Back At It

Chapter 4 : Back At It

Jason felt better after his encounter with Nichole. She had taken the time to listen to him, and had actually cared about his feelings. A part of him was angry that his family didn't seem to care about hims as much as a stranger did. But more than any anger he felt at the moment, Jason was feeling happy. He was happy that someone had said that they believed in him. He was happy that someone, someone attractive at that, had talked to him as a person.

A quick peek at her business card told him that Nichole was a makeup artist. That told him a lot, actually. He knew he was a geek. He also knew that he loved it when he could share his interest in anime and video games. Nichole, he suspected, was passionate about makeup. She had made a career out of it after all. That was why she was so happy to talk to him about it. She was happy to have someone to share her passion with.

Jason suspected that if he asked her, Nichole would teach him all about makeup for costumes and performances. The comic and anime conventions never came anywhere near his home town, but Jason liked looking at pictures and videos from them on line. He loved the idea of whole crowds of people that he could talk about games and anime with. He had thought about dressing up as a character from one of those for Halloween, but he had never tried, because he knew he could never look right.

But maybe with Nichole's help...

These thoughts were swirling around in Jason's mind as he moved on to try to sell more candy. Yes, he was a little distracted by them. He was also more than a little distracted by the feel of the pantyhose against his skin, especially at his groin. But those little distractions didn't slow him down. On the contrary, they lifted his mood. He was smiling a little and walking tall with his shoulders back.

Just as Nichole had told him, nothing sells like confidence. Now that he was no longer locked in his resentment over what he was being made to do, his body language and expression presented a positive message. No longer looking like someone forced to sell something, and now looking like someone wanting to sell candy, Jason's very next stop was an improvement over how his day had been going before Nichole.

Jason, as an attractive, happy seeming girl had no trouble selling candy. He sold out before his sister came back to look for him. In fact, he had so much time left over that he had a chance to get angry about his situation all over again. He was dressed as a girl, away form his own neighborhood, without his cellphone, his ID, bus pass, or any money. He was hungry, thirsty, and stranded.

Once he had sold his last candy bar, he had been relieved, and had enjoyed a brief moment of a sense of accomplishment. As soon as he had gotten out of sight of the last customer, Jason had pulled out the packet of wipes and started scrubbing off the makeup. He was sure he didn't get it all off, since he didn't have a mirror to inspect his work. He was happy to find a convenient trash can so he could dispose of the used wipes without littering.

Then he had time to think about what to do next...

He had to wait for his sister, or somebody, to come collect him, or to find a way home on his own. He didn't want to walk home, because he was dressed like a girl, carrying money that wasn't his, and would be going through areas he did not know well. That was the set up for a horror movie if he ever saw one. No wallet, and thus no bus pass, and no money of his own ruled out taking the bus. He knew if he spent any of the candy sales money on anything, he would be the one in trouble, not his sister for abandoning him. And just like everybody else he knew, without his cell phone, he couldn't remember anybody's phone number.

Jason thought about going back to Nichole's. If he did, he might be able to beg a ride home, or at least to use her bathroom and have a place to wait for his sister. Except that his sister wouldn't know where to find him. She would accuse him of hiding from her or something. Likewise, getting a ride home, Jason was sure, wouldn't make his parents wonder why he needed a ride, but make them upset that he got a ride from a stranger. And he would be in trouble for not waiting for his sister and making her worry. Not that she would be in trouble for making him wait, or making him worry for his own safety.

As he wondered back to where his sister had abandoned him, Jason's mood darkened. When he got to that location he was once more frowning and walking slouched over, the image of someone unhappy. As he waited, a part of him hoped someone would think he looked out of place and call the police. Except that would get him in trouble too.

If his parents had to answer to the police why their under aged son had been abandoned, dressed as a girl, to sell candy, Jason was sure that they would be angry at him for being an embarrassment. Never mind the possible risk to him, or the total irresponsibility of his sister.

Jason paced slowly up and down the sidewalk as he waited for his sister. He didn't want to sit down. Bloomers or no bloomers, he was still wearing a skirt. He could see enough ants that he didn't want to risk them getting someplace tender. He also didn't want to get his sister's old uniform dirty, because he knew she would get him in trouble over it if he did. It was actually getting dark out when he heard his sister approaching. No car engine sounded like that in a nice neighborhood unless the driver knew they were running late.

