Babe in Boyland by Jody Gehrman Read Free Book Online Page A

genius.”
    She’s right. I can feel the difference, see it in the mirror. There’s just something about having that bulge between my legs that makes me move more convincingly. I might not have the manliest strut on the planet, but it will definitely pass.
    Chloe nods. “By George, I think you’ve got it.”
    I laugh and walk around some more, enjoying my new macho competence. “I always wondered what that expression meant.”
    They both look at me, puzzled. “What expression?” Darcy asks.
    “Cock of the walk.”
    They groan in unison at my bad joke.
    As they hang up clothes and debate which ones I should get, I turn back to my reflection for one last look. It’s so weird how the person staring back at me is familiar and yet isn’t Natalie, almost like I really am looking at my long-lost twin. For the first time since we decided to attempt this crazy stunt, Nat Rodgers seems real to me. He seems like a person I can try to become.

    We stroll through the outdoor mall sipping iced coffee drinks. Mine is a caramel-soy latte, Darcy’s got a java chip Frappuccino, and Chloe takes hers black. The sunshine is warm on my head and face. I decide I really like my new short hair—it’s lighter, cooler, easier. It looks good too; even in my ratty T-shirt and jeans I catch two or three guys checking me out, which is nice. Their glances, along with the gorgeous blue sky, my loyal girls, and the caffeine rush, boost my overall confidence in the rightness of the world.
    “So you’re going to tell your mom you’re at my house, right?” Darcy asks.
    I nod. “Seems like the best plan.”
    “Doing what, though?” Darcy’s muses, twisting her straw in circles.
    I take another sip of latte and consider. “Maybe we could say we have a huge project due at school and it’ll require super-long hours. I’ll say we procrastinated or something.”
    “The old ‘homework’ excuse, huh?” Chloe says. “You think she’ll buy it?”
    “Maybe, maybe not. I can’t think of anything else, though. If she calls, of course, Darcy will have to cover.” I turn to Darcy. “And keep her from talking to your parents. That might be tricky.”
    Darcy nods. “It’s not perfect, but I guess it’ll have to do. Luckily, your mom’s not as control freaky as most.”
    “Yeah,” I say, “and she’s actually really busy at work right now, so she might be distracted enough not to get suspicious. I’ll tell her after, I guess—I mean when I write the article. Maybe I’ll wait to see if it wins, though. If it doesn’t, she might never have to know.”
    “What about the school?” Chloe brushes a strand of hair from her eyes. “Don’t they send out e-mails now to parents if you miss classes?”
    I nod. “Yeah, but the account they have on file is an old one she never checks, so that’s okay. Plus I know her user-name and password, so I could get in there and delete it just to be safe.”
    I know this makes me sound really devious, but I try to convince myself deception and scheming are excusable this one time. I’m doing it for girls everywhere, not just for me. Mom’s a lawyer, a total powerhouse career woman who takes women’s rights very seriously. I think she’d be proud of my pioneering spirit, but if I reveal what I have planned she’ll feel obligated as a parent to stop me. I mean, it’s one thing to support gender-bending experiments in theory, but quite another to tell your only daughter she can skip school for a week and live amongst hundreds of hormone-crazed males disguised as one of them. She’d support it philosophically, but I can’t risk telling her since I’m pretty sure she’d forbid it. I’m keeping her in the dark for her own good, since even if she did let me go, she’d proceed to worry herself sick all week.
    Chloe stops walking and nearly chokes on her coffee.
    I pat her back. “You okay?”
    “Don’t look now, but I just saw Josh Mayer coming out of Abercrombie and Fitch.”
    Darcy’s head