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The first time The Shadow saw Chaz Walters, he thought she was a boy. He was quicker than most people to catch on, to notice all the little clues in her voice and face and revise his opinion. If this was a mistake people made frequently, that was no accident on her part. A skinny, athletic build helped, and so did short hair and a complete disinterest in make-up. As puberty started to make the trick more difficult, Chaz learned to shop for her own bras- sports bras, sized small enough to flatten her chest. Her voice was typically a little low and husky, half natural and half deliberately learned.
Sometimes, it was entertaining to watch new people meet her, and only belatedly realize she was a girl. Sometimes, she wished they never would.
Working for the Shadow, it was a lot easier to infiltrate the ranks of the school dealers if they thought of her as a boy. She skipped classes once in a while (forging notes was easy, and her grades still kept decent), hanging out around unfamiliar schools with kids who knew her only as somebody interested in the trade. 'Chester' or 'Charlie' would follow the dealers back to their sources, and once they were pegged they could be followed after dark to their sources... Chaz liked that spy work in the dark best of all, when there was nobody to guess or judge. Was this why The Shadow preferred to walk alone in the dark? Without anyone to press their ideas of who or what a person should be on them, somebody could just be themselves.
At school, Chaz Walters was a tomboy, a girl whose friends were mostly boys, but none of them were close friends. Chaz was a thrasher punk, just one of many kinds with unremarkable grades, unremarkable status, and no ambitions. Chaz was mostly invisible, and that was okay.
Sometimes, it was entertaining to watch new people meet her, and only belatedly realize she was a girl. Sometimes, she wished they never would.
Working for the Shadow, it was a lot easier to infiltrate the ranks of the school dealers if they thought of her as a boy. She skipped classes once in a while (forging notes was easy, and her grades still kept decent), hanging out around unfamiliar schools with kids who knew her only as somebody interested in the trade. 'Chester' or 'Charlie' would follow the dealers back to their sources, and once they were pegged they could be followed after dark to their sources... Chaz liked that spy work in the dark best of all, when there was nobody to guess or judge. Was this why The Shadow preferred to walk alone in the dark? Without anyone to press their ideas of who or what a person should be on them, somebody could just be themselves.
At school, Chaz Walters was a tomboy, a girl whose friends were mostly boys, but none of them were close friends. Chaz was a thrasher punk, just one of many kinds with unremarkable grades, unremarkable status, and no ambitions. Chaz was mostly invisible, and that was okay.
