Chapter 2: Cinderella

Alex knew that her ruse was up. The Karens, their boyfriends, Mitch Bellingham, and who knows who else had seen her at the country club and had witnessed her transformation from Plain Jane to chic nymphet. When she arrived at school she saw The Karens staring at her when she removed the stylish fur-lined coat she wore to keep out the cold to reveal a mauve skirt and jacket, black silk blouse, black opaque tights and chunky block heeled Mary Janes with and an over-arch strap. Her highlighted, wavy, layered, shoulder-cut coif and heavier makeup completed the ensemble.

Karen Allbright wagged a finger at her.

“Come with me snow bunny,” Alex followed the Karens into a vacant classroom.

“Quite the transformation, Walmart,” Karen quipped.

Alex said nothing. The Karens were wearing designer winter clothes looking more like fashion models than high school seniors but so did Alex. She leaned against the wall trying to act casual but said nothing.

“Miles Davenport. Florida based businessman and douchebag. I did a little digging over the weekend. One of his companies pays the rent on your townhouse and I bet he’s paying your tuition fees. Is he your sugar daddy? You sure came out of the ragbag for him Saturday night,” the Karens formed a semi-circle around her.

“He’s my uncle! I was emancipated at sixteen and Uncle Miles has supported me since,” Alex didn’t bother lying.

“Emancipated? Did daddy like to tuck you in at night a little too often? Did he like to help you take your bath?” Constance Dupree quipped wickedly.

“Eww! Nothing like that. My parents and I fell out over my life choices. They wanted me to leave school after my senior year and marry a boy from their church. They wanted me to be a housewife with screaming brats around my feet with a husband who worked at some lame job. They wanted a docile homemaker who gave them grandbabies and who cleaned house and shopped for groceries while her husband toiled at some dead-end job,” the practiced lie slid easily off Alex’s tongue.

“But why move all the way to Masons Peak to finish your senior year?” Felicity Lichfield chimed in.

“To get as far away from my parents as possible. Uncle Miles pays my rent, my tuition and he has a college fund for me too,” the half-truth was easy to say.

“But why the disguise? Why no attempt to make friends?” Karen was not going to let Alex off that easy.

“I’m a private person and I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. Do you know how hard it is joining a school for the last year of seniors? Everybody else knows each other. The cliques have formed, friendships are established. I knew that I would be the outsider and that suited me just fine. I didn’t want to have to explain myself to a bunch of people who care nothing about me and who I would only know for one year before I left for college,” it was easy for Alex to sound exasperated.

“If you had turned up like this on the first day I might have even considered letting you join our little entourage. You’re kinda pretty in your own way. You’re smart and articulate and it’s obvious you have fashion sense, even if you’ve been hiding it away for the last few months,” Karen leaned into Alex, her face inches away.

Her breath smelled sweet like bubblegum and she was wearing expensive perfume. Her skin was flawless as was her makeup.

“Are we still good?” Alex breathed.

“Tell me what happened in the restroom corridor at the country club Saturday night?” Karen smiled wickedly.

Alex turned to face Felicity Lichfield.

“Your boyfriend pushed me against the wall and felt me up. I defended myself and then Mitch Bellingham came out of nowhere and helped me. I didn’t come on to Denton, he came on to me. He was drunk and probably thought that I was easy. I’m sure that you girls have had to stave off unwanted advances before,” Alex appealed to their vanity.

“If you weren’t dressed like a whore in that red dress I’m sure Denton wouldn’t have gone anywhere near you,” Felicity Lichfield hissed.

“You’re probably right. My uncle bought me that dress and insisted that I get gussied up for a special occasion. He’d just clinched a big business deal or something equally as boring, but he looks after me so I dressed up for him,” another half-truth told easily.

“Ok Walmart. We’re still good. We are far too busy now to spend time hazing you anyway,” Karen said dismissively and Alex breathed a sigh of relief and turned away.

“By the way Alex ... love your suit,” Karen winked at Alex and smiled sweetly.

The Hanibal Lecter reference was not lost on Alex.

“Are you serious Karen! Are we really going to let that bitch get away with it? Denton swears that she came on to him!” Felicity whined.

