Plans for the day

Getting out of bed Bailey checked his phone, seeing a bunch of notifications. It looked like his most recent video had been a hit with thirty thousand views in one day. Thinking something was off he clicked over to Youtube to look at his channel and noticed the number of subscribers went up from nineteen to over a thousand. “Oh… my… god…” Bailey said looking at the numbers on the screen, it was absolutely amazing to him that not only did people want to watch him, but subscribe for more of his debasement. Every one of those numbers was a person that had seen him dressed like a girl and playing with a doll. Looking down at the comments he saw such gems as “U should be on camera more, way 2 beautiful 2 B out of frame.” “Have you considered making a channel of you just playing with dolls? I bet it would be a great children's channel.” “BaileyB you are adorbs!” The comments kept going, and hits for his other videos were up, but not to the same levels. He guessed one video led to people watching another. “Hurray for internet popularity.” Bailey said with a tired voice, before clicking over to his text messages.

Bailey: I had so much fun with you on our date :-*

Bailey: I also made an Amazon wishlist, take a look!

Auggy <3: I can imagine you in all of those!

Auggy <3: Very happy with my imagination right now.

Auggy: <3: Okay, you should get those boots you wanted soon.

Auggy: <3: Can’t wait to see you in them :)

Bailey: OMG Really! You are the best Auggy!

The entire time Bailey was reading over his notifications he was standing next to his bed, but seeing the text messages with August, messages that he didn’t send caused him to slowly sit back down. He had removed the little heart next to Augustus name in his contacts before and now it was back, with August's name being changed to Auggy. Clicking on the link to the Amazon wishlist Bailey saw all the items Aunt Megan how shown him the other night and more. Clicking over to her contact Bailey hit the call icon. “What did you do? How did you even change things on my phone!?” He said rapidly soon as the phone picked up. “Bailey is that you? Sorry I didn’t understand that you are talking a little to fast for me. I’m getting ready for work pumpkin, what can I do for you?” Trying to keep calm Bailey grabbed his sheet with his free hand and tightened his grip on it. “Aunt Megan, I like seem to have texted August a link to an Amazon wishlist that I didn’t create.” Bailey hadn’t even considered what time it was, if Aunt Megan was still getting ready for work, then Mommy might not have left yet. “Well I would imagine you forget a lot of things, but you really should at least keep track of the things you send to a boy you like. It isn’t like I am able to use the parent controls I installed on your phone to read and send things from your phone. Far as the wishlist goes I do recall showing you a few items and you saying you loved them. I’m sure whatever you picked out will look lovely on you.” Reaching up to his hair, Bailey started to run his nails through it worried about what else she was able to do with the controls. “But, umm I thought you like said you wouldn’t send texts for me anymore.” He was grasping at straws, she had said that, but it wasn’t like he had any leverage to keep her to her word. Not like with the PI, he played the part of Bailey Ann Best and she worked on clearing his name. “I think you are giving me too much credit pumpkin. Now your Mom was telling me how you were thinking about getting your haircut, I think that is a lovely idea. Do you need a few dollars to get it done or did your Mom give you money for it?”

“Mommy said I only have to get my haircut if I want and how did you know about that, we like only talked about it last night?” The first thing Bailey heard instead of a reply was a tisking sound she was making. “You Mom called me last night, she is worried about you Bailey. Failing your test at the DMV because you were flirting and cheating off a boy, inviting August into your room, so we talked.” Bailey shook his head no in small, tight shakes. “No like I wasn’t flirting, he like wouldn’t leave me alone and then his Mom called me a hussie and like August… Aunt Megan I really didn’t want to do anything with him. You know I didn’t!” His voice wasn’t aquising or firm, it sounded more like he was whining and begging her to admit the truth, his truth, that no one else could see. “Aww I’m sorry that woman was so mean to you, don’t worry pumpkin, I know that must have been hard. Sometimes woman can be catty, but it is all going to be okay. Tell you what, why don’t you go get your haircut today on me. Wont that cheer you up?” Bailey swallowed, and pulled his hand away from his hair so he would stop playing with it, when he noticed what he was doing subconsciously in his vanity mirror. “Are you like telling me to do it or asking me if I want it?” He could hear movement on the other end of the phone, but she didn’t say anything for about thirty seconds. “Bailey I do have to get going to work, but I think it is a good idea. Before I go why don’t you tell me what it means to be a good girl.” Without hesitation Bailey said the motto that he had practiced over and over again, his motto. “Ah that was the one, a good girl is obedient. Both your Aunt and Mom think you should do it.” Getting his haircut would bring it more in line with how his hair length used to be, but what had been picked out was really girly. “But like I was told only if I want to.”

