Princess Frank in the Land of Misfits

Five year old Frank immediately agreed when his nine year old neighbor Gerard suggested a game.  He idolized the boy next door to him, wanted to be best friends.

Frank was outside, playing with Star Wars figurines in his mom's garden when Gerard came over.  "Hey, wanna play?" he'd said, grinning at Frank.  Frank nodded eagerly and quickly stood up, with mud stains on the knees of his jeans.  "Wanna play Star Wars?" Frank asked, holding out his Darth Vader, missing chips of paint.  Gerard shook his head.  "I wanna play a different game," Gerard said, grabbing Frank's arm and pulling him towards his own house.  "Come on."

Moments later, Frank was standing awkwardly in Gerard's messy bedroom, while Gerard dug through his toybox.  He came out after a while, holding a make-up kit in and a few other things in his arms.  He made his way over to Frank and opened it.  "Close your eyes," he said.

Gerard used a small brush to apply a coral pink eyeshadow on Frank's eyelids, then used a dark red shade of lipstick for Frank's lips.  He used a sponge to apply the blush, and did so carefully like his mom had done when she didn't know Gerard was watching.  He dug around in his pockets and found a pair of clip-on earrings, which he clipped onto the lobes of Frank's small ears.   

To finish it off, Gerard grabbed the silver tiara that he'd taken from one of his mom's friend's daughters, and placed it on Frank's head, then grabbed the sparkly pink boa he'd found and wrapped it around Frank's neck.

Gerard took a step back and looked at Frank and grinned. "All done," he said, reaching for his instant film camera.  He snapped a picture and Frank blinked a few times, his eyes wide.  "You can be Princess Frank," Gerard crooned.  "Ruler of the land of Misfits."  

Frank smiled a little and turned to look at himself in the mirror.  "I'll only be the princess if you be the prince." he said, admiring the tiara perched on top of his head.