Apparently, Archie’s parents had done some shopping While Archie and Wilda were at the mall. Archie could tell that the furniture was the same. It was just decorated differently. Plus someone had stuck flower stickers on everything. Archie stood there not knowing what to say.
His mother said, “Alexander, honey, do you like your new room?”
Archie just nodded. His mother continued, “ I’m afraid you can’t sleep in here tonight. The paint is still wet. You will have to sleep on the couch tonight.”
Wilda said, “Could she just sleep at my house instead?”
Archie’s mother said, “It’s okay with me if it’s okay with you.”
Wilda’s mother replied, “It’s okay with me. Should I just take Alexander over there now? Or should I come back for her later?”
Archie’s mother said, “Alexander dear, it’s up to you.”
Archie said, “I don’t want to go right now. I need to put all my clothes up. Plus I haven’t had dinner yet.”
His mother said, “Okay, It’s settled. Come back around seven to pick her up.”
Wilda’s mother said, “That’s good cause I need to run do some errands first. I trust Wilda enough to leave her home with a friend. As long as it’s just one friend.”
Wilda and her mother left. As soon as the door closed behind them, Archie said, “Are you nuts? You want me to spend the night there. What happens if they discover the truth?”
His mother replied, “Just look it this way, it’s more practice before school starts.”
Archie said, “I can’t believe this, I haven’t been a girl for twenty-four hours, and I already have an entire wardrobe, an invitation to stay at a girl’s house for the night, permission from my parents to do so, and a pink room. Not to mention, we talked about boys on the way home from the mall.”
His mother said, “You talked about boys? Who started the conversation you or her?”
Archie said, “I did. Why?”
His mother said, “you started it. Willingly? See you are becoming the perfect little girl already. Why else would talk to your new friend about boys?”
Archie said, “Can we focus here. What am I supposed to do tonight? What do I say?”
His mother replied, “You can talk about boys more. Or you can ask her to show you how to do your make-up. I will teach you how to do it next week. But for now, just ask her to do yours for you. If she asks you to do hers just say that you’re not that good at doing it yet, because you haven’t worn any in your life. If she asks why just say that you used to be a tomboy. If she asks why you are acting like a girl now, tell her you grew out of it. Or you could just say we are making you act like the girl you are. Ask her to show you how to put your hair into a ponytail while you’re at it. And most importantly, have fun and relax.”
Archie turned to his dad and asked, “Are you going to say anything?”
His father replied, “This was your idea. You have to deal with it yourself. Listen to your mother. She knows what she is talking about. Believe it or not, she was a girl once herself.”
Archie said, “That’s all the advice you are going to give?” Both of his parents nodded. He said, “This is just great.”
Archie stood in the front room. He was a nervous wreck. He was holding a bag that had several of his new dresses in it. He had mixed feelings about this night. On the one hand, he didn’t want to go over to Wilda’s house. On the other hand, he looked at the opportunity to sleep at a girl’s house as a learning experience. He stood trying to figure out what to say if for some reason Wilda should find out the truth. His thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell.
Archie’s mother opened the door. She said, “Come on in. Alexander, honey, Wilda and her mother are here. Are you ready to go?”
Archie reluctantly said, “I guess so.” He walked into the front hall.
Wilda hugged him. She said, “You don’t know how much this means to me. I don’t really have any friends.”
Archie asked, “Why is that?”
Wilda said, “Well, I’m kind of a social outcast. Just because my parents don’t make as much money as some of the other kids. So my house isn’t as big as theirs, I don’t see how that would give them a reason to treat me differently. Just so you know, some people might treat you bad because you are my friend.”
Archie said, “Anyone who doesn’t want to be friends with me because I am friends with you isn’t the type of person I want to be friends with anyway.”
Wilda smiled. She said, “Let’s go.” Wilda, her mother, and Archie all walked out of Archie’s house. Because Wilda just lived down the street, they all walked to her house. As soon as they got inside Wilda’s house, she grabbed Archie by the hand and lead him to her room. The sight that greeted Archie when Wilda opened the door to her room was what Archie was expecting. The room looked like a typical girl’s room if that girl was six or seven. There were dolls and teddy bears thrown around haphazardly. There was a poster on the wall that had the Disney princesses on it. The sheets on the bed had Disney’s Tinkerbell on them. Wilda said, “Now you see the other reason why I am a social misfit.”
Archie sat down on the bed. He thought it felt weird. He lifted the sheets and saw a plastic sheet under the sheets. He looked up at Wilda and said, “Is there something you want to tell me?”
Wilda said. “I have a bedwetting problem. I was involved in a car accident when I was youngrt. As a result, I have no nighttime control whatsoever. Some of the girls at school found out about and they tease me about it. Thankfully it isn’t too bad. Most of them do acknowledge that it isn’t my fault. I only get taunted about it once or twice every couple of weeks.”
Archie said, “Sorry, I had no idea.”
Wilda said, “How could you? We just meet today.” Archie started to ask Wilda a question, but before he could Wilda said, “Hey you want to watch a movie?”
Archie said, “What do you have?”
Wilda said, “Pretty much everything the Disney Princesses collection.”
Archie thought about it for a minute and said, “Can we watch The Little mermaid?”
Wilda said, “That’s my favorite one.” They went to the front room. Wilda asked her mother if they could watch the movie. Her mother smiled and put the movie in the DVD player and started it. Wilda asked if they could have some popcorn and cokes during the movie. Her mother agreed and went into the kitchen to make it. She returned a few minutes later with two glasses of coke. She went back into the kitchen to get the popcorn and her coke. When she sat down on the couch she started the movie.