Gerri is wearing a white frilly dress. It's not her usual style, she likes playing in the mud and climbing trees. Sometimes she wishes she had been born a boy. Her parents were expecting a boy, Jerry Junior, but fate had other plans for them. Jerry could have done whatever he wanted in his spare time. Pretty little Geraldine, though, has to do whatever her parents want her to do.
Today what they want is for her to win this kids' beauty contest at the county fair. She knows how to turn on the charm when necessary, so she smiles bashfully as she parades up and down, holding her dress up daintily, and laughs at all the judges' jokes. It pays off and she is declared the prettiest little girl in the pageant.
Her beam when the medal is placed around her neck is genuine. It's always nice to win, even at something as silly as this. She looks over at her parents, who are applauding proudly.
The other girls gather around to play together after the contest is over. One of them has a tea set, and hands out fake cups of tea to the other girls and their dolls. Gerri has no interest in dolls or tea parties, but she can feel her parents watching, so she smiles and pretends to join in.
When her parents are no longer watching, Gerri slips away and approaches a group of boys who are gathered around what looks like a camp fire, playing with sticks. "Are you building something?" she asks.
The boys exchange sly looks. "Yeah," says one of them. "We're building a camp. Wouldn't you rather be playing with your dolls?"
Gerri shakes her head. "No. I wanna play with you!" She's never quite fit in with other girls, who make fun of her boyish name and lack of knowledge of girly things.
"Okay, pageant princess," says one of the other boys, who looks a few years older than the rest of them. "We're racing over to that tree. Think you can run with us?"
Gerri nods, already hitching up her dress, ready to go.
"Now!" shouts one of the boys, and Gerri starts running. As she does so, the older boy holds out the stick he's carrying and trips her. She stumbles into a pile of mud, landing on her hands and knees. The boys all laugh loudly and carry on running.
Gerri holds back the tears as she gets to her feet. She's not injured, apart from her pride, but her dress is all muddy and ruined. If her parents ask, she'll say she was playing in the mud by herself. Her mother will be angry at her for ruining her best dress, but it's better than admitting the truth.
She takes the medal off her neck and runs her fingers over it as she walks in the opposite direction to the boys, squeezing it like a talisman. She's fine. This is fine. This is nothing at all.