With a bit of smoke coming out of her ears, because she'd more than met her match in Charlotte, she wasn't expecting what Charlotte did next. As Charlotte looked into the mirror, after getting out of the hairdressing chair, she thanked Sandy then gave her a hug and a peck on the cheek, telling her, "You do wonderful work, Sandy," before she left Sandy's station. Carolyn was standing there as Charlotte walked out of Sandy's station, and did a 'come with me' finger gesture that told Charlotte her new modeling job was about to begin.

Carolyn took Charlotte into the back room, closing the door after Charlotte had entered. What met Charlotte's eyes were about fifteen teenage girls, in every manner of dress, hairstyle and makeup. Charlotte remembered what Carolyn had told her, and what Brenda had told her, and screwed up her courage and stood listening as Carolyn addressed the girls. "Girls, if I can have your attention. If you all will take a seat, we'll get started." Carolyn waited patiently until all the girls were seated then went on with, "Today we have a volunteer with us who has generously offered to allow me to use her as a model for this morning's makeup class. Girls, meet Charlotte. She's staying with her Aunt for a while and thought the experience would not only help you girls, but herself as well."

For the next two hours Carolyn went over the proper way to remove makeup, she had to remove the makeup Charlotte was wearing. How to moisturize their skin, which she did to Charlotte's skin, even talking about the different types available. She then went over color matching and how what one girl wore might not be the right color for another girl; little did they know it also applied to the boy being their model. She covered foundations, powders, blush, lip and eye liners, brow pencils, shadows, and the application of each as she demonstrated on Charlotte. "Now understand, girls. What I've done to Charlotte's face would be considered a daytime look, where you're wearing makeup but it doesn't seem you're wearing anything. You're not going to a special occasion, or party, or any such event. You're out with your friends, shopping, going to the movies, anything along those lines. Now, while I clean Charlotte's face, over on that table," and she pointed to a table to her right, "you'll find a box of facial cleaning wipes that you can use on your own faces. You want to make sure you have a clean palette when you start putting on your makeup. So, don't be shy, go ahead, grab a box and have at it."

Charlotte watched as all but one girl enthusiastically grabbed a box of wipes off the table. She watched as the girl waited until all of the other girls had taken a box before she slinked in to take one of her own. Charlotte watched the girl go back to a seat in the very back, and as she slowly opened the box and took out a wipe. While the other girls happily cleaned their own faces, or helped the girl sitting next to her, that girl just sat there, holding the wipe in her hand. In a low voice, meant only for Carolyn, she asked, "Carolyn, why is that girl in the back row just sitting there holding the facial wipe?"

Carolyn moved to position herself to appear wiping at a place on Charlotte's face so she could see the girl pointed out to her. Responding in a low voice, meant only for Charlotte, she told her, "That's Barbara Wells, Charlotte. She has a pretty good case of acne, and she's embarrassed by how it makes her appear. As I no doubt you've seen, the other girls don't seem to want anything to do with her. And it hurts."

Then Charlotte did something that really didn't surprise Carolyn, she asked, "Have you cleaned off my face?" When Carolyn said she had, Charlotte told her, "Since it looks like the girls are still cleaning their faces, I'll be right back." As Carolyn stood and watched, Charlotte walked back to where Barbra was seated. There was an empty chair next to Barbra and Charlotte asked, "Is there anyone sitting here," and she pointed to the chair next to Barbra.

When Barbra looked up at Charlotte, Charlotte saw the tears in Brabra's eyes, though they had yet to reach her voice. "Ah...no, it's empty," she told Charlotte. Barbra dropped her head, again, after answering Charlotte's question, giving Charlotte a good side view of her face. Even wearing a foundation, it was clear to see how much acne covered Barbra's cheeks.

"You're worried about what the other girls will think if you take off your makeup, aren't you?" Charlotte's question brought more tears to Barbra's eyes, causing some to slide down her cheeks. "Yes, I am," she whispered. "Because of my face I'm treated like some freak."

