Any resemblance to actual persons or occurrences is purely coincidental. This is a work of FICTION!

 

Easter Break
by : Lisa Elizabeth

 

Part One

 The memories from my 'Winter Fun' weekend still lingered as the snow melted and the daffodils started blooming. Spring was here! That meant my birthday was coming and I would soon be ten years old. I was sitting outside on our front porch, just looking at the spring flowers, when I remembered something very important. I would be going over to Donna Anne's for a sleepover, as Lisa.

I smiled as I thought about that. I would get to spend two more days as Lisa Elizabeth. While I was daydreaming, my little sister, Janet, came out jabbering about all her friends that would be coming over for a sleepover, while I was at Donna Anne's.

"Let's see I have to invite Samantha and Laura and Nichole and Jody and Jamie. Let me think who else..." Janet was talking to Mom.

"Slow down a little Janet, I can't write that fast. Don't you think the list is a little large?" Mom asked. "It's only a slumber party, not your birthday!"

"But Mo-o-om! I HAVE to invite ALL my friends. If I don't, I might hurt someone's feelings!" Janet replied.

"Let's finish the list and see how many there are. I really only wanted three or four girls here that night!" Mom was sort of talking to herself.

"Hi Mom! Hi Janet." I said.

"Hi John." Janet replied.

"Oh, hi John. What are you up to today?" Mom asked.

"I was out here enjoying the flowers and I was just thinking that Donna's party was coming up soon." I replied. "I was also thinking that my birthday was soon also and what I would like for that. But I think just going to Donna's Party as 'Lisa Elizabeth' will be enough." I told Mom. She was not listening very closely, she was still writing names for Janet's sleepover.

While Mom was talking to me Janet had gone back into the house to call somebody.

"That's nice dear." She responded automatically. " I have to convince Janet to cut back on a few of these girls! Otherwise we'll NEVER get any sleep!"

"Mom? When will I be changing and going to Donna's party?" I asked.

" Oh! I'm sorry, John my mind was on Janet's list. What did you ask?" Mom was distracted.

"I asked when I would be changing to 'Lisa' and going to Donna's party?" I repeated.

" Your Grandmother and I were discussing that. Since the weather is nicer, more of your friends are outside this time of year. We thought you could take a suitcase to your Grandmother's and change there on Friday evening. If you remember, the invite was from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. That's the entire weekend." Mom said.

"I know. I'm getting excited about it. We still have to get her a present. Can we do that soon?" I asked.

" You're right we don't have a present yet for Donna Anne. We also have to make sure you have enough clothes for the entire weekend . . .. Wait right here, I need to talk to Janet and then you and I will go see what you have and what you will need." Mom said as she walked back into the house, calling for my sister.

I sat there a while thinking about Donna and just what she would like for her birthday. Lots of things went through my mind from 'Barbie' clothes to 'My Little Pony’ toys to a 'Tea Set' like I received for Christmas. I was still thinking about all these things when Mom returned.

" Okay! I have Janet going over to Samantha's house for a few hours. Now I have time to go over your things and see what you have and what you need. Do you still have the invitation that came last weekend?" Mom asked.

" It's in my, I mean 'Lisa's' room." I said.

"Right where we need it! We need to go in there anyway, so we can check on all your clothes. Shall we?" Mom asked.

" Okay. " I got up from the bench and went into the house and up to 'my' bedroom. I opened the top drawer of my dresser and took out the invitation. I handed it to Mom. " It says to bring enough clothes for play and going out. Also to bring 'church' clothes."

" I see...hm.m.m.m. I think we will need to do a little shopping for Lisa. You really don't have any play clothes. Just all special occasion dresses, except for your sailor dress. " Mom said.

"Oh. So what do I need? " I asked.

" It's spring so you need a lighter coat and lighter tights and a pair of jeans and a casual top at least. I know you have the skirt and blouse but the blouse is too nice for just playing around." Mom replied. " We have three weeks yet so we can go shopping next weekend. I'll plan on you becoming Lisa for that trip."

" I can be 'Lisa' for a shopping trip? Co-o-o-o-l!" I said. The excitement in my voice was rather obvious.

