The Unwilling Party Guest

by Jennifer

 

'You are invited to my party at 2pm on Saturday the 12th of May. Do come. Love from Debbie.' So went 12 year old Debbie Turner's invitation to a dozen of her friends. It was to be an all girl's affair since the last thing she wanted were some idiot boys there to spoil the fun. It would be bad enough having her twin brother Jimmy around, and she hoped that he would stay out of the way.

You can hardly blame her. Recently he'd become a real pain, and had been developing some very male chauvinistic tendencies in the form of an increasing contempt for the female of the species in general. Things had come to a head when he and a couple of his mischievous friends had ruined her girl guide weekend camp by lacing the girl's sleeping bags with a generous sprinkling of itching powder. Unwisely, the three culprits had bragged about it at school, so needless to say, the girls knew who they were and were itching for revenge. Literally.

Fortunately, Debbie had two powerful allies in the form of her older sisters Jane, 17, and Angela aged 15. They too had been the butt of several stupid pranks that Jimmy had indulged in recently, and were already considering some kind of suitable retribution for their irritating young male sibling to teach him a well deserved lesson. They were in luck when a golden opportunity presented itself quite by chance because Jimmy had been plotting again. Predictably, he was determined to have some mischievous fun at Debbie's party, but this time he'd completely miscalculated. This time the fun was going to be at his expense.

His plan was simple. Although his sisters had tried to persuade him to go out for the afternoon to get him out of the way, he'd insisted on staying home, so he was warned on pain of the direst consequences to stay in his room and amuse himself there. With his computer and TV to play with, that didn't seem to present much of a problem, since he spent most of his spare time playing computer games anyway. But on this occasion he had some other form of entertainment in mind.

The garden sprinkler system could be set with a timer located in the garden shed, and Jimmy planned to set it to switch on at 3pm, when he knew that the girls would be playing on the lawn, directly in the line of fire. He grinned at the thought of them getting a good soaking, especially dressed in their best finery. But fate decided to intervene and teach Jimmy a well deserved lesson. On the morning of the party he went into the shed to alter the timer setting, but didn't notice Jane watching him through the open door of the shed as he adjusted it. Once he'd set the timer, he went indoors again, but Jane's suspicions were aroused by his furtive behaviour. Wondering what he'd been up to, she went into the shed to see what he'd been doing to the timer. As soon as she saw the dial she realised what his little game was, and with a wry grin, she adjusted it back to its normal setting.

She wandered out into the garden again, trying to think of some suitable retribution for her irritating young brother. And that was when she had her stroke of inspiration. With a chuckle, she went into the house to discuss the situation with her two sisters and their mother, Mary Turner. They sat round the kitchen table while Jane explained what Jimmy had planned, and needless to say, Mary wasn't impressed with this latest example of her son's errant behaviour. Sensing that this was the perfect opportunity to suggest some form of retribution, Jane said 'Honestly Mum, if we don't do something about his behaviour soon he's going to get completely out of control.'

'Yes dear I know' said her mother sadly, 'But what can we do about it. Any ideas?'

This was Jane's moment. She broke into a grin and said 'Well as a matter of fact I do have a plan on how to deal with young master Turner. It would certainly make him think twice about misbehaving again, and at the same time provide some wonderful entertainment for the girls at the party.' Sensing that Jane had something imaginative in mind, Mary smiled and said 'Oh? And what might that be?'

'Well as we all know, Jimmy seems to have developed a really unpleasant antipathy to all members of the female species recently. He's even become rude and derisive to Angela and me, and I for one am not going to put up with it any more. He's been particularly nasty to Debbie and the other girls at school, and with this latest little plan of his, I think it's time to take him down a peg or two. I think we should let him find out what it's like to be on the receiving end of teasing and being laughed at.'

'Yes I agree' said her mother, 'But just how do you propose to deflate his ego?'

'By humiliating him. Preferably this afternoon, while so many of the girls he's treated with such derision are here. Let's see how he likes it.'

