Jimmy Meets His Match

by Jennifer

 

Jimmy Chapman was an active 12-year-old tearaway, the despair of his family and relatives. His mischief went far beyond the bounds of ordinary fun, and he was habitually in serious trouble. His sisters and cousins were often his favourite targets as the victims of his cruel jokes, and he took pride in seeing how just far he could go.

 But pride comes before a fall, and by a quirk of fate the tables were turned so that he became the victim, and they the jokers. Revenge is sweet, and when he found himself at the tender mercy of his cousins Susan and Jane, his pride would be ground down into non-existence.

 

1. How it all began

2. Break in at St. Catherine's

3. The Magistrate's Punishment

4. The Arrival

5. Jimmy's New Wardrobe

6. The Baby Shop

7. A Humiliating Walk Home

8. Meeting the Sewells

9. The School Museum Outing

10. With Susan in the Rain

11. Two New Dresses

12. Out in Susan's School Uniform

13. A Picnic in the Rain

14. The Costume Exhibition

15. To the Library as Susan

16. Tea with the Old Ladies

17. Sion Convent Open Day

18. The Police Station and Pollyanna

19. A Day in the Pram

20. Around the Village in the Pram

21. A Visit to Scarborough

22. The Baby in the Garden

23. To Tea at Acklam

24. The Primary School Outing

25. The Police Station and Tea in Town

26. Diana and Tricia arrive

27. Around the Village in the Pushchair

28. To the Fete as Alice in Wonderland

29. Malton Fair in Baby Reins

30. The Baby in the Shop Window

31. Fiona's Blackmail

32. Susan's New School Mackintosh

33. Escape

34. In Court Again

35. My Journey to Lauriston

  

 

 

CHAPTER 1

 

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

 

It's all because they changed the law, because if they hadn't, I wouldn't have had to endure the most excruciating humiliation that you can imagine. The law I'm talking about is the law that now gives magistrates the discretion to punish juvenile offenders with imaginative and creative punishments appropriate to the offence. In other words to 'Let the punishment fit the crime.'

My name is Jimmy Chapman, and I live on the outskirts of Brighton, in Sussex. It all began a few years ago, when I was 12 years old. I was always pretty mischievous, and used to get into all sorts of trouble. I took delight in being a pest to my older brother John, my sisters Diana and Tricia, and I especially loved to unmercifully tease my two cousins Susan and Jane when we used to go away to stay with them during the holidays. They lived with my Aunt Mary in the village of Throsley, a few miles from York. Susan was the youngest, 10 years old, with shoulder length blond hair which she used to wear with an Alice band, or tied back in a ponytail. Jane was a dark haired very grown up 15 year old, and you know how irritating older teen age girls can find their younger male relatives. I must admit that I used to drive her up the wall, and I should have guessed that sooner or later she would get her own back.

With my penchant for mischief, it was only a matter of time before I fell in with some older boys who were into some pretty antisocial behaviour. Outdoing the others in terms of bad deeds was the order of the day, so I suppose that it was inevitable that one day my mischief would finally bring me within the jurisdiction of the law.

One of the chief targets of our misbehaviour were the girls who used to attend St. Catherine's, the local convent school; and not just around town, either. Our activities sometimes extended to entering the school premises and not only insulting the girls with some pretty shameful behaviour, but more serious offences such as running along the school corridors throwing the girl's coats onto the ground, or going through their sports pavilion and playing with the equipment, which frequently involved breakages. We had been caught several times, usually with the result that the school would inform my parents, they would pay for any breakages, and then they would deal with me to the satisfaction of the school. Because of my young age, the school preferred not to involve the law. That is, until that memorable day when I went too far.

My mates and I had hit on a plan to get our own back on the school. We decided that one of us would go on a local spree, causing as much trouble as possible, but disguised as one of the girls from St. Catherine's. This would mean that the victims would complain to the school saying that it was one of their girls, which meant that they would be running around looking for a perpetrator who didn't exist. Because I was the youngest in the gang, and still had rather girlish features, I was unanimously selected to do the deed. There was only one drawback, of course; I would need a St. Catherine's school uniform. And that would mean risking another visit to the school, finding the clothing store, and stealing the items I needed. Fortunately, I knew the location of the clothing store from previous visits. I just needed to hope that the door wouldn't be locked.

 

 

 

CHAPTER 2

 

BREAK IN AT ST. CATHERINE'S

 

The following Saturday the afternoon was showery, but all the girls attending

St. Catherine's still had to go to the playing fields, so I decided that this would be my best chance of getting in and out of the school without being seen. I walked to the street backing on to the rear of the school's main building, looked both ways, and in a moment had climbed over the low wall. I found myself in some bushes opposite the small side door of a large Victorian red brick building, but I knew my bearings. The clothing store was through that door, up one flight of stairs, and about 15 yards along a corridor. Making sure the coast was clear I dashed across the path, quietly opened the door, and crept inside, closing the door behind me.

Silence. Not a sound of anyone except for the distant sound of shrill cheering coming from the school playing field. I quickly crept up the stairs, along the corridor, and soon found myself outside the storeroom door. This was it. With my heart pounding wildly, I tried the door, and was relieved to find that it wasn't locked. I swiftly opened the door, entered the room, and quietly closed the door behind me.

I looked about me in the dim light, and saw exactly what I was looking for. Racks of blazers, summer dresses, gym tunics, blouses and raincoats. Shelves of socks, knickers, and ties. Rows of shoes were lined up on the floor. This was going to be easy, I thought. I carefully selected the items I needed, and held them up against me to select the right size for a good fit. In a few minutes I had what I wanted, and with trembling fingers, removed my own clothes and started to put on the St. Catherine's school uniform. First came a pair of baggy navy blue knickers, followed by a white blouse. A navy blue tie with silver and yellow diagonal stripes came next, and then a navy blue gym tunic. I fastened the row of buttons up the back with some difficulty, and closed the side zip before doing up the buckle belt. I sat down on a chair, and pulled a pair of white ankle socks onto my feet, followed by a pair of brown leather T-bar shoes. I stood up, and put on the navy blue school blazer on top of the tunic, and there I was, ready to leave. But not quite. I suddenly realised that I'd forgotten to bring one of my sister's wigs, so how would I get clear with my obviously short boy's hair? There was a chance that I might be spotted as I left, and that was something I didn't want to contemplate.

At that moment, I heard a heavy downpour of rain outside, and grinned as I saw just what I needed. Hanging on hooks on the wall was a row of double breasted navy blue gaberdine school raincoats, each of which had a hood, the perfect cover for my head. I took down one of the coats and put it on. A perfect fit. I buttoned up the coat and fastened the belt firmly round my waist. Finally, I put up the hood and tied it on firmly under my chin with the tie tapes. I went across to a full length mirror to see how I looked. Perfect. From a distance, you would never guess that you weren't looking at a schoolgirl. Now to get off the premises.

I picked up my own clothing and shoes, rolled them up, and put them into a small school bag I found on top of one of the cupboards. Then I was ready. With complete confidence in my appearance, I decided that I would walk boldly out of the school, and through the streets to a clump of trees and bushes where I could change back into my own clothes before I got home. That confidence was my fatal mistake. Slowly opening the door, I listened carefully. Not a sound. I stepped into the corridor, closed the storeroom door behind me, and set off down the stairs, out of the side door, and into the rain. With my head bowed, I confidently went round the side of the building, and turned onto the path that led down towards the main gate.

Then it happened. Just as I approached the gate, two teachers carrying umbrellas came in through the gate and straight towards me. It was too late to run, and I made the mistake of stopping and just standing there looking down at the ground. As they came closer, one of them looked at me and said 'Why aren't you at sports, young lady?' I was dumbfounded. I knew that my voice would probably give me away, and I didn't know what to say anyway. That made things even worse. The teacher suddenly pushed the hood back off my face and looked at me. A look of disbelief came across her face as she recognised me from my previous exploits, but the disbelief quickly turned to menace. 'I know you' she said grimly, 'You're Jimmy Chapman, aren't you? Well' she said, 'I think you've really done it this time. Come on, we're going to see the headmistress.'

She took the school bag from me, and the two teachers grabbed me by both arms and marched me up the path back towards the main building. We entered the main door and turned left down a corridor at the end of which was a door marked 'Headmistress'. One of the teachers knocked on the door, and a voice from within said 'Come in.' My heart sank as we entered the room.

Sitting behind a large imposing desk was an impressive looking woman who I had met before under similar circumstances. One of the teachers unfastened the tie tapes under my chin and pushed down the hood. Then she undid the raincoat and removed it completely, revealing the school uniform. The headmistress almost smiled as she looked at me, appreciating how embarrassed I must be feeling. But then the smile vanished, and she said 'You again. This must be the fourth time that we've had trouble with you. It's Jimmy Chapman, isn't it?' I mumbled in the affirmative. 'Right' she said, 'This time you are in real trouble, so I want to know just what you are up to. Why on earth are you dressed like that, where did you acquire that uniform, and I want the absolute truth.' I was too scared and confused to try lying, so taking a deep breath I told her what the uniform was for, and what I intended to do with it. She paused for a moment, and then said 'I'm sorry Jimmy, but this is the end. You've had three chances and you still haven't mended your ways, so this time I'm going to press charges of burglary and theft. Now you sit down while I call your parents to come and collect you. I've still got your phone number somewhere from last time.'

I sat down with tears of humiliation in my eyes as she picked up the phone and called my home. She briefly told my mother what I had been up to, put down the phone, and said 'Your parents will be here shortly, and I don't think they will be very pleased to hear that I'm taking you to court.' I waited in trepidation, and while we waited, one of the teachers opened the school bag and removed my clothes. Half an hour later there was a knock on the door, and in came my parents. I stood up as they stared at me in disbelief. 'Thank you for coming' said the headmistress, 'I think that Jimmy should go and change while we have a discussion as to what we are going to do about him.' Turning to the two teachers, she said 'Take him to the office and see that he changes back into his own clothes. Then bring him back here.' The teachers took me out and into the office next door, where they helped me to remove the school uniform and put my own clothes back on again.

I don't know what was discussed between the headmistress and my parents, but I think that they were mostly concerned for my welfare. Nevertheless, when I was returned to the head's study, I was told that an appearance in the magistrate's court lay before me. My father told me to apologise to the headmistress, and we took our leave. Our journey home was in silence, but when we reached home I received quite a tongue lashing from my father, but what made it worse was that I wasn't really punished. Instead, Mum and Dad just said 'We'll leave that to the magistrate.' What was going to happen now?

 

 

 

CHAPTER 3

 

THE MAGISTRATE'S PUNISHMENT

 

The headmistress of St Catherine's duly pressed charges, and a couple of months later I found myself appearing at the juvenile court. What I didn't know at the time was that there had been a lengthy discussion of my fate between my parents, the headmistress and the lady magistrate, who had gained a reputation for exquisitely appropriate punishments. My conviction was just a formality with all the evidence against me, and the magistrate arrived at my sentence in less than an hour. Then her pronouncement began. She looked straight at me and spoke.

'It has been my experience with young offenders such as yourself, that one of the most effective methods of correcting unsociable behaviour is humiliation. I have suggested a most salutary method of dealing with you that I have discussed with both your parents and the headmistress of St. Catherine's school. I'm pleased to say that they are in complete agreement with me as to the nature of your punishment, and I have every confidence that it will put an end to your present misbehaviour. Your offence involved stealing a girl's school uniform, putting it on, and then trying to pass yourself off as one of the pupils. Since you seem to like dressing as a girl, we will treat you appropriately. The school summer holidays are about to start, so we've arranged for you to spend six weeks with your relatives in a village just outside York. I understand that your family there consists of your aunt and two cousins, who have also experienced your zest for being a perfect nuisance. Well, on this occasion, you will be the one to be teased. While you are staying there, you will spend the entire time being treated like your cousins. In other words, you will be dressed as a girl, play as a girl, and in every way be treated as a girl. Your parents are ordered to supply the sum of £400 to cover the cost of the clothes you will be wearing, which will be purchased when you arrive. You will not be permitted to skulk about indoors, but will go out dressed like your cousins, and you will behave in a properly demure fashion. You will do everything your aunt tells you to do without protest.'