Charlotte smiled, placed her left hand gently under Barbra's chin, lifted her head and told her, "I don't think you're a freak. Judging by your eyes, there's a beautiful young girl inside that others are missing. They're too blind to see past your skin and see the real you."

All the hurt she felt, all the teasing she'd suffered, all the unkind words she'd heard about her face finally came out, as she leaned onto Charlotte's shoulder and cried. Charlotte felt her own tears well in her eyes, as she muttered a few things under her breath about such people to cause this beautiful girl so much pain. As Barbra started to calm down, Charlotte quietly told her, "Come on, let's go talk with Carolyn and see if she doesn't know of something you can use to get rid of that acne. I'm guessing you've seen a doctor?"

Charlotte asked, feeling Barbra nod her head, then heard, "Yeah, but nothing they gave me did any good. It doesn't matter how hard I work to keep my face clean, or not eat greasy foods, it won't go away." Charlotte helped Barbra out of her chair and held her and they walked up to Carolyn. Carolyn could only smile at what she saw Charlotte doing, something she's wanted to do ever since Barbra's mom forced her to come in on Saturday morning. She wanted to do what Charlotte was doing but every time she approached Barbra, the girl would shy away and leave.

"Carolyn," Charlotte addressed the woman, "this is Barbra Wells, and she has a problem, and I wonder if you could help her?" Barbra was again shy, and looked like she was ready to leave, if not for Charlotte's arm around her waist.

"Yes, I think I have something that might help. Let me go get it and I'll be right back." Charlotte had Barbra sit down in the chair she'd been using, then offered to clean the makeup off Barbra's face. Reluctantly, Barbra gave the wipe she was still holding to Charlotte, and Charlotte gently started cleaning the makeup off Barbra's face; she'd finished just as Carolyn returned carrying a green bottle.

"Barbra, this is made by a company who has perfected a treatment for acne, and it's new to the market."

With her makeup removed it was easy to see that Barbra had a bad acne problem. "But will it work for me?" She asked in an almost resigned voice. "I've tried so many and none did any good."

Carolyn saw the tears well up in the girl's eyes and almost cried with her. Instead, she gently put her fingers under Barbra's chin, lifted her head, looked her in the eyes, and told her, "Oh, yes it will, sweetheart." Carolyn looked out over the girls and said, "Patty, where are you girl? Oh there you are. Come here for a minute, would you please."

When Patty reached Carolyn, Charlotte, and Barbra, she took one look at Barbra and said, "Ooohh, you got it bad, don't ya girl?"

Charlotte gave Patty a dirty look, while Carolyn only said, "Don't be cruel, Patty. You were much worse if I remember right."

Patty chuckled, then said, "Sorry, girl. Yeah, I was worse than you. Here, wait a minute." The three watched as Patty returned to her chair, grabbed her purse and came back to the three. They watched as she took out a wallet size folder, which she flipped through, then showing Barbra the picture, said, "That's what I used to look like. And boy did I feel like shit."

Barbra looked at the picture for a long moment, then looked up at Patty, then again at the picture. Then she reached up and gently touched Patty's cheek, saying, "No way. This can't have been you, your skin is so soft and smooth."

Patty turned around and almost yelled, "Hey, Mel. Get your butt up here." When Mel arrived Patty told them, "Guys, this is Melissa, who goes by Mel. Mel, is that or is that not my picture from a month ago?"

Mel looked at the picture and said, "Yep, that's your old ugly face all right. But that's nothing, I'll show you one better." This time it was four who watched as Mel returned to her seat and grabbed her purse before coming back to the four. Like Patty, she then pulled out a wallet size folder, flipped through the pictures it held, then said, "Take a look at that mess." The picture Barbra and Charlotte looked at showed a face with a massive acne infection. Neither girl could see a clear place on Mel's face in the picture.

As she did with Patty's picture, she looked at Mel, then her picture, then Mel, and could only say, "Wow."

She handed the folder back to Mel, who told them, "School was hell for me back then. I never knew people could be so mean." She reached up and backhanded tears out of her eyes, then told Barbra, "That stuff Carolyn's holding really works. It took more than a couple of months to clear up my face, but ain't I purty now?" She said, as she thrust out one hip, putting a hand on that hip and one behind her head.