'Hmm, that's not a bad idea actually. What sort of humiliation do you have in mind?'

Jane grinned. 'Well' she said, 'After I discovered his nasty little plot in the shed, I was wandering round the garden trying to think of how to punish him, and at the same time I could imagine all of Debbie's friends enjoying the party out on the lawn this afternoon. And then it came to me. A delicious way of punishing him and cutting him down to size at the same time.'

'Go on' said Debbie eagerly, impatient to find out how her brother was at last going to be repaid for all the sleights and insults he'd thrown at her in the past.

Jane looked at her younger sister, grinned, and said 'What will you and your friends be wearing this afternoon?'

'Party dresses of course. What else would we be wearing?'

'Precisely. Party dresses. And very pretty you'll all look too. Well, how would you like Jimmy to come to your party as well?'

'Jimmy! Oh yuck! Why would I want him to come? He'd ruin it!'

'Well yes' grinned Jane, 'He probably would normally, but what if he came dressed like everybody else?' The direction in which she was heading suddenly became apparent to Debbie, who suddenly giggled and said 'You mean wearing a dress? Like us?'

'That's right. Wearing a pretty little party frock. I've got something absolutely delightful in mind that he could wear, and somehow, I don't think he'd be any trouble at all because he'd be so utterly embarrassed.'

Debbie burst out laughing and said 'That's a fantastic idea! And it would be a brilliant way of getting back at him for all the horrid things he's done to me and my friends. Oh Jane, you're a genius!' She clapped her hands together and her eyes sparkled with anticipation of at last seeing her arrogant brother utterly humbled at last.

'But how are you going to get him into a party frock?' said Angela thoughtfully, 'I mean I love the idea, but he's not going to just let us dress him up as a girl is he?'

'No of course not' said Jane, 'But if our friends Fiona, Liz and Marilyn come round to help, he can't really stop us getting him into a dress can he? We'd be more than a physical match for him, so he wouldn't have any choice. And I'm sure they'd love to help out because they're not too impressed with Jimmy's behaviour either. I reckon they'd enjoy it.'

'Good point' grinned Angela, 'Well I must say you've thought of everything haven't you? As usual, you always were the organised one. Did you say you have something particular in mind for him to wear?'

'Oh yes' chuckled Jane wickedly, 'It'll be absolutely perfect. Do you remember years ago when dear old Auntie Grace had that party frock especially made to measure made for me as an 8th birthday present?'

'Of course' said Angela, 'You absolutely hated it, and I refused to wear it either.'

'I don't remember' said Debbie, 'I was only a baby. What was wrong with it?'

'Well' continued Jane, 'Being so old fashioned, Auntie Grace picked a style of dress more suited to a six year old. You know the kind of thing. It was a primrose yellow satin party frock with a peter pan collar, short puffed sleeves, a long row of buttons up the back, and a sash belt that tied in a bow behind the waist. And to top it off it had some smocking across the front, so it was virtually a baby frock. But that wasn't the worst thing about it. Dotty old Auntie Grace got the size completely wrong, and had it made two sizes too big for me. That meant I couldn't wear it, which was a great relief at the time.'

'I'll bet!' giggled Debbie, 'So what happened to it?'

'What do you think?' Said her mother with a smile as she recollected Jane's reaction at the time. 'I didn't want to hurt your aunt by getting rid of it after all the trouble and expense she'd gone to, so there was only one thing for it. I kept it in the wardrobe until Jane grew into it.'

'By which time I was 10 years old' said Jane ruefully, 'And the last thing I wanted to be seen in was what amounted to a baby frock as far as I was concerned. But Mum still made me wear it whenever Auntie Grace came to visit, or we went to visit her. I'll never forget the teasing I got from the other girls at some of their parties when Mum made me wear it. I was so relieved when I grew out of it and had an excuse not to wear it any more.'

