Betty Pearl's Sissy Stories 20.1
Menu => Active Sissy Stories => Topic started by: billykins on September 26, 2022, 09:51:25 AM
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1.
Conor and Archie went up to big school together. They had been friends since they were five - they lived within a quarter of a mile of each other - and they knew by this time they were going to be friends for life. But because of the rules about “catchment” areas, then unfortunately few of their mates from junior school went with them. And immediately they began to get into bad company.
Conor’s mother was worried.
“Myra” – (Myra was Archie’s mum) – “Myra, we need to do something. If we allow this to go on, imagine what they’ll be like after a year. Last night, when Conor couldn’t find his notebook, he was swearing and blinding like a west Dublin dustman! Up to a few weeks ago, he’d never even said a swear that I can remember. I’m worried half to death!”
“Brigit, that’s not fair! You know I’m from west Dublin… The dustmen I knew were quite polite, as a matter of fact…”
“I’m sorry, Myra. You know I didn’t mean to libel your Dublin. Or the poor dustmen. But the swearing’s only the half of it. He’s been hanging out with those tough kids from year two. I saw him with a whole pack of ‘em and your Archie lounging around outside McDonald’s Tuesday evening, spitting on the pavement.”
“I know, Brigit. I agree. But what can we do? Boys… We don’t have no leverage over them. They’ll do what they do, and that’s it, darling.”
Brigit sat pondering for a moment. “You know, Myra, I always wanted Conor to take up the Irish dancing, like Erin. She’s been doing it now for…let me see, she’s thirteen now, so that’s six years. She’s so dedicated. When she’s up for a competition she thinks of nothing else. But he refused flat out.”
“I remember. Even when we said the two of them could go together, and we’d increase their pocket money. But that was a year or so ago. Can you imagine what they’d say if we suggested it now?” She gave a hollow laugh.
“True. Imagine what sort of incentive we’d have to offer them!”
“A couple of those sports bikes they’re always on about.”
“Gaming computers.”
“A couple of weeks in Las Vegas!”
Brigit was suddenly silent.
“What is it, babe?”
“You know what? Uncle Michael – my brother in law.”
“What about him?”
“You know he lives in Texas now. Works for some hotshot electronics firm. Got a place right out in the sticks. Into target shooting and all that sort of stuff.”
“Yeah?”
“Well last year he offered to have Conor over there for a holiday, but he didn’t want to leave his friends. And he was younger. Now… I bet he'd jump at the chance.”
“He would – all those guns and things…”
“I wonder if Michael would let him take a friend?”
“You could ask…”
“And then…”
“Then, if they really wanted to go, we could impose a few conditions…”
“Like, for instance, they take up the Irish dancing…”
“And go twice a week without fail…”
“Or the holiday’s off.”
They looked at each other.
“Do you think they’d go for it?” asked Myra.
“They might… I could ask Michael if they could go over at Christmas. He might agree. He’s very laid back about things.”
“Has he got kids?”
“Yes. A boy and a girl. Boy’s about thirteen, I think. Girl a couple of years younger. His wife’s pretty cool. They have horses too… She rides, and I think she does archery…”
“God, it sounds perfect…”
“’Twould be heaven for the boys, I should think. I’ll drop him a line tonight. See what he says…”
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2.
Brigit wrote to Michael just before she went to bed. In Texas, Michael had just got home from work, and had sat down to check his emails. He replied at once.
“Hi Brigit! Great to hear from you! Of course! Send them over! We’d love to have them here. They can stay for as long as they like. We’ve got loads of pace, and the kids have their own little log cabin near the house, with bunks and a barbecue. We let them stay out there. They love it, and it gives me and Dora a bit of peace. They can shoot, and ride, and Bobbie and Phelan will show them woodcraft and how to track animals in the woods. They can experience a real American Christmas and Thanksgiving. But how are you and David? It’s been a while…” etc. etc.
Brigit video-called him at once, and they had a long chat. They pencilled in a date after the end of school, but Brigit made one qualification.
“Michael dear, I have to explain one thing. Conor and his friend have not been the best behaved lately. So me and Myra want to make this conditional on…on their improving their conduct. I won’t go into the details, but let’s keep this between ourselves – I mean, don’t tell your kids yet – just in case it doesn’t work out. Yeah?”
“Sure, Brigit. I hope it’s nothing too serious…”
“Not really. But they’re going a bit wild, and we want to nip it in the bid, that’s all…”
After speaking to Michael, she rang Myra.
“It’s on. No problem. He’d love to have them.”
“So what now?”
“Let’s get them together tomorrow after school and test the waters.”
“Okay. Come to mine. Pat’s not home till late, and Sinead’s staying over with one of her friends.”
“Great. Tell Archie there’s something very important we have to discuss. I’ll do the same with Conor.”
“Hope they’re not planning something with those year two boys…”
“Too bad. We’ll tell them if they don’t show they’ll be grounded for a week.”
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3.
So it was that at four the next day Brigit and Myra sat smugly in Myra’s lounge sipping coffee and waiting for the boys to show.
“Taking their time, aren’t they?”
“Demonstrating their independence. Cheeky little sods. Behaving like sixteen-year-olds.”
“Yeah. Or six-year-olds – depending how you look at it.”
“Shh – here they are.”
The front door opened, there was a murmur of voices, and a moment later in trooped the two miscreants - looking uniformly disgruntled.
“Hi guys,” said Myra, breezily. “How are you? How was school?”
Archie grunted, as he usually did when his mother asked him a question. Conor, as he was addressing a friend’s mother, assumed enough politeness at least to offer a reply.
“Okay. Same as usual. Boring teachers, pointless lessons. Mum? What do you want to talk to us about? We were supposed to be meeting our mates down the burger bar.”
“Yes, that right,” added Archie. “We can still make it, too, if you stop wasting time and tell us what you want.”
Brigit looked at Myra, as if to say, “shall I?” And receiving only a wry look in return, she embarked upon the proposition.
“All right. We’ll get to the point. Sit down there.” She indicated the sofa. Sulkily, they threw themselves down side by side.
“First of all, we don’t think much of “your mates”, as you call them They’re older than you, and frankly they’re a bunch of layabouts, what I’ve seen of them. No, Conor, I’m speaking. Remain quiet for once. Now, we have an idea. You’re not going to like it, but there’s another side to everything.” She took a breath. “We want you to start Irish dancing lessons.”
The boys stared. Archie’s mouth fell open. Conor’s face contorted with anger.
“Mum? Are you fuc-king…?” He was about to say “serious”, but his mother cut him off.
“Conor! Don’t you dare swear at me – at us! If I tell your father your feet won’t touch the ground. You’ll be shut in your bedroom every night for a week!”
Conor realised he had made a mistake.
“Sorry, mum…it just sort of slipped out…”
“It’s slipping out a bit too often, lately, my boy. Hardly surprising, seeing you’re spending your time with a bunch of louts.”
“But…they’re my friends…”
“Nonsense! Friends don’t behave like that – corrupting kids younger than themselves.”
“Corrupting?” began Archie, with a sneer. How old do you think we are?”
“Eleven, at the last count,” laughed Myra. “Not even teenagers. And mentally? I don’t know….six, maybe?”
“Shut up, mum!”
“So what about the lessons?”
“You suggested that last year. We’re not going to Irish dancing. Your sister does that, don’t she Conor? It’s for girls. No way. That’s an end of it. C’mon, let’s get out of here.”
They rose, and were heading for the door.
“We’re not finished,” said Brigit, quietly.
“Well we are, mum,” replied Conor.
“Okay. Well, if you don’t want to hear about Texas…”
Conor stopped dead. “What about Texas?”
“Nothing. I can see you’re not interested.”
“No, you’ve gotta tell me now. Now you’ve said it.”
Archie was looking puzzled.
“My uncle lives in Texas, Archie. He’s got a ranch an’ everything!”
“Really? You never told me…”
“No, cos…I dunno. Mum, what about it?”
“You sure you want to know? Leave if you have to meet your mates…”
“Shut up and tell me!”
He grabbed Archie and pulled him down onto the sofa again.
“Uncle Michael has invited you both to stay for Christmas. Two or three weeks. You’d live in a log cabin separate from the grown-ups. That’s all. We were considering if we could afford it, but as you don’t seem to be prepared to co-operate…”
“Mum! We will! Won’t we Archie?”
“Er, will we…?”
“You don’t understand! There’s horses and forests and bears…and guns! He’s got loads of guns!”
“Guns? What, air rifles?”
“No, you idiot, real guns! Automatics, and AKs and stuff!”
“No shit! Like, real guns!”
“But if you’re not prepared to change your lifestyles a bit,” said Myra, “I’m afraid…well, we’re not prepared to make the effort to scrape up your airfares.”
“Mum, look, we’ll just hang out with each other from now on,” began Archie, sitting up very straight and trying to look serious and committed.
“Yeah,” continued Conor. “I don’t want to see those other guys any more anyway. We never really liked them, did we Archie?”
“Nah. Bunch of f…, I mean posers. We don’t need them.”
“Wait till we tell them…”
“Oh. You’re going to tell them you’re starting Irish dancing? That’s nice, Conor. I’m sure they’ll be jealous…”
“Mum,” he whined, “please…don’t make us do that…”
“We’re not going to make you do anything,” smiled Myra. “It’s totally up to you. Conor, your sister enjoys it. And so does Archie's cousin - doesn’t he, Archie?”
“Yeah… Sean… He does, all right…”
“And is he a wimp?”
“No. That’s true, Conor. He’s a jiu-jitsu brown belt, too. Once there were these three blokes what tried to beat him up, and…”
“All right. Tell Conor later, dear. Now, what’s it going to be?”
“How long would we be going for…?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Brigit?”
“We could manage three weeks, I guess. Think what a nice peaceful Christmas we’d have, Myra!”
“Three weeks!” Conor’s eyes gleamed. “Right. We’ll do it. Won’t we, Archie?”
“Yeah. We’ll do it!”
“Two sessions a week plus any extra ones for competitions.”
“C-competitions?”
“Yes. And a minimum of six months.”
“Six months?”
“Take it or leave it.”
The boys looked at each other, then back at their mothers. “We’ll take it,” they said in unison.
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4.
The classes were run by a Mrs Daly. They took place in a side-room of the town hall. There were two two-hour sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at four o’clock, and another on Saturday mornings for advanced students and rehearsals – and also for those who Mrs Daly considered not to be working hard enough. Brigit had assumed there would always be room in her classes for more children, but there proved to be a minor complication. She called into the town hall the following Saturday morning, and found Mrs Daly preparing for the session.
“Hello. Mrs Daly, isn’t it? I’m Brigit Nolan. I was wondering if you’d be able to take on a couple of new recruits. They’re starting rather late, I’m afraid, but I’m sure their enthusiasm will make up for their inexperience.” (She said this with her fingers crossed behind her back.)
“How old are they?”
“They’re eleven.”
“Oh, that’s all right. I find girls of that age very quick to learn.”
“Well, actually they’re boys…”
“Boys? I’m sorry, you’ll need to see my daughter. We got so overwhelmed last year that we formed a separate class for the boys, especially as there’s fewer mixed team competitions these days. She’ll be glad to take them.”
“Oh, great. So where…?”
“She works from Stemforth. Do you know the village hall?”
“Stemforth? Oh, no, we’re right on the east of town, near the river. That would be a terrible long way to go. What time does she start?”
“Same as me. Four. No, I can see it would be difficult for you to get them there in time. I’m so sorry.”
Brigit left the town hall with a frown on her face. Now what were they going to do? She rang Myra.
“She only takes girls. The boys’ classes are in Stemforth. What are we going to do?”
“You shouldn’t have told her they were boys,” joked Myra.
“I’m not giving up. There must be somewhere else. I’m going back.”
She turned and headed back. It was ten minutes to four.
“Oh, hello. Back again?”
“Mrs Daly. Look, I’ve promised the boys they can start Irish dancing. Do you know of anywhere else we could find classes – or even just a teacher – in the neighbourhood?”
“I’m really sorry, I don’t. They could always come as girls, I suppose,” she laughed.
“Could they?”
“Come as girls? Are you serious?”
Brigit compressed her lips.
“You are, aren’t you? Well, I’ve never been asked this one before, I must say. And I’ve been asked a few weird things in my time.”
“Is it possible?”
“Well, I mean to say… If they come as girls, and wear the girls’ costume… I mean, I could hardly object. It would be terribly sexist, wouldn’t it? But do you think they’d…?”
“Agree? I think they might. How do we go about getting the costumes?”
“Well, I always have a stock of second-hand ones. They’re very expensive new. I’m sure we could fit up two eleven-year-old boys. Actually, it would be quite fun. A bit of a challenge. My girls are very agile. They might have difficulty keeping up at first. But I’d give them extra tuition.”
“Right. Thank you so much, Mrs Daly.”
“Bernadette, please. I do hope you’re able to persuade them. The girls would be so excited!”
“I’m going to do my best. May I ring you tomorrow?”
“Of course. Here, my number’s on this flyer. Look forward to hearing from you.”
Once outside, Brigit rang Myra again.
“It’s on. All we have to do is to convince them to dress as girls.”
“Oh, that shouldn’t be a problem, Brigit. Have you gone completely mad?”
“Probably. We need a plan. Urgently.”
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5.
Brigit and Myra racked their brains, but neither could see any chance of corralling the boys into girls’ dancing outfits. They discussed everything from extra treats to gentle persuasion to blackmail; and they would have used blackmail if they had had the means.
“I think we’re beaten,” said Myra. “I know they’re not going to stand for it.”
“Even with the prospect of Christmas in Texas?”
“It may be a close-run thing, but even with that…”
Brigit snorted. “I’m going to give Michael a call. Maybe he has an idea.”
She opened her laptop. A minute later there was Michael’s big, happy, rosy face smiling at her.
“Hey, Brigit! What’s happening? You look…like you found a roach in your coffee…”
“A what? No, Michael. We have a problem. Me and my friend Myra. Myra? Say hello to my brother-in-law.”
“Hi Michael. Nice to meet you.”
“You too. You’re Conor’s friend’s mum, right?”
“Archie. Yeah. Brigit will explain.”
“Michael. Yeah, I need to level with you. The boys have been, well, out of control recently. Ever since they changed schools. We dreamt up this plan, where we’d send them to Irish dancing classes and they’d have a holiday in Texas with you as a reward. They’d agreed and everything…”
“They had?”
“Well come on – can you imagine what it would mean to them? But now suddenly we have a problem. The only available class is girls only. Except…”
“Except?”
“Except the teacher will accept them if they present as girls. Michael? Michael, are you there?”
Michael eventually resurfaced, choking and very red in the face.
“Oh, that’s priceless!” he gasped, between guffaws. “Dora! Dora! Wait till you hear this.”
There was a muffled conversation, terminating in screams of female laughter. Brigit sighed.
“Michael. Michael! What’s going on? We’re out of ideas. Maybe I could get them to call you and you could hype it up a bit more.”
“Wait a minute. Dora has an idea… Great…Yeah that would work…Hold on, darling… Ask him, then. Just give me a moment, Brigit…”
He disappeared again. When he returned he was smiling.
“Right. Get them to call me. We’ll make a time. This is it, see? First off, we’ve got quad bikes. That should get their attention. But second, Phelan here – show your face, Phelan – Phelan here is a bit of a drag artist, in’t you boy?”
A rather pretty face appeared at the edge of the screen, surmounted by a mass of blond curls.
“Hi Auntie Brigit. Don’t worry, I’ll fix it. I’ll talk to them.” Then it disappeared equally spontaneously.
“Y’know, Brigit, Phelan’s school has regular competition days when all the boys dress up as girls. Phelan’s won two first prizes. Add to that, Bobbie’s just got a new Irish dancing outfit, which is a bit big for her as yet. But Phelan could get into it. And he’s gonna spin them such a yarn…”
“Really? Do you think he can…?”
“If he can’t, no-one can. Now let’s make that appointment, shall we?”
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billikins,
I like they way your story is going.
A number of years ago I was attending a tech vendor show at a fairground where there was an Irish dancing festival in a different building. The walk from the parking to the tech show brought me past the back of the dance theater and several troupes of girl dancers, all in different colors.
I like the look of those cute Irish dancers and would love to dress up as one, with the proper curly wig and makeup.
Will our lads agree to be dancing lasses?
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6.
It was arranged the call would be made that Saturday, when everyone would be off school. To allow for the time difference, it was scheduled for five in the evening UK time. That would also give the mothers time to confront their sons with the bad news.
To prepare the ground, Brigit told Conor that his cousin wanted to talk to him about Christmas. This generated much excitement. The two hadn’t met for three years, and naturally Conor, two years the younger of the two, was rather enamoured of his American cousin. Indeed, he would often casually mention the relationship as an unfailing way of exciting interest and envy amongst his friends. Archie and Myra were invited round, and an afternoon feast was prepared. The boys were in heaven, the slight detail of their contract temporarily forgotten.
At about four, Brigit decided it was time.
“Boys? Myra and I have arranged your classes. Tuesday and Thursday after school, and possibly a session on Saturday morning. They’re in the town hall. A very nice lady called Mrs Daly runs them. She’s looking forward to meeting you very much.”
Archie screwed up his face, and Conor stuck a finger up his nostril, by way of expressing their distaste at the less exciting side of the bargain.
“There’s just one…er, technicality, that we have to tell you about, boys,” added Myra, with a glance at her friend. “Now, at present – unfortunately – Mrs Daly’s class is all girls…”
The boys, who had been digging into bowls of chocolate ice cream, stopped eating simultaneously. Their eyes widened and they stared at Myra.
“Er, yes, as I say. But she’s generously agreed to take you anyway… She such a nice lady, and technically she’s stretching the rules, of course, just for you, and…”
“The thing is, boys,” interrupted Brigit, taking the plunge, “you’re going to have to fit in with the class, which will mean wearing costumes, as it were, in the style of the girls. But really it won’t make any difference. Now, the classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays begin at four. So…”
“What?” said Conor, reddening. “Say that again. We’re gonna have to wear girls’ outfits? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Well they’re not that different…”
“Not that different? Not that different?” cried Archie. “We looked on the internet, Mrs Nolan. They have short skirts and white socks…”
“… and big curly wigs,” added Conor. “An’ they kick up their skirts an’ show their panties!”
“Well, not always…” murmured Myra, unconvincingly. “Surely big boys like you wouldn’t be embarrassed by such a little thing. I mean, it’s the dancing that counts. Your sister, Conor…”
“Don’t bring her into it. If she was a boy, she wouldn’t dress up as a girl, would she?”
The others looked at him for a couple of seconds, trying to grasp this gem of logic.
“Okay. It’s off then,” said Archie, swallowing the last spoonful of ice cream and dropping his spoon into the empty dish. “Right, Conor?”
“Right.”
There was an awkward silence – suddenly broken by a beeping from Brigit’s laptop, open on the table.
“That’ll be Michael,” said Brigit, relieved. “Let’s have a chat anyway, even if you guys won’t be going after all.”
The screen blinked into life. But it wasn’t Michael. It was Phelan and Bobbie, side by side. Brigit pushed the laptop in front of the boys, and indicated to Myra they should retire into the kitchen to do the washing up.
“Hey, guys! How you doin’? Is that Archie with you, Conor?”
“Yeah,” said Conor, disconsolately.
“Hi Archie! I’m Phelan. This is Bobbie.”
“Hi!” squeaked Bobbie, who seemed unable to stop giggling.
“So you guys are coming over at Christmas. I can’t wait to see you, Conor. It’s been three years! You’re gonna love this place. Did your mom tell you we’ve just got quad bikes? And dad’s made us a track. It goes round the house and in and out of the trees. It’s so cool. Dangerous too, if you go too fast.”
“Quad bikes?” gasped Conor, eyes gleaming.
“How fast do they go?” asked Archie.
“Fast enough. Bobbie’s not allowed on them yet – are you squirrel-face?”
“I’m not squirrel-face!” screamed Bobbie.
The boys laughed, apparently having forgotten all about the “technicality” that would inevitably prevent them from going to Texas.
“And you’ll get to shoot this!” added Phelan, producing from nowhere a heavy automatic pistol.
The boys goggled.
“Is that…?”
“Yeah. Course. The real thing. My dad collects guns, see. Mainly old ones, but new ones too.”
“Is it…loaded?” asked Conor, spellbound.
“No. The only time they can be loaded is when we’re on the range.”
“The range?”
“The shooting-range. We shoot targets and bottles and things. It’s the best.”
“Wow….”
“Hey, Phelan. What are you wearing? That’s not…?”
“Oh, yeah… My Irish dancing outfit.”
“My…” began Bobbie.
“Shut up, squirrel face.”
“I’m not…”
“Yeah. Cos I heard you’re starting classes. I’ve been doing it since I was ten. It’s great.”
“Go back a bit,” said Conor. “Show us…”
Phelan retreated from the screen. As he did so there came into view an intricately-decorated outfit with a skirt!
“Isn’t that…a girl’s one?” asked Conor, nonplussed.
“Not really. Over here everyone wears these. It’s like with Scots dancing, everyone wears kilts. It’s not a gender thing.”
“Really?”
“Course. Didn’t you know?”
“Oh, yeah, we did know…just like Scottish dancing, course.”
“Listen guys. I have to go. My dad wants me to round up the horses. Let’s talk again soon. I can’t wait to see you guys. We’re gonna have some amazing fun…”
As the screen returned to blankness, Conor and Archie looked at each other.
“Quad bikes!” said Archie.
“Did you see that gun? If you fired that it would knock you over.”
“Yeah. That would be great!”
There was a short silence, as they both collected their thoughts.
“Maybe… I mean, what’s a bit of dancing, when…”
“When there’s all that…”
“Can you imagine…?”
“We can tell everyone all about it when we get back…”
“We’ll have pictures…”
“Videos…”
“And then maybe we can go again in the summer. If we save up…”
“fuc-k, yeah. We’re going then, right?
“Right!”
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7.
Brigit and Myra were delighted at the boys’ decision.
“You won’t regret it, boys,” said Brigit. “We’ve been looking at flights, and if you fly a couple of days before the end of term you’ll be able to have almost three weeks with Uncle Mike.”
“What, won’t the school object?” asked Archie.
“They may want a reason,” said Myra, “but there won’t be any trouble. Conor’s family, and I’ll have a word with the head. She’s very understanding.”
