The Contest Beginnings

by Sarah Bayen

Part Twelve

Here's Lucy

  

Anita seemed in a hurry as we walked along the suburban streets. I had trouble keeping up with her, stumbling a little in my boots, and restricted by the tightness of my skirt.

"Come on Sarah!" she urged, from a few paces in front of me.

"It's all right for you in jeans and trainers!" I complained. "I can't walk so fast like this."

She slowed a little for me, smiling as an elderly gentleman walked past us. "Well at least you're getting some practice," she continued when he had gone.

We walked on, still at something of a pace. My tights swished and rubbed against my thighs, and the bag weighed heavily on my shoulders. I stopped to move it across to the other side more than once.

"We're nearly there now," Anita told me encouragingly, as we walked into another street. "Just up here and to the left."

We walked on, Anita quickly and eagerly, and me stumbling along behind. Eventually we came to the road I recognised as Nikki's, and came to her house. We walked through the gate, and up the path, and Anita knocked on the door.

Nikki answered it, and signalled us in.

"What's this all about?" Anita asked her.

"Tania!" Nikki responded, raising her eyebrows in exasperation. "She's trying to throw a fly into the ointment."

We walked through into the lounge, and I was immediately struck by how crowded it looked, in spite of its impressive size. Standing were Tania herself, her arms folded in front of her, and a vexed look on her face, and by her, her mother, and another woman of a similar age I did not recognise. Nikki went across to them as we entered the room to create a square. They turned to face us.

Over on the sofa, Maxine, Nikki's elder sister sat on the arm. Her face revealed none of the tension evident in the others. She had her knees crossed, and her arms on her knees. Sitting on the sofa was a girl I did not recognise, with long blonde hair, and wearing a rather odd outfit for the time of day. It was a long pale pink dress made out of some sort of netting, with lacy bits and pieces all over the chest and shoulders. She had a face like thunder, and looked down in anger at the carpet after the briefest of glances at us.

"Oh good," said Nikki's mother. "You're here. Now perhaps we can sort things out. This," she said, indicating the other woman there, "is Jane; Jane Luce."

"Call me Jane," said the other woman, smiling at Anita at me.

"She's just moved into town. We're trying to help her settle in." Nikki's Mum went on.

"And you must be Anita and," she paused for a moment, looking me up and down; "well, Sarah I suppose."

I blushed a little. It was obvious from her tone that she had been told about my situation. "You look very good," she went on, "and I think you're very brave to stay like that all weekend to get the practice."

"And this," announced Tania, separating herself from the little group, and moving towards the sofa, "Is Lucy. Say hello to Sarah and Anita Lucy!"

The girl on the sofa looked even more unhappy with this introduction, and pointedly refused to make any eye contact with us. She folded her arms grumpily, and looked out of the window.

"Don't be such a tease," Maxine admonished her sister gently from her position on the arm of sofa. She then turned to Anita and me. "This is Laurence. He's entering the contest like you."

This revelation hit me like a brick. The girl on the sofa was a boy! I stared again. All the clichés that had been thrown at me the day before came into my mind. I would never have guessed if I hadn't been told; he looked so good as a girl, and not just a girl, but a really pretty one. I winced in sympathy for his plight, knowing what he must be going through.

He threw me a cursory glare, and then looked back out of the window.

"Oh Gosh!" exclaimed Anita enthusiastically. "That's marvellous. He looks just as good as Sarah here. Do you know, I would never have guessed he was a boy by looking at him? I sort of wondered when I saw his dress, but I thought perhaps it was an alternative for Steve you'd managed to find."

"Well it might be yet," Tania put in. "I decided to enter Lucy here, and I want him to have my bridesmaid's dress."

Anita stared back at her. Nikki detached herself from the older women, and came over to the sofa. "But you promised we could have it for Steve. You agreed to that last Thursday, and you were all for it yesterday when Steve tried it on!"

"But that was before I decided to enter Lucy in the contest. Now I have, I can decide what dress he ought to have."

"But that's not fair!" exclaimed Nikki, and I wondered for a moment if they would come to blows, looking at the anger in both their eyes.

Maxine obviously saw this danger too, and stood to come between them. "Come on," she said placatingly, "I'm sure we can sort this out. Let's go and sit down around the table and talk it through. Come on Anita, you as well."

The four of them walked up the room to the dinning table and sat down at it. The two women joined them, and immediately there began a heated discussion of who had promised what to whom, when and how, full of vitriol and denial.

Lucy, or Laurence, and I were left in the lounge area of the room alone. He still stared pointedly out of the window rather than at me. I decided that since we were both in the same boat, I should make some effort at making friends.

"Hi," I said, brightly, sitting down next to him. "I don't think we've seen each other before." There was no reply, and no movement from Laurence in response. I was silent for a while, hearing the babble of excited conversation from the six at the other end of the room, sitting around the table like at some sort of diplomatic conference. Eventually I decided to try again. "Are you all right?" I asked, with genuine concern in my voice.

There was silence for a while, but after a good few seconds, without turning his face to me, Laurence responded. "Well what do you think?"

I was stunned by his anger, which seemed directed as much to me as to Tania for dressing him up, or fate in general. "I don't know." I replied.

There was another pause, and then "Well of course I'm not all right. They've made me wear this stupid wig and this bloody dress when I didn't want to!" he spat.

My heart filled with sympathy for the poor lad. I remembered exactly how I had felt the day before when I was first put into girl's clothes. "Well you could always refuse," I said quietly, wondering if that applied to me as well.

He turned to me, his blue eyes ablaze with fury. "It's a bit late for that," he said.

"No, I meant refuse to enter the contest. Then you could just take the dress off and forget about it," I explained.

He stared at me hard, as if considering whether I was part of some elaborate plot against him, but after a while, decided to speak again. "I did refuse. I told Tania I wouldn't do it, but then she had to go and mention it to my Mum."

"Your Mum?"

"Yes, her over there. I hate her for this!" he said, glancing past me to the dinning table. His long blonde hair flipped as he did so. I looked around. So the mystery woman who had introduced herself as Jane Luce was Laurence's mother.

"She said it was a wonderful idea, and a great way to get involved in the school and the community," he went on. "She's been on about that since we moved here."

"When was that?" I asked.

"Three weeks ago," he responded, still looking miserable. "I wish we'd never done it, especially now."

I tried to think what I might say by way of comfort. I knew exactly the misery he must be feeling, sitting next to him in my fluffy pink jumper and denim mini skirt. At least I had the consolation of getting to kiss Anita; there seemed nothing for him at all by way of compensation.

"And you're just as much to blame!" he suddenly said accusingly, and turned away from me to look back out of the window.