The next week at school dragged by very slowly. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep this kind of secret? I was spending a lot of time during recess checking out the girls in my class. I wasn't looking for a girlfriend, just seeing what they wore and how it affected the way they could play at recess. I decided by Friday that a skirt or dress was not going to work for just 'playing around'. The girls that wore them usually played foursquare or sat on some of the swings and moved slowly so their skirts wouldn't fly up. So I decided that jeans and a top would be okay for this shopping trip. On Friday I sat in the kitchen and talked to Mom about my observations.

"Mom?" I said.

"Yes John?" she replied.

"Can we talk about the shopping trip for 'Lisa'?" I asked.

"Wait one minute... There! All done! Okay, now what did you want to talk about?" Mom was drying her hands as she sat down.

"I've been looking at the girls at school? Not like how they look, but... um... how they dress! Um... well, what I saw all week was that in order to do more than just sit or play real slow games, a dress or skirt really restricts what a girl can play. I think that we should buy a pair of jeans and a blouse for 'Lisa' as play clothes." I told Mom.

"I see you have been observant this week! What else did you notice?" Mom asked.

"It's still early spring, so we should look for a long sleeve shirt?" I asked.

(laughing) "That's a good idea too. No dear, I meant, did you see a difference in the way girls play with each other when compared to how boys play?" Mom asked.

"They didn't seem so competitive. It wasn't the end of the world to win or lose a game. Everyone seemed to have fun." I told Mom.

"That's true most of the time. However, girls can be quite competitive too!" Mom replied. "So tomorrow we will add to your wardrobe with jeans and a nice top! Okay?" Mom said. "That reminds me, I need to call Lois tonight." With that comment, Mom left to start dinner.

The rest of the evening seemed to drag on forever. After dinner I finished my homework for the weekend and then played my Atari for a couple of hours. Soon it was bedtime.

"Hey there sport!" Dad said. "Time for bed. Shut things off and hop in the shower. Mom said you're going shopping with her in the morning. You know Mom! Up early so you can be there when they unlock the door!"

"Okay Dad." I shut off the game and put everything away. Then took my pajamas and went into the bathroom to shower. While I was in the shower, I heard the door open.

"Just me dear." Mom said. "I brought in a nightgown. Since you will be dressed as Lisa tomorrow, I thought it might be nice for you to wake up in her room."

"Thanks Mom." I replied. This was really neat! I would get to sleep as Lisa! Sometimes Mom's just seem to know the right things to do, I'm not sure, how they know, they just do.

I finished my shower and toweled myself dry. I slipped the nightgown over my head, put on my robe and slippers and then went to 'my' room to redo my hair. I brushed it into a style like the one I usually wore as Lisa. I then finished it with a headband and thought about using the curling iron, but Mom walked in and said it would take too long.

"Also, you are going to bed! It will just get ruined when you sleep anyway. Now goodnight Lisa." Mom said. She tucked me in and turned off the light.

I don't know how long I laid there before falling asleep. A thousand things were running through my mind. But I must have fallen asleep, the next thing I knew Janet was jumping on the bed telling me to get up!

"Get up! (jump), Get up! (jump)" ... This continued for about a minute before I finally opened my eyes. "Mom said to wear your skirt and blouse. It makes it easier to change clothes and try things on." Janet said.

She then hopped off the bed. "I'll go get dressed and then come back and we can do our own hair this morning!" Janet took off at a run for her room.

I knew I had to get up and get started. It doesn't take Janet long to dress when she's excited. I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and all that, then headed back to my room to get dressed. My skirt and blouse, the last time I wore them, I had gone roller-skating. That had been fun!

I went to my drawer and took out a pair of panties and a black pair of tights. After changing out of my robe and nightgown, I put them on. Then I slipped into a camisole and finally put on the blouse. The blouse was a long sleeved pull over ribbed shirt with a scoop neck, in Burgundy. It looked nice on me. I then took the skirt and slipped it on. It was a Gray pleated skirt and once on, it would fly outward when I twirled. That was kind of neat! I remembered to put a half-slip under my skirt, so I found that in the drawer and slipped it under my skirt. I then checked in the mirror from all angles to see if my slip showed. The final touch was my black Mary Jane's. I was just buckling the shoes when Janet walked back in, dressed similar to me.

"Let's get everything combed the same and then we can use the curling iron." Janet said.

