Journal Entry Number Four

June 16th

The past few weeks have seen my life fall into a routine of sorts. Summer does not leave the house much, because her parents don’t allow it. So of course that means I am also stuck, cooped up in the house. We only ever leave the house to go to appointments, meaning we still aren’t doing anything.

That was until today. Summer, it seems, had also become sick of confinement. She had woke me up early. "Wake up, Clare. We are going out."

I sat up, trying to blink the sleep from my eyes. "Milady. Is something the matter?"

She shook her head. "We are just going out for today."

Knowing she had something planned, I sighed. "Whatever you say."

I started changing into my uniform until Summer stopped me. "Oh. You are not wearing that today. I have something special for you to put on." With that she grabbed my hand, dragging me to the closet. From within it she retrieved a tunic and a pair of trousers. She handed me both. "These are for you. Go ahead and put them on."

When they were on I realized that they fit perfectly. She had them made just for me (meaning, like my uniform, they could change size). But, of course she got my measurements from the ICA, so they came out quite masculine. The tunic is a pure black cotton based garment that snugly fit the shape of my torso and chest. The sleeves were cut short at the shoulders. The trousers reached to my heel, so when I put on the leather boots, to which she also had made for me, the legs stopped just before the sole of the boot. The trousers were made of a weird blue material (Summer later explained that it was tightly woven cotton. She called it denim.) Supposedly it was the new ‘thing’ to wear. All I cared was that it was flexible enough to run it, or to maneuver about.

When all said and done, I looked like a guy. AGAIN.

When she was done getting me ready, Summer got dressed herself, so, without my help. She also wore a pairs of denim trousers, except that hers were tight and fit her curve nicely. She wore a black cotton blouse that showed a fair amount of neck and chest.

It is quite frustrating knowing that I will never look like that. Elegant, and yet bold. Beautiful. Perfect. I will never be any of these things.

I wonder what she looks like in a dress. Hmm... I am officially putting that on my list of things to see.

Back to today. I looked away from her, my face feeling hot. "Where are we going, Milady?"

"I’ll tell you when we get there. And for today please just call me Summer."

I raised my eyebrow slightly but did not question the request. "Sure thing."

She must have noticed my hesitation because she said, "Say it."

"Of course... Summer."

"Good. Now lets get going before anyone else wakes up."

We left. It was an easy escape. There were no guards we had to get by, so all we had to do was leave early, which we did.

We started out the day by going to breakfast. While there Summer explained that she had wanted to get out of the house, but her parents would not let her, for which was the reason for the sneaking.

Throughout the day we did many things; we went to the theater, to a park, to lunch, and then to an evening fair. The play at the theater was interesting; it was about a romance that was forbidden due to class difference and how the two overcame that boundary. The park was nice, but we did not do much. Lunch, like the park, was nice, but nothing exciting happened. On the other hand, the fair was quite eventful.

In the beginning we just walked around, looking at the stands that displayed many trinkets and other things. It was crowded and Summer said she did not want to get separated from me, so we held hands while walking about.

We walked by many different attractions. There were food stands, throwing rocks at milk bottle stands, ride the horse stands, look at all the cute animal stands, trinket stands, jewelry stands, stands where you watch people do tricks like eating fire, and many others. Towards the center of the fair was a giant stage. Summer wanted to know what was going on at the stage, so we made our way to it. Upon arriving, we were bombarded by the stage manager.

"Hey. You two look like a fine couple. Why don’t you guys join the couples contest?"

I did not really understand what he was referring to when he said "couples contest", so I had him explain.

"Well, its when a pair," he pointed to us, "compete to show that they are the best couple here."

Ugh. Yet another person thought I was a guy. Do I really look that much like a guy?

"I will have you know that I am not a–," Summer’s hand whipped out to cover my mouth, stopping me before I could finish what I was saying. She bent down slightly to whisper in my ear.

"Why don’t you play a different role for tonight? I would really love it if you would." I stared at her. Her eyes were pleading. Why? I did not yet know.

"If that is what you wish. So be it. We will enter the contest."

"Great. Sign in is to the right of the stage. Good luck."

We signed in, and the whole time I could not get a word out of Summer. We were finally called to the dressing rooms, where the contest was explained.

"Listen up! The contest will consist of three parts; the introduction, the show, and the proclamation.