“Oh get over yourself Felicity. You know that Denton is a poon hound when he’s drunk. He tried it on with me and Constance at the last kegger,” Karen dismissed Felicity and Constance Dupree blushed.

“But we haven’t finished with Alexandra Plessy. She’s still hiding stuff and I just don’t like her but you know what they say. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. We are going to be nice to her for now, but like I said before, we need to think up something really big and surprise her with it when she least expects it,” Karen led her entourage out of the classroom so they could prepare for the first period.

“Hello stranger let me introduce myself. I’m Mitch Bellingham ... and you are?” Mitch Bellingham approached Alex at lunch.

“Fuck off Mitch,” Alex smiled at him, accepting the backhanded compliment.

“Wow! Just wow!” Mitch sat down beside her at the lunch table.

“When I saw you Saturday night I was blown away but given the circumstances it’s not like we could stop to chat. Then you turn up at school today looking like this,” Mitch indicated her outfit.

“Are you that fickle Mitch? Judging me by my appearance? I’ve had five other guys come on to me today already,” Alex clipped.

“That’s not the case Alex. I’ve been thinking about you since the cross country when I kissed you on the cheek but you were so aloof that I was afraid to approach you. Then you kissed me at the country club and I thought I had a chance, so here I am,” Mitch replied.

“So here you are. What can I do for you Mitch?” Alex was enjoying the banter.

“You said that you would find some way to repay me after I rescued you at the cross country, well, I want a date,” Mitch finally got to the point.

“You work at the country club as a busboy?” Alex changed the subject.

“Yep, I’m saving for college. I don’t have a rich uncle,” Mitch regretted saying it immediately.

“I’m sorry I said that. I saw you sitting with him at the restaurant and Felicity is already putting around that your uncle is some big deal down in Florida. It’s none of my business really, I shouldn’t have bothered you,” Mitch began to get up from the table.

Alex knew that this was her chance to let Mitch go on good terms. She had made peace with The Karens. Uncle Miles had stopped sulking and complaining and had even offered to lease her a car after their passionate weekend. Things could continue as they had since she arrived Masons Peak. She could be the loner, the recluse, the girl who kept to herself and just concentrate on getting good grades.

But Alex knew that it wasn’t Denton Stevens’ hands on her body or Miles’ passionate kisses and prolonged foreplay that had fuelled her desire on Saturday night and all day Sunday. It was the memory of the kiss that she had stolen from Mitch Bellingham outside the kitchen. The feel of his body pressed against hers in that satin gown, the softness of his lips and the urgency of the situation had fired her imagination and when she was lying under Miles Davenport, moaning like a slattern, it was Mitch that Alex was dreaming of.

But she had a huge secret. Nobody in Masons Peak knew that she was transgender so Mitch was under the assumption that she was a cis woman. Was it fair to lead him on? Not telling him would be deceitful but telling him could have enormous consequences. He might be repulsed by her. She had moved to Masons Peak because Minnesota is considered to be one of the most LGBTQ friendly states and transgenders have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people but people have their individual prejudices. Alex had no intention of coming out as trans unless she had to.

Then she rationalised that she would only be living in Masons Peak for a year or so. If Mitch blabbed that she was trans she could live with the consequences but she preferred not to. She had come out as trans at her last school and had effectively been banished, although technically she left before she was expelled.

Alex had never had a boyfriend. When she came out as trans in Miami she had been shunned. A few predatory types had come on to her when they knew that no one was looking but she instinctively knew that they were just curious about what it would like to fuck a tranny in the ass or maybe she might throw them a blowjob. She saw right through them. Anyway there was no way that Uncle Miles would allow her to have boyfriend.

She began to rationalise. What if she and Mitch just became friends? Even if they canoodled a little she could stop it before things got to the stage where she would have to reveal the secret she kept hidden in her panties. She desperately wanted company but only with someone she could trust and so far Mitch seemed trustworthy and gallant.

She put out her hand and clamped it on Mitch’s wrist to stop him from leaving.

“One date. Friday night. You pick where,” Alex looked around and saw that no one was looking and she kissed him quickly on the cheek and got up and left the table exposing a lot of leg when she did so which was not lost on Mitch Bellingham.

