like your idea." "That's fine, you don't have to do it," Patricia said as she stood. I pondered Patricia's suggestion for the rest of the evening. I found the idea ridiculous on the surface. Dressing up as a woman was something comedians did, not regular men. At the same time sitting in the waiting room was killing me. I thought about running away, but I had nowhere to run. I thought of my dad, but I doubted he would want me moving in with him. I could still tell my mom the truth, but I still was not prepared to betray a friend, or even an ex-friend. On Friday I found myself paying attention to the ladies in the waiting area more. I found myself looking at all them a little differently. I watched how they interacted with each other. I looked at the clothes they wore and their mannerisms. I listened to them talk. I thought that I could probably pull it off. It would be really weird and I would die if anyone figured out that I was a guy, but I thought that it might work. Toward the end of the day while Heidi was keeping me company I asked her if we could talk privately. She led me over to the section of the salon with all the large hairdryers. I started shaking; I couldn't believe that I was actually going to ask my new friend to dress me up as a girl. "They won't be able to hear us with those going," she said after we sat. "What is on your mind, Gary?" "I had an idea on how I could wash hair and sweep again," I said. I found I was shaking a little bit. "I...umm. Well..." "Relax, Gary," she said in a gentle voice as she put a hand on my leg. "Take a deep breath and then tell me your idea." "If I wear the uniform I could wash hair," I said quickly without looking at her. Heidi sat back and pulled her hand off my leg. "You want to put on a dress so you can wash hair?" she asked with look of concern and confusion. "I doubt a boy in a dress is the image Gloria has in mind for her salon." "Not a boy in a dress," I replied. "You can make me look like a girl." "I don't think this is a good idea, Gary," she answered. "Your mom would have my hide." "Will you think about it?" I asked. "Please don't tell anyone I asked you." "I won't and yes I'll think about it." On Saturday I asked if I could have my guitar back, but my mom said no. While she was proud of me for being helpful at the salon she said I was still on restriction for the next couple weeks at least. It was another long Saturday followed by an even longer Sunday. I continued to think about Patricia's idea. With nothing to look forward to during the forty hours I would be spending at the salon next week, the idea of wearing a dress to relieve the boredom became more and more attractive. On Monday I saw Patricia and Heidi arguing back by the sinks. They were talking low enough that I could not make out what they were saying, but they were pretty animated and they would occasionally look my way. I acted like I was reading one of Heidi's Rolling Stone magazines, but really I was trying to figure out what they were talking about. It appeared that it involved me. It also appeared that Patricia was trying to convince Heidi of something. Heidi seemed like she was resisting whatever it was. They stopped talking and stared at each other for a moment before walking back to their stations. They started talking again, but continued to whisper. As they drew closer I could finally make out their words. "You have to trust me on this," Patricia said. "Even if you're right and I decide to help she is not going to go along with this." "If we're united she just may." "Even if she does, what makes you think that Elaine will?" At this point the bell rang announcing the arrival of a customer and they stopped talking. They had mentioned my mom, but I did not know who the other 'she' was. I was quite curious. Later that day Heidi told me she would help me if I still wanted to go through with it. She said that tomorrow she'd find a way for my mom to disappear for a few hours and then she'd put her plan into action. A little before noon on Tuesday Patricia told my mom that they were out of a specialty shampoo that she absolutely needed for an early appointment the next day. The supply shop was in a neighboring town and was a forty minute drive each way. My mom balked initially, but when Patricia went into hysterics she relented. She wanted me to come with her at first, but I begged to stay and both Heidi and Patricia backed me up. She eyed us all a little suspiciously, but relented in the end. As soon as she was gone Heidi hustled me into the back room and had me strip to my underwear. I hesitated. "You need to hurry," she said. "We don't have much time. I want to get you ready with enough time before Gloria arrives so we can back out if we need to do so. Now put these on." I stared at the bra and pantyhose she had thrust in my hands. I held them away from my body like they were snakes. "Here let me help you," she said after taking a deep breath. She balled up the nylons and had me sit. "Slide these up your legs." "Do I have to wear these?" I asked. "Your leg hair is very faint, but girls in dresses are supposed to show any hair, regardless of shade," Heidi said. "We could shave your legs, but we don't