This story is also available at Sapphire’s Place www.sapphireplace.org

 

Soccer Queen               by: Andrew

Part 3

 

Chapter 11

David woke to the words "Wake up, sleepyhead," and a gentle shake on his shoulder by his mother. He stretched and swung himself out of bed, yawning.

In the bathroom, he found he needed to change the plaster between his legs. He hoped that it would stick today - he knew that he was going to be sweating heavily.

As he left the bathroom, Gail passed him going the other way. She was her usual morning self - half asleep and not terribly communicative. David interpreted the grunt she made as "good morning", and replied in kind. Gail just grunted again and entered the bathroom.

In the kitchen, his mother was preparing a full English breakfast, with bacon, sausage, eggs, tomato and fried bread. "You'll need the energy this morning," she told him.

Grateful for the filling breakfast, David replied with a cheery "Good morning. I see Gail's still the same first thing in the morning."

Gail was just entering the kitchen as he said this, and grunted a complaint. Their mother gave David a stern look, but merely said "Good morning, Gail. What do you want for breakfast ?"

A grunted reply from Gail that bacon and eggs looked good to her as well was all the response she received. Gail and David sat at the table drinking tea while the food was cooking.

After breakfast, a much more awake Gail ran off to get changed while David slipped into his Hibs strip. David carefully packed his football boots into a sports bag, adding a change of socks and a towel.

Everyone was ready by 9.30, when the doorbell rang. Samantha stood on the doorstep, dressed in her strip and carrying a sports bag of her own.

Mrs. McCall had agreed to drive them to the park, so they all climbed into her car. As they drove, David and Samantha changed into their football boots. Following Samantha's directions, they soon arrived at the training field.

On the field, a number of girls were running round warming up. Three women stood in the centre circle, a stack of footballs at their feet. They were all wearing green tops and white miniskirts, with sneakers on their feet.

As Samantha and David jumped out of the car, the woman in the centre blew a whistle. All the girls stopped what they were doing and ran to form a circle round her. Samantha and David joined them, coming up at the rear of everyone else.

"Good morning, girls, I am Coach Everrett and these are my assistants; Miss McDowell and Mrs. McReady. Welcome to the tryouts for the Gilroy Gazelles. I'm pleased to see so many of you returning from last year.

"For the first part of this morning, I want to see how fit you all are. We'll start by doing 5 laps of the field - and no cutting the corners! Off you go!"

She blew her whistle and all the girls ran to the edge of the field and turned to follow the marked pitch. They set an easy pace, knowing that this would be the start of a hard morning of exercises.

While she was talking, Gail and her mother walked to the corner where other mothers and siblings waited.

At a whistle and a shout of "Faster", everyone picked up the pace slightly. David contented himself with staying in the middle of the pack - he didn't want to tire himself out.

The run took fifteen minutes for most, though some were still finishing a good ten minutes later. The slowest of these were thanked for their participation and sent off to get changed.

With everyone standing round gasping for breath, Coach Everrett called for 50 sit-ups. To a chorus of groans, every- one lay on the ground and began the exercise.

While most could complete the required number of sit-ups in about 5 minutes, some were slower and some could not finish. Those who could not finish were again cut from the selection process.

The exercises and selection continued for an hour until there were only 30 girls left. One of whom was David, but he didn't think it diplomatic to mention that he was not a girl.

All the girls who already wore the green and white strip of the Gazelles were there, plus 14 girls in a variety of exercise clothes.

They were then split into two teams, with the current Gazelles facing the new girls. Coach Everrett then pulled a coin from her pocket and tossed for kick-off.

The toss was won by Samantha, and she elected for kick-off. David, acting as captain for the other side, elected to play into the sun for the first half.

Once the preliminaries were complete, David's concentration focused totally on the game. His spatial awareness expanded to allow him to track the position of every member of his team and their opponents.

At Coach Everrett's whistle, Samantha kicked off. She passed the ball to a team-mate and immediately accepted it back and began a run down the field. With the moves she had learned from David, she easily beat two tackles, only being stopped when she tried to pass three girls who were converging on her.

The ball bounced loose, and David eagerly intercepted it. He turned quickly and began racing up the field. The members of the team he was facing had more discipline than his own, so the attacks were co-ordinated. He easily beat the first three tackles, bur could not find an opening to swing infield.

He continued his run down the right wing, reversing himself at the corner to avoid another tackle. Passing the defender, he quickly glanced up to check everyone's position and floated a cross right to the head of his team-mate. She was quick enough to spot an opening in the defence and headed the ball at goal.

The Gazelle's goalkeeper made a frantic dive, just clipping the ball enough to knock it past the post for a corner. David collected the ball and placed it on the corner spot. Looking at the placement of attackers and defenders, he played a short ball to one of his team-mates, immediately calling for its return.

When he received it, he crossed the ball with deadly accuracy to one of his attackers. She saw the ball coming and positioned herself. With a powerful header, she scored the opening goal.

David's display of skill caused the coaches to observe him with appraising eyes. As the game progressed, they watched as he controlled the play on the right wing.

However, a team is more than one player and the greater discipline and familiarity of the existing Gazelles eventually broke through the defence of their opponents to equalise. The score remained 1-1 until half time, when everyone ran to talk to their mothers and fans.

David approached his mother and Gail, excitedly shouting "Did you see ? Did you see ?"

As his mother and Gail assured him they had, he ran to them for a hug. After releasing him, Mrs.McCall handed him an orange, which he gratefully accepted and began eating.

They chatted about his performance and the chances of his being selected. Gail assured him that he was easily the best player on the park and would soon be a member of the Gazelles along with Samantha.

