Christmas is the most celebrated holiday between the close knit Kelly sisters. After all that had transpired this year, sisters Margaret and Sharon were happy to get their kids together again.
Life had been a little hard to Margaret. Her husband moved the family cross country for a new career in the oil fields. The change of scenery had been tough on her 14 year old son Brian. He began acting up and longed for the day he could move out of that podunk town. Daughter Stacy was a quiet, studious 12 year old that fully embraced stereotypical feminine activities. Unbeknownst to the family, Margaret's husband had just drawn up papers for divorce.
Sharon and Jack had 2 daughters, Jacklyn “Jackie” (15) and Katie (13). They moved to a McMansion in the suburbs where Jack could run his insurance business. He had made a small fortune but sold after he had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and couldn't continue on. Money was no issue, but MS had left Jack dependent on Sharon and the girls. With Jack's chronic disease, Jackie and Katie convinced their parents to homeschool them and maximize time with their father. Because of Jack selling the insurance business, there was now ample room and supplies to turn his former office into a class room. Sharon had a degree in education and could teach the girls while tending to Jack in the between time. They even found a program which allowed them to use their homeschooling towards college credits!
Back in Podunk USA, Margaret told Brian and Stacy to pack their things for the annual trip to Aunt Sharon and Uncle Jack's. Dad lied and stated that he wouldn't be joining them due to a conflict at work. While the rest of the family wasn't religious, It was always tradition to attend church services with Aunt Sharon. Everyone was to wear their best, Margaret always went along with it knowing how much it meant to her sister. Stacy packed according to her aunt and mother's wishes while Brian had other ideas. There was no way he was going to attend those stupid church services this year! If he happened to misroute his suitcase, he figured he could just hang back with Uncle Jack. Or more realistically, hide in their mansion and play his game boy. They were rich, It was Christmas, he figured he'd get new clothes anyhow. It was a perfect plan, now how would he pull it off?
The taxi picked them up and drove them to the airport for a red-eye flight. Brian hatched up a plan to botch his suitcase's arrival. This ensured he wouldn't have to deal with Aunt Sharon's all day church and brunch. When the lady at check-in handed the family their bag tags, Brian just barely stuck his together. He felt pretty good about how rough his bag was going to be handled and figured the odds were in his favor for that tag falling off! The overnight flight back to the city was uneventful. Margaret read up on the latest gossip before trying to catch some sleep, Stacy slept the entire flight, and Brian tried in vein to beat his game. Brian was so engrossed in his game, he completely forgot about his soda on the tray. On the last level, he died and slammed his game boy down sending soda all over his only set of clothes. Oh crap, he really hadn't planned for this to happen!
Brian kept his composure as he tried to sop the soda off his clothes. Annoyed, Margaret reassured him that they'd be on the ground soon and he could change at the airport. Brian now hoped that his tag would barely hold on instead of off! At the carousel, Margaret and Stacy's bags came down and not surprisingly, Brian's did not. Margaret's patience was wearing thin, she was exhausted from the trip and now had to deal with a lost suitcase.
The gig was up. Brian admitted to botching the tag on purpose. “YOU DID WHAT?!” Margaret yelled! Brian stated “I'm sorry! I can't stand Aunt Sharon's stupid church and brunch! It suc-ks!” He continued “They're just going to buy me new clothes anyway!' It took everything within Margaret's power not to strangle her son right there! Instead she gained her composure and stormed off to arrivals where her sister would be waiting. Stacy looked at her brother slyly. Deep down, she actually appreciated his plan, but saw no way it would've worked for her.
Margaret found her sister waiting in arrivals. Sharon knew her sister was livid as soon as she saw her, but was unsure why. “What in the world is wrong?! It's Christmas!” Sharon asked. Margaret shared the entirety of what Brian had done with a few profanities thrown in. Brian sulked meekly in the back seat while Stacy tried her best to stay off the radar. Aunt Sharon told them all not to worry about it, It was Christmas, she was sure there was something at the house he could wear!
Jackie and Katie were in their classroom completing their studies when their Mom, Aunt, and cousins arrived. They had already purchased new uniforms for the school year before deciding on homeschooling, so it made sense to wear those for designated schooling hours. Their uniforms were typical of a private school; A grey pleated skirt, A plain white button down shirt, A black tie, and thick black tights. They were studying government when Aunt Sharon walked in.
Aunt Sharon: “Girls, there's been a mix up at the airport and I need you to find something for your cousin to wear”
Katie: “It's the school day, She can wear my skirt from last year. Stacy knows where it is”
Aunt Sharon: “Not Stacy, Brian”
Jackie: “Well, like Katie said, It's the school day, He can wear my skirt from last year!”
Both girls fell into a fit of laughter at the thought of it! This caught Stacy's attention.
Stacy: “Hey! What are you guys doing and what's so funny?”
Katie: “We're studying the concept of Democracy! Mom says we have to find clothes for Brian because of a mixup at the airport. It's the school day and this is the uniform, so we told her he can wear the same uniform as us!”
Jackie: “But according to this, we need a majority to rule here. So Stacy, care to join us on this lesson? You'd have to abide by our uniform policy!”
Stacy: “Sure!”
Katie: “Ok, last years uniform is in the bottom 2 drawers of my dresser, You remember where my room is at right?”
Stacy: “Yep! Be back in a minute!”
If things weren't bad enough for Brian, they were about to get a lot worse. Margaret hadn't yet turned her cell phone on from the flight, when she did she was met with an email initiating the divorce and signing the kids over to her! She came undone and began sobbing uncontrollably. Aunt Sharon brought her upstairs and away from the kids. Brian made the untimely mistake of walking in on this looking for clean clothes.
Margaret “I'm at my wits end with you! You will go downstairs and beg your cousins for something to wear! I better not hear a peep out of you for the rest of the day!”