Then came the nasty bit. The magistrate looked at me again and said 'Now it may occur to you to run away. I don't advise it. To begin with, you will only have girl's clothes to wear (your boy's attire will be taken away as soon as you arrive), and I doubt that you would like to go very far dressed in them. But if you do decide to run away before the time has expired, we have another treat in store for you. If you are caught (and you almost certainly would be), you will spend the whole of the next academic year at a girl's boarding school that we have made such arrangements with before. You wore a girl's school uniform for only an hour before. Imagine having to wear one all day every day for a year. One other thing. Unlike the other pupils, you would not be going home for the holidays, but continue to spend an uninterrupted year at the school as a schoolgirl. And in addition, you will also suffer the same fate if you disobey your aunt's wishes in any way whatsoever. I suggest you think about that most carefully.' The magistrate stood up. 'That will be all. I leave the travel arrangements to the parents. A police constable will visit the family in Yorkshire at random intervals to ensure that the sentence is carried out, and the boy will report to the police station in York on a weekly basis. That is all. Court adjourned.'

I was stunned and horrified, and couldn't at first believe what was about to happen to me. As we left the court, the headmistress of St. Catherine's came over to my parents and said 'An appropriate punishment I think.' My mother said 'Yes, if this doesn't cure his antics, nothing will. With all the teasing he's given his cousins in the past, I think they will be delighted to hear what he's in for.' The headmistress said goodbye, and my parents and I set off home.

When we got there, my two sisters were waiting impatiently to find out what the result was. We had barely come through the door before they were bombarding us with questions. 'Well, what happened?' asked Tricia, 'What's Jimmy's punishment going to be?' We all sat down round the kitchen table. 'Well' said my father, 'At least he's not being sent to a reform school, although knowing him, he might have preferred it.'

'What do you mean?' frowned Tricia, 'What could be worse?'

'To start with' said my mother, 'He's going to spend six weeks staying with Aunty Mary, Jane, and Susan.'

'Well what kind of a punishment is that?' Exclaimed Tricia indignantly. She was obviously disappointed in consideration of all the vile things that I had done to her over the previous year or two.

'Ah,' said my father. 'The punishment is that he's going to have to spend the entire six weeks at the tender mercy of Jane and Susan, dressed as a girl. After some of the things he's done to them as well as you, I imagine that they will be only too delighted to make his stay with them as humiliating as possible.' Mum and Dad then went into the details of my sentence, and as they did so, my sister's expressions changed from an incredulous frown to a grin, then to a smile, a giggle, and finally into roars of laughter as the tears rolled down their cheeks.

'Oh that's wonderful' chuckled Tricia, 'Absolutely poetic. Rough tough Jimmy Chapman dressed as a pretty little girl! Oh this is priceless, I can't wait to tell all our friends.'

'Just a minute' said my mother. 'That you mustn't do. The main reason he's being sent away is that the magistrate doesn't want him to suffer the extra punishment of being ostracised by his friends down here. His punishment is to last six weeks only, and that will be the end of it (we hope). If his friends down here find out, he'll have to live with the humiliation indefinitely. As far as they are concerned, your father has paid a fine of £400, which he has had to pay anyway, as the cost of supplying Jimmy with all the dresses and other girl's clothes he's going to wear. So you are not to tell them under any circumstances. You're justifiably pleased to see that he's paying for all the nasty things he's done to you, but there's more to this than just your revenge. Breaking-in, theft, and vandalism is a serious matter. Is that understood?'

'Yes Mum' said Tricia, quietly, 'But we really would like to see him all dressed up as well. Can't we go up to stay with them for a few days once the holidays start?'

'Well I suppose that's the least we can do' said Mum, smiling slightly, 'I must say I'm a bit curious to see Jimmy dressed as a little girl myself. Alright, I'll drop Aunt Mary a line and see if we can go up for a few days. I know that Jane and Susan will be happy to see you again, especially under the circumstances.'

'Oh that's great!' smiled Diana, 'I can't wait to see Jimmy wearing a dress, and little white socks with strap shoes, and with bows in his hair. This is going to be fun.'

I had heard the whole conversation with growing horror as I began to visualise what I was in for. Not only were the girls going to get their revenge at last, but it was going to be very much at my expense. I dreaded the prospect, but there was absolutely nothing I could do about it now.

 

 

 

CHAPTER 4

 

THE ARRIVAL

 

After a couple of weeks of preparation and making arrangements, the day of my departure for Yorkshire arrived. Although my parents were driving me up there, they were not going to stay; I was simply to be left there in the care of my aunt and two cousins. Mum commented that there was no need to pack a case for me, just a sponge bag, since all my clothing for the next six weeks was going to be purchased when I arrived. I shuddered. It was finally time to leave, and my brother and sisters said goodbye, my sisters giggling in anticipation of what I was in for. Only my brother looked sympathetic. Soon, Mum, Dad and I were driving north.

The journey took about 6 hours, and we eventually arrived outside a familiar detached house in the village of Throsley, on the outskirts of York. As the car drew up outside the house, the door opened and there to greet us was my aunt. We got out, walked up to the door, and went inside. Aunt Mary, a middle aged lady with a kind face, hung our coats up in the hall and we went through to the lounge. Standing there were my two cousins Susan and Jane. It was only when I stood next to them that I realised just how much taller they were than me. At 15 years old, Jane stood five foot six inches tall, and Susan aged 10, four foot eight inches, a full two inches taller than me. I didn't think how significant this would prove to be. Yet. Everybody greeted each other in typical family fashion, and Mum and Aunt Mary went into the kitchen with Dad. 'We'll just stop for tea, and then we must get going' said Mum, 'We don't want to be too late back.' She suddenly opened her bag and took out an envelope. 'Oh Jane' she said, 'Here's a letter for you from Diana. I think it's about Jimmy'. Jane took the letter, read it for a moment, and then said to Susan 'Come on Sue, let's go and read this in the garden.' Reading the letter, they both went out of the room. They were back in a few minutes, and we all sat down at the table.

While we were having tea, I seemed to be the main subject of discussion. The adults looked quite serious, but the two girls were staring at me with wide grins of anticipated pleasure accompanied by the odd giggle or two. Then the first moment of humiliation arrived. As everyone got up from the table, my aunt turned to me and said 'Right Jimmy, we might as well begin. You will be sleeping in the old nursery, so I want you to come up there with me now.' She took me upstairs and into the nursery. The room was quite small, and hadn't been redecorated since Susan had been a baby. Consequently, the wallpaper, the furniture, and all the fittings were decorated with pink nursery motifs, appropriate to a baby girl. I gulped with foreboding at what I felt might be coming.

A nightdress was laid out in readiness on the bed (at least it wasn't a cot), and I guessed that it was intended for me. I was right. Aunt Mary said 'Now Jimmy, take all your clothes off and put on your nightdress. Your mother will be taking all your boy's clothes back with her, and in the morning, we're going to take you into town for some nice new clothes, something much more suitable for a little girl.' I knew that there was going to be no way out of this one, so I slowly and reluctantly removed all my clothes. Aunt Mary picked up the nightdress, put my head and arms into it, and pulled it down over me. It was a white ankle length winceyette nightie decorated with rosebuds and small bows of pink ribbon. The long sleeves ended in frilled ruffs at the wrist, and glancing at myself in the full-length mirror I groaned inwardly at my appearance. Aunt Mary gathered up all my clothes and said 'Come along now, downstairs with you, and you can say goodbye to your Mum and Dad.' I reluctantly followed her downstairs, to be greeted with peals of laughter from Susan and Jane, and wide grins from my parents. 'Well' chuckled Susan, 'I can see that I'm going to find a wonderful use for some of my old dresses. You're about one to two sizes smaller than me, so I've got some lovely little dresses for you to wear from when I was about eight. You're going to look so cute!'

'Well there you are Jimmy' said Mum, smiling, 'Now you know what you're in for over the next six weeks, and just remember, you brought this on yourself.' Aunt Mary gave my clothes to her, and she and Dad prepared to leave. Pausing at the door, Mum looked at me and said 'Now Jimmy, I don't want you doing anything silly. Remember what the magistrate said would happen to you if you misbehave? Girl's boarding school for a year. So do exactly what Aunt Mary tells you to do, and we'll be back to collect you in six week's time.'

'And one other thing Jimmy' said Aunt Mary, 'I will be going away on Saturday to stay with some friends for a few days, so in addition to obeying me, you will also obey Jane in just the same way. Do I make myself clear?' I nodded my head miserably, while Jane looked at me with her arms crossed and a broad grin on her face. Mum kissed me goodbye, and I forlornly watched my parents walk down the path, get into the car, and drive off.

Jane closed the door, and led Susan and I into the lounge while Aunt Mary busied herself in the kitchen. We sat down on the sofa, and pulling the letter out of her pocket, Jane started reading it. After a moment she said 'Jimmy, this is the letter from Diana that your mum gave me, and it's very interesting. It seems that you have been an even worse pain in the neck with her and Tricia than you have with us, so we are going to take this wonderful opportunity to teach you a lesson you'll never forget. In her letter, Diana mentions a long list of particularly nasty little tricks you got up to. Such as:

 

The time you poured itching powder into their beds.

 

The two earwigs you put in Diana's school lunch box.

 

When Tricia went to a disco instead of her piano lessons you told your mother. As a result, poor Tricia had to go to her piano lessons every Saturday dressed in her school uniform.

 

That time you replaced Diana's school swimsuit with an old really itchy black knitted woollen bathing costume that made her the laughing stock of the school.

 

And last but not least, when you put a dead pigeon in Diana's school bag. She nearly died when she opened it.

 

There are a number of other little japes you've indulged in' she said, 'That have made your sister's lives a real misery. And that's not counting what you've done to us. So now it's time for us to have some fun. Diana has specifically asked us to give you a hard time, and that's just what we are going to do. We are going to give you a holiday to remember, and how!' She giggled maliciously, and Susan added 'Oh yes, we've got some lovely treats in store for you.'

Aunt Mary came into the lounge and said 'Right Jimmy, it's time you and Susan were in bed. You'll both be sharing the same bedtime while you are here, which is seven o'clock, so up you go, and don't forget to clean your teeth. I'll be up in a minute to tuck you in.' I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but for the moment decided that I was in no position to disobey. I went slowly upstairs behind Susan, and went into my room for my sponge bag. I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and then went back into my room to climb wearily into the small bed, exhausted with emotion. A moment later Aunt Mary came into the room and kissed me goodnight before switching off the light and closing the door. Left alone with my turbulent thoughts, all I could think about was tomorrow. Just what was it going to be like? I slept on it.

 

 

 

CHAPTER 5

 

JIMMY'S NEW WARDROBE

 

Next morning I was woken by Aunt Mary, and told to go and wash while she took some clothing for me out of the wardrobe. Off I went, and was soon back, ready to be dressed. 'Now', said Aunt Mary. 'We are going shopping this morning, so you can wear these old things of Jane's to the shops until we buy you something more appropriate. Your father gave me £400 to spend on your clothes, which should be plenty. When you've finished with them in a couple of months, I'm going to keep them for Susan since you're roughly the same size, and some of them will probably fit her. Mind you, with the style of dresses the girls have in mind for you, I think she'll refuse to wear them. Now, let's see how these fit you.'

Aunt Mary had selected a pair of girl's white briefs and pink shorts for me to wear. With the shorts went a white blouse, a pair of white ankle socks, and a pair of brown sandals. Overall, I didn't feel too bad wearing them, except perhaps for the pink shorts. Aunt Mary read my thoughts. 'Don't worry' she grinned, 'You'll only be wearing them to the shops. I guarantee that you'll look very different on the way back. Now come on down to breakfast.' Deflated, I followed her downstairs, and Susan and Jane grinned at me as I sat at the table. 'Guess what?' said Jane. 'Mum's said that Susan and I can choose which clothes you are going to be wearing. Now you're really going to regret all the teasing that you've made us suffer in the past. We are going to the Junior Miss shop, where they have some of the prettiest little dresses you can imagine. You are going to look so cute. By the time we've finished with you, you'll look even younger than Susan; a really cute little girl!' Aunt Mary intervened. 'That's enough for the moment Jane, we don't want to spoil all your fun yet, do we? Now eat your breakfast.'