I was shocked; me to blame? What did he mean by that? I was stung by the accusation, but gathered myself, and responded calmly. "I'm not sure what you mean."

He was silent for a while. "Yes you do. You enjoy this."

I was shocked even more. "Enjoy it? You must be joking!"

"You do. Nikki told me you did."

I turned and looked at Nikki at the other end of the room, still talking animatedly with her sisters and mother.

"I don't enjoy it," I said, quietly, offended by the suggestion.

"Oh yeah? Well ever since my mother got me into this, I've been told how good you were about it." He turned to face me again, with the anger back in his eyes.

"Good about it?" I queried.

"Yeah." He put on an accent that I assumed was supposed to be Nikki talking. "Steve was really good about it. He wasn't afraid to wear girl's knickers like you are."

My mouth fell open in surprise; had Nikki really said that about me? He went on with his impersonation. "He even insisted on choosing his own; we had to sort him out with six pairs to pick from."

I shut my mouth again with indignation. "It wasn't quite like that," I said.

He looked at me disbelievingly, and after a pause continued. "Then there was all this about needing to practice. Because of you, I've got to go to the theatre with those lot on Tuesday dressed like this! So I can practice walking in a bloody dress!"

I didn't know what to say. I could remember my own outrage at the suggestion that I should practice wearing skirts and things. I tried to remember how I had allowed myself to get talked into actually doing it. I had just slipped into the idea, buoyed perhaps by the thought that it meant I got to spend some time with Anita.

"Well it's not quite so bad once you get used to it," I mumbled ineffectually.

"Well I don't want to get used to it!" he exclaimed loudly, his eyes sparkling with fury. "And if you hadn't agreed so willingly to be a girl all this weekend, it would never have happened to me!"

He turned to stare out of the window again. I was shaken by the portion of blame he was throwing at me. I had never met him before, and somehow even though I had nothing to do with it, he had decided it was my fault Tania had elected to enter him in the contest, and that his mother had thought it was such a wonderful idea. I should have been angry with him, but two things held me back. Firstly, an empathy with his situation; I, too, was dressed as a girl more or less against my will; not admittedly as femininely as him just at that moment in time, but still very much as a girl. Secondly, and more worryingly, there was a nagging feeling in me that he might just be right. There seemed little doubt that Tania's sudden desire to enter him in the contest would have been fired up by seeing me the previous day. She had sat and watched as Nikki, her sister, dressed me up in stockings and suspenders, and then put the dress on me. Her mind must have immediately turned to whom she might get to do the same to. And then there were the specifics of his accusations. I had agreed to wear girl's knickers. I remembered my misgivings, and the long discussions that had followed, but in the end I had agreed. Nikki had altered the nuances to suggest that it had been my idea; that I had demanded a choice of knickers to wear, but the basic facts were true. I shuddered at how it must appear to Laurence in his current misery.

And practicing too; I had now been dressed as a girl for over twenty-four hours, and would continue that way for at least another six. It must seem crazy that a boy would agree to do that, unless he really enjoyed the concept. What had I been thinking of? I glared up the room at Nikki and Anita, but they were still locked in their conversation.

Laurence speaking again pulled me out of this. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't mean to have a go at you, I'm just a bit upset."

He had turned his head to look at the floor, with his blonde hair hanging loose on either side of his head. I couldn't see his face, and was struck by how much like a girl he looked.

"It's all right," I replied. "I've been through it too you know. I don't enjoy this; really. I'm just doing this to please someone." I looked back up the table wistfully at Anita.

"That girl you came in with?" Laurence asked me quietly. I nodded. "You fancy her?" I nodded again. It was pointless denying it. "And is she pleased about it?" he asked, after a pause.

I thought about this question. "I'm not sure," I said, still looking at the object of my desire. "She's been really friendly, but, I don't know, I've been getting mixed messages I suppose."

He looked around me to the dinning table. "She's nice," he said eventually.

I turned to face him and smiled in thanks. "Look," I said. "I'm sorry if I got you into this. I got myself into it as well, but I wouldn't wish it on anyone else. It's my own stupid fault for fancying someone too much."

He turned his face away. "It's all right," he said eventually. "It's not really your fault. It's my Mum's. Anyway, at least neither of us is in it alone now are we?"

"No," I responded, smiling at his worried looking face. "We can face it together."

Nikki's Mum had stood up, and was coming towards us. The others around the table had stopped talking, and were looking down the room at us.

"Right," she said, "we've decided what to do."

Laurence and I looked expectantly at her.

"We've got two lovely young ladies," she began, smiling, and looking from one of us to the other, "and two lovely dresses." She paused here, as if this revelation made the situation right of its own existence. "So what we'll do is get you both to try them both on, and see which suits who the best!" She beamed at the two of us, and the others gathered around.

I turned and threw Laurence a quizzical look. He shrugged, looking to me for a lead. "Well okay," I responded for both of us. It was strange, but there seemed to be a new power in numbers. "But Laurence and me get some say in it as well, all right?"

"Of course," Nikki's Mum said reassuringly. "Excellent. Well you go and get the other dress then Tania, and we'll see what they look like."

Tania rushed out into the hallway and up the stairs.

"Shall we get Steve to put it on first, to save messing about with Laurence?" Nikki suggested.

"Yes," Anita replied enthusiastically.

"Yes," agreed Maxine. "Laurence looks lovely as he is."

"Oh I forgot to say," Nikki said to Anita. "We've lost out on the matching underwear set. Maxine had kept them, but she's given them to Tania for Lucy here."

I glanced at Laurence. It hadn't occurred to me to think what sort of underwear they had made him put on. I winced in sympathy, and then had a sudden panic that soon I'd be put back into something fairly similar.

"I said it was only fair that if Lucy had the underwear, then Sarah should have the dress," Nikki went on.

"Don't start that again," said Maxine. "We've agreed to this to sort it out."

"Come on Jane," Nikki's Mum said brightly. "Shall we let them get on with it, and make ourselves a nice cup of tea?"

"Good idea," the other woman responded. "And no messing about Laurence!" she said sternly to her son. "You put on what they tell you to, otherwise I'll get to hear about it."

Laurence rolled his eyes skywards, but made no reply.

"You'd best take some stuff off to get ready," Anita suggested to me. I hesitated a bit, more out of habit than anything else. Everyone there except Laurence had seen me in my underwear before, so I reasoned there was nothing to loose.

I leant down and undid the zips on my boots, and slipped them off. Tania came back into the room carrying the huge grey plastic bag from the day before, and began to undo it, to release the monstrosity within.