Gail was proud of her brother's skill. She wished she could play half as well, but the games with him and Samantha had shown her that her skills lay elsewhere.

The teams were then pulled back to the centre by the whistle of Coach Everrett. As David placed the ball for the kick-off, he looked at Samantha. She was watching him with a proud and happy expression on her face. She just knew he would be on the team now.

This exchange was not missed by Coach Everrett, who thought that having two girls who were already friends on her team could only be a good thing.

At the whistle, David passed to the girl who was playing centre-forward for his team. David started running to the right wing as she placed a pass in his path. David picked up the ball and started another of his blistering runs down the wing.

The Gazelles had learned to respect the skill of this new girl and had assigned Samantha to marking him. The two friends engaged in a battle of wills and skill, which on this occasion David won as he sent another cross toward the centre of the goal mouth.

This time it was intercepted by one of the Gazelle's defenders and kicked back upfield. The Gazelle's advanced toward their opponents goal like a tide. When the cross came over, Samantha was in the right position to score with a spectacular overhead kick.

David watched his friend with amazement and applauded her as she lay on the ground. He ran up and helped her to her feet before she was swept away by her ecstatic team-mates.

The score remained at 2-1 for the Gazelles throughout a fiercely played second half, with most of the play in the centre of the park. As the final whistle approached, David found a loose ball and started his run up the right.

This time, he spotted an opening in the Gazelles defences and swerved to the left and continued down the centre of the field. As he approached the penalty box, Samantha made a desperate sliding tackle that missed the ball, but hit David's leg.

On hearing the Coach whistle for a penalty, Samantha hung her head in shame. She walked over to David to make sure that she hadn't injured him. Samantha accepted the booking the Coach gave her as just punishment.

Fortunately, he was only slightly bruised, and forgave his friend immediately. He elected to take the kick himself and ran round for a while to loosen his leg.

Placing the ball carefully on the spot, he backed up to the edge of the area and looked at the top left hand corner of the goal. After a short run he slotted the ball into the bottom right of the goal as the Gazelle's goalkeeper dived to the left.

As the whistle for full-time sounded, all the girls agreed it had been a hard but fair contest. The number of fouls was low and no-one had been sent off. Only Samantha had been booked, and that for a desperation tackle in the dying seconds of the game.

The coach and her assistants went into a huddle and discussed the game and players. They all agreed that Samantha's foul at the end had been accidental, but she should miss the first game as punishment.

Then they discussed the players, both old and new. They had noticed that some of their existing players did not seem as committed as they had before, and decided to replace them with new players.

When they had decided on who was in and who was out, Coach Everrett blew her whistle again. All the girls had remained on the pitch to hear the results.

As the list of names was read, there were groans from the players who had not made it. Those who had been dropped burst into tears and ran off the field. Those selected remained to hear the Coach's parting words.

"Thank you for coming, girls, you are the best players in the town. Davina McCall, I was especially impressed with your ball control skill. Where did you learn to play like that ?"

"Thank you, Coach. Last year I played on my school team back in Edinburgh, and we won the Edinburgh Schools Cup and the Scottish Schools League."

The Coach was puzzled - she thought that these were competitions for boy's teams. She dismissed her concerns, though, at the prospect of getting a player like Davina.

She returned to her farewell talk. "Training sessions will be at this time every Saturday, with matches generally taking place on Sunday at 4.00 p.m.

"Samantha Davis, you are a good player. You don't have to resort to the kind of play exemplified by your last tackle. As punishment, you will face a one-week suspension from the team. However, you are expected to attend training next week along with everyone else.

"Again, thank you for coming, and I'll see you all next week."

The girls separated and walked over to their parents. David and Samantha joined Gail and her mother, chatting happily about the game they had just played.

"I'm in! I'm in!" shouted David as they approached.

Gail squealed and ran to hug her sister/brother but gave Samantha a dirty look. "That kind of tackle has been outlawed by FIFA," was all she said.

Samantha just hung her head, but was comforted by David's hug. She looked up gratefully and rubbed the top of David's head.

As he batted her hand away, Samantha got a mischievous look in her eye. "Of course, Coach'll expect you to have the correct strip next week," she commented.

David groaned at the thought of another expedition to the mall. *Just what I need,* he thought, *more clothes shopping.*

Chapter 12

As the car pulled out of the practice field parking lot, David took the towel out of his sports bag and started rubbing his face. He dried himself as much as he could, then passed the towel to Samantha.

"Can we go home first, Mum ? I'm all hot and sweaty, and so is Sam."

Samantha wasn't sure about the contraction of her name and said in a firm voice, "Samantha."

"OK, Samantha," responded David. "We're still hot and sweaty."

"We'll return home for lunch, then go to the shopping centre to buy your new strip for you" said his mother. "After that, we can visit your father."

*Oh, joy,* thought David. *Now Mum's getting the shopping bug again.*

When they reached their house, Samantha dived out of the car and ran into her own house, calling "I'll see you in a wile."

David and Gail entered their house, with David heading for his bedroom to collect a change of clothes. While he was there, Gail dived into the bathroom and started her own shower.

David approached the bathroom and heard the shower running. He got mad at his sister for stealing the first shower and started shouting imprecations through the door at her. She just laughed and told him to wait until she was finished.

Eventually, David got into the shower just as Samantha entered the house after showering and changing herself. Now dressed in a casual pair of shorts and a tank top, she laughed when Gail told her what she'd done.

A fuming David eventually finished his shower, and appeared in just bra and panties to berate his sister. He saw that he was getting little sympathy from Samantha, and included her in his complaints.

