Doing these two chapters was just a joy! It was a return to the wild, earlier chapters when Colt first went to DeGrazia and that dance that changed his world forever. I added a piece of Chapter 27 to whet your appetite but also because I just couldn't stop writing after I'd gotten to the end of Chapter 26 and the kids were all sooooo excited to be headed for that prom in such a remarkable way. I think it wish fulfillment for me--I WISH proms were like this! I wish everyone could have someone like Colt to do this for them and to make a more meaningful statement while they're doing it. 

BTW the goofy video was the ONLY one on YouTube that captured the full sound and the JOY of the opening moments of Daft Punk's "Robot Rock" intro that is referenced in Chapter 27. So just have a giggle and try to IMAGINE THAT HAPPENING AT YOUR PROM when you get there. I love the two guys yelling for "ROBOTS!" And the guy who says, "We are not worthy?" Too funny!

His world will change again as this first draft ends, finally, sometime shortly after the beginning of 2016. As I see it now, I have two chapters left to do, because of the way it has to be constructed. But because I'm a "pantser" things can change--it could end right here, or it could take three instead of two. But oh, how lovely to end almost as it began, and to realize that I'm really, really going to make it to the end--and begin the arduous task of rewriting, at the beginning of a new year. How beautiful is that? If you're a writer, you KNOW what I mean...

I signed up all the kids at the tables who wanted to go to prom with us. And then I let them run and find a few more in five minutes, like it was one of those TV shows where you run all over a grocery store to throw things in your cart.

Once we'd lined up the whole bunch, I paid for their tickets and those stupid swag bag packages they have. I thought it was weird that the bags had champagne flutes or beer mugs in them along with the other junk, but what the hell, right? Whatever the other kids were getting I wanted them to have, too.

The prom committee kids got all dazed and confused when I flipped them my black card. In fact, they were so freaked out that they wouldn't use it until they called one of the sponsor teachers to come make sure it was a real credit card.

They were no help, until this new black hipster teacher with one of those stupid beards they have got there. I liked his glasses and the crown of dreads and all, though.

He grinned when one of the teachers showed it to him, and said he had to hold it "just this one time, dude. Seriously." And when he got hold of it, he grinned and said, "This is a Kanye moment, dog. Somebody click this!"

Every kid nearby got a click of it, actually. It was all over What's App and Tumblr and YouTube and Instagram and Twitter and Facebook—good thing you couldn't see any numbers or anything. Cause it made the digital rounds that day.

There were a lot of pictures of the girls dancing around with the prom tchotzkes they'd had out on the table to help them pick which bag they wanted, too. And of them kissing and hugging me.

But there were logistics to deal with, and lunch was almost over.

So I said, "So should we meet you at the mall or—well, where do you think you'd wanna shop? Guys, too, that need tuxes. Where does everybody shop for that stuff?"

"Oh, Lord, this boy gon' buy out the stores now!" Lakesha said.

"Got tuxes, a lot of 'em," Maria said. "From quinceaneras and all that."

"See there? Y'all jus' wanna be greedy," this one black guy said. He was just joking though. Turned out he had his own tux because of some weddings and cotillions he'd gone to. Only two of the guys—there were only five—didn't have anything, and they promised to borrow or something. Wouldn't let me buy them anything at all.

The girls tried to pull that on me, too, talking about bridesmaid dresses and stuff like that, but I wasn't having it. First off, everybody knows bridesmaid dresses are ugly as hell. There oughta be a saying that goes, "Ugly as a bridesmaid dress." Let's use that from now on, okay? I sure will.

So I said, "You wanna do the damned thing or not?"

"Dang, just dyin' to spen' up all his money!" Lakesha said.

"Well, I don't half step, okay?" I told them. "Go big or go home. For real."

Everybody started hemming and hawing again, so Carla finally scowled and said, "Let's just meet at the Tucson Mall or sum."

"Girl, only store there got anything worth wearin' is Dillards," Lakesha scowled right back. "And we ain't gon' make this man pay that kinda money for a goddamned prom dress!"

"There's other places in there," Maria said. "There's a place that sells all kinda, like...cocktail dresses."

"We ain't goin' out for nobody's for cocktails," Carla told her.

