Return of the Sister: Part 14

Kimberly had worried that the disastrous one-on-one game would send Bobby off the deep end, especially after she saw Serena sneak behind the changing curtain to talk to him, but it seemed like her ex was hanging in there. She’d texted him to ask what his big sister had said to him, but he hadn’t replied, and she couldn’t get close enough to talk to him in private in the middle of the photo shoot -- which was now taking place all over Jefferson High.

Compared to having Bobby swish around making eyes at shirtless male models in front of his old basketball team, the “present” shots seemed like a bit of a cakewalk. Kimberly suspected it was tactical on Serena’s part. Bobby had taken the first big punch and stayed standing, so now she wanted to lure him into a false sense of security before she struck again.

Of course, that didn’t mean her ex was having a good time, exactly. Kimberly was using her role as “social media coordinator” to stay close to the action, and she had to admit she got a kick out of seeing Bobby playing the ditzy school girl for Jan’s camera.

The photographer’s idea of a typical day in high school seemed to involve a lot of stretching and bending: the first shot was of Bobby hinged at the waist, leaning down to drink from the water fountain in a way that thrust his butt back into the air, exaggerated the tautness of his calves, and, of course emphasized his pouting, collagen-plumped lips as he prepared to quench his thirst.

Jan insisted on at least a dozen takes, making minute adjustments each time. Bobby’s cheeks got progressively pinker, especially when Jan’s assistant scurried forward to hike his miniskirt up, exposing just a little peek of his other cheeks. It was enough to make Bobby’s dad volunteer to go on a completely unnecessary coffee run -- his wife had just gotten back.

Kimberly had noticed earlier that Bobby’s mom was not quite her usual self, and she kept a close eye on her as the shoot moved to the hallway. On the surface she was as enthusiastic and encouraging as ever, but Kimberly could see it slip occasionally, usually when Jan had his hands on Bobby to reposition him for a specific shot. She wasn’t sure how it could be helpful to her, but the scheming section of her brain was working on it.

The next shot was in the girls’ bathroom, where Jan wanted to get video of “Barbie” primping in the mirror.

“My God, it’s disgusting in here,” the photographer said gleefully, staring around at the dirty bathroom. “I love the authenticity. So American. Go on, honey, go up to the mirror.”

Kimberly watched as her ex reluctantly sashayed up to the counter with a purse from wardrobe. She knew he spent more time looking at his reflection as “Barbie” than he ever had as a guy, but she also knew he hated it -- and doing it in front of an audience, well, that just salted the wound. But he had obviously picked up a thing or two from bathroom trips with the popular girls: after casting one defiant glance back at his sister, Bobby faced the mirror and started to vamp like the most shameless, airheaded, self-obsessed bimbo to ever find her own reflection.

Kimberly honestly couldn’t take her eyes off it. The same macho, misogynistic jerk she once dated was now wrapping a lock of blonde hair around one manicured finger, twisting this way and that, pouting his puffy pink lips and fluttering his eyelashes. He pulled his blonde cascade of hair around from one side of his neck to the other, fluffing it playfully, then leaned forward with both hands flat on the counter, making his skirt ride up the backs of his thighs.

“Tell me you’re not loving this,” Serena whispered.

Kimberly flinched. The bathroom wasn’t particularly large, and cramming all the equipment in made it even smaller. Somehow Kimberly had ended up shoulder to shoulder with Serena -- probably not an accident. She kept her gaze on her ex.

“It’s cute,” Kimberly replied. “But pretty tame after the basketball thing. That was...” She paused, feeling a little conflicted about giving her opponent praise. “Nasty.”

“It’s not my fault he can’t play with the big boys anymore,” Serena said, in a whisper that was entirely too loud. “I’m not the one feeding him hormones.”

Kimberly stiffened. Serena was messing with her, but maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it meant Serena was looking for new angles, because she knew she’d already thrown her strongest punch. Kimberly decided to ignore her, refocusing on the photo shoot instead.

“Yes, honey, yes!” Jan shouted. “The lip gloss now! Someone put lip gloss in that fucking purse, right?”

Bobby flushed, but he complied with the photographer’s order, daintily unsnapping the purse and reaching inside for a tube of lip gloss. Kimberly watched as her ex pouted his lips and carefully slathered them in a fresh coat of gloss, paused to spread it around, then blew a kiss to his reflection. If his dad had been present, it probably would have caused a cardiac arrest.

“Oh, that’s perfect!” Jan exclaimed. “Now play with your boobs, honey.”

Bobby dropped the lip gloss. It clattered to the bathroom floor and rolled across the tiles, coming to a stop near his mom’s foot, but she didn’t bend down to retrieve it. She looked almost as stricken as Bobby. Serena, on the other hand, had a particularly vicious smile on her face.

