Pirates and Maidens

by

Pamela
© 2002 Pamela (pamelapamela@hotmail.com)

 

Part 1 of 2

 

Miss Gilliam surveyed her sixth grade class. They were truly her favorite class among all those she had taught since she began teaching ten years earlier. What a nice bunch of kids, well, except for that awful Mary Lou Bogart who not only was unattractive, but was a downright tomboy. Many an anecdote about Mary Lou played out in the teachers lounge about her belligerent attitude, since she had been in the school since kindergarten and every one of her former teachers recalled what a struggle it had been to teach her. It wasn't that Mary Lou was a bully or disruptive. It was that she only did what she wanted to do, and you could never get her to budge an inch.

Susan Gilliam had been planning the next class project since the beginning of the school year. It would start as soon as the current section on American naval history was completed; actually, American naval history was mostly about pirates and shipwrecks, the kinds of things that easily held the class attention, well mainly the attention of the boys. After naval history, the class would put on the most wonderful dance theater. There were 12 boys and 12 girls. There would be 12 pirates and 12 maidens. They would form 12 perfect couples, arranged in a symmetric pattern on the stage. In full costumes: exciting pirate outfits with aluminum swords, peg-legs and hooks for the boys and pretty pastel, lace, gowns for the dancing maidens. How many layers should the petticoats be? She made a mental note to talk about it with Mrs. Bedlam, the home economics teacher who would be teaching the girls how to sew their own petticoats and dresses. There should be enough layers so that the skirts stood out at maybe even a 60 degree angle. Susan Gilliam sighed with pleasure at the vision, and tingled with excitement imagining the beautiful symmetry of the kids as they danced on the stage of the school auditorium, with hundreds of parents present, as well as the principal and maybe even the school superintendent.

There was just a few minutes left before the final bell, but Miss Gilliam wanted to announce the project to the kids, so they could share her excitement. She got everyone's attention, with the exception of Mary Lou who was looking out the window in her usual desperate desire to get out and back to whatever rock she crawled out from. No, that was a mean thing to think. Probably her parents were the problem. They had a reputation for being as hard nosed as their daughter was. Miss Gilliam cleared her throat and got the attention of the kids and then proceeded to tell them about the dance program. There would be five dances, covering five different eras of American dance in the eighteenth century. The boys would be dressed as pirates and the girls as maidens. The boys would make their swords and peg-legs and hooks in industrial arts room, while the girls made their dresses in the sewing lab. As she made the announcement, she saw glee in the faces of 23 kids, and one monstrously foul look forming on one young lady named Mary Lou Bogart.

"Mrs. Gilliam!!" Mary Lou practically shouted.

"Its Miss Gilliam, Mary Lou, as I've told you about 100 times just this week."

"Mrs. Gilliam!" Mary Lou said.

"What Mary Lou?"

"I want to be a pirate!"

"As I said, Mary Lou, the girls are the maidens, the boys are the pirates."

"But there are girl pirates!"

"We did not study any girl pirates."

"But I bet there are. Anyway, I want to be a pirate. Its not fair that only the boys get to be pirates."

Miss Gilliam went to great length to explain the beautiful symmetry of 12 pirates and 12 maidens. And that having 13 pirates and 11 maidens would just ruin the entire effect. Besides, there would be nothing more ridiculous than having two pirates dancing with each other. The class thought that was pretty funny and they laughed along with Miss Gilliam, except of course, for Mary Lou who only scowled.

"I don't care, Mrs. Gilliam. I want to be a pirate."

Just then the bell rang and the kids got up to catch their busses.

Miss Gilliam called out, "we'll finish this discussion tomorrow!"

Lord why have you given me Mary Lou Bogart, Susan Gilliam thought to herself. 13 pirates and 11 maidens would not work. She would die before she gave up her perfect 12 couples: 12 hearty pirates and 12 beautiful delicate maidens. Mary Lou Bogart, curses!!!

