Being Blue, written by chessie  (PnInk@aol.com) 

Tipper lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Overhead were posters, many, many posters, all of cute guys she would never meet. Movie stars. TV stars. Music stars. Even ones she never heard of that she simply liked the looks of when she saw their poster at the shop in the mall. Even cartoon guys. 
      *sigh!* 
      "I wish I could have somebody real in my life, not just pretend", she murmured sadly. "My life is a mess. If somebody did a chick flick of my personal life they'd have to do a rewrite to make it a horror show instead. 'I Know What You Didn't Do Last Summer!' (You didn't have a decent date. You're pathetic.)" 
      Tipper rolled over and stretched her legs out over the edge of the bed. "Not such awful legs", she whispered. "I don't look that bad, do I?" 
She trotted over to the wall  mirror by her dresser. "Nope, not bad." She stretched her arms overhead and did a pirouette. "I just look like a cute kid. A cute young clean-cut innocent kid. Hmmm..." 
      She struck a pose, sticking out her hips, putting on a slight sneer. "Yeh, that's more like it! Who gets all the action around here? Blue! And she's not young or innocent or clean cut at all! I'll give myself an image enhancement." 
      With that Tipper wheedled a trip to the mall ("need school clothes') and snuck some risque items into the bottom of the bag. That evening she put on the fake tattoo, torn jeans, heavy weird looking earrings, studded gauntlet and leather vest over a T-top with a picture of some punk band she'd never heard of, and quietly made her way downtown to the clubs. 
      She didn't get far. "ID?" said a big guy at the door. 
      "She tried to bluff: "Oh you know me, I've been here hunderds of times." 
      "No way have you been here even once, kid. What are you tryin' to pull? You look like you're on your way to a costume party. Beat it before I call the cops." 
      After the same reception a two other spots. Tipper hung her head and slunk home. "I'm hopeless" she moaned. 'A dumb kid nobody takes seriously. What a life." 
      Sneaking back in her open window, she went to the mirror again. "I don't get it. What's wrong with this picture? Nobody would card Blue if she walked in like this. What's she got that I haven't got?" 
      Then a wicked gleam came into the girl's eyes. "Or if I haven't got it, I could get it! Mwaahahaha!" 
      Next evening, Tipper pulled out a bag of purloined supplies. Fake fur. Hair extensions. Dye- blue and yellow. "I'll get ready now and go out to the park at sunup before anybody else is awake. Tomorrow's Saturday; I'll see if I can pick somebody up at MegaBurgerz. I shouldn't have any trouble meeting guys now- as Blue!" 
      Dawn came awfully early. A bleary-eyed Tipper crawled out the window again and cautious made her way to the park, keeping to the shadows when she could. As she sat on a bench, she could feel eyes on her. Male eyes. Males in cars. Males walking buy. Young ones, but old ones too. Yecchh! It was creepy. 
      "I'm outta here" she said aloud. "This place is too public. I'll just hang around the shops until the burger joint opens." 
      But hanging around wasn't that easy. Her reflection in the windows looked weird. Oh, her faux-fur blue tail  was wonderful. She seemed to have all her fur in the right places. But it wasn't as much fun as she thought. People weren't seeing her, they were seeing someone else, a stranger. Half her and half Blue. "Blooper, that's who I am", she moaned. 
      What a relief when the doors opened and she went inside. She got a drink and sat by herself. People walking in seemed to notice her- or was it her enhancements? Feeling uncomfortable again, she walked up to the counter. "Gimmee a super egg cheese ham bagel thingee" she said. But the girl at the counter replied, "What's up, Blue? You never eat that. You say it's bad for your figure." "People change", muttered Blooper, as she took her carbohydrate bomb back to her table. 
      Suddenly a guy came over. He was tall, and muscular, bronze all over, with bright, deep-set eyes and an air of confidence. He was wonderful. He gestured to the seat opposite her. "Waiting for someone?" he asked. "Ulp! Imean, no! Here, take a load off. (What am I saying?)" 
      "You look familiar. Have we met?" he asked. 
      "I truly doubt it",grinned Blooper. 
      "I'm new here myself, just started at the Community College." 
      "Yeh, well, I plan to go there next year", she lied. 
      They talked awhile and then he asked if he could drive her home. She agreed but gave him a phony address. 
      Once they got to "her house", he drove around the block and stopped. "Hey, what are you doing?" Blooper squeaked. "Oh, come on baby, nobody dreasses like you in the early AM if they're not looking for something. And I think I've got what you're looking for." With that, he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him roughly. 
"Halp! Police" yelled Blooper in a very non-senior class way, and bolted from the car, running straight for home. She never noticed the stranger behind her as he started to chuckle and then laughed out loud, laughing until the tears came down his handsome cheeks. 
      *Knock!Knock!* "Tip! Are you still in bed?" It was Snickers. 
      "Go 'way." 
      "Tip, sis, we need to talk." 
      "It's open." 
      But when Snickers entered she only saw a shapeless blob heddled under the blankets. 
      "I thought I'd beter explain". Sitting on the edge of the bed, Snickers said "Somebody called Blue's house this morning, saying she was in the park before daybreak and did her folks know about it. Well, she called me, all irate, saying I was setting her up with some prank but I said 'No, not me, but maybe Tip knows something' so I went to your room and you were gone and the window was open. I'm not that dumb. I saw the supplies you stuffed under the bed. What were you thinking? You could have been killed! Or worse!" 
      "I almost was", sniffled the blankets. "Or worse, I mean. This guy...*sniff!snorkle!*" 
      "Tipper, that was an acquaintance of mine that I got hold of to set you up and teach you a lesson. I hope you learned it, too." 
      "Waaaaah!!!" 
      "What now?" 
      "Oh, I've learned my lesson sis, beleive me! But how can I go back to school? The dye didn't wash out the way it said it would- I'm bright red! And the fur I glued on my tail didn't wash out the way they said it would- I had to shave it! How can I ever go back to school?" 
      Snickers gently pulled back the covers. There was a very bright red Tipper, a real traffic-stooper. Her bare tail looked very thin and mouselike. Stifling a laugh, Snick said "Looks like we'll have to use some more fur and dye to get you back to 'normal'- whatever that is!  or maybe I could hook you up with a nice 15-year old muskrat?" 
      With that, Tipper snarled and bopped her sister with a pillow. 
      Snickers responded in kind, of course. 
      There's nothing like a good hard pillow fight between friends to make a cat feel better!