have that kind of time right now." I stopped complaining and let her show me how to put on the pantyhose. They were a tan color and felt kind of funny on my legs. The bra was pretty embarrassing, but was quickly surpassed when she handed me small, foam pads to stuff into the cups. They seemed kind of heavy for foam. Heidi explained that they were weighted for realism. After I inserted them into the cups of the bra she pulled a makeup kit out of her purse and went to work on my face. "Once I introduce you, Gloria will want to ask you some questions. Let me hear your girl voice." "Hello, how are you? I'm a not a guy," I squeaked. "Not quite so high. Just a little higher than your normal voice and maybe a bit softer," she said. "Look up" "How is this?" I asked as she rubbed a pencil along the bottom of my eyes. "Now do I sound like a girl?" "That's much better," she said. "You'll need a girl name." "Can I be Stacy?" Heidi had me sit on the toilet and then she went to work on my face. She started by rubbing the edges of my eyelids with a pencil. It stung a little, but wasn't as bad as the mascara. I blinked at the wrong time and got some in my eye which made my eyes water. Next she rubbed blue powder on the top of eyelids. She helped me into a floral dress that hung to my knees. It covered my entire chest and had short sleeves. She handed me a tube of lip gloss and had me rub it on my lips as she fastened a pair of sandals on my feet. When it was time to go up front I balked. "Don't worry, Patricia and Luanne already know and no one else will suspect," she said reassuringly. "You do not look like a boy in the slightest. I want to work on your hair a little bit and then you will be ready for Gloria. If you don't like what you see in the mirror we can call the whole thing off." Patricia was working on a client when we made our way up front. I felt foolish and the nylons on my legs felt weird. I was having serious second thoughts, but when Patricia saw me she smiled and nodded her approval and I felt myself relax a little. Heidi sat me in her chair, brushed my hair and then pinned it back with pink hair clips. She spun me around in her chair and I saw my reflection. I was dumbstruck. I couldn't believe the teenage girl staring back at me, the one with the long beautiful hair and the pretty floral dress was actually me. "What do you think?" she asked. "Ready to face Gloria?" "Yes, I think so," I replied. "I can't believe that is actually me." I pointed to the pretty girl in the mirror. I still fretted while we waited for Gloria to arrive. I tried to act casual as possible since Patricia was working on a client. I wanted to check out my fake boobs, but thought it would look weird if I kept staring at my own chest. Soon enough Gloria arrived and asked me and Heidi to follow her into the back. Heidi introduced me and did most of the talking. When Gloria asked me questions I remembered my training and tried my best to talk like a girl. After about fifteen minutes Gloria said she was mostly convinced but wanted to see me in action. She went up front and Heidi had me change into one of the pink uniform dresses like the beauticians. She led me up front and in a few minutes Patricia was receiving a new client. She had me wash the ladies hair. I did it just like I had done the previous week, but this time I talked in a higher voice when I dared speak and I tried to be gentle in my movements. Once I led the lady to Patricia's station Gloria asked Heidi and me into the back room. "Okay, I'm convinced," she said. "I told you," Heidi replied. Gloria looked directly at me and asked, "Is this really what you want?" "Yes," I replied. "Okay, I will talk to your mother," she said to me. "When is she due back?" She asked Heidi. "She should be here in thirty minutes." "Wait a minute," I said to Gloria. "You know who I am?" I turned to Heidi my face very hot. "I thought you said no one would be able to tell." "They won't," Gloria said to me."That is the only reason I am going to go along with this insane plan. Heidi told me her whole plan up front, but trust me Gary no one else will recognize you, except perhaps your mother. Even knowing who you really are, I am barely able to tell your true gender." They had me go back up front and help out under instructions not to look directly at my mom when she returned. I grabbed the broom and swept the floor while trying not dwell on what was about to happen. In a less than an hour my mom was going to walk through the door and I was wearing a dress and had makeup all over my face. Even if she did not recognize me instantly Gloria would be telling her who I really was a few minutes later. I was in the middle of a shampoo when my mom returned. When I heard the bell over the front door sound I looked up instinctively. I froze for a moment and stared at her as she made her way past the reception counter. I remembered Gloria's instructions and looked back at my hands as they massaged the clients scalp. "Here's the solution you needed Patricia," my mom said. "They had a hard time finding it. They are normally a lot better organized than that. Who's the new girl?" "Gloria is in the back," Patricia replied. "She needs