The second part in the S.H.E.M.A.L.E. Starz storyline. The link to Part 1 is here. This time, Serena unexpectedly attracts a new employee to the club, the dazzling Hallie Starz! Enjoy!
Part 2: Hallie Starz
After spending the rest of the night dressed up as his alter-ego, Serena Starz, Sora decided to go home. He learned how to remove makeup, changed back into his regular clothes, and thanked all of the girls and Mr. Ru for the wonderful first night at his new job. "I'll be back tomorrow night!" he called out as he opened the door out of the building. "And don't worry, Mr. Ru! I'll bring in enough "girls" to keep the club running for years to come!"
Although he wanted to just go home, sleep, and dream about his new future, Sora saw the lights on at Mel's house and decided to pop by. Huh, I guess I forgot that Mel was hosting a party every Friday night until school's out, Sora thought to himself. I guess I'll swing by and brag about my new job, with some alterations to true details of course.
"Hey, Sora, you made it!" called out Emilio as Sora entered the house. "We'd thought you were moping around your house complaining about the fact that you can't find a job!"
"Nope!" Sora answered with a gleam in his eye. "Laugh it up all you want, Emilio. Because I've got a job now. A good job, not some silly job bagging groceries. I'm vice president of a club downtown!"
"What?"
"Really?"
"Congratulations!"
"I don't believe it!" Albert said, a little shell-shocked. "How did you manage to get a job managing hot babes? Did you have to suck the owner's dick or something?"
"No," Sora replied angrily, not happy with Albert's disbelief. "I saw an ad on a flyer, stuck out my chest, nailed the interview, and landed the job. How hard is that to believe?"
"Not really that hard at all," said Lars, stepping in to defuse the tension between his friends. "It looks like that's the best job I've heard so far. That $500 prize appears to be yours for the taking, Sora."
"Thanks, Lars," smiled Sora, happy that someone was finally acknowledging his accomplishment. "Shoot," he said, looking at his watch for the first time, "My curfew was half-an-hour ago. I gotta run, guys. See ya!"
As Sora went to the door to grab his shoes, Hal walked up to his friend. "Hey," he said in his quiet voice. "Congratulations on earning that job. What did you say the name of that club was?"
"It doesn't have a name yet," replied Sora cheerfully as he stepped out the door. "It's just getting off the ground, so I have to help the owner with naming it, finding more employees, and doing other odd jobs so that it can open. Why?"
"No reason," Hal said quickly. "See you later."
Sora woke up the next day and immediately went to the club to start work. When he arrived, Mr. Ru and Tiffany were already there, discussing plans for the club. "Hi you two," Sora said in greeting. "What can I do to help?"
"Well, we were thinking about some names for the club and some structural designs for the club," replied Mr. Ru. "But before you can help us, you need to get into costume. First rule of the club: anyone who is working is in drag."
"Here, I can help you again," offered Tiffany. "But you need to start practicing on your own a little, too. Let's go!"
Sora walked with Tiffany to the communal room and sat down in front of the mirror. Sora managed to get his wig on his head without much difficulty, and learned how to make it blend into his head so that it looked real. Sora then worked on his makeup, going slowly, one thing at a time, after watching Tiffany demonstrate on herself. He began by applying foundation to his face, after being recommended the perfect tone to match his complexion. Next, he penciled his eyebrows into thin arches. The hardest part for him was the eyeliner, as it took him quite a while to get it right, but eventually he did it. Then came some eyeshadow, which he actually chose and managed to blend some white into a smoky black perfectly. Finally, after gluing in some long false eyelashes, he outlined his lips and filled them in with light peach lipstick. "Wow, Serena, I've never seen anyone take to makeup so quickly, not even myself!" Tiffany exclaimed in admiration. "I think you could use some false nail extension too. Let me show you how to use them!"