Breakfast was soon over, and after cleaning our teeth, we were ready to go into town. It started to rain as we were leaving the house, so the girls grabbed some umbrellas, and after climbing into Aunt Mary's car, we were soon on our way. It was only about 4 miles into the town centre, so the journey was quite short. The traffic was fairly light at this time of the morning, and Aunt Mary had no trouble finding a parking spot. The rain stopped as we climbed out of the car, and we were soon walking along a shopping precinct. The girls certainly knew where we were going, and they suddenly grabbed my arms as we stopped outside a children's clothing shop. This was obviously the place. 'Here we are' said Jane, 'In we go.' We went in, and I was led through the boys department, up the stairs, and into the girlswear department on the first floor. Aunt Mary brought up the rear, carrying a large shopping bag. The large showroom held rack upon rack of girl's clothing for all ages from tots to early teens, and I knew that my ordeal was about to start.

A pleasant young woman saw us, smiled, and came over to us. 'Hello Mary' she said, 'I've been expecting you. Have you got all the bits and pieces?'

'Oh Hello Julia' said Aunt Mary, 'Yes, they're all in the bag. Everything's ready.' They had obviously discussed the situation beforehand, and were well prepared. Julia looked at me, smiled, and said 'So is this the boy we are going to turn into a little girl?' Aunt Mary replied. 'Yes, this is my nephew Jimmy. Jane and Susan are going to choose what he will wear, and they've said that they particularly want to see some really juvenile, almost babyish styles for him. Something suitable for about an eight year old.' Julia grinned and said 'No problem, we've got some dear little dresses that I'm sure will fit him. Let's just measure him first, so that we'll know which size rack the girls can choose from.'

She picked up a tape measure, and measured my chest, waist and hips. 'Good' she said, 'He's quite small for his age, about size 10, so I'm sure he's not too big for some of the more babyish little girl styles.'

'Just what I'd hoped' said Jane, 'Now we can really have some fun. Come on Susan, let's go and have a look at the size 10 rack.' She turned to Aunt Mary, and said 'Mum, can you get the other things together while we have a look?'

'All right' said Aunt Mary, 'I'll get them ready with Julia while you enjoy yourselves picking out what you want him to wear. And don't forget, not more than four dresses for now, all right? Jimmy can stay here with us and see what we've got in the bag for him.' Jane and Susan went over to one of the racks and started sorting through the dresses there, holding them up one by one, and excitedly giggling as they did so.

I stood in trepidation as Aunt Mary took some items out of her shopping bag and started to put them on the shop counter. First came a fair haired wig in a pageboy style with a neat fringe at the front. Next came a hairbrush, and then, horror of horrors, two lengths of white hair ribbon, two colourful pink hair slides, and two white elastic pony tail hair bands. These were followed by a pair of girl's brown T bar shoes with a side buckle fastening. 'These were Jane's' said Aunt Mary to me, 'But they've hardly been worn. I know that you take a size 4 shoe, so they should fit you perfectly.' She turned to Julia and said 'Oh yes, and we'll need a few other things. Six pairs of white ankle socks, three pairs of knee hi's, six pairs of different coloured knickers, and six white vests.'

'Right' said Julia, going over to some shelves and taking them down. Bringing them back with her, she put them with the wig and shoes. 'Good' said Aunt Mary, 'Let's get him ready. The first thing we need to do is to get him into his underclothes.'

'Yes of course' said Julia, 'We can do that in one of the changing cubicles.' She drew aside the curtain of one of the cubicles behind us, and she and Aunt Mary took me inside. Then they undressed me until I was standing there completely naked. 'Now Jimmy' said Aunt Mary, 'We are going to transform you into a sweet little girl. First, your vest and knickers.' She unwrapped a vest and a pair of white knickers, and dressed me in them. 'Right' said Aunt Mary, 'You're decent. Come outside and we'll put your shoes and socks on.' I did as I was told, and Aunt Mary sat me down on a chair. Then she took a pair of white cotton ankle socks, pulled them onto my feet, and turned them down neatly around the ankle. 'Shoes next' she said. Taking the pair of brown T bar strap shoes, she slid them onto my feet and did up the buckles firmly. I stood up and found that they fitted me perfectly.

Across the room, Jane and Susan had selected the first dress. They gleefully came over to us, and Susan, head on one side, grinned at me as she held it up against her front for all to see. I almost recoiled in horror. If anything had been calculated to humiliate me, this was it. The dress was a pale rose pink with little flowers printed on it, and smocking across the front. It had a peter pan collar, short puffed sleeves, and buttoned up the back with a row of small white buttons. To heighten the babyish effect, it had a sash belt that tied in a bow at the back. I stared at it and said 'Oh no, please. Not this, you wouldn't. Please, I'll wear anything else, but not a little baby dress like that.'

'Oh no' grinned Jane, 'I think this is exactly what we need to humiliate you. Look at it, it's perfect.' Aunt Mary and Julia grinned. 'Absolutely perfect' said Aunt Mary, 'Let's try it on, shall we? Come along Jimmy, put your arms up.' I reluctantly raised my arms, and she quickly pulled them through the sleeves. Then she put my head in, and pulled the dress down over me. With long practice acquired with two daughters, she fastened the buttons up my back, secured a hook and eye behind my neck, and finished off the effect by tying the belt behind me in a neat bow. The hem hung down to just below my knees. 'Oh yes' said Aunt Mary with an approving smile, 'Quite delightful. But we won't put the wig on him to see the final effect until he tries on the last dress. Have you chosen any others?'

'Oh yes' said Jane, 'Two more.' She went over to the dress rack, and came back with two more dresses identical to the one I was already wearing, except that one was a primrose yellow, and the other a pale cornflower blue. 'Oh they're pretty' said Julia, 'And they're the same style as the one he's got on already, so he won't have to try them on; we know they'll fit. I must say they do look delightful.' Turning to Susan she said 'Would you still like to wear dresses like this Sue?'

'You're joking' said Susan, 'I finished wearing dresses like that when I stopped having doll's tea parties with my little friends. No, I'd hate it.'

'Yes I imagine you would, and I don't blame you' said Jane, 'But I'll keep it in mind anyway for the next time we play forfeits. I think a nice long walk around the village with your friends dressed like that could be very amusing.' Susan grunted her disapproval and said nothing.

'All right girls, that leaves one more to go' said Aunt Mary, 'Let's see what else you can find.'

'Well' said Jane, 'we want something as babyish as possible. What do you have that would make him look really cute, Julia?' Julia thought for a moment, and then grinned. 'I think I have the very thing' she said, and going over to the rack, she selected one of the dresses and held it up. 'How about this?' she said. The dress was white, with a peter pan collar, short puffed sleeves, back button fastening, and a tie belt. It was also decorated with little pink bows and decorative smocking across the front. Although it was similar to the others, I had a feeling that this was going to be even worse to wear. I was right.

Susan let out a shriek of delight. 'Oh yes, now that's a proper baby dress', she said in gleeful anticipation,' Can we put it on him now?'

'Of course' said Aunt Mary, 'That's the one he's going to wear home. So Jimmy, let's change your dress.' She unfastened the pink dress I was wearing, put it on the counter, and held up the white one in front of me. 'In you get' she said, and in a moment had slipped it over my head, put my arms into the sleeves, and pulled it down around me. She swiftly buttoned up the back, and tied the belt in a neat bow behind me. I blushed to the roots with humiliation, but even worse was to come.

'Good' said Aunt Mary, smiling, 'A perfect fit. You're going to look just lovely, aren't you dear?' I couldn't think of a suitable reply. Sitting me down in the chair again, she picked up the wig and started brushing it. 'Now Jimmy' she said, 'Sit up and keep your head straight.' I did as I was told, and she pulled the wig onto my head and brushed it neatly into position. Standing back, she was obviously pleased with my appearance, while the others nodded their approval. Susan giggled, and then said 'The hair ribbons now. I want his hair tied in two bunches with nice pretty bows. Can I do it?'

'Not this time' said Aunt Mary, 'Perhaps later. I'll do it now because I want it to look really neat. Give me the hair bands, will you?' Susan gave them to her, and she started to style the wig into two bunches. With the experience of having done Susan and Jane's hair when they were little, she deftly wound the elastic hair bands around the base of each bunch of hair so that they stood up in an infantile fashion. 'Now for the ribbons' said Aunt Mary. Picking one up, she carefully wound it several times around the base of one of the bunches, and tied it in a neat non-slip bow. Then she took the other ribbon and did the same to the other bunch to form a neat matching pair. Finally, she fastened the two plastic hair slides tightly in place, one on either side of my head. They were in the form of small pink bows, and were obviously designed to look particularly dainty.

'Now' said Aunt Mary, 'Stand up and let's have a look at you.' I did as I was told, and Julia, Susan, and Jane burst out laughing. 'How delightful' said Julia, 'What an absolutely adorable little girl! What do you think of your new sister girls?'

'I think she looks just perfect' laughed Jane, 'From now on Jimmy, you are going to be a sweet little girl. By the way Mum, I've been thinking of a name for her, and I thought that 'Jennifer' would be rather nice. Do you think it suits her?'

'Oh yes' smiled Susan, 'Jennifer. That's a perfect name for a little girl.' Aunt Mary looked at me and smiled. 'Yes, I think it suits her very well. All right then, from now on her name is Jennifer.' She took me by the hand and stood me in front of a full-length mirror. 'So, Jennifer' she sniggered, 'How do you like your new appearance? Pretty enough for you?'

I was horrified at my transformation. There in front of me stood a sweet little girl wearing a very cute white dress which made me look even more babyish than before because the hem stopped just above my knees. It was set off perfectly by the white ankle socks and juvenile strap shoes, and the crowning humiliation was my pageboy hairstyle with the two large bows of white hair ribbon on either side of my head. I groaned with despair.

'Well' said Aunt Mary, 'I think that's all we need for now. We'll come back sometime next week and buy Jennifer a couple more dresses and perhaps some more shoes as well, but this will do for the moment.' She turned to Julia and said 'Thanks very much for your help Julia, that was excellent. We'll be back next week. Now how much does that come to?' She paid the bill, and Julia put all the purchases into bags. 'There we are then' said Aunt Mary, 'Come on girls, off we go.' Saying goodbye to Julia, we set off down the stairs and out into the street. I was reluctant to walk out of the door, but Jane and Susan had no difficulty in taking my hands and dragging me out onto the pavement.

It was starting to rain, and as the girls put up their umbrellas, Jane said 'Mum, Jennifer's going to need a raincoat, isn't she?'

'She certainly will in this weather' said Aunt Mary. 'There's a raincoat shop in the arcade across the road, so we should find something for her in there.' We set off at a brisk pace, and as the rain became heavier we dashed across the road and into the arcade. A moment later we were entering the raincoat shop. 'Good afternoon madam' said a young shop assistant, coming out from behind the counter, 'Can I help you?'

'Yes please' said Aunt Mary, 'I need a mackintosh for this little girl, and the other two would like to choose one for her.' Susan grinned with delight at the prospect. 'Do you have anything in mind?' said the assistant. 'Oh yes' said Jane, 'We're looking for the kind of mac I wore when I was little.'

'I expect you know the style she means' said Aunt Mary, 'It was a red mackintosh made of rubberised cotton with a satinette finish. It was double breasted with a belt, and had an attached hood with a button fastening under the chin.'

'Ah yes,' said the assistant, 'They used to be very popular, and nearly every little girl wore one. We don't have quite so much demand for that style these days, but we still keep them in stock.' She went over to a large rack of raincoats, looked at me, and said 'Let's see, how about this one?' She pulled a mackintosh from the rack and held it up. It was almost exactly what Aunt Mary had described, and she smiled as she said 'Yes, that's just what I'm looking for, but I'd like it to be about one size too big so that it will cover her properly, and she will grow into it.'

'Certainly' said the assistant, putting the mackintosh aside and taking another one from the rack. She came over to me and said 'Here you are dear, try this one on.' She held it up for me to put on, and I reluctantly put my arms into the sleeves. She stood in front of me, fastened the buttons up to the neck, and did up the buckle belt. The sleeves came down as far as my fingers, and the hem hung down several inches below my knees. I felt very small. 'What do you think girls?' said Aunt Mary. Jane smiled 'Now that is like the one I had to wear' said Jane, 'It's perfect. Let's just see how it looks with the hood up, shall we?' She stepped up to me and pulled up the hood, buttoned it securely under my chin, and pulled the hood well forward. It was of a style that used to be popular with girl's regulation school mackintosh hoods, with a square cut about 4 inches long running across the top at the back of the head. She stepped back, looked at me, gave a slight chuckle, and said 'There, doesn't she look cute?' Susan laughed, and said 'Doesn't she just!' I looked at myself in the mirror, and realised that if the idea was to humiliate me, then it was exactly what the girls were looking for. With my face peeping out from under the mackintosh hood, it was hard not to believe that it was being worn by a little girl of about eight. It was also obvious by now that the shop assistant had guessed that I was really a boy. She looked at me, giggled for a moment, and with a wide grin on her face said 'There you are little girl, that will keep you nice and dry.'

