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Tina nodded sympathetically. "Me, too," she said.

Annette blinked. That could be interpreted in several ways. She thought about it for a while. "Er, could you explain your last remark a little more?" she asked, as they reached the Vernon Flats, and could expect thirty miles of dead straight, flat, country driving.

"

Tina's hand, polished but uncolored nails, flicked her blonde hair back over her head. "I have the same feeling when I wear petticoats,' she said.

"Oh," said Annette, disappointed a little. For a moment, she had had a most unusual and unlikely thought.

"I couldn't be a bridesmaid before," said Tina carefully, "because five years ago, I was trying out for the Little Hawks baseball team and my name was Tommy."

Somehow, Annette managed to keep the car in a straight line. But she promptly dropped the speed to fifty. "You were once Tommy Holman," she said shakily.

The girl nodded gloomily. "It's a long story," she said, a touch of bitterness to her voice.

"I'd like to hear it," said Annette.

Tina looked at her closely. She nodded. "Yes," she said, "I think you should. I told you I was trying out for the Hawks, but that was only true in part," she sighed. "I'd never have made it, even if the other boys hadn't wanted me to play at all, which they didn't." There was a grim remoteness to her expression that told of a long, lonely childhood. "I was always the odd kid in the whole group, the lowest ranking on the pecking order. To the other guys, I was just funny and nothing I tried was ever applauded, encouraged or, least of all, appreciated." She displayed momentary interest in a passing Stingray. "I was left with my elder sister, Lois, she's the one getting married on Saturday, and her friends for company. I should have suspected them when they sudden- ly became all nice and friendly to me. They were usually pretty rotten, like the boys." She took one of Annette's cigarettes and lit it casually.

"I guess I must have liked dressing up as one of them. They called me Sylvia, which my sister knew I hated. They'd experiment with all

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