Both girls laughed in his face, and he couldn't keep nagging at them. He eventually saw the funny side of the situation, standing in his underwear berating his sister and friend, and started chuckling as he left to finish dressing.

When he was ready, his mother drove them to the 'Outlet' mall on US 101 to buy David's new strip. They found a sports shop which sold cheap clothes and started looking for the Gazelle's strip.

The selection in the store was vast, and they spent a lot of time looking until they found the correct green top and white skirt. Green socks were easier to find, and they got three pairs.

While Gail and David were looking at the clothes, Samantha gravitated towards the roller blades. She called them both over when they had selected the clothing.

"Can you skate ? So you have blades ? We'll skate this afternoon if you do."

Gail's face turned a light pink as she asked "Are these like ice-skates ? I can ice-skate a bit."

David looked at his sister and said "Hark at her! She was placed in the under-14 xhampionship at Murrayfield, our local ice-rink."

Gail was really getting embarrassed as Samantha replied to her question. "It helps, but the ground is bumpier than ice. You tend to land on your butt more often. That's why skaters usually wear cycling shorts - the padding softens the fall."

David and Gail turned to their mother with pleadinglooks on their faces. She looked at them and sighed.

"OK, but only if you buy all the safety gear, too."

They both squealed and asked the assistant for help in selecting the right skates and accessories. Both also got cycling shorts, as Samantha had recommended. David knew he was going to be landing on his butt a lot; he always fell whenever his sister dragged him to the ice-rink.

Gathering up their goods, they took them to the checkout to pay. David was rather shocked at the total cost of his new strip; he had expected it to be much more expensive. The price of the blades and accessories caused his face to blanch. He *really* hoped that they could afford all this.

After loading the car, they proceeded to the hospital where David and Gail ran to their father's side and held his hands. They proceeded to talk to him, describing their day and the previous evening.

Samantha and Mrs. McCall stood at the door, looking on. Mrs. McCall walked over to the bed, and leaned over to kiss her husband. Samantha just looked on, feeling real sadness for her friends and frightened at the array of equipment around their father. Eventually, she went to the vending machine and returned with cokes for herself and her friends and a coffee for Mrs. McCall.

To a chorus of thanks, she distributed the drinks and pulled another seat up to the bed. She laid her head on David's shoulder and hugged him. David responded by holding onto her arms as they encircled his neck.

While they were there, two men turned up. They both looked in and asked "How's Bob ? We're colleagues of his at HP, and we met during that emergency last week. He seemed to be really competent and we hope we don't lose him."

Mrs. McCall replied "As you can see, he's in a coma just now. The machines are keeping him alive; we hope he will recover soon."

The two men gave their condolences and turned to walk out. As they were leaving, Mrs. McCall called "See you Monday."

They turned to her with puzzled expressions on their faces, that cleared when she explained that she would be starting work as a receptionist on Monday. With that, the men left the family with their husband and father.

Visiting time ended all too soon for the children, but they were chased out by the busy nurses. Returning to the car, Gail and David had tears running down their cheeks.

In the car, Samantha turned to David and Gail and asked if they wanted to do anything that night. When they replied that they would be delighted, Samantha said she would call the boys and Becky to see if they were free.

When they got home, Samantha dived out of the car and ran into her house to phone her friends and get changed into skating gear. Gail and david followed their mother into their house and also began dressing for skating.

The three met outside Samantha's house, with Gail skating easily and taunting David. His face was red as he stumbled along, then falling heavily on his butt.

Gail took pity on him and skated over to him. She pulled him up, then held onto his hands as she skated backwards to give him balance.

She narrowly avoided a nasty fall when her skate hit a manhole cover in the middle of the pavement. *Silly place to put that* she thought.

Samantha laughed and called out "Watch where you're going! The sidewalk has many of these covers on it; that's why we are heading for the skating park."

Being more careful of where her own skates went, Gail guided David along the street beside Samantha.

Samantha guided them to the local skating park, which was much flatter than the road and easier to skate on. The park was filled with teenagers practising jumps, rail-riding and other tricks.

Gail led David to the beginners area and sent him off "to learn the basics". She immediately turned into the smoothly paved area and began practising figures.

A large crowd gathered round her as they noticed what she was doing. Gail was oblivious to this as she started the routine that had won her a place in the championships at Murrayfield.

There was a burst of applause as she executed a perfect double axle. Gail was surprised and forgot to stop, crashing into wall at the end of the park. This caused everyone to dissolve in laughter, Gail's probably the loudest of all.

With a very red face, she resumed her routine. Ignoring the noise from the on-lookers, she continued the figures and jumps she remembered.

As she finished, she noticed David looking at her with an envious expression on his face. She skated up to him, hugged him and said "You've got your football; leave me the skating, please."

David nodded and hugged his sister. She was right. He could play football and she could skate. That seemed an equitable arrangement to him.

As tea-time approached, David looked at his watch and gasped. "We'd better get back if we're not going to get in trouble."

They called to Samantha, who decided that she had better go as well to get ready for going out. She reminded her friends that they were going out with the boys that night, and were being picked up at 8 pm.

David demonstrated the skills he had learned that afternoon on the way home. At least now he could skate in a straight line without falling on his butt every ten yards.

When they separated outside Samantha's house, it was with shouts of "Later", and "See ya".

David and Gail returned to their house to get changed again, into something more suitable for a date. In answer to their mother's query of "What would you like for tea ?" they replied that they were going out that night with the boys, and expected to be fed again.

Nrs. McCall chuckled to see her children both getting excited about the prospect of dinner paid for by the boys. She shrugged and told them that there would be no midnight feasts if they were not fed by their dates.