The intro is when you walk out holding hands so that everyone can see your face and know who you are paired with. The show is where you put on a show; something you can do together, like singing, dancing, or whatever. And the proclamation is where you show the crowd how much you care about one another. Do you understand?"

Everyone chorused "yes", except me. I did not understand at all why I was doing this.

Summer and I were give the group number 6, which meant we had more time to prepare. Well at least for the second two parts. We were whisked off to our own changing room where five different people started redressing us, or well, handing us clothes to put on and then tidying us up. I got placed in a fancy black suit with gold tassels. I must admit, I looked pretty spiffy. Somehow those people got my hair in order. When they were done with me, they sent me to see Summer.

I don’t really know how to put this. She was stunning. She wore a lovely pink dress that complimented her curves perfectly. The hem puffed out slightly, while the bodice frilled about her chest. I must have gasped, because she giggled. "Um... you look lovely, Milady- excuse me, Summer."

"Well you look dashing. How did you pull that off?"

"I had a little help." I nodded toward the five stylists. "Are you sure you want to do this? I don’t know if I can pull it off."

"Oh come on. You can do almost anything. Was that not what you were trained to do down at ICA. You were taught how to be the perfect bodyguard, and at the same time the perfect man." I could see the mischievous look in her eyes. She was absolutely dead serious about going through with the contest. Why? I still did not know.

"Can you dance?"

"Sure. My mother taught me as a kid. I know how to dance a waltz, a foxtrot, and a swing."

Figures. She of course knew many dances I did not, but at least I know how to waltz, so it worked out. "Ok. We can waltz for the second part. What was it called? The "show"?"

"Ok, Seth. Sounds good."

"Seth?"

"Yeah. For tonight you are Seth. Or, at least for the contest."

At that moment we were called out to the back stage to prepare. And then minutes later we were stepping out onto the stage with nine other pairs.

Looking at the other pairs, it was hilarious. We were the only pair where the male (cough) was shorter than the female. And I could not become taller because I was not in the right clothes.

The announcer called off groups and when each was called they would step forward and bow or curtsy.

"GROUP #6. SETH AND SUMMER!"

We stepped forward. The crowd seemed to like us. Maybe because we were the mismatched pair. A few cheered openly, telling us we could "do it".

Then the "show" began. Summer and I practiced waltzing together while the first 5 pairs "showed their stuff"(that’s what Summer called it). Surprisingly, we flowed well together. We were smooth and I did just fine leading. Our only problem was me getting my hand high enough for her to spin.

In the end we simply switched roles for the spin. I was the one who spun under her arm, which the crowd seemed to love.

After that was mostly a blur. We had set up a skit for the proclamation. I don’t remember any of it. All I remember is when Summer fell into my arms and kissed me on the lips.

Everything stopped. The crown disappeared, sounds faded, and all I could focus on was Summer. She pulled away. My body moved on its own locking my lips with hers once again. My hand slipped up behind her head, while hers pressed against my cheek.

When we finally broke apart my senses were just coming back. I turned to see the crowd cheering wildly. There was whistling and clapping. In this case I am glad I could not see my face; I was probably bright red.

And then everything was a blur again. I could not think about anything other then the kiss. We did not win, but instead came in second. And there was no consolation prize. Figures.

When Summer and I were back in our clothes we walked toward her house. Half way there we were alone on the road. She turned to face me.

"I love you," she blurted out. That was all she said.

I dumbly asked, "but why?"

"Because I feel that you understand me and that we fit well together. I can’t explain it, really. I just love you. You make me feel safe." She began to cry and collapsed on the ground.

"Shh, shh. Its ok. I love you, too."

Not really knowing how to comfort her, I grew to twenty feet tall and cradled her in my arms, hugging her tightly to my chest. She grasped my tunic and continued to cry, but softer; she was calming down.

We sat there for a while, silent. Then she asked, "do you really love me?"

I never got the chance to answer. Men surrounded us, shouting at me, telling me I had to get away from Summer. They turned out to be the police, who had been out looking for her all day. Her parents had gotten worried.

I shrunk back to normal and stepped away from Summer, not wanting to get in to much trouble. I was hit in the back of the head. It is to be expected. Had I put up a fight they never would have knocked me out. But I didn't, so they did.

That is all I remember of today, other than the fact that somehow Summer got my journal to me. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings (yeah, right).