"Hurry up and get in," His sister demanded as soon as she brought the care to a screeching halt. "Gods, quit being so slow!"

She complained about him although she hadn't even unlocked the door. He had to reach in through the open window to open the door. Getting in, he had to push a shopping bag on the floor board out of his way. As soon as he was seated, she took off again, never even looking him in the face.

"Geeze," Her voice came out as an angry whine. "I've got a party to get to. It will be all your fault if I'm late." She threw an angry glance in his general direction. "Why couldn't you answer your damn phone?"

Jason's jaw dropped. His fault if she was late? Answer his phone? Party? He felt his anger start to truly boil as her words started to sink in. He also started to notice other details as well. The shopping bag next to his feet wasn't empty. Looking into it he could see another shopping bag, a shoe box, and a wadded up elastic bandage. Looking at his sister's feet, he could see that Mary was wearing a new pair of heeled sandals, and had her toenails painted to match.

Jason clamped his jaw tight. His sister had abandoned him to do her work for her, while she had gone off to spend time with her friends. Now she was angry at him because she had to pick him up, after doing her work for her. Work had been forced to do because she said she had hurt her ankle. But suddenly she was wearing heels and getting ready to go to a party.

Jason didn't dare say a word to his sister. He was not about to give her anything else to get angry about, or to try to use what he said to get him in trouble with his parents. Of course Mary thrived on attention, so giving her the silent treatment just made her angry anyway. And in her mind, since she could never be a fault, her brother must be pouting over a guilty conscience .

Arriving home, Mary didn't even blink over Jason grabbing the shopping bag out of the car as he got out. That was exactly what she expected of him. But he had slammed the door to her car before he stomped towards the house. That was unacceptable to her.

"Mom!" Mary yelled as soon as she was in the door. "Jason's being a brat again.

"Is that what took you so long to get home?" Their mother questioned as she closed in on the disturbance.

"He won't tell me what he did," Mary exclaimed. "He's been acting all sneaky and guilty all the way home."

"Jason?" His mother turned to him, speaking in a warning tone. "You were supposed to be helping your sister. What were you doing?"

"What was I doing?" Jason challenged. "Do you mean what was I doing while Mary went to the mall with her friends?" He made a show of holding up the shopping bag before setting it on the ground. He then pulled out the shoe box, dumping out the shoes and socks his sister had been wearing earlier. "While Mary was out buying shoes, I was selling her candy." Next he pulled out the cash envelope from the sales box. "I was doing what you made me do." He threw the envelope at the ground and reached into the shopping bag to pull out the elastic bandage. He held it up and waved it around.

"Mary left me alone, dressed like a girl," He was nearly yelling. "So she could have fun with her friends while I sold her precious candy. And then I had to wait around for her to come back and get me."

"I tried to call you to tell you to take the bus home," Mary yelled, placing the blame on him. "Why didn't you answer?"

"My phone is in my pocket."

"So..."

"In my pants."

"Yo..."

"In my bedroom!" His voice cracked with emotions as he slipped into officially yelling at his sister for the first time in years. He knew he would be in trouble for it, but right then he didn't care.

"When you made me dress up as a girl to sell your candy, you didn't give me any time to figure out what was going on. You were in such a hurry that I didn't have my phone, wallet, or anything, when you ran off and left me alone."

"Don't you..."

"You abandoned me!" Jason's voice cut his sister off. It was loud enough that Mary and their mother both flinched. "You lied about getting hurt, so you could make me do your work for you, and then ran off and left me, dressed like a girl!"

"You shou..." His mother began.

"And you helped her!" Jason shouted her down. He turned away and stormed off to his room without another word.

--

Jason marched into his bedroom. He carefully put Nichole's card and the mostly empty packet of wipes on his desk. After throwing the now empty sales box out into the hall, he gathered up a fresh pair of socks and underwear, and the clothes he had been forced to abandon earlier. He then took his things and did something he was all too familiar with. He went and locked himself in the bathroom.

Jason stripped down quickly, throwing the offending uniform in the corner. His socks and and briefs went into the hamper without a pause. He did force himself to slow down as he removed the things Nichole and loaned him. He didn't want to damage the pantyhose, and the bikini top was unfamiliar enough he had to think about how to take it off. Once naked, Jason started the shower. He gave it fifteen seconds to warm up, then he got under the spray of water and let himself cry.