“P-play with my…?” Bobby stammered.

“Your boobs,” Jan said, matter-of-factly. “Push them together, jiggle them around a little. I want you to look kind of pouty, okay? Like you wish they were bigger. Don’t worry, honey, ‘Rena told me all about it. I know you tried to get the boob job for me. Shame they were booked.”

Kimberly could see the emotions warring on Bobby’s face, humiliation battling his desire to beat his sister. He was still standing there, seemingly paralyzed, when Jan sighed, handed off his camera, and rolled up his sleeves.

“Let me show you what I mean, honey,” he said, coming up behind Bobby in the mirror. “I’m going to guide your hands, okay? Just like when I help you get into the right pose.”

Kimberly watched her ex’s pretty blue eyes go wide as Jan grabbed each of his delicate hands and positioned them over his bust. She felt a sympathetic twinge -- not something she felt often -- as the photographer had him cup his own breasts. She glanced over at Serena, expecting to see her practically cackling.

Instead, Serena wasn’t watching Bobby at all. She was looking at her mother, and her mother was looking back with an expression of pure shock on her face. Finally Mrs. Vickerson’s eyes returned to her son, who was now reluctantly squeezing his boobs together, pouting at the mirror.

“There you go,” Jan said, still pressed up against Bobby from behind. “Have fun with it, honey! They’re all yours, you can play with them all you like. And next time we shoot, they’ll be nice and big.”

Bobby had a stricken look for a moment, but he quickly replaced it with a vacuous smile. Kimberly could see his legs trembling slightly.

“Some models are so skittish when they’re just starting out,” Jan continued, giving Serena a meaningful look in the mirror. “But you’re quite mature already, aren’t you, Barbie? You know it’s all in good fun.”

He gave Bobby a small pat on the buttocks, then finally stepped back. Kimberly released a breath she hadn’t even known she was holding in, and it seemed like everyone else in the room did, too -- even Serena. Her facial expression was somewhere between disgust and triumph. Bobby’s mom stood frozen for a second, then fled the room altogether.

“That’s terrific, honey,” Jan said, working the camera again. “Now I want you to look a little more thoughtful, okay? Like you’re realizing you’ve finally made it. You’re finally in the girls’ bathroom with your very own boobs, and you have the rest of your life to look forward to as the absolute bombshell you were always meant to be…”

Kimberly didn’t stay to hear the rest -- it looked like Bobby was still holding it together, or was maybe just too stunned to storm off even after being second-hand groped by his photographer. With everyone’s attention back on Bobby, who was now trying to somehow look thoughtful and sexy at the same time, Kimberly slipped out of the bathroom to follow Mrs. Vickerson.

Bobby’s mom was a short ways down the hall, standing by the drinking fountain her son had recently been using as a prop. “Oh, hello, Kimberly,” she said, in an unnaturally cheery voice. “Isn’t this shoot just incredible? Jan really has a...a vision. The final result is going to be fantastic, I just know it.”

Kimberly still didn’t have the full picture, but she had enough to make an educated guess. She just had to do it in a way that wouldn’t put her ex’s mom on the defensive -- and sometimes, the simplest methods worked best. “Mrs. Vickerson, are you okay?” she asked softly, trying to sound as innocently concerned as possible.

“Of course I’m okay!” Bobby’s mom trilled. “The shoot is going so well! Why would I not be okay, why would I…” She trailed off, and Kimberly saw a sob in her throat. “Oh, my God, she’s punishing me.”

“Who?” Kimberly asked, feigning confusion even though she had a prime suspect. “Barbie?”

“Serena,” Bobby’s mom breathed. “She was so young, and back then all of us were just starstruck. I should have stepped in, but I thought…” She trailed off miserably. “I don’t know what I thought.”

Kimberly remembered the photo she had found, a young Serena looking over at Jan Van Antwerp with an expression of fear on her face. She thought of Bobby in the bathroom, with Jan guiding his hands to his breasts. She realized why Serena had brought Jan in: her surefire plan to make Bobby cave was forcing him through a hell that was already tested, because she’d been through it herself.

“But now it’s water under the bridge, isn’t it?” Bobby’s mom said, regaining herself. “So there’s no use talking about it.” She whipped out a compact mirror and checked her eye makeup. “You’d better get back in there, Kimberly. This would be a great time for Barbie to get a behind-the-scenes selfie for her Instagram.” She paused, then lowered her voice. “Please don’t mention any of this to her. The shoot is almost finished, and it really is going to be fantastic. She’ll be a star before she knows it.”

“I won’t say anything,” Kimberly said, putting all the empathy she could muster into it. “I know you just want what’s best for her. For both your daughters.”

Bobby’s mom had a shaky, almost pained smile. She nodded.