I unbuttoned my skirt, and began to remove the pink sweater as well.

"Oh," said Nikki as I did so. "He's got a different slip on."

"Yes," said Anita. "The other one went into the wash."

"I preferred the other one," Nikki observed casually. "It was a bit more feminine."

I managed to get the tight sweater over my head without disturbing my boobs or wig too much.

"Well we can save that for the contest itself." Anita said in response to Nikki.

"Oh I nearly forgot!" Nikki suddenly declared. "He'll have to have the stockings and suspenders as well won't he? Otherwise it won't be fair."

She went out the door, and up the stairs. I silently cursed. I had rather hoped they might forget the apparent necessity for stockings to accompany the dress.

"You'd best take your tights off then," Anita observed for me, smiling. I felt uncomfortable with the way the other three just stood there, watching me undress. It was almost worse than the giggling hysteria that had accompanied all my efforts the day before.

"It's rude to stare!" I announced, and they shuffled uneasily. Maxine walked back into the dinning area and sat down. Tania glared at me for a while, and then joined her. Anita grinned at me in approval, although I didn't know why for a moment.

"Spoken like a true girl!" she declared, smiling at me. "You're really getting into this now, it's good."

Feeling decidedly less assertive after this comment, I carefully removed my tights and top pair of knickers, ensuring that they didn't disturb the pink pair I had on underneath. I had nearly finished when Nikki came back in, clutching the sheer stockings and pink suspender belt from the day before.

"Oh pink knickers today!" she declared, looking at my nearly naked form. "That's good; it won't quite be a match for the suspender belt, but it's near enough."

She handed me the items, and I reluctantly took them off her.

"Sarah's a bit shy with us all gawping at her," Anita announced gleefully, "you'd best go up the other end and wait."

Nikki looked at her a little confused, and then saw Tania and Maxine sitting quietly at the dinning table. She shrugged, and then went to join them.

I stepped into the suspender belt, and pulled it up to my waist, making sure that the suspenders themselves were more or less in the right place.

"You're really good at this," Laurence observed in some wonder. "I didn't have a clue how a suspender belt went on."

"Neither did I until yesterday," I said. I slipped the suspenders through my knickers, and sat down next to Laurence on the sofa to put the stockings on. Remembering the constant nagging about potential laddering, I carefully rolled them down to the feet, and then slipped my own feet into them, pulling them up to my knees.

"Look and learn Lucy!" Anita said at this point. "Sarah's only done this once before, and now she's more or less an expert!"

I threw her a withering look, and stood to pull the stockings further up and fasten them. It took a little longer than I anticipated, but I managed to fix all four after a fashion.

"Very good," Anita observed. She turned to the other end of the room. "He's ready for the dress now!" she shouted. "Come on whoever's putting it on for him."

Tania, who was still holding the carrying bag, stood and walked over to me. She undid the zipper on the huge bag, and pulled the dress out. I looked at it, and felt a shudder run through me at the prospect of having to put it on again. Still, it was either that or pink thing poor Laurence was wearing, or even worse, a trip back to Sylvia's boutique and her bizarre behaviour.

Tania got it ready for me to step into by loosening the tail thing, and undoing the zip. "Come on then," she said, almost daring me, as she held the dress open for me. I stepped forward, and after a moment's hesitation, plunged my leg into the rustling peach satin jaw. Even through the stockings I could feel the cold of the fabric against my leg. My foot eventually hit the floor, and after a brief hesitation to balance myself, I brought my other leg upwards to follow it. That too plunged into the depths of the dress, and eventually found the floor.

Tania immediately pulled the top of the dress up, and slipped it over my arms. She pulled it over my bra, and adjusted the shoulders before going around to my back to fasten the tail thing, and do up the zip.

As she did this, my eyes caught Laurence's, who was viewing this process with some interest. He must have had to go through a similar ritual to get into the dress he was wearing. "Very nice," he said, as I pulled my wig out from under the dress. I poked my tongue out at him for that, and for the first time I saw him smile.

"That should do," Tania said at length, having pulled away at the skirt of the dress for what seemed an age. "Right, let's call everyone in to have a look. Come on you two," she shouted to her sisters still sitting at the dining table. "We're supposed to be comparing; I'll go and get Mum and Jane."

Nikki and Maxine both rose, and walked into the lounge area. "You'd best stand up Laurence," Maxine told him, and he rose from the sofa to stand next to me. He was an inch or two shorter than I was, and as I looked down, I saw that the hems on our dresses were overlapping. I stepped a little away from him.

"I've not seen Steve in that before," Maxine commented. "He looks good."

"Yes," agreed Anita. "It quite suits him doesn't it? But there was this fantastic pink number down at the shop; he looked absolutely divine in that."

"We agreed he was better off in this one yesterday," Nikki reminded her.

There was some chattering in the hallway, and Mrs. Simmons and Jane Luce came back in, led by Tania. "Here we are then!" she announced triumphantly. The two women looked at us.

"Well you both look lovely," Nikki's Mum commented. "Don't you think so Jane?"

"Yes," she replied, walking further into the room to get a better look at us. "Stand up a bit straighter Laurence," she scolded. "You're slouching."

"No I'm not!" he responded.

"Well I think perhaps they ought to parade a bit for us, so we can really see what they look like," Mrs. Simmons suggested.

"Good idea!" Anita exclaimed. "Come on, we can all sit down while they walk around a bit for us."

I pulled a face. This seemed an unnecessary complication. Surely they could see what we looked like anyway. I looked over to Laurence, who raised his eyebrows in despair.

Anita, and the two older women sat themselves on the sofa, and Maxine perched back on the arm. Nikki sat in one of the armchairs, and after pausing to fuss with Laurence's dress, Tania took up a position in the other.

"Come on then," urged Anita. "Let's have the parade."

I looked at Laurence again. He shrugged his shoulders in resignation, and we both began to walk up and down across the room more or less at random.

"Oh don't they look gorgeous!" exclaimed Mrs. Simmons, clapping her hands together. "And so much more at home than you three did when you had to wear them."

"Where did Laurence's dress come from then?" Anita asked.

"I had it for a posh party last year," Tania answered, although the question had been pointed at Nikki's Mum. "It was a bit tight if I remember."

"It'd be even tighter now; you've put on weight." Nikki commented a little unkindly. Tania glared at her.

Laurence and I continued our desultory parade, with our audience observing us as we did so. The swish of the dress against me was an unusual feeling, and as I moved my legs, I was acutely aware of the stockings and suspenders I was wearing.

"This is all very well," Nikki said after some time. "We can see they both look good; but it doesn't get us much nearer deciding who should wear which does it?"