"Wait up!" this other Mexican girl yelled. "You know that store where they get all those quinceanera dresses made? That bridal shop? They gots a lotta prom dresses on sale right now. Stuff people din' pick up or sum that they're sellin' for, like, fifty bucks."

"That shit wit all the ruffles'n' whatnot? I'll look like a damned fool," Lakesha said.

"Yeah, I don't wanna go in there lookin' like Scarlet O'Hara," Carla said.

You could hear crickets chirping after she said that. And Maria went, "Who the hell is Scarlet O'Hara?"

And Carla went, "Yo mama, fool! You ain't even seen Gone Wit' the Wind before?"

One of the boys went, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," to prove he knew what it was. But everybody else was all blank faced, still.

So I said, "I give a damn. Let's do the mall thing. Or at least start there. Tomorrow right after school. We'll meet up by the Red Robin. Good?"

"And don't be late, neither," Lakesha warned them all.

"Girl, what woman gon' be late to go shoppin'?" one boy said.

"Don't know about no woman, but you gon' be late to yo' damned funeral," Lakesha told him.

After they'd had a good laugh about that, they huddled up to decide who was going with who. Only one guy had a ride of his own, so they were going to have to either take the bus or get some parents involved. So the cells came out next.

And I wound up having to explain myself to all these skeptical mothers—one father, too, who had this deep voice and heavy cholo thing goin' on. He wanted to know "Why you doin' all this, cuz?" And I had to run through all kinds of reasons until he finally decided that "my Marisela, she deserves to be there as much as anybody."

So after I'd calmed down all the parents, Lakesha comes over, throws an arm around me and says, "I got the firs' dance, I know that."

"You can have all the dances you want," I told her. "How do we get 'em all to that hall, though? It's out in East Hell, Arizona, that place."

She didn't even have to think about it. She grinned and said, "I know how I wanna git there..."

I knew, too.

"Only four people can do that at a time," I said.

She didn't even miss a beat. She went, "Churches got all them vans from you, boy! They owe you, don't they?"

"Good point!" I said. And then it just all came together in my head and I sort of grinned and said, "This could actually work, couldn't it?"

She just gave me a little squeeze, and said, "I'll handle it from here."

After which she took out this gym teacher whistle she'd stolen from somebody, and blew so hard it made our ears ring.

"Y'll listen up!" she yelled. "We gon' need a address so the vans can come for you if you cain't get to where he want us on yo' own. Talkin' 'bout prom day now. You got to fin' your own way to shop tomorrow. He givin' you all this money, that's the least you can do."

"And then Friday we should meet up at my friend Joie's club at, say...what? Four? Five?" I told them. "So her and her crew can do your makeup and all."

Carla gaped and said, "For real?"

"She cain't do a damned thing for you, girl," one boy said. And man was he sorry when all the girls pounced on him.

But I really didn't have to do anything after that because Lakesha, Maria and Carla made sure Che had everything she needed. And Che took that info and enlisted a small army of staff people to make it work. We even got two choreographers over to help us get our big entrance down.

But anyway, the very next day, Joie took the jet over to be there when the girls were running around the mall trying to find the right dresses. God, I was glad to see her. She came as her boy self because she'd been up late rehearsing.

But it was still Joie, you know? Squealing like a fan girl when she saw her favorite Bentley waiting by the runway. It's from the 40s and it looks like something a queen would ride in.

She ran down those jet steps and straight into my arms. But after she'd hugged me so hard I couldn't breathe, she jumped back and said, "Oh my God! Did I hurt you, sweetheart?"

"Not even a little bit," I told her. And then I opened the car door behind the driver's seat for her and said, "Your carriage awaits!"

"Ooooo, you do know how to treat a lady!" she said. "But I'm riding shotgun, honey. My boy's got that manly man thang goin' on all of a sudden. And it looks good on you, too."

I got us all arranged in the big Bentley and pulled off real smooth. It drives like a dream.

"You may be sorry you came in a minute, though," I told her. "These are real round the way girls, okay? The hair's gonna be roughest, prob'ly."

"Oh, I got some people who can fry anything you put in that chair," she told me. "Soon as I heard that name Lakesha, I knew just who to call."

"That's a lotta MAC you're gonna need, too," I said. "But we'll settle up after we're done."

She gave me this sassy frown and said, "I know you're not talkin' about payin' me to do what you pay me to do."

