Bear Naked

Chapter Two

The rest of the first week passed quickly. Corey rose to legendary standards on the second day by arriving in a red velvet skirt, tights, and a snug blouse. She insisted her name was Courtney, and that she be referred to as she. After two days as Courtney, Corey was back. The principal tried to get her into trouble, insisting she couldn't constantly switch back and forth. He/she quietly pointed out that since she was biologically female, they couldn't prevent her coming to school in girl's clothes . . . and since male fashions were largely unisex, they couldn't stop her from wearing male attire without also suspending half the female student body.

Principal Higgs had walked away with his lips tightly pursed. Most of the students thought it had been an epic prank and victory for Courtney. Amanda alone seemed worried that Courtney had made an enemy of the principal, which could potentially lead to trouble.

Amanda's week contained no great victories, but thankfully few losses. A couple of girls cornered her in the bathroom and told her "helpfully" that she should really take a shower every day. A few of the boys decide on the third day to revive the unoriginal nickname "Fatty," but when she didn't react, they gave up.

In the last period, a couple of the girls toward the front of the classroom were discussing going to Madison, Wisconsin, to the mall over the weekend. "They have some awesome shops," was the consensus. One of the girls said, "Much better than here, or even Davenport."

"Really?" Erica had asked. "I've never been there."

"Oh, you should come with us," the girl said. "My mom won't mind."

Amanda scowled. If she had made a comment, she was sure the girls would not have invited her along. They would probably scowl and say something catty.

As if on cue, Erica looked over at Amanda. "You been to Madison?"

"Yeah," Amanda said, "lots, but never the mall."

"You go to Madison?" one of the girls asked unbelieving.

"My aunt has a farm just past Madison. We go all the time," Amanda replied. "I am going berry picking this weekend."

"A farm?" one of the girls asked archly.

"Yeah," Amanda said defensively, "she takes me into town some too, but she's not much for the mall." She looked over at Erica, mostly to not have to stare down the girls who were acting like she was an interloper in their conversation. "You know how some adults are."

"Yeah, I know how that goes," Erica said. "'Your aunt? Is she as pretty as you?"

Amanda was still trying to figure out if Erica was being serious and what she was trying to imply when the bell rang.

"See you Monday, Amanda," Erica said as she slid out of her seat. The other two girls had already dismissed both Erica and Amanda and were back to planning their weekend as they left.

She met up with Jay and-judging from the jeans and t-shirt-Corey at the entrance of the school, and they walked part of the way home together. "You guys doing anything exciting this weekend?" she asked.

Jay made an up-and-down motion with his fist.

Amanda arched her eyebrow and said, "Do I want to know?"

Corey laughed. "Hammering," he said, "Mom and Dad, both sets, keep saying that it doesn't matter how warm it is now, fall is just around the corner, and we really need to get our cabin up soon. So we have been roped into doing manual labor all weekend. You could come too, if manual labor sounds like fun."

"No, I've got my own labor," Amanda groused. "Berry picking."

"That sounds like fun," Corey said brightly.