"No," Anita responded thoughtfully. "Well perhaps it's time they swapped then. Once we've seen them in each other's dress, we can make a decision."

"Yes good idea. I can't wait to see Lucy in the bridesmaid's dress!" Tania butted in, standing up to move across to us.

"We can probably manage ourselves," I suddenly heard myself say. I was getting a bit tired of the girls constantly stripping me off and seeing me in next to nothing. I had some sort of thought in my head that Laurence and I would be able to help each other out of and into the two dresses without unnecessary interference from anyone else.

"You'll probably need some help though," Maxine observed. I tell you what, come up to my bedroom, and I'll wait outside in case you do."

To my surprise, no one raised any objections, so Laurence and I followed Maxine out of the room, and up the stairs. Maxine was half way up when I stopped at the bottom with Laurence behind me. I lifted one foot, and realised that climbing stairs in a long dress was going to be a lot more difficult than I imagined.

Maxine turned around and smiled. "You have to gather it up at the front, and hold it away from your feet," she explained, seeing my predicament.

I grabbed a handful of the copious material around my knees and lifted it gingerly.

"That's the idea," Maxine said encouragingly. "Now you should be able to manage."

She was right. Once I had freed my feet, walking up the stairs was relatively straightforward. I concentrated on not tripping myself up, but assumed that Laurence had managed as well. We reached the landing at the top of the stairs, and turning to one of the rooms, Maxine opened the door and switched on the light.

"Here, this is my room," she said. "You can change in there. I'll wait out here for you. Don't worry about calling me in if you need a hand, there's no need to be heroes about it," she paused for a moment. "Or heroines," she added, smiling wryly at us. As I led the way into the room, Laurence pulled a face at her.

We entered, and I shut the door behind us.

"What was the idea of saying we could do this by ourselves?" Laurence demanded. "It's all very well for you, but I've never had to wear a dress before today!"

"Me neither," I replied. "Well not until yesterday anyway. But I needed a rest from all their fussing about."

"I know what you mean," he replied.

I looked around the room. It was a lot larger than I had imagined, with fitted black wardrobes all along one wall. Instead of the usual pop star posters, there were quite tasteful paintings of animals in frames hanging here and there. Laurence went over to look at them. "I didn't know Maxine painted," he said. "She's quite good."

"Yes," I agreed, looking at the paintings without much enthusiasm.

"I love to paint as well," Laurence confessed. "I'm not so good as her, but I like it." He moved from one picture to the next, looking carefully at how it had been done.

"Well I suppose we'd better get on with it," I suggested, beginning to get a little bored.

"In a second. Look at this! The way she's put the sky together is fantastic. I'll have to ask her for a few tips."

He continued looking at the paintings while I stood there waiting. "Come on Laurence," I urged, "we might as well get this over with."

"Yes of course," he replied, reluctantly tearing himself away from one of the paintings. He came and stood next to me in the middle of the room. "Okay, what do we do?" he asked.

It was not an unreasonable question, but I didn't have the remotest idea. I tried thinking it through. What was probably needed was to undo the zips, and sort of reverse the process Tania had used to get me in.

"Shall we ask Maxine to come in?" Laurence asked, seeing me dithering.

"No," I replied sharply, "I'm sure we can manage. Turn your back to me a minute, let's see what I can do."

Laurence turned around, and I looked at the lacy pink froth across his shoulders for inspiration. I pushed the long blonde hair from the wig to one side, and put it over the front. There wasn't an obvious button or anything at the top, it just seemed to hang on his shoulders.

"Do you remember if there was a zip on this thing or anything?" I asked him.

"No," he replied after some thought. It's got elastic in it, I think that's what holds it up."

"So do we just pull it down to get it off then?"

"I don't know. Perhaps we ought to ask Maxine."

I bit my lip. "No, let's give it a go."

I tugged gently at the frothy stuff, and pulled it further down his arms. As it parted, it revealed a small button at the top, with a pink zip coming down to his waist.

"It has got a zip you doughnut!"

"Oh, I didn't remember that," he said. "Sorry, I was in a bit of a state when Tania put it on me."

I undid the button, and pulled down the zip. "That should do the trick, see if you can get out of it now."

Laurence shuffled the lace down his arms, revealing his bra. I had forgotten about the matching set Maxine had sorted out for him. "God, I'm glad Anita didn't get me to wear a bra like that." I announced.

"Well thanks very much!" he responded. "It's not my fault."

"No, I'm sorry. It's just a bit, well, pink and frilly isn't it?"

He pulled the dress down to his waist, and turned to face me. I recoiled in shock seeing him from the front. The bra had full cups, which somehow Tania had padded so well as to make them look entirely real. My mouth fell open. Had I been tricked again; was Lucy a real girl? Then the presence of his mother occurred to me. This was no trick; Laurence really did look that good.

"Are you all right?" he asked me.

"Yes," I replied. "Sorry, I was just looking at your boobs."

He glanced down at them and shrugged. "Well shall I do you now?"

I agreed, and turned my back to him. "You have to undo the tail thing and then undo the zip."

"Tail thing?" he asked. "Oh you mean this; I think it's called a tie-back." He started fiddling with it, and eventually it came undone. He then laughed.

"What's the matter?" I asked, not turning around because I knew the zip was still undone.

"Nothing, I was just thinking how ridiculous this is."

"Ridiculous?"

"Yes, you know, two boys like us standing here helping each other in and out of bloody dresses!"

I thought about it and smiled. "Yes, it is a bit strange isn't it? God, what would our friends say if they could see us now?"

"I dread to think. Not that I've got any friends here yet."

"Not even at school?"

"Not really."

He managed to get the zip down, and I pulled the crossed over shoulder bits at the front down, and then stepped out of the dress. I stood and watched it sort of collapse in front of me, and turned around. Laurence was slipping his dress off as well.

"What's all that giggling? Are you all right in there?" came Maxine's voice from the hallway.

"Yes we're fine thanks," Laurence replied, smiling at me. "Come on then, let's swap. Shall I do you first?"

"Okay," I replied.

"I think if you just step into the bottom half it'll be easiest," he suggested, holding it open for me. I put my foot in, and shuffled it around until it reached the floor; then, putting my hand on his shoulder to steady myself, I stepped right in.

"That seems to be it," he observed. "I'll just pull it up to your waist, and we'll see what we can do with the chest bit."

We got the dress up to my waist, and I looked down at the pale pink tube that now engulfed me. "Yuck!" I said.

"It is a bit much," he agreed.

"I think I have to get my arms in next. Then you have to get the shoulders right, before you do the back up."