'Well I think that's all we need' said Aunt Mary to the assistant, 'Thank you very much, you've been most helpful. How much is that?' She paid the bill, and I attempted to unbutton the hood before removing the humiliating mackintosh. But Jane saw me, stepped forward, and pulled my hands away. 'Oh no you don't' she said, 'It's probably still raining, so you'll keep your mac on. And that includes your hood.' She refastened the hood under my chin, and pulled it well forward. I peered out demurely from under it, hating every moment. The mackintosh smelt of rubber, and the idea of having to wear it filled me with dismay. The shop assistant stood there grinning at me, obviously enjoying my humiliation. Even worse, Aunt Mary joined in. 'Now Jennifer, you know that you will do exactly as you are told by me, and I've already told you that from now on you will also do whatever Jane tells you to do. If she tells you to keep your mackintosh hood up, you'll keep it up. Understood? I groaned a quiet 'Yes Aunt Mary.' Jane clapped her hands with glee, smiled, and looked at me with a malicious gleam in her eye. It didn't bode well.

Once the bill was paid, we left the shop and set off back down the arcade and into the street. It was still pouring quite heavily, and I felt and heard the rain drumming on my mackintosh and running down my bare legs onto my feet. Susan looked at my face peeping out from under the hood, and said 'Oh Jennifer you really do look sweet,' and she laughed. We set off through the streets in the pouring rain back to the car, and as we came nearer, the rain stopped and the sun came out. 'Mum' said Jane, 'Do you mind if Susan, Jennifer and I walk home from here? I want Jennifer to get used to walking through the streets.'

'I don't see why not' said Aunt Mary, 'She's certainly going to have to get used to it, and not always hiding under that mackintosh hood, either.' Turning to me as we reached the car she said 'Now Jennifer, remember what I said. You'll do exactly what Jane tells you to do. If I hear you that you haven't, I can assure you that you will regret it. Understood?' I nodded. 'Right then girls' she said, getting into the car, 'I'll see you later. Have fun.' With that, she started the engine and drove off. Jane looked at me and said 'Now Jennifer, this is where the fun really starts!' Taking my hand, she started the long walk home.

As we walked, the warm sun started to feel hot in the mackintosh, and I instinctively tried to unfasten the hood. But as I undid the button under my chin, Jane slapped down my hands and said 'Now I told you before, you keep it on until I say you can take it off' and she refastened the hood under my chin. 'But Jane' I said 'It's so hot like this!'

'Of course it is' replied Jane. 'That's the whole idea. When I was a little girl I had to wear a mac like that and I hated it. It looked so babyish, and smelled all rubbery. But Mum still made me wear that style of mac for years. So now it's your turn, and on it stays. Besides, it makes you look sweet, and that's the whole idea. If you try once more to undo that hood, I'll tie your hands behind your back. Now come on.' She pushed me along, and we kept walking. The warm, damp mackintosh was a misery to wear, and the rubbery smell made it even worse. I'd never realised before what little girls sometimes have to put up with.

After we had walked for about an hour, Jane said 'Now Jimmy, we're going to meet some friends of mine in a minute. They know all about you, and I promised them that they would get a chance to see you. That's mainly why I wanted us to walk home, but also so that you would have to walk through the streets like that. Don't worry, you'll get used to it.' Not being in a position to argue, I said nothing.

We shortly arrived at a large detached house and went up the drive. Jane knocked at the door, and it was opened by a girl of about Jane's age and height. 'Oh hi Jane, come in' she said, 'We've been expecting you.' We went in, and the girl took us into the lounge. Taking my hand, Jane said. 'These are my friends, who've been so looking forward to meeting you.' Pointing to the girl who had opened the door, she said 'This is Fiona, and these are Hilary and Tessa. You girls know Susan already of course, and this' she said, pushing me forward, 'Is our new little sister Jennifer.' She now unfastened my hood and pulled it back off my head. Then she undid the belt, unfastened the buttons and pulled off the mackintosh, revealing me standing there in the white baby frock, white ankle socks and T bar shoes. My wig and hair ribbons completed the picture.

The girls took one look at me and fell about laughing. When they had recovered, Hilary said 'He looks absolutely gorgeous; really delightful, and I just love the bunches and hair ribbons, they top it off perfectly.' She bent forward with her hands between her knees and said to me 'Aren't you the most delightful little girl!' She then sat down giggling on the sofa, while I blushed deep crimson with humiliation. Tessa and Fiona grinned and came over to me, and began to smooth and straighten my hair and ribbons, just as one does with little girls.

At this moment a middle aged woman came in. 'Oh hello Mrs. Hall' said Jane, 'We've just brought my cousin Jimmy round to show him to Fiona and the girls.' She pulled me forward and said 'What do you think?' Clearly Fiona's mother had been well appraised of my situation. She looked at me for a moment, and a broad smile crept across her face. 'So this is your cousin is it? Well, he does make a delightful little girl, doesn't he? Still, after all the revolting things he's done he deserves it, and this is certainly the most exquisitely humiliating punishment anyone could think of. My congratulations to the magistrate for her imagination.' She came up to me, and putting her hand under my chin, tilted my face upwards. 'Oh yes' she said, 'I think that Jane and Susan are going to make you thoroughly regret breaking into that girl's school. Do you know Jimmy, I teach at the local primary school here, and I'm just wondering how you'd like to spend a day dressed in our junior girl's school uniform? I'll have to see if I can think of something. We can't give just these girls all the fun.'

Looking at her watch, Fiona's mother said 'Well I've got things to do, so I must be off. Nice to see you girls, and you too of course Jimmy.'

'Actually Mrs. Hall, we've given him a girl's name' said Jane, 'From now on we're going to call him Jennifer.'

'Jennifer' laughed Mrs. Hall, 'Oh yes, I like that, it's such a pretty name. Now I must be go, so cheerio for now, and thank you for letting me see him girls, he really does look delightful.' She went out, and was gone.

'What a great idea' said Fiona, 'Taking him to mum's school as one of the girls. I'd love to see him in a cute little blue and white gingham primary school dress. With bows in his hair, and a nice pair of white ankle socks and brown T bar sandals on his feet. I think he'd look good.'

'Well your mum teaches there' said Jane, 'So you probably will.'

'You know' said Fiona 'I was also thinking of another idea. Do you remember that time last year when we entered my brother in the local baby show as a joke? He looked hilarious and hated every moment of it. Mind you, once we had him strapped into the pushchair he didn't really have much choice, did he? I was just thinking how nice it would be to take this little baby out for a nice long walk tomorrow. I've still got that big baby dress and all the other stuff, so there would be no problem. What do you reckon?'

'What a brilliant idea' said Jane. 'And the lovely thing is that we don't have to persuade Jennifer to co-operate, because as you know, she has no choice but to do as I tell her. Do you Jennifer?' she said, looking at me. I looked at her with a simpering expression on my face, as tears of humiliation started to well up in my eyes. 'Good, that settles it' said Jane. 'We'll meet here at ten o'clock tomorrow. Fiona, if you can get everything ready, Susan and I will be round with Jennifer, suitably prepared.' She looked at her watch and said 'We'd better be off, so we'll see you later.' She looked out of the window, and turning to me, said 'You can carry your mac home Jennifer. You don't need it at the moment, and besides, I want to see you walking down the street in that gorgeous little dress for everyone to see.' Picking up the mac, she handed it to me, and I hung it over my arm. After saying our farewells we were soon once again walking homewards along the street. As we walked, Jane said to me 'By the way Jennifer, one word to Aunt Mary about what we are going to do to you and you'll wish you'd never been born. Right?' What else could I say? 'Yes Jane' I replied meekly.

We soon reached home, and Aunt Mary was in the kitchen. 'Ah here you are girls. Did you have a good walk?' she said. 'Oh yes' said Jane, 'We popped in to see Tessa, Hilary and Fiona. We've arranged a little outing for Jennifer tomorrow.'

' Oh that's a nice idea' said Aunt Mary, 'Don't forget that I'll be away for a few days from tomorrow, but you should enjoy yourselves. You'll be able to look after Jimmy, won't you?'

'We certainly will' said Jane, looking at me with a wicked smile on her face. 'By the way' said Aunt Mary, 'I've left the shopping in the hall. You'd better take it up to Jennifer's room and hang her new clothes in the wardrobe. You can do it while I get tea ready.'

'Right' said Jane, 'Come on you two, let's have another look at Jennifer's lovely new dresses.' We went into the hall, where Jane took my mackintosh from me and hung it on a clothes hook. Then she and Susan picked up the shopping bags and we went upstairs to my room. My other three dresses were already laid out on the bed in a colourful array of rose pink, primrose yellow, and cornflower blue. 'Aren't they just delightful' said Susan, holding one up. 'I can't wait until we buy him two more. I think one like that pink and white gingham dress I wore when I was little would look delightful.'

'Well I'm sure they'll have something like that to fit him' said Jane. She picked up the socks and underwear and placed them in a draw, and hung up the dresses on hangers in the wardrobe. Two wigs on stands already stood on top of the chest of draws, a long, shoulder length one, and a pageboy style. Next to them was one other uncovered stand in readiness for the one that I was wearing.

'Tea's ready' said a voice from downstairs. 'Coming' said Jane, and we went downstairs to tea where the girls began to gleefully discuss my imminent fate. They obviously intended to make their revenge on me for all my past teasing of them as exquisitely humiliating as possible, and I just listened in silence, miserably eating my tea. After tea we sat on the sofa watching television until seven o'clock, when Aunt Mary announced my bedtime. I wasn't sorry to go, as at least it gave me a chance to be alone, and free of my tormentors. As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be treated as a baby. Well, tomorrow I was going to find out.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 6

 

THE BABY SHOP

 

Next morning I was woken by Aunt Mary, and soon I was washed and ready to be dressed. Today she had selected a white vest and knickers to wear with my pink dress, and two bows of pink ribbon in my hair to match. On my feet were white ankle socks and a pair of white T bar sandals. Susan came in to watch while I was being dressed, and giggled with glee as the humiliating hair ribbons were tied firmly in place. As a finishing touch, she was allowed to clip two pink hair slides into my hair as well. Then downstairs to breakfast. As soon as we had finished, Aunt Mary and Jane washed up, and just as the breakfast things were about to be put away there was a knock on the door. Aunt Mary went to open it. We went into the lounge and could hear her talking to someone until Aunt Mary came into the room accompanied by a policewoman. 'Step forward Jimmy' said Aunt Mary. 'This is constable Jean Baker, who's come to make sure that you finally got here.' I did as I was told, and Jean looked at me. She grinned and said 'Well I expected to see a boy dressed as a girl, but I didn't expect him to look quite so convincing. It's amazing, he really does look like a little girl, doesn't he?'

'Yes' said Aunt Mary, 'We've taken him well in hand. I'm sure that after six weeks of this he will be truly repentant. The magistrate was certainly imaginative when it came to his punishment.' Jean smiled and said 'Yes, she does have quite a reputation for it, I know. Is he being taken out dressed like that? We don't want him skulking indoors all the time, that's not the idea at all.'

'Oh yes, certainly' said Aunt Mary, 'He's taken out nearly every day. We're going to take him into town quite frequently, and Jane and Susan here are going to introduce him to all their friends around the village, aren't you girls?'

'We sure are' said Jane, 'We can't wait!'

'Well that's fine then' said Jean, 'But there is just one thing.'

'What's that?' Asked Aunt Mary.

'I was just thinking. As he looks at the moment, he certainly makes a perfect little girl. The trouble is, he'll soon realise that anyone not in the know will think that he actually is a girl, and that isn't the point of the exercise at all. If people don't know that he's a boy, then he won't suffer the humiliation that he's supposed to, except when he's with you and your friends.'

'I see your point' said Aunt Mary, 'So what do you suggest?'