*******************************

Tim Senate couldn't wait to run home to tell his mom and dad about the dance performance that his sixth grade teacher Miss Gilliam had told the class about. He was going to get to dance with one of the girls in the class. He prayed it would be Penny. It would be pirate dances with the girls as maidens. Old fashioned music and magical costumes. He wondered how they were going to make swords. How sharp would they be. And how did one wear a peg-leg, if one had two perfectly good legs?

His mom and dad were pleased that he was excited about the project. It was not everyday that Timmy came home loving school. He was a good student, one of the smarter ones in the class, but he was uneven. He tended to do well in what he liked, mostly the sciences, and not so great in areas he didn't love, like English and most especially that horror or all horrors: language arts. Here was an activity in a realm where Timmy had never shown much interest before. Who knows, maybe it would spark a lifetime interest in music and dance. That would be truly wonderful his parents thought.

That night Timmy thought about dancing with Penny. They would have to be holding hands he figured, and maybe he'd get to put his arm around her. In some dances he imagined that he'd have to twirl her around and catch her. Just before he fell asleep he realized that some poor boy in the class would end up with Mary Lou. He couldn't help but laugh at the thought. Poor boy. He'd have to be careful that she didn't throw him around. He chuckled to himself, and then froze at the thought that there was a possibility he'd be the one stuck with her. No way that I'd be so unlucky. Our last names are so far apart, it would be impossible for us to get together. With that comforting thought Tim fell asleep.

******************************

The next morning when Miss Gilliam arrived at school at 7:30 AM there was already a message to call Henrietta Bogart, Mary Lou's mother. Gee, what could this be about Miss Gilliam thought cynically.

"Hello?" the voice on the phone said.

"Ms. Bogart? This is Miss Gilliam, Mary Lou's teacher. You wished to speak to me?"

"Yes Mrs. Gilliam. Mary Lou told me that you won't let her be a pirate in the project you announced yesterday. Quite frankly, I think its sexist and unfair and..."

"You do not understand. The project is just as much about eighteenth century dancing as about pirates and we need to have pirates dancing with maidens. Who will Mary Lou dance with if she is a pirate?"

"I don't care. It is not my problem. Perhaps two pirates could watch the others..."

"I'll see what I can do," Miss Gilliam cut her off.

After hanging up the phone, Miss Gilliam thought to herself, "stand around and watch the others!" How are they supposed to dance in two groups of six for the finale dance, or three groups of four for the allemande? Ridiculous. That woman is an idiot!

Amy Bedlam walked into the teachers lounge and joined Susan Gilliam. "Problems?" she said after seeing Susan's face.

Miss Gilliam explained the situation.

"It is certainly a dilemma, Susan. Can you borrow two girls from Mrs. Edwards class?"

"Thirteen couples Amy? Are you serious? Besides, a class is a class. You can't take kids out of a class near the end of the school year. And worst of all, the classes are in competition with each other for the best show."

Mr. Brakes the shop teacher walked over after hearing the conversation. "Why don't you have one of the boys be a maiden?" he said matter-of-factly.

"Now I've heard everything!" Miss Gilliam said.

"No seriously. Its an ancient tradition in the theater. The Greeks did it all the time. What about Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire? You know."

********************************

Miss Gilliam stood in front of the class with considerable trepidation.

"By a show of hands, how many of you have seen the movies, Mrs. Doubtfire and Tootsie?"

Virtually every hand in the room went up. "They're very funny movies are they not?"

The class tittered in agreement. "What do the two movies have in common?" Miss Gilliam asked.

"Boys pretending to be girls," Jacques said.

"Exactly! Do you know that it is one of the great traditions of the theater. It goes back two thousand years to the ancient Greeks who wouldn't let women act on the stage. In fact, only the very best actors got to play women roles! In modern times just look how great Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams are!!"

Minutes later Miss Gilliam formed the class into two lines. One line of boys, the other of girls. She had them line up from shortest to tallest. "We're going to find our partners for the dance show according to height. We want each couple to be as close as possible in height. Now turn and face the girl or boy in the other line and see who your partner is! Sarah, take a pen and paper and please write down the names of the couples." As she watched the kids, Miss Gilliam mentally paired off the couples trying to see who was going to be opposite Mary Lou. Tim Senate! she thought to herself, thank God! An eminently reasonable boy. Intelligent, good natured, and just a tad delicate. Not effeminate, but not barrel chested and muscle bound, either. He will do just nicely.