A fight began to see who would get in the bathroom first. David won by unfairly reminding Gail of what she had done that afternoon.

In his bath, David made sure to shave all the stubble starting to grow on his body. Ensuring that he did not get his hair wet, he used the shower to wash off the remaining shaving soap.

When he was finished, he walked to his room, ignoring the call of "Finally!" from Gail. He looked in the wardrobe and selected a casual look for that night. Once he was dressed in his underwear, he used his makeup sparingly to create a smart but casual look.

A sleeveless black top with a rainbow motif over the breasts made a great combination with a yellow miniskirt. Tan panty- hose, as Samantha called the tights, made his newly shaved legs look incredibly sexy.

He looked in his jewellery collection and selected three bangles to put on his right wrist and two rings for his left hand. He replaced the gold posts in his nearly healed ears with large hoops. Adding the heels, he was ready for a night on the town.

As he was finishing, he heard Gail starting to dress. He looked at the time, and realised she had only fifteen minutes to get ready. He hoped she made it.

Chapter 13

The sound of a horn from outside their house caused a fresh burst of cursing to come from Gail's room. Gail hobbled down the hall with one show on and her face half made-up, cursing David soundly as she went.

David loved getting a rise out of his sister. He just looked at her with an expression of injured innocence.

A semi-presentable Gail, still struggling to complete her makeup, and David went out to Ted's car. As they drove away, they noticed another car pulling into their drive.

****

Leslie Everrett had spent an uncomfortable afternoon. She was troubled by her decision to ignore her suspicions about Davina. Eventually, she could stand it no more and turned on her computer.

When she was connected to the Web, she started a search for "Edinburgh School Cup 1998/9". This resulted in a list of teams and fixtures. She clicked on the winners of the final and read the names of the team-members.

There were no girls in the team; the only McCall listed was a "David". How could Davina have won this championship if no girls were on the team ? Suspicions fully aroused, she determined to visit the McCall's after dinner to discuss this matter.

As she entered the driveway, she noticed a car with a number of young people in it driving away. *Good,* thought Leslie, *I can discuss this with Mrs. McCall without the distraction of Davina/David.*

She range the bell and greeted the woman who opened the door.

"Good evening, Mrs. McCall. I'm Leslie Everrett, the coach for the Gilroy Gazelles. Is Davina in ?"

She was relieved when she was answered "No, she's just gone out for the evening with her sister and their boyfriends. Can I help you ?"

"Actually, Mrs. McCall, it's you I want to speak to. Can I come in ?"

"Certainly, and call me Andrea. Would you like a cup of coffee ?"

She replied "Thank you, Andrea." as she entered the house. Looking round the room, she could see from the lack of personal items that they had moved in very recently.

When Andrea returned with the coffee, they sat facing each other. Leslie paused to gather her thoughts while Andrea looked back at her with a concerned expression.

"I hope Davina's not in any trouble," Andrea remarked.

Leslie looked up at her hostess and replied "Not at all, Andrea. Or, not exactly.

"She said that she was on the winning team for the Edinburgh School Cup last year. I was suspicious, and searched the Web for the winners. I discovered that there were no girls on the team, and the only McCall listed was a David. Can you explain this ?"

Andrea McCall sighed and leaned back in her chair. She looked at her guest and wondered how much to tell her.

"When Bob received the promotion to America, I resolved that it would be a new start for all of us. David had been really horrible to his younger sister - you saw her at the field today - and I wanted to do something about it.

"Samantha Davis - the daughter of our next-door neighbours - was playing football outside when we arrived. David saw her and immediately went over to play - leaving Bob and I to unpack the car, of course.

"After tea, Samantha came over and they went into David's room to play. I heard Samantha laughing, then she literally pulled David out of the house.

"About two hours later, they returned. David was dressed in your strip.

"At first I thought it was Gail standing in the door. I was really surprised - she was at Guide camp and wasn't due to arrive for two weeks. She's only here now because Bob had an accident and is now in a coma.

"Then I saw Samantha standing behind her and realised it was David. After I had stopped laughing, I realised that this might be the solution to Gail's problems.

"It turned out that Samantha got the idea from a necklace David was presented with before we left Scotland. She took David to his room and put it round his neck.

"He was always being teased by his team-mates because of his size and delicate features. They called him Davina, after a television presenter in the UK.

"Anyway, they had all clubbed together and had bought him a necklace in the shape of a football with his championships inscribed on it. They had also inscribed the nickname they gave him, so he was too embarrassed to show us.

"From that time, I have referred to David as Davina, and kept him dressed as a girl. Over the past week, *she* has begun to respond more and more as a girl.

"I can assure you that David will never make an appearance again."

Leslie Everrett sat thinking about what she had been told. If what Andrea had said was true, then perhaps she could use Davina after all. After commiserating with Andrea on the injury to her husband, she continued

"How far are you taking this ? Do you need any help ?"

Andrea looked at her guest again with respect dawning in her eyes. She thought about Leslie's offer, and decided to trust her totally.

"Well, I have quite a few changes planned for her. Sit there while I freshen the coffee, then we can discuss this further."

****

Completely oblivious to the discussion that was deciding his future, David was at that moment on the dance floor with Jack again. He looked over at his sister and watched her dancing with Alex.

*He's getting better at dancing,* he thought. *And Gail seems to really like him. I've never seen her happier.*

Brother and sister continued dancing with their dates until forced off the floor by shortness of breath. They joined up with Samantha and Becky and their dates at a table just beside the floor.

Everybody sat there, catching their breath and soothing their throats with copious amounts of coke. They began discussing what they had done that day. The boys were amazed at Samantha's description of Davina's skill, and Jack promised to watch the next time the Gazelles played at home.