(She’ll be very amused, as well, when she hears the whole story, Myra thought.)
“So. First lesson Tuesday evening. Looking forward to it, boys?” smiled Brigit.
The boys weren’t looking forward to it at all, and as the day wore on they became more and more nervous. They tried to keep up their spirits by speculating on the fun they were going to have – but that was eleven weeks away, and this a mere three days.
When they returned to school on Monday they couldn’t resist boasting about the trip to their friends, which aroused a deal of envy, but also brought it home to them that they were now irrevocably committed to the dancing lessons. Of these they didn’t boast. On the contrary, they realised were going to have to explain why they’d be regularly unavailable on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Saturday mornings wouldn’t be a problem, as they were both in the habit of lying in bed till twelve, unless summoned for chores. They found a ready-made excuse, however. They discovered that there were other classes taking place in the town hall concurrent with Irish dancing: yoga and judo.
“Okay,” said Archie, “we can easily say we’ve started going to judo. We can go in, then just sort of slip aside into the dancing class.”
“Yeah?” said Conor. “You sure? What about if some of the other kids from our school go to judo? What if, when we tell people that, they decide it’s such a good idea they’ll come and join us? Any other bright ideas, genius?”
“Oh. Yeah. I see what you mean. Er, well, we could say we were going to yoga classes… No-one we know would be going – or would want to go.”
“Yoga? They’ll think we’re wimps.”
“For the time being…but not after we’ve been to the States and shown them videos of us firing guns and riding bucking broncos and stuff…”
“All right. But let’s not say anything till we have to, right? Keep yoga in reserve.”
“Okay.”
Tuesday came. Conor was so anxious he couldn’t eat his lunch. Archie was in a similar state, but in his case he dealt with stress by eating more. So he ate Conor’s lunch as well as his own. Conor watched him with disbelief.
“I don’t know how you could – seeing what’s happening this evening.”
“Your mum makes ver’ goo’ egg mayo…” Archie said, in between bites. “Ver’ tasty…”
They ran to the town hall – not out of eagerness, but just in case any of their friends were headed the same way. There was a notice by a pair of double doors, “Daly’s Darlings”.
“Shit, Archie, that must be it.”
“Daly’s Darlings? That doesn’t sound very promising…”
And with nervous glances over their shoulders to make sure they weren’t observed, they pushed their way in. They found themselves in a largish room with a polished wooden floor and big windows, like a small school hall. There were four girls there already, probably a couple of years older than them, chatting together casually. They were wearing school uniform, which was reassuring. Maybe they wouldn’t need to change just for practice. They were relieved to see none of them was from their school. One of them, a tall, slender girl in with a blond ponytail, turned to them.
“You’re in the wrong class. This is Irish dancing. Didn’t you see the sign?”
“That’s right,” said Conor, bravely. “We know.”
The other three turned and stared as well.
“Irish…dancing,” said another, with emphasis, glaring at them. “Girls’ Irish dancing…”
Conor sighed. Archie blushed.
“Look…we know,” said Conor. Mrs Daly’s agreed we can join…she knows all about it….”
The girls were struck dumb. But only for a few seconds.
“This is a joke, right?”
“She would have told us.”
“It’s a wind-up, Janine. We’re being pranked.”
“By two idiots.”
“Let’s kick them out…”
They advanced on the boys. Fortunately for them, at that moment Mrs Daly came through the door.
“Hello girls! Early birds! Ah. I see you’ve met our new recruits.”
“What? Mrs Daly, I don’t understand! Is it true? How come there are boys” (this in the same tone she might have said “giant slugs”) “boys, joining our class?”
“I’m sorry, girls, I only agreed this last week. The boys are very enthusiastic – though they’re both beginners – and they live too far away to make Caitlin’s class.” Seeing the girls’ dismay, she added, “However, I’ve insisted they wear the girl’s costume, and I want you to treat each of them just like one of us.”
This revelation took a few seconds to sink in. But it certainly mitigated their displeasure. In fact, one of them allowed herself mischievous smile.
“They’re gonna wear the skirts?”
“And the socks?”
“And the wigs, miss?”
“Well they won't have to wear the wigs for classes, of course, but otherwise... Yes, everything.”
“And the…,” began one. But she couldn’t finish her question, being suddenly seized with a fit of giggles.
“Well, I’m glad you find it funny, Kelly,” said Mrs Daly, addressing a brunette who was now convulsed with laughter. “Now, calm down, all of you. Perhaps you’d like to introduce yourselves? Please?”
“I’m Grace.”
“Hello. I’m Janine,” said the tall one.
“And I’m Riana.”
“Hi. I’m…” Kelly managed to regain control of herself or a moment. “I’m K-Kelly…” Then she doubled up again.
“Kelly! I’m surprised at you. One of my seniors behaving like an eight-year-old!”
“No, miss, really…it’s just…”
“Shush, girl. Boys? Your turn.”
“I’m Archie. Hi.”
“And I’m Conor. We’re really sorry. We don’t want to cause any…disruption. But you see…”
“Not at all, boys. Not at all,” interrupted Mrs Daly. “Now, while we’re waiting for the others, you girls can get changed, and I’ll see if I can find our new friends some dresses. Follow me, please, boys.”
She led them into a side room. Laid out on a table were half a dozen sparkling dresses.
“Now we have our own group uniforms, which as you can see are largely purple and yellow, but with lots of decorative embroidery. I do hope you like them. Feel free to handle them.”
“The material’s really heavy…” murmured Archie.
“That’s right Archie. It’s very good quality, and what with the embroidery, and the lining… Also, you’ll see the skirt has wide, stiff pleats. The idea of that is to accommodate the movements of the dance, and make it easier to execute high kicks.”
“H-high kicks?”
“That’s just one part of the step routine. Don’t worry about it now, you’ll soon see what's involved. Now, looking at you, I would say these two will do for the time being. They may be a little on the small side, but I’ve got more coming in in a week or so, so don’t worry too much.”
Archie and Conor looked at each other. The dresses, to their minds, were insanely flamboyant, worse even than those they had viewed with disappointment on the internet. The skirts didn’t look very long, and neither of them felt very enthusiastic about the idea of “high kicks”.
“You can change here. You’ll need these, too. These are called ‘poodle’ socks – you can see why. And find yourselves some shoes – soft shoes for the time being. There’s a heap of them in that black bag, all labelled with their sizes. Come back in when you’re done.”
Neither of them moved.
“Quick as you can, boys, please,” said Mrs Daly, with a touch of impatience. “We need to get started.”
The boys helped each other into their dresses, zipping each other up like a pair of girls getting ready for a night out. The zips were as heavy-duty as the dresses, and they took a bit of pulling up. They put on the poodle socks and found soft shoes that fitted. They looked each other up and down.
“Oh my god. What have we done?”
“You sparkle every time you move.”
“You too. Like being in a disco.”
“I can see your boxers, Archie. You look like a right idiot.”
“Well you…you look just like a girl…and an idiot.”
“We better get out there…”
“Yeah. That Mrs Daly…”
“What?”
“You know… Seems like she could be quite strict.”
“I can hear a lot of voices. I hope there’s not too many of them…”
They opened the door and peered sheepishly into the room. There were probably another dozen girls now, on top of the original four, ages ranging from about eight to thirteen, all of them in the same dresses as the boys. They had all obviously been waiting for them to emerge, because they were all staring at the door.
“Are, there you are. Come on boys. Girls, say hello to Archie and Conor.”
There were gasps and a little squeal.
“Girls!”
Suitably admonished, the girls greeted their new teammates with a chorus of whispers and giggles.
“Now Archie and Conor are complete beginners, so today they won’t be taking part, just watching. So please, girls, be on your best behaviour and your best form. Boys, would you like to stand over there, and…”
“Miss?”
“Janine?”
“Miss, what are they wearing underneath?”
“Well, I suppose…”
“Cos that one’s got boxers on. I can see them!”
There was a little ripple of laughter.
“Yes, I see…”
“So aren’t they improperly dressed, miss? You’re so particular about us – we all have to wear matching panties. So why not them?”
“Well, they’re not actually performing yet, and…”
“But miss,” interrupted Kelly, “you told us that whenever we’re wearing our costumes they have to be correct in every detail. “Whenever”, you said.”
“Well…”
“That’s true miss,” piped up one of the juniors. “They’re setting a bad example. They should be wearing panties just like these.” And with a mischievous grin, she lifted her skirt to show her own. If this was a deliberate attempt to embarrass Archie and Conor even more, it succeeded brilliantly, causing them both to colour up and look at the ceiling.
“Millie, please! The boys don’t want to see your panties.”
Mrs Daly paused. She couldn’t think of a suitable excuse for the boys, and it was true Archie did look ridiculous. And it was paramount to maintain the highest standards at all times.
She sighed. “All right, then. Janine and Kelly. Just run over to Simpson’s over the road and buy a pack of panties, would you. Medium size. Here’s five pounds. And be quick, please.”
Janine snatched the note, emitted a little cry of “yess!”, and she and Kelly dashed for the door. Mrs Daly turned to the boys. “They’re quite right, boys. I should have remembered to get you some. Never mind. They won’t be a minute.”
Startled, speechless and dismayed, the boys stood there helplessly, surveying the line of triumphant and expectant faces turned towards them. It was at this moment that Archie realised one of those faces was not unfamiliar. He nudged Conor.
“That girl – there – second from the end…” he whispered.
“Shit… She’s in our year! She’s recognised us!”
“No-o…”
“We’ll have to talk to her. She can’t tell anyone at school, or we’re…”
“Well and truly…”
Their commiserations were brought to an end by the reappearance of Janine and Kelly, who burst in panting.
“We ran as fast as we could, miss. Here you are.”
Janine handed Mrs Daly a pack of panties in a clear wrapper. Pink panties!
“Oh, you bought pink. Weren’t there any white ones?”
“Yes. But miss, remember the rules? Beginners wear pink ones for the first six months. Then they graduate to white.”
Mrs Daly looked hard at Janine. She knew that Janine knew there was no such rule. But it was such a clever idea, and she was game for a bit of fun. She paused. The girls waited breathlessly for her response.
“Oh, of course, I’d quite forgotten. Yes, rule nineteen. Probationary pink panties. Thank you for reminding me, Janine. These are a very pretty pink, too. And a nice simple bow at the front. Here boys, go and put these on, and be quick. Then we really must get on.”
-
Billykins,
Like sarahpenguin, I am really liking your story. The girl in the same year of their school could really have some power over Conor and Archie. We will be very interested in reading the further developments.
-
8.
Mrs Daly produced a tape player and started up the music. Irish jigs and reels and folk tunes, played at maximum volume it seemed, which, despite their Irish heritage, soon began to drive the boys mad. Mrs Daly stood them with their backs to the walls – as if they were about to be shot, remarked Conor – facing the girls, who, whilst executing the most agile and athletic steps, leaps and hops, still seemed able to maintain expressions of amusement or contempt for their self-conscious captives. Conor noticed that the girl they had recognised as one of their peers seemed to be watching them with particular malevolence, which only served to make him more uneasy. But worse was yet to come. Mrs Daly wound up the main lesson twenty minutes early.
“Right. Boys, I hope you enjoyed the girls’ dancing, and feel sufficiently emboldened to try a few steps. Girls, would you vacate the floor? Line up by the wall. If you have any comments or advice for them, you can tell them afterwards.”
There followed the most embarrassing ordeal they had ever undergone. Mrs Daly showed them a few basic steps, which essentially involved placing their feet at uncomfortable angles to each other, jumping and hopping back and forth, whilst keeping their arms firmly at their sides the whole time. Every time they jumped or hopped, up bounced their stiff skirts, giving the troupe a brief glimpse of their panties, and resulting in a burst of giggling, which Mrs Daly, for some reason only known to herself, declined to suppress. Archie, however, apparently considering such a coy display of his underwear unsatisfactory, managed to fall over three times in the space of five minutes, each time giving the girls a full and protracted view of his well-filled pink undies as he lay there winded or struggled clumsily to his feet.
Mrs Daly was unrelenting however, and despite all their faux pas (literally), by the end of twenty minutes they were actually able to perform the basic steps without making fools of themselves, earning themselves a round of applause from their appreciative audience and words of praise from their teacher.
They hurried to get changed back into their ordinary clothes. Mrs Daly offered to let them take their dresses home, “so your mothers can see how pretty you look”, but they politely declined. She gave them the opened pack of panties, however, with three pairs left in it.
“You should pick up another pack while you’re here… I’ll see you on Thursday, boys. Well done today. You’ve already got the basics, and you’ll find it easier…”
“Sorry, Mrs Daly. We have to get going,” interrupted Conor. He grabbed Archie and pulled him towards the changing room. “Quick. Look, she’s not even going to change out of her dress. She just changing into trainers and then she’s going to leave!”
They unzipped each other and struggled out of their dresses. Without even bothering to change their underwear they pulled on their school clothes as best they could, stuffed their boxers into their rucksacks, and ran. They burst out into the street, and looked up and down.
“There she is! Getting on that bus!”
They sprinted to the bus stop, arriving just as the doors had closed and the bus was about to start. Fortunately the driver was a humanitarian, and opened the doors for them. Their quarry was sitting at the back, pretending not to have seen them. They made their way down the aisle and took the seat directly behind her. She ignored them. Conor opened the bidding.
“Hi. It’s us. We were in your Irish dancing class.”
The girl didn’t bother to turn round, but Conor could just see a smile appear on her lips.
“You were? I didn’t see you.”
“Come on… Look, I know we made idiots of ourselves.”
“Made idiots?”
“Whatever. Maybe we are idiots, then. But look, we need to ask you something. Sorry, I don’t know your name…”
She turned half round, pouting mischievously.
“Sarah. You’re Conor, and you’re Archie. Right?”
“Yeah. Sarah. Hi. Listen…”
“I’m listening.”
“Look, it’s like this…er…”
“Please, don’t tell anyone at school…you know, about us…” blurted Archie, anxiously.
“No? Not even about your beginners’ pink panties? Whyever not?”
Conor groaned. Archie persisted.
“Sarah. You know what’ll happen if you do. We’ll never live it down.”
“And we’ll get beaten up by those second years,” added Conor. “Please. We’re begging you. Tell us what you want us to do.”
“What I want you to do?”
“Yes, you know…like if you need anything…help with homework, maybe. Archie’s a whizz at maths…maybe you might need someone sorting out one day, or something…”
“I think I can take care of myself, thank you.” She turned further round. The smile never left her lips. “Maybe you can do a few things. I’ll think about it. You can come and see me at lunchtime tomorrow. You'll find me in the playground.”
“Thank you, Sarah. Thank you very much.”
“But tell me… Why are you doing Irish dancing in the first place? You don’t seem very enthusiastic.”
“It’s a long story. Our mums… And if we don’t go, we don’t get a holiday at Christmas.”
“Holiday?”
“In Texas.”
“Texas? Seriously?”
“Yeah. My uncle’s got a ranch there. But we have to earn it, see?”
“Wow. Now I see. Okay. The first thing you have to do…”
“Yes?” said Archie eagerly.
“The first thing is…you’ve got to dedicate yourself to it. Practise hard. Not miss even one class. Get as good as us. Get good enough to do the Christmas show.”
“Christmas show? No, we’ll be gone by then.”
“When are you leaving?”
“It’s gonna be before the end of term. Like the third or fourth of December.”
“Oh, that’s all right. The show’s on the first.”
“Shit!”
“Sorry? Well, if you’re not going to make the effort…”
“Yes, Sarah, yes, yes we are!” said Conor, panicking.
“Yeah,” said Archie. “We’ll work really hard, you’ll see…”
“You’d better. Or my video of you two cavorting about is going to be all over the school.”
“Video? You didn’t..!”
“Didn't I? See?” She held up her phone.
“Oh my god…”
“So be good boys, do what I told you, be nice to me…very nice…and I may decide to keep this to myself. Agreed?”
“Agreed…” sighed Conor.
“Yeah, okay, agreed…” breathed Archie.
-
Billykins,
Things are really getting interesting. It looks like Conor and Archie are in the palm of Sarah's hand and she is enjoying having the upper hand.
Is the Christmas show really just before they are supposed to leave for Texas, so they will have to perform in full regalia, flashing their pink panties in a public showing? Will Mrs Daly have more fun than just putting them in pink panties?
What humiliations do Sarah and friends have in store?
And speaking of Texas, what more will Phelan be showing and telling them on their video chats?
-
9.
Sarah went home that night experiencing an emotion entirely new to her: a sense of total power over another human being – in this case, two human beings – and even better, two supposedly tough male human beings! She took it that her agreement not to reveal their secret to anyone else did not include her older sister. She hurried home, desperate to get the news off her chest before she burst, and broadcast it to the whole world – well, to the occupants of the bus, at least.
Patricia was seventeen. It was she who had introduced Sarah to Irish dancing. She was an accomplished dancer herself, and belonged to a group near to her college. She was in the kitchen when her sister burst in.
“Trish! You’ll never guess!” she cried, breathlessly. “You know my dance group? Well…”
“Hey, sis, hold on. Cool your jets… That’s better. Hello, darling. Did you have a good day at school?”
“I did. The best!” She was squirming with excitement. “Er…did you have a good one?”
“Yes, thank you. Now sit down and tell me your news. What’s happening with your group?”
“You’d never guess. Mrs Daly’s let in two boys! Boys from my school. She’s making them wear dresses, the whole thing!”
Patricia was genuinely taken aback.
“Boys? Why? The boys are supposed to go to Caitlin’s group, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, but they couldn’t, I dunno why, I think it was too far or something…”
“Did you say she’s put them in girl’s costumes?”
“Yeah! Look, I can show you…” She pulled out her phone.
Patricia stared in disbelief, then started laughing and couldn’t stop.
“See?”
“Oh my god… I’ve never seen anything so funny… And they’re wearing panties!”
“Yeah, she told them they had to. And the best bit is, we tricked them and told them they had to wear pink ones cos they were just beginners!”
“They believed that?”
“They believe it! Isn’t it amazing?”
But Patricia had suddenly become attentive.
“Wait a minute. Show me that again… Yes, that looks like Archie Donnelly…”
“Yeah. It is. And the other one’s Conor Nolan. How did you know?”
“I know because he’s Sinead’s little brother. You know Sinead. We used to go to Mrs Daly together years back. I haven’t spoken to her for months. We’ve sort of got out of touch.”
“They don’t want to be there. Their mums have said they have to go or they won’t be allowed to go on some trip at Christmas.”
“Right. Wait a minute. I’m going to ring Sinead right now.”
She picked up her phone.
“Sinead? Hi, it’s Trish. Yeah, I’m good. You? Great. Really? I know, we must. It’s been ages. Sure, any time. Fine, I’m free. But listen. Sarah’s just come home, and she’s telling me Archie’s taken up the dancing? She’s shown me the most incredible video. I’m gonna send it to you in a minute. Did you know…?” Clearly she knew all about it, because Patricia was obliged to listen in silence for a full two minutes. “That’s incredible. And they’ve actually gone and done it! They must be desperate to go to their uncle’s… Hold on…” She turned to Sarah. “She knows all about it. They’re going to Texas, apparently.”
“Yes, that’s it.”
“And they’re paranoid their friends will find out.”
“That’s right! They’re begging me not to tell anyone. They’ll do anything…”
“Hold on. Sinead wants a word. I’ll put her on speaker.”
“Sarah?”
“Hi, Sinead.”
“Hi, darling. So you’ve got a video? I can’t wait to see it.”
“Oh, it’s pure comedy, Sinead,” put in Patricia. “Two little clowns in pink panties!”
“In what?”
“Pink panties! Apparently they got pranked into believing beginners have to wear pink panties! For god’s sake don’t disabuse them!”
“It’s true!” cried Sarah. “And now they’re being all nice to me in case I decide to show their friends!”
Sinead was quiet for a moment.
“You know what, Sarah? I’m glad. They’ve been acting like such a pair of little toughies ever since they went up to big school. They need cutting down to size. And it sounds like you’ve got them eating out of the palm of your hand.”
“I have! They’re offering to help me with my homework and everything!”
“Perfect. Now, my advice is to play it cool. Get that video off your phone first of all, in case of accidents. Let me and Trish keep copies. Then you can do what you like with them. They can be your little slaves – carry your bag, run errands, whatever. You’re a very inventive young lady. I know you won’t be cruel, but you can certainly have some fun, and at the same time you’ll be helping to keep them on the straight and narrow - you’ll be doing them a favour, actually. Just let Trish or your mum know what’s happening, okay?”
“I will, Sinead. I promise!”
“Wait a minute! Hold on. That’s Archie coming in now. Keep quiet. I’ll hide the phone.”
They listened.
“Hi Archie. Good day?”
“Yeah, okay. Gotta go and change.”
“What’s up?”
“Nothing. I’m fine.”
“You seem…nervous. How was your first class?”
“Yeah, okay. It’s pretty easy. I need the loo…”
“Before you go, just pass me up the cat dish, would you?”
Archie sighed. “Here. What’s for supper?”
“Go and change first.”
She came back on the phone.
“He’s still wearing them!” she whispered. “I thought he was, and then when he bent down I saw them! Such a pretty shade of pink!”
“He must like them,” laughed Patricia.
“Wow! They can’t have had time to take them off,” smiled Sarah.
“No. I think Trish is right. They like them,” laughed Sinead. “Anyway, I have to go and make supper. I’ll let my mum know what’s happening. And Trish, I’ll see you Friday, yes?”
Sarah lay awake that night, a smile on her face, pondering on the possibilities. Archie – she liked him best. He was cute, actually, with those dark eyes and that curly hair. It would be nice to keep him close. Conor? He was sort of gingerish and freckled. He was more convincing when he pretended to be streetwise. But she knew that underneath he was just an everyday regular normal wimp. He needed some sort of special treatment. But what…?
Just as she was dropping off to sleep, an idea occurred to her. An idea that made her giggle, and gave her funny dreams for the whole night…
-
10.
One of Sarah’s best friends at Irish dancing was a little girl named Lily. She was a year younger than Sarah – still in junior school, in fact – and appeared rather shy and naïve, with mousey hair tied up in a perfunctory ponytail and blue glasses. She was an only child, and her mother dressed her rather too young, perhaps in the subconscious hope of arresting her development. But beneath that innocent exterior was a rather mischievous and clever brain. She could play pranks better than Sarah herself, but because of her looks always escaped suspicion. Together they were a dangerous duo. That morning, before school, she rang Lily and they had a long and interesting conversation…
So when the boys showed up obediently in the playground that day, Sarah’s plans were nearing fruition. She was with a small group of friends when they approached.
