10.
One of Sarahâs best friends at Irish dancing was a little girl named Lily. She was a year younger than Sarah â still in junior school, in fact â and appeared rather shy and naĂŻve, 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 conversationâŚ
So when the boys showed up obediently in the playground that day, Sarahâs plans were nearing fruition. She was with a small group of friends when they approached.
âErâŚSarah?â began Conor, anxiously, looking at the friendsâ faces to try to divine if Sarah had spilled any beans.
âYes? What do you want?â
âYou erâŚwanted to see us?â
The friends looked from the boys to Sarah and back at the boys with open mouths.
âOh, did I? Oh, yes. Go and get us some sweets, would you. Those mixed bars in bags. Two should be enough.â
They stood awkwardly by, waiting for her to give them some money.
âWell, what are you waiting for?â
âOhâŚnothingâŚâ
They moved away.
âQuickly, please!â
They ran.
âYou got any money, Conor?â
âA few quid. Maybe sheâll pay us back afterwards.â
âAnd maybe she wonât. Is this what itâs gonna be like?â
When they returned with the sweets, the friendsâ surprise had turned to amusement. Sarah took them without a word, then, as they retreated, she called after them.
âWait for me after school. I want you to carry my artwork.â
One of the girls burst out laughing.
âHave you got something on them, Sarah? Theyâre like the toughest first years in the school.â
âNot any more.â
âSo what is it?â
âLove potion. I gave them love potion and now they adore me, and theyâll do anything I tell them.â
âNo, really. What do you know?â
âI told you. Anyway, what do you care? As long as they stop bossing everyone in year one about, thatâs all that matters, isnât it?â
âI think youâve hypnotised them.â
âYeah. With my beauty.â
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.
âHi Sarah. Hi Archie. And you must be Conor. Would you like some pizza?â
Over supper Patricia asked them how they liked Irish dancing. They pretended enthusiasm.
âIâd be happy to give you lessons, if it would help,â said Patricia. âI know Sinead would too.â
âItâs all right, sis. Iâve got it covered.â
Conor, who didnât relish the prospect of being ordered about by Sarah, was inclined to accept the offer.
âThatâs very kind of you, Patricia. Sarah says youâre very good at Irish dancing. Maybe you could show us some steps, if you have time.â
âWell we can all help, Iâm sure. Sarah tells me you have to be ready for the Christmas show.â
âErâŚâ
âThat would be amazing if you could improve enough in three months. It is possible, you know.â
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.
âHereâs the money for the sweets. Course I wasnât going to make you pay for them. But I wanted you to understand your position. Youâre going to be my friends, now, so youâll want to be nice to me. Archie, youâre 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.â
âAnd what about me?â
âYou Conor, will also have a personal trainer. Tomorrow at practice I will introduce you to Lily.â
âLily?â
âYou saw her on Tuesday. I have spoken to her, and she will undertake your tuition. She is the same standard as me.â
âWhich one was she?â
âSmallish girl, blue glasses.â
âHer? She looked about eight!â
âSheâs ten. Actually less than a year younger than me, though sheâs still in juniors. Sheâs very nice, though sometimes a bit shy. So I want to make it clear that youâre going to be very, very nice to her. In fact, while sheâs teaching you, you could actually be helping her at the same time.â
âHowâs that?â said Conor, sourly.
âHelping to build her confidence. People sometimes give her a hard time because sheâs little and a bit naĂŻve. Sheâll look up to you, so treat her with respect. Donât disappoint or upset her, or Iâll hear about it and Iâll drop you right in it. Understand?â
âAll right. Course I wonât do anything to hurt her. Donât worry. Iâll look after her, and no-one will dare upset her when Iâm around, see?â
âThank you.â
Excellent, thought Sarah. I thought the role of protector might appeal to him. Sort of bodyguard. Sheâll have him wound round her little finger in no timeâŚ
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 Lilyâs for training. On Wednesdays Archie would be at Sarahâs. 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.