"Sure I am," I said. "This is overtime for you."

She smirked for a while. But then she reached over and touched my face and said, "Lord, I've missed this. I have to slap pretty on with a trowel over there."

"How's that goin', though? Is the show shaping up like you wanted?"

"Oh, no show talk, sweetie! Just let me look at you for a while," she said. And she took my free hand and squeezed it and said, "I am not a religious girl, as you know. But I was on my knees daily, praying for you. Makes me wanna cry just thinking about it."

"Then don't," I said. "I'm fine now."

But she was stuck in drama mode. She stuck one hand in front of my face and said, "Chewed down to the quick. They're just starting to grow again, under all that plastic."

I took that big old boy hand and kissed it. And she shimmied and said, "Well, somethin' else is growing now. I'm gonna have to re-tuck if you keep that up."

"You look amazing," I told her. She did. Like a male model waiting for his close up. Just jeans and a cool tee on, but still hot enough to turn heads. The girls would love him either way, I thought. Maybe even better as a man, though. That Bowie vibe always killed.

"Well, after nights like last night, whatever's left on that trowel goes right on me," she told me. "The bags under my eyes have bags under them. And if I see another Swarovski crystal I will scratch my eyes out with it!"

"You're in your glory over there, though, aren't you?" I said.

She put her head on my shoulder and said, "I am now," and then, after nestling in, she said, "But you're right. We dream about the things I do every day, girls like me. Every now and then I stop and look around and I have to pinch myself. All those little elves at my beck and call, it's heaven."

"That's what I like to hear."

She kissed my shoulder and then put that head down on it again and snuggled up. I loved it. Loved her. I hadn't forgotten, I just hadn't had a chance to cuddle with her for so long that I didn't realize how much I craved it.

I'd never had any doubts about her and the kids. You know that already. I admired her courage, as I've said. But also, I hoped that if they grew up seeing her as part of the family, then when they went out into the world and somebody said something was "gay" or whatever, they'd fight the good fight.

Sure, I know how kids just give in to fit in. But I want mine to be tough enough to step up and say what needs saying. And knowing Joie, watching what she goes through every day, that would show them what all kinds of people face all the time, not just trans people. That's what I hoped, anyway.

"You know everyone's coming over here tonight, right?" Joie said.

"I had a feeling."

"Oh, honey, you know Mama Aisha's not gonna let her child go to his first and only prom without being here to drive me crazy. And Amelie wants to see what a prom is. She's more excited than Aisha, I think."

"That's right! They said they'd be here by the end of the week," I said.

"Well, if she could bring her camera crew she would," Joie said. "That girl is relentless!"

"Oh, I don't want all that kinda craziness goin' on. They've had enough foolishness, these guys."

"I felt just like they do," Joie said. "And you know they made me butch up for mine, of course. Back then they didn't even know what a gender issue was. Or they tried not to."

"Who'd you go with?"

She got all dreamy eyed and sighed and said, "My boyfriend and I both took girls. We had lots of little women friends who offered to go. In fact, for a while we were going to do this thing where the girls dressed like guys and Julian and I dressed like we wanted to dress."

"Damn, that would've been cool as hell," I said. "You should've done that."

"They warned us not to," He said. "They knew we were up to something. We were very rebellious, our little circle. Kids who didn't fit in on purpose. So they had a whole page about what would and would not be tolerated at the prom and graduation, just to make sure we didn't try to pull anything weird."

"Yeah, they still do that, prob'ly."

She winked at me and said, "Well, we had the last dance together, though. By then the chaperones were all rushing around trying to make sure we got the hell out of there as soon as they played that last note. So me and my baby headed right smack dab into the middle of the crowd and hugged up real tight."

"Wow. That took nerve. Nobody bothered you at all?"

"We wouldn't have even noticed," she said. "We'd been making out in this broom closet for hours, so we were just on cloud nine by then."

I laughed so hard I almost lost control of the Bentley, I swear. So she punched me and said, "All the other girls were doin' it in the back seat by then, too."

"Behave, wouldja?"

"A girl can dream!"

I gave her a look and she gave me one right back. Which just made me laugh again.

And she said, "Oh, that face! It's so unfair! We get older and you get prettier! I absolutely hate you right now."