“Er…Sarah?” began Conor, anxiously, looking at the friends’ faces to try to divine if Sarah had spilled any beans.
“Yes? What do you want?”
“You er…wanted to see us?”
The friends looked from the boys to Sarah and back at the boys with open mouths.
“Oh, did I? Oh, yes. Go and get us some sweets, would you. Those mixed bars in bags. Two should be enough.”
They stood awkwardly by, waiting for her to give them some money.
“Well, what are you waiting for?”
“Oh…nothing…”
They moved away.
“Quickly, please!”
They ran.
“You got any money, Conor?”
“A few quid. Maybe she’ll pay us back afterwards.”
“And maybe she won’t. Is this what it’s gonna be like?”
When they returned with the sweets, the friends’ surprise had turned to amusement. Sarah took them without a word, then, as they retreated, she called after them.
“Wait for me after school. I want you to carry my artwork.”
One of the girls burst out laughing.
“Have you got something on them, Sarah? They’re like the toughest first years in the school.”
“Not any more.”
“So what is it?”
“Love potion. I gave them love potion and now they adore me, and they’ll do anything I tell them.”
“No, really. What do you know?”
“I told you. Anyway, what do you care? As long as they stop bossing everyone in year one about, that’s all that matters, isn’t it?”
“I think you’ve hypnotised them.”
“Yeah. With my beauty.”
Sarah took her time at the end of school. When she finally emerged, she saw the boys standing disconsolately at the gate, waiting for her. She almost felt sorry for them.
She gave Archie her artwork, and Conor her bag, and made them come all the way home with her. But she invited them in for snacks. Patricia was home.
“Hi Sarah. Hi Archie. And you must be Conor. Would you like some pizza?”
Over supper Patricia asked them how they liked Irish dancing. They pretended enthusiasm.
“I’d be happy to give you lessons, if it would help,” said Patricia. “I know Sinead would too.”
“It’s all right, sis. I’ve got it covered.”
Conor, who didn’t relish the prospect of being ordered about by Sarah, was inclined to accept the offer.
“That’s very kind of you, Patricia. Sarah says you’re very good at Irish dancing. Maybe you could show us some steps, if you have time.”
“Well we can all help, I’m sure. Sarah tells me you have to be ready for the Christmas show.”
“Er…”
“That would be amazing if you could improve enough in three months. It is possible, you know.”
After supper, Sarah led them upstairs to her room, and sat them on the floor. She threw herself on the bed. She took out her purse.
“Here’s the money for the sweets. Course I wasn’t going to make you pay for them. But I wanted you to understand your position. You’re going to be my friends, now, so you’ll want to be nice to me. Archie, you’re going to be my special friend. All I mean by that is that I will be giving you extra tuition, and you will need to fit in with my training schedule, as well as performing some little tasks in return.”
“And what about me?”
“You Conor, will also have a personal trainer. Tomorrow at practice I will introduce you to Lily.”
“Lily?”
“You saw her on Tuesday. I have spoken to her, and she will undertake your tuition. She is the same standard as me.”
“Which one was she?”
“Smallish girl, blue glasses.”
“Her? She looked about eight!”
“She’s ten. Actually less than a year younger than me, though she’s still in juniors. She’s very nice, though sometimes a bit shy. So I want to make it clear that you’re going to be very, very nice to her. In fact, while she’s teaching you, you could actually be helping her at the same time.”
“How’s that?” said Conor, sourly.
“Helping to build her confidence. People sometimes give her a hard time because she’s little and a bit naïve. She’ll look up to you, so treat her with respect. Don’t disappoint or upset her, or I’ll hear about it and I’ll drop you right in it. Understand?”
“All right. Course I won’t do anything to hurt her. Don’t worry. I’ll look after her, and no-one will dare upset her when I’m around, see?”
“Thank you.”
Excellent, thought Sarah. I thought the role of protector might appeal to him. Sort of bodyguard. She’ll have him wound round her little finger in no time…
So the ground rules were laid out. The idea of separating the boys had been dreamt up by the combined cunning of Sarah and Lily. On Mondays Conor would be required to go to Lily’s for training. On Wednesdays Archie would be at Sarah’s. And on Fridays they would both be with their mentors, whether together or separately. The training sessions would last about one hour, and time would be set aside for homework, so their schooling wouldn't suffer.
In that Thursday class, at least both boys managed to keep their feet. Their ungainly movements continued to generate amusement, however, and there were no new dresses forthcoming, so the little pink panties were still nicely on display, to the satisfaction of all present. Mrs Daly was impressed. They were definitely trying very hard, and after the session she took a moment to congratulate and encourage them.
“Well done, boys. If you keep attending lessons regularly you’ll soon be proficient. I also hear you asked Sarah and Lily to give you extra training. That shows real dedication. It’s a pleasure to have you on board!”
“Thank you, Mrs Daly,” replied Conor. “We will try hard, I promise you, though I’m sure we won’t be good enough for the Christmas show – not this year, anyway.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that… It’s not impossible. It’s a target you should aim at, anyway. It’s such a wonderful occasion. We take over the main hall, there will be probably six groups in all, and all the parents come to watch – oh, and we sell tickets to the general public, too. And the girls like to bring all their friends from school…”
Those last words froze the boys’ blood. They looked at each other aghast. It dawned on them that they were on a hiding to nothing. If they didn’t make it Sarah would release the video. If they did... then they’d be performing in front of an audience!
“Mrs Daly?”
“Yes, Archie? Say we did get as good as the girls…would we get to…”
“Yes?”
“Would be get promoted to white panties?”
“Well, I can’t promise, but I’d definitely consider it…”
“Thank you, miss.”
“So I’ll see you on Saturday morning, boys.”
“So it’s not a question of if, but a question of when…” groaned Archie.
“It’s either the video, or the show…”
“It’s either us falling about like twats in pink panties, or possibly…”
“Actually dancing well, maybe in white ones…”
“I go for the second option,” said Archie. “That video… it leaves nothing to the imagination… And it'll be there forever.”
“I agree. We’re going to have to practise hard. It’s our only chance.”
As they stood there commiserating, Sarah approached with Lily.
“Hi boys. This is Lily.”
“Hi, Lily,” said Archie, cheerfully.
“Hi, Lily,” said Conor, despondently. Sarah gave him a threatening look.
“I mean, it’s really great to meet you. Sarah has told us all about you. Er… She says you’ve offered to help me…”
Lily looked at him shyly through her blue plastic spectacles. “Yes, if you’d like… I’m not very good, but…”
“Oh, I thought you were really good even the first time I saw you,” said Conor, drawing an approving smile from Sarah. “I wish I could be as good as that one day…”
“Lily would like you to go and meet her mum tonight, and have supper at her house,” said Sarah.
“And meet my bunnies,” added Lily, excitedly.
“Your bunnies?”
“Yes, Conor. I have two bunnies, Bonny and Bouncer. Bonny’s a girl and Bouncer’s a boy. They live in the garden, and they have a special pen, and a hutch, and a playground all of their own. They like all sorts of things – carrots are their favourites, but they also eat…”
“Well, Lily, Conor will be able to come and see them now, won’t he?”
“Yes, Sarah. He’ll like them They’re very friendly, Conor.”
Conor had had other plans, but he remembered Sarah’s admonition, and said he was looking forward to meeting them. And her mother, of course.
“I’ll take care of Archie,” said Sarah, in a tone that precluded argument. “You can come to mine, Archie.”
So it was that ten minutes later, Conor found himself walking side by side with Lily, back in her school uniform, carrying her bag. She was half a foot shorter than he, but she walked so quickly he had a job keeping up.
“Come on, Conor,” she said, taking his hand. We mustn’t miss the bus.”
And she kept hold of his hand even at the bus stop, and even when they were seated, he on the inside and she by the aisle, for all the world as if she was his girlfriend. Conor felt slightly self-conscious, but no-one looked at them, so presumably people imagined she was his kid sister. No-one, that is, until two boys of twelve or thirteen got on. As they passed by they saw the joined hands, and they took the seat behind them. There was sniggering, and some sarcastic remarks.
“Little lovebirds.”
“Gonna start snogging soon…”
“Ain’t she a bit young for you, mate?”
“’Ow old you, little girl?”
“Look, ‘e’s blushing…”
“I’m not! Leave us alone!”
“Ooh, ‘e’s getting’ all ‘ot an’ bovvered!”
“Watcher gonna do, dic-k’ead?”
And so it went on, until it was time for the yobs to get off. Conor was fuming. If he hadn’t been with Lily, he would have started a fight. But considering her apparent delicacy, he didn’t want to alarm her. It was a relief when they rose to leave, even though one of them poked him in the back of the neck.
“Bye bye, dic-kface…”
The bus was still moving as they went to walk down the aisle to the door. One was close behind the other. Lily waited for the first to pass, and as the second followed Conor saw her, to his astonishment, stick one foot out and trip him up. The bus was braking, and he cannoned into his friend and they both went sprawling in the aisle, one on top of the other.
“Get off me, you fuc-kin’ idiot!”
“It weren’t me – that little bitch fuc-kin’ tripped me!”
Picking himself up, he looked back. Lily was sitting straight, feet neatly together, eyes big behind her glasses, looking shocked and horrified. He made a threatening move towards her.
A passenger in one of the transverse seats, a heavily-built bearded man with a shaved head, and the general appearance of a recently-retired cage-fighter, placed a restraining paw on his chest.
“Oi suggest you two get orf, before oi ’as ter frow yer orf… An’ yer can apologise to the littaw gel…”
The tripper thought about it, observed the size of the speaker’s fist, and made his decision.
“Er…yeah…sorry…er…miss. I must ‘ave tripped…”
“That’s better. Now...piss orf!”
They scrambled out of the bus, nearly falling over each other again in their haste.
Her saviour turned and bestowed a huge smile on her. “Sorry abaht that, darlin’. You awright?”
“Thank you sir. Yes. Thanks to you.”
Conor looked at her sideways. Surely there was more to this Lily than met the eye…
-
11.
Lily held his hand all the way home, walking faster the nearer they got to her house. She didn’t even let go to open the front door, and was so excited that she forgot to close it behind her.
“Mummy! Mummy? We’re home!”
“Close the door, dear, please.”
“Mummy, this is Conor from our Irish dancing group.”
“Lily told me all about…I mean, she told me Mrs Daly had two new students. Lovely to meet you, Conor. Please come into the living room and I’ll get you both something to eat.”
“Thank you. Nice to meet you too…”
“Laura. Laura Nimmo.”
Lily’s mother had the sort of face that is cheerful in itself, and engenders cheerfulness in others. Devoid of makeup, wide blue eyes like her daughter, her lips seemingly wanting to smile even when she was being serious, her hair a natural blonde. She had an easy, sociable manner that immediately put Conor at his ease. In fact, after the enigma that was her daughter, she rather took him by surprise, and he felt himself relax in her presence.
“Thank you for inviting me, Mrs Nimmo…”
“Laura.”
“Er…Laura. You have a very nice house…”
And she had – light and open, like a reflection of her personality.
“Thank you, Conor. Now sit down – here, on the sofa. I’ve made some food – just snacks. What would you like to drink? We have everything from milk to Coke to Bourbon…”
“Bourbon?”
“Just joking.”
Lily had disappeared into the kitchen. Her voice floated out. “Yummy! Mummy? Shall I bring the food in?”
“Please, darling. Put it in front of our guest and he can take what he likes. So, drinks?”
“Coke please, Laura.”
“Coming up.”
The “snacks” turned out to be a bit more than he had expected, including sausages and chips as a sort of side dish with a plentiful supply of ketchup. Laura left them to eat uninterrupted, retiring to the kitchen and singing quietly to herself. When they had finished, Lily jumped up.
“I’m going to change, Conor. Then we can see my bunnies. I’ll let you feed them if you like.”
While she was away, Laura returned and sat down opposite him.
“I’m so glad Lily has a new friend, Conor. She must like you a lot – she hardly ever mixes with boys. Pity, because, as I’m sure you’ll find out, she’s not all innocence and sweetness. I think in some ways it’s a protective front she uses when convenient.”
“Yes, I think I know what you mean,” replied Conor, remembering the incident on the bus. Up to that point he had seen Lily as a potential nuisance. But now he was not so sure. And her mother was so charming…
Lily reappeared, her school uniform replaced by a torn black rock-band T-shirt, black mini-skirt and ankle-boots. Conor had never kept rabbits, and he knew nothing about them. So he was surprised when they came running over to greet them as they walked down the garden, much like a couple of dogs or cats. Bonny was white with brownish splotches. Bouncer was bigger, grey with slightly floppy ears. That were very pleased to see both children, and Conor helped feed them vegetables and greens.
“Is this all they eat?”
“This, and hay. Bouncer’s a bit greedy, so he’s only allowed one bunch of hay a day. He tries to eat Bonny’s sometimes, but she pushes him off.” She sighed. “I love my bunnies. Don’t you wish you had some?”
“It would be nice,” said Conor, feeding Bouncer a stick of celery. “But we already have two cats, and we don’t have a very big garden. But yes, I like them very much.”
Conor stayed till nine. They sat around talking, and then all three played Scrabble till it was time for him to go. Lily won every game. She hardly ever hesitated or spent time thinking, as if the words came very easily to her. Conor was beginning to find her very interesting, and quite different from what he had expected - in some ways very childish, in others quite precocious. At nine Laura drove him home. Lily sat in the back. They both came in for a minute, and met his mum and Erin. Lily insisted on holding his hand. He could see the surprise on his mother’s and sister’s faces, but he didn’t have the heart to pull himself away.
They said their goodbyes.
“See you after school Monday, Conor,” said Lily. “Don’t forget to take your dress with you after class on Saturday. I won’t be there. We’re going away to my aunt’s for the weekend.”
“Oh, right.”
“Yes. Your dress and everything else. You’re going to be a good dancer. I can tell.”
He closed the door behind them, Lily still waving from the car.
“Well. You’ve got a new little friend then, Conor,” smiled Brigit.
“A new girlfriend, mum,” laughed Erin. “How sweet!”
“Shut up Erin. She’s not my girlfriend. She’s just helping me with Irish dancing, that’s all.”
“Don’t forget your dress, Conor,” she mimicked. “And your little panties!”
“Shut up!”
“You’ll never be any good, anyway. You’re the wrong shape. And too clumsy.”
“Erin! That’s enough!”
“You’ll see. I’m going to be as good as you. Better, in fact!”
“Don’t be stupid. You can only be good at it if you really want to do it. You don’t.”
“Maybe you’re wrong. Maybe I do. You’ll see.”
And he went to bed that night determined to prove his sister wrong.
-
12.
At Saturday class Archie and Conor had Mrs Daly to themselves for a full half hour, while she left Janine to lead practice for the others. The boys wanted to move onto some more complex steps, but she was adamant they must first become fully proficient at the basics. She also showed them a series of exercises designed to build up the important muscles, mainly involving stretching, jumping, and hopping, and even just standing on one leg to improve balance.
“You can do that anytime,” she said. “Maybe when your standing around in the playground. You need to attain a degree of fitness and muscle control and flexibility quickly. You can’t rely just on the dancing to get you to the same place as the others. So twenty minutes each morning and evening please, if you want to progress.”
Conor was beginning to understand how Irish dancing related to martial arts, and why his cousin could be good at both. Another prejudice began to disintegrate before his eyes. It felt like they were making progress every session, and surprisingly Conor found himself looking forward to seeing Lily on Monday to demonstrate how well he was doing. And he didn’t forget to take his dress with him when he left, as well as his shoes and his poodles.
His dress was too bulky to go in his rucksack, so on Monday morning he folded it carefully and stowed it away in a holdall – a locking holdall. He wasn’t going to risk anyone peeking and finding it. He ran to the bus stop, and by ten to four he was walking briskly down Lily’s street. He became aware he was looking forward to seeing her – this mousey little girl he would never have looked at twice in the normal course of things – and slowed down while he tried to rationalise his motives. Sarah’s threats had ceased to be an issue. It was her… There was something about her that appealed to him…no, interested him. He couldn’t make her out, but she had some sort of power, except that it was hidden away deep inside. Yes, that was it. And he wanted to find out what it was. That was it. That was all it was.
Nevertheless, he found himself smiling broadly as he knocked at the door, and when it opened immediately and Lily threw her arms around him, he didn’t object.
“Did you have a good trip?”
“Yes. My aunt’s really cool. She claims she’s a witch, and a little bit of me thinks she really might be…”
I wouldn’t be surprised, thought Conor.
“Did you bring your dress?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Mummy! Conor’s here!”
Laura appeared at the hall door.
“Hi Conor. You look happy today.”
“Yeah, well…”
“How was class on Saturday?” asked Lily.
“Amazing. Mrs Daly spent time with me and Archie. She says we’re definitely going the right way.”
“Great. Mummy? Can we have some food in half an hour? I want to give Conor his present.”
“Of course, dear.”
“Present?”
“Come upstairs!”
Lily ran up the stairs and into her bedroom. Conor followed. When he entered he found Lily standing in front of the bed grinning all over her face.
“Ready?”
“Sure.”
She took a step sideways. On the coverlet was a little square packet wrapped in candy-striped paper and tied with a red ribbon.
“It’s because you like bunnies some much.”
“It doesn’t look like a bunny…”
“No, stupid! Open it!”
Conor sat on the bed, undid the ribbon, and unfolded the wrapping. Inside was something – several things – pink and with…
He was surprised, and not altogether delighted. But he wasn’t going to show Lily.
“They’re so cute, don’t you think?”
“Lily…they’re…so pretty…”
“I knew you’d like them. I could see you were disappointed with those boring plain ones Mrs Daly made you wear. There’s three pairs. I found them in this really cool shop in the village.”
Three pairs of very special panties. Pink, decorated with tiny grey and white bunnies, the legs trimmed with pink fur, and on the butt a little white pom-pom tail!
“See? The bunnies look just like Bouncer and Bonny. This one’s Bouncer, and this one’s Bonny!” she said, pointing to them. “Do you like them?”
She was so excited, Conor couldn’t help smiling, even if he didn’t feel like it.
“I love them, Lily. Thank you!”
“Put them on. With your dress. Then come and show mummy. I’ll be downstairs.”
And she dashed out of the room.
Conor sighed. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Never mind. No way was he going to disappoint her. It was only a bit of fun. So he got dressed in all his finery. The panties fitted like a glove. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked stupid, and when he bent forward the little tail popped out from under the back of his skirt. He shook his head slowly in disbelief.
Lily’s voice drifted up from below. “Conor? Are you dressed?”
“Yes, Lily. Coming.”
Mrs Nimmo was very impressed. And perhaps a little surprised that he was taking it all in good part. She made him do a twirl, and show her his cute little tail.
“So will you be wearing them to classes?” she asked, jokingly.
Conor opened his mouth, but before he could speak Lily jumped in.
“Course he will, mummy! The girls are going to be so jealous!”
-
OK, this is a very interesting story! Started out as a "typical" sissy story, rather improbable and reliant on blackmail. However, you're giving more depth to the characters, at least Lily and Connor, and the story is getting quite interesting. One moment Lily's shy and retiring, the next moment quite strong in personality and then, just when her and Connor's relationship starts to become comfortable she tweaks him with a gift of panties even more girly than the pink ones he currently wears to dance class. Can't wait to see where you take this tale.
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13.
After they had eaten supper and rested, Lily decided it was time for Conor’s lesson. He was obliged to wear his new panties, of course, and since it was conducted in the living room, Lily decided her mother should act as audience and judge. She took her seat in an armchair, smiling in anticipation, and waited for the show to begin. But at that moment there was a knock at the door.
“Hold it there, guys. Let me answer this.”
She jumped up and went to the front door. There was a murmured conversation, a flutter of laughter, and a moment later the door shut and Laura returned with another lady in tow.
“Auntie Barbara!” cried Lily.
“Hello darling. Oo, what’s going on here, then?”
“This is my friend Conor,” said Lily, excitedly. “He’s just joined our Irish dancing group. I’m going to teach him so he’s ready for the Christmas show. Conor, say hello to auntie Barbara.”
“Hi Conor,” said Barbara, a hint of surprise in her voice.
“Hi…”
“You can forget the “auntie”. Barbara will do. I’m just the next-door neighbour. You look very nice, I must say. Those dresses are gorgeous, aren’t they?”
Conor grunted something, and blushed.
“Perfect timing, Babs,” grinned Laura. “Now we have two judges. Conor’s a total beginner, so don’t be hard on him. He’s very enthusiastic though.”
The two ladies took their seats on the sofa.
“Carry on, sweetie.”
“Right,” said Lily officiously. “First of all, we need to check you’re properly turned out. I’m sorry you don’t have a wig yet, but don’t worry. Mrs Daly will find you one soon. Now stand up straight and don’t move. Arms by your sides as I’ve taught you.”
Conor didn’t look at all disappointed that that particular adornment wasn’t yet available to him.
“Let me see… Dress…it’s riding up a bit…here…” She gave it a few tugs and a twist until she was satisfied it looked neat enough. “Shoes… Conor, you need to polish your shoes…keep them supple…wait till you get your hard ones…they have to be gleaming. Socks… Hmm. They don’t stay up very well, do they. You’ve got big calves. Never mind. We have special glue to hold them in place in competitions and shows…”
“Really?”
“Oh, yes. I’ve got some here if you’d like to…”
“No. No, Lily. That’s fine. Thank you.”
“Now… Panties!”
Without warning, she flipped the front pleat of his skirt up against his tummy, and held it there. Conor flinched, and went to make a grab at it, but Lily was ready for him.
“Conor! Hands by your sides at all times! Thank you.”
Laura was in fits, and Barbara was staring open-mouthed, eyes wide with surprise and delight.
“Do you like Conor’s new panties, auntie Barbara? I chose them myself.”
“She did, too,” gasped Laura.
“Turn around and show auntie Barbara your tail, please.”
At the sight of the pom-pom tail, poor auntie Barbara collapsed into fits of snorting laughter. Laura gave her a look, which she understood, and she tried to recant somewhat.