Tim Senate turned and saw that he was opposite Mary Lou Bogart. Oh yuck and a half, he thought, I have to dance with Mary Lou? He saw that the next girl shorter than Mary Lou was Penny and she was standing opposite Greg. If he had been only a half inch shorter it would have been Penny next to him and not Mary Lou. Greg was the handsomest boy in the class and also a great athlete. Tim wondered why good things always had to go to guys like that.

Miss Gilliam had everyone sit down after Sarah was done recording the names. "Very good. Twelve perfect couples for the perfect dance." Miss Gilliam saw Mary Lou with her hand raised. She ignored it. "There is one small change that I have to announce. For certain reasons beyond our control, Mary Lou will be a pirate in the production. So her partner will then be a maiden."

Mary Lou lowered her hand and blurted out, "Tim is my partner. He's the maiden!"

Miss Gilliam in all her life had never seen a face as red as that of poor Tim Senate. It was red like a thousand roses. Like a lobster in a pot. She made a note to tell Amy about it later. She would get a kick out of it.

Tim had his hand raised.

"Yes, Tim?"

"Miss Gilliam. Its not fair that I should be a maiden. I'm a boy!"

"But Tim. We just got through our class discussion about how only the best boy actors get to play the role of girls. You will not BE a maiden, you will be ACTING the part of a maiden in the same great tradition as Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman!" Miss Gilliam held her breath hoping beyond hope that Tim would take the bait. The thought passed through her mind, 'if you believe this, I have a bridge I want to sell you that runs between Brooklyn and Manhattan.' If she could just get past this next minute, he would be caught. He might jump around a bit on the dock later, but he would be a dead fish, and one lovely maiden in the perfect dance come performance time.

"Everyone will make fun of me!" Tim said with a slight whine of desperation in his voice.

"Who in this room is going to tease Tim?" Miss Gilliam said fiercely. The class remained absolutely still.

"See, no one Tim, they have only the greatest respect for your acting ability. Don't you all?"

There was a murmur of agreement, but not exactly a rousing confirmation of her point, so Miss Gilliam repeated, "we are depending on Tim to put on the performance of a lifetime so that our class can win the best performance award, and then we'll be going to Six Flags amusement park and be the envy of the school!!"

At this there was a great cheer from the kids. Even Tim seemed to be pleased by the thought, though for the rest of the day he brooded. Just before class was dismissed at the end of the day, Miss Gilliam said that tomorrow morning the maidens would be meeting with Mrs. Bedlam to begin planning their dresses, while the boys would meet with Mr. Brakes to start construction of their swords.

Miss Gilliam saw Tim's eyes react like he had seen a vampire. He came up to her after the dismissal bell, and she explained to him with all the kindness and firmness she could muster, why it was that he had to go with the maidens to make his dress the following day.

***************************************************

At the dinner table that night, Tim's Dad asked him how the preparations for the dance performance were going.

"Just great dad," Tim said with no enthusiasm.

"Yesterday you were so excited. What happened? You didn't get to partner with Penny?"

Tim was silent.

"Don't tell me you ended up with Mary Lou?" his mother said with feigned anguish.

"Its not funny," Tim said. His parents both chuckled.

"Worst things have happened, Tim. I'm sure you'll dance fine with Mary Lou."

"Worse things did happen!" Tim said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Mary Lou is going to be the pirate and I'm going to be the maiden!"

"The maiden?!" his older sister Lucy asked incredulously. Tim's mom and dad gave her a sharp glance and she said, "how nice!"

Long after Tim and Lucy had finished dinner and gone upstairs to do their homework, Tim's mom and dad were still discussing what, if anything, they ought to do about Tim playing the part of a maiden. Finally they decided to take a wait-and-see attitude. If it became an unreasonable burden on Tim they would intervene. In the meantime, there was a possibility that the experience would be beneficial for Tim. It could develop his character and certainly improve his acting skills.