I reached over and gave her knee a squeeze and said, "You know you love me," just to watch her squirm.

And she crossed her legs like she had to pee or something. To make me laugh.

I shot straight over to the mall where Che and some women from the offices were directing traffic. Our "headquarters" was that burger joint, Red Robin, that sits right at the main entrance and has this row of booths where there's no window glass, just a little row of fake plants between you and the passersby.

So Che and Beverly, one of her assistants, had commandeered two booths by that open area, for easy access. And as soon as she saw me, Che came running out to cut me off at the pass.

"I am so glad you're here," she said. "Miss Lakesha's having a meltdown!"

"Where is she?"

"Torrid, a minute ago."

This ridiculously hot Mexican woman—you know me and older women—comes running up and grabs my arm and says, in an accent that I still have little wet dreams about sometimes, "Come! Before they get security on her over there!"

I could hear Lakesha pitching a bitch 'way before I got there. So I do my best "angry little man stomp" into the store and all the girls who worked there shoved me right toward the dressing rooms where all the hubbub was coming from.

When I called out, "Yo! What the hell?!" and the yelling stopped.

And Lakesha goes, "Oh, Lord, they done calt you over here?"

"Security, too, apparently."

So she kicks open the little dressing room door, stomps out and throws her arms out real wide.

And I totally get it, right then and there.

Cause she's wearing what might've been a cute little dress on someone else her size. But on her, well...I'm gonna have to admit that I busted a gut. I did. I couldn't hold back. I mean, first my eyes watered from the strain of trying not to laugh, and then I just doubled over.

See, she looked like she was going to go square dancing or something. It was this little black lace dress that fit tight from the waist up and then flared out like the 50s from the waist down—it even had a red petticoat to make it stand out, right? And you know her butt didn't need to stand out any more than it already did.

Luckily she sort of laughed, too, thank God. And said, "Yeah, see he don't lie. Like some other people I know."

One of Joie's "elves" ran up and said, "We'll handle it! They didn't have to send you."

"Show 'im what you had me in a minute ago!" Lakesha bellowed. I'd forgotten how loud she could be. Even with all the house music on, she was loud.

So I said, "Let's just turn the volume down some, okay? I'm here now."

"Well, just so you know, I'ma give my ticket to this girl I know from church wanted to go'n' couldn't," she told me. "I already calt her, so don't even start with me."

"Well, you can call her right back," I said. "Cause if I have to wrap you in tin foil or something, you're going."

"That'd look better'n' all the crap they got for big womens in here," she told me.

"Did you look anywhere else?"

"We been every-damned-where!" she said. "You either got to look like somebody's gran'mother or like a big ol' Polish sausage or sum. Titties all pushed up into your face. And don't even be talkin' about them Spanx and whatnot, cause I intends to eat my dinner, after you done paid all that money for it."

"It's not that bad," Maria said. I think the hot mom was her mother, by the way. They favored each other, once I saw them together.

And the hot mom said, "It hides everything," trying to be nice.

But Lakesha grabbed hold of the skirt of the dress and raised it to give us a good look at that petticoat. And the thunder thighs under it.

"How I'm gon' dance in this?" she asked. "I spin around, them stupid boys gon' be talkin' all kinda smack! These people don't make nothin' for womens like me. Come talkin' 'bout 'mother of the bride!' Do I look like the mother of some goddamned bride?!"

"They were pretty," the hot mom told her. "I would wear them."

"Well, Maria ever git married you'll know right where to come, then," Lakesha bellowed.

And I went, "Yo! That's enough, okay? Don't disrespect her like that!"

But then Lakesha gave me the most heart rending look I've ever seen. It tore my heart into two big bleeding halves.

"I'm not tryin'a disrespect nobody," she said . "I 'preciate all you doin' and I'll help 'em git ready'n' ere'thang I said I would do. But I cain't see me walkin' in that place wearin' none o' this crap. So that's just the way it's gon' have to be, bae boy. And don't be lookin' all sad. Jus' when you be makin' them clothes y'all doin', remember womens like me for a change."

And you know, right then and there I vowed in my mind to start whole new line for her if I had to. To keep any more girls from being told they should try "mother of the bride" stuff. I mean, that was disrespectful.

So I said, "You'll be my first model, too."

And she smiled and said, "That's what I'm talkin' about."