'Well, I'll continue to call round at random intervals to see that he's dressed as a girl all the time. But as well as me coming here, I also want you to bring him into the police station in town to see me every Thursday. However, in order to maximise his humiliation, he's not allowed to wear a wig at any time on those days. This will mean that everyone who sees him will know that he really is a boy dressed as a girl. Fun for them, and the most mortifying humiliation for him.'

'What a good idea' said Aunt Mary, 'Excellent. All right, we'll bring him in to see you next Thursday in his prettiest dress, and without a wig. We've already bought some sweet little dresses for him, and we've named him 'Jennifer', which the girls think is most appropriate.'

Jean grinned at me and said 'Oh yes, I think Jennifer's a lovely name for a little girl. Very sweet. Well, I must be going. Thank you for your cooperation. You've done an excellent job of dressing him, and he really does look perfect. So, I'll see you next Thursday.'

'I'll see you to the door' said Aunt Mary. The two women went out, and Aunt Mary came back into the room.

'Next Thursday's going to be a scream' said Susan, 'It's going to be hilarious with all those people in town seeing him dressed like that when he's obviously a boy. But I do want him to wear pretty hair ribbons on the other days.'

'Don't worry' said Aunt Mary, 'He will.' She glanced at her watch and exclaimed 'Good gracious, is that the time? I must be off.'

We followed her into the hall and she put on her coat. 'Now then girls' she said, 'Remember that I'm leaving Jane in charge. Jennifer, if I hear one word that you've stepped out of line, God help you. Don't forget, I'll be back next Thursday, and if you have any problems Jane, especially with Jennifer, give me a call. You've got the number.' With that dire warning she picked up her case, kissed the girls goodbye, and went out the door. She got into the car, and with a little wave was off down the road.

'Right' said Jane. 'Let's finish putting the breakfast things away, and then we'll be off. You know Jennifer, you look just like a cute little toddler at the moment, but in a little while you're going to look even younger!' We soon had the crockery and cutlery put away and went into the hallway, where Jane opened the door and looked out. Just my luck, it was pouring with rain again. I knew what that meant, and I was right. I had just about resigned myself to having to wear the hated red rubber mackintosh, but Jane must have read my thoughts. 'Jennifer' she said' 'How would you like not to wear your mackintosh today?' I should have known it was a trap. 'Oh yes please' I said. 'All right' said Jane, 'I think we've got something much more suitable for a toddler.' Turning to Susan she grinned and said 'Sue, have you still got that lovely little pink raincoat and boots you used to wear?'

'Oh yes!' laughed Susan, and dashed upstairs to her room. A moment later she came bounding downstairs again with her raincoat and boots. 'Putting the boots on the ground, she held out the coat, saying 'Here we are Jennifer, arms in.' I began to regret having rejected the red satinette mackintosh. This mac was a pale pink PVC raincoat with a pattern of little ducks in yellow wellies carrying red umbrellas. It had press stud fastenings, and an attached pointed pixie hood. Very cute. I miserably did as I was told, and Susan pulled the raincoat on to me, and fastened the press studs. 'Now for your boots' she said, 'Sit down on the stairs.' I sat down, and she quickly took off my shoes and socks. Then she picked up the pink calf length rubber boots, and with some difficulty squeezed them onto my feet. I stood up and winced as my toes were cramped together. They were very tight.

Jane looked out of the door at the rain and then smiled at me. 'Now Jennifer' she said, 'We mustn't let those pretty ribbons get wet, must we? Come here.' I went over to her submissively. Standing in front of me, she put up the raincoat hood, fastened the press stud under my chin, and pulled the hood well forward. Then she stood back next to Jennifer and said. 'Now that's exactly how he should look today. Very suitable for someone whose about to be turned into a baby girl.' My jaw dropped in horrified anticipation, and the girls grinned with delight. Susan said 'You know, the lovely thing is that he's so small that he can wear the clothes I wore when I was about eight years old, such as this sweet little pink raincoat. He looks just like I did when I was a toddler.' She giggled profusely, and Jane said 'Right, let's be off.' We stepped outside into the rain, and Jane closed the door behind us. The girls put up their umbrellas, and we were soon walking along the pavement towards Fiona's house. As we walked, Jane suddenly said to me, 'Jimmy, do your friends at home know about your punishment?'

'No!' I said, 'My God, if my school mates knew how I'm spending this holiday I'd never live it down. And if the girls at school knew about it, I hate to think what they might do! No, I just told them that I was staying with you as usual.' Jane looked at me with a grin on her face, and said nothing. After a brisk 20 minute walk through the rain we reached Fiona's house, and she opened the front door to let us in. 'Hi' she said, 'Mum's out, so I'm afraid she's going to miss the fun. Never mind, go straight through into my room, I've got everything ready.' We went down the hall and into Fiona's room. Tessa and Hilary were already there, and seeing me in my babyish pink mac and boots burst out laughing. 'Oh God' giggled Tessa, 'He looks like a four year old! I love it, really cute.' Jane unfastened my mac and removed it, revealing me standing there in my pink dress.

'OK' said Fiona, 'What I suggest we do is more or less what we did to my brother last year when we entered him in the baby show, except this time it will be much more entertaining. I've had a great idea that I'm sure Jimmy's going to absolutely hate, but we won't tell him what it is yet. Somehow I don't think he'd go along with it if he knew.'

'Oh yes he would' said Jane, 'He knows that he has no alternative but to do just what I tell him, especially after the threat of what the magistrate said.'

'Ah, I'd forgotten about that' said Fiona. 'Excellent, so we've really got him over a barrel, haven't we?' She turned to Susan and said 'Now Sue, I want you to go into the lounge for a few minutes. There's something we want to do to him first, and I'd rather you didn't see it.'

'You're not going to hurt him, are you?' said Susan, with a concerned look on her face. 'No, of course not' said Fiona. When you come back you'll have a really good laugh at baby Jennifer, I promise. Just go into the other room for a few minutes, and we'll tell you when to come in again.'

'Oh, all right' said Susan reluctantly, and went out of the room, closing the door behind her.

'Right' said Fiona, 'Let's get started. Jennifer, behold your implements of torture.' She pointed at her bed, and I gulped at what I saw waiting for me. Neatly laid out on the bed were a disposable nappy, white ankle socks and a pair of shiny black patent shoes with a single strap fastening. Hanging on the end of the bed was a white baby frock, much like the one I had worn the day before. It had the usual peter pan collar, back button fastening, short puffed sleeves and a back fastening tie belt. It too was decorated with small pink bows and smocking across the front.

Fiona took my hand and stood me next to the bed, and with the assistance of the other girls removed my wet raincoat and boots, followed by every other item I was wearing except my wig. In a couple of minutes I was standing there completely naked, blushing with embarrassment. The four girls grabbed me by the wrists and ankles, picked me up, and laid me down on my back on top of the disposable nappy. They pulled the ends round to my front, and taped them together with the self-adhesive fastening tapes. Once this was done, Fiona went to the door and opened it, calling out 'OK Susan, you can come in now.' Susan came running in, took one look at me, and burst out laughing. 'Oh yes' she said, 'A cute little baby in a nappy! What comes next?'

'Baby frock time!' said Jane. She picked up the frock, put it over my head and pulled my arms through the sleeves. Then she buttoned up the back and tied the waist sash behind me in a neat, tight bow. I looked at myself in the mirror with growing anxiety. The frock was similar to my other white one, except that it had a different pattern across the front, and only came down to a few inches above my knee, giving a very babyish effect. If I bent over, anyone behind me would see my nappy. 'Now for your feet Jennifer' said Hilary, 'Sit down on the edge of the bed.' I did as I was told, and she pulled the white ankle socks onto my feet and turned them down neatly. The shoes went on next, and she buckled up the straps tightly. 'We don't want you kicking them off Jennifer, do we?' she said. Fiona now went over to a draw and took out a roll of white adhesive strapping tape, a pair of scissors, and a pair of white woollen mittens. 'One thing babies can't do' she said, 'Is use their hands. So this baby's going to be the same. Now hold out your hands Jennifer, and clench your fists.' I did as I was told, and she started to wrap my hands in tape until they were completely helpless. She trimmed off the ends of the tape, and picking up the white mittens, she pushed them onto my hands and tied them on securely round my wrists with the attached pink ribbon, secured with a non-slip double bow. 'That'll keep her little handy pandys out of mischief' she laughed.

'And now for your transportation Jennifer,' said Fiona. I wondered what she meant for a moment, until she went into a corner of the room and wheeled out a pushchair that I hadn't noticed before. It had a blue and white striped seat, and ominously, it was fitted with a large number of pink leather straps. Hanging from one handle was a large set of pink leather baby reins which were fitted with strong D rings at the shoulders and chest. With a broad grin on her face, Fiona held them up for me to see properly. They had transfers of baby animals on the front, and three little bells that tinkled as she shook them. Stepping up to me, Fiona pulled my head and arms through the straps, and then buckled them up securely behind my back. With my hands as helpless as they were, there would be no way that I could remove the reins on my own. 'Right Jennifer, in you get' said Fiona. She was obviously the expert. I sat in the pushchair, and was surprised to find that it was large enough for me to fit into quite easily. Now the girls began to fasten the restraints.

Fiona first brought four straps attached to the back of the pushchair over my shoulders and around my chest, and clipped them into the D rings attached to the front of the reins. Then she pulled them tight, and buckled them up securely, before fastened another strap around my waist. My feet came next. Ankle straps immobilised my feet immovably on the foot rest, and further up, an additional strap went around my legs just above the knees. This was securely attached by two additional straps connected to each side of the pushchair, which meant that I couldn't move my knees from side to side. Jane now held my arms straight down by my sides, while Fiona strapped my upper arms and wrists to the sides of the pushchair. I could now see how clever Fiona had been to immobilise my hands. Wrapped up as they were, it would be completely impossible for me to undo the straps with my fingers and free myself. I was literally as helpless as a baby, and completely at the girls' mercy.

'Well there we are' said Fiona, 'One little baby girl nearly ready for her outing. But before we let little Jennifer know what we have in mind, I think we should prevent any noisy protests.' Going over to a chest of drawers, she took something out and then came back and stood in front of me. In her hands she held an oversized baby's dummy with a round pink plastic circular mouth cover and a ring at the front. A large rubber bulb was attached to protrude into the mouth, and there were long pink ribbons hanging from it to secure it in place in the mouth. I stared at it in horror. While I was so preoccupied, Fiona said 'Jane, just remove her wig and help me for a moment, will you?' Jane nodded, removed my wig, and laid it on the bed. Fiona then said 'Ready?' and Jane said 'Right, now!' She suddenly held my nose closed with her fingers and pulled my mouth open, while Fiona quickly forced the bulb of the dummy deep into my mouth. Tessa and Jane held my head still while Fiona wound the dummy's securing ribbons tightly round the back of my head and to the front again several times before tying them in a non-slip bow at the back. Finally, Jane picked up the wig, replaced it firmly on my head, brushed it tidily in place, and rearranged my hair ribbons in neat bows again.

The girls stood back to admire their handiwork, and peals of laughter filled the room. Susan was ecstatic. 'Doesn't she look sweet!' she exclaimed. 'Just like a dolly in her pram.'

'Except that we've got a real little baby to play with' said Hilary, 'And there's absolutely nothing that she can do about it.' After a short while, Fiona said 'Well now that we've got little Jennifer properly restrained and helpless, I think we can tell her what she's in for, don't you?'

'Oh yes' said Jane, 'I'm going to enjoy this.'

'Let's just take her into the lounge first' said Fiona, 'I've got to make a phone call, and I want Jennifer to hear it'. I was wheeled into the lounge, the girls sat down, and Fiona picked up the phone and dialled. After a moment someone spoke from the other end, and she replied 'Hi Angela, it's Fiona. We're ready to come down. Our little baby girl's safely tucked up in her pushchair, and I know how much you want to see her. So we'll be there in about an hour, OK? Right, see you soon.' She put the phone down, got up, and suddenly said 'Oh Jane, did you say you wanted to take some souvenir photos of baby Jennifer before we go?' Jane went back into Fiona's room, and came back a moment later with her camera. I groaned inwardly. I was obviously not going to forget this in a hurry. Jane moved all around me taking photos, while I sat there unable to move or hide my face. She especially took some close ups of my head, featuring the humiliating dummy and hair ribbons prominently. After she had taken about a dozen pictures she said 'All right, that should be enough for now. But I'll bring my camera with me, I might take some more later.'