I managed to find the armholes amidst the mass of frothy pink, and slipped my arms through. I pulled the front up so my bra was covered, and then struggled to get hold of the back.

"I'll see if I can do it," Laurence offered. He pulled the top a little higher, and after some considerable fumbling managed to get the little button on the back fastened.

"It's a bit tight," I observed.

"Well you've got bigger boobs than me," he said, laughing a little.

"I suppose I probably have," I agreed, and wondered why Anita had made mine large.

"Well hold tight then, and I'll try and get the zip up."

I tried to relax as Laurence got hold of the zip, and tried to get it to rise up. It got as far as just below my shoulder blades and then seemed to stick.

"Maybe we should let your boobs down a little," he suggested.

"They're not balloons, they're socks!" I explained.

He tried again, without any success. "Perhaps we ought to ask Maxine to help," he suggested.

"Maybe," I agreed. "But let's try you out first."

I walked over to where my peach dress had collapsed, and picked it up again, pulling the shoulder and chest bits to one side. "Come on, step into it then," I urged him.

Laurence came across to me, and delicately put his leg in, before sort of hurdling the edge of the dress to get fully into the dress. He bent down, and pulled the shoulders up, while I helped the skirt bit up his legs.

"It's not so tight as that one is it?" he observed.

"No," I agreed. "And not so pink!"

We managed to get it more or less in the right place, and then started on the cross over bits, pulling these over his bra and onto his shoulders. It didn't look quite right to me, but I couldn't see why. Maybe it would look better when I'd sorted it out at the back.

"Turn around," I told him, and he did so, his long blonde hair whipping around and hitting me in the face.

I looked at the tie back thing, and decided it might be better to do the zip first. It went up quite easily

"Oh this is much more comfortable," he declared. "I can breathe in this."

"I found it hard enough to breathe in a bra." I confided.

"I know what you mean! It sort of grabs your ribs doesn't it?"

I held the two ends of the tie back in my hand, wondering what to do. "Do you remember how this bit went?"

"Not really, it was just a sort of knot I think."

I tried tying the two bits together, but the material was so slippy that it kept coming apart as soon as I let go.

"I think you're right," I conceded eventually. "We need Maxine's help now. Shall I call her in?"

"If you want."

I went over to the door, and found myself surprised by the way this new dress moved against me. It was basically a layer of pale pink net hanging over the top of a similarly coloured sheath, with the frothy top bit holding it all together.

I opened the door, and true to her word Maxine was standing in the hallway. "Oh my, you look nice," she declared as she saw me. "Do you need some help?"

"Yes," I said. "We can't get my zip done up, and Laurence's dress looks a bit funny, I'm not sure why."

She smiled knowingly at me. "Well let's see what I can do."

She came in, and looked at Laurence. "Well, let's get the tie back done up first," she said. Laurence obediently turned around at her approach, and she did it up in seconds, even putting the rose in place. "Turn around then," she commanded. Laurence did so, and she looked at him critically. "It's a bit big for you I think," she concluded eventually. "Not a lot, but it doesn't hug you quite right."

Laurence looked at her pleadingly. "But I like it more than the other one. It feels more comfortable."

"That's because it's baggy." Maxine declared. "Maybe if we padded your boobs out a bit more," she said to herself, wandering over to one of her drawers. She found a couple of pairs of plain cotton knickers, and going back to Laurence, thrust one in each of his bra cups. She stood back to view the effect.

"Well it's better," she decided eventually, "not perfect, but better. You must just be a bit more slender than Sarah here. Speaking of which, what do we need to do for you?"

"My zips stuck," I explained.

"Let me see." I turned my back to her, and, lifting the hair dropping down from my wig, she examined the problem. "You've managed to catch some of the material in it. Let's see if we can free it up. I'll have to be careful though, this stuff tears really easily."

With firm but controlled movements, Maxine tugged at the dress and the zip for several moments. At last she managed to do what she needed, and to my surprise pulled the zip down rather than up.

"Right, no let's do it properly," she declared, and in a smooth single movement, holding the material together across my shoulder blades, she got the zip up. "There!" she declared in triumph. "That should do. Shall we go downstairs then, and show you both off?"

We got to the top of the stairs, and Maxine stood aside for Laurence to go first. "Remember to hold your dress up, otherwise you'll trip over," she warned. Laurence grabbed hold of some of the peach satin, and I prepared to do the same with my pink dress. It was a lot harder, because the dress was that much tighter. In the end I simply pulled the whole thing up four or five inches, and hoped that would do.

As we walked down stairs, I found myself advancing only one step at a time. The dress was really unforgiving of rapid or exaggerated movement. Laurence and Maxine waited patiently at the bottom of the stairs for me. "Very ladylike!" Maxine observed, smiling at me. I stuck my tongue out at her as I reached the last stair.

"All right?" she asked. "Shall we go in?"

Laurence and I nodded, and Maxine led us back into the lounge. Mrs. Simmons and Mrs. Luce were still on the sofa chatting. From the doorway I couldn't see any of the others. They looked up as we came in.

"Oh that's very nice too!" enthused Nikki's Mum. Laurence's Mum looked at him critically. "That's a bit too big for you, you'd best have the other one."

"But Mum, this one's much more comfortable!" he protested.

Anita, Nikki and Tania came into view from the dinning end of the room, and looked us both over.

"You look good in pink," Anita told me.

"Yes, but it looked better on Laurence with his blonde hair." Nikki suggested.

"I know what you mean. Baby pink goes with blonde hair a bit better," Anita agreed.

"Why isn't it fitting him properly?" Tania asked, walking around Laurence, and noticing, as we all had, that the dress was actually a bit big for him.

"He's a bit more delicately built than Steve," Maxine explained. "I've given him bigger boobs, but it's still too big."

"I can't believe it!" said Tania. "It's bad enough that Steve is thinner than me, now Laurence is as well."

There was silence for a while; Tania's weight was obviously both a recurring and sensitive issue in this house.

"Well as far as I can see we'd be better of with Laurence in the pink dress and Sarah in the peach." Mrs. Simmons suggested. I wondered why she had called Laurence by his real name, and me by the one Anita had given me. Then I remembered that nobody had ever told her my boy name as far as I knew.

"I agree," put in Nikki. "I sorted that dress out for him first off, and I knew it would suit him."

The rest were silent for a while. Eventually Mrs. Luce gave her opinion. "Well I think you'll have to have the pink one Laurence. That one's too big for you."

Laurence scowled at her.

"Well I think you look better in the pink one anyway," Maxine said to my fellow sufferer. "It's a better fit, but the colour looks better on you as well."

"Well I want him to have the bridesmaid's dress," Tania said bitterly. "It's a bit more elegant."