Thirty minutes later, Serena's look was complete; she had her gorgeous blond wig, sultry eye shadow, a pouty look to her lips, and long striped nails. She strutted back out to greet Mr. Ru, who smiled approvingly. "That look is fantastic!" he called out. "Why don't you try out on-stage for your first performance?"
Serena complied, climbing the steps onto the stage. She was dressed up in a full-body leopard print cat-suit with matching heels. Whoa, its a little hard to maneuver in these 5" heels Tiffany gave me, she thought to herself. And what is the song going to be? Oh well, its just lip-syncing anyways.
"I'm getting a real animal feel from you!" called out Tiffany from backstage. "How about you dance to "She Wolf" by Shakira?"
"Sounds good!" called back Serena, relieved that it was a song she recognized. "Hit it!"
A few seconds later, the thumping opening beat of the song began pouring over the speakers, and Serena began to let go of all her inhibitions.She began jerking her body around in smooth, sexy positions much like she had seen Shakira do in her music video, thrusting out her fake boobs and padded ass.
"S.O.S. she's in disguise. S.O.S. she's in disguise. There's a she wolf in disguise. Coming out, coming out, coming out!"
It was like an animal had taken over her body. Sora never had been a great dancer, but Serena sure knew how to move! She performed the whole song nearly perfectly, missing a few lyrics she didn't know, stumbling once in her heels, but the majority of the performance was smooth and rhythmic.
"...there's a she wolf in your closet, let it out so it can breathe!"
After two last thrusts of her breasts to match the pants of pleasure at the conclusion of the song, Serena looked directly out to the crowd where Mr. Ru and Tiffany were ecstatic. "That was awesome!" Mr. Ru exclaimed as Tiffany began to wolf-whistle. "You sure you haven't done this before?"
"Nope, first time on-stage ever, let alone in heels!" Serena smiled.
"Well then, I think we know what song you are going to perform on opening night! My goodness! Obviously, you could use some practice in heels and it would be better if your remembered all the lyrics, but for a first try that was fantastic!" Mr. Ru said, practically giggling with excitement.
"Come on down, Serena "She Wolf" Starz!" Tiffany laughed as she hugged Serena. She offered Serena a seat and the three of them sat down together. "Now as you catch your breath, we'd like to talk with you about a little business," Mr. Ru said. "Our goal is to open in the first week of April, which is about three weeks from now. However, we need to have at least seven performers by then. So far me have you, Tiffany, Alotta, Bambi, and Stephanie, meaning we need at least two more, preferably three, performers by then. How is your search coming along?"
Serena's face of joy suddenly turned more somber. "I haven't had much luck," she said dejectedly. "I'm still trying to keep Tiffany's and my job here under wraps, so its kind of awkward to approach anybody about the subject."
"I see," said Mr. Ru sympathetically. "Well, who knows. Things happen in a funny way, and I'm sure that this club will grow into something spectacular."
"Yeah," smiled Serena. "Speaking of which, do we actually have a name for the club?"
"That's another thing we wanted to talk to you about," interjected Tiffany. "We've been throwing some ideas around, but nothing has stuck. If you get any sudden inspiration, let us know."
"Will do," nodded Serena. She suddenly froze, looking at the clock. "Shoot!" she exclaimed. "I'm supposed to be leaving for a trip in an hour and I haven't even started packing! I really need to go; do you think I can get a copy of the "She Wolf" lyrics to memorize over the trip?"
"No problem, honey. I'll have them ready for you after you change."
"Thanks!" she called out as she trotted to the dressing room in her heels. Serena quickly stripped out of her performance attire, removed all the makeup and her wig, and rushed out towards the front entrance. "Thanks for the lyrics!" Sora called out as he pushed his way out the door. "I'll be back Monday to practice - I don't have school that day!"
Sora spent every free moment on his trip working on memorizing his lines and practicing walking on his tiptoes to imitate walking in heels. Upon his return to town, he kept his word and returned to the club Monday night to practice his routine. He dressed himself up in his leopard skin bodysuit, put on his makeup and wig, and was about to go on-stage when he saw that Tiffany was on-stage working with someone - someone new! He walked over to them to get a better look.