'Gee I don't blame you' said Debbie, 'That must have been awful! Thank goodness Auntie Grace never bought me a dress!'

'Which brings me to the point' said Jane. 'I've still got that party frock hanging at the back of my wardrobe, and because Jimmy's so small for his age I'm pretty sure that it would fit him without any problem at all.'

'Oh yes!' exclaimed Debbie as she burst into peals of mirth, 'That sounds perfect for him! Can I have a look at it?'

'Of course you can' smiled Jane, 'I'll show you in a minute. I'm sure you'll approve when you see it.'

Their mother had been following the conversation with a smile of amusement on her face, and with a chuckle she said 'Well I must say it's an ingenious punishment isn't it? My goodness, he'll be absolutely squirming with embarrassment, and the girls will certainly enjoy getting their own back on him. I know he's been giving several of them a hard time at school recently, because their mothers have been complaining to me. He's become quite the little bully. Small people are often aggressive and try to control others to make up for their small stature. It's sometimes called a Napoleon complex, and Jimmy's certainly small enough to fit that description.' There was a pause, and then she said decisively 'All right Jane, go ahead, but only on condition that you don't hurt him physically, I'm not having that.'

'Don't worry Mum' replied Jane with a wicked grin, 'I promise we won't hurt him physically. We'll just dent his ego.'

'Well that won't do him any harm' smiled her mother, 'And I must say, I can't wait to see what he looks like wearing that dress!'

'Neither can I!' exclaimed Debbie with an expression of positive relish on her face. If anyone was going to enjoy her brother's moment of retribution, she was.

'All right then' said Jane, taking command of the situation, 'Let's go up to my room and I'll show you the party frock. It really is sweet.'

Delighted that they had their mother's approval, the three sisters went up to her room and started to assemble an outfit for Jimmy to wear that would be guaranteed to humiliate him beyond anything he could imagine. And they were experts. He certainly wasn't going to forget this party!

By now, Jane had learned to read her younger brother's mind like a book, and she predicted that at 3pm he'd probably be looking out of his window waiting to see the water sprinkler turn on. She was sure that when it didn't turn on, he wouldn't be able to resist creeping into the garden shed to see what had gone wrong. And that was when she planned to spring her trap.

Jane and Angela helped their mother prepare the refreshments for the party, while Debbie busied herself getting herself ready. Her mother buttoned her into her favourite party dress and tied back her hair with a white satin ribbon tied in a bow with two tails hanging down the back of her shoulder length hair. As she adjusted her hair ribbon, Mary said 'You look so sweet in that outfit Debbie, so fresh and pretty.' The watching Jane chuckled and said 'Well she won't look nearly as young as Jimmy by the time we've got him dressed. That little party frock will make him look about six years old I reckon. A six year old little girl that is!' The three of them laughed as they tried to anticipate Jimmy's reaction at being forced into wearing it.

It was a beautiful afternoon when Debbie's guests began to arrive wearing their best party dresses, their hair held neatly in place with ribbons, and looking the very epitome of sweet little girls. Their mothers sat in the garden beaming with pleasure as the girls rapidly began to enjoy themselves in girl talk and party games.

As 3pm approached, Jane stood in the garden with Angela and their schoolfriends Fiona, Liz, and Marilyn, all three of them powerfully built members of the school rowing team, watching Jimmy's bedroom window. Sure enough, they suddenly noticed him peeping out from behind the curtain waiting for the fun to start. The time came and went, and suddenly he disappeared from sight. It was time to move. The five girls moved closer to the garden shed, waiting for Jimmy to make an appearance. And right on cue, they saw him creep out of the kitchen door at the side of the house and dart into the shed.

'Right girls' said Jane, 'Let's go.'

They ran across to the shed and went inside to find a very startled Jimmy with his hand on the water timer.

'Well well' grinned Jane, 'Caught you red handed. Thought you'd ruin Debbie's party did you Jimmy? I know you far too well these days. I saw you setting that timer, and it didn't take me a minute to put two and two together. Own up, you planned to give the girls a real soaking didn't you?'