"Okay. That way we will look more alike! That sounds pretty neat." I replied. So we did just that. We both combed down our bangs and then parted our hair in the middle. While this was going on we had plugged in the curling iron and it was heating up. I took the curling iron and curled under the ends of Janet's hair. It took a while but she said it came out just fine. Then I did my own hair the same way. This took a little longer since I was working in a mirror and had to figure out how to do things backwards! The final step was a red plastic hairband to keep my hair back. Finally done, I put on a gold necklace and my little angel earrings, grabbed my purse and headed downstairs to find Mom and Janet.

Everyone was in the kitchen having a small breakfast. I took a piece of toast and a juice and sat down carefully. I tried to remember everything from the last time I was Lisa, you know, like to smooth my skirt and take smaller bites. I think I did okay, at least Mom didn't say anything.

"Alright! Let's get the dishes into the sink and then we are off for shopping." Mom declared. She was a 'shopper', hit the stores early and make sure you go through ALL of them. I knew that this would be a lo-o-ong day as Lisa.

We drove to a mall about one hour away. We have a mall ten minutes from the house, but Mom figured it would be better to go to one we didn't go to often. We stood less of a chance of meeting anyone we knew.

We were headed to the J.C. Penney's, Mom's first stop, when she saw a children's specialty shop and made a quick turn. Janet and I followed. The two of us walked over to the jeans rack and started looking at them. I had no idea what size I was, but I looked with Janet at what was available. Mom had looked for a saleslady and was talking to her. We had looked at four or five pairs of jeans when Mom and the saleslady walked over to us.

"Lisa, Janet, this is Melissa, she needs to measure you. We need to get things in the right size". Mom told me.

"Hi girls! I just need to measure Lisa today. Come with me and we'll step into a dressing room" Melissa led the way to the side of the store. "Right in here. Okay. I know this is a big day for you, Lisa so we'll do this as best, as we can. I need you to remove your blouse so we get an accurate measurement."

My blouse? I was a little confused and I think it showed. What did removing my blouse have to do with buying a pair of jeans? The confusion must have shown on my face because Melissa soon spoke.

"Don't be embarrassed. Your first bra is very important! It has to fit right since you'll be wearing one every day from now on. So off with the top, please?" Melissa asked.

My first bra? Why would... Oh! I understand now. Mom wants me to feel all grown up! Now that I think about it, most of the other girls in my class had started wearing bras. Joey got in trouble last Wednesday for snapping Laura's bra strap during recess. He had to apologize in front of the whole class! He was really embarrassed. So now, it was my turn to get a bra. I took off my top and looked at Melissa rather sheepishly.

"Don't worry Lisa we all start wearing them before there's anything there. We'll get a padded training bra and it will look like you are starting to develop". Melissa said as she took out a tape measure and measured me around my chest in two different places. "I'll be right back. Don't get dressed yet!"

I stood there wondering what was happening when Mom stuck her head in the door.

"Lisa? Are you okay? I wanted to surprise you. When I talked to Donna Anne's Mom, she said that both Donna Anne and her friend Janet, were both starting to blossom. I didn't want you to feel left out or different at the party so I decided to get you your first bra! Kind of exciting isn't it?" Mom asked.

"Kind of scary, Mom. I didn't know why Melissa asked me to take off my top! She explained it to me and I was very surprised!" I told Mom. At this time, Melissa was coming back carrying two different bras on little hangers.

"Oh good, your Mom is here. We have these two styles in her size. I recommend the one with a little more padding as it gives her the correct shape for her size. This other is not as heavily padded, but it serves its purpose well." Melissa said.

"Lisa, we'll try them both and see which one you like better, okay?" Mom asked.

"Okay Mom. Which one first?" I asked, looking at Melissa. She handed me the non-padded one first. It was obvious that she didn't like it, but I figured I'd try it on anyway. I slid my arms through the straps and then Melissa helped to adjust the straps and do up the hook in the back. To be honest there wasn't a lot there. Other than the little flower in between these two little triangles of material, it just sort of sat there. Mom had brought in a pullover top that was dark blue with spring flowers along the neckline. She had me put it on over the bra.

There were a lot of 'Hm-m-m-s and sighs' going on between Melissa and Mom. I was turned left and right and around two or three times before Mom asked me to take off the top and try on the other bra. One thing, I liked the top.

So I took off everything, I needed help with the hook of the bra, and Melissa helped me into the more padded training bra. She adjusted the straps and hooked it together and she looked much happier about this one. I looked at Mom and she seemed thoughtful somehow. This time I had to model the bra before I could put the blue top on. Finally I put the top on and tucked it into my skirt. Melissa and Mom seemed happy with the way I looked so I asked to find a mirror.

