The Stuff of Legends, Chapter 9
by Pleasant Dreamer
Chapter 9: Date Night
When I got out of bed that morning I found the house empty. There was no sign of Mel, but that didn’t come as a surprise to me since I knew she had soccer practice that afternoon. Knowing her she was probably already at the field training. I didn’t typically go to her practices. Don’t get me wrong I never missed a game, a show, a recital, or any of the crazy number of activities she got involved in, but there’s just no way in hell I can watch her practice for all that stuff too. I love my kid sister, but I need time for a life too. I decided to break tradition though and go to Mel’s practice that afternoon. I wanted to see if there were any noticeable changes in her attitude since last night’s training session.
I didn’t have a clue where Kim was and I felt a bit annoyed by that even though I had no right to. I’d gotten used to her chauffeuring me around these last few weeks. I’d convinced myself that once I figured out the mystery behind the “Magic Cat’s Eye Statue” Dad would reward my hard work with the rest of the money I needed to buy the jeep he knew I wanted. I knew I was getting ahead of myself, but I felt like the jeep was practically mine already, so I couldn’t help feeling like a child as I rode my bike to the field. Last night I was an all-powerful Pharaoh and now I was just another teenager on bike peddling his ass around town. It was a bit humiliating. I considered texting Kim to see if I could get a ride since I figured she was probably going to the practice too, but that seemed even more humiliating somehow.
I was amazed at how well Kim had fit into our lives and how quickly Mel had become attached to her. I had to admit that I genuinely liked her too, but I could tell that Mel had grown to think of her like a big sister. She treated me like an equal which was certainly a change from the old crows who used to have her job. She definitely stretched the truth about her cooking skills when she was interviewed for the job though and I wished she dressed a little sexier, but all and all I was happy to have her around.
When I got to the soccer field I didn’t see Kim’s car in the parking lot. Realizing she hadn’t come to the practice after all I cursed the fact that I’d have to pedal my ass home too. After scanning the field for a few minutes I couldn’t spot Mel anywhere among the other girls so I gave her a quick text to see where she was. I got an immediate response.
Blew off practice to have a girls day out with Kim, sorry I didn’t tell you. Didn’t think you’d go to practice. We still on for the magic club tonight? The Amazing Carter Brothers are performing.
The Amazing Carter Brothers were a local magic act that she really liked. She’d been bugging me for weeks talking about the show. It was no surprise to me that Kim and Mel were together since they’d been hanging out together a lot lately. I was surprise to learn that she’d purposely blown off practice though. That wasn’t like her at all, especially considering the fact that the soccer finals were practically all she could talk about lately. That girl was determined that her team was going to win the state finals.
With nothing better to do I decided to just go home and continue my research on the statue. Through a moment of clarity while peddling I realized that some detective work might get me farther than research. I could check the return address on the package Dad sent it in and have some idea of where he found it. And I already knew the statue itself was created from polished onyx, which most likely pointed towards the second dynasty period. That would give me a place and a time frame to start exploring. I’d have my answers soon enough. I couldn’t wait to see how Dad rewarded my efforts.
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I spend a good chunk of the day engrossed in my research. I was confident that by the end of the week I’d have all the answers. Mel was running late so I left for the magic club early since she was adamant I get us a good table up front. She let me know that Kim would drop her off so she wasn’t late for the show and even offered to pick us up afterwards so we didn’t have to take the bus. I was all for that.
Sitting alone in the crowded club I didn’t even notice Mel arrive until she called out to me. Even then I had to scan the crowd a few times before I actually saw her. From across the room I saw an entirely different Mel then I had ever seen before. Her hair looked different. It had always been straight, but now it had curls and a bounce to it. And that’s not the only thing that had a new bounce to it. She wore a tight t shirt that didn’t quite cover her entire belly. It was complimented by a short loose flowing skirt that wouldn’t have seemed odd on another girl, but on my former tomboy sister to me it seemed almost obscenely short. She happily bounced over to the table as I pulled out a chair for her.
“Whoa, look at you. What’s with the new look?” I asked trying not to stare at her chest.
“Well brother, I don’t know if you’ve noticed it or not, but I’m a lady and I’ve decided to start dressing one. No more wearing your old hand me downs.” She laughed as she asked, “Well, what do you think?”
What did I think? I thought she looked hot, but nothing was hotter than the knowledge that I had altered her personality to make her want to dress that way. Thinking of the power I secretly had over her made me glad for the modesty the table offered me. It was taking all my restraint not to whisper the trigger phrase to turn her into my obedient puppet and march her home to play. Knowing Kim was most likely there though helped with my restraint.