“A good girl always looks her best, are you telling me you don’t want to look your best? And that sounds a bit like arguing to me. Lets count that as one.” Peaches! Bailey thought when she said one. His mind thinking back to the punishments she had inflicted upon him when he misbehaved. “I like totally do want to look my best.” He should have known better than to think he would truly given an option on if he was going to do something super girly or not. “So, now that you have put some good thought into what you want and don’t. What are you going to tell your best friend and mother?” Bailey touched his hair as he looked at himself, his face and hair specifically in the mirror. He still needed more sun, he was still pale. He never did tan well, his face looked washed out to him without makeup and he needed to run a mascara brush through his eyelashes to fan them out, they were a little clumpy. “That I would love to try something new and get a cute haircut.” Bailey couldn’t see it, but Megan was putting her purse on her shoulder as she headed out the door with a smile on her face. The phone call ended, Bailey let out a long breath and walked out to the living room in time to see his pretend Mommy adjusting one of the straps on her double ankle strap heels. “Good morning pumpkin, I’m glad I got to see you this morning before I left for work.” Moving up to her Bailey hugged the sitting woman, he loved her, but he always considered himself kind of like that song about doing anything for love, but he wouldn't do that and that happened to be a bunch of things, but here he was… “Whoa, not that I am complaining, but where did this come from?” He gave her a tighter squeeze, not wanting to let go, wishing the two of them could just go back to before. He wouldn’t argue with her for the sake of arguing because he was mad at something. He wished he could just take her hand and have her miss a morning meeting while they had fun, but instead he had to tell her, he had to be a good girl.

“Mommy, I was like umm thinking and stuff about last night. I would like love to try something new with my hair and get a cute haircut. I was like talking to Aunt Megan and she said she would pay for it.” Bailey was happy to feel her return the hug, rocking her body from side to side with him in her arms. You know, with not having to pay for that job assistance program for my ex we have a little extra. If your Aunt is paying for your hair, why don’t you and Candi get a mani pedi on me. You just make sure you thank your Aunt for spoiling you. Amanda was shocked that Bailey had decided to get her hair done and even more so that she talked it over with Megan. When once they seemed like enemies, now the two had a real relationship. She thought back to the conversation she had with her sister when the girls left her room last name. “I know you said Bailey asked to get her lips done and that she is happy, but what if that is all just part of the act? Bailey did ask me to help keep her in character and honestly I have to remind myself she isn’t what she seems lately.. Bailey feels like a different person now and seems happy almost all of the time.” Amanda was looking through photos on her laptop as she spoke to her sister. Her screen had stopped on an image of a young, maybe twelve year old Bailey in a red dress looking upset as she sat on Santa’s lap. “That is because Bailey is happier like this, think about how he was before. When did you know him to ever give up control of something? Or choose to do what someone else wanted without being outnumbered? The answer is never or close to it. Bailey now lets everyone lead her around, she doesn’t have to worry about anything because the person she has chosen to be is someone who doesn’t worry about what to do next, about what is the correct answer, she just lets others decide. The saying ignorance is bliss and Bailey is choosing to be a ditzy girl so that she can be blissful, instead of a man with the weight of the world because he isn’t living up to some expectation that his Napoleon attitude ass can’t live up to.”

Amanda clicked the laptop over to the next image of Bailey with what she would have looked like going to her eighth grade dance. Hair her natural blonde color, coming down just past her shoulders with a slight curl put to it. Light makeup and wearing a blue dress with lace shoulders coming up over her bodice and being long enough to just touch her knees and a pair of low heel silver heeled sandals. In the image she held a light blue clutch purse between her hands in front of her. “Napoleon? Really Megan.” She rolled her eyes. Bailey wasn’t like that terror of a friend of his Liam, he seemed to take some of Bailey’s bad habits and ramped them up to eleven. “I may have given Bailey a test to see if she… he really wants this. I spoke with him and Candi last night. They both looked like beautiful young woman, that could be sisters wearing matching babydoll nighties and I told Candi to not to push Bailey on this. I wanted to see if Bailey would go and get his haircut like this.” She sent the saved image over to her sister. “I think seeing him sleeping in bed with a man should be enough proof when you don’t believe me, but it is a cute haircut. Can you afford to send her to the salon?” Pursing her lips she thought for a second at her account balances when she paid the bills. Having a daughter was expensive, but with Bailey no longer trying to use the recruiting service life was more affordable. She hated paying for it before, it was a bad investment, but Bailey wouldn’t budge on it. Now it wasn’t needed. She wasn’t particularly keen on doing the household finances, she looked at numbers all day. The last thing she wants to do is go and pay bills when she gets home, but it wasn’t like she could let Bailey keep doing that as her daughter. “It isn’t a problem.”