The new girl looked fantastic. She was wearing a goldish-gray spaghetti strap top that beautifully matching her curly reddish-blond hair. Her lips were perfectly shaped with a nice dark liner that framed the pink gloss. Her eyes had long, full lashes that faded into a light layer of eyeshadow. Serena was especially envious of the wonderful penciling job she had done with her eyeliner and eyebrows. "Hello, Serena!" Tiffany exclaimed, noticing that Serena was observing the new girl. "I see you like her makeup job. Can you believe she did it all on her own?"
Serena's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked incredulously. "You did that all on your own?"
The new girl blushed and replied softly, "Yes. I've been experimenting with makeup for a couple years now. This is the first time I've had a full range of options to work with, though."
"Wow, I'm impressed! I barely make up my face in one look, and you're telling me you're only limited by how many cosmetics you have around you? Damn..." Serena shook her head in admiration. Then she looked up, realizing her rudeness. "Wow, how impolite am I? Making you all uncomfortable without even introducing myself. I'm Serena Starz, and you are...?"
"You can call me...Hallie," the new girl said slowly. "I haven't really thought of a full stage name, but Hallie will do for now."
"Well, now that were all introduced," Tiffany said, clapping her hands impatiently. "Why don't we get started? Serena, I'm going to finish this walk-though with Hallie, then you can practice your routine, and we can all comment on ways to improve. Sounds good?"
Serena and Hallie both nodded their approval, and got to work. Hallie was working on a performance to the song, "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga. Serena noticed the fluidity of her movements; while not very suggestive or sexual like herself, Hallie exuded a sensual, soft vibe that was equally erotic. She was 'just dancing,' much like the song she was performing to. "Great work!" Serena cheered as she walked onto the stage at the conclusion of Hallie's performance. "Thanks," replied Hallie demurely as she swapped positions with Serena. The two drag queens switched performances for the next two hours, with Serena slowly growing accustomed to dancing and heels, while Hallie practiced her emphasis on graceful femininity. Finally, after feeling extremely comfortable walking in her heels, Serena decided to call it a day. "That's enough for me," she said. "My arches are killing me, but at least I got the hang of strutting around in heels."
"You were great today," Tiffany said positively. "Work on those positions I was showing you before you come back on Friday. I'm going to work with Hallie a bit more. See you later!"
Serena waved goodbye and went to her dressing room to put away her costume and remove her cosmetics. She was so comfortable in heels now that she almost walked out the back door with them on! Silly me, though Sora. What would my friends think of me as a drag queen?
Sora was in a good mood for the rest of the week, occasionally subconsciously mouthing the lyrics to "She Wolf" when he was bored in class. Emilio gave him some weird looks when they passed by in the hall once when Sora was wiggling down the whole to the steps of his routine . "Have you met a girl, Sora? You look a little star-struck," Lars joked one day at lunch. "You could say that..." smiled Sora in reply "Yes. I definitely thing I'm Starz-struck..." This earned him another odd look from Emilio, but after that slight slip up, Sora managed to hide the source of his giddiness. The only person around that seemed nearly as happy as Sora was Hal, who was laughing and joking a lot more than he usually did. "Have a good weekend?" Sora finally asked his friend.
"Yes, yes I did," smiled Hal. "I landed a job downtown this weekend; nothing to the caliber of your management position, but it is enjoyable."
"Really? Where is it?" asked Sora, intrigued.
"Its, uh, down in Southeast," Hal said, suddenly evasive.
"Is that so? My job is down in Southeast too!" Sora exclaimed. "We could carpool Friday - I'd drop you off before heading to my work."
"Thanks, but, um...I've got a test to make up that day school," he stammered quickly.
"How about on the weekends then? I'm working Saturdays and Sunday nights too."
"Ooooooh, I'm only working in the morning on those days. Thanks, though."
