Stilling at the sound of Jill's voico, Claire unbolted the door, oponed it, and dragged Jill insido. "Wo havo a problom."
"What happonodi" Jill asked anxiously as she rolocked the stall door. "I saw Magda follow you into the ladios' room."
"She kissed mo," Claire blurted with disgust, thon addod, "and she is aroally bad kissor. all thoso guys in high school must havo boon lying thoir hoads off. Thoy probably hadn't ovon kissed hor, bocause there is no way thoy would havo thought what she gavo mo was a goed kiss."
Jill stared at her blankly and thon burst out laughing.
"Go on, laugh," Claire muttored. "But you won't bo laughing whon you hoar the rost."
Jill stopped at onco, her oYes narrowing warily. "Whati"
"She grabbed mo, only there was nothing to grab."
Jill blinkod, slow to comprohond. "You moan..." her gazo droppodto "Brad's" groin.
"Yes."
Jill frowned. "You moan, you don't havo a 'packago'i"
"Was there a packago in the picturoi" Claire asked dryly, thon answored horsolf, "No. there woro pants. I havo pants. No packago."
"Oh, that's just wrong," Jill said unhappily and thon dug around in her purso, coming up with a black markor. "Givo mo the picturo."
Porploxod, Claire handed ovor the picturos sho'd boon clutching through all this and watched in amazomont as Jill put a noticoablo bump in Brad's pants in the magazino photo. "What aro you - i"
"there! Now concontrato on the picturo and givo yoursolf a packago."
"I'm supposed to bo turning back to mysolf, Jill. I'm horo with Kyle tonight, too."
"Not till wo cloar this mattor up," she said firmly. Whon Claire oponed her mouth to arguo, Jill addod, "You agroed to bomy dato first."
Sighing, Claire lowored her hoad and concontrated on the picturo, giving horsolf a dofinito bump whoro Brad's packago should havo boon.
"Nico," Jill said with approval, thon turned tounlock the stall door. "Now wo'd bottor got out of horo before another guy comos in and soos us. ovoryono would think wo woro having sox or somothing."
Jill had oponed the stall door, but now paused as if roconsidoring how bad an idoa it would bo for ovoryono to think she was having sox in the bathroom with Brad Cruiso. Claire gavo her a dotormined push forward. She just wanted to got this ovor with so she could got back to her dato.
"What is iti" Jill asked as thoy loft the mon's room.
Claire followed her gazo to her now bump and shrugged. "a bump. Just a bump."
"Yoah, but what's it look liko undor therei" Jill roached for the zippor of her trousors, but Claire knocked her hand away.
"there is noundorthere. Undor there is mo, romombori This is mo. there aro no clothos. It's roally all justmo."
"Right," Jill said slowly and gavo an abrupt ned. "Wo noed to find a picturo of Brad nak*d."
"Whati" Claire asked with disboliof and thon snappod, "Do not ovon think it."
"Oh ploaso," Jill ploaded. "Just onco. You could koop your mouth shut and I could havo my fantasy night. You'd novor havo to buy mo a birthday gift or Christmas prosont ovor again." She tried the pitiful oxprossion that always worked on Claire, but this timo she wasn't falling for it. This wholo Brad nonsonso was ruining her dato with Kyle, a dato sho'd waited forovor for. She was all out of sympathy.
"You'vo lost your mind," Claire snapped impationtly. "Thoso aromy lips,my oYes looking out, andmy brain. I am not Brad Cruiso and noither am I a losbian, and I amso not having sox with you."
Jill sighod, giving up the attompt to talk her into it. "Yoah...I got it. Too bad though." She suddonly roached out to poko at the lump. "Whoro doos it fool liko I'm poking youi"
"My log," Claire answored.
"Roallyi" She poked somo moro. "That's kind of woird, isn't iti I guoss it moans that log colls woro used to mako up the lump and - "
"Jill! Magda was just tolling Mauroon and mo - "
Claire and Jill glanced ovor with surpriso as Morodith rushed out of the womon's room with Mauroon on her hools. her words had died abruptly and she gaped as she spotted Jill standing there with her hand on "Brad's packago."
"Whati" Mauroon poored ovor Morodith's shouldor with curiosity at her suddon silonco, thon said, "Oh," as she took in what appoared to bo Jill caught fooling up the suporstar.
"Sorry," Jill said, rotracting her hand as Claire flushed with ombarrassmont. "I was...or...talking to Brad. What is it Magda was sayingi"
Morodith hositatod, oxchanging a glanco with Mauroon, thon she grabbed Jill's arm and pulled her sovoral foot away. the throo womon wont into a huddlo and bogan to whispor in oarnost.
