D.W. spent the rest of the morning issuing dire threats against Arthur and Fern for the prank they had played on her. After Fern had left to return her dresses to her house, the feuding siblings made their way to school, where they met with several of their friends in front of the entrance.
"How are you liking fifth grade so far?" Prunella asked Arthur and Buster.
"It's not very hard," Arthur answered.
"But listening to Mrs. Krantz is like going to the dentist and getting all your teeth drilled at once," Buster added.
Prunella winced. "Tell me about it."
As they conversed, a strange sight greeted their eyes. Molly had arrived, her hair neatly bobbed, her face washed, the same red dress adorning her frame. She stopped for a moment in front of the group, as if testing their reactions.
Prunella rubbed her eyes, thinking she was witnessing an illusion. "No, it can't be," she marveled. "MollyMcDonald in a dress?"
"I believe in aliens again," said the astonished Buster.
He and Prunella started to snicker uncontrollably. Molly merely scowled and walked past them. Once he had regained his composure, Buster said to Prunella, "I'm surprised she didn't rip off my ears."
Molly encountered the same sort of treatment everywhere she went in the school. "Move over, Miss America," joked Francine. "I was starting to wonder if you had eyes," Alan ribbed her. "It's a slight improvement," Mickie Chanel opinionated, "but you have a long way to go before you can think about making your societal debut."
As for Muffy, she could only giggle hysterically, punctuating her laughter with an occasional "Oh, puh-leeze!" It was all she could do to restrain herself from rudely pointing.
Then a shadow fell over her, and her mirth disappeared. The sight of two clenched fists and a menacing face blocked everything else from her mind. It was Rattles. There was no escape.
"I'm gonna stuff your braids right up your nose," the large boy threatened.
While Muffy choked and sputtered, Molly held Rattles back with a hand on his shoulder. "Leave her alone," she said firmly. "I don't want anyone getting hurt on my account."
Her words startled and disturbed Rattles. "What's happened to you, man?"
"My life will be different from now on," said Molly calmly. "I have to get used to it."
Muffy saw an opportunity to slip away unharmed. "She laughed at you," Rattles pointed out to Molly. "She made fun of your dorky dress. You should beat her up."
"I'd like to, believe me," Molly admitted with a sigh. "But if my dad hears I've been making trouble at school, he'll kill me. If I'm lucky, he'll only kill me figuratively."
"Have it your way, man." Rattles shrugged and hurried away.
Things didn't get easier. When morning recess came, Molly found a relatively isolated corner of the school and leaned against a column. Beat Simon, noticing the girl's glum face and drooped ears, stopped and gazed at her while walking by.
Intrigued by the shape of the rabbit-aardvark girl's body, Molly stood and sized her up. "You're almost as tall as I am," she remarked. "Do British kids grow faster than American kids?"
"On average, no," replied Beat. "I couldn't help but notice the other children laughing at you. They laugh at me, too, but not as much as they did last week. The novelty is wearing off for them. But not for me, unfortunately." She sighed plaintively. "Not for me."
A brief, thoughtful silence fell over the two girls.
"I hate dresses," Molly spoke up. "My dad thinks just because I'm a girl, I should wear a dress. Like it's some kind of crime against nature for a girl to look like a boy."
"I think you look pretty with the dress, and the haircut, and the eyes," said Beat flatteringly. "Maybe that's not what you want to hear, but it's my opinion."
Molly didn't respond, but it appeared to Beat that she was trying not to roll her eyes.
"You've got it easy," Beat reflected. "You can change out of your clothes if you don't like them. I can't change out of my...well, you know."
Molly's eyes brightened a bit, and she smiled and nodded. "You're an okay kid."
When lunch hour came along, Beat invited Molly to join her at the girls' table. Francine, Sue Ellen, Fern, and Muffy were present, and the conversation became animated.
"I'll tell you why you shouldn't look like a boy," Francine said to Molly. "Because boys are jerks."
"There are a few nice ones," Muffy rejoined. "That's why a girl should always look her best--she never knows when she'll catch the eye of one of the few nice boys in the world."
"Like that beaky kid who rides around in a wheelchair," Fern added.
"How does it feel to have your dad back, Molly?" asked Beat between bites of tuna casserole.
"It's better than not having him back," replied the rabbit girl. "But he's super strict all the time."
"At least you have a father," Sue Ellen said somberly. "I don't know where my parents are."
A moment of sympathic silence followed, which Beat broke. "To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune," she recited. "To lose both looks like carelessness. Oscar Wilde."
"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Muffy.
"I was only trying to lighten the mood," Beat answered.
She next saw Molly at the beginning of afternoon recess. The girl, seated on a bench with a math textbook opened in her lap, appeared sadder than ever. "Why the long face?" Beat inquired.
Molly held up a sheet of paper with a large red letter drawn at the top. "I got a D on my math test," she lamented. "My dad won't be happy about this."
Beat gently plucked the paper from Molly's fingers and pored over it. "Sixth grade maths," she mused. "It doesn't look very formidable."
"For a brainiac like you, maybe," snapped Molly.
Beat took the rabbit girl's outburst in stride. Handing the test back, she said, "Now that you've improved upon your outward appearance, it's time to start working on your mind." Drawing a small card from her pocket, she laid it in Molly's palm. "This is my cell phone number. If you need help with maths, call me."
As the British girl strolled away, Molly marveled at her offer of assistance. The two had enjoyed a brief acquaintance during the time of the cleansing, but other than that they hadn't been close at all. Could it be that her new image was attracting positive attention as well as negative?
Binky intercepted Beat when she arrived at the playground. "Hi, Beat."
"Hello, Binky."
The bulldog boy seemed worried about something. "I noticed you've spent a lot of time with Molly today."
"Indeed I have." Beat motioned for Binky to lean with her against the bars of the jungle gym.
Binky gazed into the empty air as he spoke. "She sure looks different now. It's like she's turned into someone else."
"On the outside, perhaps," said Beat. "But old rabbits...er, habits die hard."
"I always thought Molly was just one of the guys," Binky went on. "Yeah, I knew she was a girl and all, but it wasn't something we talked about. But seeing her like this..."
His voice trailed off. Beat perked up her ears curiously.
"I don't know how to describe it," Binky continued. "It's like she's saying to me, 'Hey, doofus! In case you haven't noticed, I'm a girl!'"
Unable to think of a helpful response, Beat held her peace.
"It's weird," said Binky, shaking his head. "But I kinda like her this way."
