Melody Blossoms

By Giselle Little

Clarence couldn't believe how many outfits Harriet owned. Dresses in every color of the rainbow. Forests of skirts and oceans of blouses. Dance outfits, Halloween costumes, and three long formal gowns with full pouffy skirts. Clarence casually flipped past each, trying to conceal his shaking hands.
"He's not really looking at them," Betty pouted.
"Clarence! Look at them," Harriet said, her voice edged with frustration.
"Still think he doesn't need any punishments?" asked Fern merrily.
Harriet lifted the list from her desk and spoke softly. "He doesn't have any friends. I just don't want to be mean to him."
"He stole from you, and he lied about it," Fern shot back.
"Yeah but we got him back pretty good."
"That was nothing," grumbled Ruby. "If he stole my panties, he'd get every punishment on that list, and more."
Harriet skimmed the list and blushed. "We don't even have a ping pong paddle."
"I think I still have a set in the garage," Betty offered.
"They say it's easier than smacking him with your bare hands," Fern said casually.
"Who says that? Fern, I worry about you!" laughed Harriet.
Ruby crooned, "This cat Fern is a bad mother –"
"Shut your mouth!" the girls chorused.
"Just talkin' about Fern!"
Amid gales of laughter, Harriet stormed into the closet and slammed the door.
"Just what is the problem here?" she demanded. "Don't you like anything?"
"I'm sorry," pouted Clarence. "It's like ... like ..."
Harriet fought the urge to tear her hair out. "Like WHAT?"
"Christmas," he said, brushing away a tear.
He held up a red and white plaid dress with a white lace collar. Harriet had forgotten she even had it.

***

Harriet and her friends are at that age when girls blossom into young ladies. Except for Clarence. Clarence still needs a lot of help to reach his potential. Only Harriet understands his secret – deep down, he's a girl named Melody. Gradually, Harriet and the girls coax their new friend out of his shell. Will they be able to help Melody to blossom?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Giselle Little
• Release date: Aug 21, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465920355

Giselle Little

Giselle Little lives in a magical fairy kingdom where everyone understands that gender is a spectrum and nothing ever goes wrong. Some of her amazing adventures can be read on her blog, http://littlegiselle.wordpress.com

Book preview

Melody Blossoms

by Giselle Little

Smashwords Edition

copyright 2011 Giselle Little

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Cover photo by Kita Sparkles

This story is dedicated to

Miss Tara

gone but never forgotten

and

Miss Reese

blessed with Grace and Love

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Strip

Chapter 2: Goals

Chapter 3: Peaches

Chapter 4: Enrolled

Chapter 5: The Beauty Bonnet

Chapter 6: The Dance of the Snowflake

Chapter 7: Not Etiquette

Chapter 8: Miss Peacock Meets the Cougars

Chapter 9: Belles in Belly Busters

Chapter 10: Cotillion

About the Author

Other Stories By This Author

Chapter 1: The Strip

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From a block away, Clarence could hear their singsong voices.

Is he? Is he?

Is he prissy?

Is he a sissy …

Girls voices, hard to tell how many. And they were getting closer. Clarence hurried along, but he was still several long blocks from home. He told himself they weren’t teasing him, they had to be teasing someone else. Nobody knew about him.

Clarence likes to wear

Flowers in his hair

Clarence likes to wear

Frilly underwear!

One voice whooped laughter, and Clarence broke into a run. He swerved down a narrow alley and ran with all his strength, hoping to capitalize on the surprise effect of this maneuver. His leg ached. He didn’t dare turn to see how many were chasing him but judging from the patter of Keds echoing off the alley walls, there were several.

He dodged down a narrower alley between two high old fences and emerged near a strip of run-down shops, a pizza place that had been closed for weeks, a donut shop no one ever went in, and a secondhand clothing shop that had several racks of beat-up jackets lining the sidewalk. Clarence zigzagged between the clothing racks, favoring his unbruised leg.

Then he vanished.

Well, he hoped that he appeared to vanish, anyway. What he actually did was duck down behind a display of mismatched mittens and snuck in the front door of the clothing shop. Looking in the big mirror behind the cashier, he could see the girls standing in the street outside. They were glancing around in all directions, like cats who suddenly lost sight of a sparrow. Big Ruby even looked up into the sky, and almost tripped over her own schoolbag. Betty kept peering into the donut shop, displaying her ignorance of Clarence’s lifelong aversion to deep-fried confectionery. She fiddled with her hair ribbon, trimmed with dozens of kelly green plastic shamrocks. Fern leaned forward and seemed to sniff the air for her prey. Her thick glasses gave her a bookish façade, but she had the eyes of a true predator. Clarence shuddered and slid behind a display of patched skirts.

As he peered back into the mirror he saw a wave of golden curls bobbing behind Big Ruby. Then his heart did that flipfloppy thing it always did when he saw Harriet. He couldn’t help it – her eyes were so brown and her lips just pouted out in that sweet way they always did. He knew he shouldn’t have swiped her underwear. He ought to be brave enough to apologize and face the consequences, whatever the consequences were for swiping a beautiful girl’s underwear. Probably something really embarrassing, but still he should have been brave and faced it, instead of running off like a sneaky chickeny thief, which, he now realized, was what he was.

He looked for a back door but there were only three little changing booths along the wall. Maybe he could deny it was him. Maybe Harriet hadn’t actually seen him take them. Maybe they’d forget the whole dumb thing and go home.

***

Go home? Are you stupid or something? Big Ruby hollered.

I do not want to miss the Bandstand show again! retorted Betty. Not just to tail after some creepy panty thief! I need my entertainment!