Fiona now stood in front of me, bent down a little and said 'Now Jennifer, guess who that was on the phone? Well I'll tell you. It was a good friend of mine who works in a shop in town. And guess what kind of shop it is? It's a baby shop! Yes, where they sell everything from pushchairs to nappy pins and baby bottles. My friend Angela can't wait to see you, so we're going to take you down there, and we're going to leave you with her in the shop for a while. If you're lucky she might even give you your feed and bottle. Won't that be nice?' This was too much. I started to frantically wriggle and writhe, hopelessly trying to free myself. But Fiona had done her work well, and I couldn't move an inch. The girls giggled with mirth as I tried desperately to yell in protest, but the only sound I could make was a muffled 'Mmmp mmm mmmf!' I gradually subsided, blushing with humiliation.

'Well now that we've got the tantrums out of the way, let's be off, shall we?' said Fiona. A chorus of assent came from the girls, and Jane pushed me out into the hall while the others put their coats on. Fiona opened the door to reveal a continuing downpour of rain. 'Whoops' she said, 'we can't take Jennifer out dressed like that, she'll get soaked.'

'Well we can't put her pink raincoat on her now without untying her' said Jane. 'No problem' said Fiona 'I've got something even better, and so babyish. Hang on a sec, it's in my wardrobe.' She went into her room, and was back in a moment holding up two folded items, one made of clear plastic which she put down, and the other of pink PVC, which she held up and shook out. 'How about this?' she said. It was a hooded raincape made to cover babies in pushchairs snugly from head to foot. To fit it, Fiona first slotted two holes in the cape over the end of the pushchair handles, and slid it down to the base of the handles behind me. Then she pulled the cape forward over the top of me and right down over my feet, covering me completely. My head protruded through a hole. She tucked the cape underneath the pushchair all the way around me and fastened it in position with small press studs. 'Now just one other touch' said Fiona. She pulled the pointed pixie hood up over my head, secured the press stud under my chin, and pulled it well forward. With the dummy over my mouth and peeping out from under the pixie hood, I looked just like a typical baby in her pushchair.

'Oh yes' said Hilary, 'That's delightful. I love the pixie hood, it makes him look so cute'

'Just a minute' said Fiona, 'I'm not quite finished yet.' She leant down and picked up the clear plastic storm cover. It had a ribbed frame to support it, rather like an umbrella. This clipped onto the frame of the pushchair at the top, and then spread out over me right down to my feet, so that I was completely covered. Like the raincape, it had fasteners attached to hold it in place under the pushchair. Fiona knelt down and secured them, then stood up and said 'There, now we're ready.' Looking down at me through the clear plastic of the storm cover she said 'Well that'll keep the rain off you Jennifer, but not necessarily dry. You see, if the rain stops and the sun comes out, we won't remove that raincape and storm cover. Oh no. We'll find a nice sunny place to sit you for a while, and it'll be like a hot house in there, especially with that plastic raincape on as well. Won't that be lovely for you!'

'Oh that's brilliant' said Jane, 'I made him wear his mackintosh with the hood up in the sun yesterday with the same idea, but this is positively fiendish!'

'It is, isn't it?' grinned Fiona, pleased at her own cruel ingenuity. 'OK everybody, let's get going.' Some of the girls put on their raincoats and put up their hoods, while others carried umbrellas. With Jane pushing the pushchair, we all went out through the front door and into the rain, and Fiona locked the door behind us. Down the path we went, through the gate, and onto the pavement. The rain drummed onto the storm cover as I sat helplessly in the pushchair, wriggling and gurgling helplessly, while from time to time one of the girls would peer in at me and laugh. After a while the rain began to lessen, and it finally stopped as the sun came out and shone down at full strength. Lowering the hood of her mac and unfastening it, Fiona noticed the sun's heat, and looking down at me said 'Well Jennifer, it looks like you're in for a nice warm walk into town, doesn't it?' Grinning maliciously she stared at me.

In only a few minutes, facing directly into the sun as we were, the pushchair was turning into a sauna. The heat and damp became more and more uncomfortable for me, securely covered in plastic as I was. I gurgled loudly into my dummy and shook my head from side to side in a futile attempt to shake off the hood of my raincape, but I couldn't get it back off my head by even a fraction. The girls giggled at my helpless discomfort, especially when I gurgled with frustration into my dummy.

As we approached the town centre, we encountered more and more people. I tried to shrink down into the pushchair to avoid being seen, but restrained as I was, I couldn't move an inch. Then I realised with some relief that I was so well covered that no one could see me clearly, and would have thought that I really was a baby in her pushchair. In that case, I didn't feel quite so bad. Yet. We eventually found ourselves at one end of a shopping precinct, and the girls finally stopped outside a shop called 'One Stop Baby Shop'. This was obviously it. Fiona opened the door, and Jane wheeled me into the store and down the aisle until we were next to the counter at the end, where two shop assistants were talking to each other. As we approached, one of the assistants, an attractive girl in her early 20's, stepped forward with a smile and said 'Hi everybody, here you are at last. So is this the little baby you told me about?' Jane turned the pushchair round so that I was facing into the room, and put the brake on.

'Right here Angela' said Fiona, pointing at me. 'Just a minute and we'll get these wet things off.' She unfastened the storm cover and folded it back like a pram hood. Next she leaned forward, unfastened the hood of my raincape, and lifting the whole cape off me, said 'Here she is.' She folded up the raincape and placed it in a tray underneath the pushchair. There I was, dressed from top to toe as a baby, helplessly strapped into her pushchair for all the world to see. Angela stood in front of me, looking at me with unconcealed mirth, while her colleague looked at me in disbelief before bursting out laughing.' Well well' said Angela, 'What a gorgeous little girl! You really have done quite a job on him, haven't you Fiona?'

'It was a joint effort really' said Fiona, 'After giving my brother a similar experience in the baby show last year, it was quite easy. We still had the baby dress made to fit him, along with all the other stuff, so there was no problem. The only difference is that with my brother it was a joke, whereas this time it's as a real punishment.' Angela folded her arms, looked at her and said 'Yes, you and Jane told me the whole story the other day. He really has been a so and so, hasn't he? Well you asked me if I could come up with something particularly humiliating for him, and I've arranged something that I'm sure will give this little girl a pretty horrendous time.'

'I knew you'd think of something good' said Fiona. 'And by the way, we've named our little girl Jennifer.'

'Jennifer' said Angela, 'Oh yes, I like that.' Standing in front of me she grinned and said 'Well Jennifer, have I got a treat in store for you. You're going to stay here with my friend Pauline and I for a while, but in the meantime I want to tell the girls what I have in mind for you.' Drawing the girls aside, she started talking to them in a low voice. Every so often one of them would look over at me and start giggling, and making comments such as 'Oh brilliant!' and 'That is truly sadistic, but I love it!' In the meantime I looked around the shop. I was surrounded by prams, pushchairs, cots, highchairs, and all the other paraphernalia of babyhood. There were a few other customers in the store, but those that did notice me just looked at me with wide grins on their faces. For a moment I attempted to call to them for help, but all I could do was gurgle helplessly into my dummy, and they just laughed without making any attempt to help me. It was awful.

At this moment a lady with a baby in a pram came into the shop, but she took no notice of me either, and Pauline went to serve her just as the girls returned. 'Now Jennifer' said Jane, 'Angela has very kindly agreed to baby-sit you for a while, so she's decided that you need a little lie down in the other room.' Releasing the brake of the pushchair, she wheeled me across the shop and into a side room. The room was normally a storeroom, but had been decorated and furnished as a nursery. The wallpaper was white, with baby motifs on it, and the room was illuminated by a table lamp with a pink shade. But what riveted my attention was a particularly large sized highchair and cot in the corner of the room. 'We used these in our window display last year' said Angela, 'And somehow they didn't get thrown out. I'm so glad now that we didn't, because they are what gave me the idea.' I was by now very curious to know what this idea was that had given the girls so much merriment in the shop. Alas, I was about to find out.

Jane turned to Angela and said 'Oh they'll be just perfect. Plenty big enough. Now are you sure you've got everything we'll need?'

'Absolutely down to the last item' said Angela, 'So let's get started. First of all, it's time for baby's feed, so we need to get her into the highchair.' Jane untied my dummy and removed it from my mouth, while the girls unfastened the straps that held me into the pushchair and let me stand up. I was then pulled across to the highchair and lifted into it. Angela and Jane now commenced to secure me into it in much the same effective way in which I had been restrained in the pushchair. First of all, two straps from behind the highchair were brought over my shoulders, and two more around my chest, and these were clipped into the D rings on the front of the baby reins. Then they were tightened and buckled up, pulling my upper body hard against the chair's back rest. Already I could hardly move. More straps fastened my ankles and waist to the highchair. My wrists were secured down by my sides, and a slightly looser strap secured me by the neck so that I could barely move my head. I was now restrained immovably sitting bolt upright in the highchair, while the girls stood back to admire their handiwork with murmurs of approval. After a moment, Angela said 'OK I'll just go and prepare baby Jennifer's food in the tearoom. Won't be long.' She went out of the room, with Jane and Susan following. About ten minutes later they were back, carrying a tray of food. On it was a jar of infant vegetable dinner with a small plastic spoon, a bowl of chocolate mousse, a baby bottle of milk, and a small bottle of what I assumed to be gripe water. Hanging over the edge of the tray was a baby's bib.

Putting the tray down, Angela picked up the bib and fastened it round my neck with tie tapes at the back. 'Now' she said, 'Feeding time.' Picking up the jar of infant vegetable dinner, she proceeded to spoon the bland, awful stuff into my mouth. Resistance was futile. Jane's willing hands pinched my nose closed and forced me to open my mouth. I was also warned that any attempt to spit the food out would result in the harshest of penalties, something I had no wish to contemplate. Next came the chocolate mousse that I noticed was liberally covered with small shavings of chocolate. At least it didn't taste as bad as the vegetable dinner. A little of the food dribbled onto the bib, but not enough to incur their wrath, and they used the corner of the bib to wipe my mouth.

Putting the empty bowl down, Angela picked up the baby bottle of milk, and again with Jane forcing my mouth open (she was getting very proficient at this trick), she pushed the teat into my mouth and told me to start sucking, again under the threat of severe punishment if I didn't co-operate. I had no choice, and vigorously sucked at the teat, to the particular amusement of Susan. With the bottle of milk emptied, I was now made to drink the gripe water, which tasted most peculiar. This done, Angela said 'There we are then everyone, baby Jennifer's fed, so now we can put her down.'

I was unstrapped from the highchair, stood up, and was led over to the cot. It was a typical nursery cot, painted white, with bars on each side and a headboard decorated with transfers of little girls in babyish poses. What concerned me more was the liberal array of straps hanging down from the cot's sides and on the plastic covered mattress. I turned to Jane and pleaded with her. 'Please Jane, not this. This is too much, and I won't do it!'

'Ah' said Jane, 'The first sign of disobedience. Well Jimmy, you will do exactly as I tell you, and I'll give you two good reasons. One, you know that if I tell my mum that you have directly disobeyed me, she will count that as having disobeyed her. That means that she'll report you, you will finish up before the magistrate, and you will be heading off to spend a year in a girl's boarding school. Remember?' I nodded miserably, and then she continued. 'But I now have another weapon. How would you like me to arrange for one of your sisters to distribute lots of photos of you dressed like that around your school and among your mates? Such as the ones I took of you in your pushchair in that cute little baby dress, wearing baby reins and with those two cute bows in your hair? I'd love to see what the girls at your school would do to you, and since your mates don't know about your punishment, I imagine that your street cred would go to zero. Mm?' I gulped, heaved a sigh of resignation, and said 'All right, you win. But I think it's rotten.' Jane glared at me. 'And so were your tricks, in case you'd forgotten. I've no sympathy for you, and you deserve everything you get, so no more arguments.' Turning to Angela she said 'He's all yours.'

