- Title: A Slippery Slope in a Music Band
- Subtitle: A Substitute Singer
- Author: Yulia Yu. Sakurazawa
- Category: transgender, romance
M. “Aaron” Smith: is the protagonist of the story. He is an 18 year old boy living in the small American town of Sunnysky. He studies in Sunnysky High School. Aaron has red hair (hence is often called “Ember Head” by his friends), dark green eyes and a face full of freckles. He is a cheerful good-natured boy, who is good at sports and singing. Aaron is also girl-crazy and accident-prone. In this story, Aaron is forced to dress in drag in order to impersonate new band member, Cynthia Perry, who has eloped with her boyfriend at the lost moment. The whole story revolves around Aaron’s agonies and ecstasies of stepping into womanhood.
A Slippery Slope in a Music Band
Subtitle: A Substitute Singer
by Yulia Yu. Sakurazawa
Chapter 1 – A Buxom, Redhead
“I think we’ll bag it”, Valerie, my rich, vain girlfriend declared. She jiggled her gold bracelets and tossed her dark mane.
“Are you sure?” asked Bianca, my sweet, blonde pal “I don’t know if The Aarons are better than Jenny and the Felines”. By The Aarons, Bianca meant our band. I was the lead vocalist and guitarist, Veronica played the keyboard, while Bianca played the tambourine.
The Aarons did very well locally. My pals said that it was because people could relate to me: an 18 year old cheery, redheaded boy. They loved my gentle voice, “cute” freckles and boyish (if somewhat, sloppy) charm. Everyone adored me as I was.
“Forget Jenny and the Felines, babe” I presently dismissed Bianca’s worries “we will definitely bag the contract with Lothario Records”. “Yes, we ought to” I mentally reassured myself. After all, The Aarons had left no stone unturned for the past few months. We had made a demo album, bought great quality equipment and had even hired a manager. All this had been possible because of Valerie’s wealthy old dad: Arthur Johnson. Mr. Johnson was the owner and CEO of Johnson industries. He disapproved of me (as Valerie’s boyfriend), but would do anything for his darling daughter.
“Right, we were great at the auditions” confirmed Valerie presently “Cummings said Brando was impressed”.
“Cummings would say anything to please you” I muttered under my breath “after all, he’s the lackey-manager hired by your old man”. My remark wasn’t off the mark. Cummings, our gangling, simpering manager, had the hots for Valerie. He would say almost anything to make her happy. I, however, had to admit that our auditions had gone well. But it was hard to tell what Brando, the head of Lothario Records thought of us. He had sat stony-faced, throughout the auditions, staring hard at my two girl pals. When we had thanked him at the end, Brando remained expressionless.
Presently, Cummings walked into our recording studio. He was grinning from ear to ear. Really, the idiot couldn’t stop drooling at the sight of Valerie. I tried to subdue my irritation and concentrate on the news Cummings had to convey.
“Brando gave us the green flag, babe!” he said wrapping Valerie in a sudden, crushing embrace “you girls are in!”
“That’s great!” said Valerie trying to disentangle herself from Cummings’s bear hug “I knew it!”
“He loved both of you” Cummings turned to beam at Bianca “Brando loved you girls!”
I felt anxiety stir in my stomach. Why was Cummings saying Brando loved “the girls”? What about me? I was the one who had formed The Aarons in the first place.
“You mean he loved The Aarons, right?” I asked uneasily.
“Sure, lad” said Cummings suddenly looking nervous “Brando loved The Aarons. But…” he tailed off.
“But….” I prompted.
Cummings remained silent. I could sense both my girl pals becoming tense.
“Speak up, Cummings” commanded Valerie “or has the cat got your tongue?”.
“There’s a small catch” replied Cummings coughing and not meeting Valerie’s gaze.
“What?” barked Valerie.
“Brando does want Aaron in the band” Cummings finally said “he wants a third girl, preferably a redheaded one”.
***
There was a long, dumbstruck silence.
“How’s that possible?” asked Bianca finally “how can we be The Aarons without Aaron?”
“You’ll have to oblige Brando; otherwise the contract will go to Jenny and the Felines” Cummings said “it’s your call”. He shrugged.
“We can’t allow another band to get our contract!” Valerie protested “we’ve worked so hard for it!”. She refrained from mentioning the money her dad had poured into the venture.
“That’s right” I said “I can’t afford to be selfish. The Aarons is bigger than me”.
“Are you sure, Darling?” asked Bianca caressing my cheek “is it okay if we take another girl?”
“Absolutely” I said putting on a brave face “you may take any girl in Sunnysky”.
“Cynthia Perry is a good choice” said Valerie “she is red-headed and also has a rich husky voice”.
My mind went into a tizzy at the mention of Cynthia Perry. If there was ever sex on legs, Cynthia was it. With her big bosom, long legs and luxuriant red mane, Cynthia could set the whole town on fire. I don’t want to be misunderstood here. Even though I loved Valerie and Bianca dearly, I was also crazy about other girls. Polygamy is the typical trait of any teenage boy, and I was no exception. And Cynthia topped the list of girls I occasionally dated and frequently fantasized about. She was a great flirt and very promiscuous. I believe she had an especial soft spot for me.
It was uncharacteristically generous of Valerie to suggest Cynthia. The two had been fierce rivals in the past, competing to display their extravagant lifestyles and gain hegemony over me. But it was obvious that bagging the contract mattered more than personal feelings to Valerie. This was the first sign of martyrdom I had ever seen in her.
Bianca and I agreed to Valerie’s idea. Bianca was especially happy because Cynthia was a close friend of hers. So, Cynthia was selected. She performed in the second set of auditions. Brando evidently loved her. He apparently stared at her goggle-eyed throughout the performance.
On the day before the final round of auditions, Bianca rushed into our recording studio. She looked flushed and extremely anxious.
“I’ve got bad news” she said.
“What happened?” Valerie and I chorused.
“Cynthia has eloped” said Bianca “with a boy from Pembrook. The two have gone away to another city”
“Oh my God!” exclaimed Valerie in dismay “what about the auditions??!”
“We’ll have to find a replacement” said Bianca, pensively chewing her lip.
“Or an impersonator!” quipped the crafty-minded Valerie.
“Right….” agreed Bianca “we need an impersonator….until Cynthia returns”. Both the girls were looking at me intently. I got a whiff of the girls’ thoughts and flushed under their scrutiny.
Please click here to read the rest of the story.
Are your slippery stories available in a collection? I really enjoyed the first 1 read about the band
Thank you
Annet