Alex fretted all week about the forthcoming date but she was also excited. Where would Mitch take her? Would he try to kiss her? Where his intentions honourable? She knew that she was behaving like a eighth grade girl rather than nineteen year old young woman: exchanging furtive smiles with Mitch in classes, brushing against each other in the corridor, fussing about how she looked before she went to school, showing him a little more leg and cleavage to tease him.

On Wednesday a bright yellow Mini Cooper was delivered to Alex’s town house. It had a big red ribbon tied around it with a card attached.

’To my wonderful niece Alexandra, thank you for a wonderful weekend and I hope there are many more to follow. I am very proud of you and wish you all the best. Keep making your grades and I look forward to helping you select a college worthy of your talents’ the card read.

It was Miles way of thanking her for the incredible sex and behaving suitably subservient over the weekend. It was also a reminder of his control over her and his intention to keep her as his concubine when she went to college but it was innocuously worded.

In the glove compartment was the lease, the registration and the insurance papers. As was his custom, the vehicle was leased by one of his companies with no direct link to Miles.

All that aside, Alex was pleased that she no longer had to walk or bike to school in the bitter cold and snow. Masons Peak was a mostly affluent community and most of the seniors had cars; mostly good cars but there were some beaters. Her Mini wasn’t exceptional by any means but the bright yellow finish with the black racing stripes made a statement.

“Nice wheels Alex, did Uncle Miles buy you that for your birthday or was it for being a good girl?” Karen Allbright quipped when she pulled up next to Alex in her Lexus.

Alex wasn’t sure if Karen was paying her a compliment or insinuating something sinister but she was not going to engage either way.

“Uncle Miles leased it for me. It’s just a loaner really,” Alex replied.

Chad Pemberton pulled into the parking lot and walked over and kissed his girlfriend and they walked arm in arm towards the school buildings, disengaging as they left the parking lot. PDAs were not permitted on school grounds.

Mitch Bellingham parked the beat up 2005 Dodge Ram pickup that he was restoring and sauntered over looking suitably cool with a hint of ‘bad boy’ in his ripped and faded jeans and scuffed leather jacket. His smile made Alex tingle all over and for the thousandth time she wondered why he didn’t have a steady girlfriend.

“Nice to have a rich uncle. Are you sure that you don’t want to pick me up on Friday? Your car is a lot better than mine,” Alex knew that the banter was good natured.

“A gentleman picks up his date and drives her home after. I do hope you are going to behave like a gentleman on our first date,” Alex teased him.

She turned away, knowing that her skirt would flick up tantalisingly as she did so, and strode off towards the school. Mitch liked that Alex still wore skirts in the winter. Those long legs clad in shimmery opaque pantyhose were a real distraction and he wondered what it might be like to feel them. As it turned out, he found out Friday night.

“You have got to be kidding!” Alex squealed when Mitch pulled into the grassed parking lot next to the carnival that had been set up in a paddock on the outskirts of town.

The traveling carnival came to Masons Peak once a year and consisted of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, and animal acts. It was the perfect first date. No fancy restaurant where they would have to make small talk to fill the awkward silences or a movie where they would sit nervously side by side munching popcorn wondering if it was ok to neck. They could have fun as they rode the rides, unselfconsciously eat messy junk food and still be able to chat and banter and get to know each other.

Mitch helped Alex out of the cab of his truck although she didn’t need it but it was good way to behave gentlemanly whilst getting a glimpse of thigh as her skirt rode up when she slid out of the seat.

Alex had tortured herself about what to wear and not knowing where they were going made things harder. She wanted to look pretty but not slutty but still show off her best attributes. She finally decided on a simple black A-line skirt, a round-neck white body-hugging sweater, pink sheer tights and sensible black strappy shoes. She’d let her hair out and her makeup was a little heavier than what she wore to school but not whorish.

Mitch was wearing tight faded blue-jeans, a long sleeve tee, his favourite leather jacket and ankle boots. His shoulder-length sandy hair blew around his handsome face in the wind. They walked quickly to the carnival where the trailers, amusement rides and tents formed a barrier against the wind and the air was warm with the smell cotton candy, hotdogs, hamburgers and beer. Mitch helped Alex take off her hooded fur lined coat and he was impressed by what she had chosen to wear.