Autumn in Ridgewick was known locally as "The Breezy Season," two chilly months of clouds, mistrals and dancing leaves. The winds blowing in off the Bucknell River held a promise of snow this time of year, whispering through the trees like the breath of winter. The days were usually mild, but temperatures dropped rapidly toward the end of the day.

Jessie's legs were buzzing with gooseflesh by the time she reached O'Connell Park. She held her dress down against the invading breeze with one hand. She could always count on an errant gust to lift her skirt an inch or two whenever she stepped out the front door: there were very few things as embarrassing as having her panties revealed to the entire world; all of her friends agreed on that point. Speaking of which, she knew she had to make tracks; Lisa and Debbie couldn't wait forever, they all had to get in a good hour of playtime before dinnertime.

O'Connell Park was a football oval on the outskirts of Ridgewick; the River lay just beyond a slight rise. There was a small playground on the other side of the playing field; Jessie could see her friends rocking sedately back and forth on the swings. Both girls were wearing baggy jeans, faded sweat shirts and Dodgers baseball caps, their ponytails pulled through the backstrap. As long as she'd known them, Jessie had never seen either wearing a dress. Shorts, yes, knee-pants sometimes, but never anything even vaguely resembling a skirt. Neither were tomboys so far as she could tell. It was simply the way they dressed.

Well, to each their own, as her sainted mother often said.

Jessie cut across the oval, where an exceedingly violent game of football was in full swing. She knew many of the boys by sight now; most of them went to St Patrick's over on Lincoln Road. Lean Irish lads with chestnut hair and about six zillion freckles. The majority were Jessie's age, though she'd noticed a few older guys chasing the ball lately; kids from St Paddy's seventh grade, she judged. Seemed to be more every week.

She skirted around the game, ignoring the covert boy-glances, and headed towards the playground. Her friends were still seated on the swings, idly dragging their feet through the turf. Noting her approach, Debbie called her name and raised a hand in greeting. Jessica waved back, careful to retain her grip on the wayward skirt.

There was a low chain-link fence dividing the oval from the playground. The opening was on the far side of the park, and Jessie had no intention of walking half a mile to use it.

"Hi," Lisa called from the swings, "didn't think you were coming."

"I got out late today," Jessie replied, setting a hand on the fence-rail. The back of her frock filled up like a sail as she climbed over, although she managed to preserve her modesty by clamping down on her drifting hemline. Quite a trick, considering how short the dress was. Had to be careful; these wintry updraughts loved to catch you unawares.

Clearing the fence, she walked over to the swings and took her place between her two friends. All three began swinging in unison, gradually increasing their velocity. Overhead, the endless blue sky seemed to revolve above them.

"Late?" Debbie asked doubtfully, "you in dutch with your teacher?"

"No, we had dance practice after school." Jessie straightened her legs, pointing her feet towards the sky. Her dress began a steady hike along her thighs, inching its way up to her panties.

"You take DANCE CLASS?" Lisa asked incredulously, as if this was some momentous revelation. She looked genuinely thunderstruck, as if someone had told her that the tooth fairy wasn't real.

"Yeah, every Thursday afternoon", Jessie replied, arching her back for greater height, "my Mom says I have to go. Says it's important." Another inch, two. A rush of air slipped around her thighs, lightly flickering her hemline

"Why?" Lisa, again.

"She says all girls need to know how to dance," Jessie shrugged. She swung faster now, long blond pony tail trailing out behind. The dress had crept up nearly three inches, making her bare legs look impossibly long and slender.

"So, what are you learning?" Debbie wanted to know.

"A lot of things," Jessie answered, "tap, ballroom, modern jazz." Her skirt slid one final, teasing inch to the top of her thighs. The hem was now quivering at the very edge of her panties. Jessie glanced down, feeling the wind gathering strength at the tip of her underpants.

"What about ballet?" Lisa inquired, eyes still goggling with disbelief.

"Well...not so much now," Jess replied offhand, "I did ballet when I was little, before we moved to Ridgewick." The edge of her hem began to rise, just the barest fluttering of pink cotton. The suspense was unbearable: her underwear was about to go on display. The dress was going to blow up around her hips, everyone in the park was going to see her panties. It was unavoidable, inescapable.

"Hey, do you have to wear a leotard or anything?" Debbie inquired, showing an unexpected interest in all things girly.

"Sometimes. But usually, we just practice in whatever we're wearing," Jessie explained, soaring ever higher. Her tummy seemed to be swarming with butterflies, her heart pounded in her chest like a triphammer. The lining of her dress flickered once, twice, settled - then flickered again. The capricious Autumn winds played around her thighs, chasing their way up with icy, tickling fingers. She clung to the swing-chains with both hands, moving way too fast to let go and hold her dress down.

"Do you have to put on a show?" Debbie asked. Jessie gave a start, almost nipping her tongue despite herself.

"At the end of the year, maybe," she affirmed, wheeling off into the wild blue yonder, "we have a school concert around Christmas." A cold thrill ran the length of Jessie's spine: her skirt was dancing a fraction of an inch above her thighs, but the lace trim of her panties remained just out of sight.

"We're having a school concert in SEPTEMBER," Lisa cut in, running off at the mouth like a country housewife, "DEBBIE'S going to be in it, she'll be doing this ROUTINE with her GYM CLUB - you know she does GYMNASTICS, don't you Jess?" She looked over at her friend, eyebrows raised expectantly.

Jessie opened her mouth to answer - and the front of her dress ballooned up like a huge pink bubble. A frigid gust of air blasted up her thighs, inflating her skirt and chilling her belly. So abrupt, so unexpected, so breathtakingly cold. Jessie gasped with shock, watching the dress bulge and ripple literally right before her eyes. The hem flew up past her waist, offering the world a heart-stopping view of her silky white underpants.

Vaguely aware that Lisa was still prattling on about the school concert, Jessica streaked forward on the swing, her panties fully visible clear up to her belly button. The breath caught at the back of Jessie's throat, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. This had never happened before, not in all the months she'd been hanging out here with her friends. Her eyes bulged in shock as the bubble continued to swell.

Stifling a little scream, Jessie began kicking her legs in a vain attempt to deflect the breeze. Needless to say, her plan immediately backfired, revealing more of her virginal white panties to the world. Lisa and Debbie started laughing as her frock inflated towards the heavens. They both loved Jessie to pieces, but it was utterly hilarious, nonetheless. This was why they always wore jeans to the playground!

Blood roaring in her ears, Jessica swung in a great, looping arc, biting her lip to hold back her screams. The wind was still picking up, threatening to peel her dress off completely. Her mind's eye magnified the spectacle as only a child's imagination can: she could almost see the floral pattern sewn into the front of her snowy white undies, glimmering in the afternoon sun. It seemed to go on forever, the moment spinning out to eternity -

Then the bubble finally popped.

Jessie's billowing dress collapsed in on itself, the front turning inside-out for good measure. The wind pasted the skirt against her torso, leaving her panties completely uncovered. Hair flailing in the gale, Jess fought an impulse to lower her hemline to a more demure position. She felt as if everybody in Ridgewick was staring at her underwear.

Still giggling at Jessie's discomfort, Lisa turned her feet towards the ground and allowed herself to deccelerate. Debbie followed after a few moments, matching her speed with the ease of long practice. The two girls leapt gracefully off the swings, touching earth in perfect synchronicity. They turned back to look at their pretty blond playmate, still struggling to conceal her shimmering nylon briefs. All three had lasped into good natured laughter.

To be continued

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