***************************************************

The next day Mrs. Bedlam welcomed her dozen "girls."

"Our job here is to make your maiden costumes and to start learning your dance steps, away from the boys. I don't suppose that many of you know much about sewing, but you will be experts by the time we're done. The maiden costume will be a very pretty dress about knee length with puffy sleeves, a sweetheart neckline and a sumptuous petticoat. Miss Gilliam and I have picked out a lovely pattern. First you will make your petticoats and then the dresses. Any questions?"

Tina raised her hand, "do we wear stockings?"

"Yes, Tina. The petticoats will be white and the dresses will be different colors. So you'll wear a shade of nude hose. You also need to have white shoes, with one inch heels. We want you to look elegant but still be able to dance."

Tim sat by himself at the side of the room. Petticoats and dresses? How could he ever wear them? Pantyhose? Was Mrs. Bedlam serious? And how was he to get girls shoes?

"Oh, and one thing more," Mrs. Bedlam said, "how many of you are wearing bras already? Raise your hands."

Six of the girls raised their hands. Tim furtively glanced at them feeling nearly overcome by embarrassment. He saw that Penny had her hand raised.

Mrs. Bedlam looked around the room. "About half of you, I see. The dances we will be doing were done by ladies a century or more ago and we need to look at least a little bit lady like. You will have to wear bras and from the look of you most of you will need padded bras, at least an A cup. I'll be sending around a note to your parents." The girls tittered with amusement at the announcement. During the commotion Mrs. Bedlam turned to Tim, "and, of course, you probably don't know the first thing about bras. I can bring one in for you, unless you prefer that your mom buy you one?"

Tim looked at Mrs. Bedlam and she looked at him. "What do you prefer?" Mrs. Bedlam said.

"I guess if you buy me one?"

"It's probably best if your mom does. I'll write her a note and tell her what you need. She'll also have to get you pantyhose, and the shoes of course. That may be a bit difficult. Probably a woman size would fit you."

Tim felt woozy. A padded bra? Girls shoes? Pantyhose? He felt a loud ringing in his ears and fought to keep from crying or yelling or whatever emotion he was feeling.

Mrs. Bedlam looked up at the class, "any further questions?"

"What about our hair, Mrs. Bedlam?"

"Good question Sarah. You'll have to wear your hair up with as many curls as you can coax. I'll distribute some pictures of how ladies wore their hair back then, and your moms or perhaps a beauty parlor can make them up that way a day or two before the performance. We'll have to get a wig for Tim. I have an old one at home, I'll bring it in for him."

"If there are no more questions, then the first order of business is to separate you into buddy pairs. When we begin to teach the dances you will see that they are always symmetric about the middle of the stage. What is done on the right side of the stage is reflected as if through a mirror to the left side. To make it look as pretty as possible we need to have the two shortest couples together, then the next two smallest couples and so forth. For each group of two couples, the two boys and the two girls will have steps that are reflected from one another. Once again, as if a mirror were held up through the center of the stage. Any questions?"

Mrs. Bedlam then proceeded to name the couples. While Tim listened intently he tried to figure out if he and Penny would be a pair. Finally, to his great relief he heard her say, "Tim and Penny will be the fifth pair of girls, coming from couples 9 and 10, and then, Alison and Marge the last pair, coming from couples 11 and 12."

Tim winced at hearing himself referred to as a girl. However, at least one good thing had happened to him in this whole mess. Penny was going to be his partner!

Mrs. Bedlam had the partners stand in pairs and looked them over to make sure they were well matched. Satisfied with what she saw, Mrs. Bedlam said that since there were only six sewing machines in the room, the pairs would work together to make their petticoats and dresses. "That way we can learn from each other. Now take a seat with your buddy at a machine and we'll begin work on our petticoats. They're a lot easier than the dresses and will give you a chance to get some practice before tackling the harder job."

Tim and Penny sat at their sewing machine. Tim was so nervous that he could barely talk when Penny smiled at him and said, "I suppose you don't know much about sewing, do you?"

"No."