Jimmy knew the game was up, and under the baleful frown of his older sister he knew there was no point in denying it. He shrugged his shoulders and said 'If you say so.'

'Oh but I do say so. The question is, what are we going to do with you by way of a punishment. You know you deserve it don't you? Come on, admit it.'

Again, a shrug of the shoulders as he wondered what form of retribution Jane had in mind.

'I'll take that as a yes' she grinned. 'Well, Angela and I have decided to let the punishment fit the crime as the saying goes.'

'What do you mean?' said Jimmy nervously.

'Well, you were told to stay out of the way and in your room weren't you?'

'Yes?'

'But you didn't did you? Just now you came downstairs and out into the garden.'

'Yes but....'

'Well since you've come out into the garden, you must want to come to Debbie's party mustn't you?' she grinned. 'Well you're in luck, because we're going to grant you your wish by letting you come to the party. In fact we insist on it. But there's just one small thing. Since you're now coming to the party, you've got to be dressed properly for it, and since all the girls are wearing their prettiest party frocks, you're going to wear one too. With all the trimmings. We're going to turn you into the prettiest little girl here, and you're going to stay like that until you go to bed tonight. I've already told Mum what you planned to do, and she's given her full approval, so don't expect her to get you out of it.'

Jimmy gulped. The prospect of being dressed up in a little girl's party frock would be enough to fill any full-blooded boy with horror, and he was no exception. He decided to try and bluff his way out of it by shouting 'If you think I'm going to put on a dress you can think again! There's no way I'm going to do it and that's that.'

'No?' smiled Jane, 'I think you'll find you have no choice. We're more than a match for you, and if you don't co-operate we'll just have to make you won't we? Which would probably be more fun anyway.' Feeling like a cornered rabbit, Jimmy stood there for a moment and then, breaking into a panic, he lunged for the door, desperate to escape.

But Jane and Angela were more than ready for him, and quickly grabbed him tightly by the arms. 'All right then' grinned Jane, 'Looks like we'll have to do it the hard way. Let's take him up to my room, I've got everything ready for him.'

'Nooooo!' yelled the hapless Jimmy, as his two older sisters dragged their squirming little brother out of the shed, across the lawn, and into the house. Realising what was happening, Mary gave them an amused wave of approval, and then turned to Debbie and her friends to explain what was happening.

Jimmy was no match against five strapping teenage girls of course, and soon found himself in Jane's bedroom, where he was held down face up on the bed by Angela and her three friends. With one girl holding each of his arms and legs, that left Jane free to do whatever she liked with him, and he knew it.

'Right then' said Jane with a grin, 'Time to change our nasty little brother into a sweet little girl. Let's start by removing his clothes shall we?'

Jimmy didn't stand a chance as she pulled off his shoes and socks, and then unfastened his shirt and trousers before removing them. That done, she pulled off his vest and underpants so that he was left lying there completely naked. Jimmy wasn't particularly embarrassed at being nude. He was far more worried as he watched Jane open the wardrobe door and take out a particularly cute looking little girl's party frock. Just as Jane had explained to Debbie earlier, it was a primrose yellow satin dress with a peter pan collar, short puffed sleeves, and a long row of pearl buttons down the back. The dress had a sash belt to be tied in a bow at the back, and smocking across the front which emphasised its childishness.

Jane held it up and said 'Here we are little girl, your party frock. Isn't it sweet? I grew out of it years ago, and I was really glad to because it looks so babyish. I hated wearing it, but now it's going to get some use again.' Jimmy looked at it in horror, and groaned as she hung it on the wardrobe door ready for use.

'Now then' she continued, opening a drawer and taking out a pair of yellow satin knickers, 'Let's put our little girl's undies on first shall we? Just hold onto him while I slip them on.'