"Sure, no problem," Sora stated, noticing how nervous his friend looked. "I'll see you later."
The next day was Friday and as soon as the bell rang, Sora bolted to his car and rushed through traffic to get to the club. He made his face up in record time, slipped on his fake breasts and catsuit, and prepared to find Tiffany to show her the new moves he had been practicing. When he got onto the stage, however, he found that Tiffany was already there, standing with Alotta, Bambi, Stephanie, and Mr. Ru. "Oh, Serena, you're here! Perfect!" called out Mr. Ru upon Serena's entrance. "I was willing to run this group act with four, but five is a perfect number." Serena slowly clicked over the wood floor towards the group. "What's this about?" she asked, curious.
"Well, I've had this idea for a massive, five-performer act for the closing number on opening night," explained Mr. Ru. "I picked the song "We R Who We R" because has a quick beat and is perfect for a lot of sexual interaction. You've proven to be quite capable of that, based off of what I've seen you do last weekend, so I'm glad your here. Alotta Ass and Stephanie Persephone are excellent backup dancers, Bambi Bigtits has all the assets to show off, and Tiffany Tease lives up to her name! But you, my dear Serena, are my little ostentatious, outgoing dancer who is wild and crazy. For someone who just entered the world of drag just over a week ago, you move like a seasoned expert! So I will have you as a solo performer, along with Bambi and Tiffany. You okay with that, Miss Serena "Ostentatious" Starz?"
Serena thought about it, reflecting upon all of the quick changes that had happened in her life, or rather, in Sora's life. A week ago, there had been no Serena: there was only Sora, who had never even thought about makeup, or walking in heels, or exaggerating his feminine features. But Serena had slowly wiggled her way into Sora's thoughts, into his actions, even into his own personality. It was at that moment that Serena realized that Sora was okay with these changes; he enjoyed being this special person who could attract attention to herself with makeup, clothes, and suggestive poses, even if it meant having an alter-ego. "Yeah, I'm okay with that," Serena smiled, knowing that she was okay with being the "Ostentatious Star" of the drag club.
"Excellent," Mr. Ru clapped his hands. "Then lets get started."
The session was difficult, but Serena was getting the steps slowly but surely. She especially liked the one solo session she got, where she got to freestyle and show her acceptance of her new role in the club. They were still going an hour and a half later when the door to the club opened. Serena looked up in the middle of the dance and was shocked to see who it was. It was Hal! Dumbfounded, Serena continued to dance as she watched her best friend from school stroll nonchalantly into the communal room. She only turned her head back around when Tiffany barked at her, "Serena! Move your ass up front! That was your cue!" With no time to process what was going on, Serena completed the song, but before she could go backstage to see what Hal was doing, Mr. Ru ordered that they continue practicing until they got the dance completely right. It took three more attempts, at total of about five minutes, but eventually they stopped, at which point Serena hurried into the communal room.
When she got there, the room was empty, save for one person: Hallie, who was just finishing putting on her makeup. That's weird, thought Serena. I could have sworn that I saw Hal dart into this room... And then the truth hit her like a ton of bricks. "Hal?" she asked, holding her head in disbelief. "You're Hallie?!?!?"
Hallie turned around, her beautifully made-up face looking stunned. "How do you know my real name?" she asked, shocked that this drag queen she had met only once before knew her name.
"Because I'm not Serena, I'm Sora!"
It was Hallie's turn to be incredulous. "Sora? That's you behind all that makeup?"
"Yup." The two girls, who were really guys, stood facing each other, not knowing what to say. Then, Hal began to smile, Sora began to chuckle, and pretty soon the two of them were rolling with mutual laughter.
"I...hahahahah...can't believe that you...hahahaha...were actually bold enough to dance...haha... on a stage!" laughed Sora.
"And I...heeheehee...can't believe you...heehee...like dressing and acting like a slutty woman...heeheeheehee!" Hal giggled.