Clicking over to another photo Amanda looked at Bailey going to what would be her freshman homecoming. Her hair was still long, no curls, just brushed back with a a silver hairpin of hers that looked like a flower with leaves. Her dress was a sleeveless forest green dress with a tiered skirt. Like the last it had some lace near Bailey’s bodice, but this one was just a small thing connecting the straps of her dress in the front, the rest was a plunging neckline that just showed off the young teens budding breasts. In the photo she had one hand on her hip and the other holding a white clutch. Amanda smiled looking at the photos, wishing these were real events. “How about we wait till this weekend and I will take her to the mall to get her hair done.” Her sister was missing the point of the test, not that it would solidly prove anything, jus this willingness to feminize himself more for the role. “That isn’t the point Megan, she has to do it on her own.” Amanda could hear her sister let out her breath as she signed. “She is going to do it, I figured I would at least get to spend time with my niece. Bailey has confided in me she is having fun, but she is so much calmer and way easier to deal with than my little one. Don’t tell Bailey, but I’m enjoying myself interacting with her.” Letting out a laugh Amanda thought of Rebecca off at college and how originally the plan was for her to pretend to be her daughter. “Becky is not so little anymore sis and to your point earlier. Bailey has created this character and I know she has no idea how to handle the advances of men, I bet the idea of being stared at did not cross her mind when this was all set up and now she has to just keep up the act. I did give her a few ideas of how to police tell men she was not interested. It was Amanda’s turn to hear laughter on the other end of the phone. “Act or not, but no one walks the way she does or bends over like that unless their goal is to draw the eye.”

“Are you trying to tell me Bailey likes men? You think Bailey is bi? Because I promise you, I have the experience to tell you that I know what Bailey likes in bed.” Amanda closed her laptop, she didn’t like the way that sounded when looking at images of a freshman high school age girl. She didn’t have a problem with lesbians, but the idea of being physically intimate with another female never sat right with her. “All I am saying is pay attention to who your daughter gives her affection to.” That night Derrick didn’t answer his phone, she had only gotten a text saying he was thinking of her and would be burning the midnight oil to take care of something important that he just found out about. So after a conversation like that, she was incredibly surprised with Bailey. “Morning hugs, can I join!?” Looking to her side Amanda saw Candi wearing an off the shoulder dress that gave the illusion it was a blouse with a skirt. The top was black, with quarter sleeves and the bottom was white with black polka dots. She gave the girl a smile and pulled one arm away from Bailey to invite her in. When the embrace was over, Amanda stood up and looked down at the girls, being much taller than them with her heels on. “Bailey has said she wants to go get her haircut today, so it sounds like the two of you need the car.” Amanda brought her phone to life to look at the display. “I have an early meeting, but I can take that on my phone, if you girls think you can be ready in say twenty minutes?” Candi looked over to her friend with a big smile, her excitement clear as the sun on a cloudless day. “You decided!? Yay! And like yeah we can be ready. Come on, lets get you ready sis!” Candi said taking ahold of Bailey’s hand and moving toward the bedroom. “Hmm” Amanda made the sound as she looked in her purse noticing she didn’t have any cash to give Bailey. She looked up and called after the girls. “We will have to stop by an atm so you girls have some money. A debit card would come in handy right now.” She said thinking about Bailey’s now lack of access to the joint account and thought it might have been a little short sighted.

“You can like send the money to my bank account. I’m surprised Bailey doesn’t have one of her own, does like she only having a savings account? For like college?” If she did really have a child she would have a saving account setup and needed an excuse and when she looked at Bailey looking a little sad at the prospect of not getting the haircut that she had brought up it made her feel a little guilty. She figured if Megan was offering to pay, it would be more of a pay you back type of situation, but Candi having an account they could send money to did give her an idea that with why Bailey had to practice math over the summer. “No, she is not great with money, and never took to balancing a checkbook.” Amanda gave a small shrug. “With finances being what they are and her not wanting to go to college, no.” It was more information than she would have honestly given, but she kept talking the more nervous she got about lying. “I’m like totally fine with money!” Bailey added unhelpfully. “Sounds like you are good at spending it like me little sis, but like don’t worry maybe we can like setup a students account for you and Mom can try going over the checkbook thing again with both of us.” Candi never balanced her account before, but she also had never over drafted either, but didn’t want to sound like she was bragging to Bailey who obviously struggled with math more than her. “I bet I’m like waaaay better at math than you.” The idea of this blonde girl putting them on the same level irked Bailey. “I love… bets. Let's say we both do a page in your workbook and whoever gets the most right answers wins?” Bailey nodded, he was rusty with math he had learned, but there was no way she was smarter than him. “Deal!” Bailey agreed rapidly to the proposed bet. “Winner has to do and say whatever the winner wants for five minutes of their choosing, but like they have to give you a little warning.” When Amanda was younger she would make bets with her sister, but they tended to revolve around the loser doing the winners chores. “Girls, the clock is ticking.”