The Education of Bet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted Read Free Book Online

masters."
Snip, snip.
"Lousy food."
    "Do you think I'm smart enough?"
    The shears ceased their snipping and Will's eyes met mine in the mirror. He did not comment on how rare it was for me to show such insecurity, and for this I was grateful. He did not comment on the tears in my eyes, and I was grateful for this too.
    "You're smarter than any boy I've ever known, Bet," he said, looking wholly serious for once.
    "Right, then." I closed my eyes briefly to stop the tears. When I opened them again and spoke, my voice was stern. "Keep cutting."
    Snip, snip. Snip, snip, snip.
    Before I knew it, it was done. My long hair was all gone.
    Will bent down so that his head was beside mine in the mirror.
    "We used to look so much alike," I said, "that we could have been taken for brother and sister."
    "But now," Will said, "we look like brother and brother."
    Then Will produced the wig he'd had made for me and dropped it on my head at a skewed angle. "Good thing you've got this."
    I straightened the wig so it sat properly on my head.
    "And now"—I smiled at myself—"I'm a girl again."
    "Must be nice to be able to go back and forth like that," Will said.
    ***
    "Are you going to let me in or aren't you?" Will shouted through the locked door of my bedroom.
    "Hold on! Hold on!" I shouted back. "Almost ready!"
    A moment later, I let him in. "Voilà!" I said, taking a step backward.
    I studied his amazed expression as he regarded me in my black suit, the black suit that used to be his black suit.
    He blushed as he gestured vaguely at the part of my body where my breasts used to be. "How did you make ...
those
disappear?"
    "I need to maintain some mysteries, don't I?" I answered saucily.
    It would have been awkward talking to Will about what I'd done to my breasts. In truth, I'd used fabric to bind them. It was uncomfortable, but no more so than the corset I'd had to wear.
    "And ...
that.
" Will blushed more furiously still as he gestured at the bulge I'd created in the front of my trousers. "It shouldn't look so big ...
that.
"
    "Oh!" It was my turn to blush. "Sorry!" Then I commanded him to leave the room again so I could remove one of the two pairs of stockings I'd shoved down my trousers. I should have known that just one pair would do.
    "Is that better?" I asked, letting him in again.
    "Much," he said, looking relieved. "But that tie..."
    "Tie?" My hand went to my throat. "What's the matter with my tie? It's the one you gave me."
    "But it's all wrong." Will approached me. "May I?"
    "Please."
    Will undid the tie I'd so carefully knotted. "The thing you need to remember at all times," Will said, as he folded one end over the other, "is that a balance must always be struck. Tie it too loosely, and the masters will have your head, but tie it too tightly, as you had it, and you'll be a laughingstock."
    He led me to the mirror. "Do you see what I mean?"
    Will was right. His way made a huge difference, all the difference in the world: it was the perfect balance between studious and rakish. At last, I looked as though I might belong ...
somewhere.
    "Can you show me how to tie it like you just did?" I asked him.
    He stood behind me so I could watch what he was doing in the mirror. He seemed so patient now, and he remained so as I practiced.
    "Have I got it?" I asked, this time using my boy voice when I spoke.
    "Yes," he said. "You're perfect now, Will Gardener."
    ***
    Later on that night, we were out in the back garden, enjoying the August moon.
    "In all your planning, Bet," Will said into the lazy silence, "you've left out one important item."
    "I have?"
    "Yes. If I go off to the military, and you take my place at school so that Uncle continues believing I am at school, what sort of excuse will you give for your own absence from here?"

Chapter four
     

    "The
Better Man
Academy? Are you
joking,
Uncle?"
    The old man appeared to be puzzled by this query.
    "
Joking?
" he echoed. "Have you ever known me to
joke
about anything in my life?"
    Will was