"No, you don't or no, you do?"

"Oh, no, no. I can't sew!" Tim said.

"No need to worry since I have a lot of experience."

"Good. Thanks." Tim felt like an idiot.

"I've always liked petticoats," Penny said, "I wore one for my first communion. They're nice because they keep your skirt out wide. That's pretty."

Tim managed to smile at Penny. He was at a complete loss for words. "I haven't worn a petticoat."

Penny laughed. "I wouldn't have imagined that you'd had. Boys in petticoats, thats funny!"

"But I'll have to wear one," Tim said meekly.

"You're just acting. That's different. Its nice that you're helping Miss Gilliam out. She's such a nice teacher."

Penny has the prettiest smile of any girl Tim thought.

"If I can have your attention," Mrs. Bedlam said and waited until the class quieted down. "Here is what your petticoats will look like when you are done." She held up a white petticoat and spread it out to reveal the layers of skirts. "The skirts are nylon taffeta. There are three 11 inch ruffles and 6 tiers of tulle net, and extra tulle for added fullness. There is approximately 140 yards of netting. To get your petticoat to come out as perfect as this one, you must pay strict attention to detail, and have me and your partner check out your handiwork each step of the way. You should find a tape measure on your desks, and your first job is to get accurate measurements of your partner so that they can make the right sized petticoat. They have to fit within one inch of the bottom of your dresses. You'll have to take measurements for both the petticoat and the dress." Mrs. Bedlam demonstrated on one of the girls what measurements she wanted: bust, waist, hips and distance to the knee, among others. "Make careful notes and double check your work. Any questions?"

Sarah held up her hand.

"Yes Sarah?"

"Mrs. Bedlam. If we wear padded bras, won't that change the measurements of our busts?"

"Yes, Sarah, but we're only talking of an A cup. It shouldn't be too important. Though you could give it an extra inch if you really want to make sure you have enough room. OK. Now lets get to work."

Penny took the tape measure which was lying on the sewing machine table in front of her. "Stand up Tim," she ordered and he got up. She took the tape measure and circled his chest with it. It was all Tim could do to not feint with excitement as Penny stood close to him and gently touched his chest. She pulled the tape measure taut and read "32 inches, though we better put it down as 33 since your bra will make a big difference I should think. Maybe even 34 would be better. What do you think?"

"Sure. That's OK."

"34?"

"Yeah, 34."

Penny proceeded to measure his waist which came to 29 inches and his hips which came to 30 inches.

"34-29-30, got it?"

"Yep," Tim said.

"Now its your turn to measure me," Penny said, and handed the tape measure to Tim. "First do my bust."

Tim faced Penny and stepped forward to put the tape around behind her back like she had done for him. "Aim it across my bust and read off the measurement," Penny said. She was wearing a soft cotton, short sleeved, blouse in a kind of salmon color. Her small breasts were well defined. Tim could see the outline of her bra underneath her blouse. Penny stood erect and straightened her posture so her breasts stuck out slightly more. Tim gently laid the end of the tape on top of her breasts and gathered it together. His shaking fingers lightly touched her bust. "34" Tim said.

"Are you sure?" Penny said. "I was a 33 when I got measured for my bra. See if it pulls tighter."

Tim did as she said and he saw the tape push in her breasts slightly. "Thats a 33 now, but I think its squeezing you." Tim let go the measure and stepped back.

Penny gazed at him and smiled. "Then write down 34. Thats great. Now do my waist and hips."

If felt to Tim like Penny was an oven. Really, he couldn't tell if it was he that was so hot, or if it was her. Under her gaze he lowered the tape measure so that it ran around her waist. "27," Tim said.

"That's nice also," Penny said, apparently pleased with the result.

Tim then laid the tape across her rear end. He had to crouch down in front of her to take the reading and he awkwardly fumbled with the end of the tape and was able to read off, "33."

Penny felt around her hips making sure the tape was laid flat, and then leveled it out a bit. "Still 33," Tim said.

"Good. 34-27-33," Penny said and wrote it down.

They must be good numbers Tim thought since they evidently pleased Penny.

