“Good!” The tall young man said as Luke effortlessly lobbed the ball back to him. “One more, come on.”

“Sure,” Luke replied, stopping the ball dead with his feet before chipping it back into his training partner’s hands.

“You sure you’ve never played on a team before?” Luke’s training partner, a young man named Darren, asked in his thick Yorkshire accent as he and Luke followed the rest of the team off of the pitch.

“You know,” Luke said to his sister as they waited in line to have their photos taken, “I kinda expected my first day at uni to have a bit more fun and a less, you know, paperwork.”

“Or even a bit more learning,” Lucy laughed as she tried her hardest not to fidget.

“It’s weird how this has become just, like, normal again,” Lee says as we pull on our coats and head out of the flat, locking the door behind us as we go. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love university, but you know? I kinda, like, got used to it being summer, having all the time to myself… Am I making any sense?”

“Maybe a little,” I reply, smirking as my flat mate rolls his eyes. “But I kinda get what you mean, I think.” Even though my summer was a hell of a lot busier than yours…

Luke and Lucy had their first meeting with their gender identity counsellor just over a month after confessing their feelings to each other, and just a few days before they started college. As they had done their whole lives, the twins attended the counselling session together, despite the counsellor's offer of separate appointments. During the session, Luke and Lucy told the counsellor everything they had told Dr Sutton, and at the end felt relieved to get their frustrations and stresses off their chest, and happy at the knowledge that their next meeting was only a few days away.

During the summer of 2013, before the twins' second year of secondary school, their parents had bought them each a new school uniform- and as before, Paul had bought Luke's uniform online, while Lucy had to endure a shopping trip with her mother and grandmother.

"Okay then," Luke said confidently as he looked up at his twin sister. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Lucy replied. "We do this together, right?"

"Aye, always," Luke said, giving his sister a gentle pat on the back as the two of them walked toward the imposing main gate of Durham University...

----------

“Me next! Me next!” Dorothy squeaks, bouncing up and down with excitement as I put the finishing touches to the pink lipstick I’ve applied to Cassie’s mouth.

“Okay, okay, calm down!” I giggle, before kneeling down next to the six-year-old girl and carefully applying the sweet-tasting cosmetic to her lips. “Now remember, this is a one-time treat, okay? And you have to wash it off before you go to bed.”

“Aww…” Dorothy pouts, making me giggle.

“And no kissing Eddy either!” I chastise. “You’re lucky that mum and dad agreed to this!”

“Umm, okay,” the young man says. “It is kinda late, though.”

“I know, but this won’t take long,” I say. “Are- is anyone else here, are we alone?”

“Umm, yeah,” comes the reply as I sit down and try to calm myself. “Do you want anything to drink?”

“Just- just water will be fine, thanks,” I reply. And I’ll try not to tip it all over myself to calm down, I think to myself.

“Okay,” my host says as he returns from the kitchen and hands me my drink. “So… What’s up?”

I take a deep breath as I stand on my mark at the end of the street, flanked by four other young women the same age as me. We’re all dressed more or less the same- either loose summer dresses or (in my case at least) a floaty tank top and a short denim skirt, along with strappy summer sandals and thick make-up. I know I look gorgeous and I know I look effortlessly, perfectly feminine, but I’m still nervous- after all, there’s a lot riding on today, and the tiniest flaw in my look could ruin everything.

“Hey, it’s Sonic the Hedgehog!” Stuart says as I enter his music room, earning laughter from our friends and an eye roll from me.

“Funny man,” I snort.

“Yeah, I thought so too,” Stuart says with a smug grin.

“And how long am I gonna have that nickname for, anyway?” I moan as I pick up my bass guitar and start tuning it. “I washed the dye out days ago…”

“More’s the pity,” Mikey laughs.

“I’m sorry sir, but I’m not allowed to discuss that,” Sophie said as she poured the passenger his coffee. “Will there be anything else, sir?”

“Non, that will be all,” the middle-aged businessman replied in his refined Parisian accent. Sophie dutifully bobbed a curtsey and dragged her trolley back to the kitchen, where her supervisor was waiting with a sympathetic smile on her face.

“I couldn’t help but hear that, honey,” Annabelle said softly. “You got another one of those questions?”

I fidget nervously in my seat as I watch the drama unfold in front of me. I’m sat in an audience not unlike the spectators at a Roman Amphitheatre, only instead of watching two gladiators fight it out, we’re enthralled by the sight of two middle-aged men sat opposite each other. One of the men is one of the most famous (and infamous) television presenters in the country, while the other is my father- and the prize on offer is far greater than any ancient gladiator could ever have dreamed of.