#

Because Jan wanted to do the final few “present” shots in a classroom, Bobby had to suffer not only through embarrassing photo shoot poses, but also flashbacks to absolutely bombing his last history exam. He was mostly stuck in his desk pretending to inspect his nail polish, staring at the camera with a bored pout, arms folded to push up his cleavage, or doodling hearts on a prop notebook.

Jan had stayed hands-off since the bathroom incident, for which Bobby was grateful. The only reason he hadn’t flipped out was that the photographer was obviously gay, which meant he obviously couldn’t enjoy copping a feel. In fact, Bobby reasoned it wasn’t all that different from one of his teammates slapping him on the ass back before he answered to “Barbie.”

No, the reason he kept replaying it in his mind had nothing to do with Jan, and everything to do with Josh. Fondling his own breasts had been an instant reminder of what had happened on Josh’s couch, and now Bobby couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“That’s it, honey, like you’re day-dreaming in class about some cute guy,” Jan encouraged, snapping another photo. “Tap your pen against your lips!”

Bobby flushed, but followed directions, still carefully avoiding his big sister’s eye. A few poses later, Jan announced they were finished. Bobby supposed that meant it was time to move from “present” to “future” -- the photographer had mentioned a few possibilities for that, none of which Bobby liked.

Bobby flushed, but followed directions, still carefully avoiding his big sister’s eye. A few poses later, Jan announced they were finished. Bobby supposed that meant it was time to move from “present” to “future” -- the photographer had mentioned a few possibilities for that, none of which Bobby liked..

Apparently Jan and Serena wanted to shoot him in a bikini, as some sort of beauty pageant contestant, or in an evening gown as a successful Hollywood fashionista. They’d even floated the idea of a wedding dress, for a peek ahead at “Barbie’s” big day. Bobby shuddered just to think about it, but at least it would all be done in a studio. He was eager to leave. Being at school on a Saturday felt unnatural on its own, nevermind the fact that he was here prancing around on camera in a miniskirt.

But when he finally followed Jan out of the classroom, he suddenly lost all certainty of what day of the week it was. The hallway was full of his Jefferson High classmates, all of them casting him and the camera crew curious looks as they filed towards the gymnasium. Bobby shot a confused look over at Kimberly, who was looking down at her phone with a nervous expression -- no help there. One of the football players let out a loud wolf-whistle on his way past and Bobby instinctively tugged at the hem of his skirt.

“Um, Jan, what’s going on?” he asked.

“I felt like we needed more extras for this final part of the shoot,” Jan said casually. “So your lovely sister did a little social media blast, and here we are! All the pimply little adolescents you could ever ask for.”

Bobby looked at his sister, who had a grim smile on her face. “But I thought we were going to a studio, finally?” he asked. “You know, for the ‘future’ shots?”

“Past, present, future, it’s too many things for the reader to juggle in their mind,” Jan said, waving his hand dismissively. “I had to cut it down. It’s going to be ‘then and now’ instead. Much catchier. Come, come.”

Bobby only got a second to feel relieved he had escaped a wedding dress, then the photographer grabbed him by the arm and took off towards the gymnasium, leaving his assistant to gather the equipment. Bobby had to mince double-time to keep up, heels clattering on the polished floor. He pulled his hair out of his face and tucked it behind one ear.

By the time they arrived at the entrance to the gym, it was swarming with his classmates -- and not only classmates. Unless he was mistaken, there were kids from other high schools, too. A vaguely familiar dark-haired girl waved at him, beaming, and he nervously waved back. He only remembered she was the host of the St. Ceylan’s house party when she bounced up to him, pulling a ten-year-old boy along with her who could only be her brother.

“Hey, Barbie!” she exclaimed. “I know you’re probably super busy getting ready, but Georgie begged me to introduce him.” She shot a hesitant look at Jan. “Is that okay?”

“Oh, that’s fine,” Serena said, cutting in gracefully. “Barbie loves meeting fans, right, little sis? And her ‘social media coordinator’ would no doubt love to capture the moment.”

Jan rolled his eyes. “Make it snappy, you two,” he huffed, then flounced away into the gymnasium with a smiling Serena. That left Bobby facing a ten-year-old boy who seemed almost as embarrassed as he was, staring shyly at the floor.

Bobby looked helplessly at Kimberly, who gave him a “get on with it” nod. The situation wasn’t one hundred percent without precedent -- Bobby remembered a bunch of little kids in his neighborhood who always used to hang around watching him shoot, asking him dumb questions, doing the whole “hero worship” thing. He’d always gotten a bit of a kick out of it, but now his one fan was apparently a gay ten-year-old who thought “Barbie” was inspirational.

“Um, hey, George,” he said.

“Georgie,” the boy’s sister whispered.