The two of them eventually regained their composure and began talking. "So how did you get a job here?" Sora asked, curious. "Well," Hal started, taking a deep breath. "You see, I always knew I was different. I was naturally quieter than everyone in our group, I tended to shy away from most of the things the other guys were interested in, stuff like that. When I was about 13 I realized that I was gay. It was relatively easy for me to hide it; I just ended up looking even shyer than before when I would look away when a guy I thought I was cute looked at me. But I had always secretly admired the beauty of the woman, so about three years ago I began experimenting with makeup. This year, after our little bet on who could get a job, I realized that I wanted to be a drag queen! So when I saw a flier left near our house the night after the party at Mel's house looking for drag queens, I decided to go for it, and here I am."
"Yeah, that was probably my flier that I dropped," Sora said, embarrassed. "That job I told you about at Mel's house, about getting the vice presidency at a club downtown? Well, you're sitting in the club!"
"Really?" Hal asked, amused. "Well, I guess it wasn't a lie. But how did you end up dipping into drag? I never pegged you as the type."
"Well, the problem was that initially, Mr. Ru didn't have enough performers to open the club. He said that the only way it would work was if I dress up as Serena and get two other guys down here to work for the club as well. Tiffany dressed me up the first time, and I fell in love with my new persona! So here I am, Serena Starz, performing for the club!"
"Wow" was all Hal could say, surprised by this revelation. They sat there silently for a minute, pondering this strange turn of events. Finally, Sora broke the silence.
"Hey Hal?"
"Yeah?"
"I was thinking. You don't have a stage name, right? How about you adopt my stage name, Starz? We were once a part of the Seven Stars, right? Now we can be two of the Starz: Hallie and Serena Starz."
Hal thought about it for a minute. "You know, I think I like that idea. Thanks, Serena!"
The two friends then hugged, not as Sora and Hal, but as Serena and Hallie Starz. "We were, or we are, best friends as guys," Hallie whispered into Serena's ear as tears of joy ran down her face. "Now we can be best friends as drag queens, sharing our lives as secret Starz."
Serena complied, climbing the steps onto the stage. She was dressed up in a full-body leopard print cat-suit with matching heels. Whoa, its a little hard to maneuver in these 5" heels Tiffany gave me, she thought to herself. And what is the song going to be? Oh well, its just lip-syncing anyways.
"I'm getting a real animal feel from you!" called out Tiffany from backstage. "How about you dance to "She Wolf" by Shakira?"
"Sounds good!" called back Serena, relieved that it was a song she recognized. "Hit it!"
A few seconds later, the thumping opening beat of the song began pouring over the speakers, and Serena began to let go of all her inhibitions.She began jerking her body around in smooth, sexy positions much like she had seen Shakira do in her music video, thrusting out her fake boobs and padded ass.
"S.O.S. she's in disguise. S.O.S. she's in disguise. There's a she wolf in disguise. Coming out, coming out, coming out!"
It was like an animal had taken over her body. Sora never had been a great dancer, but Serena sure knew how to move! She performed the whole song nearly perfectly, missing a few lyrics she didn't know, stumbling once in her heels, but the majority of the performance was smooth and rhythmic.
"...there's a she wolf in your closet, let it out so it can breathe!"
After two last thrusts of her breasts to match the pants of pleasure at the conclusion of the song, Serena looked directly out to the crowd where Mr. Ru and Tiffany were ecstatic. "That was awesome!" Mr. Ru exclaimed as Tiffany began to wolf-whistle. "You sure you haven't done this before?"
"Nope, first time on-stage ever, let alone in heels!" Serena smiled.
"Well then, I think we know what song you are going to perform on opening night! My goodness! Obviously, you could use some practice in heels and it would be better if your remembered all the lyrics, but for a first try that was fantastic!" Mr. Ru said, practically giggling with excitement.