“See you tomorrow!” Melissa giggles as she gives me, Cameron, Petra and Lydia a hug each as we head out of school and into the car park. Cameron takes her goodbye hugs next, then Petra, and finally Lydia turns to me with a devilish grin and gives me a long, soft kiss on my lips, which attracts a lot of attention and good-natured jeering from nearby students and a lot of disapproving stares from nearby teachers!

“How’s the fit?” the shop clerk asks me as I smooth the long, flowing dress over my narrow waist and smooth, curved hips.

“Be honest, Laura,” mum advises. “If there are any problems, you need to let us know now as there won’t be another chance before Saturday, and you’ll be in that dress for a long-“

“I know, I know,” I interrupt. “It’s still pinching a bit around my armpits…”

“Okay, we can do something about that,” the clerk says. “Are there any other places it’s too tight?”

“Nope,” I reply, smirking as I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

“Ten!” The assembled women shouted, barely making themselves heard over the roar of the nightclub. “Nine! Eight! Seven! Six!”

“Aw, girlies!” Ellie squeaked excitedly as the countdown neared its conclusion.

I let out a long, tired sigh and elegantly lower myself onto the front passenger seat of dad’s car, straightening my short grey skirt and thick black tights before fastening my seatbelt.

“Oh, cheer up,” dad urges with a teasing grin. “Could be worse, it could be Monday!”

“It IS Monday,” Bryony reminds us from her seat directly behind me.

“Oh yeah,” dad chuckles. “Well- just cheer up, then. Especially you, Ash- just a few more months then you’ll finally be free!”

“Aww, come on babe…” Kain moans as I pull my skirt and my top back on. “I’ve barely seen you this holiday…”

“I know, I know,” I sigh as I lean down to give the tall, semi-naked boy a gentle kiss. “Trust me, I’d much rather stay here all day. And all night, hehe!” I grin devilishly as my boyfriend giggles nervously at the prospect of us spending the night together. “But, you know, my parents would just totally flip out…” Well, mother and soon to be stepfather, I think to myself. God knows what my biological father would think- and god’s probably the only one who cares, either.

Not for the first time this week, I’m woken up by the sound of loud music emanating from the living room. As I have for the last few days, I yawn, stretch and swing my tired body out of bed, pulling on my fluffy dark red dressing gown before padding through to the living room to find my girlfriend gently swaying to Three Times a Lady. I let out a gentle sigh as I encircle her tiny waist from behind and gently sway along with her, which elicits a contented sigh from the petite blonde girl.

“I still say you were robbed,” I say, making my lover giggle.

“Well,” Jamie said as the end credits rolled on the cartoon. “That was - that was different.”

“Yeah,” Charlotte concurred. “I mean, I’m used to seeing myself on TV, but - yeah. Not too sure about that.”

“But I’m sure the kids will love it,” Hannah said. “And there’s no arguing with the message, right?”

“Definitely,” Jamie said. “If we help only one person with this cartoon, it’ll be worth it.” Much like the main Angels show, Jamie thought to herself as she and her friends filed out of the makeshift cinema.

Angels assemble!

Charlotte: the leader, dedicated to using her wealth and fame to help those less fortunate.

Jamie: the social media star, dedicated to proving that anyone can be the person they were born to be, regardless of how they were born.

Hannah: the supermodel from the lower-class background, dedicated to proving that a person is worth more than their background.

Krystie: the dance teacher, dedicated to bringing out the inner beauty in everyone.

Mary: the mother of the group, dedicated to protecting those who struggle to protect themselves.

I let out a long, loud sigh of relief as the bell rings to signify the end of yet another school day. Two years ago, I'd have given anything to be able to sit in a classroom dressed the way I am right now, but today I am almost desperate to get home and strip off the stiff grey skirt and black tights that are covering my lower body.

"Happy birthday dear Robbie..." The modest crowd cheered as the blond-haired boy cringed. "Happy birthday to you!" Robbie grinned widely as he leaned down and blew out the sixteen candles on his plain chocolate cake, before grimacing as he braced himself for the inevitable.

“Okay, then,” I say to myself, before taking a deep breath and walking through the front door of the large, imposing building. For the first time in two years, I’m entering a place of education that’s based in London- only unlike that last time, I’m doing so on my own terms.