“Georgie, I mean,” Bobby corrected. He shot a withering glance at Kimberly, who was clearly amused, then pasted a bright white smile onto his face. “Nice to meet you!” he trilled.

With no warning whatsoever, the little boy threw his arms around Bobby’s waist and hugged him tightly. “I love you, Barbie,” he snuffled. “You’re so pretty, and brave, and sometimes I want to wear a princess dress but I know Kyle’s gonna tease me, and I get really sad, but I know you would wear the princess dress, so then I can do it anyways, and it’s fun, and I don’t care what Kyle says!”

Bobby had absolutely no idea what to do. He stared at Kimberly, willing her with his panicky eyes to do something, but she just stood back with a small smile playing around her lips. “Oh, that’s cool,” Bobby squeaked, patting the boy awkwardly on the head, knowing he would have definitely been the Kyle of the scenario at ten years old. “Keep, um, doing you?”

Georgie pulled back with a watery smile on his face. “Barbie, can I have your autograph, please?” he asked, waving a piece of paper.

Stunned, but for a moment weirdly gratified, Bobby shrugged. “Sure,” he said. “I don’t have, like, a pen or anything…” He glanced around for Jan’s assistant, but the woman had already disappeared into the gym, laden down with equipment. He rummaged through his purse and pulled out a lip liner. “I guess this works.”

He leaned down to sign his name on the paper, remembering just in time to write “Barbie” instead of Bobby. The boy blushed again, mumbled a thank you, and took off back towards his sister, leaving Bobby and Kimberly alone.

“You know, that was actually kind of sweet,” his ex said. She held up her phone, displaying a picture of Bobby signing the autograph, gracefully holding his blonde hair out of his face with one manicured hand like a beauty queen indulging a fan.

“You didn’t have to actually take a picture,” Bobby grimaced.

“Social media coordinator,” Kimberly said. “I have to maintain my cover, or whatever.” She paused. “Looks like Serena wants you to have an audience for the final round.”

Bobby looked around at the mass of students still moving into the gym. He had an anxious flutter in his stomach. It wasn’t just because he was going to be vamping around in front of an audience -- he’d already done it in front of his former teammates, and nothing could be worse than that. It was because seeing the crowd sent him screaming back to the night that had changed his life forever, the night the blackmailer had faked Bobby’s “coming out” and stranded him in the gymnasium in a tight red minidress.

“Yeah,” Bobby said, trying to wrestle down his anxiety. “Yeah, she tried to make nice while I was getting changed. Said she was sorry and all this bullshit.”

Kimberly’s eyes widened momentarily. “Uh, and what did you say?”

“Don’t worry, Kimmy,” Bobby said. “I’m not letting her get in my head. She wanted a photo shoot, she’s getting a photo shoot. Jan Van Antwerp is pretty much eating out of the palm of my hand.”

An uncomfortable look crossed his ex’s face. “Well, good,” she said. “Whatever Serena’s cooking up for the big finale, we’ll handle it together, okay? Let’s get in there.”

Bobby nodded grimly, took a deep breath, and walked through the doors. Jan’s assistant was busy herding all of the students onto one side of the bleachers, to give the appearance of a full house, and Bobby’s stomach sank slightly when he realized his former teammates were back in action, this time wearing their actual uniforms while they shot around.

Then he saw Ally, Beverly, and the other cheerleaders all chattering excitedly together, also in uniform, and his stomach absolutely plummeted.

“Oh, shit,” he said faintly. “Oh, shit. You have to be kidding me.”

He was vaguely aware of Kimberly’s grip on his arm as she steered him over to the makeup and wardrobe set up, where Jan and Serena were waiting with matching smiles on their faces. His eyes went to the garment bag in his big sister’s arms.

“So, I was thinking to myself, what is the ultimate form of this butterfly?” Jan asked dramatically. “When Barbie finally sheds her cocoon, finally frees herself from this hideous disguise as a testosterone-pumping basketball player, what does she become?” He paused. “It was actually ‘Rena’s idea,” he admitted ruefully. “But what an idea! Such a brain, your sister has.”

Serena held out the garment bag with a cheeky grin. “I think you’re really going to like this, Barbie,” she said sweetly. “The best part is, all your friends get to be in it, too. Even you, Kimberly. One of the girls brought her spare uniform.”

Bobby had never fainted before, but when his sister unzipped the bag, pulling out the skimpiest cheerleader outfit he’d ever seen in his life, his legs buckled underneath him -- if it wasn’t for Kimberly holding onto his arm, he probably would have hit the floor.

“Handling it together, remember?” his ex whispered.

Bobby stared at Serena with all the hatred he could muster. He wasn’t letting her win. No matter what happened, he wasn’t giving her that satisfaction. “Amazing idea, big sis,” he said, distantly impressed with the fact he could still speak. “Let’s do it.”