The sissy games

Part 15; Special edition of the games

Jake had placed 8th in a previous round, and as part of his punishment, he had his nails and makeup done at a beauty salon. He was about the same height as Alex and had medium-length brown hair, which peeked out from under his witch's hat. Dressed up as a witch, Jake was the first to go. He walked onto the catwalk, moving toward the end as the crowd around him took pictures and cheered. Jake was wearing a long black dress, a witch hat, and held a broom in hand. At the end of the catwalk, he tried to strike a pose, but it ended up looking like he was just waving his broom a bit. Nonetheless, the crowd cheered as he walked back.

"Did Jake the witch curse us all? Or has he left us enchanted? Let's see what grades the jury gives," announced the voice. It was then that Jake noticed three large chairs situated above and behind the crowd at the end of the catwalk. Each chair had a small sign labeled "Costume," "Pose," and "Walk." Three women, seated in the dark, occupied these chairs. The spotlight shone on the chair labeled "Costume." A woman in her 20s, dressed in a kimono and wearing glasses, was seated there. After a few seconds, she held up a 7. "The dress fits his body beautifully, and the hat completes the outfit. However, more could have been done," she said.

The next spotlight illuminated the chair labeled "Pose," where a woman dressed as a princess held up a sign with a 4. "Boring, not very feminine," she commented. The last chair lit up, revealing a woman in a blue dress wearing heels, who held up a 5. "The walk wasn't very feminine," she added. "Oof, these grades aren't the best, leaving Jake the witch with an average of 5.3," the voice announced.

As Jake walked back to the others, he overheard two boys whispering to each other. "This is so embarrassing," one of them muttered. "Yeah, I can't believe we have to do this. I mean, look at Jake up there—he's trying to look confident, but you can tell he's dying inside," the other replied. Jake tried to ignore the comments, but he couldn't shake the feeling of awkwardness.

The wheel spun again, selecting several other contestants before finally landing on Alex. He watched as Jorn, dressed as Snow White, received an average of 6.2, Danny the red-painted devil got a 7.2, and Tom as the pink-haired Ariel scored an 8. Now, it was Alex's turn.

As Alex walked up the catwalk, he passed by the boys who had been whispering earlier. One of them shook his head slightly. "Good luck, man. This is brutal," he said quietly, trying to offer some support despite the uncomfortable situation. Alex nodded, feeling the weight of their shared embarrassment.

He stepped onto the catwalk, mimicking Jorn's foot-over-foot walk. He carefully balanced himself in his green ballet flats, arms slightly outstretched to maintain his balance. As Alex reached the end of the catwalk, his heart pounded as the lights focused on him. He paused and struck a pose—one leg bent, foot lifted behind him, one arm on his hip, and the other held out to the side in a feminine gesture. His face burned with embarrassment as he slightly turned, presenting the pose to the audience. The dress fluttered around his legs, the glitter in his hair catching the light as he shifted. After holding the pose for what felt like an eternity, he turned to walk back down the catwalk toward the others.

As he walked, the voice of the host rang out: "Our little fairy is here to sprinkle us with fairy dust! Or will he be left in the dust? Let's see what grades the jury will give him." The first chair, labeled "Costume," lit up again. "Girl, I love your dress and wings! The sparkling glitter matches your hair and nails perfectly. I'm giving you a 9!" said the woman. Hearing these words, Alex felt extremely uncomfortable, maybe even sick with embarrassment. I am a boy, was the only thought running through his mind.

The second chair, labeled "Pose," lit up, and the princess-costumed judge awarded him a 9 as well. "Everything she just said was so visible in your pose. I just loved your bent leg and hand on your hip—it was so feminine!" Alex wanted to rip his ears off. Being judged like this and hearing the crowd cheer was almost too much. The last woman judged his walk with a 7.5. "Your walk was elegant, but you waved your hands a bit to maintain balance, which I would normally give a 5 for. However, you did it with hands bent down, showing off those pretty nails to the crowd. I'm giving you a 7.5." As the crowd cheered, Alex reflected on it. He hadn't even wanted to show his nails to the public. "Our fairy soared high and left the others in the dust with an 8.5!"

Alex stood with the others, waiting for what he called this "shit-show" to be over. The other boys dressed up as various characters went by—a rainbow unicorn, and two more princesses. The last boy, Chris, who had been in last place in a previous round where Alex placed seventh, was dressed as a princess. Chris's costume included earrings with feminine decorations and some embarrassing jewelry. He wore a satin yellow princess dress, walking gracefully while holding his dress up. He did a ballet spin at the end and then picked up his dress as he walked back. His grades were shown: a 9 for his costume, a 7 for his pose (as although it was feminine, it didn't match his role). If his walk was given a 9.5, he would have tied with Alex; a 10 would have made him the winner.

"The walk you did was so elegant and matched the role you played. Walking in heels is hard, but you did it! I give you a... 9!" the judge announced. "And with this grade, our princess girl gets an average of... 8.3! Let's rank and see who won!"

As each name appeared on the big screen, the rankings were revealed from 8th to 1st place. Alex's name was shown last, meaning he had won first place! The mentors came onto the podium, and Alex was hugged by Ember. "You did it! We won!" she exclaimed. "We did!" Alex replied happily, relieved that he could finally put this embarrassing costume behind him.

"The prize for this will be given after the games. It's time for our 8 beauties to compete in the second round," the voice announced.

"Second round? I thought this was it? We won, right?" Alex asked, confused.

"You won the costume competition, where a mentor can win a prize, and you gained points. But the games themselves aren't over yet," Ember explained.