"Yes dear, but it doesn't fit him," her mother pointed out.

"She was always the same with our Barbie dolls," Nikki said. "Hers always had to have the costumes that I'd sorted out for mine."

Tania stared at Nikki with daggers in her eyes.

"Well I still think Sarah looked best in the one in the shop," Anita said, considering the point. "But if it's just a choice between these two, I prefer him in the peach one. I mean, this pink one's adorable, but somehow he doesn't carry it off as well as Laurence."

There was silence for a while. "Well that's five votes to one!" Nikki announced, looking at Tania. "Looks like they swap back."

"You haven't asked us yet," I protested. They all looked at me in varying degrees of shock.

"No, we haven't," Maxine agreed. "What do you think then?"

I was stuck for anything to say, but Laurence was less reticent.

"I prefer this one," he said firmly. "It's more comfortable, and it's not pink!"

"Well they're silly reasons to like it!" his mother muttered.

"What about you Steve?" Maxine asked me.

I was still silent for a moment. "Well I don't really mind," I said eventually. "I'll have this one if Laurence really doesn't want to wear it."

"That's still five votes to three!" Nikki declared. "So they swap back!"

Laurence's bottom lip started protruding, as indeed did Tania's.

"I think that's for the best," Mrs. Simmons said, in a conciliatory manner. "I'm sorry Tania, but that dress really doesn't fit."

"All right you've made your point," she replied. "So we'll have Lucy in pink, and Sarah in peach. That'll do I suppose."

"Shall we get them to swap back then?" asked Maxine.

"No," replied Tania quickly. "We've got to sort out Lucy's school uniform next."

"But they need some practice in them," Anita pointed out. "Maybe you should put the peach one back on for a while," she said to me.

"Oh that's all right," Jane Luce said brightly. "We've arranged for a practice session on Tuesday; we're going to the theatre, and you and Sarah must come along as well."

Laurence had mentioned the theatre trip, but I hadn't realised that I was supposed to go as well.

"I won't be able to come," Anita said to my surprise. "I've already agreed to go out with John that night." I stared at her in disbelief and dismay. "But you'll go, won't you?" she said eagerly to me. "You wanted to spend as much time in a skirt or dress as you could. This is a perfect way to do that Tuesday night."

"Of course he'll come," Nikki answered for me. "You can come home from school with me and get changed here."

"Good idea!" exclaimed Anita, before I could get a word in.

"Then it's all settled," beamed Mrs. Luce. "It'll be a nice night out as well as good practice for the new girls!"

I was mortified. Not only was I now lined up for another evening dressed as a girl, but also I'd be doing it while Anita canoodled away with the Neanderthal John.

"Well I might as well get changed back into my other stuff," I said petulantly, forgetting for a moment that that was a mini skirt and fluffy sweater.

"I'll give you a hand," Anita said, blind to my anger.

"I don't need one," I responded curtly.

"I think you will, to get that dress off. Come on, can we use your room again Maxine?"

Maxine agreed, and I stomped off up the stairs, pulling the dress up as I did so. I swept into the room, and stood there with my arms folded in front of me, before noticing that Anita had not immediately followed. My anger had subsided a bit when she came upstairs and into the room a few moments later.

"You forgot your stuff!" she announced, casting the clothes I had had on earlier onto Maxine's bed. "Are you all right, you seem a bit upset about something?"

"I'm fine," I replied. "Just get me out of this dress and I'll be fine."

"Not until you tell me what the matter is."

I turned to look at her. "I'm fine," I replied weakly.

"No you're not; and you're not getting out of that dress until you tell me why."

I breathed deeply, and looked away. How could I stand there, in a baby pink frothy dress, and tell her that I really fancied her, and didn't want her to go out with John on Tuesday?

"It's nothing," I mumbled.

"Poor Steve, it's all a bit much for you really isn't it? And we haven't talked about this yet either." She leaned forward, and kissed me fully on the mouth. "We need to do that and soon," she continued. "Come on, let's get your dress off then."

I turned my back to her, and she expertly undid the zip and button, easing the frothy top over my arms, and pulling the dress down for me.

"Thanks," I managed to say.

"No problem."

I undid the suspenders, and let my stockings fall down, taking them off as I stepped out of the belt. Anita stood there in silence watching me. Searching through the pile of clothes I had brought up, I found my tights, and sat down on the bed to put them on.

"Anita," I said, with my heart in my mouth. "All this kissing, do you fancy me then?"

She blushed and looked away. I could have kicked myself for saying that, and forcing the issue. "Yes," she replied eventually, "but it's much more complicated than that. There's John for a start."

"Yes John," I butted in bitterly.

"Yes John," she repeated with a note of admonition. "I'm going out with him you know."

"I know," I agreed flatly.

"And there's all this stuff with the contest as well. Honestly Steve, it's really complicated. We need a bit of space to talk about it. Let's do it when we get back to my place, okay?"

She looked at me pleadingly. I hesitated, then nodded.

"Good. I'm sure we can work something out."

I continued to dress, and only had the skirt and boots to put on when there was a knock on the bedroom door. It was Nikki, she put her head around the door but didn't come in.

"Sorry to butt in," she said. "There's someone at the door for you Anita. It's John."

The alarm must have shown on my face, and both Nikki and Anita looked concerned for him.

"My Mum must have told him I was here," she said. "Blast, I don't really want to see him just now."

"Well I can't just leave him on the doorstep," Nikki responded.

"No, of course not. I'll come down and speak to him. I won't be long Steve."

With that, she was gone. Nikki looked concerned at the door for a few moments, shrugged her shoulders, and then went down again.

Forlornly, I put on the denim mini skirt and boots, and sat down on the bed. There was no way I was going to go downstairs then, and see Anita and the monster John talking to each other in the doorway.

I sat there for what seemed an age. To relieve the boredom, I occasionally swung my legs, and reluctantly admired them. There was something in what Anita and Nikki had said; they did look good. After around five minutes I heard footsteps on the stairs, and framed myself for Anita's return.

It wasn't Anita who came in, however, it was Maxine.

"Hi," she said, coming in, and oblivious to the surprise on my face. "You on your own?"

"Yes," I replied. "Anita's talking to her boyfriend."

"Oh yeah, I saw them at the door," Maxine replied. She sat down on the bed next to me. "They're doing Laurence up in the school uniform downstairs," she went on. "He looks terrific."

I nodded, "But I don't suppose he's enjoying it very much."

"No," she agreed. "He doesn't seem as at ease about it as you."

"Me?" I gasped.

"Yes, you seem to have taken to it like a duck to water. You look as if you've been wearing a skirt all your life."