David then embarrassed his sister by describing what she had done at the skating park. *I really wish she could have forgotten about that wall,* she thought.

Ted, Jim and Jack described a baseball game they had been involved in, with their team completing a home run in the last innings to win the game. They then started to make fun of Alex, who had not been there that afternoon.

Gail glared angrily at these oafs, and thought they were just as bad as her brother had been before he became her sister. She took Alex's hand and asked him what he had done that day.

He started talking enthusiastically about the chess tournament he had attended, claiming first place in the under-16 category. The other boys hooted at this, but were quickly silenced when the girls and David all slapped their dates on the head.

When they were all rested, they returned to the dance floor for more dancing. It was a slow number and the girls all snuggled up to the boys and followed their lead.

This pattern was repeated throughout the night, as the couples danced until they couldn't dance any more, then rested and talked for a while. Too soon for everybody, it was time to return home, and they trooped out to Ted's car.

Once Alex had been delivered to his house, they made their way to David and Gail's house. As they were turning into the street, they noticed the car they saw arriving earlier was just leaving. *I wonder who that was,* thought David.

At their house, Jack got out of the car with him and Gail. He escorted them to their door, then turned David towards him- self. his arms went round David's back. The only thing that David could do was to fling his arms round Jack's neck to stop himself falling.

Jack pulled David in tight, then kissed him hard on the lips. David was nearly swooning when Jack released him. His eyes were a little glazed, and he clung to Jack for balance until his senses returned to normal.

After another couple of light kisses, Jack bounded back to the car, which started up with a screech of rubber. The car with the boys in it disappeared down the road, accelerating as it went.

David and Gail hugged each other as David took his key from his bag and opened the door. They walked in together, very much in harmony.

Mrs. McCall saw her children coming in hugging each other, and smiled. *Things are really coming together now.* she thought.

"That was Coach Everrett," she informed them. "She just wanted to discuss your availability on Saturdays and Sundays, Davina."

Somehow, David was sure that his mother was lying. *You don't stay all night just discussing availability,* he thought. He knew that he would not find out for sure until she chose to tell him, or something happened to confirm or deny her story.

"Get a good night's sleep, children," their mother told them. "Tomorrow's Sunday, and we'll have to get ready for church."

David and Gail looked at each other, severely puzzled. Their mother had not been to church, much less taken them, for years. It was as if she was trying to see as many people in as short a time as possible.

Getting dressed in a night gown for sleep was becoming routine for David now. He and Gail kissed their mother goodnight and headed off for their rooms.

As David was going to sleep he thought to himself, *Will this never end ?*

Chapter 14

David awoke to the sound of his mother's cheerful voice as she bade him a cheerful "Good morning". Swinging his legs out of bed, he hurriedly ran to the bathroom to get in before his sister.

Gail stumbled along the hall a few minutes later and began banging on the door. David interpreted her morning grunts to mean something along the lines of "let me in I have to pee". He just laughed and proceeded to have a shower. He was quick, though, and left the bathroom chuckling as Gail dived inside.

When he returned to his room, he discovered that his mother had laid out a dress for him to wear. It was the most conservative dress he owned, a dark blue with the skirt falling below the knee. He almost suspected that his mother had planned something like this when she was buying clothes for him.

His underwear was plain white, and an ordinary pair of taupe tights had been laid out beside his dress. The black flats were sitting under his bed, so he assumed that they went with this outfit.

As he moved to his vanity to put on his makeup, he heard his mother shout "Do your face lightly, dear". So he used a very light layer of foundation and only a touch of blush. He didn't bother with eye shadow, reckoning that that would be too much for church.

With that done, he dressed in the clothes laid out for him and applied a light pink lipstick. Putting imitation pearl studs in his ears, he slipped the shoes on his feet and went to the kitchen for breakfast.

Gail entered as he was pouring milk on his corn flakes and they ate their breakfast in companionable silence. The caffiene in the tea served to wake Gail up, making her speech much more coherent.

Once they were ready, they all picked up their handbags and went out to the car. After a short drive, they pulled up outside the church.

The service was as boring as any that David could remember and he had to work hard to avoid falling asleep. The hymns were familiar, though, so he could lose himself in the music while singing.

After church, his mother stood outside the building greeting the people of the area and introducing her daughters. *Oh, Great* thought David, *Now _everybody_ has seen me in a dress and thinks I'm a girl. There's no way I can go to school as a boy now.*

"Davina, Gail, I'd like you to meet Mrs. Thompson," said Mrs. McCall. "She'll be your year supervisor when you start school in September."

"Hello, Mrs. Thompson," they replied in unison, both wishing to be elsewhere. It was just not cool to meet school authorities when you weren't in school.

His mother seemed to be getting into long conversations with the people she was meeting, so he and Gail drifted off to talk to other young people there. Most of the children their age were there under duress from their parents, so at least they had something in common with David and Gail.

The boredom felt during the service was a good opening topic of conversation among the teenagers. Once the ice was broken, David and Gail found themselves amongst a circle of girls discussing everything from hair styles to favourite movie stars.

Various groups of boys hanging around were also discussed, with most of them being dismissed for one reason or another. "He smells", or "look at the pizza face on him" were amongst the reasons given for these dismissals. One or two earned an accolade like "what a hunk" or "nice buns".

Their mother called them over to her car and told them they were leaving.

Back at their house, they made a quick lunch of toasted sand- wiches using cheese, meat, tomato and onion for the filling. A couple of cokes and a collection of biscuits finished their meal.

