14TV FICTION CLASSICS

SANDY THOMAS ADV. pected! That bastard Carlson had pulled a real fast one. Was she about to lose out to that bum?

Just then the phone rang. It was Sarah Cross. "Yes, I read the package. That son of a bitch Carlson!" Joanne hissed. "Any ideas about what we should do?"

"Well...uh, my Evan says he'll go forward with the bluff, but only if Paul and Sam will join him. He's a great kid, and he wants to help our cause any way he can," Sarah said much to Joanne's surprise.

"He will??? He's willing to play Carlson's game if the other two will go along with him?" Joanne gasped. "What a trouper!"

Sam heard one side of the conversation, but that was enough for him to figure out what Mrs. Cross had said. "What's wrong with that Evan anyhow?" he thought. "Is he some kind of sissy? Does he want to end up in a dress?" His knees were feeling weak because he knew his mother only needed a slight idea to get going where SAWOFF was concerned. If she was thinking what he imagined, he knew the next three weeks would be the most difficult and embarrassing of his young life!

Over the next twenty minutes Joanne was on the phone with several members of her committee, including Paul's mother. In the end, the Joanne Miller dreadnought was once again running at full steam. A special planning meeting of the three boys and their mothers was called for the next evening at the Miller home.

Sam didn't sleep well that night as his mind kept imagining the terribly embarrassing situations he could to be subjected to thanks to Evan.

Paul felt much the same way, and the next day at school they had a chin wag with Mr. Cross.

"What's wrong with you Evan? Why did you volunteer to say that you'd go on with this crazy scheme?!?" Sam demanded.

Evan replied coolly, "Do you think our lives will be any easier if we drop out now? Word is already all over the school that we entered the competition. Anyway, I think it will be a laugh, and I'll bet it'll be something we'll remember for the rest of our lives. Besides, what better way is there to get to really know the three prettiest girls in school, not to mention the cheerleaders."

BLONDE & BLONDER -15 Sam and Paul were rendered speechless by Evan's cool reasoning in the face of what they were considering. "Yeah, right! We can trade beauty secrets with them," Sam spat sarcastically. "Do you realize that Carlson is demanding that we wear dresses for the next three weeks. . .not just at the banquet!"

"Sure, so what's the big deal? Girls do it all the time," Evan countered. Just then, the class bell rang, and the trio had to break up. "Anyway, we can talk about it more tonight at the meeting," he added with a cunning smile.

As expected, the three boys received large doses of ribbing from boys and girls alike that day. It was tough, and Sam couldn't imagine surviving this for three weeks. .especially if he had to wear a dress to school!!!

Chapter Four

With Paul and Sam looking tired and dejected from their ordeal at school, clock, the Millers and Wainwrights waited for Sarah and Evan to arrive. At five after eight, the doorbell rang.

"Hi everyone!" Sarah exclaimed as she entered the room. The group noticed a somewhat nervous twang in her voice, but their reply froze on their tongues as a saucy blonde teenage girl stepped from behind her. At least, they thought it was a girl, but on second look, they saw it was Evan.

Boy, was he lovely! His blonde hair was pulled back above his ears with two blue combs, and a mass of fresh curls tumbled onto his shoulders. In addition, he was wearing a blue denim shirtwaist dress with a very full skirt that billowed to just atop a pair of feminine cowboy boots with raised heels. His face was highlighted with eye shadow, mascara, blush, and pink lipstick that matched the color of his polished fingernails.

To the surprise of the gathering, Evan was a cool one as he smiled and said, "What's the matter? Cat get your tongues?" He then extended a limp hand to Joanne and added, "Hi, I'm Evan Cross, beauty contestant.

"Pleased to meet you Evan," Joanne finally forced out. She was stunned by how natural this boy looked. She would never have guessed that the "girl" in front of her was in fact a boy! "I think I can speak for the rest of the group...you look fantastic!"