The girls kept a tight hold on Jimmy and lifted his bottom up off the bed slightly while she slipped the knickers on over his ankles and drew them up his legs to his waist.

'There we are little girl' she grinned, 'Aren't they pretty?' while Jimmy looked down at them with utter distaste. 'And now for your party frock' she added with a wicked smile. She went across to the wardrobe, and removing the frock from its hanger, she unfastened the buttons down the back and said 'Right, turn him over onto his front while I get him into it.' The girls rolled Jimmy over while she went to the top of the bed, next to his head. Despite his struggles, she girls forced his head and arms into the dress, and Jane pulled it down around him. Then while the girls held him down securely, she fastened the buttons up the back and tied the sash belt in a neat non-slip bow behind his back.

'Good' said Jane, 'Now for his feet. Sit him up on the bed.' The girls turned Jimmy over so that he was facing upwards, sat him upright on the bed, and spreadeagled his legs. Jane picked up a pair of white cotton ankle socks, pulled them onto his feet, and turned the tops down neatly. Then reaching under the bed, she picked up a pair of shoes and placed them between Jimmy's outstretched legs. Looking inside one, she said 'You take size three, so these should fit you perfectly. And they're going to look so cute on you!'

Unfortunately for Jimmy she was right, they couldn't have been cuter. A pair of white leather mary jane strap shoes decorated with pink flowers that fastened with a buckle at the side of the foot. The perfect shoe for a little girl. If he'd been a little girl that is. Jimmy groaned with humiliation as she buckled them on tightly, making sure that it would be impossible for him to kick them off. These shoes were designed to remain firmly on fidgety little girl's feet.

Jane looked at Jimmy's feet and broke into a broad grin. 'Oh yes, they look very nice' she giggled, 'Now let me see, what else is there?' She looked him up and down for a moment and then said 'Oh yes, of course, little girls love wearing pretty ribbons in their hair don't they? So...' She opened a drawer and took out some yellow satin hair ribbon and a pair of scissors, and carefully cut two equal lengths.

'His hair's a little bit short for ribbons' she grinned, 'But not too short I think. Just take him over to the dressing table and sit him up straight in front of the mirror will you?'

The girls swiftly dragged Jimmy off the bed and dragged him across to a chair facing the dressing table. They quickly sat him down in an upright position with his arms held down over the back of the chair, so that he had no choice but to look at himself in the mirror.

'Right. Hold his head still' said Jane, and one of the girls stood behind him, put her arm around under his chin, and held his head in a vice-like grip. Jane combed his hair with a parting down the middle and arranged it into two bunches secured with a couple of elastic bands. Jimmy squirmed and groaned with humiliation as Jane took one of the ribbons and carefully tied it tightly round the base of one of the bunches in a neat bow. Repeating the process with the other ribbon, she made sure the two bows were identical in size. Then she took two white plastic hair slides, and sliding them into position next to the ribbons, she clicked them shut. 'There we are' she smiled, as she combed the front of Jimmy's hair forward in a fringe, 'That's how I used to have my hair done when I was a little girl. Well near enough, anyway. All right, stand him up and let's have a look at him.'

They stood Jimmy up in front of the full-length wardrobe mirror, and a chorus of giggles rang in his ears. And no wonder, he was dressed almost identically to the youngest of the girls downstairs in the garden. He now gave a good impression of a typical little girl aged about eight.

'There we are' chuckled Jane, 'One little girl all ready to go to Debbie's party.' Jimmy shuddered at the prospect as the girls stood him up and shrieked with laughter at his appearance.

'Isn't she a sweetie?' laughed one.

'An absolute little poppet' grinned another.

Angela couldn't stop giggling and said 'Oh Jimmy, you'd have made the cutest little sister, you really would!'

'So what happens now?' asked one girl.