********************************

At lunch Tim sat with his friends, Jacques, Steve and Leon.

"How's the maiden?" Steve said.

"Hey, Miss Gilliam said,..." Tim started to say.

"I know, I know, take it easy," Steve added.

"Anyway, I got to be with Penny. She's my sewing partner."

The guys suppressed their laughter.

"I got to use a tape measure to find out her figure!" It was clear to Tim that the guys did not find this as exciting as he did. It was best if he did not mention anything more about what was going on with the other maidens. How to make a petticoat was not something the guys evidently wanted to hear about.

********************************

That night, when his dad was downstairs watching TV, Tim sat down on the bed next to his mom who was folding laundry in her bedroom.

"Mom, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"What honey," she said, as she carefully folded one of his dad's shirts.

"Mrs. Bedlam, you know the sewing teacher, said I need to wear a padded bra, the same as the other girls, you know maidens. She wants us to look more like grown up ladies."

"A padded bra?" his mom said with surprise."They must really be serious about you playing the girls role."

"So you don't think its too weird?"

"Weird? I don't know. I guess I was thinking from what you mentioned yesterday that you would only have to wear an old dress or something over your street clothes. A padded bra? I don't know. If you say they want the maidens to look older, then I suppose that would really help a lot."

"So its not weird?"

"If you feel too embarrassed about it, I could have a word with your teacher."

Tim knew what Miss Gilliam would say, and the thought of disappointing her made him uncomfortable. "I'm not complaining like that. I'd hate to upset Miss Gilliam. This means a lot to her. I just wanted to let you know about the bra, in case there was something really wrong about it."

"No, I think the only important thing is how you feel."

"Then, I guess its OK." Tim was thinking of Penny when he said that. A little rocking of the boat and he might lose his chance to be her sewing partner. "I also need to get pantyhose and girls shoes, Mrs. Bedlam is going to send a note home about it."

"What about panties?"

"She didn't say anything about them," Tim answered. "Why do I need panties?"

"They're usually worn under pantyhose."

"We also have to sew our own dresses and petticoats, and I had the greatest luck since I get to work with Penny. She's my partner and I got to talk with her today and got to know her a lot better. She's very nice."

"I'm glad to hear that." His mom folded another shirt and appeared to be deep in thought. "When will you need the bra and other things?"

"I don't know. In a couple of weeks when we start to rehearse. I won't have to go to the store to buy a bra will I?"

"No. I suppose I could just buy one for you. But you know your sister might have one that would fit you. Lets take a look."

Tim followed his mom down the hall to his sister's bedroom. After his mom explained to Lucy what they were after, Lucy said, "I don't want him wearing my bras."

"But you don't wear the padded ones any longer," his mom said.

"Still," Lucy said.

"You're being selfish."

"Mom, am I the only sane one around here? How can you allow him to wear a bra?"

"Its OK, mom," Tim said with distress, "maybe you could just buy me one."

"No, Tim. Your sister is going to share, and furthermore who asked her for her opinion about you taking the part of a maiden? Tim is the bravest student in his class. Besides, this is a wonderful opportunity for him to show his acting skill."

"OK, mom, take them!" Lucy said smirking, "but then I don't want them back." She opened her underwear drawer and scrounged around for a few seconds and then pulled out two bras and handed them to her mother.

"Thanks," Tim said meekly. The bras had large, firm, padded cups. One was plain white without ornamentation, and the other was peach colored and decorated with lace across the cups and partially onto the straps.

"The white one is 32A and the peach one is 34B," his mom said as Tim followed her back to her bedroom. "Lucy never much wore the peach one. She got it at the end of the school year and by the end of the summer she didn't need any padding!" Lucy had a prominent bosom like her mom and the other women in the family.

"Lets see how these fit. Take off your shirt."

Tim's mom held the white bra out for him and he put his arms through the straps and she fastened it in the back. It was tight and uncomfortable.

"It doesn't feel good. Is it supposed to be so tight?"

"No, of course not. It's the bra that Lucy wore when she was just 10. We'll try the other one."

"The fancy one?" Tim said.