"Come on down, Serena "She Wolf" Starz!" Tiffany laughed as she hugged Serena. She offered Serena a seat and the three of them sat down together. "Now as you catch your breath, we'd like to talk with you about a little business," Mr. Ru said. "Our goal is to open in the first week of April, which is about three weeks from now. However, we need to have at least seven performers by then. So far me have you, Tiffany, Alotta, Bambi, and Stephanie, meaning we need at least two more, preferably three, performers by then. How is your search coming along?"
Serena's face of joy suddenly turned more somber. "I haven't had much luck," she said dejectedly. "I'm still trying to keep Tiffany's and my job here under wraps, so its kind of awkward to approach anybody about the subject."
"I see," said Mr. Ru sympathetically. "Well, who knows. Things happen in a funny way, and I'm sure that this club will grow into something spectacular."
"Yeah," smiled Serena. "Speaking of which, do we actually have a name for the club?"
"That's another thing we wanted to talk to you about," interjected Tiffany. "We've been throwing some ideas around, but nothing has stuck. If you get any sudden inspiration, let us know."
"Will do," nodded Serena. She suddenly froze, looking at the clock. "Shoot!" she exclaimed. "I'm supposed to be leaving for a trip in an hour and I haven't even started packing! I really need to go; do you think I can get a copy of the "She Wolf" lyrics to memorize over the trip?"
"No problem, honey. I'll have them ready for you after you change."
"Thanks!" she called out as she trotted to the dressing room in her heels. Serena quickly stripped out of her performance attire, removed all the makeup and her wig, and rushed out towards the front entrance. "Thanks for the lyrics!" Sora called out as he pushed his way out the door. "I'll be back Monday to practice - I don't have school that day!"
Sora spent every free moment on his trip working on memorizing his lines and practicing walking on his tiptoes to imitate walking in heels. Upon his return to town, he kept his word and returned to the club Monday night to practice his routine. He dressed himself up in his leopard skin bodysuit, put on his makeup and wig, and was about to go on-stage when he saw that Tiffany was on-stage working with someone - someone new! He walked over to them to get a better look.
The new girl looked fantastic. She was wearing a goldish-gray spaghetti strap top that beautifully matching her curly reddish-blond hair. Her lips were perfectly shaped with a nice dark liner that framed the pink gloss. Her eyes had long, full lashes that faded into a light layer of eyeshadow. Serena was especially envious of the wonderful penciling job she had done with her eyeliner and eyebrows. "Hello, Serena!" Tiffany exclaimed, noticing that Serena was observing the new girl. "I see you like her makeup job. Can you believe she did it all on her own?"
Serena's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked incredulously. "You did that all on your own?"
The new girl blushed and replied softly, "Yes. I've been experimenting with makeup for a couple years now. This is the first time I've had a full range of options to work with, though."
"Wow, I'm impressed! I barely make up my face in one look, and you're telling me you're only limited by how many cosmetics you have around you? Damn..." Serena shook her head in admiration. Then she looked up, realizing her rudeness. "Wow, how impolite am I? Making you all uncomfortable without even introducing myself. I'm Serena Starz, and you are...?"
"You can call me...Hallie," the new girl said slowly. "I haven't really thought of a full stage name, but Hallie will do for now."
"Well, now that were all introduced," Tiffany said, clapping her hands impatiently. "Why don't we get started? Serena, I'm going to finish this walk-though with Hallie, then you can practice your routine, and we can all comment on ways to improve. Sounds good?"
Serena and Hallie both nodded their approval, and got to work. Hallie was working on a performance to the song, "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga. Serena noticed the fluidity of her movements; while not very suggestive or sexual like herself, Hallie exuded a sensual, soft vibe that was equally erotic. She was 'just dancing,' much like the song she was performing to. "Great work!" Serena cheered as she walked onto the stage at the conclusion of Hallie's performance. "Thanks," replied Hallie demurely as she swapped positions with Serena. The two drag queens switched performances for the next two hours, with Serena slowly growing accustomed to dancing and heels, while Hallie practiced her emphasis on graceful femininity. Finally, after feeling extremely comfortable walking in her heels, Serena decided to call it a day. "That's enough for me," she said. "My arches are killing me, but at least I got the hang of strutting around in heels."