to see you. She'll do the introductions." I kept my head down and turned my body, hoping to obscure my face from my mom. I swear I could feel her eyes on me as she walked into the back. I finished my wash job on Heidi's client just as Gloria stepped up front and asked me to join her in the back. Panic seized me. I didn't move, I could barely even see. I felt Gloria's hand on my shoulder. "It's going to be okay," she said. She put a hand on my back and led me toward the office. "She took it rather well." My heart was pounding in my chest and my hands were shaking, but the tunnel vision began to ease. I let Gloria guide me toward the back. She opened the door to the office and motioned me to enter. She closed the door once we both had entered. My mom had a hand to her mouth and her eyes were wide with astonishment. She didn't say anything for a couple minutes as I stood before her. She looked me up and down, tears filled her eyes. "I can't believe this is actually you," she said to me. "Are you mad at me?" I asked. "No, I'm not mad," she replied. "A little stunned, but not mad." She motioned for me to sit. "Is this something you really want to do?" "Yeah, I think so." I said. "I really liked helping out up front last week. It's been kind of weird doing it in a dress, but so far everyone has been really nice to me." "I don't know what to say," my mom said. "Why don't you go up front and help Heidi," Gloria said to me. "Your mom and I need to talk some more." I went back up to the front. Both Patricia and Heidi were busy with clients so I grabbed a magazine from the waiting area and then sat at the reception desk. A few minutes later Gloria came up front. "Your mom will give you an answer tonight," she said. "In the meantime you can continue to help up front." She looked at my lap. "Keep your legs closed when you sit, Stacy." I put my knees together and went back to my magazine. Patricia finished her customer and by the time I finished sweeping her section Heidi finished and I moved on to her area. As soon as Heidi's client left they cornered me. "How did it go?" Heidi asked. "She said I could help out tonight, but she would have to think about it before I could do it anymore." "She'll let you, she needs a little time to adjust to the idea," Patricia said. "If she wasn't going to let you she wouldn't have let you come back up front." "I'm still trying to adjust myself," I said as I turned to the mirror and gazed at my feminized self. "I still can't believe that is actually me." "You make a very pretty girl, Stacy." Heidi said. "If your mom does say yes I will help you get ready tomorrow." At the end of the night Heidi helped me remove the makeup from my face before I headed home. I removed the ribbon from my hair and changed back into my normal clothes. That night on the way home my mom said I could work up front. Later that night, when I asked her how to shave my legs, I think she wished she'd said no. Chapter 7 When we arrived at the salon Wednesday morning Heidi was waiting for us. While my mom had given her permission, and had begrudgingly helped me shave my legs, she wanted nothing more to do with my transformation. She headed to the office while Heidi led me to the ladies room to get me ready before the first customer of the day arrived. "Okay I have a new garment for you to wear today," Heidi said as she held up a pair of woman's underwear. "This will help give you some curves so the dress will hang on you better. You can wear them over your regular underwear" As I stepped into the panties I noticed that they were padded on the bottom and sides. I started to get second thoughts, but I kept my mouth shut though and did everything Heidi told me to do. After fastening the bra around my chest she handed me the falsies and I slid them into the bra cups. It felt weird having more up on top. Looking down it looked like I had real breasts. I pulled the uniform dress over my head. The bottom of the dress stopped just above my knees. I pulled on the hem, but it wouldn't go down any further. I slipped on a pair of footie socks with pink balls on the back. Once I finished lacing my white sneakers, Heidi had me stand. "You look great, Stacy." Heidi had me turn around. "Since we don't have any customers in the salon I'll do your makeup in the front. You'll be able to see what I'm doing to your face. Hopefully you'll be able to do your own makeup by the end of the week." I felt weird as I followed Heidi to her station. I had so much skin exposed, my legs, arms and the top part of my chest. I'd worn less in public when I went swimming, but this felt different. I was in a place of business and I felt like I was half dressed. The mirror at Heidi's station was much larger than the bathroom's and she wanted me to see what she was doing. If I intended to work in the salon as a girl then I'd have to learn how to do my own makeup. She gave me step by step instructions as she worked on my face. My anxiety seemed to go up with each minute. Once she finished with my face she gave me a gold necklace, clip-on earrings and a matching bracelet. She then had me hold my arms out, palm up. She squirted perfume on my wrists. "What do you think, Stacy?" "You