'Now?' grinned Jane, 'Well in a minute we'll take our little girl downstairs to join the other girls, but first I've got one more little surprise. After all, we don't want him making a run for it, so I've got just the thing to keep him under control.' She opened a drawer and took out a bundle of white leather straps. For a moment Jimmy was puzzled as to what they might be, but as she began to arrange them he realised what they were, and he gulped with nervous anticipation. Oh no he thought, they can't be, surely not. But they were.

It was a set of traditional style white leather baby reins. Across the front chest plate were three little bells that jingled as Jane adjusted the straps, and the chest plate was decorated with a picture of a teddy bear and three play bricks with the letters ABC on it.

Angela giggled with gleeful anticipation at this added humiliation as Jane said 'All right girls, hold him while I put them on him. He certainly won't be able to run away wearing these!' She advanced towards Jimmy holding up the reins, and despite his struggles, the girls thrust his arms into the straps. Jane quickly moved behind him, and threading the straps through the buckles, she tightened them so that the baby reins held him securely in their unyielding grip.

'How on earth did you get baby reins big enough to fit him?' laughed one of the girls.

'Oh that was easy' grinned Jane, 'They're left over from when our Aunty Nan brought our little cousin Terence to stay a couple of years ago. Remember how big he was for his age Angie?

'Big?' retorted Angela, he was enormous! More like a six year old than three and a half, and she had them made especially big enough to fit him by a friend of hers who did leatherwork. And he was so disobedient. Used to have terrible tantrums out in public until Aunty Nan used the reins to keep him under control. He was so humiliated wearing them that it soon curbed his temper, and soon she only had to threaten to put them on him to make him behave.'

'And' grinned Jane, holding up the reins and shaking them so that the small bells on the front tinkled, 'I've now made them escape-proof. He'd obviously try and take them off as soon as he got the chance, so I've replaced the buckles with lockable ones, so there's no way he'll be able to get them off. Watch this.' She took three small padlocks out of a drawer, and slipping each padlock into one of the lockable buckles, she clicked them shut with an air of finality. Jimmy suddenly realised that she'd locked him securely into the baby reins, and without the key to the padlocks there was no way in which he could possibly take them off, and consequently, the little girl's party frock he was wearing underneath either. He was now imprisoned in them and under the complete control of whoever held the reins, as he was about to discover.

Instinctively trying to remove the humiliating baby reins, he tried to reach the buckles behind him to unfasten them, and knowing how pointless that would prove to be, Jane deliberately let him try while she kept a tight hold on the leading rein. To a chorus of amused giggles from the girls, Jimmy gyrated wildly for a few seconds, and occasionally managed to reach one of the buckles with his fingers. But with each buckle securely locked, he soon came to realise the futility of that idea, and came to a halt like a tamed wild pony. He was stuck and he knew it.

'Had enough?' grinned Jane. Jimmy refused to answer, and looked at the ground in frustrated humiliation. There he was, dressed as a sweet little girl with ribbons in his hair, and locked into a set of baby reins like a two year old. How much worse could it get? He would find that out in due course.

'There we are' grinned Jane, 'That'll keep our little girl under control. Now let's take her downstairs to meet the other little girls.' She tightened her grip of the reins and gave them a sharp jerk to remind Jimmy that she had him completely under her control like any naughty toddler. He nearly lost his balance as she pulled on the them, and he blushed crimson at the thought of being virtually as helpless as a toddler.

With Jane behind him holding his reins, Jimmy was led downstairs and out through some french windows into the garden. There was quite a reception awaiting him.

By now, Mary had informed the girls of the soaking that Jimmy had planned for them, so their reaction was predictable. If there's one thing that little girls are expert in, it's teasing little boys. Especially when they're dressed in a sweet little party frock with ribbons in their hair. And wearing baby reins? The stage was set for a lesson in humiliation that would be any boy's nightmare. As soon as Jimmy appeared, shrieks of high pitched laughter rent the air as the girls fell about laughing until tears of mirth ran down their faces. Then the teasing catcalls began.

'What a sweet little girl! Isn't she gorgeous?'