“Oh, Conor, I’m sorry. It was just the surprise…” She took a deep breath. “Really, they’re very…nice. Lily’s so clever with these things, isn’t she? I'm sure you couldn’t have a better teacher.”
Conor looked sideways at his “teacher”. He could only see her face in profile, but there was a sort of dimple in her cheek as if she were trying to control herself. Perhaps it was always there. She couldn’t be that devious. It was pure innocence, no doubt. Anyway, who cared if the grown-ups had a bit of fun at his expense? Mrs Daly and Lily together were going to make him into the best dancer in the troupe. They wouldn’t laugh then. And then, with luck, he’d be allowed to wear nice plain white panties like the rest of them. He would, but he doubted Archie would reach the same standard. He imagined the Christmas show – everyone, including him, in white panties, all except poor Archie, still in pink. How the audience would laugh! Archie would never live it down…
The lesson proceeded. Conor worked very hard, really trying copy Lily’s examples and follow her instructions. The ladies looked enchanted. He could tell by their expressions and the frequent applause they must have been very impressed by his performance. He did trip and fall a couple of times, true, but that was, as Lily said, because he was dancing on a carpet and not a proper dance floor. At the end of the lesson Lily made him take a bow, and all three of them applauded loudly. Barbara even whistled as if calling for an encore.
“Full marks to the boy in the pom-pom panties,” she cried, enthusiastically. “Conor, I think you’re going to be a fantastic dancer. I can’t believe you’ve only just started.”
“Yeah, a week ago,” he replied, with a mixture of pride and modesty.
“Well, I’m sure Lily will have you ready for Christmas. Can I come?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll be there. Thank you for such an entertaining evening.”
She turned to Laura, and said in a low voice, “I need a drink darling. My ribs are aching with the strain.”
The ladies retired to the kitchen, leaving Conor and Lily in the living room. Conor collapsed on the sofa.
“You did really well, Conor. I’m proud of you,” smiled Lily.
“Thanks, Lily. I really tried my best…”
“I know you did.” She knelt on the carpet, threw one arm over his knees, and looked up at him adoringly. “You’re very handsome, too. You know that, right?”
“I…er…”
“And when you’ve got your wig, and your makeup, and everything…”
“Makeup?”
“Oh, yes, of course. For shows and competitions you’ll have blusher and mascara and sparkly eye-shadow. You must have seen videos.”
“Oh, er…yes, I think so…”
“And you’ll have your nails painted – we usually have alternate yellow and purple, to match our dresses, and lip gloss…”
“Oh…that’s nice…”
“Maybe on Friday we should try a bit of makeup to see what it looks like on you. Yes?”
“I, er…”
“Good. I’ve got plenty here. I’m sure mummy will help.”
When they got back from dropping off Conor that evening, Lily checked her phone. She had a text from Sarah.
“How’s it going, Lily?”
She texted back.
“It’s going to plan. I’ll tell you tomorrow. Xx” And a grinning emoji.
-
Lily is a little minx but she has Conner eating out of her hand.
Her mum seems to be enjoying watch Lily lead him by the nose to full sissydom.
Great story and I am enjoying each and every update.
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Love how this story is developing. The two boys are turning into sissies without even realising it. More, more, more pretty please
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14.
Conor spent an unsettled night. His dreams were a disturbing mixture of happiness and anxiety. He found himself in a busy street dressed in a grey bunny suit with a pink tail, all the passers-by pointing and laughing. But then Lily came to his rescue, taking his hand and leading him submissively into a house and into a little pink room with pink fur for wallpaper, and cuddling him to sleep. But when he opened his eyes, he found the room full of people, and Lily at the door inviting more in. He woke with the feeling of wanting explanations – no, perhaps it was reassurance, and immediately he felt he needed to speak to her. He rang her from his bedroom.
“Lily…hi. How are you today?”
“Hi Conor. Yes, I’m good. Looking forward to practice. Are you?”
“Well, er, that’s sort of what I wanted to talk to you about…”
“Yes?”
“My new panties…”
“I bet you can’t wait to show everyone.”
Well, yes, of course… But I was sort of wondering…”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want them to laugh at me… Don’t get me wrong, I love them, but some of those girls…”
“Conor - silly,” she said gently. “I can assure you no-one’s going to laugh at you. Most of them hate having to wear those boring old white panties all the time. They’re starved of flamboyance. You wait and see.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely. You can dump me if I’m wrong.”
That was a funny thing to say, thought Conor. “Dump” her. Like she was his girlfriend. She meant as his personal trainer, probably. But nevertheless, it gave him a funny – and not unpleasant - feeling. She did seem to like him. And her underlying cleverness, which sometimes flashed to the surface like a fish jumping from a lake, somehow fascinated him. So, reassured, he got ready for school, not forgetting his Irish dancing dress, nor to slip a pair of plain pink panties in – just in case his fears turned out to be well-founded.
He needn’t have worried. Lily and Sarah had already apprised the rest of the group of their little subterfuge, and briefed them on what to expect and how to react. The rest of the group – but not Archie. Archie’s evening with Sarah the previous week had been another masterclass in homely psychology, encouraging the development of his rather innocent and unsuspecting ego. The strategy was simple – to generate rivalry between the two boys so that they would compete to see who was the best, and effectively execute the girls’ plan for them. So Sarah complimented him on his grace, his potential, and his appearance – the latter the easiest task, given the fact she thought him just about the cutest-looking boy she’d ever met!
“You know Archie, nothing against Conor, but he does lack a bit of natural balance – poise, even. That’s really your great asset.”
She remembered his first performance with her tongue firmly in her cheek, but she got the response she desired.
“Yeah, I know what you mean about Conor. It’s not his fault, course, but he’s always been a bit clumsy.”
“You have the potential to be very good – I’m sure you know that, anyway. If you stick with me, and we do a bit of extra work – no need to tell anyone – you’ll be in white panties by November.”
“That would be great! And Conor would have to keep wearing his pink ones!”
“Well, yes, maybe. But actually – you wouldn’t necessarily know this – a lot of the girls would kill to have some slightly more flamboyant underwear.”
“Really?”
“Sure. But Mrs Daly won’t allow it. Anyway, yes, you’re right. Plain pink panties always mark you out as a beginner. So it would be good to graduate before the show.”
“I will, don’t worry – as long as you help me.”
“Of course I will, Archie!” And she gave him a hug which quite turned his head. No-one had ever taken this much interest in him before, and Sarah… Well, Sarah… She was certainly very pretty… Maybe one day…
To return to Tuesday evening. When the boys arrived at the town hall, they were surprised to find the whole group already there. Everyone seemed very cheerful, and greeted them effusively. Lily and Sarah gave them little waves. They slipped into the side room to change.
“Everyone seems very friendly today,” said Archie. “I think maybe we’ve finally arrived.”
“I hope so. I was afraid they’d never accept us. You know how girls are.”
“What, jealous of boys?” laughed Archie. “Yeah, it’s true. Can’t blame ‘em. They’re afraid we’re gonna end up dancing better than them, what with our natural physical advantages.”
“What, you mean our strength?”
“Yeah, that, and…our natural grace…”
Conor looked askance at his friend, but decided not to pursue the issue. He pulled out his new panties and stepped into them.
Archie goggled. A disbelieving leer spread over his face.
“What…are…those?”
“Oh, just something Lily found… I’m only wearing them for a joke…”
“They’re a joke all right, Conor,” jeered Archie. “You’ve got some nerve, I’ll give you that! I can’t wait to see the girls’ reactions. They’re gonna be helpless! Oh, wait a minute. I know. That little girlfriend of yours. She’s got you eating out of her hand, hasn’t she? Are you in love, mate? You are, aren’t you? In love with a junior! Right, come on – hurry up. I can’t wait to see this. Let me zip you up and let’s get out there!”
He’s right, thought Conor. I’m going to be laughed out of the group. Why did I let her persuade me? But all he could do was to frown and blush with annoyance.
Archie pretty much shoved his friend into the main room.
“Hey, girls! Get a load of Conor’s new panties!”
He flipped Conor’s skirt, giving them a flash of the bunnies and the fur trimming. He was stronger than his friend, and swivelled him round.
“And look at this!”
He waited for the group to collapse in uncontrollable laughter. But the reaction was not quite what he expected.
“Wow,” said Janine. “They’re cute! Can I see?”
“Wish we were allowed to wear stuff like that…” said Kelly.
“Yeah…look at this trimming…so soft…does it tickle, Conor?”
“Not at all.”
“I love the little tail. Where on earth did you find them?”
“Well, actually, Lily…”
“I knew it! You’re so clever, Lily! You always manage to come up with something incredible!”
Conor’s doubts had quickly evaporated. He looked triumphantly at Archie, who was now scowling with irritation. Sarah pretended to support him.
“Lily, I don’t think things like that are allowed.”
“I wonder if Mrs Daly will let you wear them?” said Millie.
“No, course she won’t,” growled Archie, completely thrown. “They’re not proper beginner panties.”
“Well, we’ll soon find out,” said Janine. “Here she is.”
“Good afternoon, everyone. All dressed and ready, I see. Boys, you’re looking very smart today.”
“Miss?” said Sarah, pettishly. “I think you need to check Conor’s outfit. He’s wearing panties which I would say are quite inappropriate!”
“Is he now? Conor, show me… Well I never. Where on earth…?”
“Lily!” said Sarah, frowning.
Mrs Daly turned him round and round. She was smiling.
“I’ve never seen any panties quite like that! Where did you find them, Lily?”
“In this really amazing new shop near where my auntie lives,” she said excitedly. “They’ve got other ones, too…”
“Well, clearly they’re not in complete conformation with the rules,” began Mrs Daly, mindful of the fact she was already party to a minor subterfuge concerning pink probationary panties, “but they are quite fun, I must admit. I’m inclined to allow Conor to wear them if he wants. I think the essential point is that beginner’s should not be allowed to wear the white until they have attained a sufficiently high standard. And in any case I think perhaps Conor feels the need to relax and indulge his feminine side a little. So provided no-one objects…?”
There was a chorus of “no”s. But then Sarah stepped forward.
“Mrs Daly. I can see everyone” – here she frowned at her colleagues – “everyone is prepared to allow this. But I would just like to point out there are two boys in our group now.”
“Yeah,” said Archie. “It’s not fair! He gets to wear those cool panties while I’m left in these plain things!”
He raised the hem of his dress.
“It’s true, miss,” continued Sarah. “He should be allowed to wear something more interesting as well. I could help him.”
“Well, of course, Sarah, I could hardly object. Archie? Would that satisfy you?”
“Yeah. And I’ll find some better ones than that!”
“Okay. I’m glad that’s sorted out. Now may we get on please?”
As the group got into line, Mrs Daly could have sworn she saw Sarah wink at Lily. But she must have been mistaken.
-
15.
At the end of practice, Lily put her hand up.
“Miss?”
“Yes, Lily?”
“I was wondering… We haven’t had a full dress rehearsal for some time. It would be really nice if the boys could see what it’s like, and dress up as well.”
“That’s a good idea, Lily. What do you all think?”
There was a chorus of agreement.
“Well, shall we say, two weeks on Thursday. That’ll give everyone time to get their costumes sorted out.”
“The boys will need wigs…” said Lily.
“I’ll arrange that. Blonde for Conor, and brunette for Archie, I think. I’ll find them some hard shoes as well. Boys, are you going to go all in? I mean, there’s more to it than just the clothes, you know.”
“Yes, miss,” said Conor. “Lily’s gonna help me with makeup. We’re trying some out on Friday.”
“Archie?”
“Course.” And he muttered under his breath, “anything he can do, I can do better!”
“I’ll help you, Archie,” said Sarah.
“And help find me some new panties,” said Archie.
“Naturally. Don’t worry. We’ll show them.”
Sarah got together with Archie that very evening.
“So what sort of panties do you think you’d like?”
“I dunno, Sarah. But I want something completely different from what he’s got - but better.”
“Well, Mrs Daly’s really opened it up. There are no limits.”
“Something the girls will think is cool…”
“What about something in group colours, to match your dress?”
“That would be brilliant! Can you find something?”
“I can try. They’re unusual colours for panties, though. I’ve never seen any purple and yellow.”
“But you’ll look, right? Please try and find some. They’d make his stupid bunny ones look even stupider!”
“I’ll do my best, darling…”
Sarah was pleased with herself. It was a clever idea, it would appeal to Mrs Daly, and the girls would love it. The bright colours would immediately attract attention, and while people gaped and giggled, he would be really proud of himself, and think how cool he looked! Perfect. She could just imagine the surprise when he appeared in them at the group – she was going to have to warn the girls once again to admire and flatter, not to ridicule. The long-term plan was to have them wearing silly panties for the show, if at all possible. It wasn’t going to be easy. She rang Lily.
“Hi, Lily. Good work today. He’ll do anything to get his own back. Finally I suggested panties in our group colours, and he really went for it.”
“Great, Sarah. It might even make Conor jealous, and then he’ll want something even more outrageous!”
“I know. We’ll have them competing with each other for the frilliest and the silliest panties. But there’s a problem. I’ve looked all over the internet, and I can’t find anything suitable. There’s a couple of things in roughly the right colours, but the style’s all wrong. I don’t know what to do. And we’ve only got a couple of weeks.”
“Hmm. I could ask my mum. I’ve told her our plan. She thinks it’s a great idea. She did offer to help if we wanted. She’s clever with clothes. I’ll ask her. Why don’t you come round tomorrow after school?”
“I could – but it’s supposed to be my evening training Archie. Tell you what, I’ll come to yours straight from school, and see him later.”
“Okay. Great. See you then.”
Lily went straight to her mum.
“Mummy? Sarah’s got a problem. Now Archie’s jealous of Conor’s new panties, and he want some new ones himself, but they have to be purple and yellow – group colours. But she can’t find any, and we need them for the week after next.”
“Oh, dear, Lily! We can’t have that! Archie must have his panties, mustn’t he?” She got out her laptop. “Let’s have a look…”
They spent half an hour scrolling through images of panties, but there was nothing quite right.
“Those colours together seem impossible to find,” said Laura. “We need to find a manufacturer who offers a complete range… Wait a minute, what’s this? Look at this swatch…any colour you like…what is this…? Oh, I see…”
“What is it, mummy?”
“Well, dear, these are special clothes…made of rubber…”
“Let me see… ”Latex”… What’s that?”
“It’s just a name for very soft, stretchy rubber. I don’t think that would be suitable for Archie…”
“Why not? The colours are beautiful.”
“True. Let’s look at the styles. Hmm… No… No… No!”
“What about those? They look all right. Just like normal girls’ panties, and they've got frills.”
“Yes, they would do. And you can choose the colours, so he could have panties with contrasting frills.”
“Yes. Yellow panties and purple frills!”
“And see there - a tiny pink heart on the leg to show how much he loves them!”
“Yes! And look, mummy. Here’s some loose ones with elasticated legs like baby pants! You can have the colours half and half.”
Laura paused.
“You know, darling, before This goes any further, I think I’d better have a word with Archie’s mum. And Conor’s.”
“They won’t mind! Their mothers made them go to Irish dancing cos they were being naughty.”
“Even so…”
“Okay. Sarah’s sister knows Archie’s sister, Sinead. Sarah’s coming round tomorrow. I’ll get Sinead’s number.”
Lily warned Sarah that her mum had found something really special for Archie, but wouldn’t tell her what. When she saw what they had in mind, she actually jumped for joy.
“They’re amazing!”
“Do you think he’ll like them?” asked Lily. “Which ones would he prefer?”
“I don’t know. But we could always get both. Keep a pair back for Conor.”
“For Conor?” asked Laura. “But Lily already gave him his bunny panties.”
“Yes, Mrs Nimmo. But now we have the two of them competing with each other for the cutest underwear.”
“Goodness. Where will it all end?”
“We have some ideas…” said Lily, slyly.
“Anyway, I must call Archie’s mother. Sarah, do you have the number?”
“Yes, I got it from Sinead. You can ring this evening. Conor’s mum will be there too.”
If Laura had had any concerns about the two mothers’ take on the girls’ plans, they were soon dispelled. She put the phone on speaker so the girls could hear.
“Hello. I’m Laura Nimmo. I’m the mother of Lily, who is one of the girls at Irish dancing.”
“Hi. I’m Myra, Archie’s mother…”
“And I’m Brigit, Conor’s mother.”
“I don’t know if you know what’s going on… My daughter and her friend Sarah seem to have taken control of your boys… They’re here now…”
“Laura? We know something about it. Archie came home yesterday complaining Conor had got nicer panties than him! I couldn’t believe it! A couple of weeks ago he was out on the street hanging with a bunch of rather nasty second years! And now…”
“And my son,” said Brigit, “my son was showing me his bunny panties, which I gather your daughter gave him as a present, and telling me he’s hoping to get his nails painted this Friday! Whatever have those girls done to them?”
“Whatever it is,” continued Myra, “girls? Keep up the good work. They’re behaving better than they’ve ever behaved. Archie never stops talking about Sarah…”
“And Conor seems to worship Lily…”
“Oh, well, I’m glad the girls seem to be a good influence…”
“Good? It's wonderful - those nasty urchins have turned into little darlings. Daly's Darlings, I guess,” said Myra. “What’s your next move, girls?”
“Well,” piped up Lily, “we found them some really pretty rubber panties - latex, is it, mummy? And we were wondering…if you agreed… You see, apart from their rivalry, we’re having a full dress rehearsal in two weeks, and…”
“Yes, I was wondering if it would be all right to buy them for them,” interrupted Laura. “Perhaps you think it’s going a bit far, but the girls chose them and they are rather swish, and in the group colours and everything, and… Hello?”
Brigit and Myra were holding onto each other to prevent themselves falling off their chairs. Brigit recovered first.
“Laura…[choke]…Laura… Sorry… I absolutely refuse to let the girls put my son in rubber panties…unless I get to a full account with photographs!”
“And for my part,” said Myra, “I would love to see him wear them for this show he’s always talking about. I’m going to be in the front row, let me tell you.”
“But we must pay for all these accessories,” said Brigit. “We’ve got a good deal on the dresses from Mrs Daly, and let me tell you, it’s worth every penny...”
“Yes, let’s get together soon,” added Myra. “I’d like to know what else the girls have in mind. We’re open to suggestions…”
“The more outrageous the better.”
“Well thank you for being so understanding, ladies,” laughed Laura. “You’ve made Lily and Sarah very happy. I’ll get these ordered, then. They’re made to order but it looks like we should be able to get them in time. Now shall we make a date to meet up…?”
-
16.
After they had hung up, Myra and Brigit looked at each and burst out laughing again.
“Looks like we have an ally in Lily’s mother,” said Brigit.
“I’ll be fascinated to see what they choose for Archie,” grinned Myra. “Something really cute, I hope.”
“I love their little dresses,” pondered Brigit. “They look so sweet, all colourful and sparkly. I can’t wait to see Conor in his wig and all his makeup.” (“And his new panties,” added Myra.) “I’m going to ask one of the girls to take some photos at this dress rehearsal thing.”
“Good idea, Brigit. I don’t know how those two little girls have brought about such a transformation. But they have. Before it was all swagger and violent computer games. Now what are they fixated on? Irish dancing panties!”
“I think they’re discovering girls, that’s all. And the thing is, they haven’t had to make much effort. They’ve been taken under their wings. It must be such a novelty to be with kids who, instead of expecting them to act all tough and macho, just want them to be themselves.”
“Do you think this – I mean, dresses and girly stuff – do you think this is “themselves”?”
“Perhaps it is. I wouldn’t mind, would you?”
“Not at all. But I’m fascinated to find out a bit more about Lily and Sarah… Sinead has met Sarah, but she hasn’t said much about her. When I asked her the other day what Sarah was like, she just smiled, and said “cute” – but whether she meant cute-pretty or cute-clever, I’m not sure…”
“We’ll get the low-down when we meet up with Laura on Saturday…”
Chez Nimmo, Laura was on the phone to her next-door neighbour.
“Babs? Are you free? Good. Why don’t you pop round for an hour. We’re about to do something that might interest you. Yes? Okay. See you shortly.”
“Is auntie Barbara coming?” asked Lily.
“She is. I feel she should be in on this.”
“Mummy? You know Conor’s coming over on Friday and I’m going to try out makeup on him?”
“Yes, dear…”
“Well, maybe auntie Barbara could help you judge…”
“Oh! Well I’ll ask her. Perhaps… Oh, I think this is her now.”
She went to the door.
“Hi, Babs. Lily was just asking whether you’re free on Friday afternoon.”
“Hello kids… Why is that?”
“Cos auntie Barbara, Conor’s going to come over, and he’s going to wear his dress and everything, and…”
“Another lesson?”
“No! Not really. I’m going to try out his makeup – you know, like we wear for shows and things!”
“You’re what? Lily darling, wild horses couldn’t keep me away…”
“How about wild rabbits?”
“No – not even wild rabbits!”
“Lily, I have an idea,” said her mother, “couldn’t Sarah bring Archie as well? Then you could have a real competition to see which boy got made up the best. And me and Babs could be the judges.”
“Yes!” shouted Sarah. “That would be fantastic! We could sit them down next to each other and work on them.”
“Yes. We could allocate you a fixed period of time – I don’t know, say forty minutes – to make them up as well as you could. Then Babs and I would inspect them and make a decision,” said Laura.
“We could give the winner a small prize,” added Barbara. “And for the runner-up, a slightly smaller prize.”
“Brilliant!” cried Lily. She paused. “Only thing is, there’s a bit of tension between them at the moment, because of Conor’s new panties…”
“It’s true,” said Sarah. “I think, maybe…”
“Yes, Sarah?” said Laura.
“Maybe we should fix the result,” she said, slyly. “Let Archie win. It would sort of balance things out again. Thing is, Archie gets so worked up if Conor has something better than him.”
“He does,” said Lily. “Conor’s different. He doesn’t really care. He just wants to have pretty things to wear…”
Laura and Barbara looked at each other.
“What do you think, Babs? Stitch-up?”
“Okay, stitch-up. But guys - no-one must know – ever!”
-
17.
“So was that it? To see whether I was free on Friday?” asked Barbara.
“Oh, no, dear. Something far more important. We have to choose some latex panties for Conor’s best friend!”
“You have to what?”
“Let me explain…”
Barbara was thrilled to have been invited to take part. There were so many styles to choose from, and such a range of colours, that it was difficult to make decisions. Lily came up with the first suggestion.