“I think you look good, it’s a cute look for you.”
“You really think so, because I was so nervous you might not like it. Is the skirt too short? I don’t usually wear one so it still feels kind of weird, you know?” She was talking a mile a minute.
“The skirt looks great. You have nothing to feel nervous about. Not every girl has the body to pull that off, you should be proud.”
She tried to hide the fact that she was blushing as she giggled and thanked me. “I’m glad you like it Brandon, your opinion means a lot to me.” Just then the lights began to dim and Mel began her usual routine of becoming overly excited and pointing out to me the fact that the show was beginning, as if I needed to be told. I’m quite certain I could hear what sounded like an eight year old telling her mommy the same thing and acting just as excited a few tables behind us.
Sitting there in the dark I tried not to smile too big as I thought to myself that my opinion didn’t just mean a lot to her, in fact I suspected that my opinion now meant everything to her. I couldn’t wait to test that theory and find out just how far I could control her just by suggesting she do things. I practically missed the entire first half of the show as my mind wandered thinking of tests I could run on Mel to determine how much control I had over her. My eyes also wandered once I realized that she was so completely focused on the acts on stage that she didn’t notice me checking her out. As I examined her I noticed for the first time that she was wearing make-up. She was definitely wearing lipstick and even though it was dark I thought I could see some kind of eyeliner with a hint of glitter in it. I had to stop myself from laughing at that. It was cute, but I immediately had a vision of my sister standing at a huge make up counter unsure of what to buy and then freaking out when she saw one with glitter like a child would.
During intermission I asked her about her hair and make-up and she told me Kim had taken her to get it done. They’d had a “Girls Day” as she called it. As she talked I came to understand that the two had spent the entire day shopping and hanging out together. I smiled at the idea of Kim unknowingly aiding in my goal of remodeling my sister. That’s when I remembered she’d blown off practice.
“I’m glad you had fun, but I’m surprised you’d miss practice, especially after missing last week’s game.”
“Oh that…” suddenly all the excitement was gone for her voice and she grew quiet and serious. “I’ve decided not to bother with soccer anymore. And probably most of the other sports too. I might stay with gymnastics and dance though.”
That was a huge surprise. Mel was such a sports junkie I had to keep all the dates of her practices and games written down on the kitchen calendar just to keep track of them all. “What brought this on so suddenly? Practically all you’ve talked about for the last few weeks is how you might make the state finals. You were so excited it was practically driving me crazy.”
“It’s just that….it’s just…” I waited as she struggled to find the right words. “It just seems like my whole life has been about sports. I just think…now I’m getting older and it’s time I start acting more like a girl. I’m tired of people always thinking I’m such a tomboy…you know? Do you think I’m making the right decision?”
She looked up at me with big doe like eyes and I was certain she was holding back tears. I tried to think back on her programming and recall if I had said anything in particular that would have made her consider giving up on sports. My best guess was that her mind now sought out my approval and since one of the suggestions was to stop dressing like a tomboy she decided it was best to stop acting like one too, but that was just a guess.
She waited quietly with big pleading eyes for me to speak and I realized that no matter what I told her she would accept it as being the best thing to make her happy and feel good about “her” choice. She was basically waiting for me to tell her what to think. Again I was grateful for the table.
“Mel, you love sports. I can’t imagine you being happy giving them up.” She immediately sighed and smiled at hearing that. “There’s nothing wrong with a girl playing sports, you have fun and its great exercise. Besides you’re most likely going to get into college on a huge sports scholarship the way you’re going and you know how important our education is to Dad.” She just nodded and flashed a giant grin, though I seriously suspected she’d have done the same thing if I was listing off all the reason why she made the right call giving up sports.
“And you know I can think of one more reason why you shouldn’t give up on soccer and all those other sports.”
“What’s that?”
“All that running around has really given you great pair of legs.” I laughed as I stared at her legs in an exaggerated manner.
That got me a pretty good punch in the arm as she tried the hide the fact that she was blushing again with her other hand. “You know, you can be such a weirdo sometimes.” We both laughed as the lights began to dim and a beautiful magician’s assistant walked onto the stage. Mel whispered, “Wow she is so pretty.” I sat back and took in the sight of the beautiful assistant as she turned around and chuckled back, “She is, but then again any woman with a body that could actually fit into THAT costume would have to be.” That got me another punch in the arm and another declaration that I was a weirdo.
That also got me thinking about costumes and wondering how Mel would look in something like that. The internets a big place, surely someplace somewhere sold sexy little costumes in her size. Suddenly Mel wasn’t the only one with a sudden urge to do some shopping.
>>Chapter 10>>