"You were great today," Tiffany said positively. "Work on those positions I was showing you before you come back on Friday. I'm going to work with Hallie a bit more. See you later!"
Serena waved goodbye and went to her dressing room to put away her costume and remove her cosmetics. She was so comfortable in heels now that she almost walked out the back door with them on! Silly me, though Sora. What would my friends think of me as a drag queen?
Sora was in a good mood for the rest of the week, occasionally subconsciously mouthing the lyrics to "She Wolf" when he was bored in class. Emilio gave him some weird looks when they passed by in the hall once when Sora was wiggling down the whole to the steps of his routine . "Have you met a girl, Sora? You look a little star-struck," Lars joked one day at lunch. "You could say that..." smiled Sora in reply "Yes. I definitely thing I'm Starz-struck..." This earned him another odd look from Emilio, but after that slight slip up, Sora managed to hide the source of his giddiness. The only person around that seemed nearly as happy as Sora was Hal, who was laughing and joking a lot more than he usually did. "Have a good weekend?" Sora finally asked his friend.
"Yes, yes I did," smiled Hal. "I landed a job downtown this weekend; nothing to the caliber of your management position, but it is enjoyable."
"Really? Where is it?" asked Sora, intrigued.
"Its, uh, down in Southeast," Hal said, suddenly evasive.
"Is that so? My job is down in Southeast too!" Sora exclaimed. "We could carpool Friday - I'd drop you off before heading to my work."
"Thanks, but, um...I've got a test to make up that day school," he stammered quickly.
"How about on the weekends then? I'm working Saturdays and Sunday nights too."
"Ooooooh, I'm only working in the morning on those days. Thanks, though."
"Sure, no problem," Sora stated, noticing how nervous his friend looked. "I'll see you later."
The next day was Friday and as soon as the bell rang, Sora bolted to his car and rushed through traffic to get to the club. He made his face up in record time, slipped on his fake breasts and catsuit, and prepared to find Tiffany to show her the new moves he had been practicing. When he got onto the stage, however, he found that Tiffany was already there, standing with Alotta, Bambi, Stephanie, and Mr. Ru. "Oh, Serena, you're here! Perfect!" called out Mr. Ru upon Serena's entrance. "I was willing to run this group act with four, but five is a perfect number." Serena slowly clicked over the wood floor towards the group. "What's this about?" she asked, curious.
"Well, I've had this idea for a massive, five-performer act for the closing number on opening night," explained Mr. Ru. "I picked the song "We R Who We R" because has a quick beat and is perfect for a lot of sexual interaction. You've proven to be quite capable of that, based off of what I've seen you do last weekend, so I'm glad your here. Alotta Ass and Stephanie Persephone are excellent backup dancers, Bambi Bigtits has all the assets to show off, and Tiffany Tease lives up to her name! But you, my dear Serena, are my little ostentatious, outgoing dancer who is wild and crazy. For someone who just entered the world of drag just over a week ago, you move like a seasoned expert! So I will have you as a solo performer, along with Bambi and Tiffany. You okay with that, Miss Serena "Ostentatious" Starz?"
Serena thought about it, reflecting upon all of the quick changes that had happened in her life, or rather, in Sora's life. A week ago, there had been no Serena: there was only Sora, who had never even thought about makeup, or walking in heels, or exaggerating his feminine features. But Serena had slowly wiggled her way into Sora's thoughts, into his actions, even into his own personality. It was at that moment that Serena realized that Sora was okay with these changes; he enjoyed being this special person who could attract attention to herself with makeup, clothes, and suggestive poses, even if it meant having an alter-ego. "Yeah, I'm okay with that," Serena smiled, knowing that she was okay with being the "Ostentatious Star" of the drag club.