“Look at these. They’re like ordinary girls’ panties, with a little bow at the front, but the legs have sort of frilly wings, like on my old swimsuit.”
“Oh, they’re nice,” said Sarah. “Can you imagine…?”
“Yes, I think those, definitely,” said Laura. “They’re pretty, and suitably juvenile, don’t you think, Babs?”
“Perfect for an eleven-year-old boy,” replied Barbara, ironically.
“Right I’ll order those… Maybe two pairs. Let’s have one pair in yellow, with purple wings, and the other purple, with yellow wings…”
“And the bow should be the colour of the wings…”
“Right. There we go…select. Size…small. Oh, thickness. You can have them fine, medium for heavy…”
“Oh, fine, dear. Fine latex will be really soft and stretchy. Perfect for a little boy’s bum!”
Lily and Sarah giggled.
“That’s it…add to basket,” said Laura. “Now, we have to have some of these… Baby pants style, nice and puffy with elasticated waist and legs.”
“I don’t think they’d wear those,” said Sarah.
“Of course they would, Sarah – if you two ordered them too. They’re quite cheap. Let’s have a few pairs… Yellow and purple halved, of course… What about yellow and pink? Reminds me of that nice cake…”
“What about transparent?” giggled Sarah.
“Sarah!” said Laura. “What an idea! Anyway, it’s called “natural””. She winked. “Okay, two pairs of natural as well. You can threaten them with those if they’re disobedient. Anything else?”
“Those are really pretty,” said Sarah, pointing at some little bikini pants with tie sides.
“They’re actually part of the bikini set,” said Barbara.
“The panties are cute though,” said Laura. “Let’s get a couple of sets – yellow with purple ties and purple tops. Who knows…?”
“Yes,” laughed Lily, “they may like to wear them on the beach next summer.”
“So… I think that’ll do for the time being. There, ordered. I’ll ask if they can get them to us for…what is it today? The twenty-first of September. Let’s say Tuesday the fourth. That gives us a couple of days leeway.”
“Thank you, mummy.”
“Yes, thank you Mrs Nimmo. We wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without your help,” said Sarah. “But I’ve got to go and meet Archie now for his training session. They’re both doing really well. I'll tell him we've found him some new panties - but I'm not going to let on they're rubber ones! No, it’ll be a nice surprise for him…”
“It certainly will be. I hope the lesson goes well. And we’ll make sure you both have all the makeup you need for your little competition on Friday…”
-
18.
At practice on Thursday, everyone was impressed by how much progress Conor and Archie had made. They had mastered the basic steps, and were now able to dance much faster. The combination of exercises, personal trainers, and sheer rivalry, was producing results. Mrs Daly was delighted, and praised them fulsomely. Archie in particular excelled himself, eager to demonstrate that novelty panties, though drawing attention to the wearer, did not by themselves improve performance. His only problem was keeping his hands by his sides, but Mrs Daly showed him how to correct this, by dancing with a sheet of paper between his arms and his body.
Conor said nothing about the makeup experiment. So Archie was taken by surprise when Sarah announced it. At first he looked doubtful.
“Makeup? Why…?”
Sarah didn’t allow him time to demur. She knew his competitive spirit would overcome any doubts he may have had.
“We all get made up for shows and competitions. It’s part of the outfit. Now Lily is going to practice on Conor tomorrow, so I decided to challenge her to a contest. It’ll be at her house. We’ll have two independent judges, and the winner will get a prize.”
“Prize?”
“I don’t know what, but it’ll be something nice. Anyway, the main thing is that we beat them, right?”
“Right, Sarah!”
“And I know far more about makeup than that junior. We’ll wipe the floor with them!”
“Yeah!”
“I’ve just got to get the wigs and things from Mrs Daly. You’re going to be a brunette. And she’s lending us some hard shoes.”
“Oh…she is?”
“Yes. We’re going to do it properly. We want to see what you’ll look like in the show. So make sure you bring your dress tomorrow.”
“Oh…er, yes, sure…”
“And Archie?”
“Yes?
“Your new panties are on order…”
“Wow! Fantastic! What are they like?”
“Yellow and purple, just like we wanted.”
“Great! Thanks, Sarah.”
When Sarah arrived at Laura’s house, with Archie in tow, she found everything was already prepared. Laura had arranged two short sofas side by side against one wall. In between them was a table with every possible thing they could need laid out. There were creams and foundation, lipstick and lip gloss, blusher, mascara, eye shadow, glitter – the lot. The girls were very excited. They had both put on shorts and old T-shirts in case it got messy. Lily and Conor were already there. Conor smiled at his friend, but Archie was still in a huff from the panties episode.
“You got no chance, mate,” he murmured.
“Mum, this is Archie, Conor’s friend,” said Lily. “Archie? This is my mum, and this is my auntie Barbara from next door. They’re going to be the judges.”
Perhaps Archie thought having Lily’s mum and Lily’s aunt as the judges was not quite fair. But he was hardly in a position to object.
Laura decided it was time to take charge.
“Right boys. Now off with you and get changed. You’ve got your dresses and everything? And Mrs Daly’s lent you some hard shoes so you’ll look especially smart. Here they are.”
The hard shoes were very shiny, with laces and a strap and a block heel.
“I like these,” said Conor. “You can make such a noise with them!”
When the boys returned from changing, walking gingerly in their new shoes, they went to sit down on the sofas. But Sarah stopped them.
“Don’t sit down there. Sit on these chairs first.” She indicated two upright dining chairs. “We have to put on your wigs. It will take a few minutes. I’ll explain what we’re doing.”
The boys sat down as instructed.
“It would be better if you had long hair,” said Lily, “but we’ll make do. First of all, we have to put in your bumpits.”
“Bum-pits?” said Archie.
“Not bum-pits, idiot. Bump-its! They’re going to hold your wigs in place. With long hair it’s easier. You make a bun and that holds the donut.”
“Donut?”
She sighed. “Never mind. Once you grown your hair out, and it’s nice and long…”
“Grown our hair?” said Conor, puzzled.
“Yes, Conor, grown your hair. No more haircuts for you two. Understand?”
The boys exchanged glances, but said nothing.
The bumpits were curved combs with a lump of foam rubber attached. The girls inserted one into the front (pointing backwards) and one into the back (pointing forwards), combed the boys’ hair over them as much as they could, and secured them with hairclips. Then they pinned a donut-shaped piece of foam on the back one, and clipped that in place. Sarah got the wigs out of a bag – great masses of tumbling ringlets, golden for Conor and glossy-black for Archie. The wigs had netting underneath, and combs at the front and the back, and these they secured to the donut and pinned them tightly down. Then they used hairclips to secure the wigs all round. That done, Lily picked up the bag.
“I’ll get the accessories,” she said, excitedly.
“You look beautiful!” exclaimed Barbara, raking them with her video camera.
“What a fuss,” moaned Archie. “I hope these things are gonna come off again after all this!”
But Lily was already sliding a golden tiara over the bumpit at the front of Conor’s head. Archie got a silver one. Then on went sundry sparkly bows, butterflies and flowers, till they looked like human Christmas trees. The girls stood back to admire their work. They both seemed happy with the effect.
“You look very pretty, Archie,” said Sarah. “I could eat you up!”
Archie looked a little alarmed at this unexpected declaration of affection.
Lily expressed her pleasure by giving Conor a kiss on the cheek, at which he blushed and blinked and looked at his knees.
“I caught that perfectly,” whispered Barbara to Laura.
The girls took their charges by their hands, and led them to the sofas. Laura produced two makeup capes and secured them around their necks.
“Now sit down in the middle of the sofa, so the girls can get to you from either side,” she said. “That’s it. Now girls – you may begin. Take your time. You have up to forty minutes if you need it. Barbara, shall we sit here?”
“Coming. I’m just going to position the video camera up here, so we record all of the action.”
“Well there won’t be much real action, I hope. Unless one of them cracks under the strain of sitting still for half an hour!”
The girls both decided to begin with the nails, on the premise they would take some time to dry. Lily went for alternate purple and yellow, Sarah for silver, to match Archie’s tiara. While Sarah then knelt beside Archie to begin work, Lily adopted a more intimate approach, climbing astride his knees and working face to face. It felt proprietorial, but he rather liked it. First she cleaned his face with cleansing pads and gave him a light application of foundation cream. Then came the blusher. Sarah was looking across, expecting – perhaps hoping – that she would make some simple mistake, like using too much. But she seemed as expert as her friend, and produced a realistic rosy glow about the cheekbones. As she leant closer, her knees were touching Conor’s panties, and tickling them. She giggled.
“You wore your best panties then, darling.”
He didn’t remember her calling him darling before. It was said in a tone somewhere between jest and seriousness. He found, rather to his surprise, that he didn’t mind at all.
What he did mind, though, was when she picked up a pair of tweezers and began to pluck his eyebrows.
“Hey, Lily…”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to pull them all out. Just a bit of reshaping before I use the pencil. Sit still, please.”
The eyebrows dealt with, she moved on to his eyelashes, brushing the mascara on delicately until he looked sufficiently glamorous. Then the eye shadow. She chose yellow, to match his dress, and added glitter, to match the sequins on his dress and all the sparkly hair accessories. Finally the lip gloss – a shiny, rich purple – and made him keep his lips apart while she blew on the to dry them. The makeover finished, she added a couple of things she had brought from her jewellery box: a pair of dangly clip-ons with amethyst pendants, the clips too small so they pinched his lobes cruelly, (though he made no complaint), and a few assorted bangles for his wrists.
She jumped down.
“I’m finished!”
The ladies were genuinely shocked at Conor’s transformation.
“He’s bloody gorgeous, Laura. Well done, Lily. That’s a great job!”
Sarah was just finishing. Archie had been decorated in more traditional fashion, with silver glittery eye shadow and scarlet lip gloss. But what the makeup lacked in subtlety his natural good looks compensated for.
“They both look delicious!” said Laura. “Girls – you’ve excelled yourselves.”
“I wish they could always be like that, mummy,” said Lily, innocently.
“Look at yourselves in the mirror, boys,” said Laura, helping them off with their capes.
“Shit, Conor. We look the business, man.”
Conor didn’t say anything. He had a strange feeling inside, like suppressed excitement. The sensation of seeing himself like that, the feeling of the fabrics against his skin and the makeup on his face, and the pain of the clip-ons pinching his ears, made him feel faintly aroused. He breathed steadily to calm himself. Lily was looking at him with an amused, enigmatic smile, as if she knew just what he was experiencing.
“We look better than half them girls in the group,” continued Archie. “Don’t you reckon?”
“You do, mate,” laughed Conor. That wig’s really you!”
“So – who’s the winner, then?”
It was fair that Sarah and Archie won. Lily and Conor knew they were the moral victors, and they didn’t begrudge Archie his moment of glory. It defused his resentment about the panties, especially when he knew some very special pairs – though he didn’t know quite what – were on the way.
The prizes? The winners got a pair of tickets to see “The Lion King”. And the runners-up? The same – adjacent seats!
-
19.
Sunday afternoon. Practice over. The boys off by themselves somewhere. Lily had stayed at Sarah’s overnight, and the girls were now hanging out at Lily’s house, playing Monopoly on the floor in the living room. Laura in the kitchen, making a cake.
“Mum? What sort of cake you making?”
“I’m making two, as a matter of fact. Lemon drizzle and chocolate.”
“Yum! Can we help?”
“You can come and help beat the mixture if you like.”
“Okay!”
They left their game and ran into the kitchen.
“Who wants which? Sarah, why don’t you do the chocolate, and Lily, this is the lemon cake.”
The girls got to work.
“I didn’t have time to ask you - how was Irish dancing yesterday?”
“Great!”
“And were the boys there?”
“Of course, mum! They wouldn’t dare miss a class.”
“You know I met up with their mothers yesterday evening. Brigit and Myra. They’re nice – a lot of fun. We ended up staying out quite late. They’re so grateful to you two for channelling the boys interests into something…er, more graceful, shall we say. They don’t know how you did it. Actually, neither do I…”
“Lily seduced Conor,” laughed Sarah.
“Sarah! What a thing to say! My innocent little daughter…seduced him?”
Lily giggled. “Not exactly, mum… But I'm so nice to him, and cuddle him, and tell him how cute he is…”
“Yes, dear, I’m sure. And I notice you dress up for him these days, too…”
Lily blushed.
“And you, Sarah. Are you using the same feminine wiles?”
“Not exactly, Mrs Nimmo. I don’t need to. I don’t know whether it’s because he likes me, or whether it’s just his way, but he seems to prefer me telling him what to do than making up his own mind. He’s very easy to push around. I just say, “Archie, get dressed. Archie, come here. Archie, go and buy me some sweets. Archie, put on these panties.” And he does it! Once or twice I’ve had to be strict with him, and he gets all flustered and starts apologising. It’s great.”
“Do you think he likes dressing up as a girl?”
“No, not really…but he does like being the centre of attention. He’s a bit of a show-off – specially around the girls. So Irish dancing is perfect for him, especially now he thinks he’s a such a great dancer and the trendsetter in panties!”
“Conor’s a bit the same,” said Lily. “But he likes girls’ clothes,” she added. “And I like him wearing them. He blushes and all that, but I can see he feels excited – like when I was doing his makeup and stuff. I’ll soon have him wearing dresses at home too – and perhaps in the street even!”
“Never!” cried Sarah. “You couldn’t, could you? He must really like them…”
“He does. Didn’t you see him on Friday after he was all dolled up? He could hardly stand still.”
“I did notice he couldn’t stop staring at himself in the mirror…” said Laura.
“It’s like he can’t believe how pretty he looks. After the competition, when he went upstairs to change, he asked me to come up and take some snaps first. You should have seen him posing! He made me promise not to show anyone, unfortunately.”
“Well, well,” said Laura, “fancy that! But it’s true, he does make a delightful girl…”
“So does Archie,” said Sarah. “What do you think, Mrs Nimmo? Perhaps we should have another competition. It was such a laugh.”
“Why don’t you? Barbara would be happy. She can’t stop talking about how much she enjoyed it,” said Laura. “We could invite their mums as well. It wouldn’t have to be Irish dancing stuff. Just see which one you could turn into the most convincing girl.”
“That would be amazing!” cried Lily. “I’ve already had some ideas about what he’d look good in.”
“And?”
“Blonde wig, little tight dress, stockings and high heels!”
Laura laughed.
“And I’d put Archie in a little girl’s gingham dress with knee socks and a big bow in his hair!” said Sarah.
“He’d look so sweet, “ said Laura.
“And if he objected…”
“Yes?”
“I’d put him over my knee and give him a good spanking!”
“I don’t think he’d like that too much.”
“No. But I would…”
“You’re so naughty, Sarah. I hope you’re not corrupting my daughter.” She looked thoughtful. “Tell you what, I’ll run the idea by Myra and Brigit. See if they approve. Maybe in a few weeks…”
“Yes, mum, please do,” cried Lily, jumping up and down. “It would be such a fun thing to do. The clothes wouldn’t be expensive. Me and Sarah could go round all the charity shops to find stuff.”
“Okay. Leave it with me. Now, are those cake mixtures nicely beaten?”
-
20.
No matter how the girls had achieved it, the boys were firmly under their thumbs. Without articulating it, they knew that, in the light of amount of digital evidence chronicling their association with Daly’s Darlings, it was expedient to put all thoughts of withdrawal out of their minds. Not that they had the slightest interest in returning to their previous existence. Their heads had quite been turned. They had entered a magic land of glitter and glamour, of beautiful girls light as fairies in bright brocaded dresses. Lethargy had been ousted by lipstick, and pugnacity by pretty panties.
Archie was very anxious about his new panties. Sarah had to conceal her amusement every time he asked after them. It was the Thursday a week before the dress rehearsal.
“Er, Sarah? You know you said…about my panties...that they should be here for the full dress rehearsal? Have you heard anything..?”
In fact Lily had reported they had arrived that morning. But she enjoyed keeping him on tenterhooks.
“Well, Archie, they’re supposed to be here that week… But no, I haven’t actually heard that they’ve been sent yet… They’re custom made, you know…”
“Yes. Yes, I know. But I don’t want to have to appear in those same old things. The girls expect something more than that…” He paused. “I’ve been growing my hair…see?” He tugged at a curly lock. “Should help my wig stay in place, yes?”
“I can see! Good boy. I’m proud of you. It should be really long by the show. And make sure you brush it when you wake up and before you go to bed, won’t you?”
“Yes, Sarah.”
“And put that skin cream I gave you on every night.”
“Yes, Sarah. I do.”
“It’ll keep your skin nice and soft. And I know we allowed you to take off you nail polish after the competition, but next time…”
“Yes, Sarah?”
“Next time keep it on. Understand?”
“But…”
“No arguments. If your friends see it, so what? Eventually, when you’re one of the best dancers in the group – maybe in the area – everyone will have to know. And you’ll be famous. You might even get in the paper!”
“Really?”
“Of course. Then no-one will dare to challenge you.”
Mrs Nimmo kept the parcel aside for the girls to open. They were so excited, but they unwrapped it carefully. Inside were several individual packages wrapped in tissue. They opened them one by one. The first package contained two pairs of Archie’s yellow panties with purple wings and a bow. They took a pair each. Lily gasped.
“The rubber’s so fine and soft! And look – they’ve made the wings really frilly!”
“Archie’s going to look a treat in those,” laughed Laura. “When are you going to show him?”
“Not till Thursday,” said Sarah. “I don’t want him thinking about it too much.”
“Oh, Sarah! Look at these cute baby pants!” cried Lily, who was tearing open more packages. “Some have plain legs, and some have frilled legs with little bows at the sides. And…oh! These are the plain ones you wanted.” She giggled. “I want to put Conor in a pair of these! He’d die of embarrassment!”
“And there are the pink and yellow ones I suggested,” said Laura. “Imagine how sweet they’d look with those peeping out under their dresses – especially if they were all puffed out with a nice big nappy!”
“Yes!” cried Sarah. “I’m going to make Archie wear them when we have the girly competition, with his little baby girl dress!”
“With a nappy?”
“Yes! With a nappy!”
“I can’t wait to see that, Sarah. Their mums are very enthusiastic. We’re going to fix a date towards the end of the month.”
“Great! Lily, we need to start thinking about clothes…”
-
21.
The day of the full dress rehearsal. Most of the girls turned up already dressed and made up, but Archie and Conor could not of course be seen in the streets in their dresses – “pity,” said Lily – and had begged their teachers, under some unlikely pretext, to get off school fifteen minutes early. As the other girls gossiped in the small hall, the boys were in their private changing-room, being prepared.
Archie was all excited, imagining how, in his new colour-matched panties, he was going to eclipse Conor, delight Mrs Daly, and be mobbed by the girls, admiring his style, and all desperate to know where he had got them. He hadn’t actually seen them yet. Sarah thought it better to keep them till last. She wasn’t absolutely certain he was going to be overjoyed. She could only hope for the best. Neither had she told the girls exactly what to expect – only that Archie was going to surprise them all, but that whatever their inclinations, they must not on any account laugh at him.
“Well, I’m going to have my phone ready when you bring them out,” said Janine. “Prepare for the unexpected.”
“Me too,” said Kelly. “I can’t wait to see them with their wigs and makeup and everything.”
First the boys were fitted with their wigs, and then made up. This time Archie had the colour-matched eye-shadow, and Sarah also painted his upper lip purple and his lower yellow. Similarly she painted the nails of his left hand yellow, and those of his right hand purple.
“I’m gonna be totally in troupe colours!” said Archie. He smirked at Conor. “What you got? Oh, yeah. Red lipstick – original! What’s that? Blue eyeshadow? Don’t suit you, mate. And yer nails…oh, I see…glittery! What, think that’s gonna make the girls like yer? No chance. And them same old bunny pants! Wait till you see mine! Sarah? Can I see them now?”
“All right. Keep calm.” She produced a tissue packet, unfolded it, and… “Taraa! Well? Like them? I hope so. They cost enough, I can tell you.”
Archie stared. For a moment Sarah thought he was going to get angry. But then…
“Wow! They’re just exactly the right colours! And really shiny! And I love those wings on the legs!”
“And the bow?”
“Yes. And the bow. Where did you get them?”
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. “Aha, Archie. That’s our secret for now. Here, feel them.” She handed them over.
“Cool… They’re like…rubber…”
“Not rubber – latex. Very fashionable. None of the others will have anything like that. You’re going to wow them today, Archie.”
“Yeah… Let me get them on…”
“Hold on. I just need to dust them with baby powder.”
“B-baby powder?”
“Oh, just talc. Actually this isn’t baby powder. It’s scented. See?”
“Mmm, yes. Nice smell…”
“Okay. There you are. I hope they fit.”
He stepped into them and pulled them up.
“Perfect!”
“Are they comfortable?”
“Yeah. They’re so light it hardly feels as though I’m wearing them. And they’re so soft and stretchy…”
Conor was looking on open-mouthed. He was about to say something, when Lily bent down and whispered in his ear.
“Shh. Don’t…”
He understood at once. He adopted a different tone from that which he had intended.
“Wow, Archie… It’s not fair… Why do you get rubber…sorry, I mean latex panties, and I have to wear…these?”
Archie gave a short laugh. “That’s what happens when you try to outsmart me, mate. Now we’ll see who the girls will be looking at this evening.”
Too true, though Sarah.
“So we’re ready, right? I’ll let you go in first, Conor. I’ll wait a few seconds and then follow you. Okay?”
“Suppose so…”
Lily took Conor’s hand, and Sarah Archie’s. Lily opened the door, revealing a row of expectant faces, each surmounted by a spectacular wig…
-
22.
Archie hung back for a few seconds, conscious that he was already the focus of everyone’s attention. Mrs Daly hadn’t arrived yet, which was a pity, but anyway there was a whole bunch of admiring girls to show off to. He hitched up his skirt, to make sure they all got a glimpse of his new underwear, and swaggered into the hall. Pretending to look for the teacher, he swivelled balletically left, then right, knowing it would make his skirt swirl up a little more.
“Oh. Bernadette’s not here yet, then,” he remarked casually, pretending a familiarity which no-one, and especially he and Conor, would dare to assume.
He could see all eyes fixed on his new panties.
“Oh, yes… Do you like them? Latex, you know. Group colours. But I suppose you can see that.”
