The concert continued, and before long Alex found, to his surprise, that he was actually really enjoying the music. The longer he listened to it, the better it sounded. Alex had always thought of this band as playing “basic white girl” type music; stuff he’d listen to if he was with Sarah, but nothing he’d listen to on his own. He might have to change that, though, he thought as he happily danced along to one of the songs. The entire crowd seemed so into the music, everyone laughing and cheering and having a great time.
Alex brushed back his hair again as he made his way back to Sarah with the waters she wanted. She smiled at him as he handed her a bottle. “You’ll never guess what happened!” Alex said, yelling to be heard over the crowd. His throat felt weird, and he coughed a couple times. “What?” His girlfriend asked, leaning in as she clearly hadn’t heard a word he said. “You’ll never guess what happened!” Alex said again. “Some guy thought I was a girl and smacked my ass!” He said indignantly.
Sarah burst out in a fit of giggles. “I told you that looked like my outfit!” She said with a grin. At Alex’s scowl she rolled her eyes. “It was just some idiot, babe. Girls have to put up with stuff like that all the time. Don’t let him ruin the concert. Aren’t you having more fun than you thought you would?” Grudgingly, Alex had to admit that was the case. “That’s great…..Lexi!” She teased, giggling again at Alex’s glare.
The concert went on for another couple hours, Alex had danced so much his legs felt sore. As the concert came to an end and groups of people filed for the exits, Sarah grabbed his arm. “I’m kinda hungry, babe.” She said. “Can we stop at The Wall on our way back?”
The Wall was one of the town’s local bars, and it had a reputation for being lax when it came to checking IDs. It was a sprawling place with pool tables, arcade machines, and even a karaoke section. It also served some excellent food, as it turned out. Many of Alex’s classmates went to The Wall to hang out and party, and tonight was no exception.
Alex was uncertain. On one hand, he desperately wanted to go back home and get changed out of these clothes, especially if they really did look so much like girls clothes. On the other hand, Sarah was looking at him so pleadingly….”okay, babe.” He said, smiling at her. “Let’s go.”
Aunt Hannah, sitting in her room reading a book, glanced over at the statue. “Ooh, they are sneaking out to a bar. Naughty!” She said, a wicked grin crossing her face as the glow in the statue’s eyes intensified. “This is going to be even more fun!”
Sarah led the way into The Wall. The hostess on duty, an African American woman in her late twenties, smiled at her and Alex. “Follow me, ladies!” She said perkily, Sarah stifling another round of laughter at the look on Alex’s face as they followed her into the bar. They were soon seated at a booth near the pool tables. A large screen TV was playing a football game nearby, and…..Alex froze. Some of his friends from the football team, Ethan and Max, were playing pool over at the nearest table. And both guys had seen them.
The problem was….neither appeared to recognize him. Both boys sauntered over as soon as they’d sat down. “Hey Sarah, who’s your pretty friend?” Ethan asked, flashing his best smile.
Sarah, barely containing her laughter, said “This is Lexi. We met at cheer camp a couple summers ago, she’s a cheerleader for Blanton.” She said, naming a private school located far from your town. “She’s in town visiting me for the week, and I wanted to give her the grand tour.” Alex stared at his girlfriend in shock. Oh, he was SO getting her back for this one. But, with little choice but to play along, he turned and smiled at the boys. “Hey guys.” He said, giving them a wave. His throat still felt weird, and his voice came out high and feminine.