Marshmallow Masquerade

by Cynthia Blair

  And it never once occurred to me that I might be pretending to be interested in somebody when I wasn’t, that I might be hurting his feelings in the long run by paying special attention to him at first and then ignoring him from then on....

  Chris was so absorbed in her observations that she never got around to answering Holly’s question. Fortunately, Susan filled in for her.

  “Charlie’s just visiting our family for the week, until this weekend. In fact, he’s going back to Chicago first thing Saturday morning. Right, Charlie?”

  “Oh, uh, right, Susan.”

  “Just this week, huh?” Suddenly, Holly turned away, obviously having lost interest in him because he wasn’t going to be around for very long. “Gee, too bad Chris is sick during your visit,” she said off handedly.

  “Well, I figured I’d sit in on some of her classes,” explained Charlie. “Then I can fill her in on the lectures and help her with the homework. That way she won’t miss any school, even though she’s got such a bad case of the flu. Besides, I’m a senior, too, so it won’t hurt me to go to some of my cousin’s classes while I’m here.”

  “Ummm.” It was clear that Holly was no longer interested in whatever Charlie Pratt had to say.

  Mike, however, was ready to be friendly. “Well, Charlie, maybe you’d like to get together after school one day this week. You know, shoot some baskets, maybe watch a game on TV. Hey, I’ve got a whole scrapbook full of clippings about basketball players. I’d be happy to show it to you sometime!”

  Chris gulped. “Sure, Mike. Sounds great.”

  How peculiar it was that simply because Charlie happened to be a boy, Mike just assumed he was interested in sports. And that he enjoyed playing them, too.

  Gee, that must put boys under a lot of pressure, she mused. Here Charlie doesn’t even know Mike, and yet he’s supposed to play basketball with him!

  Then she realized that she was the one who’d be playing basketball with Mike Anderson.

  “Of course,” she said hastily, “I may be pretty busy all week ...”

  But Chris’s lame protest was lost. The car had just pulled up in front of Whittington High.

  “Here we are!” Holly cried gaily.

  The three of them climbed out of the car, thanking Mike for the ride. His parting words were “See you around, Susan! And Charlie, stop over at my house anytime!”

  Once he had driven away, Holly said, “Oh, look, Susan! There’s Hank! Gee, I think I’ll pretend I didn’t see him, and just ‘happen’ to walk by him. See you two later! Oh, nice meeting you, Charlie!”

  Once again, Chris thought about how Holly had been flirting with Charlie in the car just minutes earlier. And now here she was, running off to catch some other boy’s attention ... right in front of him!

  Chris shook her head slowly. Gee, if I really were a boy, I bet I’d be pretty confused right now. Holly doesn’t seem to realize that Charlie’s got feelings, too!

  She was about to turn to her twin and say, “Well, Holly would probably be amazed to hear that flirting with every boy she meets isn’t necessarily going to help her social life!” But Susan sighed loudly.

  “Boy, I can’t believe that Holly just left us here like that! All because she wanted to run and catch Hank’s attention. As if he were more important than we are! That’s pretty rude, don’t you think?”

  “I can’t believe you said that,” said Chris. “I was just thinking the same thing ... but for a different reason!”

  “Really? What do you mean?”

  “Well, a few minutes ago Holly was flirting with Charlie, and now, right in front of him, she’s running off to find some other boy!”

  Susan was dumbfounded. “What on earth are you talking about, Chris? Holly was flirting with Charlie?”

  “Well, sure. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice how differently she reacted to you and to Charlie.”

  “No ... I didn’t notice anything odd. Why? What happened? Did I miss something?”

  Chris opened her mouth to explain—and then promptly shut it again.

  “Never mind, Sooz. I’ll explain later. In the meantime, let me just say that in the last ten minutes or so, ever since I became Charlie Pratt, I’ve learned more about being a boy than in the entire seventeen years before that!”

  Chapter Five

  While the first day of the Marshmallow Masquerade had started out smoothly enough, it wasn’t long before Chris-as-Charlie Pratt ran into her first major problem.