And I hugged her because in my heart I believed the whole mess had happened for that very reason. I don't know if she felt that way, but I did.

And then I felt somebody poking me on the back—Joie, of course.

And she grinned and said, "Glamazonia!"

"I knew I loved you for a reason," I said, giving her this great big hug. "Can we get her?"

"Oh, honey, we have got her. Private jet? She was down the second I said it."

Glamazonia's this huge queen who used to be a football player or something—no shit. NFL for a hot minute. And she went to Vegas and had her own little club 'way before the girls even thought of doing something like that. Had little cult following and made a good living.

She was older now, doing choreography and costume design mostly. But that was probably even better for us.

So Joie said, "As for you, darling boy, there's a hot Cavalli waiting over at Dillards."

"A who?"

She waved one of her girls over and said, "Take this boy to Carlos, please!"

"Where he goin'?!" Lakesha cried.

"He is going to tend to his business and let me tend to yours," Joie told her, with big, "don't mess with me" eyes.

And then Juke Boxx and another I hadn't met, called Pop Tart—I swear to God—hauled me over to Dillards where this Carlos guy went, "It's my birthday," when I got there.

At first, I didn't like the tux at all. It was this sort of black brocade with leather lapels that I thought was 'way too girly until I put it on over the black shirt and tie and all. It was rock and roll to the nines, actually. Real skinny pants. Cool boots.

"Moves like Jagger, honey," Carlos said, looking me up and down for days.

And I admit, I definitely stopped the damned show when I walked out of the dressing room. People forgot what they'd come there for, for a minute.

And Miss Tart starts fanning herself and said, "I do de-clare," to lighten things up a bit.

"Yeah, it'll do," I told her, after I'd taken a little look in the full length mirror.

"Oh, honey, you'd do in damned near anything, but this is spec-TAC-ular," Miss Boxx told me, looking like a cat eyeing a caged canary. "Fall/winter collection, by the way. Fresh from the runway, apparently."

"Just call mama if you need any help getting out of those pants," Miss Tart said, waggling fingers as I went back into the dressing room.

I wasn't allowed to see any of the girls after that. You would've thought we were getting married. In fact, nobody saw Lakesha again at all 'til the big reveal the next day.

Which I have to tell you about now because I cannot wait any longer.

My whole fam-damily really did come to see me off. Even Amelie and Hugh were there—I won't go into all the stuff we did before that night, once Hugh got there. We can save that.

But they were all together on my floor having a little send off party with champagne and all kinds of goodies. And the girls kept running after me to check my hair and wanting me to switch up my ear and eyebrow bling and whatnot. I mean, Mike even thought I should go shirtless until Aisha told her she would beat her senseless if she didn't "stop all that foolishness and put that child's shirt back on."

Because she was seeing her only child off to the prom, you know? Aisha. Kept fanning herself and saying, "Oh, my God, I'm so excited!"

Amelie even cried with her, once I'd gotten all assembled and come down to get the show on the road.

She grabbed hold of Hugh and said, "Look at that boy!"

And Hugh rolled his eyes and said, "It's the wine. She's useless after the third glass."

"Oh, it is not the wine! Look how beautiful!" she said, giving him a sharp elbow. And then she ran off yelling, "Camera!"

Big Man raised his glass then and said, "Go 'head wit yo' bad seff, son! I raised you right, din' I? Chip off the old block!"

And I laughed and said, "Is there something you haven't told me about, dude?"

"I'm the only father you ever had," he told me. "And that one thinks he's your father bet' not ever forget that."

"Oh, he's got a whole army of mothers and fathers, this one here," Joie said. She'd stayed with me, of course, while the others dealt with the girls. She couldn't resist futzing around a little like Aisha. Kept finger combing my hair this way and that.

So I hugged her real tight and said, "I love you, you know? Not just for this."

And she broke down and sobbed like I'd died or something. All the girls had to run over and get her.

But then Big Man radio'd the pilots to, "Fire it up, boys!"

Oh yes. I know some of you knew what was coming. We had the big helicopter up on the roof freshly washed and gleaming like a big black diamond.

Some of the kids would have to take vans, but Maria and her date and Lakesha and her date—me—were going to swoop down out of the sky into the parking lot at the place they're rented.