Stay alert, squad! Fern enjoyed calling her friends squad. It made her feel like she was in charge. He didn’t just vanish – he’s here somewhere.

Of course! He must be in the clothing shop! cried Harriet, and scurried across the street.

Come on, cloverhead, Big Ruby growled at Betty. You’ll get your entertainment.

***

Harriet found him in the last changing booth, standing on top of the little bench so no one could see his feet. Well, if it isn’t the biggest sissy in the whole wide world! she giggled as yanked the curtain open. Are you picking out some new dresses?

Big Ruby’s loud laugh filled the little alcove as the other girls crowded in with them.

Fern pulled the curtain shut. The sissy-hunting squad triumphs again, she gloated.

Clarence tried to play it cool. What are you guys talking about?

We’re talking about what a sneaky little pantyboy you are, teased Betty. We know you swiped a pair of Harriet’s underwear off her clothesline yesterday.

Whaaat? Clarence tried to act surprised. Actually he was surprised, since he didn’t expect to be caught and he certainly didn’t expect anyone to come right out and announce what he had done.

Are you wearing them now? asked Harriet, reaching up for his belt.

No! It wasn’t me who did it, and besides, I wouldn’t wear them … I was just sort of curious.

And you’re terrible at lying, laughed Betty. So did you swipe them?

Clarence shook his head emphatically, but Big Ruby had grabbed his wrists and Harriet was still pulling at his belt. Nooo! I didn’t! I would never do that!

Don’t be a fibber, scolded Harriet. Her eyes danced with mischief as she undid his belt. So that wasn’t you lurking around my backyard last night?

Of course not! I was home doing homework then!

And it wasn’t you who snatched my undies off the clothesline? And then hopped over the fence?

I just told you –

Whoever it was, he fell into Mrs. O’Leary’s compost shed when he jumped the fence … and he probably has a big bruise right –

With that, she yanked down his jeans and pointed at the bruise on his thigh.

There! chorused the four girls.

Clarence tumbled off the bench. There was an epic struggle to see who would end up with his jeans. Big Ruby fell on him, then he was bouncing off several walls in the tiny room. Suddenly the curtain was yanked aside by an elderly lady who looked on the verge of an embolism. Before she could shriek, the girls hurried out of the store. Clarence blushed and yanked his jeans back on as he ran.

But before he reached the door, something in the mirror made him stop dead in his tracks.

The jeans weren’t his.

He was hitching up a pair of powder blue jeans with embroidered daisies and tulips. Girl’s jeans.

His jaw dropped as he looked through the window to see Harriet waving and flapping his jeans like a long denim banner. Fern, Betty and Big Ruby watched to see his reaction.

Those jeans are seven dollars, said Gloria the cashier, as if she sold girl’s jeans to boys every day of the week. Clarence reflexively reached in his pocket, but of course it was empty.

But those girls stole my pants! whined Clarence. Gloria carefully scratched her curly wig and tried to look like she cared.

Look, I’ll bring them back when I’ve get my pants, okay?

You have to leave something. Give me your bag, honey. Before he could object, Gloria yanked his schoolbag out of his hands.

As he left, the door swung open and everyone in the store could hear the girls singing Clarence is a sissy at the top of their lungs. Their singsongy voices echoed off walls and down the narrow street. Clarence hitched up his new girl’s jeans as best he could.

I can get you a larger size, honey, said the cashier, but Clarence was already gone.

***

The girls had split up in different directions, but Clarence pursued Harriet. She swooped into a tiny building on the corner where several stories of struggling businesses were housed. Harriet ran through the little lobby, still waving Clarence’s jeans at him, and pushed open the door to a staircase. The two ran up past Happy’s Pawn Shop, the Gold Belt Karate Academy and a forlorn little doorway where the Superprofessional Garden Gnome Restoration Co. resided.

On the top floor was Miss Tara’s Charm School. Harriet was so surprised to see it again, she almost lost her footing on the steps. Every Wednesday, Harriet’s Mom had taken her here for what they called her lessons. Memories of sipping tea with the gracious Miss Tara came flooding back.

Slow down! hollered Clarence, limping his way past the karate school.

Hurry up or I’ll throw them off the roof! laughed Harriet. She sat down on the little bench outside the door, leaned back thoughtfully and studied the flowing script on Miss Tara’s sign. A bulletin board was covered with polaroids of cute little girls pouring tea as Miss Tara hovered nearby.

Harriet could barely remember what she was actually taught in this little school. She did remember sweet Miss Tara, always keeping order and explaining the proper way for young ladies to behave. And she remembered all the dresses. Miss Tara had tons of dressy dresses that were absolutely perfect, if you were five and liked to play dress up.

Clarence finally rounded the corner, totally out of breath. In the dim light of the stairway, the little beads on his jeans winked and glimmered. Harriet whistled at him. His jeans were slipping down past his hips and Harriet saw something she hadn’t noticed when they were in the changing room.

Give me my pants back, begged Clarence, trying to sound menacing.

The fact that she was sitting should have made him feel in charge, but somehow he felt more like a peasant pleading his case before a powerful queen.

Hey, you have two pairs of underwear on, Harriet pointed at his white briefs, and another pair that peeked out above the waistband.

Clarence tried to think up an explanation, but realized there just plain wasn’t any. He sighed and leaned against the wall. Look, I’m very sorry I took them, okay? he said, sounding more annoyed than contrite. I guess I’ll put them in the laundry and then bring them back, okay?

The least you can do is explain why you did it, Clarence, Harriet pouted.

Clarence opened his mouth, but found he couldn’t explain a