The girls had been well prepared, and in any case there was no way they were going to spoil such a humiliating display. Nevertheless, this was better than anything they could have imagined. Swallowing their desire to scream with laughter, they somehow kept their cool, doing anything to keep the exhibition going by egging him on further.
“Wow, Archie! Wherever did you get them? They’re the coolest…” said Janine.
“They must have been super expensive…” added another. “Like, designer… S’pose you’re not going to let on…”
“Suffice it to say,” he returned, pompously, “suffice it to say, that I have my contacts in the rag trade…”
Someone at the back snorted. He glared at them.
“The fact is, these are custom made. You can’t just go into a shop and buy them, like the things you’re wearing… In any case, you heard what Bernadette said. Only me and Conor are allowed non-regulation panties, I’m afraid. So it wouldn’t do you any good even if I told you.”
“Darling, why don’t you show the girls those little frilly purple wings and everything?” said Sarah. “Don’t keep them to yourself. Lift you skirt a little. They’re dying for a good eyeful.”
“Okay. Sure.”
Archie lifted the front pleat proudly, revealing his latex panties in all their glossy, colourful splendour, offering the little bulge of his private parts as a sort of modest bonus.
“They look amazing,” said Kelly, eyes dancing. “Can I feel the latex?”
“Er…”
But the girls were already clustering around, admiring the softness and smoothness of the taut rubber, and discussing the style and fit with great seriousness. It was not only the latex they were feeling, but having got himself into this position, Archie could not easily see a way out.
“They fit you perfectly,” gasped Grace, her voice subtly tinged with envy. “We should ask Mrs Daly if we could get some too.”
“She won't let us,” replied Riana. “It’s not fair if the boys have all the cute clothes.”
“Imagine the sensation at the show if we all wore these,” said Janine. “So pretty!” She tugged at the leg frills.
Kelly was smoothing his tummy, and in a careless moment, while she was gossiping with one of the others, her fingers accidentally brushed against his little member, making him flinch. He felt his cheeks burning. He had hoped for adulation, but he hadn’t expected quite so much physical attention.
“Girls… I think Mrs Daly’s here… Maybe we’d better…”
“No she isn’t.”
“But she’ll be here any minute…”
“She’s going to love these, you know,” said Kelly, tickling the back of his thigh. “You guys really know how to get her attention, don’t you?”
Everything would have been fine had it not been for Millie. Millie, the youngest in the group. Out of nowhere, her little voice piped up.
“You look silly, Archie! I can see your thing, too. It looks like the coc-ktail sausage mummy packed in my lunchbox today!”
There was a moment’s silence, then everyone fell about laughing. Everyone except Archie himself.
“Shut up, Milly!” he roared. “You don’t know nothing! What the fuc-k do you know about fashion? And what are you lot smirking about?”
The laughter had indeed subsided into silent mirth. Archie, not realising that Mrs Daly had just walked into the room and was standing right behind him, continued his tirade. The old Archie, the Mr Hyde, was making a brief reappearance.
“What’s funny about that? She’s too fuc-king young to be dancing with us anyway, and she doesn’t know shit. And all the rest of you are jealous, too – I can see it in your faces. Wait till Bernadette gets here. She knows quality when she sees it.”
“I do, Archie.” He jumped, and swung round. “And I know rudeness, too. Never in all my years teaching have I heard a single swear word. Now I have heard several. Nor have I ever been called by my Christian name.”
“I-I – M-Mrs Daly, I-I was just… Millie was rude to me first… You sh-should have heard…”
“I don’t want to hear anything else, Archie.” He opened his mouth again. “No. Not another word. You’d better go and stand in the corner while I decide what’s to be done. No, you can face the room. And keep holding up your skirt so we can all admire your beautiful new panties! The rest of you, let’s begin the class.”
“He needs a good hard spanking,” murmured Sarah to Lily. And added, with a smile, “and I’m going to see he gets it.”
-
23.
After the class ended, Mrs Daly made him stay in the corner, though he was allowed to drop his skirt. The girls departed one by one, each giving him a little smile and a wave - except Millie, who simply stuck her tongue out at him. While Conor changed into his school clothes, preparatory to heading home, Mrs Daly disappeared into a side room. She re-emerged ten minutes later.
“I’ve spoken to your mother. She doesn’t know what to do with you. She thought all that nasty behaviour had been left behind. She also told me you and Sarah were supposed to go to Lily’s house tonight.”
“Yeah. We were going to do some extra practice…”
“Well, you’re still going. But it seems your mother and Mrs Nimmo have had a conversation, so don’t expect to be treated with kid gloves.”
“No, miss.”
Archie hung his head, and turned to go to the changing room.
“And where do you think you’re going?”
“To get changed, miss.”
“No, you’re not. You can go to Lily’s just as you are.”
“But miss…!” began Archie, panicking.
“Are you ashamed of the Daly group’s dress?”
“No, miss. Course not. But…”
“Then off you go. The girls will see you get there safe and sound. Won’t you, girls?”
“Oh, yes, miss!” beamed Sarah. “We’ll hold his hands all the way!”
It was just as well they did, because Archie dared not look up in case somebody recognised him. He kept his eyes firmly on the ground. The wait at the bus stop was nerve-racking, hearing all the comments about “that pretty girl in her Irish dancing dress”, or “such a beautiful dress! Though a little on the short side, in my opinion”.
On the bus he wanted to have a window seat, and hide behind Sarah. But she was having none of it, and climbed in first, leaving him on the aisle side. Lily sat behind and teased him.
“Don’t worry, Archie. No-one going to recognise you. Everyone thinks you’re a girl. None of them would even believe you’re a boy if you told them!”
“Shh! Someone might hear.” Archie clasped his hands in his lap, making sure his skirt concealed his flashy new panties. He began to relax a little. Three more stops and they would be getting off – and the bus stop was right near Lily’s house.
Then, at the very next stop, two boys got on and came and sat right opposite. They looked about thirteen. He didn’t recognise them, but he could feel them staring at him. Eventually the one on the aisle, just a yard from him, spoke.
“Hi. You do Irish dancing. My cousin does that. Which group do you belong to?”
Archie was too frightened to speak. Sarah leant forward.
“She’s a bit shy. Daly’s Darlings. All three of us. Which one is your cousin in?”
“Oh, I think they’re called Dara Kelly?”
“Yes. I know them.”
“But their strip isn’t as pretty as yours.”
“It is nice, isn’t it? Yellow and purple go so well, don’t they. I’m Sarah, by the way. This is Lily, and this…this is…er…Annabel. We’re best friends. Say hi, Annabel. Don’t be so shy.”
But Archie kept silent, and remained looking down at his hands.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Patrick, and this is Andy. Which school do you go to…?”
The conversation proceeded, Archie – now Annabel – getting more and more uneasy, and still unable to say a word. He prayed their stop would arrive soon, but the traffic was heavy and the bus was taking its time. Sarah was telling Patrick how Annabel was a relative beginner, but a natural. Patrick had turned sideways and was leaning forward, his face inches from him. He could feel his cheeks burning. Then Patrick addressed him directly.
“Er…Annabel? Maybe you’d like to…er…meet my cousin. You could swap tips. She’s only a beginner, too. I mean, she’s only nine. But I’m sure she’d like to meet you. Perhaps you’d like to come round to our house one evening? Have supper?”
“You don’t have to say all that,” piped up Lily, grinning. “If you want to ask Annabel out, go ahead. She's most shy when she meets someone she likes, so she must like you a lot!”
“Yeah. Give Patrick your phone number, Annabel. Here, I’ve got it. Ready Patrick?”
“No!” hissed Archie. But Sarah was already dictating it, relishing Archie’s panic.
“And I’ll give you mine, too. She’s never had a proper boyfriend, you see, so she’s very bashful. But passionate too, wait and see. You like Patrick, don’t you Annabel? There. She said yes. I can tell she’s very excited – look how she’s blushing!”
“Thanks. I’ll ring you, then, Annabel. We have to get off here…but it’s been lovely to meet you…all of you…”
“And you Patrick…Andy. And Patrick? Any problems getting through just call me and I can make the arrangements. Don’t worry. She’ll soon come out of her shell, and then you’ll be surprised by what you find.”
After the boys alighted, Archie gave vent to his feelings.
“How could you do that? Giving him my phone number and everything. What’s he going to think when I won’t go out with him?”
“Oh, but you will,” replied Sarah, firmly. “It’s too good a prank to let go. Don’t worry. Me and Lily’ll make sure you look the part, won’t we Lily?”
“Definitely! You’re going to look so glamorous, Archie – I mean Annabel.”
“And you better put on your best panties, too – just in case!”
“Shut up!”
-
24.
On the short walk back to Lily’s house, Archie strode along in front, frowning, desperate to get off the streets, while Lily and Sarah followed behind, talking and giggling, every now and then exploding into raucous laughter. He was relieved when finally Lily opened the door and he could get into the privacy of the house. But his relief didn’t last long. The reception committee, Laura and Barbara, did not look amused.
“Good afternoon Lily, good afternoon, Sarah. Good afternoon, Archie. We’ve just been talking about you. I’ve spoken to Millie’s mum. You may like to know she’s very upset – Millie, that is, but her mum as well. What have you got to say for yourself?”
“She isn’t upset, Mrs Nimmo. Her? No way! She just putting it on to get me into trouble!”
“Oh, really? A little innocent eight-year-old girl? So you think it’s fine to swear at little girls, do you?”
Archie looked contrite. “I didn’t swear at her…I only said wtf…”
“According to her, you said she was too effing young to be in the group.”
“Oh, that… I didn’t mean it… But she laughed at my new panties!”
“She was a bit jealous, that’s all,” said Sarah. “You know what kids of that age are like. You had something she wanted, but couldn’t have. That’s all.”
“Yeah, maybe. But Mrs Nimmo, I’m telling you, she’s a sly one, she is. If only you knew her…”
“Well, we’re going to have the opportunity,” put in Barbara. “She's coming round later, with her mother, and you’re going to apologise to her.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. Or your mother’s going to cancel your trip.”
“No!”
“Yes,” said Laura. “She and Brigit have just found an airline that will accept unaccompanied children on a flight. They’ve signed a special agreement and are about to pay for the tickets. But they can easily take your name off the list.”
“No! Okay, I’ll apologise. I didn’t mean to say fuc-k – it just slipped out…”
“You’d better mean it. Millie’s mother is furious.”
“So…can I get changed now?”
“Certainly not! In any case, Megan wants to see what all the fuss was about. You’ll have to show her your panties.”
“Shit!”
“Archie! Enough! Don’t make it worse for yourself. All you have to do is apologise nicely and that’ll be an end of it.”
“It’s a fuss over nothing. That little… Millie is milking it for all it’s worth. She never liked us being there from the beginning. In my opinion…”
But Lily couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Mummy? Guess what? Archie’s got a boyfriend!”
“Sorry?”
“No I haven’t!”
“Yes, he has,” said Sarah. “He met this boy on the bus coming home. His name’s Patrick. He fancies Archie a lot, and he’s going to…”
“Shh. There’s the door. That’s them. Tell me later.”
Millie’s mother was a short, dark, slight woman with black eyes and a pointed nose. Laura showed her in and she greeted the others – Archie excepted – with what she imagined was a smile.
“And this is Archie,” added Laura. “He’s very sorry for what happened, I know…”
“Is he? Well, are you, Pink Panties?” Her lip curled. “That’s what she calls you at home.”
“Sorry? She does?” He glared at Millie, her eyes wide with innocence. “Yeah, Mrs…”
“Price.”
“Mrs Price. It was all a misunderstanding. Millie started making fun of me…”
“I didn’t…” wailed Millie, wiping a counterfeit tear from her eye. “I was just admiring his new panties – we’re not allowed panties like that – and he started swearing at me. He’s never liked me right from the beginning. And he’s always showing off. He’s horrible!”
Archie stared at her in disbelief.
“You’re the one who’s horrible. All the other girls think I’m great…”
“Oh they do, do they?” interrupted Mrs Price.
“Well, no – I didn’t mean it like that…” He realised he’d given himself away. He tried to retrieve the situation but only got himself in deeper. “See… Cos, like, I – we, that is – me and Connor – cos we get to wear special panties, and cos mine are like, really neat…”
“Are they now,” Mrs Price asked, with a slight sneer. “So… May I see them?”
“Show Mrs Price your panties, Archie,” cried Lily, who, with Sarah, seemed to be enjoying the exchange immensely.
“Er… Okay…”
He lifted his skirt. Mrs Price’s eyes opened a little wider. Her hand went up and covered her mouth, on the pretence of scratching her cheek. She glanced at Laura and Barbara. She recovered herself. Her eyes were twinkling now.
“Well, I can see how my daughter may have been a little envious. But really. First of all you flaunt your new panties in front of the whole troupe…”
“I didn’t flaunt them…”
Megan Price ignored the interruption. “Then you swear at a young girl for a minor expression of quite forgivable envy. But what cannot be forgiven, Archie, is your bullying behaviour.”
“I agree,” said Laura. “And all you’ve done is to make excuses. I haven’t heard a proper apology yet.”
“You don’t seem to understand your holiday is at risk,” added Barbara.
“Exactly,” continued Laura. “And you don’t seem to understand you were in the wrong. Which suggests to me you need to be punished to bring it home to you.”
“No…please…I really want to go to Texas…”
“Well then, you’ll have to take your punishment from us. Otherwise I’ll have to tell your mother you’ve reverted to your old ways.”
“Yes. Okay. Whatever you say. Please don’t say that to my mum!”
“All right. So what would be appropriate? Barbara? Any ideas?”
“I don’t know. Maybe…”
“Yes?”
“Maybe we should let Millie decide. She’s the injured party, after all.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea. Megan? Would that satisfy you?”
Millie’s tears had quite dried up, and now she was bouncing up and down with excitement. Archie stared at her in horror.
“Yes, mummy, please let me…”
“I think it’s a perfect solution, ladies. Yes, darling. We’ll let you deal with Pink Panties yourself.”
Archie opened his mouth to protest, but Laura cut him off.
“Good, that’s settled,” she said, breezily. “Anyone fancy a glass of wine?”
-
25.
The ladies retired to the kitchen. Laura pulled a bottle of white from the fridge, enticingly clouded with condensation.
“Archie seems a bit anxious,” smiled Barbara.
“Anxious?” said Laura. “Do you think so? What’s he got to be afraid of? His punishment is going to be decided by a sweet innocent little eight-year-old girl – who he’s just disparaged and sworn at!”
Megan laughed. “She’s nine Saturday week. And though she’s my daughter, I have to add that she’s far from innocent. Indeed, when she gets jealous like that, she’s quite capable of being mischievous and sometimes even a little spiteful!”
“Really, Megan? I would never have believed it of such an angel,” smiled Laura. “Oh, dear. Poor Archie!”
At that moment, the angel in question poked her head in at the kitchen door.
“Mummy?”
“Yes, dear?”
“I’m still deciding what to do to Archie. Sarah and Lily are helping. They told me to ask you if the grown-ups would help if we needed them.”
“Well, I think we would certainly support you…”
“Of course,” cried Barbara. “Anything you need, darling. We’re all on your side, you know.”
“Ooh, thank you!” And she ran off back to the others.
“Thanks Barbara,” said Megan. “She is a bit little to punish a big boy like Archie all by herself.”
“Barbara’s a teacher,” grinned Laura. “She knows how to take care of naughty children – don’t you, dear?”
“I should hope so. I’ve been a teacher for nearly twenty years. My mother was a teacher before me. In her day teachers were allowed to spank bad children. No more, unfortunately. But I’ve still got her old leather paddle, which used to hang in her classroom as a warning. Once I took it into school to show the kids. They couldn’t believe it. You should have seen their horrified faces when I told them this had been used on hundreds of kids’ bottoms!”
“What a pity you’ll never get to use it, Barbara!”
“I know. It is. These days we have to be so careful. Even just telling a child off can bring the parents in complaining that you’ve bullied it. But they’re allowed to say anything they want to us, and we’re supposed not to react.”
At that moment Millie came back, accompanied by Sarah and Lily.
“Millie’s decided on Archie’s punishment,” said Sarah.
“Yeah,” added Lily. “He was treating her like a baby, saying she was too young for the group and all…”
“So mummy? I’ve decided to punish him by making him the baby!” laughed Millie.
“Just for a day…” said Sarah, seeing the surprise on the faces of the women.
“And how are you planning to do that dear?” asked Megan.
“We’re going to help,” said Lily. We’ll dress him in baby clothes…”
“And give him a dummy to suc-k…” continued Sarah.
“And make him wear baby pants!” cried Millie, triumphantly.
There was a pause, as the girls waited to see the women’s reaction. They looked at each other.
“Well,” said Laura, “it would certainly be appropriate.”
“And when were you thinking you’d do this, darling?” asked Megan.
“Saturday week,” came the firm reply.
“But you realise that’s the day of your birthday party?”
“Yes. All my friends will be there!” And she collapsed into giggles.
“But we won’t tell him that,” grinned Sarah.
“It’ll be a lovely surprise!” added Lily.
There was a pause, as the ladies looked questioningly at each other, and Millie stood there, hand clasped at her chest and eyes wide and appealing. There was a short conversation in mime. Then Megan spoke.
“All right, darling. We’ll have to work out the details, but…”
“Yay!” screamed Millie. “Can I tell him?”
“Well I suppose…”
But she was already gone, pursued by the other two girls. They heard her voice raised in delight as she relayed the news to Archie. Then a great shout.
“No! I’m not fuc-king being your baby, bitch! You can put that right out of your silly head!”
Immediate action was needed. Laura was on her feet in an instant. She marched out of the kitchen, grabbed Archie by the shoulders and shook him.
“How dare you speak to Millie like that! Look at her – see what you’ve done!”
Millie was in tears – though was she looking slyly at Archie from under her trembling eyelids? Surely not.
“I don’t care! I ain’t doing it!”
“We’ll see about that. It’s settled, understand? We agreed.”
“I didn’t… I’m not! I…”
“You know what he needs,” said Barbara, quietly. “A good, firm spanking.”
“You’re right, dear. Bare bottom?”
“Bare bottom.”
-
26.
“No! No!”
But his protests were ignored. He fought, but with Megan holding his ankles and Barbara his wrists, they pulled him across Laura’s lap on the sofa.
“No! Please don’t…”
His tone had changed now he realised they were serious, and too strong for him. He had become pleading and submissive.
“I’ll apologise to Millie. Millie…? I didn’t mean…”
“Too late, Archie,” said Megan. “You need a lesson and you’re going to get one. Er…maybe one of you girls… The panties?”
“Me!” cried Lily, pushing the others aside and grabbing the waistband of his little latex panties. But Archie pressed himself down as hard as he could, squealing with fright, and she needed Sarah’s help to pull them down till they were round his knees.
It was done. He lay there, burying his face in the sofa cushion and whimpering faintly, his little pink bottom trembling with anticipation. The girls stood in a line, looking on gleefully, while Laura folded his skirt right back.
“Now, Archie, don’t think for one minute I’m going to enjoy this,” said Laura. “I’m not. But it’s quite clear that it’s the only thing that’s going to make you change your attitude. What do you think, Barbara? Twelve?”
“That would be fair, I think, Laura. If he’s not contrite he can always have more.”
“No…” came a muffled voice.
“I think Millie should spank him,” said Sarah, suddenly. “She’s the one that he was horrible to.”
“NO!” screamed Archie.
“That’s not a bad idea,” said Laura, ignoring his outburst.
“Yes…can I…can I?” squealed Millie, jumping up and down.
“Why don’t you try one, darling, and see what it’s like?” suggested Megan.
Millie needed no second bidding. She stepped forward, and raised one hand high over her head.
“Wait a mo,” said Sarah, taking a step back and holding up her phone to take a video.
Then Millie brought her hand down with all the force she could muster. It connected with Archie’s bare buttocks with the sound of someone patting a jelly. The ensuing silence was broken by the sound of muffled laughter. It was Archie.
“Yes. Let her do it,” he sniggered. “That tickled!”
Poor Millie’s face dropped. “It’s not fair! My hands are too small!”
Then everyone started to giggle. Millie frowned and stamped her foot.
“Never mind, darling,” said her mother, propitiatingly. “Let Laura do it, shall we?”
“No! I wanted to spank him!”
“Hold on,” said Barbara. “I have an idea. Lily? Could you do me a favour? My keys are on the kitchen table. You know which ones. Could you pop round to my house? In the top drawer of my dressing-table in the bedroom you’ll find…”
Her voice dropped to a whisper. Lily's face lit up. She ran to the kitchen, then out of the house. Sarah and Millie looked puzzled.
“You’ll see,” smiled Barbara.
She was back in two minutes, with a big grin on her face, holding something behind her back.
“Give it to Millie, dear,” smiled Barbara.
Producing it like a conjuror, she handed it to Millie – Barbara’s mother’s paddle. Made totally of old shiny leather, with a stitched, tubular handle – longer than might have been expected, designed to inflict the maximum pain with the minimum effort, and with a leather cord for hanging – and a broad, flexible flap.
“Try that, Millie.”
Archie started to struggle. He had turned his head to see what Lily had brought – which Sarah, having already started to video, was grateful for – and there was fear in his eyes.
“W-wait a minute. Millie? Look, I’m really sorry for swearing at you – please don’t – I’ll be your b-baby, I promise, an’….owww!”
The first stroke made him jump and yelp with pain. He squirmed and struggled, but the ladies held him firm. Millie’s mouth fell open, and then a big delighted smile spread over her face. She compressed her lips and delivered a second blow, harder this time. Archie screamed and bucked. His bottom was already turning red. He began to plead, tears in his eyes.
“Millie…no…please don’t…I’ll do whatever you want…I swear…I… Ayeee!”
A third stroke had him writhing impotently, begging and sobbing. Millie lowered the paddle, enjoying the spectacle of the helpless, weeping boy, his quivering, glowing buttocks, revelling in her power…
“You’re going to be my baby?”
“Yes, yes, anything!”
“And you’re going to ring Patrick for a date?” added Sarah.
“Yes, yes, of course.”
“Today, so we can check what you say?”
“Yes! I said yes!”
“And you’re going to do everything Millie tells you, from now on? And wear pretty baby clothes whenever she wants?” said Lily. “And be polite to her and all the other girls?”