I was shaken by the comparison. I hardly felt I made a more natural girl than Laurence; perhaps I could turn this around. "Well I haven't. And Laurence looks prettier than me I think."

Maxine grinned. "Well, I don't know about that. You just think that because he's blonde I suppose; blondes have more fun, is that what you mean?"

Maxine herself had brown hair, not a dissimilar shade to mine, or indeed the wig I was wearing.

"Well not exactly," I responded. "But he does look pretty."

"Oh I agree," Maxine replied. "But so do you." I felt myself blushing again, while Maxine continued to smile. "You've got a girl next door sort of appeal; Laurence is more, I don't know, classical I suppose."

I was feeling decidedly uncomfortable with this discussion on the relative beauty of Laurence and myself, but Maxine was oblivious to this.

"All I was trying to say was that you look more comfortable with it, like you don't mind being a girl."

My mind raced for a suitable reply. "Well I've had to practice all weekend. Laurence has only just had to put anything on hasn't he?"

Maxine grinned even wider. "That's right. I'd forgotten that. God, you've been dressed as a girl ever since I saw you on the way to work yesterday haven't you? That's amazing."

I had to turn my head away from her, and looked at the wall. It was true; I had been dressed as a girl for over twenty-four hours now, no wonder I was beginning to look as if I was used to it.

"Do you fancy Anita then?" My mouth opened in renewed shock at this question. I had never confessed my love to anyone.

"She's all right." I whispered in response.

"Only I wondered why you let her get you to practice like this. Most boys don't like dressing as girls really."

My only reply was an embarrassed silence. I put my hands under my thighs so they wouldn't give me away by shaking, and stared at my tight clad legs.

"I've made you blush, I'm sorry," Maxine went on, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I didn't mean to pry."

I smiled as much as I could in reply, but felt myself shaking. Maxine kept her hand on my shoulder for a moment, and then noted. "It must be hard sitting up here with her talking to John downstairs when you like her so much."

This tenderness in my moment of angst was too much, and although I screwed up my eyes to stop them, a couple of tears welled out.

"Oh poor Steve!" Maxine said, pulling my head onto her shoulder. "I've upset you haven't I? I'm so sorry."

I allowed my head to bury itself on her shoulder, and let the sobs run through me. I could smell her perfume, and feel her under her jumper. We were like this when Anita burst back through the door.

"Steve," she began, and then saw us. I pulled my head up fast, and Maxine took her arms away. "Honestly," she continued, her face brightening. "I can't leave you alone for a minute can I?"

I was heartbroken as well as embarrassed. I had expected at very least some show of jealousy on her part, but there was none. She continued. "Listen, John wants me to go for a quick ride in his car. I won't be long, only about half an hour or so. Is that okay?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out for a moment.

"I'm sure Maxine will look after you, won't you Max?"

"Yes, sure," Maxine agreed.

Anita continued to look at me for confirmation. "Are you coming back here?" I managed to say at last.

"Yes, I'll come and pick you up when we've finished. See you later." With that she left, and I felt even more forlorn than before.

"I'm so sorry Steve," Maxine said, once Anita was out of earshot. "That's not very nice is it, leaving you all alone to go off and play with her boyfriend."

I shook my head, but was determined not to cry again.

"I tell you what, it's my turn to cook the dinner. Why don't you come down and help me peel the vegetables?" she suggested.

I thought about this for a while. It was either that, or sit alone in her room for the next half hour, so, managing to smile, I replied. "Yes, okay."

We went back downstairs, and Maxine popped her head around the door to the living room.

"I'm just going to start on dinner," she said, while I waited in the hall. "Oh my!" she exclaimed. "You do look nice, come and see Steve!"

I was reluctant to be a further witness to Laurence's humiliation, but Maxine's urgent beckoning forced me to look around the door. There, standing in the middle of the lounge was Laurence with his hair now done up in two long plaits, and wearing a girl's school uniform. Nikki and Tania were standing beside him looking extremely pleased with themselves, while their mother sat on the sofa reading a newspaper.

Laurence's eyes met mine in a look of resignation.

"Doesn't he look lovely?" Tania demanded.

I had to admit that he looked fairly stunning as a girl, with his long blonde hair, thin frame, and short black skirt, but I did not want to add to his misery. "He looks okay," I said.

"You're just jealous because he makes a better girl than you!" Tania said accusingly. "He's going to win the contest and you're not!"

"I don't know about that," Nikki put in. "Steve's pretty hot as a girl too."

"What do you think Maxine?" Tania demanded.

"I think they both look lovely," she said. "And we'll only find out which one's prettier at the contest next Thursday. Steve's going to help me with dinner until Anita gets back," she informed them, changing the subject. "Are you staying for dinner Laurence?"

"No," he replied quietly. "My Mum's gone back to cook ours; she's picking me up in an hour or so."

"Oh right,"

"And his Mum says he can wear the uniform every evening till the contest. Isn't that good!" added Tania.

I noticed Laurence grimace at the thought.

"Come on Steve, let's get dinner on," Maxine said to me, and we went out into the kitchen.

I looked at the clock as we entered; it said half two. I figured Anita should be back by three, which would give us ample time to have the 'discussion' she wanted about our kissing. Maxine got me to peel the potatoes, which I managed without difficulty. We talked about school. Maxine had left the year before to work in an office. She asked me about some of her old mates, who were now in the sixth form. I didn't really know many of them, but answered her questions as best I could. She told me she had had a crush on Mr. Peters, the Geography teacher, which surprised me, and that he was actually going out with Miss Williams from the Maths department, which surprised me even more.

It was odd in a way, the two of us working away in the kitchen, her in a tatty pair of jeans and T-shirt, and me in my denim mini skirt and pink jumper, talking as if there was nothing amiss. We didn't mention the contest, or me looking like a girl once, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for me to be helping with the dinner dressed as I was.

Three o'clock came with no sign of Anita. We peeled some carrots, and prepared some cauliflower. Maxine asked me what I was aiming to do when I left school. I hadn't really got a clue at that stage in my life, and told her so. She told me about this bloke in her office whom she liked called George. Apparently he was twenty-two and in her words drop dead gorgeous.

Half three came. Maxine put the meat into the oven, and we decided to make some coffee. She went off to the lounge to take orders from the others while I filled the kettle. Once it had boiled she took the cups through, while we had ours in the kitchen. I asked her where her father was. I had been half expecting his return at any time during the day, and was wary about what he might think of having two boys dressed in skirts in his house. Apparently he was a golf fanatic, and was out all day playing with some friends of his. He wasn't expected back until six or so for the meal itself.