Visiting hours at the hospital were just starting, so their mother drove them over to see their father. As usual, this was an extremely painful experience for all three of them, but they bore it out of love for their husband and father.

They sat around talking to their father, telling him what had happened to them since their last visit. Eventually, they were chased out by the nurses as visiting hours came to an end.

After returning home, Gail and David dressed in their skating gear and went over to Samantha's house to see if she wanted to come. She was out with Becky, so they headed for the skating park themselves.

They got so involved in their skating that it was almost tea- time before David realised that they had to get home. He called to Gail, who was intent on her figures, and they hurriedly left the park.

Racing along the pavements was exhilirating, but they had to watch for pedestrians. David was nearly involved in a collision with a mother pushing a push-chair, who he avoided by inches. The mother shrieked with surprise, then started screaming abuse at him, yelling "keep off the sidewalk".

Once they reached home, they discovered that their mother had prepared roast beef and roast potatoes, a particular favourite of David's. To follow this, she had purchased a blueberry cheesecake, which was eagerly consumed by both children.

They were settling in for a quiet night watching television when the doorbell rang. It was Samantha, inviting them to a slumber party. David looked at Gail, then they turned to their mother.

"Can we go ?" asked Gail.

"OK, but be good," she replied. Then she looked hard at David and added "especially you. Be very careful."

David knew what she was talking about, and resolved to keep his panties on that night unless he were alone.

"It's OK, Davina," said Samantha. "It's only you, me and Gail tonight. Just don't let Mom find out."

"Oh, that's wonderful," David said sarcastically. "Only your mother. If she finds out, I'm dead meat."

"Don't worry. She thinks of you as a girl, and people see what they expect to see. You'll be fine."

David sighed as he realised that this was true. He was now thought of by all the people they had met since arriving in America, and he could not go back to being a boy.

What had seemed like a lark to be able to play football with Samantha had led to a complete change in lifestyle. Now he would have to learn from his sister and Samantha all it meant to be a girl.

Having met Mrs. Thompson, the year supervisor, he would also have to attend school as a girl. This might lead to some embarrassing questions at PE unless his mother gave him a note or something.

David and Gail eagerly collected their night clothes and toothbrushes. They followed Samantha back to her house, where she had laid out blankets on the floor of her bedroom.

"Sorry you have to sleep on the floor," she told them, "but there isn't enough room in here for extra beds or whatnot. I've laid out enough blankets that you should be comfortable. Let's start with some music."

She went over to her CD player and inserted the latest CD from her favourite band. When the strains of the first track started to fill the room, she closed her eyes and sighed.

"Come on, Davina, let's dance."

She grabbed David's hand and started to lead him round the room. David was pretty confused - he had learned to dance for the dance at the end of primary school, but he had been doing the leading. He tried to start leading, but Samantha refused allow that and just kept leading him round the floor.

When the song finished, she released David and took Gail, who had been shadow dancing, and continued dancing. David thought about what his sister had been doing while he was dancing with Samantha and tried to emulate her.

After they had been dancing for about an hour, Samantha asked if they wanted pizza. This idea was greeted with enthusiasm, so she dialled the local pizza house and ordered a large four seasons. With a wicked look in her eyes, she also ordered a tub of chocolate ice cream.

The food was delivered half an hour later. While they were waiting, they sat and talked about the team and what the training would be like.

With a large tub of ice cream in the freezer for after, the three friends attacked the pizza, which had been divided into eight slices. The four different toppings meant that they could all find part they liked.

Mrs. Davis walked past and noticed what they were eating. She grabbed a piece for herself, and quickly finished it. There was one piece left and she looked round the girls. When no- one seemed to want it, she grabbed it too and walked away chuckling.

The ice cream was left in the freezer. David was puzzled - he thought they would be having it immediately. Samantha just grinned and told him to wait.

Samantha dived over to the TV and pulled out a video. After inserting it in the player, she called her friends to her and they joined her on the couch.

As the video started playing, Mrs. Davis stuck her head in the door and checked out what they were doing. She clucked her toungue when she saw what video they were watching, but decided to let the girls scare themselves silly. They could comfort each other.

When the video finished, Gail, Samantha and David were hugging each other tightly. That had been a scary video.

Samantha led the way back to her room, where they jumped on her bed and started discussing makeup and boys. Samantha grabbed a '17' magazine from her bedside table and opened it at the problem page.

They started reading the problems and replies. Some of the answers caused them to dissolve in giggles.

After going through all the problems, Samantha turned to a fashion page. They all started comparing the clothes worn by the models and wondering how to achieve the looks sported by the models.

Samantha dived over to her vanity and grabbed her makeup. She approached her friends and said

"Let's try to copy these looks. That model looks just like you, Davina," pointing to a photo in the magazine. "Come here."

She took a cleansing solution and washed all the makeup off David's face. Then she started making up his face again, carefully copying the photo.

"Wow! You look hot, Davina" Gail said as Samantha finished.

David looked in a mirror and had to agree. He *did* look hot. It embarrassed him no end, though, that it was his sister who was giving him these complements.

"Come on, Gail. I'm sure you could look even better with a little work."

Gail sighed with resignation and submitted to Samantha's ministrations. When Samantha had finished, Gail looked as hot as David, and the two turned on Samantha.

"Fair's fair," called David as they started making her up as extravagantly as they were.

By the time David and Gail had finished, it was nearing midnight. Samantha held her finger to her lips and led them back down to the kitchen.

She got the ice-cream out of the freezer and brought it and 3 spoons back up to her room. David was delighted - he thought they were never going to eat it.

They attacked the tub of ice-cream as soon as they got to Samantha's room. Sitting on her bed, each of the three reied to grab the lion's share. Of course, no-one did because no- one wanted to waste good ice-cream by not taking time to savour it.

