Whim Manor And the Boy Who Wasn't.

Welcome to Galeton

The next day Ms. Windsor had Nora paired up with Suzi running errands, and I ended up bored stiff in my room playing video games.

Most of the girls were outside playing croquet. No one had stopped by to ask me if I wanted to play, and I was trying to figure out if they were avoiding me, or if I was just moping and should put in the effort to go outside and make friends, when a familiar voice piped in from the hallway.

"Harper, I need your help." Whim stepped through the door looking strangely... adorable.

She had on a neat and formal tweed dress with black and white striped accents. She'd done herself up, wearing lip gloss that while subtle, seemed too 'fun' on her serious face. Her hair was curled around the tips and tied with black and white ribbons that again seemed too 'fun' for her.

"You're looking—nice," I said.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I can 'cute' myself up when occasion calls for it... Which it does."

"So, what do you need my help with?"

"Mrs. Devereux has invited us to be town greeters. It's like a tour guide, showing tourists around and such. No pay this time. It's volunteer work."

"Oh," I said.

"Oh?"

"It's just that she thinks I'm a... a girl. Doesn't she?"

"Yes, I believe so." Whim nodded. "Problem?"

"I just, well I just... it feels wrong."

Whim raised a brow. "Wrong how? Wrong like you don't want to, or wrong like you're worried what other people might say?"

I blushed as Whim looked around the room, then eventually back to me.

"More the second," I confessed. "I just don't know."

She sighed. "I never did convince you that first time, did I?"

"No."

"Well, I certainly don't have time for that now. Look, I promise I'll do an exceptional job of convincing later." She was already rummaging around in my wardrobe. "How about this?" She laid out the fancy blue dress that had unsettled me the first night.

"You want me to wear that?" I stammered out.

"People do generally dress up for this, yes. I mean, look at me." She batted her eyes, instantly turning on cute-overload, and then dropped it. "We need to be there in half an hour... So, Chop Chop." She clapped twice.

I'd been in the same room as Nora when she'd taken hours to get ready, carefully pondering every aspect of her look. Whim was not like that.

The only modesty she afforded me was when I got into my underwear, after that, I'd seen pit crews take more time.

"What's that?" I asked as Whim pulled a section of rigid cloth around me.

"A corset."

"What do you do with that?"

"Suck in your breath and try not to breathe."

"Wha—?" I asked as my torso squeezed in tight, accompanied by the ripping sound of laces being drawn from behind.

"That's a bit... snug..." I wheezed.

"The corset? Well, this style of dress really needs one. Give it time to settle." She clapped my back. "Now sit, hair."

Next, she came at me with a hot iron, clamping and pulling my messy locks until they fell cleanly down my shoulders. She pinned and braided my hair like a machine, though she did have to cut corners for time, and it ended up in a loose bun.