Tug of War 33.1

…Timothy kept walking nervously. His afflicted eyes were looking around almost paranoid, and the boy even tried to hide behind his stepmother a few times. 

"What are you doing, Tiffany?" Susan asked, annoyed. "Why are you acting like that?"

"What you think?" the boy replied in a hoarse whisper. "Can't you see that I'm scared to death? There are many people around and they will certainly notice me!" 

"You truly are developing a tendency to be a drama queen, sweetie" Susan sighed. "There aren't so many people around. It's barely nine in the morning, after all. Also, don't you think you’ll attract much more attention if you keep behaving as if you have just seen a ghost? Act naturally and people will just see a beautiful young lady when looking at you."  

"Easy to say!" Timothy whimpered. "It was a terrible idea to come over here!" 

"Well, from what I remember, it was you who said last night you had to get out in 'girl mode' one more time."

"Yeah, but I was thinking about going to the Mrs. Bennett's house again or something. Instead of that, you brought me to the mall!" 

It was true. Earlier that morning, after helping Timothy getting ready, Susan had put him inside the car and then drove to a mall on the other side of town. Timothy only found out where they were going when his stepmother entered the mall parking lot, and it was exactly when he started freaking out. 

His only solace was that his outfit for the day wasn't that bad. He was wearing a simple white cotton T-shirt; denim jeans that, despite being a little tight, didn't look so extravagant; and white sneakers. The outfit was very similar to what Timothy would be wearing in 'boy mode', were it not for the pink lace lingerie set under his clothes. And, of course, his hair was once again styled in a high ponytail, and his face was made-up. 

"I've already explained this to you, honey" Susan said, patiently. "To really infuriate your father, we need to do something bolder than simply returning to Mrs. Bennett's house. Can you imagine how disturbed Richard will feel when he finds out that you spent many hours in a public space dressed as a girl? I doubt he will have the strength to keep fighting after that."

"Many hours?!" Timothy widened his eyes. "Why do we need to stay here for so long? What are we even going to do, anyway?" asked the boy, who had never spent more than half an hour inside a mall, and couldn't understand why people – especially women – were so fond of going there.  

"Oh, we're going to have a mother-daughter day out, so to speak... You know, looking at the shop windows, buying something here and there, having a nice lunch... So much fun!" Susan clapped, unable to control herself. "Sorry if I sound a little too excited, sweetie. I've always dreamed of having a daughter to do such activities with, but I was never able to conceive... So I'd like to have such an experience at least once, since we hope that by this time tomorrow Tiffany will be gone for good. Unless you decide that you prefer being a girl, of course."

"Ha! Very funny, Susan! Now seriously, you know I wouldn't mind playing the role of your daughter for a day... I mean, I'm not saying it would be easy, but I could make the sacrifice since you've been so good to me, helping me all the time and everything... But I'm still not sure this is a good idea. What if a bump into someone from school?"

"I don't think this is going to happen, Tiffany. We're on the other side of town, after all, not to mention how early it is. Besides, I don't think anyone from your school would be able to recognize you."

"Really? Just because my hair is in a ponytail and I have a little bit of makeup on my face? C'mon, Susan, this is real life! I can't hide my real identity by just wearing a pair of glasses like Superman or something!" 

"Well, I have to say you're right about that, young lady. That's why our first stop will be here."

Timothy got confused for a second, but then he realized the kind of establishment that was just ahead of them. "Oh no, Susan!" the boy got desperate. "There's no way you're taking me to a beauty salon!" 

"Now, now, stop being silly, sweetie" Susan said, with a hand on her stepson's back, forcing him to keep moving. "You don't want to make a big scene right now, do you? It definitely would draw a lot of attention."

"B-but..." Timothy tried to resist, but he was so terrified that he was easily dominated by his stepmother. 

"This is for your own good, Tiffany. If you want to completely defeat your father today, we need to do something about your hair... something that will really make him dumbfounded. Your ponytail is getting old pretty fast. Even your father must be used to it by now. That's why I made an appointment for you. Don't worry, though. I know the girls who work here very well, and I'll make sure that they won’t do anything extreme."

"W-wait, Susan, we need..."

"Oh, about the way you refer to me, would you mind calling me 'mom' while we are at the salon?"

"Mom?!"

"Exactly, darling. The last thing I want is to disrespect the memory of your late mother, of course, but I think it’ll help you to stay in character."

"B-but I'm telling you that I don't..." Timothy stopped talked suddenly, realizing it was already too late. They were about to enter the beauty parlor, so it made no sense to keep protesting – unless he wanted to draw everyone's attention, of course. 

Swallowing hard, he just fervently hoped he would still be able to look like a male when he left that place…

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Hey, guys!

I finished all the images of this chapter today, but the text unfortunately isn't complete yet. So I'm posting just the first part now, and I hope to finish it tomorrow! :-)