'And look at her pretty ribbons. They match her dress perfectly.'

'I love the party frock. Where did you get it? From a baby shop?'

'She must have done. After all, she is wearing baby reins isn't she?'

'And look at those cute little shoes. She must be about three years old.'

'Did mummy bring you in your pushchair or your pram little girl?'

All the while Jimmy had to just stand there, scarlet with humiliation, as the girls teased and taunted him with relish. From time to time Jane tugged on his reins to emphasise his new status as a cute little girl.

Debbie was the most delighted of all. She kept looking at her brother, grinning, and then bursting into peals of laughter. Then she suddenly said 'Wait a minute, we can't call him Jimmy dressed like that can we? I think we should give my little sister a new name for the day.'

'What a good idea' grinned Angela, 'Any ideas anyone?'

There was a moment's pause before one of the girls said 'I know. I've got the cutest baby sister called Lucy. That's a good name for a sweet little girl isn't it?'

'Lucy' chuckled Jane, 'Oh yes, I like that. All right girls, how about we call our little girl Lucy for the rest of the day?'

A loud chorus of giggles showed the girl's approval of that idea, and the motion was obviously carried unanimously. Jimmy stood there and groaned with humiliation, wishing that the ground would just swallow him up. He was certainly paying for his past misdeeds with a vengeance.

His first humiliating introduction to the girls completed, they settled down to play some games in the garden while Jane sat down on a garden seat, and pulling Jimmy down by his baby reins, she made him sit cross-legged on a rug at her feet where he could be clearly viewed by everyone. The girls kept darting across and teasing Jimmy, relishing this chance of at last getting their own back for all the insults and injuries he'd inflicted on them in the past.

Debbie suddenly went into the house, and Jimmy gave a groan of despair when she returned with her digital camera in her hand.

'Oh no! Please! No pictures!' he cried in despair, but his sister was in no mood for mercy. This was too good an opportunity to miss.

'Why not?' she giggled, 'I want these for my photo files. Just wait until I email them to all your mates. And especially Jennifer. Reckon she'll just love seeing them! Now hold still.'

His girlfriend Jennifer. He'd forgotten about her, and Jimmy gave a little whine of helpless protest at the teasing that he would inevitably suffer at her hands. She had a wicked sense of humour, and would no doubt exploit it to the full.

Jimmy tried to get up, but Jane grinned and held him down firmly in place with the reins, and Jimmy blushed scarlet with humiliation as his younger sister set about recording the moment for posterity. He shuddered to think what she might do with them.

Debbie took a large number of photos of him from every angle, and finally satisfied, she grinned at Jimmy and said 'There, that lot should assure your co-operation from now on. I'm sure you wouldn't like to see them in your school magazine for instance.' She chuckled wickedly, and they both knew what she meant. With what she could do with those photographs, he would be putty in her hands from now on. With a satisfied grin, Debbie went across to her friends and showed them the photos on the camera's screen. Jimmy winced as he saw the girls giggling at the images of him appearing as a simpering little girl.

This little incident over, the girls continued playing in the garden until Jimmy's mother appeared at the French windows and said 'Tea everybody. Time to come in now.'

'Oh good' said Jane with a wide grin as she stood up, 'This should be entertaining. Up you come Lucy.' She jerked Jimmy to his feet, and led him into the house, where Debbie's birthday spread was laid out in the dining room just inside the french windows. They'd already taken their places at the table, when Jimmy was led into the room and sat down at the end of the table opposite Debbie where he could be clearly seen by everybody.

Children have all the cunning of a pack of hyenas when they detect that their victim is helpless, and the girls shrieked with laughter at the sight of Jimmy blushing crimson with humiliation. No wonder they laughed. Many of them had suffered various degrees of bullying at his hands, and they were now determined to have their revenge in full measure.

