“Uh, why the sudden costume change, Leah?” Tina asks, once Leah gets back. Leah’s mind races to come up with an excuse.
“Well, people sometimes mistake me for a little kid at first, so I wanted to see if I could actually pull it off for a day,” Leah fibs. Tina raises an eyebrow in amusement. “It’s basically an acting exercise.” Leah is in Drama Club at school, but doesn’t get cast for many roles.
“I mean, if this is how you want to get better at acting, I guess I’ll go along with it.” Leah stifles a sigh of relief. “But me going along with it means that I have to treat you the way I would if you were actually a little kid.” Leah’s relief is replaced with sudden fear as Tina picks Leah up and puts her in the seat of the shopping cart. To her distress, she fits in it perfectly.
“Uh, I don’t mean-” Leah starts. Tina wags a finger at her playfully.
“Now, now. You’re not acting like a little kid,” she teases. Leah scowls. “A pout. Much better.” Leah simmers in silence as Tina pushes the cart around the store. Maybe she should have just told Tina the truth. This might be more humiliating.
“Ooh, these will be perfect,” Tina gushes, tossing a package of pacifiers into the cart. “You get so fussy at naptime!” Leah winces. This is definitely more humiliating.
Thankfully, the shopping trip doesn’t last much longer. They check out and head for the car. At the car, Tina lifts Leah out of the shopping cart and buckles her into a car seat that she keeps in case of emergencies.
“Tina, I’m not-” Leah starts. Tina rips open the package of pacifiers and pops one into Leah’s mouth. Leah takes it out. “Tina, the idea was to see if strangers think I’m a little kid.”
“Then it’s not a very good acting exercise. You can convince a stranger of anything. No, I think that if you want to finally get cast in the plays, you can’t cut corners. Try to convince me that you’re a little girl. The first step to doing that is to suck on your new paci.” Leah reluctantly puts the pacifier back into her mouth. She instinctively sucks on it as Tina unloads the rest of the items, puts the cart away, and gets into the driver’s seat.
Leah regrets using this lie. Of course Tina would go overboard. Tina is supportive to the point of annoyance.
“Luckily, we’re going somewhere that you’ll really be able to flex those acting chops,” Tina chirps. Dread grows in Leah’s stomach as she wonders what their destination is.