Mel's silliness caused the five to laugh, and Barbra asked Carolyn, "May I buy that today. I've tried about everything else, one more something won't hurt."

Patty popped in with, "You got that right, it doesn't hurt. Use it twice a day, morning and before you go to bed. Wash your face real well before you put it on. Your face ain't as bad as mine or Mel's faces were, so those pretty eyes will soon have a pretty face to go with them. Right Mel?"

"Got that right," Mel replied, before saying, "Why don't you come sit with us, we'll show you some tricks we used before our faces cleared up. What'd ya say?"

Barbra looked at Charlotte, who was nodding her head, and softly saying, "Go on, let them help you."

Barbra nodded her head, as she let Charlotte help her out of the chair, following Mel and Patty back to their seats. Carolyn put her arm around Charlotte's shoulder and told her, "That was a nice thing you did for her, Charlotte. You helped her without making her feel any worse because of the acne. What's that boy's name who's arriving on Monday?"

The rest of the time Carolyn worked with each girl to find the color that fit their skin tones. She then, using Charlotte, showed the girls a different look, before having the girls try it on their own faces. Charlotte kept an eye on Barbra, and saw how much happier she was as Mel and Patty worked with her by showing some of the tricks they'd learned to hide their acne before their faces cleared. By the time the two hours were up, not only was Barbra happy but so was Charlotte, again only thought to be just another girl by the rest of the girls in the class.

Carolyn took Charlotte back to the waxing room so she could get dressed, before speaking with Jane. When Charlotte came out of the room, she noticed Francis was upset, she could almost see smoke coming out of her ears. She sat down next to Francis and quietly asked her, "So, would you care to tell me about it now or wait until later? You look like you're about to explode."

Francis took several deep breaths before saying one word, "Sandy." After taking several more breaths, Francis told Charlotte what Sandy had said while doing her hair, and it was extremely personal.

Charlotte looked up and saw Sandy watching them, then watched as Sandy smiled and finger waved at her. Looking at Sandy, Charlotte reached up and scratched the top of her nose with her middle finger, smiling as she did. Charlotte got an even bigger smile as she watched Sandy storm off to the back of the shop, muttering to herself along the way. Neither Jane nor Carolyn saw the exchange between Sandy and Charlotte, but they did see Sandy storm off and hear her muttering as she headed to the back of the salon. Both women turned to look at the two girls, Jane giving Charlotte a questioning look before asking, "Is there something wrong, Charlotte? Sandy seemed rather put out about something."

Carolyn hadn't seen the expression now on Charlotte's face, but Jane had, and knew it was serious. "Yes, Aunt Jane, there is. Sandy verbally attacked Francis' parents with lewd suggestions. I merely showed her how I felt about her for what she did."

Jane furrowed her brows, then asked, "And how did you show her your displeasure, Charlotte?"

Charlotte smiled, then said, "Well, I had an itch on the top of my nose, and scratched it." Carolyn chuckled, Jane did too but inside, as both women now knew exactly what Charlotte had done.

Maintaining her Jane persona, she told Charlotte, "We'll discuss this later, Charlotte."

Francis finally caught on to what Charlotte had done, and giggled, whispering, "Way to go girl." Neither girl saw the smile on Jane's face as she'd turned back to face Carolyn, who was smiling because once again Sandy got better than she gave.

They had to wait a few minutes more before Charlotte could finally get her nails done, and left the salon shortly after, with Charlotte getting a 'well done' from Carolyn. It was once they were in Jane's car, and driving to the Mall, that Jane finally broached the subject of what Charlotte had done to Sandy. "That was admirable of you to stand up for Francis, Charlotte, and help Barbra during the makeup class. The gesture you showed Sandy, while most unladylike, was discrete, and might not have been understood by everyone. Sandy does have a habit of overdoing things, and Carolyn will speak to her... again. That's twice now you've bested her, and she isn't happy. Hopefully Carolyn can get across to her how to limit herself... again. Now. You, Charlotte, will be on your own to explore the shops at the Mall while I take Francis to acquire some needed things. You may visit any of the stores you want. Francis and I will meet you at the food court in one hour."