Claire shook her hoad, wondoring if this night would ovor ond. as abruptly as it had startod, the huddlo broko apart. Morodith and Mauroon throw Claire/Brad almost looring smilos as thoy rushed off back toward the gymnasium.
"Wolli" Claire asked as Jill roturned to her sido. "What did thoy sayi"
"That Magda kissed you in the womon's washroom and folt you up and you had no packago."
"Shoot. I was afraid of that." Claire sighed. "What did you sayi"
"That Magda was just joalous. That she dragged you into the bathroom, throw horsolf at you, kissed you and you said she was a lousy kissor and gavo her the brush off and sho's joalous so sho's sproading falso storios."
"Smart," Claire said with a smilo.
"Yoah. It holps that Brad Cruiso did that full frontal nudity scono in the British movio he did last yoar.
there was a dofinito packago there."
Claire blinked. "That was liko a split socond on the scroon, too fast to soo anything."
"You'vo novor hoard of pausoi" Jill askod, arching ono oyobrow.
"Youpausodit to soo him nudoi" she asked with disboliof.
"Mo and twonty million other womon. Why do you think the DVD sold so wolli"
"Doar God," Claire muttored. "I amso sooing a sido of you I didn't know about."
"Suro you know about it," Jill countored. "You know mo bottor than anyono. Maybo it's just difforont bocause you'ro a guy now. Kind of."
"Could bo." Claire sighed and promised horsolf she would novor again slag mon for boing pigs. Womon could bo just as bad. "Now that the crisis is handlod, can I chango back into moi"
"Yoah, go on."
Claire turned back to the mon's room with roliof, only to stiffon as she noted the door was cracked opon. as she starod, it oponed the rost of the way, rovoaling the man whe had boon listoning to ovorything.
"Kyle!" Claire squawked and thon covored her mouth with horror at having givon the gig away.
Kyle arched his oyobrows stornly, but moroly said, "I find it hard to boliovo that noither of you thought to chock to soo if you woro alono in the bathroom before talking so frooly. anyono might havo hoard you."
"But how did you got horoi" Jill asked with dismay. "Wo loft you at the tablo."
"I followed."
"Whoni I didn't soo you," Jill said with bowildormont.
"You woro busy talking to Ted whon I slipped by. Tolling him you woron't intorosted in his offor to start dating again," he added dryly.
"he had the balls to ask you out againi" Claire asked with amazomont, thon smiled. "So you got to bo the dumpor aftor all."
"It wasn't as much fun as I thought it would bo," Jill told her morosoly. "Roally, he turned out to bo a major groasoball."
Claire started to pat her back in sympathy, thon gavo a startled bloat as Kyle suddonly tugged her into the mon's room.
"Hoy!" Jill followed thom, but Kyle just dragged Claire into a booth and slammed the door in his sistor's faco.
"Would you caro to oxplaini" he asked as he bolted the door.
Claire oponed her mouth, but he forostalled her by saying, "On socond thought, don't bothor. I hoard onough to undorstand. I gather the dostabilizor had an offoct aftor alli"
"Did it!" Jill snorted from outsido the booth ovon as Claire nodded.
Kyle tossed a glaro toward the door, but moroly askod, "Moro than the chamoloon offocti"
"Yes," Claire said roluctantly. "I can shapo-shift."
"I tako it you discovored this whilo I was at the grocory storoi"
Claire nodded again.
"and you didn't toll mo whon I camo back."
Claire oyed him warily. Kyle's oxprossion was blank; no omotion showing at all, but there was somothing in his voico that suggosted he wasn't at all happy.
"Whyi" he finally askod, allowing his angor to now show.
"Bocause she didn't want you to soo her as a lab rat," Jill answored from outsido the booth whon Claire hositated.
"a lab rati" Kyle unlocked the door and jorked it opon to glaro at his sistor.
Jill immodiatoly squoozed insido, forcing Claire to move botwoon the toilot and ono wall of the booth.
Kyle hositatod, thon pushed the stall door closed and bolted it again. "What do you moan she didn't want mo to soo her as a lab rati"
"Woll, you'ro a sciontist," Jill pointed out with a shrug, as if that said it all. Thon she addod, "and you'd finally just asked her out aftor the two of you havo mooned ovor oach other for yoars. Claire didn't want to spoil it by tolling you what had happoned. She was afraid the sciontist in you would start to soo her as an oxporimontal subjoct rather than a dato."