  It started in homeroom, as soon as she wandered into the classroom, trying to look a bit confused. She nodded politely to some of Chris’s friends and was relieved to see that they simply looked back at her blankly. So far, her disguise was working!

  Once she sat down, however, the trouble began.

  “Hey, who’s the new kid?” someone behind her demanded in a gruff voice.

  Chris turned around and found herself looking up at Eddie McKay, a tough, belligerent senior who had a reputation for being Whittington High’s biggest bully. He and Chris traveled in very different circles, and the two of them had never paid very much attention to each other before.

  Suddenly, all that changed.

  Eddie and his two buddies, Frank Hollinger and Jimmy Nelson, were standing together, looking Charlie Pratt over. And their attitude was anything but friendly.

  “Hello!” Chris said in her deepest Charlie voice. “I’m Charlie Pratt. Chris Pratt’s cousin ...”

  “Oh, yeah?” Menacingly, Eddie raised his chin into the air. “So what makes you think you’re allowed to sit in my seat?”

  Chris knew very well that there was no such thing as “Eddie’s seat.” There was no assigned seating in her homeroom. Students could sit anywhere they pleased, and they tended to take different seats practically every day, depending upon who came in early and who came in late.

  However, that was something that Charlie Pratt probably wouldn’t know. And even if he did, this wasn’t the time and place to start quoting the rules. Not to someone like Eddie McKay.

  “Gee, I’m sorry.” Charlie jumped up and headed toward a different chair. “I didn’t know that was your seat. Believe me, it won’t happen again.”

  “Hey, what a sissy!” cried Frank. “Aren’t you even going to fight for your seat?”

  “Well ... no,” Charlie said evenly. “If this seat belongs to, uh, your friend over there, he’s welcome to have it back. Besides, I don’t care where I sit.”

  “Oh, you don’t, huh?” Eddie came over to where Chris was standing and stood very close to her. With a hostile look in his eyes, he peered down at her. “Do you want to know what I think, Charlie Pratt? I think you’re a wimp! Yeah, a real wimp! And I’ll tell you something else. I don’t like wimps! Now, what do you think of that?”

  Chris gulped. “I, uh, you ...”

  The three boys were now laughing together. But their laughter was cold and mean. Chris could feel herself turning red.

  Fortunately, the bell rang at that moment. All the students in Chris’s homeroom, including Eddie and his pals, sat down. For the moment, at least, she was safe.

  Whew! That was scary! she thought. Boy, Eddie McKay has never said two words to me before. That is, when I was a girl. But once he thought I was another boy, he felt he had to prove something to me. That he was the toughest or something. I’d better make sure I keep away from him and his friends!

  That was not going to be easy, however, Chris discovered quickly.

  During homeroom, she didn’t have time to worry about Eddie. She was too busy explaining to Ms. White, the homeroom teacher, all about how Charlie was Chris Pratt’s cousin, sitting in on her classes while she was out sick.

  But once the bell rang, signifying that homeroom was over, Eddie came over to Chris again. Frank and Jimmy were still in tow.

  “Listen, you,” Eddie hissed, pointing a finger at Chris. “I don’t like your face, you hear me? And you’d better keep out of my way ... or else!”

  Before Chris
could think of anything to say, he was gone.

  What a creep! she thought as she gathered up her schoolbooks, being careful to carry them at her side. I sure hope he doesn’t bother me again!

  She forgot all about him, however, as she became absorbed, once again, in playing the part of Charlie, someone who didn’t know a soul at Whittington High, someone who was completely lost in the maze of corridors and classrooms.

  It never even occurred to her that for the next few days, Eddie McKay, a boy she hardly even knew, was going to try his hardest to make her life miserable.

  The rest of the morning passed quickly and without mishap. The students in Chris’s classes accepted without question the fact that Charlie was Chris’s cousin, that he was sitting in on her classes to help her keep from falling behind in her schoolwork while she was sick ... and that he was a boy. Susan’s comment over the weekend—that Chris wouldn’t have too hard a time being convincing as Charlie because no one would be out to prove that she wasn’t a boy—was proving to be one hundred percent correct.