“Ye-es,” sobbed Archie. “Ye-es. I swear I will. Please don’t hit me any more…”
But if any of the ladies were inclined to let him off at this point, Millie was not. And it was probably for the best. Because the spanking he received that day at her hand, the explosive claps of the paddle on his bare flesh, and all the screaming and begging and howling and floods of tears as he writhed under those last nine strokes, seemed to wreak a major shift in his attitude to her, as we shall see.
After she was finished, and Archie’s blubbering had subsided into a gentle sobbing, Lily fetched the cold cream from the bathroom cabinet, and he lay unprotesting across Laura’s lap while Millie smoothed it gently into his raw, burning bottom. Sarah continued to film the affecting scene.
“There, there baby. Does that feel better?”
“Yes…th-thank you, Millie…”
“Good baby. I’ll find you some nice puffy soft rubber baby pants to wear, so they won’t rub on your sore botty. And later on we can choose some pretty baby clothes for you, yes?”
“Yes, Millie…”
“And you can ring Patrick, Annabel,” put in Lily.
“Yes…”
“And if you’re very good, baby, I may not need to spank you again for, well, days, maybe…”
“Thank you, Millie…”
-
Great story, I hope that you will continue it. Poor baby-Archie, but I am sure that Conner will join him soon. Sarah founds Archie a little boyfriend, but I sense that soon she will become jealous of this boyfriend ;)
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Is there any more to this story?
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Hi Dancer -
There is. But I need to revise it. I'll get it sorted out shortly. Thank you for your interest.
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Thank you billykins for your quick reply.
Dancer
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Most enjoyable story, am looking forward to reading a lot more…….please!
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billykins.
In August last year you were going to revise the continuation of this fabulous story.
Could you PLEASE post the next part.
A huge fan,
Dancer4Fun
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28.
At Irish dancing on Saturday morning, it seemed that Archie had reverted to his old clumsy self. Thanks to the presence of Millie his footwork was abysmal. He kept shooting glances in her direction, wondering what she might or might not be telling the others, but receiving no clues from the triumphant smirk that she returned. She made the session more uncomfortable for him by making soft kissing noises every now and then, to remind him of his upcoming date. There was nothing he could do. His mother had had a long telephone conversation with Mrs Price. He had actually heard her laugh about his spanking! And then, at the end, she was offering to help with the baby equipment. There was no-one on his side
Bernadette Daly could tell the dynamics between the two had changed in Millie’s favour, and, guessing that Archie had suffered some sort of humiliation, refrained from her usual strictness. Her assumption was confirmed when, at the end of the session, Millie took him by the hand, and spoke to him in a confidential undertone. “I wonder what’s going on there?” she thought.
Millie was looking up into his face with big innocent eyes.
“Don’t worry, Archie. I won’t tell anyone what happened. It’s our secret. Are you looking forward to my birthday? My mummy and Lily’s mummy have already ordered some nice things for you. You’re going to make a super baby, I can tell. And I’ll look after you like a real mummy, and make sure you’re all warm and comfy and nice. I hope you’ll be a good baby, and not cry like you did when I…”
He cut her off quickly, fearful someone might hear.
“Course I will. I’ll be, like, perfec’. See if I ain’t. Just please don’t say a word to no-one, okay?”
“Of course not, silly. Only me and my friends will know. And my friends are good at keeping secrets.”
“’Ow many friends…?”
“Oh, depends who comes. Not more than ten or a dozen, I don’t think…”
Archie mopped his brow. Well, it was unlikely a bunch of eight-year-old would have connections with any of his erstwhile mates, so he reckoned he was pretty safe there. He could have a relaxing day and get to each a heap of party food. No, not a problem. Though he wished he’d kept his mouth shut in the first place. His bottom was still sore. He definitely needed to propitiate Millie, and make sure he never, never upset her again. That mother of hers…
“Okay. Look Millie. I was really outa line, I admit it. I got what I deserved. I’m really sorry. Now I know you better, you got my respec, okay? I’ll be a great baby for you an’ your mates, see? So please forgive me for all that… Cos I got, like, a big problem at the moment…”
“Oh. Is that the Annabel thing?”
He frowned. “Yeah. That’s it. How did you know?”
“Oh, everyone knows. Sarah’s told us millions of times. What are you going to do?”
“I ‘aven’t the faintest…”
“Why don’t you tell him you already have a boyfriend?”
The idea hadn’t even occurred to him. He stared at her. How could an eight-year-old girl be so streetwise?
“Could I…? Problem is, ‘e wouldn’t believe me, cos I would ‘ave said at the time, or Sarah would…”
“Suppose you went on a date, then – say you’re in a restaurant – I come in, and I say, “Annabel! What are you doing here? Mark’s looking all over for you! Are you two-timing him again?”
Archie’s mouth fell open. That was fuc-king clever. “Would you do that for me?”
“I’d do it for my special baby…” she said, slyly. “But you’d have to be the best baby ever. And I’d only do it afterwards.”
“Okay. That’s f.. – I mean, that’s genius! You’re on! Thanks, Millie. Let’s be friends from now on, yeah?”
“Let’s, Archie!”
-
Sorry for the long break, Dancer. The boys will be back...
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29.
A huge wave of relief swept over Archie. And all thanks to that little kid! Girls…they could be so fuc-king clever! He felt so much easier now.
He was on the bus going home when his phone rang.
“’Ello?”
“Is that Annabel? It’s Patrick… We met on the bus the other day…”
Now if he’d had any sense, he would have put on his toughest voice, and said, “Look mate. I’m not interested, right? Don’t ring me again!” And that would have been an end of it. But the fact was, this guy had seen him in full Irish dancing costume, behaving like a shy little girl. What if he came looking for him? And being quite taken aback, despite the fact he should have been prepared for the call, he was unable to prevent himself falling right back into his adopted character.
“Oh, Patrick…” he began, in a falsetto. “Yes, I remember…” and actually added, “how nice to hear from you”, while kicking himself for an idiot!
He was doing a quick calculation. It was two weeks to Millie’s party. There was no way he could put off a meeting that long. No, he would have to see this Patrick guy once before then. After the party, though, he was toast!
“I was wondering…would you like to go for a meal or something…or just hang out…?”
“Well, I’ve got a lot on this week…”
“Next Friday or Saturday then?”
He was useless at coming up with excuses. “Well, I have to help my mummy Friday…”
“I could come over and help…”
“No! Er, I mean, no, she’s…that’s to say…my sister’s gonna help…”
“Okay, Saturday then. Tell you what, let’s meet at Mary Peters Park on your bus route. We can just chat if you like, or go and eat. Okay?”
“Well, I…”
“Two o’clock okay? Great. Let’s meet at the café. It’s a date. I mean, not really a date… So, see you then. Look forward to it.”
Shit. The guy had got the drop on him. Well, it was one meeting. Then that was it. Nothing, really. He stared into space. But…what was he going to wear? Definitely not his Irish dancing costume. But he was supposed to be a girl. Where could he get some duds? That idiot Sarah had got him into this. She’d better deal with it. He snorted. Why did he let people take advantage?
He got straight on the phone to Sarah.
“Hello? Archie?”
“Yeah. You know that guy on the bus? The one you gave my phone number to?”
“Patrick?”
“Yeah, ‘im. He wants to meet. Next Saturday. All fanks to you! What am I s’posed to do?”
“Well, go meet him, I guess. He seemed like quite a nice guy. Would’ve dated him myself…”
“I am not dating him!”
“Aren’t you? Oh, no, of course not. Just a platonic meeting, right?”
“Look, I’m gonna get rid of ‘im, okay? But I ‘ave to do this one fing. And I ain’t got no girl’s clothes, ‘ave I? It’s your fault, so you better come up wiv somefing!”
“Oh, I see! Is that all, Archie? Okay, of course, you’re right! Leave it with me. I’ll sort you out, no problem. I’m sorry about all this. But don't worry. I’ll find you the perfect outfit, to make up for my stupidity! I’ll get back to you shortly.”
Archie settled in his seat. He was nearly home. “Right,” he said to himself. “Yeah, so she should. She realises she was a stupid twat. Good. Yeah, let her sort it out…” He relaxed a little. Then a frown puckered his forehead. He looked thoughtful, and a little anxious. “I wonder what she’s gonna find for me…?”
-
30.
Sarah was ecstatic. She had just walked in her front door. She ran into the kitchen.
“Pat! Listen! You know that thing with Archie and the guy on the bus? They’re going on a date! Next Saturday!”
“No! You’re joking!”
“I’m not. He just rang me. He must have got talked into it. Course, he claims it’s not a date. But that guy… I mean, he was definitely into him…”
“So he rang you to tell you…?”
“He rang me because he doesn’t have anything to wear! He wants me to find him an outfit!”
“Oh…my…god! Let me help you! Please!”
“Course!”
“I’m gonna ring Sinead right now. When did you say?”
“Saturday!”
“Right. Plenty of time… Sinead? Hi darling! You’ll never guess. Is Archie home?”
“Just walked in the door.”
“Okay, Don’t say a word. Go up to your room, quick…”
“What is it?”
“Sarah’s just told me. He’s agreed to go on a date with that guy…Patrick, whatever his name is!”
“What?”
“It’s true. But the best thing is, he wants Sarah to find him an outfit! Listen, don’t say a word to him, unless he brings it up, okay. Let’s get together and make him as cute as possible. It could be the beginning of a big romance – who knows?”
“I can’t believe he did that! Right. Tomorrow, after work. I going to explore some ideas…”
“I’ll do the same. Speak tomorrow, then.”
“Right! Oh, this is going to be fun…”
Sinead descended the stairs.
“Hi, Archie. Everything all right?”
“Yeah, fine. Who were you speaking to?”
“David. I didn’t see him this weekend – he was too busy. Wants me to go on a picnic with him next Saturday to make up. Wanna come?”
“Saturday? No, I can’t.”
“No?”
“Nah. Gotta meet up wiv one of my mates.”
“Oh, I see. Never mind.”
Archie hesitated. “Sinead?”
“Yes, Archie?”
“You bin dating David a long time now, right?”
“Yes. Nearly two years.”
“What was it like at first? I mean, like, what did ‘e do on your first date?”
“Why do you want to know that? Are you planning to start dating?”
He blushed. “No, nuffing like that. Just wondered…”
“Oh, well, as far as I remember… He didn’t do anything. He was quite shy. Took him a week to summon up the courage to kiss me.”
“Really?” He brightened up.
“Yes. Most blokes are like that though. They’re all bravado with their mates, but alone with a girl… They’re like frightened does…”
He grinned. “Aha. Yes, I guess they are…”
-
Hi billykins,
Thanks for continuing this great story. Can't wait for the next parts.
Dancer4Fun
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31.
Archie went to sleep that night feeling much reassured. But he wouldn’t have been – he shouldn’t have been – if he had heard his sister talking on the phone in her room.
“Yes, Pat, you’re right – we have a completely blank canvas to work on. Whatever we come up with we’ll present to him at the last minute, so he won’t have any option but to wear it. No, I don’t feel sorry for him! When I think of all the times he screwed up my relationships but telling blokes things about me! And messed with my possessions! You know he stole all my panties one time, and handed them out to his mates! Little… No, I’m up for whatever humiliation you have in mind. Sarah? Yeah, if she wants. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then! Okay…and maybe a little shopping trip…?”
Sinead, Patricia and Sarah gathered at Patricia’s house the following evening. They each had their own ideas of how Archie should be dressed for his date. Sinead was thinking sexy.
“A slinky little black dress and fishnets. With luck he’d be all over her…I mean him.”
“I don’t think that’s fair, Sinead…” frowned Patricia. You can’t dress a little boy up like a tart. No, I would go for a good quality, sober, dark dress. I still have that lovely coat my mum gave me for my twelfth birthday. He could wear that, some dark tights and Sarah’s black patent leather shoes. He look good in all that – quite the goody-goody girl. What do you think, Sarah?”
“Dunno. I wasn’t really thinking of anything like that.”
“Like what?”
“You know… Grown up. I was thinking of something more like his age. I saw a girl today – eleven or twelve – in such a pretty outfit.”
“Yes?”
“Okay. She had like a cotton top – I think it had long sleeves, pink it was…and matching tights – you know, the thicker type…and a short pleated skirt, and shiny shoes, like sandals, and she had a shiny three-quarter length raincoat thing with a hood, pink and yellow halved… I’ve seen them in Morton’s in the high street…and she had her hair in bunches with ribbons. Archie’s hair is long now, isn’t it?”
“That sounds like a really sweet little outfit, dear… What do you think, Sinead?”
“Actually, I think Sarah’s hit the nail on the head. Yes, I was wrong. I was assuming this Patrick guy would be a bit of a predator… No… Sweet and shy and innocent. That’s the way to go. I’d really like it if this Patrick guy fell for her…him. That would be much more fun. I mean, suppose they actually had some sort of relationship, even if only as friends. The longer it went on, the longer Archie would have to stay Annabel! And the longer he’d have to modify his behaviour. If Patrick turned out to be a nice guy…”
“I’m sure he is a nice guy,” put in Sarah. “I liked him myself. I think he’d really like a sweet little girlfriend. I think he’d look after her and protect her.”
Patricia shrugged. “Well, shall we go for it then? The juvenile look? I confess it wasn’t what I had in mind, but now Sarah’s suggested it I really like the idea. I’d love to see the encounter…”
“Maybe we can. Let’s think about that. Let’s go to Morton’s tomorrow. We may be able to get the whole shebang there…”
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32
Morton’s was a big clothing store with good children’s and babies’ departments. And the following afternoon Sinead met Patricia and Sarah at the front doors.
“Hi girls.”
“Hi.”
“Come on, you two,” cried an excited Sarah, “hurry up!” And she led the way inside, turned sharp right, and ran to a rack of jackets on the wall.
“Look! Here’s the one I told you about. See? Isn’t it pretty?”
Patricia took one down. It would come about to Archie’s hips. It was made of lightweight vinyl, the top half yellow, the bottom half and the drawstring hood pink. It had little pink buttons at the front.
“That’s cute,” said Sinead. “Okay, let’s see what we can find to go with it.”
They spent over an hour in the shop, and when they came out they were carrying four bagfuls of stuff. As they were coming out they saw Millie and her mother and Lily on the other side of the street.
“I bet their off to the baby shop,” laughed Sarah.
They took a bus back to Patricia’s, and while she and Sinead made some food, Sarah unpacked the clothes and laid them out on the sofa. They had found a pretty long-sleeved round-necked purple jumper, and nice warm tights to match. The only pink pleated skirt they could find was a little short, but with the tights that didn’t really matter – it would just look super-cute. They had bought two packs of pink panties, a pair of black vinyl Mary Janes, pink and purple bunches and ribbons, and a fine silver necklace with a letter ‘A’ pendant.
“I think he’ll look lovely,” said Patricia, sipping her coffee. “I think we should let him wear just a little subtle makeup, don’t you, Sinead?”
“Definitely. Just some blusher and a little pale pink lip gloss. We’ll do his nails and maybe curl his hair a little.”
“Give him a few pink highlights, maybe?”
“Why not? He’ll look as pretty as a picture!”
“That’s a funny saying, isn’t it, when you see some of the crap people put in frames.”
“All right – as pretty as a… I dunno, a pumpkin?”
“As pretty as a poppy!” suggested Sarah.
Back in town, Millie her mother were in search of baby accessories. Myra had willingly offered to underwrite any clothes or equipment Megan or Laura purchased, but in the end it was agreed they’d split it between them, and Myra and Laura would come and help at Millie’s party.
“I’m glad Laura found those lovely rubber baby pants,” said Megan said, as they wandered around the store.
“Yes, mummy. And did you see the dummies she ordered? Great big ones!”
“Oh, no I didn’t! We can tie them on with some pretty ribbon, can’t we?”
“No we don’t need to! Cos Mrs Nimmo said they have special straps that he won’t be able to undo, so they’ll stop him being noisy and rude!”
Her mother stared at her. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, mummy! She showed me the picture!”
“Oh, well, how clever! The things they have for babies these days… Now, he’ll need a bottle, and some extra-large nappies… Here we are… “for kids up to age 11”. Perfect! Then we’ll need wipes, cream and powder…”
“Are we even going to change him, mummy?”
“Well if he wets his nappy, we’ll have to, won’t we?”
“Oh, I do hope he does! My friends would be so happy… But I ‘spect he’ll just go to the boring toilet…”
“It depends, darling. I think his mummy has found some special reins for him…”
“Reins? Oh, I hoped he’d have reins! Then we can take him round the garden, or out for a walk! But…why are they special?”
“Because he won’t be able to take them off, Millie dear, and they have a special chain that you can attach to things – like, for instance, the tree at the end of our garden…”
Millie’s eyes widened. A smile spread over her face. “Gosh, mummy…that’s super clever…”
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33.
It seemed as if all the attention was being lavished on Archie. Despite having enjoyed Archie’s credulity, the comments about his bunny panties were still rankling. True, Archie had made a fool of himself without realising, but Conor was not allowed to confront his friend without ruining the joke. So between he and Archie, it was Archie who believed he had the upper hand. And Archie could never let an advantage go, and reminded Conor of his supposed inferiority at every opportunity.
“’Ow’s your little baby bunny panties, Conor. Do they tickle? Uncool! Don’t bovver tryin’ to compete. You won’t find nuffin’ as good as mine!”
This observation seemed incontrovertible, and not only to Conor, but to Laura and Mrs Daly two. When Laura came to collect Lily after the Tuesday lesson, they discussed the matter.
“Laura, you’ve don’t a brilliant job with the boys. They’ve come on leaps and bounds – literally – since this rivalry has developed. But I wonder where we go from here?”
“I was thinking the same thing Bernadette. I’m not sure I can find anything to trump those flashy little rubber panties of Archie’s. He’s so proud of them, too. I was also thinking that the competition between them has become to focussed. We need to open things out a bit, so they concentrate more on the dancing.”
“Yes, exactly! Now listen – I have a couple of ideas. First of all, we usually put on a little summer show just for the families. What if I offer a little prize for the – well, not the best performer, but the most improved student? They would both go for that, and it would make them practise even harder.”
“Great idea!”
“Yes, but this is the other part. Now the weather’s getting warmer, I’m going to relax the dress rules for weekday lessons. They’ll still have to wear their dresses for Saturday rehearsals, but for the week I’m going to tell the parents they can wear any appropriate dancewear with their soft shoes. I’ve done this before. All the girls have really cool dance dresses or tights. The boys will have to find something suitable. Do you think…you could maybe help them…?”
“That’s a genius idea! It gives me so much more scope. Leave it with me, Bernadette. I’ll have a think, and I’ll have word with Sarah’s mum tonight so Sarah and Lily are both in the picture.”
“You seem to be doing all the work, Laura Are you sure you don’t mind? Also I want to make a contribution…”
“No, really. That’s not necessary. The boys’ mums are only too happy to see their sons transforming from budding delinquents into little fashionistas! They’re underwriting all the costs. As for me, I haven’t had so much fun since I was a kid. It’s like having a couple of dolls to play dress-up with, and the fact they’re boys adds a little spice…”
“Right, so…”
Lily came running up. “Mummy! Can Conor come round? Please… Remember we need to find him some new panties. He should be able to choose for himself…”
“Can I, Mrs Nimmo? My mum won’t mind, and I want to see Bonny and Bouncer again…”
“I’m fine with it, Conor. You’re very welcome. Let me just check with your mum.”
Brigit having approved, Laura bade farewell to Bernadette and left, Lily and Conor running ahead, laughing and chasing each other. Laura smiled. He seemed pretty happy being totally under her thumb. Maybe the balance of power suited them both…
As they rode home on the bus. she remembered Sarah’s suggestion that the boys should have a competition to see who made the best girl. Suppose they were given quite similar dance costumes… Then they’d have to compete for the title of best girl with their behaviour… That was an interesting idea. She decided to work on it a little further. They called in at the corner shop before returning home. The kids got their ice-creams, and Laura picked up a few things for supper. Back at the house, she went straight into the kitchen to start preparing the food.
“Guys? Why don’t you go into the garden while I make the supper? Lily? Conor should have a twenty-minute lesson at least to polish up on whatever he didn’t do well this afternoon.”
Conor was already on his way.
“Can we get Bonny and Bouncer out?”
“Yes. I need to feed them and they can run around the garden while you practise!”
Laura smiled. They were good for each other. While she started on the supper, she dialled Sarah’s mum’s number and wedged the phone under her jaw.
“Elaine? Hi, it’s me. Yeah, fine thanks. You? Great. I just wanted to touch base about you-know-who. Bernadette tells me… Oh, you know. That’s right. And did she tell you about the summer show? Right. She’s going to offer a prize or prizes for the most improved student. They’ll both want to go for that. Especially Archie? You’re right there. Look, I’ve got some ideas for dance costumes. I was thinking, if they have similar ones, maybe their rivalry will be confined to the dancing. No? Not with Archie? You’re probably right. Anyway, what do you think? Okay. Let Sarah know, will you? If I can sort something out tonight I’ll send it over. Okay! Speak soon. Bye!”
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34.
After supper the three of them sat down at the laptop.
“Now Conor, you know Mrs Daly has said you can all wear any dance costumes you like for practice, right?”
“Yes, Mrs Nimmo. She told us. Does that mean Archie’s going to be trying to outdo me every week again?”
“No, it doesn’t. Because I’m going to try to find two similar costumes for you, so that can’t happen. Lets have a look, shall we? She sipped her coffee and googled “girls’ dance costumes”. As the images appeared Lily jumped to her feet.
“Look, Conor! I have that one! That one! See?” She pointed at a pretty little glittery silver unitard with a purple bow and waistband.
“Oh, really?” Conor raised his eyebrows. He had no idea such things existed. It must be fun being a little girl and have all this variety of stuff to wear.
“Can I go and put it on to show Conor, mummy?”
“Later, darling. Let’s see if we can find something for the boys first, shall we?”
“Okay…”
“Now Conor, you can see what a huge variety there is. Is there anything there that takes your eye?”
“I don’t know… They’re all so pretty.” He stared at them wide-eyed. Laura and Lily exchanged smiles. “But…unless we have exactly the same ones, Archie would always say his was better…”
“Hmm… I suppose that’s true…”
“Mummy? What about ballet costumes? They’re all pretty much the same, aren’t they?”
“Oh. That’s an idea, Lily. Let's see... Ballet costumes for girls…”
“See? They could have matching leotards.”