âWell done, boys. If you keep attending lessons regularly youâll soon be proficient. I also hear you asked Sarah and Lily to give you extra training. That shows real dedication. Itâs a pleasure to have you on board!â
âThank you, Mrs Daly,â replied Conor. âWe will try hard, I promise you, though Iâm sure we wonât be good enough for the Christmas show â not this year, anyway.â
âOh, I wouldnât say that⌠Itâs not impossible. Itâs a target you should aim at, anyway. Itâs 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 â oh, and we sell tickets to the general public, too. And the girls like to bring all their friends from schoolâŚâ
Those last words froze the boysâ blood. They looked at each other aghast. It dawned on them that they were on a hiding to nothing. If they didnât make it Sarah would release the video. If they did... then theyâd be performing in front of an audience!
âMrs Daly?â
âYes, Archie? Say we did get as good as the girlsâŚwould we get toâŚâ
âYes?â
âWould be get promoted to white panties?â
âWell, I canât promise, but Iâd definitely consider itâŚâ
âThank you, miss.â
âSo Iâll see you on Saturday morning, boys.â
âSo itâs not a question of if, but a question of whenâŚâ groaned Archie.
âItâs either the video, or the showâŚâ
âItâs either us falling about like twats in pink panties, or possiblyâŚâ
âActually dancing well, maybe in white onesâŚâ
âI go for the second option,â said Archie. âThat video⌠it leaves nothing to the imagination⌠And it'll be there forever.â
âI agree. Weâre going to have to practise hard. Itâs our only chance.â
As they stood there commiserating, Sarah approached with Lily.
âHi boys. This is Lily.â
âHi, Lily,â said Archie, cheerfully.
âHi, Lily,â said Conor, despondently. Sarah gave him a threatening look.
âI mean, itâs really great to meet you. Sarah has told us all about you. Er⌠She says youâve offered to help meâŚâ
Lily looked at him shyly through her blue plastic spectacles. âYes, if youâd like⌠Iâm not very good, butâŚâ
âOh, I thought you were really good even the first time I saw you,â said Conor, drawing an approving smile from Sarah. âI wish I could be as good as that one dayâŚâ
âLily would like you to go and meet her mum tonight, and have supper at her house,â said Sarah.
âAnd meet my bunnies,â added Lily, excitedly.
âYour bunnies?â
âYes, Conor. I have two bunnies, Bonny and Bouncer. Bonnyâs a girl and Bouncerâs 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 â carrots are their favourites, but they also eatâŚâ
âWell, Lily, Conor will be able to come and see them now, wonât he?â
âYes, Sarah. Heâll like them Theyâre very friendly, Conor.â
Conor had had other plans, but he remembered Sarahâs admonition, and said he was looking forward to meeting them. And her mother, of course.
âIâll take care of Archie,â said Sarah, in a tone that precluded argument. âYou can come to mine, Archie.â
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.
âCome on, Conor,â she said, taking his hand. We mustnât miss the bus.â
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.
âLittle lovebirds.â
âGonna start snogging soonâŚâ
âAinât she a bit young for you, mate?â
ââOw old you, little girl?â
âLook, âeâs blushingâŚâ
âIâm not! Leave us alone!â
âOoh, âeâs gettingâ all âot anâ bovvered!â
âWatcher gonna do, dic-kâead?â
And so it went on, until it was time for the yobs to get off. Conor was fuming. If he hadnât been with Lily, he would have started a fight. But considering her apparent delicacy, he didnât 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.
âBye bye, dic-kfaceâŚâ
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.
âGet off me, you fuc-kinâ idiot!â
âIt werenât me â that little bitch fuc-kinâ tripped me!â
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.
âOi suggest you two get orf, before oi âas ter frow yer orf⌠Anâ yer can apologise to the littaw gelâŚâ
The tripper thought about it, observed the size of the speakerâs fist, and made his decision.
âErâŚyeahâŚsorryâŚerâŚmiss. I must âave trippedâŚâ
âThatâs better. Now...piss orf!â
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. âSorry abaht that, darlinâ. You awright?â
âThank you sir. Yes. Thanks to you.â
Conor looked at her sideways. Surely there was more to this Lily than met the eyeâŚ