Four o'clock came, and with it the return of Jane Luce. Maxine let her in, and she went through to the lounge. I heard her apologies for being late picking Laurence up. She was offered, and decided to have, a coffee, which Maxine made for her.

Maxine rejoined me in the kitchen, and got out a clothing catalogue to browse through. She asked me opinion on a couple of the outfits; one a white mini dress, and the other a black dress with a gold belt. I told her I thought the white dress was nicer, but she preferred the black one, saying she was too fat for the white one. She told me, much to my embarrassment, that the white one would look good on me.

Half four came, and Laurence and Mrs. Luce left. He looked really sorry for himself as he came in to say goodbye wearing his girl's school uniform. We looked at each other in mutual pity for our current predicaments, and he was whisked away to go home.

Maxine and I continued to browse the catalogue. Nikki came through for a moment to see what we were doing, but didn't stay long. We came to the lingerie section, and in spite of my embarrassment, we stayed there for some time.

Five o'clock came, and I began to get worried. I knew that Anita's estimate of half an hour with the horrible John was probably a bit optimistic, but it had now stretched to two and a half hours. What if she had forgotten about me? What would I do? I could hardly go home dressed as I was; my Mum and Dad would have gone ballistic. I could go back to Anita's house, but her Mum and Dad would think it a bit bizarre that I had suddenly turned up without Anita. Staying at the Simmons house, especially with the imminent arrival of the father, did not seem a good long-term option either.

Maxine tried to interest me in a five-page selection of bras. She asked me which one I liked best, but I refused to offer an opinion, in spite of her pressing.

Half five came, and we put the vegetables on to cook. Maxine harried Nikki and Tania to lay the table, and started to prepare some gravy. Everything was on target for the dinner to be ready for Mr. Simmons's arrival at six o'clock, and I was no nearer resolving my particular dilemma. Mrs. Simmons asked if I wanted to stay for dinner, but I refused, saying that I was eating with Anita, which I hoped was still true.

The kitchen was turning into a frantic cauldron of activity, and Maxine's Mum came through to help. I retired to the lounge, and sat down carefully on the sofa. Nikki and Tania were both reading, one a magazine, and the other a schoolbook. They paid no attention to me, which was something of a relief.

It was ten to six when the phone rang. Nikki's Mum shouted from the kitchen for someone to answer it, and Nikki grudgingly got up to do so. I only heard one side of the conversation, which was limited to 'Oh,", "Yes," "I see," and "Bye!" and then she put the receiver down.

"That was Anita," she said to me. "She's got home now. Can you go and

meet her there? Apparently your dinner's nearly ready, and she can't be bothered to come around her to collect you."

I felt a stab of fear. I had never been out alone dressed as a girl, and didn't like the prospect at all. I sat frozen on the sofa, while Nikki looked at me, waiting for me to react.

"You've got to go to her house," she repeated, assuming that I had misunderstood. "For your dinner."

I was trapped. I couldn't stay there, unless I wanted to meet their father and be introduced as the boy who'd dressed as a girl all weekend. I had no hope that Tania in particular would want to keep that a secret from him. Yet the alternative was now to walk through the streets in a mini skirt, subject to strange looks from everyone I met. It occurred to me suddenly to add to my horror that I wasn't entirely sure of the way. I considered asking Nikki if she'd come with me, but that seemed entirely too wimpish.

Eventually I stood. "Okay," I managed to say. "I'd best say goodbye to your Mum and Maxine."

I went out into the hall to collect my bag, and said my goodbyes. Nikki opened the door for me. "See you on the train tomorrow," she said, "although I suppose you won't be dressed as nicely."

"No," I agreed, looking forward to the moment when I would be able to dress as a boy again.

Then the door was shut, and I was on my own. The path to the gate seemed interminably long, so much longer than it had when Anita had been with me the day before. I eventually reached the gate, and turned in the direction I knew we had arrived from.

Bracing myself, I tried to look as inconspicuous, and indeed feminine, as I could manage. The deliberation I put into this actually made it more difficult rather than easier to walk in my skirt and heels. I stumbled, and cursed under my breath. To make matters worse, it seemed to me that the entire population of the town had chosen that moment to take a walk. Three people with dogs walked passed me in the space of a couple of minutes, and stared at me in what to me appeared a hostile manner. I tried to walk faster, but the skirt and boots conspired against me. My breathing was fast and shallow, and I felt my cheeks glowing with my anxiety.

I came to a junction. Looking both ways, my inclination was to turn left. Down that street however, was a gang of youths on skateboards, shouting and laughing. I didn't want to run that gauntlet. I was convinced they'd see through my disguise, and ridicule me until it hurt. Even if they didn't, I realised, I'd be subject to the humiliation of being chatted up by them. Because of this, I turned right, and became almost immediately lost.

A couple of girls about my age were coming along the street, talking and laughing together. I wondered about asking them for directions, but once they neared me, their conversation stopped, and they starred at me with blank expressions as we approached. I decided against any conversation, assuming they had recognised me as a boy. We walked past each other, and about five yards further on, I heard one say to the other in a loud voice designed for my benefit. "Only a tart wears a skirt that short!"

"Yeah," the other agreed savagely. "Tart!" she shouted in my direction.

I resisted any urge to turn around, and walked on. I was now hopelessly lost, not recognising any of the streets or houses I was passing. If only I could stop to try and get my bearings! I decided that stopping was the worst thing I could possibly do in terms of retaining my anonymity. More people passed me, but I was far too scared to ask for directions.

I wondered whether, at a push, I would be able to find the train station and get home if I couldn't find Anita's house. It would mean returning dressed as a girl, but, I reasoned, I might just be able to sneak upstairs and change before my Mum and Dad realised I was in. I knew it was a long shot, but it was better than walking around the streets all night dressed as I was.

Then I saw it; the street name of Anita's road. Somehow my aimless meandering had brought me in a huge arc to where I was supposed to be. My relief was almost palpable, and I hurried up the street, looking for the street number I needed. I stumbled on my heels more than once, and must have looked a dreadful sight.

I felt almost exalted when I saw Anita's house. My fingers struggled to open the gate, and I realised my hands were shaking. I had just managed, when the door opened, and Anita stood framed in the doorway.

"Sarah," she shouted. "We were so worried. We were about to send out a search party for you."

"Yes," I gasped. "I got a bit lost."

Anita rushed up the path and hugged me. "And I'm sorry about this afternoon," she whispered in my ear. "John was a right pain."

"It's all right," I managed to reply.

"Well dinner's ready," Anita said, letting me go. "We'd best go in and eat it. It's nearly a quarter to seven."

  

  

  

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