When they had finished the ice-cream, Samantha suggested that they brush their teeth and change into their night clothes. This was agreeable to everyone, so they took turns in the bathroom.

Freshly washed, with all the makeup off, they gathered in Samantha's room. Samantha was the first back and picked up a pillow and waited behind the door. When David walked through the door, she swung the pillow and caught him full in the face. David screeched, and grabbed another pillow from the bed.

He and Samantha were swinging pillows at each other with great abandon when Gail walked in. David spotted her and nodded at Samantha. They both advanced on Gail with purposeful looks in their eyes.

Gail saw them coming and knew she couldn't dodge them. She changed direction and grabbed a pillow of her own. When she was struck by a pillow from either side, she swung her own pillow at David, making to follow up with a swing at Samantha.

The pillow fight degenerated into a free-for-all after that, with everyone landing about one in three blows on their opponents. After half an hour, they had to stop because they were laughing so hard.

After the pillow fight, they sat round discussing which films they had seen, and what their favourites were. David listened attentively, knowing that he could use all of this to help with the deception.

As he was going to sleep at about 3am, he thought he was becoming more comfortable as Davina. He wondered what future surprises were in store for him.

Chapter 15

David dreamed he was falling, then woke up with a start. As his heart slowed, he realised he was on the floor. *Must have fallen out of bed* he thought.

Then he looked round, and realised he was not in his own room. Gail was cuddled up against him, and Samantha was asleep in her bed. *Oh, that's right - we slept over at Samantha's last night.*

The fullness of his bladder forced him to get up. His move- ment revealed the stiffness caused by sleeping on the floor all night and he accidentally disturbed Gail. She looked up at him and grunted, then turned over and went back to sleep.

On returning from the bathroom, he noticed that Samantha was stirring. He had an evil thought and grabbed a pillow from the floor. As Samantha sat up, he hit her full in the face with a well-placed pillow. Samantha shrieked and grabbed one of her own pillows to retaliate.

The noise finally woke Gail, who looked up at what her brother and Samantha were doing. She grabbed a pillow for herself and swung at the back of David's head.

He grunted and turned to attack his sister. As he turned, Samantha saw her opportunity and started beating him with the pillow she held. After getting a few more blows in at his sister and Samantha, and receiving two for every one he gave, David realised that the odds were against him and held his hands up in surrender.

Mrs. Davis looked in at that point and started giving everyone a row for making so much noise. David and Gail looked at the floor as she berated them, but Samantha was unrepentant. She just looked at her mother and said "No need to lose it. We were just having fun."

David and Samantha looked aghast at her cheek, but her mother sighed and rolled her eyes, then said "Well, young ladies, it's 8 O' clock and time to get up. You can't spend all day lounging round in sleep-wear."

They all raced for the bathroom, a race Samantha won by cheating - she had started running before her mother had finished speaking. David and Gail ran into a closed door, and Gail grunted in complaint.

Having already been to the toilet, David was feeling more relaxed. He and Gail walked to the kitchen where Mrs. Davis was making coffee. She offered them each a cup, which they gratefully accepted, Gail with her usual morning grunt.

Mrs. Davis looked at Gail and said "You don't wake up very well, do you honey ?" Gail just stared at her and grunted while sipping her coffee.

When Samantha appeared, having already finished dressing, David let Gail go next. Samantha grabbed a cup of coffee and said "That was nice of you."

David shrugged and replied, "She probably needs to go the toilet and I've already been. Besides, this way I get to finish my coffee in peace. And Gail always improves after she is washed and dressed."

They sat talking quietly about the night before and making plans for later in the day. Gail finally finished in the bathroom, and David went in to shower and change.

When he came out, Mrs. Davis was cooking omelettes for break- fast. They all tucked into a steaming plate of cheese and tomato omelette, then returned to the bathroom to brush their teeth.

Hugging Samantha goodbye, David and Gail waved to her mother. They returned to their own house, where David reached into his handbag for the key and opened the door.

As they entered, they could hear the phone ringing. David dived across to the phone and answered it with a cheery "Hello ?"

A voice on the other end said "Good morning, this is the police. May I speak to Andrea McCall, please."

David thought about that for a moment before remembering that his mother was starting a new job that day.

"I'm sorry," he replied. "She's starting work today at Hewlett Packard. Can I take a message ?"

"No, thanks," replied the voice. "We'll call her at work. Do you have the number ?"

David opened the address book lying on the table and searched for his mother's work number. Remembering that his father was to have started at the same location, he found the number under his name. He gave it to the police, who thanked him and hung up.

David turned to Gail and said "that was the police. They wanted to talk to Mum. I wonder what they wanted ?"

****

Leslie Everrett had spent Sunday curled up in bed. The chat she had had with Andrea McCall had brought back a lot of painful memories. A migraine had completed her misery.

She remembered the pain caused when you were different at school. At that time, she had been male - Leslie was a unisex name.

He was a slight boy who was smaller than the other boys. Also, he had had more in common with the girls in his class than the boys.

He had known from an early age that he should have been born a girl. All through school and college, Leslie had lived a very uncomfortable life.

His gestures and mannerisms had been more feminine than masculine, and that had led to a lot of trouble with the guys in the locker room.

Always a keen athlete, he had preferred solo sports like high jump or track. He found that his lack of stature made games like football or basketball impossible, and the tackles in football were killing.

At college, he had discovered all the transvestite and trans- sexual sites on the Web. His desire to become a woman had crystallised, but there just weren't funds available for these expensive procedures.