Jane knew that Charlotte knew exactly what Jane was doing, so Charlotte said, "This is another time for me to get used to being seen as a girl, isn't it Aunt Jane?"

Jane chuckled before she replied. "Yes, Charlotte, that's exactly what you are doing. You have a different appearance now, and you need to see how that appearance affects those around you. And, Charlotte, you have my permission to protect yourself should the situation arise."

When they reached the Mall, and Jane had parked her car near a Mall entrance, she gave Charlotte a Debit card, telling her the amount on the card, before they entered the Mall. Once they reached the main concourse Jane and Francis went one way and Charlotte the other, Jane reminding Charlotte where they'd meet. It was much busier than it had been the first time Charlotte had been there, with more teens walking around. Charlotte started window shopping much like she'd done the first time, going into the stores which had something she wanted to get a closer look at. She'd just come out of one store carrying her purchase, a nice dress, when a group of girls came by. "Whoa, get a load of miss prissy, girls? Ain't she a looker." The group stopped in front of Charlotte, blocking her path, all of them looking her up and down. "So, miss prissy, you from some charm shit house, or something? I never seen you around here before. What school do you go to?"

Charlotte smiled, gave the five girls the same up and down look, before she told them, "A school none of you are qualified to attend. Now if you'll excuse me I've more shopping to do." Charlotte made to step past the girls, only to be blocked by the one doing the talking.

"I don't think I like your attitude. Maybe we should teach you some manners."

Charlotte smiled at the girl, watching as the girl produced an uneasy look on her face, before she said to the girl, "Girl, you couldn't show manners to a goat. You have to know what manners are before you can teach them to anyone." Charlotte watched as the girl's face became fire engine red, before one of her hands came up to slap Charlotte's face. Charlotte was quicker, catching the hand by the wrist and squeezing it. The pain Mouthy girl felt in her wrist, now showed on her face, and heard the growl in Charlotte's voice, as Charlotte told her, "See, you can't teach manners if you don't have them first. I would suggest, if you don't want this to get very ugly, to take your little group and move on out of my way."

This time when Charlotte made to step around the five girls, they parted to let her go by them. As Charlotte walked off, Mouthy girl, still rubbing her wrist, hollered, "BITCH." Charlotte turned around to face the girl, and scratched the top of her nose. As Charlotte observed during her shopping, more girls seemed to be at the Mall than boys, and more girls eyed her in much the same way as the five girls had done. It wasn't lost on Charlotte how the boys reacted as she walked by them, some getting down right lewd in their speech. As she was standing looking in one window a boy came up beside her and actually told her what he'd like to do with her, getting a response from Charlotte that caused him to grab her by the arm and tell her, "No bitch talks to me that way." His bravado was short lived, as he suddenly found himself, nose first, up against the window of the store they were in front of, his arm twisted painfully behind his back. The growl in Charlotte's voice left no doubt she was pissed, as she leaned in close to his left ear and told him, "So you must be the dick who thinks he's the God to all of us girls around here. Well, dick, you're no God, but an asshole who hasn't the brains God gave a jackass. If you don't want to end up in the hospital you'll leave me alone. And if you grab me again, you will." Then in a sweet voice she asked, "Do you understand what I said, asshole?"

Charlotte saw blood from the boy's nose on the glass, and watched as he nodded his head in understanding. Charlotte stepped back as she released his arm, ready for anything the boy might do next. As she watched, he wiped the blood from his nose with the back of her hand, telling her as he started walking away, "You wait until I see you at school. I've got some friends who'll love fucking you."

Charlotte waited until she was sure the boy wasn't coming back before bending down and picking up the store bag she'd dropped out of her way. "Are you all right, miss?" A voice asked, caming from her left.

She turned to see a store employee standing there, a cloth held in her hands. "Yeah, I'm all right, and sorry about the mess on the window. Assholes like him really piss me off."

