Author's Notes- This is the first of a series of stories to fictionalize the ever-growing world of Cosplay [Costume Play], titled Adventures In Cosplay. The characters are drawn upon from real people that I know on the web... enjoy the tale.

A First Time For Everything
By Dale Speer

Maureen Roberts was ready to call it a night. You would think that on the Friday night before school started, she would have been out on the town... but it wasn't the case. Even at 9:00 at night, she would have gotten a call from one of her friends- but she didn't even get that. She was getting so fed up with the fact that she had to spend nights alone, she would do anything to have someone at her side.

When it came to looks, Maureen wasn't a slouch. 5ft. 8in, tall and 125lbs., she was a looker. She had really long blonde hair- all the way down to her knees- and the bluest of eyes that could really make you do anything you want.

But there was a sad story in her life... 2 years ago, her parents passed away in a tragic car accident. Since she was an only child, her parents- in the secondary clause of their wills, left her the entire estate. This amounted her- including Familial Trusts, properties, stocks & bonds and the other assets- to over five hundred million dollars. Because she was 16, she wasn't assigned a guardian and granted Emancipation due to Death- so all of the assets were hers to command.

She was into dramatics & Cosplay- given her interest in Anime. If her hair was shorter and black, she could dress up as ChiChi from DragonBall-Z anyday- or if it was just to the bottom of her back, she could be Mina from Sailor Moon.

"I've got all of this blonde hair," she thought to herself, "and I don't want to cut it. But how could I put this hair to my advantage?" She was thinking of doing 1 long braid or 2 short braids... but just then, a knock came to the door of her home. And sometimes... it turns into opportunity for a person.

One of her friends, Dale Speer, had drove by the mansion she called home and decided to pay her a visit on this winter's evening. She was a wizard with ideas... the Internet was a repository for most of them. She had noticed Maureen in school with all of this hair- and yet noticed her getting passed over for dates with the athletes. She didn't belong to any Social Circles, save for the Dramatics Group, that she took a chance and befriended her.

In comparison to Maureen, Dale was termed a Worst Case Scenario. The same height as Maureen, she weighed 255lbs... and she couldn't even get a date to save her life. Her doctor also said that Dale would have to lose the weight or she would be dead by age 30. It was only because Maureen befriended her that she felt accepted... but Maureen knew that if she didn't gain a new outlook, Dale would lose all confidence to be in dramatics.

Realizing Maureen's interest in Anime stemmed from all of the shows she watched on TOONAMI, and her one love being of SAILOR MOON- Dale started watching it, taking a liking to Minako Aino, the last of the Sailor Scouts... Sailor Venus- and even started building her Scout Fuku. But if Dale was to dress into that costume... Maureen had to first get Dale to lose the weight she was packing.

They hugged each other fiercely when Dale stepped inside her home, then it got down to business. "I was thinking of your hair," she told her, "and remembered that I bookmarked a website that could give you Serena's hairstyle." "Can you help me achieve it?" Maureen asked her. So she rushed out the door and got her Notebook System. Connecting to the internet, she got the one bookmark up on the screen and helped her friend assemble the needed materials for it.

Following the directions on the sitepage, they styled her hair in that very same look. When it was finished, and she looked at herself in the mirror, she admired herself on the beauty of it. So did Dale- after seeing her plain in school, she could finally have a hairstyle she could be admired for. And it wasn't a moment too soon... for Halloween was a month away, and she didn't have a costume. But Dale had a few ideas... and she even brought in the costume she was working on. When Maureen saw it... she asked, "Dale, could we make a Sailor Moon costume for me?"

So all that time, they were working on creating the best Sailor Moon costume she could believe in. Friends were stopping by to see what was happening- and were they surprised when they stepped into the sewing studio and found 2 very good costumes on the adjustable dummies.

One Wednesday while they were working, Maureen asked Dale if she thought of her doc's advice on losing the weight. "Well I have," she replied, "but my parents are the ones who have to make the decision for me, even though my birthday's 6 months away. I think it's because they want me to keep drawing disability and keep them in the black." Maureen was saddened by the words Dale said... and vowed to help her.

2 weeks before Halloween Week, some of the Cheerleaders stopped by... and saw the costumes they were working on. And believe me, their BobbySocks were knocked off when they saw them. "Could you help us create these costumes for some of us?" Roxanne, the cheerleading captain, asked.

"Well, there are 5 of you," Dale replied, "Could you get 3 other Cheerleaders to come over?" When Roxanne replied all of them were downstairs, they set to work. Giving Roxanne the cloth tapemeasure & stenopad to get their measurements (Bust, Waist & Hips), they decided who should be who. But first, the story had to be told to them... so, with Dale in the leather chair and all of them sitting at her feet, she opened up the binder she had created of the series' episodes- in text format- and started reading.

"I thought that the costumes we're creating were just glorified 'Cheerleader Uniforms'," Roxanne said when Dale was finished, "But now that I think more of it, these costumes are a great way for us to get into their world... a world of Cosplay." "You're right, Roxanne," Collette said, "Maybe, we've been cheerleaders for too long to get interested in acting." The opinions were unaminous... they were accepted into the circle, and Dale was asked to be a director for the group of 16 girls for Cosplay. Accepting the offer she said, "Let's give the final assembly of Halloween Week the best we can do."

So they set to work, finishing the 10 costumes of the Sailor Scouts in one week- with the help of some donated Sewing Machines. With Dale's Notebook having a CD-Recordable/ReWritable Drive on it, the 10 put together an AudioTrack of each one doing their character's Transformation and an attack- then she recorded them onto a CD after transposing them to MP3 format.

They also took the Opening Theme to the series, cut the words out of it, and had her put it on the CD as well. She composed a narrative for it, and they put together one of the best Music & Narrative productions possible.