“I think you’ve got it, Lily. What do you think, Conor? Do you like them?”
“I wouldn’t like those tutu things. But the plain leotards are nice. Yeah, I could live with those…”
“Which ones in particular?”
“Conor, look at that one! That pink shiny one. It’s really cute, don’t you think? I know you like pink, don’t you?”
Conor blushed. “Yeah… Do you think I would look okay…?”
“Definitely! You should choose that. You can have white tights…and look, they have those cool leg warmer things…”
“It is nice, Conor,” said Laura. “I think you’d look good in that. And it comes with a matching ribbon choker too. That’s very sweet. And best of all they do it in yellow too. So Archie could have a yellow one.”
“Yes, mummy. He wouldn’t wear pink anyway so he won’t argue about that.”
“Well, shall we agree on those, then? They’re not expensive so I can buy two of each. None of the girls have ballet costumes so you two will stand out. I bet some of them will be jealous.”
“Archie will hope they are, at any rate…” murmured Lily.
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35.
“That was easier than I thought,” said Laura. “Thanks, you two. Well done, Lily – that was a good suggestion. And I’m glad you like it, Conor. Later on I’ll put the orders in and let everyone know what we’ve agreed upon.”
“I bet Archie will complain about something,” said Lily.
“Well he can complain… But it’s a fait accompli.”
“What if he starts adding things, or altering it? What if he insists on keeping his silly panties?”
“He won’t.”
“But if he does…?”
“If he does? Well, all right, Lily. Let’s find Conor a backup, shall we? The nuclear option, that will trump anything Archie can think of. Hmm. What shall we google….? Let’s try “outrageous girl’s dance costume”.
She tapped enter.
“Wow…,” said Lily. “Some of those are…weird…”
Laura scrolled through quickly, not wanting to show anything inappropriate. All at once Conor gasped. She looked up at him.
“What did you see?”
“Oh, nothing….” He blushed again.
Laura scrolled back. It must be something in pink… Ah! It wasn’t this, was it? Conor! Surely you don’t like that!”
Lily screamed. “He does, mummy! Look at his face!”
“N-no… I mean, I j-just noticed… I mean, I didn’t see it properly…”
But his gaze was fixed on a striking costume in pink latex, worn by a pretty lady… Wait a minute… Was it a lady…?
It was Laura’s turn to gasp. “Conor! That would be ideal for you. I mean, not for class, but….”
But Conor, cheeks burning, was already heading for the garden.
“I’m worried Bonny or Bouncer may be trying to escape… I’ll just go check…”
Laura and Lily looked from each other to the image on the screen and back again. “Naughty boy!” whispered Laura.
“Mummy,” Lily whispered back. “Get it for him!”
“I think it would be too expensive,” said Laura. “These things are not available off the peg. And seriously, when could he wear such a thing?”
“But he definitely liked it…”
“Yes, he did. So that’s what he’s into! Well, well. How interesting. We should bear it in mind.”
“I’d buy it for him, if I were rich…”
“Well it’s lucky for him you’re not, darling! Now go and play!”
-
36.
Laura got the ballet things on order straight away, then sent images to all the interested parties, which is to say the boys’ mothers, Elaine, Sarah and Bernadette. Then, after a moment’s reflection, and unable to resist the temptation to see what response it elicited, she sent to Brigit alone what she entitled “Conor’s fantasy”, explaining that his reaction seemed to indicate serious interest. Her response was almost immediate – a wide-eyed emoji, and the question “can I call?”
She was on the phone a minute later.
“Laura! Tell me, darling, I’m not wrong, is it? That’s a boy!”
“You’re not wrong, Brigit. I think that’s what caught his attention. It had a serious impact, I’m telling you.”
“And he liked the leotard?”
“I would say he loved it. It’s clear he’s into girlie stuff. He loves all the dressing up. But I didn’t realise he’d go for something like that. I guess there’s something inside which would like to be a bit sexy, too. Maybe that’s why he was jealous of Archie’s new panties. Anyway, what do you think of the boys new dance stuff? Actually it was Lily’s idea, but they’ll look sweet, one in pink and the other in yellow, with all the trimmings.”
“Ye’re a darlin’, Laura. Without your help I would never have known what was hidden away there inside the little spalpeen. When I think o’ those sewer rats he used to hang out with… Now look at him. He loves all the girls, an ‘specially your Lily. She the sweetest little thing, ain’t she?”
“Hmm, well, sometimes. But she’s got a pretty cute mind, Brigit. They’re outside playing, now, happy as a pair of clams.”
“Laura…?”
“Yes?”
“I think I should get him that outfit – the latex one. It’s his birthday in a few weeks. I’ve already got his present, but… D’you think…he’d be embarrassed…?”
“Definitely! If it came from you. I think that maybe a bit too much. But we could say it was from Sarah and Lily. If they gave it to him, they’d find a way to pass it off as unexceptional…normal. But it won’t be cheap. If you want to do it, let me go in with you. I’ll check out the price.”
“Won’t he grow out of it quickly?”
“I can get the next size up, or it may have to be made to measure. It’s his height which matters most. They may be able to build in some leeway. And its latex – it stretches. I’m sure it would be okay for a couple of years.”
“Where would he wear it though?”
“We could ask Bernadete if he could wear it for the summer show! No, I’m joking. With his friends. The girls will love it. And if Archie sees it, he’ll probably want one too! You’d better warn Myra!”
“All right… I know it’s silly. But I want him to have the things he likes now he’s turned his life around. Let’s go for it. I’ll leave the details to you, but let me know the damage and I’ll transfer the cash.”
Laura got off the phone.
“Well, well. You’re a lucky boy, Conor. Can’t wait to see you in that…!”
-
37.
But Conor wasn’t the only one getting a new outfit. Archie went home with Sarah on Friday evening to try on his new clothes, ready for his date with Patrick on Saturday. He was strangely subdued, no doubt wondering what he had got himself into. Sarah had laid his new outfit out on her bed, and left the room while he stripped off and got into his panties and tights. Then she was back. She helped him into a little white silky vest, fastened on his pink pleated skirt, and then handed him his purple top.
“You look gorgeous, Archie. I’m sure Patrick’s going to be so surprised. He’s only seen you in your Irish dancing dress.” She made him sit down on a chair, and knelt to put on his shoes. “Do you like your outfit?”
“It’s okay.”
“Look at your jacket! It goes so well with these colours.”
“I’m gonna ‘ave to tell ‘im…”
“Of course. Don’t worry.”
“Do you fink ‘e’ll be angry?”
“Of course not. He’s a really nice guy. I’m sure he’ll want to be your friend, whatever.”
“Do you really fink that?”
She knelt up, took his hands, and looked him in the eye. “I really do, Archie. I think Patrick is someone special. He liked you right from the start. I’m a good judge of people, and I would bet on it.”
“Y’know, Sarah, I ain’t never ‘ad a proper friend aside from Conor, an’ we don’t really talk about fings. We just like ‘ang out, an’ that’s it. Patrick seems like, sort of, different…”
“You like him too, right? Well then, trust him, and be honest. You have nothing to lose.”
Archie looked into the distance. “That’s right,” he murmured, “…nuffink to lose….”
“Now come downstairs and show mum. And I want to give you a little elocution lesson.”
“A what?”
“I want to help you to speak a bit better. To think before you speak, and make your words sound a bit nicer.”
D’you fink ‘e’ll fink I’m ignorant?”
“I don’t. But I want you to be more confident with people. And if you allow me, I’m going to help you.”
“Yes, please, Sarah…I allow you…”
She looked at him affectionately. He could seem so arrogant, but in reality that was just his way of hiding his lack of confidence. She was going to attempt to change all that…
-
38.
Sarah’s first elocution lesson consisted mainly in making him practise the “th” sound over and over, in sentences such as, “That thrush has the thinnest thighs in Southampton…” or “On Thursday I think I’ll wear my thong to the theatre…” It was an amusing, if not a totally successful exercise. But at least it made him more careful with his manner of speaking. It was in fact, the beginning of a transformation…
Patricia drove Archie to the park the next day. Sarah sat in the back, reassuring him.
“You look beautiful Archie – I mean Annabel. So when you break the news to him, he simply won’t be able to get angry with you – so don’t worry.”
“You do look amazing,” added Patricia. “Unless you tell him I’m pretty sure he won’t guess.”
They had gone to town, not only dressed him in the clothes, but found him a pair of silver clip-ons to match his necklace, made him up with peach lip gloss, a touch of blusher, a little pink glittery eye-shadow, and the tiniest bit of mascara. Sarah had donated a bottle of perfume she had been given on her last birthday.
“You can walk through the park knowing no-one will guess you’re a boy,” said Sarah. “So be confident. Take small steps, and take your time.”
“Yes – a lady should always be just a little bit late,” added Patricia, “so as not to seem forward or easy.”
“Okay, okay, you two. I’ll be fine. I ain’t – I mean… I’m not scared…”
Patricia dropped him off at the main gate, then drove up the hill and parked in the main car park. Sinead was waiting for them. There was no way she was being left out. Then the girls cut through the woods and came out on the higher side of the park. The café was on the far side, a single-story building surrounded by tables. They settled down on the grass. Sinead produced a miniature pair of binoculars. She handed them to Sarah.
“Have a look. Is that him on the left?”
“Yes…that’s him all right. And there’s Archie, crossing the park now. I wonder what’s going to happen…”
Archie could see him too. He looked cool and relaxed, which was not at all how he felt. His legs were wobbly, and the nearer he got the more he wished he had never agreed to meet. But there was no going back now. Patrick had spotted him, and was waving. He gave a little wave back. The next moment he was there. Patrick had stood up and pulled out a chair for him.
“Annabel…hi. I’m so glad you could make it… I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me…”
He seemed a lot less confident than he’d looked a moment ago.
“Hi Patrick. Nice of you to ask me, like…”
“No, not at all… You look amazing, by the way…” He was staring at him in a sort of daze. He seemed to have run out of things to say. Archie felt embarrassed. He also felt a fraud. Should he tell him straight away?
“Listen, Patrick…”
“Would you like a drink? And maybe a cake? Of course you would…”
“Sure… Anything…”
Anything to put off the fatal moment.
Patrick returned with two cans, straws and a plate of small cup-cakes. Despite their nervousness, they tucked in.
“What would you like to do today? We could go skating? Or whatever.”
“Can we just hang out here for a while?”
“Course! I’m not trying to be pushy…”
“I know you ain’t…aren’t.” He took a deep breath. Now was the time. Or was it?
“What do you…I mean, what school do you go to?”
“Oh, St. Mark’s. You may not know it. It’s out Onslow way. In fact I only happened to be on that bus because I was meeting a friend in town.”
“A friend?”
“Oh, just a guy I know from primary school. We were mates. Still are, sort of… But what about you? You do Irish dancing, right?”
“Yeah…yes. I only started a few weeks ago. It’s fun. It’s good exercise too.”
“I’d do it too, if I were a girl – I like those amazing dresses…”
“You don’t ‘ave to be a girl. Well, you wouldn’t get to wear a dress, of course…” He laughed. “Not unless you wanted to…”
“I wouldn’t mind. There’s too much regimentation these days. At my school… Well, that’s boring. But what I’m saying is, I think kids should be allowed to wear what they want.”
“I agree! Totally! It’s not like it was in Victorian times, right? Kids these days know a lot – more than their parents, ‘alf the time…”
“It’s true. Yet it’s the grown-ups that get to lay down the law about what children can do and what they can’t. When we grow up we’ll change all that. We’ll make the decisions about how we live our lives.”
“Yeah. And we’ll decide what they can do and what they can’t. Like when you’re over, I dunno, say forty… then no alcohol!”
“No television after nine at night!”
“No phone at the meal table!”
“No sex!”
They burst out laughing.
“They’re gonna suffer…” grinned Archie.
“Big time!”
“They seem to be getting on like a house on fire,” said Sarah, handing the binoculars to Patricia. “He can’t have told him yet…”
“I can’t believe it,” said Sinead. “I’ve never seen my brother actually hold a conversation with someone. With Conor it’s all grunts and monosyllables…”
“Look, they’re moving off,” hissed Patricia… Where are they going…? Damn – they’re coming this way. Quick, let’s get back in the woods…”
The three girls scrambled up the hill, ducked through the trees, and found a place they could watch the boys from unobserved. They were strolling across the park side by side, chatting happily. Patrick pointed up the hill, they walked up, found a flat place on the grass, and sat down. Sinead, Patricia and Sarah watched them for the next hour and a half, during which time all they did was sit and talk – talk incessantly. Once Patrick put his hand on Archie’s leg, once Archie took hold of Patrick’s arm. Sinead shook her head.
“Is that really our Archie? What has this bloke done to him?”
“This is boring – and I’m hungry,” said Sarah. “Can we…”
“Hold on. They’re moving,” interrupted Patricia.
The boys had got to their feet, and were walking quite swiftly towards the park gate.
“Quick! Back to the car,” said Patricia.
“No. Wait,” said Sinead. “Am I imagining things…?
Sarah gasped. “They’re…holding hands!”
All three of them stood staring for a moment. Then they bolted as one back to the car. But when they got back to the car park, they were just in time to see the two board a bus headed into town.
“Damn,” said Patricia.
“fuc-k,” said Sinead.
“I’m hungry,” whined Sarah.
-
39.
Archie’s childhood had not been any harder than millions of other children. He barely remembered his father, who had left when he was very young. He had a loving mother in Myra, but she had struggled to provide for her children and he had spent more time with his sister than with her. And Myra herself had never been encouraged to show her feelings. She had a rather brusque way of expressing her love, by brief cuddles, or a ruffle of the hair, or a sudden kiss on the cheek. This may be preferable to the fawning, possessive behaviour which passes for love in some mothers, but it lacked that thoughtful enquiring tenderness that encourages a child to open its heart to a parent. Often she got home from work late and exhausted. Archie had often already been put to bed by Sinead. And it was Sinead who got him dressed, gave him breakfast, and packed him off to school. Luckier parents may criticise Myra despite the pressures she had been under. Those who have experienced those pressures may be a little more sympathetic. Sometimes when money is short there is little time for the luxury of a beautiful relationship…
Patrick was quite a lonely child. He was rather too sensitive and responsible for the boys he mixed with at school. It was a private school, to which he had been sent in the hope of preparing him for a job that would, in the family tradition, pay him a lot of money. But he wasn’t terribly interested in money. He liked unfashionable things, like music and poetry. And he liked to read old novels and watch films where virtue was rewarded and justice was done – though preferably without violence.
There was something in Archie’s face that had attracted him from the first time he saw him. He saw a thin mask of dissatisfaction, of not-happiness, but in his eyes a desperate honesty and a great capacity for love, if only he could connect with a sympathetic spirit. And he felt he could be that sympathetic spirit.
For Archie his conversation with Patrick was a new and life-changing experience. No-one had ever asked him about himself, about how he felt, what made him happy, what made him unhappy, or what he would like to achieve. It was as if his new friend had opened the doors of his heart, and all the things that he had stored up in there, all the lumber piled up to the ceiling, had come tumbling out at once. That in itself would have been sufficient liberation. But in the process, and because he was essentially an unselfish soul, Archie also came to understand the importance of reciprocation, and stemming the tide of his revelations, he began to ask Patrick about his life. And in that one afternoon, both lives were altered forever, and a friendship formed that would never be dissolved.
Archie didn’t get home till nine, and when he did, he found not only his sister, but Sarah and Patricia waiting for him. His eyes were sparkling as he came into the kitchen, where they were sitting.
“Hi, sis. Hi guys. What you doin’ here tonight?”
“Waiting for you, dumbbell,” said Sarah, rudely. “Where have you been?”
“Oh…well, we went ice-skating, then we got a pizza at the rink and sort of, you know, sat around…”
“And did you tell him?”
“Tell him?”
“That you’re a boy!”
“Oh…no…not exactly…”
“Not exactly?”
No, then. No, I didn’t tell ‘im.”
“Why not?”
“It don’t matter. I mean it doesn’t matter cos…he’s my friend. That’s what matters…”
“He’s right,” said Sinead. “That is what matters. Agreed, Pat?”
“Totally.”
“But they were holding hands!”
Archie stared at Sarah. “You were spying on us?”
“Oh. No, we just happened to see…”
“You were! What, all of you?”
The older girls looked guilty.
“We just wanted to make sure you were okay, that’s all,” said Sinead, quietly. “You said yourself you didn’t know how he was going to react…”
Archie looked hurt for a moment. Then his face cleared.
“Yeah, I can understand that. Anyway, Patrick’s great. I’ve never met no-one like ‘im in my life. I don’t know ’ow long we can be friends, but I’m gonna stay bein’ a girl for the time bein’. But I can’t carry on wearin’ the same outfit, so tomorrow I’m goin’ out to get some new clothes. Could you help me, sis?”
-
Please, please continue the story, Pink Panties! You can't just leave us stranded half way through the story. So please continue.
-
40.
They went shopping the very next day, since Archie was meeting Patrick again the following Tuesday evening. If Archie had ever felt any embarrassment at dressing as a girl, it seemed to have evaporated, and now he was intent only on impressing his new friend. Sinead drove them all to the shops.
“What sort of thing have you got in mind, Archie?” she asked.
“I dunno. I dunno what there is, really. And I never look at what girls are wearing, partic’larly.”
“Maybe something a little more grown up?”
“Patrick’s what, a year older than you? Two?”
“Two, yeah. What I wore yesterday weren’t partic’larly cool, but he seemed to like it.”
“When are you meeting him exactly?”
“After school Tuesday.”
“After school?”
“Yeah….shit!”
“Yes. School uniform. You’re going to need a girl’s uniform.”
“But then how…”
“You’ll have to go to school as a girl!” screamed Sarah.
“You’ll have to wait for everyone to leave and then change – and hope no-one sees you.”
“Too risky,” said Patricia. “Look – all you need is a skirt and white socks, right. After lessons go to the toilets, put the socks on under your trousers, put the skirt over your trousers but hold it up round your waist, then all you have to do is find somewhere to take off your trousers, right?”
“He’s gonna need panties, too,” put in Sarah, matter-of-factly. Pretty pink panties, with bows and stuff, in case Patrick gets a flash…”
“Don’t worry, Archie. He won’t see them,” reassured Patricia. “But yes, you’ll need panties, all right.”
“I’ve got some already for Irish dancing…”
“We’ll get you nicer ones than those,” smiled Sinead. “Where are you meeting him?”
“In a restaurant…Luigi’s…”
“Who’ll be there first?”
“Oh – me. He’s got to come from out of town…”
“Okay. If he’s not there, go into the toilet and change. Sorted.”
“Yeah, great! Perfec’! But I can still have some new casual clothes, right?”
“Yes, of course,” said Sinead. “I’m thinking of one cool outfit, with black leggings and ankle boots and a ripped Goth T-shirt and a little leather jacket. Very cool with some black lipstick and eyeliner. And then something more youthful, like a short cotton dress with ankle socks, maybe, and…”
“What? I’m not sure about that…”
“Well, you don’t know what his tastes are yet? And in any case, dressing young will be good practice for Saturday!”
“Oh, shut up, sis! Did you have to mention that?”
“Ooh, I’d almost forgotten!” cried Sarah. “Do you know we saw Millie and her mum out shopping for baby clothes?”
“We don’t know that, Sarah,” said Patricia.
“I bet they were…probably nappies and bibs and plastic pants…”
“Shut up!”
“Shh, you two. Look, we’re here. Let’s work together, shall we?”
They spent all the morning buying stuff. As Sarah said, it was even more fun than buying for themselves. Archie was in and out of the changing room so many times he lost count. But at last they were satisfied, and repaired to the store café for lunch. They reviewed their purchases. Apart from the casual - a pair of girl’s jeans and a few girl’s T-shirts - they had ended up with four distinct outfits, which could roughly be classified as cool, cute, and juvenile. For cool there was the Goth, for juvenile the little girl – pretty summer dress, white tights, sequin bomber jacket, crisp hair ribbons – and for plain cute a couple of things in between, cute but elegant at the same time, things a thirteen-year-old girl would be comfortable wearing.
Surprisingly, Archie had seemed to favour the party dress end of the “cute but elegant” spectrum rather than the casual end. His eyes sparkled when he saw some of the lovely glittery things on the rack, and the girls looked at each other with raised eyebrows as he fondled the various textures.
“Ooh, sis… Feel this velvet… It’s so soft, but stretchy too. Do you fink I have the figure to wear somefing like that…?
“You’ve got a great figure, Archie. You could wear any of those.”
“Really? You reckon? Do you fink…I mean, do you think…Patrick would like me in that…?”
“You’d be irresistible! But it’s quite posh. I mean, it’s a party dress really. Have it if you want, but you’ll need something a bit more casual too, but different from your first outfit. What about… What about something like that…”
She pointed at a display opposite; a short flared black faux-leather skirt paired with a shiny red stretch satin crop top with a high neck and long sleeves.
“We could get you some black stockings and red panties to go with that…”
“And maybe some shoes with a heel?” suggested Patricia. “A low heel. But he should start learning to wear heels, don’t you think?”
“It’s quite, well…sexy…” said Sarah.
“Exactly,” said her sister. “Patrick will love it, won’t he? If he doesn’t, he’s not the boy you’ve described to me.”
Sarah laughed. “You’re right. If he fancied Archie in his Irish dancing costume…”
“Then he’s going to love him in this!”
Archie blushed slightly looking at the ensemble. The thought of merely putting it on gave him butterflies. Imagine wearing it out! Imagine Patrick’s face…
“But…can I have the party dress too? The blue velvety one? It’s so pretty…”
“Gosh, Archie, you’re really into it, aren’t you,” grinned Sarah. “Fashion, I mean,” she added, not wishing to break the spell. “You’ve got great taste.”
“I think we did really well,” said Patricia, taking a sip of coffee. “Archie? Are you happy with your purchases?”
“Yeah. I love all of them. But don’t tell Conor, will you? I don’t want ‘im tryin’ to outdo me some’ow…”
“Don’t worry, we won’t,” grinned Sarah. “By the way, you won’t have to compete with him at Irish dancing any more. You’re getting new summer costumes and their both the same – just different colours.”
“Really? What are they?”
“You’ll see. It’s a surprise… Guys? Can we go? I want to get home so we can get Archie to try on all his new duds again…”
-
THANK YOU!!