After completing a PE teacher's course at college, he had decided that he must do something. So he had taken a year out to begin treatment to make him a woman.

During that painful year living had been hard. He had started hormone therapy, getting the money to pay for it by working three jobs. Extra money had been saved towards the final operation.

When the year was up, Leslie had undergone SRS and applied to have all her records changed. With her new diploma, she had applied to the High School in Gilroy for a position as girl's PE coach.

She had been thankful for the school's non-discrimination policy. That meant that she could compete on an equal basis with the other candidates.

When she had been successful, she had taken on the role of coach for the Gazelles. That role had given her more pleasure than she could have dreamed. Learning how to organise a soccer team had been a challenge she had gloried in. Thinking up training regimes to mould her players had occupied her mind when school wasn't in.

She had told Andrea nothing of her past, merely listening to what she had to say. After her initial offer of help, she had remained mostly silent as Andrea outlined her plans.

It seemed to her that Andrea was acting in a very manipulative manner. A talk with the child would be necessary to discover his/her true feelings. And then if, as she suspected, he was transgendered, she would have to get him into therapy/

In order to gain David/Davina's confidence, she would have to reveal her own past. That was not a comfortable thought - she would rather not reveal that to anyone.

With these thoughts going round in her head, Leslie went out to her car and started driving towards the McCall house.

****

David had just put the phone down when the doorbell rang. He walked over and answered it, being surprised when he saw who was at the door.

"Hello, Coach. May I help you ?"

"Yes, Davina. I need to talk to you. Are you alone ?"

"Come in. Gail's in the living room, so we'll have to go to my room. Would you like anything to drink ?"

"A coffee would be lovely, thanks. Black, no sugar"

"OK, come on to the kitchen while I get the coffee ready."

They walked to the kitchen to get the coffee. Gail looked up as they passed and said "Who was at the door ? Oh, hi Coach." She turned back to the television programme she had been watching.

Having prepared coffee for the coach and tea for himself, David led her to his room. Leslie looked round the room, noting the feminine decor.

She sat on the bed and sighed. She looked up at David and said "David. We need to talk."

David started when she called him by his masculine name and almost spilled his tea. He didn't think anyone in America knew it.

*Am I in trouble ? Is Coach going to throw me off the team ?* he wondered as his adrenaline levels rose with fright.

"Wh-What ?" he asked in a stumbling manner.

"David. I was suspicious at the field on Saturday when you told me which competitions you had won. I thought those were for boys teams. At the time, I tried to ignore my feelings.

"After the training session I agonised for a while then turned to the computer. I searched the Web to confirm my suspicions, then drove over to see your mother that evening. I saw you leaving as I arrived.

"That's partly why I'm here rather than kicking you off the team. Another part is what your mother told me of your actions with your boyfriend. But mostly it was the rest of your mother's words.

"I am not prepared to tell you what she said. That's private, and if you want the details you'll have to ask her yourself. I don't think she'll tell you, though."

As Coach Everrett was speaking, David was getting more and more nervous. What was she going to do ? Was he going to be exposed before everyone ? He couldn't stand the humiliation.

She saw the look on his face and said to him "Don't worry, I know what it's like. I've lived through something remarkably similar, though I didn't have your courage. It took me until after college to finally make the change.

"That's right, David, or Davina, whichever you prefer. I was born male. From an early age I knew that I should have been a girl. But I had no-one to help me and I was too afraid to do anything on my own.

"I had a miserable time through school and college. All the time I had to try to hide my nature. I wasn't always successful, and received many beatings.

"From what your mother tells me, you didn't really have any inclinations in this direction until you were dressed in Samantha's strip. Your mother then decided to push you as hard as she could, to see what would happen.

"Part of it was to punish you for the way you behaved towards your sister. But mostly I think she really wanted to have two daughters.

"That doesn't really matter now. From the reports of your behaviour, the Davina part of you is becoming dominant. I would guess that you would be uncomfortable living as David now.

"I even hear you have a boyfriend who thinks you really are a girl. That could lead to a very nasty situation if David were ever to reappear, but I would help you any way I could.

"Please trust me when I say this, I am here to help you. Whatever you need, I'll try to get for you. If you really are transsexual, I will smooth everything with the school authorities.

"But to convince me, you will need to undertake a course of therapy. I'll connect you with a friendly therapist who can help you."

David was stunned when he heard that Coach Everrett used to be a man. He looked at her with amazement as his heart slowly returned to a normal rhythm. With each word she had spoken, he had found himself relaxing, but he had been strung so tight it took a while.

He wondered how anyone who looked as feminine could once have been male. Then he caught his own reflection in the mirror and realised that he looked as feminine as her.

Her offer of help made him feel really warm inside. It was the nicest thing anyone had said to him for a long time. He rushed to her and gave her a great big hug.

As he was holding on to her, he felt himself beginning to cry out all the confusion and fear he had been feeling for the last week. Leslie Everrett just held him until he could get some control back.

"Thank you, Coach Everrett," he said when he had managed to get his tears under control. "I am sincerely grateful for your offer. However, I don't understand all of what you have said to me. What's transsexual ? And what would the therapy involve ?"

As Coach Everrett explained all aspects of transgenderism, David listened with fascination. He had never suspected that there was a whole world of people who faced their problems in this manner.

She went on to describe the steps he would have to undergo to become a girl for real. The therapy she described was to convince the authorities that this really was the best course of action for him.

As she left, she gave him her phone number, telling him to call whenever he needed a friendly voice to talk to or a shoulder to cry on.

Watching her drive away, he realised that he had found a real friend in Coach Everrett. That would make whatever came next so much easier to bear.

 

© 2001
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