SubscribeStar Story: The Road Trip, Part 32

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Part 32

There wasn’t much fight left in me at that point.

Standing there in just the pull-ups and a tiny training bra made me feel self conscious and vulnerable, and the bathroom felt noticeably cramped with me and my sister in there behind the closed door. I made a weak attempt to giggle and dismiss her idea, but she was as pushy as ever. It didn’t take long for me to agree that wearing pull-ups all weekend was a good idea. With a smile on my face, no less.

“I promise to wear my pull-ups all weekend,” I finally said for her. Not only giving her my word, but awkwardly using the possessive word this time around. Because according to Kate, ‘When you wear something, it’s yours.’ After a little more prodding, I added on, “Or longer. I’ll wear my pull-ups until I’m fully potty trained.”

“That’s a good little sister!” Kate exclaimed, “Now, let’s get you into one of these outfits. Hop to it, Annie! The girls will start wondering what’s taking us so long.”

That was the last thing I needed–a knock on the door when I was still undressed in the worst way possible. I half expected Kate to insist that she should be the one to dress me, but apparently she was content with my attitude shift. The only way she stepped in was to decide the order for me; most normal outfit to most embarrassing. She didn’t actually say that, but it didn’t take a genius to figure it out. After dealing with yet another instance of the dirty pull-ups shifting as I put on the simple skirt and wriggled it over the heavy padding, Kate did end up stepping in when the striped skirt was halfway down my chest.

She appeared right in front of me as my head emerged from the top, and took the hem of the shirt to pull it down the rest of the way. “Remember to smile, Annie! Even if you don’t have boobs,” out of nowhere, she grabbed my breasts and pinched the nipples through the top and training bra, “And even if you have accidents all the time!” Dropping her hands right away, she gripped the front of the skirt and pull-ups and gave two teasing upward shakes.

An insensitive fucking test. Rather than shoving her away and screaming, especially at the audacity of touching my chest while simultaneously insulting me, I just pushed a dorky grin onto my face instead. “Of course I don’t have boobs. I’m only twelve!” It was meant to show that she wasn’t bothering me, but I once again found the blush creeping up from the bubbly energy I was giving off.

“That’s right,” Kate smirked, “Stepping back. You’re twelve years old, Annie. No wait, that doesn’t sound right. I thought you were nineteen?”

“No, I’m twelve!” I replied. Could we just go? At some level, I knew I was playing right into her hands, but I just wanted to get this whole fashion show over with. And that meant escaping round one in the bathroom. “Like, I’m literally starting 6th grade this fall.”

“Oh? What school are you attending?”

“Fraser Middle School.”

“Fun! That’s where I went. I’m sure you’ll have a good time there.”

Obviously. That’s where we both went. Resisting another urge to roll my eyes, I used a giggle to push away that impulse, “Yeah, I’m SO excited.”

“And you won’t even need to go shopping for outfits. Luna and Lilah should have plenty to tide you over!”

“I know!” A slightly smaller smile at the thought. Surely I’d get out of this mess before the end of the weekend; no, by the end of the day. Right? Our aunt and uncle would clear things up, and I was already mentally preparing for how I could try to play this whole thing off as a joke. “Should we go show them my super cute outfit?!”

“Sure! Lead the way, little sis?”

Well, at least she wasn’t holding my hand this time. I opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the hall, taking a quiet breath as we approached the bedroom. The twins were gossiping about something boy-related, but I could guess that their attention would be back on me in a matter of seconds. Smile. Smile, smile, smile. It was so unnatural to keep the overly happy expression on my face under the current circumstances, and I could already tell that I would have to use the giggles as a crutch to maintain it.

I had already dug this hole for myself, using the shovel Kate kept pushing into my hands; it was too late to climb out now. Turning the corner, I gave my brightest smile as I asked, “Well? What do you think?”

“It’s great, Annie!” Lilah replied, “Almost as great as it looked on me in middle school.”

“Umm, pretty sure that was my outfit, sis!” Luna replied.

“Was it? Well, anything that looks good on you automatically looks good on me.”

“Go on, little sis,” Kate said, “Give us a runway walk. All the way down the room, then turn and pose.”

Making a conscious effort to keep the bubbly attitude on the surface, I let out another cringey giggle before doing as I was told. Walking forward, I also had to actively make each step look as normal as possible despite the bulk that threatened to cause more of a waddle if I did anything but clamp the pull-ups between my thighs as I moved. Getting to a spot I deemed acceptable, I swiveled 180 degrees and placed a hand on my hip as the braided pigtails swayed from the sharp turn.

I flashed the cutest grin I could muster, only to find three separate cameras pointed at me. Were they taking pictures, or videos?! Either way, my excited/girly demeanor almost cracked at the thought that all three of them would have evidence of my ‘twelve year old’ self even after the truth came out.

“Come back over here, Annie,” Kate said.

As badly as I wanted to demand that they all delete whatever they just took, that would obviously go against the personality I was trying to pull off. “Yes?” I asked, walking back over without making a fuss.

Kate repositioned me in front of her and placed her hands on my shoulders so we could both face the twins. “How old are you, Annie?”

“Twelve . . .” I replied, with only a hint of hesitation.

They both looked a little confused, which Kate must have noticed as well. “We’re trying to teach little Annie that there’s a fine line between playing pretend and being seen as a compulsive liar. You’re not a liar, are you, sis?”

I knew exactly what she was doing. And yet, I simply shook my head. I had already seen myself in the mirror, and that was before putting on this immature outfit. Even if I tried to blurt out the truth again, they would once again believe my sister over me. She was both reinforcing my ‘age’ AND the fact that apparently lying was a habit of mine.

“Then why don’t you tell us how old you are,” Kate continued.

What else could I say? Luna and Lilah were looking at me expectantly, and Kate’s hands on my shoulders didn’t help. “I’m twelve years old,” I said.

“Luna, can you ask her?”

“Sure! How old are you, Annie?”

It was SO patronizing! Especially coming from my teenage cousin. Lightly blushing, I glanced away and muttered, “Twelve . . .”

“Speak up, Annie,” Kate said.

A bit more clearly, I repeated, “I’m twelve.”

Lilah jumped in next. “How old are you, Annie? The whole thing!”

“I’m twelve years old.”

Both girls just giggled, looking and sounding very much like the twins they were as their expressions temporarily matched. “She’s so cute, Kate!” Luna said, “I wish I had a little sister. We’d play dress up ALL the time.”

“You can borrow her this weekend if you want,” Kate said, “Although fair warning, she can be a bit of a handful sometimes! Anyway, Annie, are you ready to try on the next outfit.”

“Totally!” I exclaimed. God, my voice was disgusting. Leaning into the role despite how I knew that it would feed into the new round of Kate’s lies, I added, “Umm, like, which one?”

“The pink skirt!” Lilah replied, “If it fits, you’ll have something to wear tomorrow night.”

Tomorrow night? I didn’t know anything about tomorrow night, although I had been told to bring something nice. And I did–something actually my style. Kate didn’t hint one way or another if she knew what they were talking about. She just said, “Okay! Come on, Annie.”

Still determined to make this go by as quickly as possible, I simply let her take my hand and walk me out of the room.

Smiling and obedient.

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