"Excellent," Mr. Ru clapped his hands. "Then lets get started."
The session was difficult, but Serena was getting the steps slowly but surely. She especially liked the one solo session she got, where she got to freestyle and show her acceptance of her new role in the club. They were still going an hour and a half later when the door to the club opened. Serena looked up in the middle of the dance and was shocked to see who it was. It was Hal! Dumbfounded, Serena continued to dance as she watched her best friend from school stroll nonchalantly into the communal room. She only turned her head back around when Tiffany barked at her, "Serena! Move your ass up front! That was your cue!" With no time to process what was going on, Serena completed the song, but before she could go backstage to see what Hal was doing, Mr. Ru ordered that they continue practicing until they got the dance completely right. It took three more attempts, at total of about five minutes, but eventually they stopped, at which point Serena hurried into the communal room.
When she got there, the room was empty, save for one person: Hallie, who was just finishing putting on her makeup. That's weird, thought Serena. I could have sworn that I saw Hal dart into this room... And then the truth hit her like a ton of bricks. "Hal?" she asked, holding her head in disbelief. "You're Hallie?!?!?"
Hallie turned around, her beautifully made-up face looking stunned. "How do you know my real name?" she asked, shocked that this drag queen she had met only once before knew her name.
"Because I'm not Serena, I'm Sora!"
It was Hallie's turn to be incredulous. "Sora? That's you behind all that makeup?"
"Yup." The two girls, who were really guys, stood facing each other, not knowing what to say. Then, Hal began to smile, Sora began to chuckle, and pretty soon the two of them were rolling with mutual laughter.
"I...hahahahah...can't believe that you...hahahaha...were actually bold enough to dance...haha... on a stage!" laughed Sora.
"And I...heeheehee...can't believe you...heehee...like dressing and acting like a slutty woman...heeheeheehee!" Hal giggled.
The two of them eventually regained their composure and began talking. "So how did you get a job here?" Sora asked, curious. "Well," Hal started, taking a deep breath. "You see, I always knew I was different. I was naturally quieter than everyone in our group, I tended to shy away from most of the things the other guys were interested in, stuff like that. When I was about 13 I realized that I was gay. It was relatively easy for me to hide it; I just ended up looking even shyer than before when I would look away when a guy I thought I was cute looked at me. But I had always secretly admired the beauty of the woman, so about three years ago I began experimenting with makeup. This year, after our little bet on who could get a job, I realized that I wanted to be a drag queen! So when I saw a flier left near our house the night after the party at Mel's house looking for drag queens, I decided to go for it, and here I am."
"Yeah, that was probably my flier that I dropped," Sora said, embarrassed. "That job I told you about at Mel's house, about getting the vice presidency at a club downtown? Well, you're sitting in the club!"
"Really?" Hal asked, amused. "Well, I guess it wasn't a lie. But how did you end up dipping into drag? I never pegged you as the type."
"Well, the problem was that initially, Mr. Ru didn't have enough performers to open the club. He said that the only way it would work was if I dress up as Serena and get two other guys down here to work for the club as well. Tiffany dressed me up the first time, and I fell in love with my new persona! So here I am, Serena Starz, performing for the club!"
"Wow" was all Hal could say, surprised by this revelation. They sat there silently for a minute, pondering this strange turn of events. Finally, Sora broke the silence.
"Hey Hal?"
"Yeah?"
"I was thinking. You don't have a stage name, right? How about you adopt my stage name, Starz? We were once a part of the Seven Stars, right? Now we can be two of the Starz: Hallie and Serena Starz."
Hal thought about it for a minute. "You know, I think I like that idea. Thanks, Serena!"
The two friends then hugged, not as Sora and Hal, but as Serena and Hallie Starz. "We were, or we are, best friends as guys," Hallie whispered into Serena's ear as tears of joy ran down her face. "Now we can be best friends as drag queens, sharing our lives as secret Starz."