"Turn right and there is one at the end of the hall." stated Melissa.

Janet came with me and she was staring at my top. I looked in the mirror and sure enough when I turned left or right I had a small bustline just like most of the girls in my class.

"It makes you look different," said Janet. " Older than ten."

"Most of the girls in my class look just like this. But now I know why they look this way." I smiled at Janet and we both giggled.

We went back to Mom and she decided that we would get the one I had on. She asked Melissa if she had a second one, I couldn't figure out why I would need two. So, of course, I asked!

"Mom? Um-m, why do I need two of these?" I whispered.

"You will be at Donna's all weekend! You can't wear the same underthings all weekend. You know how I make sure you have clean things every day. My goodness, Lisa, what would happen if you got hurt and had to go to the hospital? If you didn't have on clean underthings I'd be embarrassed to death!" Mom went on with the 'clean underwear' lecture. I'm SURE all of you have heard it before! I was thinking, clean underwear would be the least of my problems, if I had to go to the hospital as Lisa!

Melissa returned with a second bra and helped fit it to me. This time Mom said to leave it on and just put my Burgundy top on over it. Melissa cut off the tags and I finished getting dressed. I took the blue top out with me and told Mom how much I liked it.

"Me too! I'd like one to match it. Please Mom? Please, please, please?" Janet begged.

"Let's see it. My! How fortunate! These are on sale! Let's go see if we can find one for Janet." Mom okayed the purchase since it was on sale. 'Buy one, second half price' was on the rack of tops. We found one in Janet's size and of course, she had to try it on. It looked good on her too.

We took our items to the checkout and Melissa rang them up. "Have a fun day girls! I think it's always fun to shop for clothes," she said as we left the store. Janet and I waved goodbye as we turned the corner and headed for J. C. Penny's.

Mom was on a mission! She always moved quickly when she wanted to get something done right away. Janet and I almost had to run to keep up with her. She headed straight into the little girls department at J.C. Penney's. By the time Janet and I caught up she had already found the jeans and was looking for my size.

"This rack over here girls!" Mom called. "Lisa! Pick out a couple of pairs and we'll try them on!"

I looked over all the jeans. This was a lot different from shopping as John! I mean, every pair of jeans was different. Some had designs on the pockets, some had flowers around the cuffs, some had little animals on them. So many different things to decide! As John you walked up to the pile of jeans and took a pair in the right size, all done! Not here though. Janet finally tugged my arm.

"Why don't you try the pair with the pocket designs and the pair with the flowers on the cuffs? They should look nice with your new top." Janet said, as she pointed to the two pairs of jeans.

"Do you think so? I don't want to look, you know, too 'girly' at this party." I told Janet.

"Ask Mom for the top in the bag, that way we can decide which outfit looks the best!" Janet responded.

I found Mom looking at underwear and socks for Janet. "Mom? Can I have the new top to try with my jeans? Janet thinks we can see which pair of jeans is better if we have the top to use with them" I explained.

"Certainly! What a wonderful idea! Let's tell the salesgirl that we already bought the top so there isn't a problem." Mom said. We found a salesgirl and explained what I wanted to do. Mom was all smiles. "Joanne says it's okay to do that. I just didn't want anyone to think you were trying to steal the top." Mom said.

I went into the changing room and tried on the two pairs of jeans with my new top. After modeling both pair, we all decided the pair with the pocket designs looked the best. The flowers were cute but, not with the flowers on the top. I looked like a walking flower garden! Mom took the jeans; put the top back into her bag and picked up a pair of light blue slouch socks. She said they would look nice with my new outfit. Mom paid for everything and once again, we were headed out the door.

Mom walked down the mall, more slowly this time, looking in various stores, until we came to a store named 'The Athlete’s Foot'. This new store specialized in those new aerobics shoes and running shoes. It was the first time that a store like that had opened, but with all the fitness programs coming on television and people starting to think more about fitness, I guess this concept would work.

Anyway, we went in and looked around. Mom headed over to see what they had for me, I mean, Lisa. I eventually found out I had a choice of three styles of 'athletic' shoes: one white, one black and one pink and white. Mom said to try on all three in my size. Jeff was the salesman’s name and he made a big production of showing how the shoes provided better support and would help me to run faster and jump higher. I thought, Cool! The white ones were okay. The black ones looked nicer and would go with more outfits. The pink and white ones definitely said 'GIRL'. No doubt that there was a girl wearing those. They were just so-o-o cute!