  If anything, Chris-as-Charlie was disappointed by how little attention she was receiving. Even when she made an effort to talk to other students in her class, they merely answered her politely, then moved on to talk to their friends.

  That is, until lunch period, when Chris spotted Scott Stevens, sitting in the school cafeteria, all by himself.

  This is my big chance! thought Chris. It’s now or never!

  Her heart was pounding as she made her way across the cafeteria toward Scott’s table, tray in hand. She had remembered to get two cartons of milk ... and no straws. How she would manage to drink them both, however, was another matter entirely.

  At this point, she reminded herself, drinking all that milk should be the least of your concerns!

  “Hi! Mind if I sit down?” Chris said in her best Charlie voice. By now, her heart was beating so loudly that she was certain everyone in the room could hear it.

  “Nope. Have a seat.” Scott glanced at Charlie for only a second before turning back to his tuna fish sandwich.

  But Chris was not about to let such a golden opportunity slip by. She sat down right opposite him.

  Her initial inclination was to be flirtatious.

  Whoa—wait a minute! You’re not Chris.... You’re Charlie, remember? You’ve got to act as if you’re just one of the guys. And as if Scott Stevens is also just one of the guys.

  As she looked into his green eyes and felt her heart melting, she knew that that was going to be anything but easy.

  “My name is Charlie. Charlie Pratt.” Fortunately, using a deeper voice than usual helped keep it from shaking. She sounded casual, exactly the way she wanted to sound.

  “Hello. I’m Scott Stevens. Are you new here at Whittington High?”

  “Well, not exactly. I mean, I’m Chris Pratt’s cousin. I’m visiting from Chicago. Do you, uh, know Chris?”

  “Sure!” Scott brightened at the mention of her name. Or was she just imagining it? “Chris is in my history class sixth period.”

  “Really? Well, she’s out sick. A pretty bad case of the flu. She has to stay in bed for a few days—maybe even all week.”

  “Gee, that’s tough.”

  “Yeah. So I’m sitting in on her classes for her. You know, so I can fill her in on what she missed, help her with her homework, stuff like that.”

  “Hey, that’s awfully nice of you! Especially since this is kind of a vacation for you, isn’t it? I mean, coming here all the way from Chicago to visit Chris’s family.”

  “Well ... I don’t mind.”

  Chris was beginning to feel brave. The more she talked—and the longer she was able to convince people that she was Charlie Pratt—the easier the Marshmallow Masquerade became. And the temptation to take advantage of such a golden opportunity to find out more about what Scott thought of Chris was irresistible.

  “In fact,” she went on, “I’m glad I can help old Chris out. After all, she’s a great girl.” When Scott remained silent, seeming more interested in his tuna fish sandwich than in discussing the girls he knew, Chris-as-Charlie couldn’t resist adding, “Don’t you think so?”

  “Huh?” Scott looked startled. “Oh, sure. I guess so. I mean, I don’t really know your cousin very well.”

  Chris was flabbergasted. Here she thought that she and Scott were becoming good friends! She was certainly making an effort. Talking to him every chance she got, plotting ways to run into him between classes and after school ... even going so far as to offer to help him study for that big exam on the Civil War.

  Why, she thought she was being positively brazen, making it obvious that she liked Scott Steven very much. And it turned out that he hadn’t even noticed!

  Disappointed, she turned to her lunch.

  “So, Charlie, are you a high school student, too?” Scott asked congenially.

  Chris nodded. “I’m a senior. At, uh, Chicago High.”

  Once she said that, she realized how ridiculous that sounded.

  Why, Chicago is a huge city, and it must have dozens of high schools! she thought. There’s not just one called “Chicago High,” the way there is here in Whittington.

  But Scott didn’t seem to notice. Once again, Susan’s contention—that no one would notice anything peculiar simply because they had no reason to start looking for inconsistencies—was proving to be true.

  “Wow. It must be exciting, living in a place like Chicago. What’s it like?”