made me look really pretty, thank you." I was nervous most of the day. I was afraid that, at any moment, someone was going to say "Hey, you're a guy". As the day wore on the shop got busy and that helped me forget about my fears while I tried to keep up. I kept my mouth shut for the most part. I'd never been much of a talker to start with. The added worry of needing to sound like a girl had me talking even less. When I did talk, it was usually in a quiet mumble. I did not leave the salon at lunchtime. I was too afraid to venture outside. My mom bought a couple sandwiches from Joe's Deli and we ate together in the office. After lunch it was back to washing hair and sweeping. Occasionally I would catch a glimpse of a cute girl my age in the mirror and it would take me a moment to remember that it was me. It embarrassed and thrilled me at the same time. I made such a convincing girl that I even fooled myself. When it was time to leave for the day I removed my own makeup with Heidi's guidance. I told my mom all about my day on the ride home. She had a wistful smile on her face. Eventually I asked her why she was smiling. "I'm just enjoying hearing about your day. You usually don't share this much," she said. "You're really enjoying working up front as a girl, aren't you?" "Well, it sure beats sitting in the waiting area," I replied. "I'm glad you're enjoying helping the girls." The next day I started out nervous again and I still didn't talk much. It wasn't very busy and without much to do I felt self conscious. Here I was, sitting in a beauty salon, with makeup on my face, my legs shaved, wearing a pink dress. When I was busy washing hair or cleaning up I stopped worrying about someone I knew catching me and I found that I didn't mind wearing a dress. I liked the way the air flowed over my legs and the way the skirt brushed against my smooth skin. It still shocked me a little when I saw the two lumps on my chest. Halfway through the day, when Heidi was at lunch and Luanne was in back smoking, Patricia pulled me aside again. "How has your first couple says as Stacy been?" She asked me. "Okay I guess," I replied. "I like helping and all, but it's weird doing it in a dress. It's not too bad when were busy, I kind of forget about it and I feel like I'm part of the team, but when it's slow I feel kind of foolish. Guys aren't supposed to wear dresses." "If you didn't have to worry about what others thought, do you think you'd like to wear makeup and dresses more often?" "Maybe. Don't tell anyone this, but I kind of like it when the customers say that I look pretty in the dress." I felt my face flush. "I promise not to tell anyone. I've noticed that you don't talk to the customers as much as you did last week." "I'm afraid that they'll realize that I'm a guy if I talk." "Here's something that may help you. Tomorrow leave Gary in the back room with his clothes. When you put on your dress and makeup become Stacy and leave Gary behind. Let Stacy out, let her shine. "What do you mean "let her out"? Stacy is a name I made up." "I think that Stacy lives inside you Gary and I think that you've been suppressing her. When you are at the salon you can be whoever you want to be. Stacy doesn't have to be pretend. We spend so much of our lives being the people we think we're supposed to be or the people that we think others think we should be. It doesn't have to be that way for you, not while you're at the salon. Let Stacy out and get to know her, discover who she really is." "Okay," I replied hesitantly. I pondered Patricia's words for the rest of the day. I still wasn't entirely sure what she meant about letting Stacy out. I was Gary inside, wasn't I? Was there a girl in me that I'd been suppressing? I'd never wanted to wear a dress or makeup before. Did I really want to now? In middle school I never really fit in with the guys or the girls. The guys were too aggressively mean to each other and the girls frightened me. I liked the way girls talked to each other; they seemed to build each other up where guys were always tearing each other down. At school I would have been teased even more if I'd started hanging out with the girls at lunch. At the salon everyone thought I was a girl so I wouldn't be teased, unless they figured out that I was actually a guy. Perhaps Patricia was correct. If I didn't think of myself as a guy when I was at the salon I wouldn't be as worried about being discovered. I decided that I'd leave scared Gary at home and confident Stacy would go to the salon. On Friday I found that saying I was going to be less fearful and actually doing it was not the same thing. Yet I still made the effort. I focused on talking more, hoping that the more I talked as Stacy the more comfortable I'd feel. I started by asking the ladies about their day as I was lead them to the sinks. They usually took over from there. Later in the day, instead of just making coffee, I grabbed the coffee pot and walked around the salon and offered coffee to everyone. The customers were thankful. I got called a nice young lady a couple times. One lady said that she wished her daughter was a courteous I was. It made me feel pretty good. --Continued in part 2--