"I like these!" I said as I made the traditional walk to and from the end of the store. "They feel comfortable and I like the colors."

"They do look nice." Mom said. "Jeff? Are they big enough? She is growing and we can't afford shoes every other week!"

"Let me check." Jeff replied. He knelt down and did the toe squash thing. You know where they mash the front of your shoe to see if you have room to grow? "Just about a thumb width. That is just about where they should be for a growing young lady. Not too big, but room to grow into." Jeff stated.

"You really like them? I mean if we buy them, you do have to wear them." Mom looked right at me as she talked.

"I really do like them Mom. I'll wear them." I replied.

So the decision was made and my part of the shopping trip was over. I had the play outfit I needed for Donna Anne's sleepover, and gained two new bras, all in the same shopping trip!

We spent the next couple of hours just shopping. I had never done this with Mom and Janet before. We would walk into a shop and just look around at everything they had. Sometimes we would see something neat and show it to our companions. Mom did buy a couple of small items but the majority of the shopping had been for me.

We finally got to the other end of the mall and went into the 'Toys-R-Us'. We still had to buy a present for Donna Anne. Since we were there I had to check out the new Atari games. Mom wondered why I was looking at those and I told her that I knew this boy, John, and his birthday was right around the same time as Donna Anne's. I was just looking to see if there was a new game that he didn't talk about all the time.

We eventually got to the section of toys appropriate for girls my age. Mom told me that if I just looked over everything and bought what I thought I would like to play with Donna would like it too. So I looked at dolls and games and tea sets and craft kits and other things I couldn't remember. I kept going back to look at this one doll. It was a 'Cabbage Patch' doll. I'm not sure why but I really felt that this would be a wonderful present for Donna Anne.

"Mom? I think this would be a neat gift for her." I told Mom. "Some of the girls at school were talking about them and they were all excited."

"Hm-m-m. Let's ask Janet. She might have a good idea." Mom replied.

We found Janet looking at the bicycles. She was wanting one so bad, you could see that she was tired of big wheels and tricycles.

"Janet?" I asked. "What do you think about this for Donna Anne's birthday present?"

"Co-o-o-l! Those are all the talk at school! I think every girl in the world wants one! I'm sure Donna will love it!" Janet stated.

Mom said it would be okay to buy the doll. We also had to go into the wrapping paper area and pick out paper and ribbon and a bow. We bought a package of wrapping with all of that and a small card too! The paper and card were of a 'Cabbage Patch' theme. Mom said we had spent enough money for one day and we should grab some lunch and then head for home.

We decided to eat at the food court. I had a small cheeseburger and small fries and a small drink. I tried to remember how to eat without dripping on myself. I did want to take this outfit on the sleepover, but it would be ruined with mustard and catsup stains on it! I did okay. I did manage to drip on my napkin, good thing I placed it in my lap!

When we were finished, Mom announced that it was time to head for home. I hated to hear that. It meant that I would have to change back to John for the rest of the weekend.

We arrived home and quickly took everything into the house and up to Lisa's bedroom. I hung up my new jeans and top after removing the tags. I then took the stickers off my new socks and put them away. Finally I unpacked my new shoes and placed them on the closet floor. I was looking at my closet, trying to decide what to take to Donna Anne's when Mom knocked on the door.

"Um-m. Joey and Art are in the front room. They want to know if you can play?" Mom said.

"WHAT? They're here? Mom! What am I gonna do? They don't know about Lisa. Mom?" I was wide-eyed and panicking.

"Lisa! Settle down. I told them that you fell asleep after shopping all morning. I said you might have to change clothes before you could play. They decided to wait for you. Now all we have to do is change clothes and recomb your hair and you will be ready to go." Mom said as she took charge of the situation.

I changed clothes as quickly as I could and put my earrings and necklace away for another day. When I was changed, I went to use the mirror to comb my hair. Good thing I looked in the mirror! I had forgotten about the headband that I had put in this morning. I took it out and put it away. I made sure the closet door was closed and all the clothes were in the hamper. I began to settle down, I was John again, and Lisa would have to wait for two Fridays when I left for Grandma's and the weekend at Donna Anne's.

 

End Part One.

 

 

 

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© 2001 by Lisa Elizabeth. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.