  Chris nearly choked on her cheeseburger. She had never been to Chicago. But Scott was looking at her, expecting an answer.

  “It’s, uh, pretty nice. It’s quite a bit ... bigger than Whittington.

  “Yeah, I can imagine.”

  “Have you ever been there?”

  “Nope.”

  Suddenly, Chris relaxed. “Oh, well. You’d really like it. It’s got great museums, and ... and parks and lots of different kinds of restaurants. It’s really a fun place to live.”

  “Gee, it sounds terrific. What about your school? Are you interested in sports?”

  Chris hesitated. She was already dreading an afternoon of shooting baskets with Holly’s brother. The idea of doing the same thing with the captain of the basketball team was simply too much!

  “Well ... yes. But I don’t have much time for sports. I’ve got a pretty heavy course load this year. How about you?”

  “I play basketball. In fact, I’m the captain of Whittington High’s team.”

  “No kidding!” Chris didn’t want Scott to lose interest in Charlie, and she knew how important sports were to him, so she added brightly, “I like to watch the games on television, though.”

  “Hey! Me, too! Do you like basketball?”

  “Oh, sure. I like basketball, football, baseball …”

  Scott was growing excited. This was clearly a subject that he found extremely interesting. “What’s your favorite team?”

  Chris’s mind went blank. Even though she knew a little bit about sports, all of a sudden she couldn’t remember the name of a single team. “I, uh, like the Cubs.” It was the first name that came to mind.

  “Oh, sure! That’s because you’re from Chicago! It stands to reason that you’d be loyal to the home team!”

  Chris breathed a sigh of relief.

  “But I’m not talking about baseball. What about basketball?”

  “Oh.” This was turning out to be harder than she ever expected! “I like ... the Chicago team.”

  “The Bulls, huh? Yeah, they’re okay. I like them, too.”

  Chris desperately hoped that their conversation about sports had come to an end. She was on the verge of trying to change the subject to something less risky when Scott said, “Listen, Charlie, I’ve got to run. The coach called a special meeting at twelve-thirty, so I’d better get going. But I really enjoyed talking to you. How’d you like to come over to my house after school one day this week?”

  Chris almost gasped.

  Stay calm, she
reminded herself. You’re Charlie, remember?

  Sounding so matter-of-fact that even she was impressed, she said, “Sure, Scott. Sounds great!”

  “Okay, how about tomorrow?”

  “Uh ... okay. Tomorrow sounds fine.”

  “We can walk over to my house right after school. After all, you probably don’t know your way around Whittington too well, do you?”

  “Uh, no, I don’t.” Chris was still in such shock that it was difficult for her to talk.

  “Okay, then, Charlie! Take it easy, and I’ll see you tomorrow!”

  Chris just nodded. “Taking it easy,” she knew, was going to be anything but easy!

  * * * *

  For the rest of the day, Chris was on cloud nine. Imagine—she was going over to Scott’s house! Finally, after having a crush on the captain of the basketball team for ages, he had invited her over.

  The fact that it was Charlie Pratt he had invited, and not his girl cousin Chris, hardly bothered her at all.

  Besides, she reasoned, it’s better this way. The more time I spend with Scott, the better I’ll get to know him. And the better I know him, the easier it will be for me to find out how he really feels about Christine Pratt.

  Chris was in such a good mood, in fact, that when she ran into Eddie McKay and his two buddies as she was strolling out of the school building, she didn’t even think about their encounter of earlier that day.

  That is, until he said in a wheedling tone, “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Charlie Pratt, Chris Pratt’s wimpy cousin from Chicago.”

  Why is Charlie “wimpy” just because he didn’t want to get into a fight over a stupid chair? Chris wondered, suddenly angry. I never realized before that boys are constantly expected to act so tough! At least where creeps like Eddie McKay are involved!

  But she didn’t have much of a chance to think about that injustice. The three boys came toward her, edging her over to the brick wall of the school and surrounding her. For the moment, she was trapped.

  “Hey, Charlie,” said Eddie, “I think you stole my pen.”