'My pleasure' said Angela, lowering the bars on either side of the cot. Willing hands now lifted me into it, and Angela set to work. To begin with, she lifted up the hem of my baby frock and saw the disposable nappy underneath. 'That won't do' she said, 'We'll need more than that.' Going out into the shop, she soon returned carrying a white terry towel square, some pink nappy pins, and a large pair of clear plastic pants. Putting them down on the cot, she bent over me and pulled my frock well up. Undoing the securing tapes of the disposable nappy, she pulled it off and dropped it into a nearby bin. Expertly folding the terry towel into a kite shape, she said 'Right, botty up.' Two of the girls raised my bottom up off the cot, and Angela slid the nappy in position under me before I was lowered down onto it. She then deftly pinned the corners firmly in place in front of me with the four nappy pins. 'And now for your pilchers Jennifer' she said, 'We don't want any leaks do we?' She slid the plastic pants over my feet and up my legs, and then with the two girls raising me up again, she slid them over the nappy and into place, tucking them into my waist and under the leg holes of the nappy. Then she pulled the hem of the baby frock well down again to just above my knees. 'There you are Jennifer' said Angela, 'Now I can guarantee no leaks. Just as well, with what I think is going to happen. Now let's make sure you can't fall out of your cot.'

She spread my legs apart, buckled straps around my ankles, and tied them to the bottom corners of the cot. Another strap was fastened around my waist and tied to each side of the cot. Now I wouldn't be able to move sideways. Two straps from the top end of the cot and one on each side, level with my chest, were attached to the four D rings on my baby reins. These were pulled tight and fastened. Now I had no hope of moving my upper body at all. My already helpless wrapped hands were pulled out well away from my sides, and securely tied to the sides of the cot. With my hands wrapped, there would be no way that I could use my fingers to undo anything, even if my wrists had not been secured. 'Now' said Angela, 'since Jennifer is such a big baby, she needs a big drink of water.' Going out into the kitchen for a moment with the tray, she came back with eight baby bottles each full of water. 'There we are' said Angela said, 'Now everyone can give baby her bottle, one at a time.'

'Oh lovely' said Susan, can I go first?' She took one of the bottles, and thrust the teat into my mouth. While I sucked noisily at the bottle, she giggled with glee. Fiona was next, then Hilary, Tessa, and the others, until all eight baby bottles were empty. Finally the ordeal was completed, and I was bloated with water.

'Now,' said Angela, 'Hand me the dummy.' Susan picked the dummy up and gave it to her. Angela removed my wig, and gave it to Fiona saying 'Just hold this for a sec will you?' Holding the dummy, she carefully arranged the securing ribbons, and bent over me. 'Now Jennifer, here's your lovely dummy, and we know how much babies love their dummies, don't we? Open your mouth, nice and wide.' Knowing that Jane would happily assist her if I tried to resist, I did as I was told and opened my mouth. Angela pushed the huge rubber bulb of the dummy deep into my mouth. 'Lift your head a little' she said, and as I did so, she tightly wound the securing ribbons several times around my head, and tied it firmly behind my neck. Then she replaced my wig neatly in position.

'Now I'm sure we don't Jennifer shaking off those lovely bunches and hair ribbons do we?' said Angela, 'So I've got just the thing to stop her.' She went out of the room for a moment, and came back carrying a large white baby's bonnet. Pulling it well down onto my head, she drew the wide securing ribbons tightly together under my chin and tied them in a non-slip double bow. 'Just one more thing' said Angela. She buckled a leather collar around my neck, and attached it to the two top corners of the cot. I was now completely silenced, helpless, and unable to move. I couldn't even raise my head. With a look of satisfaction at a job well done, Angela raised the bars at the sides of the cot and locked them into place.

The girls now crowded round the cot, smiling down at me and laughing maliciously. 'Doesn't she look sweet, just like a tiny little baby' giggled Fiona, tidying the rim of my bonnet so that it framed my face neatly. 'You know' said Jane, 'This really is absolutely perfect, and more humiliating than I could have possibly thought. I just wish that his cousins Diana and Tricia could've been here to see him like this.' She smiled for a moment before collecting her thoughts. 'Well' she said, 'I suppose that now is the time to tell baby Jennifer what happens next. I know you thought of it Angela, but can I have the pleasure of telling her?' Angela smiled and said 'Be my guest.' Jane looked down at me and began. 'Well Jennifer, it's like this. You are now a little baby girl safely restrained in your cot so that you won't come to any harm. But you're not just going to be here for a little afternoon rest. Oh goodness me no. We are now going to leave you here until tomorrow afternoon. Fortunately, being Sunday, the shop will be closed tomorrow, so actually we could leave you here until Monday morning if we wanted too. Think about that. Now one thing that often makes babies cry is when they wet or soil their nappies. You of course can't cry out because of that nice big dummy to keep you quiet. I don't blame them for crying though. It must be very uncomfortable to be helplessly lying there with a soiled nappy, and all that nasty wee wees and poo poos burning your tender skin and giving you nappy rash. Well, guess what? In the time you are going to be lying here, I guarantee that you are going to both wet your nappy, and even worse, you are going to fill it with poo poos.'

She paused for a moment and looked at me with a huge smile on her face. 'Ah' she said, 'I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that you might wet your nappy, but you'll never do poo poos in it. Well I've got a little surprise for you. The seven bottles of liquid you've drunk will ensure that you will do wee wees in your nappy. But what you don't know is that the chocolate flakes on top of that chocolate mousse were made from a complete packet of laxative chocolates! Yes' she laughed, 'I can guarantee that by tomorrow morning you will have a very full nappy! And Angela is certain that you will also have a very sore case of nappy rash. You'll be surprised when you find out how much your nappy full of wee wees and poo poos will burn your skin after so many hours. It'll take several days to go away.' She stood back while all the girls giggled uncontrollably.

I was thunderstruck. God, what a fate. Instinctively I began to try and shout in protest, and tried to wriggle free by throwing myself from side to side furiously, but Angela had done her work well. I couldn't move, and all that came out from behind my dummy was a muffled 'Mmm mmf mmm!' as I began to cry with humiliation. 'Oh look' said Susan, 'She's crying, just like a real baby.' She looked at me and said in baby talk 'There there, does oo want to get out of your cot? I don't think so.' She smiled broadly. I now gradually stopped my helpless struggling, knowing how useless it was, and how much amusement it was giving the girls. Eventually things quietened down until they were just giggling quietly.

Angela started moving towards the door saying 'All right everybody, I think it's time to go. We'll be closing in a minute, so let's leave baby Jennifer to settle down for the night. Don't worry about her, she'll be quite safe.' With a last lingering smile and a giggle, the girls started to leave. Jane and Susan came over to me and looked down at my helpless form in the cot. I glared back at them over the dummy, and Jane grinned as she said 'So there you are Jimmy. Now you are going to go through the most exquisite humiliation. Imagine, doing poo poos in your nappy and then having to lie in it for hour after hour, while it squelches and squidges around your soaking wet bottom. The best bit about this is that there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. As I said to the others, I just wish that your sisters could be here now, to see what a wonderful revenge we are taking for all your past misdeeds; they would love it. Well don't worry, they soon will know all about it. Now we're going to leave you, so we'll see you tomorrow. Night night baby Jennifer. Have fun!' With a little wave, the girls were gone.

I lay there quietly, listening to the sounds through the open door of the room. Soon I could hear the girls bidding Angela goodbye, and then the sound of Angela's colleagues leaving. Soon it was quiet. After a short time, Angela came into the room carrying a bunny rug, strolled over to the cot, and looked down at me. 'Well well Jennifer, time to say goodnight, so let's tuck you in.' She put down one side of the cot, and spread the rug over me. It was pink with baby rabbits all over it, and she tucked it in around me and raised the bars of the cot again. 'There we are' she said, 'You'll be quite safe, so all you can do now is to lie there and take your punishment. I must say that I sometimes surprise myself with my ingenuity. I'll be back with the others sometime tomorrow afternoon, so I'll see you then. Bye bye' She gave me a last smile, went out of the room and closed the door. A few moments later I heard the sound of the front door being locked, and knew that I was now completely alone.

I lay there patiently for a while, but gradually the urge to break free became too much to resist. I began to heave and strain at my restraints, wriggling and writhing in my impotent frustration. As I struggled I tried to yell at the top of my voice, but it was absolutely hopeless. I couldn't move or make anything louder than a faint little gurgle. Hopeless. I eventually stopped struggling, and quietly lay there panting with exhaustion and frustration. Slowly I began to relax a little, and began to realise that it wasn't quite so bad if I didn't struggle. I supposed that eventually I would try and get some sleep, if that were possible.

The hours passed slowly, but I had no way of knowing what time it actually was. I was in an enclosed room with only the table lamp for illumination, so I couldn't see the daylight outside. Then, after a couple of hours or so, I began to feel a pressure in my bladder as it began to fill. For a while I had no trouble containing it, but inexorably, the pressure started to build up. For some reason, perhaps my pride, I wanted to avoid wetting my nappy like a baby, and I grimly hung on, grunting with the effort. But nature was not to be resisted. As the pressure on my bladder turned into real pain, my muscles finally gave way to the pressure. A flood of urine gushed into my nappy, and I could feel the warm liquid pouring into every fold of my skin and running down to my bottom. I was soaked, but nevertheless relieved. Despite the situation I gave a muffled groan of relief as my bladder emptied.

For a while, I just lay there and relaxed, but gradually the humiliation of lying there helplessly dressed as a baby in her wet nappy played on my mind. Could anything be more humiliating? I thought. Well, I was about to find out what could be more humiliating.

 

CHAPTER 7

 

A HUMILIATING WALK HOME

 

Time slowly passed, and in the warm pink glow of the table lamp, I actually began to drift off into a fitful sleep. It had been an emotionally exhausting day. Occasionally I woke up momentarily, but soon drifted off again. Then it began. I was woken up by a loud gurgling coming from my bowels, and felt some movement. By now wide awake, I tried to estimate what time it was, and guessed that it was probably about six o'clock in the morning. I couldn't help but concentrate on what was happening. The bowel movement repeated after about ten minutes, and gradually these movements became more frequent and intense as time passed and the huge dose of laxatives took effect. I suddenly felt the urge to empty my bowels, but that was something I was determined to avoid, no matter what. So began my real struggle. I desperately tried to clench my buttocks closed and draw my knees together, but Angela had deliberately tied my legs apart so that I couldn't do just that. I began to writhe in my restraints more and more as I tried to resist what I could feel moving down through my lower bowels inexorably towards my bottom. I became frantic as I tried to struggle, but was held down immovably by the strong baby reins and straps.

But finally, nature took its inevitable course, and I gave a muffled wail of humiliation into my dummy as an uncontrollable flood of poo poos oozed out into my nappy. It was horrendous. Tears filled my eyes as the warm, sticky brown flood spread around my bottom and inside my nappy. I lay there, sobbing quietly for a few minutes. Then I found that it wasn't over yet. The gurgling continued, and every so often I could feel yet another burst of poos coming out into my nappy. As I lay there, I could feel my nappy squelching around my bottom every time I moved. I just lay there for the next few hours, drained with emotion.

But all things come to an end. After what seemed an eternity, I at last heard the front door of the shop being opened, and a moment later the door of my room opened and in came Angela, Jane, and Susan. They came over to the cot and looked down at me with wide grins on their faces. 'Well well' said Angela, 'I think that little Jennifer has well and truly filled her nappy, judging by how she looks.' Looking at me she said 'Have you done poo poos in your nappy Jennifer?'

'Mmmph' I gurgled. 'Excellent' said Jane, and turning to Susan said 'Sue, I think you'd better go out of the room for a few minutes while we get Jennifer cleaned up. This is the unpleasant part.'

'Yes, I know what you mean' said Sue, holding her nose with a grimace, 'I'll go and see if I can find any more baby things for Jennifer.' She went out into the store, leaving Angela and Jane with me. Angela lowered the bars of the cot, and they started to release me. Soon I was standing upright, although somewhat unsteadily. 'Now' said Angela, 'There's a small toilet and shower through here' indicating a door in the end of the room, 'Go in there, remove all your clothes, and put the dirty nappy and plastic pants in the large rubbish bag in there. Then take a shower, and let me know when you've dried off. Leave the clothes in a heap in the corner; I'll give them to Jane to take home in a minute.'

I didn't need asking twice. I waddled into the small shower room and divested myself of all the by now smelly paraphernalia, being careful to put the stinking nappy into one rubbish bag inside another to seal in the smell. Then, after wiping my bottom with toilet paper as much as possible and flushing it down the toilet, I took a long, hot shower. As I stepped into the hot water, I let out a scream as a searing pain suffused across my bottom. I'd forgotten the nappy rash. The pain gradually subsided a little, but I dried my bottom very gingerly. With a towel around me I went back into the 'nursery' and looked out of the other door into the shop. Jane and Susan were standing at the counter with Angela, having a cup of tea.