A week before, Roxanne and the other cheerleaders arrived to talk with Maureen about Dale's situation. They knew that she was the one the other students made jokes about... and when she saw her shrinking with fear of them, the cheerleaders felt sorry for her.

"It's because of her weight," Maureen said, "Because she's 250lbs., she been called Fatima, TwinkieGirl & Trash Compactor even. She eats healthy- but it's because of her medications she takes for her other problem that's making her overweight by converting the food to stored fat. Her doctor says she needs to drop the pounds in any way possible or she will die by age 30."

When asked of her other problem, Maureen answered, "She suffers from a mental disorder that allows her to look like a genius but has major side effects. She's undergoing Medication & Psychiatric Therapy for the disorder, but it will remain with her for the rest of her life."

"Has her Psychiatrist been notified of her parents' refusal to let her do even liposuction for her weight?" Collette asked. Maureen shook her head no while saying, "They want her to keep drawing disability for her physical and mental conditions. They don't know how bad it looks if she doesn't have this weight treatment."

"That's considered Child Neglect," Roxanne said, "If they're neglecting her medical needs just for money, we can notify her psychiatrist and tell them what the doctor told her and that her parents are neglecting her physical health." So they did just that, and the state Child Protection Agency was called in. After a special hearing on Thursday, Dale was declared emancipated from her parents and Maureen offered to take her in. The 2 haven't been separated since.

Finally, Halloween Week arrived and the student body celebrated in earnest. Different themes stood out every day for 4 days- traditional terrors for the first 2 days, Altered States the next- where the students changed into others in the school- and SuperHeroes on Thursday. The single most popular theme of that week would be marked with a Spirit Assembly on Friday... and the students knew that it would be the last one.

When it came time for the assembly, the Student Body was shocked to find the Cheerleaders off of the floor. The Theme was the most popular one that week... SuperHeroes. You found people dressed up as the DigiDestined & Tamers from DIGIMON, heroes from the JUSTICE LEAGUE... even one dressed as Batman from BATMAN BEYOND. All of them did skits involving their characters... and you have to admit, all of them did their best.

But then- the lights were KILLED, and a scream was heard all throughout the auditorium. When the Spotlight was illuminated at the end of the area, MOLLY BAKER was being attacked by a hideous monster... but just when you thought she would be destroyed- from out of nowhere came the voice of one you didn't expect... "You're attacking an innocent person just to take their energy- and we can't forgive you for that!"

"WHO SAID THAT?!" the "Monster" shouted.

"Monsters will be destroyed by the Love Of Humanity," came one voice before a yellow spotlight was shown on her- "I am SAILOR VENUS!"

"Ice purifies the soul," came another- and a blue spotlight was cast on her- "I am SAILOR MERCURY!"

"Fire has a cleansing effect on a person's Spirit," came a third- just when a red spot showered her- "I am SAILOR MARS!"

"The Skies have always had a peaceful effect on the mind and spirit," a fourth voice spoke out- then a light blue spotlight was cast- "I am SAILOR URANUS!"

A light green spotlight was cast onto a person who said, "Water washes the body the same way Fire cleanses the soul- I am SAILOR NEPTUNE!"

"Evil will always be struck by the lightning of Justice," came one who had a pink spotlight on her- "I am SAILOR JUPITER!"

"It doesn't matter when evil will strike," came from the lips of one cascaded by white light- "Time will always defeat you- so says SAILOR PLUTO!"

"Death always comes to those who choose to do wrong," said one who was showered by purple light- "Death by the hands of SAILOR SATURN!"

"We are the SAILOR SCOUTS!" came the first voice again.

"And we stand for Love & Justice!" came a higher toned version of the same voice.

"I'm SAILOR MOON!" the first voice finally said as she was showered in white light- then, from a shorter version of her in pink light, came, "I'm SAILOR MINIMOON!"

"And in the Name of The Moon..."

"WE'LL PUNISH YOU!" all 10 finished.

The Monster tried to destroy the 10 Lady Warriors... but the blast was quickly evaded. Then... PLUTO DEADLY SCREAM! was cast against it with devastating results. Sailors Mercury and Venus cast SHINE AQUA ILLUSION & VENUS LOVE-CHAIN ENCIRCLE and disabled it- and CosmicSailor Moon already had the SPIRALHEART MOON SCEPTER in hand.

MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK was cast- and the spotlight surrounding Molly and the monster was doused. When it came on a minute later- Molly was standing alone and the monster was nowhere to be found. All of the students were on their feet, clapping and cheering for the 12 players.

When the lone spotlight was cast again, in its glow stood Dale Speer as she stood like a shadow against it- and she had the priviledge of giving the closing speech for the last assembly of Halloween Week.

"In 1991, NAOKO TAKEUCHI created, on paper, what would become an International Favorite," she opened with, "When you think of SuperHeroes- you think of SUPERMAN, BATMAN, WONDER WOMAN, SPIDERMAN, the X-MEN or the Warriors of MORTAL KOMBAT. In recent years, groups from Japan- like the POWER RANGERS, the DIGIDESTINED and the Z-FIGHTERS from DRAGONBALL-Z became popular.

"But hope was taught to us by 10 girls, wearing form-fitting versions of the Japanese SchoolGirls' Uniform- the SAILOR SCOUTS. Led by SAILOR MOON, they gave us the thought that hope still exists for our world."

She then introduced the 12 players, including herself, and the supporting personel. And all of the students were surprised when Maureen was introduced as CosmicSailor Moon. But in the end, she was applauded for changing everyone's mind about her abilities.

After Halloween Week, people still laughed at Dale, still called her by the names they knew her... so extreme measures had to be taken. Dale will soon find out the caring Maureen has for her- and it will begin a transformation in her.

TO BE CONTINUED...