"Yes the fancy one. Its just a bra like the other one." Without emotion his mom helped him on with the peach colored bra and said, "this seems to fit much better. Is it too tight?"

"No, mom, but isn't it kind of girlie?"

"How can a bra not be girlie?" his mom said. "I think it fits you perfectly. Not too tight, not too loose."

"It feels strange."

"Of course it does to you! Come look in the mirror."

Tim looked at his reflection in the full length mirror behind the door. He was inordinately aware of having two large mounds on his chest. Mounds covered with a peach colored lace. The feeling was like nothing else he had known. There was a faint scent of perfume on the bra. His chest was taken over by the bra and the feminine odor.

"I feel weird, mom."

"What's the commotion?" Tim heard his dad's voice in the hallway. Before he could run away his dad and Lucy appeared in the doorway.

"Jesus Christ!" his dad said. "Tim? In a bra?"

"It was my bra," Lucy said, "I can't believe you'd let the school make him into a sissy."

"Enough of that, it doesn't concern you," his mom said sternly. "This is hard enough for Tim without your lack of consideration. The teachers want authenticity and apparently it means wearing a bra."

"Don't you think we ought to talk it over with Miss Gilliam?" his dad said.

"I've had a good talk with Tim, and I think it really is a matter of what Tim wants. He's uncomfortable, but its to his credit that he's willing to live with that to help out his teacher."

"I hope that Miss Gilliam appreciates how brave you are and how valuable a team player," Tim's dad said.

"I'm sure she does," Tim's mom said.

********************************

"To set the stage for the formal dances, the opening scene will introduce the pirates and maidens," Mrs. Bedlam lectured. "It will be very much like the Pirates of Penzance, in case you are familiar with the Gilbert and Sullivan musical comedy. The maidens will be on stage, the pirates will rush in, the maidens will cower in fear, scream in terror and run around the stage. As each maiden is caught by her pirate, she falls into his arms and pretends to faint. Then, after the couples are formed, the pirates vow to become gentleman, and then the maidens have a change of heart and show admiration for the bravery and strength of their partners."

"Now gather together stage left and tremble with fear. The pirates will be facing you on the right side of the stage. Good Tim. See how trembly Lisa is. See if you can do that." Tim held his arms across his chest and shook them as if in great fear.

"Now the pirates are trying to catch you and you're scared. Run around the room! With small steps! Hold your hands palms out, arms bent and fingers spread wide. Like you're scared."

"Tim, you're steps are too big. Run more gently. Look at how the girls run. See how they swish their hips and the delicate positions of their fingers and hands?"

Tim ran behind Penny and imitated everything she did. He felt ridiculous.

"Very good Tim. Its OK to run like a girl here. You ARE a girl, remember? That's much, better! You're a delicate maiden. Girls remember you'll be wearing your dresses and petticoats which will be swirling around you! Very good."

Mrs. Bedlam observed the maidens. "Now each of you run to me one by one and faint into my arms. First, Amy."

Amy ran and stopped in front of Mrs. Bedlam and pretended to faint by gracefully falling back into her arms. Mrs. Bedlam made a few comments and then had the next girl do it. After Penny had done it, she said, "your turn Tim. Remember, be delicate." Tim ran toward her and then stopped, turned and in an exaggerated pose of timidity and fearfulness leaned back as if he was fainting. "That's the right idea, Tim, but not like you're in a silent movie. Imagine you are made of feathers. A delicate angel caught by a mean pirate. You're so scared you faint." Tim did it again. "Better Tim, but I want you to keep on practicing that every day at home."

"In the last part of the intro the pirates will stand tall, flexing their arms and the maidens will swoon with pride at their manliness." Mrs. Bedlam assumed the pose she described and had the girls show admiration for her flexed arm. When it was Tim's turn he ran up to her and tried his best at showing excitement but he knew it wasn't convincing. "That won't do Tim, you've got to believe I'm strong and that you're a pretty maiden in need of protection. You saw how Amy did it?"

Tim tried it again. "A little better. We'll have to specially work on this. But you've had a very good first day."