Stacy overheard this exchange from Katie's room and knew she had to get downstairs before her brother did! Stacy finished throwing on her cousin's uniform and sprinted down the stairs to tell her cousins what she had just heard. The joke was going to be on Brian today! She ran into the run to spill the beans to both Jackie and Katie.
Stacy: “You're not going to believe it, Mom just told Brian he had to wear whatever you give him and he better not complain about it! Sounds like its a skirt for him! Hahahaha! Ok, when he comes down in a minute, tell him the rules. This is a Democracy and the majority has voted this as the uniform! Shhhhh, I hear him coming!”
Brian: “Hey Jac!, Kate!, I need your help! Wait, Why are you dressed like them lil' sis?”
Jackie: “Well lil' cous' we are studying democracies and Stacy wanted to join us. This is the uniform of the majority, so she followed suit. See right here in the book, majority rules.”
Brian: “well, see, thats what I came down here about. I spilled soda all over myself. It's really uncomfortable and I need something to wear, can you help me out?”
All 3 girls grinning: “SURE!”
Jackie: “C'mon upstairs, you're a year younger than me, you should fit into last years uniform just about perfectly!”
Brian: “Wait, What?!?!”
Katie: “Majority rules bud!”
Brian: “NO WAY!”
Aunt Margaret(from upstairs): “I SAID NOT A PEEP BRIAN!”
Jackie: “Sorry pal, it's either the uniform, or Aunt Mags wrath!”
Defeated, Brian followed the 3 girls upstairs to get cleaned up. He had been covered in sticky soda residue for several hours by now. Brian was stressed and wanted it all off, Jackie came up with a cruel joke to really get him.
Jackie: “Here's a special soap from the Amazon, It'll get all of that sticky-ness off! Use it everywhere including your face, just don't get it in your scalp!”
Brian: “Umm ok? Why? What's a depilatory?”
Jackie: “Like I said, It's from the Amazon, it'll take everything off! Just trust me here!”
Brian: “Fine!”
A few minutes later, a scream could be heard coming from the bathroom. This sent Aunt Margaret into an absolute rage! She barged down the hall to the bathroom to let him really have it!
Margaret: “I thought I told you to keep quiet! What don't you understand?!?”
Brian (sobbing): “MY HAIR, IT'S GONE! IT'S ALL GONE!”
Margaret: “Well that wouldn't be the first thing you've lost today, is it smart guy?!?”
Margaret (turning to the girls): “Get him fixed up! Find something of Jack's, I don't care how you do it but do it! You got it?!”
All 3: “Yes Ma'am!”
A defeated Brian opened the door. He was as bald as a sphynx cat!
Brian “What did you do to me Jac?!”
Jackie (Playing dumb): “You said you wanted it all off!, All includes hair, I thought that's what you meant!”
Brian: “What am I going to do?!”
Stacy: “Like Mom said, find something of Jac's and get fixed up! We've already got a uniform picked out!, Plus we're studying which will keep Mom off your back!”
Katie: “Don't worry, We've got makeup and a wig, we'll get you looking normal in no time!”
At this point, Brian was too tired from not sleeping on the flight to care. He sulked down to Jackie's room where they dressed him as one of the girls. He was fine until Katie brought over a pair of tights.
Brian: “C'mon guys hasn't this gone far enough?! I don't want to wear pantyhose! At least I can tell myself that this is a kilt!”
Jackie: “Not in the cards bud! Also, these are tights they're thick.”
All of the girls picked up on this disdain for tights. It was nothing for them, but was obviously a bone of contention for him! Little did Brian know, the girls would ensure tights would be a staple of his life for the foreseeable future! Jackie and Katie taught Stacy all sorts of tips and tricks to applying makeup. They gave him new eyebrows, gave him fake eyelashes, and gave him a posh, mature look. Katie grabbed an old wig which looked surprisingly good and styled it on him.
Brian was shocked when they walked him to the mirror. He looked just like his family! The 4 cousins walked downstairs to the office and got back to work. Brian was surprisingly interested in all of this government stuff! Uncle Jack and Aunt Sharon had a few hours to calm Aunt Margaret down. By this time it was getting to be late in the afternoon and everybody was hungry. They called for the kids to come to the kitchen and when they did, they got a surprise!
Aunt Margaret: “Why on earth are you dressed as a girl Brian?!”
Katie: “You told us by the bathroom to give him something of Jac's to wear, so we did. He's been studying with us since you told him to!”
Margaret was about to point out that she had meant Uncle Jack and not Jackie, but thought better of it. He had been quiet all day, and seemed to be more controlled dressed as he was.
Aunt Margaret: “Well, now's as good of time as any. Your father and I are reevaluating our relationship. In the interim, we're going to be staying here for the foreseeable future. Since Brian didn't want his clothes to join us, it only seems reasonable to keep you dressed as such.
Brian: “But you..”
Aunt Margaret: “Not another word!, Since I am not sure of the specifics of our future, Uncle Jack and Aunt Sharon have graciously allowed you two to join this year's curriculum. While I certainly wasn't expecting to find you in this situation, I'm beginning to think this arrangement might work”
Brian “I am not a girl! I'll call Child Services!”
Aunt Margaret: “Go right ahead smart guy! Complain all you like! You're being provided a private education, 3 meals a day, and a room to call your own! You don't like the clothes? You purposely lost yours! Good luck getting the system to come down here for that!”
Brian knew his mom was right. Even worse, he knew that church and brunch were likely going to be a lot worse than had he just packed his suit! The more pressing issue now was food. What were they going to have for dinner?
Aunt Sharon: “You 4 are too much for this house, lets go downtown and get pizza!”
Brian: “Like this?!”
All: “Yeah why not?!”