It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't have any clothing. 'What am I supposed to wear home?' I said, almost plaintively. The girls turned and looked at me. Jane grinned and said, 'Oh don't worry, we've brought your clothes with us. We're going to dress you in your Sunday best, so come over here and we'll get you ready. Don't worry, the shop's closed, and no one can see you from the street.' I reluctantly went over to her as she emptied her bag and laid out my underclothes and primrose yellow dress on the counter.

'Now before I dress you Jennifer' she said, 'Bend over.' I did as she told me, and she grinned. 'As I expected' she said, 'A classic case of nappy rash. Would you like me to put some ointment on it for you?'

'Yes please' I said, surprised at her concern. Jane took a tube of ointment out of her bag, and removing the cap, she squeezed a generous portion into her hand. Putting the tube down on the counter, she said to me 'Right Jennifer, bend down over the chair.' Angela and Susan held me down over the chair with my bottom in the air, and I should have begun to suspect something. But it was too late.

As soon as I was held down in position, Jane put her hand on my bottom and began to rub the ointment well in. In a few seconds I felt a searing pain spread across my bottom, and I screamed in agony. It wasn't soothing skin cream. Oh no. It was full strength deep heat ointment, and the pain brought tears to my eyes. The girls burst out laughing and let me go, and I desperately tried to rub off the ointment from my bottom, but that just made things worse. Jane gave me a cloth to wipe my hands as the pain subsided slightly, but I realised that I was going to have a very sore bottom for several days to come.

'Well' she chuckled, 'That was fun, wasn't it? Don't worry Jimmy, it won't last forever. Just a little souvenir from your night in a dirty nappy. Now let's get you dressed, little girl.'

She picked up a pair of pale yellow knickers and held them out for me to step into. 'Right' she said, 'In you get.' I obediently stepped into them, and she pulled them up to my waist. This was followed by a white vest, which she tucked into my knickers. I was learning to do as I was told without question. Jane then picked up the dress and held it up for Angela to admire. 'Oh that is pretty' smiled Angela, 'Delightful for a little eight year old, but humiliating for a girl of twelve, let alone a boy of twelve.'

'I know' Jane grinned, 'That's why we chose it. The great thing is that because of his small size and girlish face, we can pass him off as a little girl of eight, can't we Sue?'

'Yes' said Susan, 'And the style is so little girlish that we bought two others exactly the same, one pink and one blue. Couldn't be better. Aunt Mary says we can buy him two more dresses later, so he's going to have a complete little girl wardrobe.' Jane now held up the dress for me to put my arms and head into, and rapidly pulled it down over me before fastening the buttons down the back and tying the sash in a neat bow behind. 'Shoes and socks next' said Jane, and sat me down. She picked up a pair of white ankle socks with a frill round the ankle, and placed them on my feet, followed by a pair of brown T bar shoes that she buckled on securely. 'Now for your hair' said Jane, picking up a wig from the counter, 'Don't worry Jennifer, we'll take your wig from yesterday home to be washed, along with the other dress and socks that you wore on your way here. We've got three wigs for you, so you'll always have clean hair. Aren't we thoughtful? Now sit up straight and keep your head still.' She placed the wig carefully on my head, brushed it until it hung down with a neat fringe at the front, and then divided it into two bunches. In the same style as before, she tied two pale yellow hair ribbons in bows on the bunches, and secured them in place with yellow plastic hair slides. 'Now stand up and let's see you in the mirror' said Jane. I stood up, and looking in the mirror saw a very convincing looking little girl staring back at me. Certainly no one would have guessed that I was a boy without looking at me very closely. Angela laughed and said. 'Well I have to say it's amazing. He really does look like a girl. I wouldn't give him a second glance in the street, which is almost a pity since he's supposed to be feeling humiliated.'

'Oh don't worry' said Jane, 'Susan and I have thought about that, so this is what we will be doing later on.' She went over to Angela and whispered into her ear. 'Ah' said Angela, grinning, 'Now that's more like it. Excellent. Yes, that'll do the job of humiliating him very nicely I should think. Now, let's go for a walk, it's a lovely afternoon. I'll just go and put his baby clothes into a bag for you and drop the dirty nappy in the dustbin.' She went through to the bathroom and came back with two bags. Giving the larger one to Jane, she took the other one out the back for disposal. Then she came back, and said 'Right, let's go.'

We went down the aisle to the front door, and were soon out in the quiet shopping precinct. Angela locked the door, and we set off in the afternoon sunshine towards the park. As we walked along, Jane said to me 'Jennifer, you really must try and walk like a girl. Susan, walk a bit in front of us so that he can learn. Now watch the way she walks, Jennifer.' Susan walked in front of me, and I began to try and imitate her. After some encouraging comments from Jane and Angela I began to get into the rhythm of it, and it started to become more natural. 'That's better' said Angela, 'That's really quite good. Now keep going like that Jennifer, I think you've got it just about right. I'm beginning to think that you could convince anyone that you really are Jane and Susan's little eight year old sister. Especially wearing that sweet little outfit. Quite convincing actually.' I didn't know whether to feel humiliated or complimented, but since I couldn't do anything about the situation I just continued imitating Susan's walk as well as possible, so as not to be noticed. We went through the gates of the park, and spent about an hour walking slowly along, the girls discussing the finer points of my performance. Eventually we had walked around the park two or three times, and Jane decided that it was time for us to be going home. As we returned to the park gate, Jane thanked Angela for all her help. 'You've been great' she said. 'It was a fantastic idea, and I'm sure it's really added to his humiliation.'

'My pleasure' said Angela, 'And if you want to repeat the exercise later on, I'll be happy to oblige. I'd also like to take baby Jennifer out in her pushchair sometime. I was thinking that it might be fun to take her up to one of the local primary schools one afternoon, just as the children are coming out. I'm sure that the little girls would love it.'

'That could easily be arranged' said Jane, 'The primary schools go back about a week before Jimmy goes home, so we can squeeze it in then.'

'Great' said Angela, 'And maybe we could take baby Jennifer up to the park for a picnic at the same time. Wouldn't that be lovely?' Jane and Susan looked at each other and nodded their approval. My face said everything.

As we started walking towards the bus stop, Jane suddenly stopped and said 'Oh just a minute Angela, we've forgotten the pushchair. It's still back at the shop.'

'Don't worry about it' said Angela, 'I'll put it away and you can come and collect it during the week.'

'OK' Jane replied, 'We'll see you then. Bye, and thanks again.' We went our separate ways, and soon Jane, Susan and I were standing at the bus stop. At least we were not in for the long walk home. I felt so self conscious, standing there for all to see, especially when two women came up to the bus stop and one looked at me, smiling. I just couldn't be sure whether she thought I was really a little girl or not, but she said nothing, and soon the bus came along. The driver didn't give me a second glance as we climbed on, and we sat together at the front, with me seated between my cousins.

We soon got off the bus near our home, and walking along the pavement we met Fiona and Hilary going the other way. We stopped for a moment while they looked at me. 'I've got to keep saying it' said Hilary, 'He really does make a sweet little girl. Will we be having more fun later?'

'Oh goodness me, yes' said Jane. 'You're part of it. Remember, we've got him at our mercy for six whole weeks, so we've got plenty of time. If you can come up with some more humiliating ideas for him, so much the better.'

'Terrific, because I've got a wonderful idea. He doesn't have to be just a baby, does he?'

'Heavens no, as long as he's a girl not older than 12, anything goes. Why, what have you got in mind?'

'Well you know that we're all supposed to be going on that school holiday excursion to the dinosaur exhibition next Tuesday?'

'Ugh!' interrupted Susan, 'I'd forgotten.'

'Oh God' said Fiona, 'So had I.' Hilary smiled and said 'Never mind. I was just thinking what fun it would be if we took Jimmy with us, but dressed in our junior school uniform. Susan will still have to wear hers of course, but I've still got my old junior uniform, and I'm sure it'll fit him. I'd just love to see him in it.' Jane looked at me, grinned, and said 'Well, I agree that it's a great idea, except for one small problem. If we're meeting at school before we go, the teachers will know that he's not one of us.'

'Ah, but we're not meeting at school, are we?' said Hilary, 'We're all meeting at the museum, and the trip is being run by the museum guides with only two part time teachers. They'll hardly recognise anybody, so when they see Jimmy in our school uniform, they'll just assume he's one of us.'

'Well I think it's a great idea' said Jane. 'What do you think Susan? Would you like to see Jimmy all dressed up in our junior school uniform, just like you?

'I'd love it' replied Susan. 'But don't let him wear a summer dress. I want him to wear our winter uniform, especially the raincoat. If it's a hot sunny day, I want him to wear it all the time, just like I had to all day once, with my mackintosh hood up as a punishment. It was horrible.'

'Yes' said Jane, 'I remember. Hilary, do you have both your winter and summer uniforms?'

'Sure' said Hilary, 'You can have either.'

'All right then, he'll wear the junior winter uniform, and we'll make sure that he wears his school mackintosh all day. How's that Sue?'

'With the hood up?' asked Susan.

'Yes,' said Jane, laughing, 'With the hood up. All day. We'll make sure he keeps the hood up all day, won't we Fiona?'

'Sure' said Fiona, smiling, 'We'll tie the strings under his chin in such a tight knot that he won't be able to get it off without our help anyway. I'll tell you what Susan, we'll put up his hood before we leave, and we won't take it off until we get home again. How's that?'

'Perfect' said Susan, 'I can't wait for some of my class to see him!'

'All right then' said Jane,' We'll see you on Tuesday. Fiona, meet us at our place at about half past nine, and we'll all go into town on the bus together. I expect there'll be loads of other girls as well, so we can warn them all about Jimmy before we get to the museum. We don't want anyone giving anything away to the teachers, whatever happens; we'd never hear the last of it. Oh and Hilary, can you drop off your old winter uniform tomorrow? We'll just try it on to make sure that it fits him nicely on Tuesday.'

'Fine' said Hilary, 'I'll drop it off tomorrow morning, and watch while you dress him. I can't wait to see what he looks like. Rather demure, I should think. God, I used to hate wearing that uniform. OK, I'll see you tomorrow.'

We split up and soon arrived home. Jane and Susan made the tea while I sat at the table, chin in hands, feeling utterly depressed. 'Come on Jennifer' said Jane, 'Make yourself useful and lay the table.' I sullenly did as I was told, and we sat down to tea. 'I can't wait to see him in our junior uniform' said Susan. 'I've always hated wearing it, it's so old fashioned and childish. And as for the raincoat, yuk! You haven't ever seen my school uniform, have you Jimmy?' she asked. 'No I haven't' I said.

'Well you're really in for a treat, believe me' said Susan, 'Or rather, I am.' Tea over, we did the washing up and went into the lounge to watch television, but after only a few minutes, Jane looked at her watch and said 'Well Jennifer, I think we'll put you to bed early tonight. Go on, up you go.'

'But it's only six o'clock!' I protested. Jane looked at me and smiled. 'I don't care what time it is; you'll do as you're told. Besides, I've got some plans to discuss with Susan. We're going to dream up some more lovely torments for you, and we don't want you around while we discuss them. Come here and I'll undo the buttons of your dress, I know you can't reach them.' I went over to her, and standing behind me, she untied the bow of my belt and unfastened the row of buttons down my back. I felt like a three year old. 'There' she said, 'Now are you going to go up by yourself or not?' I groaned, and went upstairs.

In my bedroom I threw the hated wig onto the bed. Then I pulled the dress off over my head and also dropped it on the bed along with all my other clothing. Putting on my nightie, I went along to the bathroom to clean my teeth, but when I got back to my room, Jane was standing there holding the dress in her hands. She frowned at me. 'Now Jennifer, this won't do. You will not just leave your clothes lying all over the bed when you take them off. You will hang your dresses up tidily in the wardrobe, put your socks and undies in the washing basket in the bathroom, and your shoes neatly together in the bottom of the wardrobe. You will also put your wig on its stand on the dresser, where I'll remove the ribbons and brush it out ready for the next day. Is that understood?' I grudgingly said yes, and she started putting everything away. 'Now' she said, 'Get into bed, and I don't want another word out of you. Night night little girl, and sleep tight.' She grinned for a moment, and then went out, switching off the light as she went. I turned over in bed and was asleep before I knew it.

(continued)

 

 

 

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