********************************

Tim loved working alongside Penny making their petticoats. She was a skilled and meticulous worker. She showed him how to carefully measure the soft nylon fabric for each skirt layer, and to cut the shapes to perfection from a pattern supplied by Mrs. Bedlam. She showed him how to sew each piece together and to add the trim. The work was delicate and often needed four hands to hold down material while it was cut and sewn. She helped him with his petticoat first, and then they did hers. Penny had him try his petticoat on in different stages of the work, and each time he felt more than a little embarrassed. But Penny remained nonchalant, and once even told him there was no need to be red in the face. "If anything, you look perfectly normal in a petticoat," she said and Tim felt strangely reassured, though he suspected if he were to look in a mirror, he would not come to the same conclusion.

After two weeks the maidens had finished their petticoats to Mrs. Bedlam's satisfaction, and then she began a discussion about the dresses. They were to vary in color. There would be six colors, each pair using the same color. The shorter girls were to be in black, dark-blue and green. The taller girls in pink, yellow and light blue. "I want the six shorter girls and the six taller girls to meet informally and decide who gets which color."

Penny and Tim gathered with the four other taller girls to decide who should get the pink, yellow and light blue dresses. Penny said, "my favorite color is pink. What about the rest of you?"

"Definitely yellow," Amy said.

"I like baby blue," a girl named Clara said, and the two others said they didn't care.

"What about you Tim. What color dress do you want?" Penny said.

What he wanted was probably the black dress, or maybe a dark blue one. The choice in front of him was not the best. "I guess the light blue, but I don't want to take it away from Clara."

"In that case we might as well have pink," Penny said, "OK?"

"Sure," Tim said. Evidently this experience was going to be as traumatic as humanly possible.

********************************

Later that day he met with the guys in the cafeteria.

"Man you should see our swords," Jacques said.

"They're really cool," Steve added, "made of aluminum. Real shiny and long."

"Too bad the ends are dull, Mr. Brakes won't let us sharpen them, or even duel with them. He says they're just for carrying around."

Tim listened with envy. "What about the hooks?"

"We haven't gotten to the hooks yet. We started on the peg-legs making them out of leather and wood," Leon said, "and we don't actually cut off our legs. Its just a matter of making a sling to hold our leg while it is tucked back behind us."

"How can you dance in a peg-leg?" Tim asked.

"They're just for the opening scene. Then we take them off and rush around scaring you maidens," Jacques said. Steve and Leon laughed.

"Guys!" Tim said disgustedly and shook his head. "How's Mary Lou doing with her sword?"

"She gave Mr. Brakes a hard time about it. She wanted the biggest one in the class. He practically had to yell at her to shorten it by a foot."

"You're going to have a lot of fun dancing with her. She's bragging about how she's going to grab her maiden with her hook and not let her go," Jacques said. "You won't be able to run away from her. She said she's going to marry her maiden for life."

"Very funny. What did Mr. Brakes say?" Tim said.

"He's so fed up with her, he told her she could do anything she wanted, but that the sword point better not be sharp," Jacques answered.

Tim glumly thought about the reality of dancing with Mary Lou.

"What's new with you and Penny?" Leon said.

Tim smiled. "I'm going to ask her out when this whole thing is over. I think she likes me."

"As a boy or a girl?" Leon said.

"Very funny Leon, you're so jealous!"

"How's your sewing coming along?" Jacques said.

"We're making the dresses now. We finished the others."

"The petticoats?"

"Yeah, the petticoats. The dresses are real complicated. I'm lucky Penny is helping. She really knows what shes doing. I haven't had to do much except help her." Tim thought dreamily about how nice it was to sit next to Penny as they worked shoulder to shoulder at the sewing machine. A dozen times he had wanted to ask her out, but every time he had gotten scared and not said anything. Then he had seen her talking with Greg in the hallway and he wondered if he had waited too long. What was stopping him was the dress, he rationalized. How could he ask her out and then dance with her in the dress? It would not be much longer until this whole business was over with, and then he'd definitely say something to her.

(continued)

 

 

 

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© 2002 by Pamela. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.