The woman smiled, used the cloth to wipe off the blood on the glass, before telling Charlotte, "I know what you mean. Some men and boys just don't understand how to properly treat women or girls. By the way, that was a nice move you did. Had a bit of training, haven't you?"

Charlotte smiled at the woman and said, "Oh, just a bit."

Neither Charlotte or the store employee had noticed the small crowd that had gathered to watch Charlotte take care of the boy who'd grabbed her arm. Nor did they notice when it broke up and two Mall security guards appeared. "Excuse me, miss. Are you okay? We saw the trouble on our cameras and got here as fast as we could," the female security told Charlotte.

Charlotte turned to face her, and her male partner, smiled, then told her, "Yes, ma'am, I'm fine. But he," and she pointed towards the boy stomping down the concourse, "got a bloody nose out of his efforts. Oh, and looky there, he's at it again. Down there in front of the sporting goods store."

The two guards looked towards the sporting goods store and watched as the boy was bothering a girl standing in front of the store. The male guard let out a sigh before saying, "Oh, crap. Not him again. Miss, you're not the first young lady he's bothered, and he's been warned by us and his parents. It looks like he's a slow learner. Come on, Heather, let's go toss Romeo out the door." Charlotte and the store employee stood and watched as the two Mall security guards reached the boy. Each took one of the boy's arms and frog marched him down the concourse and turned where the concourse led to an entrance.

"Well, hopefully he won't be a problem any more," the woman store employee said, before turning and walking back into the store.

Charlotte looked around and found a clock hanging from a rod on one of the store walls, it was time to meet Jane and Francis at the food court. And likely explain herself...again.

When Charlotte reached the food court she saw Aunt Jane and Francis sitting at a table sipping their drinks. As she walked up to the table Jane said, "Ah, there you are, Charlotte. I take it you took care of that problem in a proper manner. You didn't send him to the hospital, did you? Go get something to drink, then we'll talk." It wasn't hard for Jane to see the still smoldering embers in Charlotte's eyes, telling her Charlotte was still angry over what happened. Charlotte came back to the table with her drink, sat down and stayed silent, slowly sipping her cola. When Jane could see she'd calmed down a bit she said, "Tell me what happened. You need to get it off your chest."

Charlotte was silent for a long while before she told Jane everything she'd been doing before she was accosted by the boy. She explained how she'd tried to tell the fly to go away but that the boy didn't take kindly to being spoken to in the way Charlotte spoke to him. And when he grabbed her arm, she reacted, and the boy found himself face first into the glass window of that store. She also told Jane of the boy going after another girl standing in front of the sporting goods store, and of the two security guards who then escorted the boy out of the Mall. As Charlotte talked, Jane could see her calming down, until she was her normal self again. "I'd say, under the circumstances, you acted appropriately, Charlotte. You should never allow any boy to lay hands on you, unless he's trying to save your life. Now, I think we are done here for today and time for us to leave," Jane said, as she stood up from her chair. As the three walked back to the entrance they'd used to come into the Mall, they passed the two security guards, who waved at Charlotte, and she waved back.

They turned from the main concourse and started walking toward the entrance, just as Charlotte spotted the boy she gave the bloody nose too standing outside the doors. "Aunt Jane, see that boy pacing back and forth, wearing the blue shirt? That's the boy who caused the problem. And the one the guards must have thrown out of the Mall."

Jane had seen a boy pacing just outside the Mall entrance doors, but thought nothing of it. Until now. "Yes, Charlotte, I see him. Let's hope he doesn't display any more of his ignorance." After saying that, Jane led the way out of the Mall, watching the boy as she did, just as Charlotte was watching him and getting herself ready in case there was another display of stupidity.

As the three emerged from the Mall, the boy saw them and stopped pacing and stared daggers at Charlotte. "YOU STUPID BITCH. YOU GOT ME THROWN OUT OF THE MALL. THAT'S GOING TO COST YOU PLENTY THIS TIME," the boy yelled, as he started walking towards them.