They'd just arrived, Lakesha and the others, which was why Big Man started bossing people around. And let me tell you, at first, I didn't even recognize Lakesha. I thought she was somebody Joie knew or something, except I couldn't figure out why she was all glammed out. And then it hit me, and my jaw dropped down to my ankles almost.

She came floating at me on the roof, in this glistening iridescent ensemble that sort of changed colors all the time. I thought it was silver, but it changed according to the way the light hit it as if it was LED animated or something. She looked like a New Millennium Cinderella, I swear.

It had a close fitting bustier dress under an off the shoulder coat that went in at the waist but then billowed out all the way down to her feet like the sickest ball gown you ever saw. So you got mad curves from the front, but that out of control ass was hidden in this really clever way.

And they had given her this slick, curly faux hawk with crystals in it, and glass slippers, too. Not real glass, but clear, like Cinderella would've had on. And the makeup? She looked like a friggin' super model. Super-sized, but just as pretty as a picture.

So I genuflected to her when she came over. And she said, "You gon' make me cry! An' that big bitch'll kill me if I mess up all that work she jus' did!"

"I heard that," came from somebody behind her. It was the Glamazon herself, looking like a proud mother. "And you have her home before this thing turns back into a pumpkin, son."

I said, "Not a chance," and we all laughed.

And when I offered Lakesha my arm, she stuck out a foot and said, "Yeah, cause you know what Chris Rock say about clear heels, right?"

"Just shut up and let me enjoy this," I said.

"Naw, you shut up'n' lemme say somethin'."

"Oh, God, now what?"

"Jus' that no matter what the hell else has happen' to me the rest o' my life, you made me feel like a queen for one night," she said. "And won't nobody be able to make me 'shamed o' myself ever again."

It made her laugh, whatever expression I had on my face. So she grabbed my arm and said, "For once, he ain't got nothin' smart to say! Let's roll, cuz!"

So we climbed up, up and away we went, to the prom to end 'em all. Put on your dancin' shoes.

CHAPTER 27 INTRO SNIPPET

"Parents, if that limo went to pick up your kids from prom and discovered they'd gone to another prom earlier, here's the skinny. Responding to a flurry of live feeds from kids attending the DeGrazia High dance fest, students from all over Arizona hit the road hoping the hits would keep on comin'..."

That's how they reported on TV news that night. And yes, they said all over Arizona, not just Tucson. We had kids from miles and miles away dancing in the parking lot, after a while. Cops had to come direct traffic, thanks to the damned Internet.

It was "an impromptu EDM extravaganza," the Huffington Post said—one of those bulletin emails you get during the day. But it was crazier than that. In fact, by the time they got around to the live version of "One More Time," the Daft Punk anthem that we ended with, the cops were about to close down the whole damned neighborhood because people thought Daft Punk was actually there, right?

I think that happened because we started out, my little band of prom pals, with this dance routine thing that used the beginning of Daft Punk's Alive CD which is...well, live. It was pretty dope, how we did it.

The first DJ, just a local guy they'd already hired, made all this static, as if system was having all kinds of technical issues. And then the whole place went dark—we cracked up at the kids screaming and freaking out when that happened.

And then, they heard that part of "Robot Rock" at the very beginning—it's those notes everyone hears in their heads in that Close Encounters movie. Some kids realized something cool was about to happen, but other ones were still going nuts until they heard: "RO-BOT!"

And then it goes, "Eeeeeeeuuuuumannnn...ROBOT....eeeeeeeeeeeeumannnnn....ROBOT," over and over 'til the beat kicks in. If you want to hear how it goes and see the whole danged concert, here's a link—it really may be the best concert ever: https://vimeo.com/10851313

So when the beat kicked in and the lights went back on, we were up on the stage with the DJs, posed and moving like robots—it was so tight people didn't know what to DO with themselves. And Lakesha's dress just came alive in all the lights. She looked like she was part of the light show, in fact, the way the colors kept changing.

The Vegas DJs kept it blasting with everything from Parliament Funkedelic to Zapp and Roger interspersed with EDM mixes in perfect order. The teachers and cops and everybody else finally just gave in and got out there with us after the first half hour or so. You couldn't stand around watching, I'm sorry...

THAT'S IT FOR NOW! TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT...SEE YOU NEXT YEAR! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!