'All right girls' smiled Mrs. Turner, pleased to see that her son was at last receiving his well-deserved come-uppance, 'Time to tuck in.' And tuck in they did. The table was laden with sandwiches, biscuits and cakes and a never ending supply of soft drinks. This was followed by jelly and ice cream, and finally, Debbie's birthday cake. It was feast set for a queen.

Not surprisingly, Jimmy didn't have much of an appetite as he endured a continuing barrage of giggles and teasing. He was certainly paying for his past treatment of the girls with a vengeance

Eventually, everyone had eaten their fill, and as they rose from the table, Jane said 'Why don't you all go back out into the garden girls? We'll bring Lucy out in a minute.' With a few residual giggles, the girls got up from the table and went out through the french windows back into the garden.

At this point Jimmy assumed that his torment was over, and that he would now be released. No such luck. Jane and Angela were determined to cure him of ever teasing Debbie and her friends again, so Jane said 'Well now Lucy, you've had your tea, so let's take you outside to join the other little girls.'

Jimmy groaned as she pulled on his reins and led him out to a wide swinging garden seat. She sat him down in the middle, and she and Angela sat down on either side of him to keep him under control.

He sat there, enduring yet more teasing, until the afternoon sun moved round and began to shine onto Jimmy's face. Angela looked at him, noticed him squint, and suddenly grinned as she said 'Sun a bit strong for you Lucy? What you need is something to keep it out of your eyes. I'll just go and get it.' Jimmy wondered what she could mean by that as she rose from her seat and went into the house.

A moment later she returned, and with a broad grin, held up a little girl's pink and white gingham sun bonnet with a wide stiffened brim to frame the face and two long tie tapes that fastened under the wearer's chin.

Oh no groaned Jimmy to himself as Angela said 'This is just what we need to protect little Lucy from the sun.' Let's see how it looks on her shall we?' She brought it down carefully onto a blushing Jimmy's head, pulled it on firmly, and tied the ribbons under his chin in a neat bow. Then she stood back, and the little girls shrieked with laughter.

'Oh that's delightful' laughed Jane, 'And it fits him perfectly. He just looks so sweet with his face framed in his pretty little bonnet like any other little girl.'

With his head now adorned in just about the most humiliating way possible, Jimmy blushed crimson while the girls revelled in this final salutary lesson for all the past hurts he'd inflicted on them. Debbie took out her camera again and took great delight in taking some more photos of him. His salutary lesson was complete.

The party games continued for another hour or so until the proceedings finally came to an end and the young guests started leaving. Every one took the chance of bidding the helpless Jimmy a teasing farewell as if they were saying goodbye to a little girl, and he knew that by now his reputation as a little tough guy was in tatters, and things would never be the same again.

When the last of the girls had left, Debbie and her sisters stood in front of Jimmy. 'Well Jimmy' said Jane, 'Had enough? After today, I doubt if you'll ever again feel like trying any more of your nasty tricks on the girls. And if you try lording it over any of the little ones I suspect they'll just laugh at you and remind you of today.'

'And with these gorgeous photos of you' giggled Debbie as she held up her camera, 'I suggest you certainly don't try teasing me again. I'll know just where to send them if you do.' She grinned at him triumphantly, and with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach he knew she was right.

Jane removed Jimmy's bonnet and helped him to his feet before saying with a more kindly tone of voice 'Come on then little brother, let's go upstairs and I'll help you out of those things. Then you can have a bath, get dressed, and I'm sure there's enough party food left over to fill you up. I noticed you didn't eat much.'

'I'm not surprised!' Debbie giggled.

Jimmy suddenly realised that now that he'd paid his penance, his sisters had forgiven him all his past misdeeds, and this was his chance to start again with a clean slate. Horrendous though the day had been, he had to admit that he'd deserved it, so he decided to accept it with good grace and put any idea of revenge out of his mind. Which was a wise decision. From that moment on he curbed his mischievous and bullying instincts, and life became decidedly more pleasant for all concerned. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

 

THE END

  

  

  

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