First stop was the library. We went upstairs and turned right. Just down the corridor, there was a door on the right. Tim swung it open revealing a vast library. There were rows of shelves packed with books.

"Where's the librarian," queried Emma.

"There isn't one," answered Andrea. "Just get the books you want and scan them at the library computer. They will be booked out to you. There is no maximum lending period. If someone is interested in a title that is out, they can look up who has the book. You can perform a subject or title search through any computer terminal or your PDA."

I looked across at Helen, who had a big grin on her face. It was obvious that the love of books was another thing we shared. I wonder if there were any signed copies on these shelves. It wouldn't be normal for a school library but this school was nothing ordinary.

We came back out of the library and went through a door on the opposite side of the corridor. Here was a small theatre with a stage. The stage was setup ready for this afternoon orchestra practice.

"Next we go downstairs and onto the sports hall."

We went out of the backdoor and in the distance, we saw a modern building. We strolled along the tarmac path, the summer sun beating down on us. As we strolled along the other six in our year streamed ahead, eager to find out what facilities were there.

"Andrea, do you mind if I ask what your surname is?" I asked, remembering how Yvonne had refused to say it.

"I take it you're the David that Wendy and Yvonne talked about?"

I nodded.

"And since you are glued together, I presume you're Helen?"

Helen nodded and with a smile asked, "Are we famous?"

"Only for noticing things that year one student's shouldn't notice. Is it true that Rachel had to tell you everything?"

"Well if you mean the reasons behind the specialist skills and never being able to see our family again, then yes."

"You certainly know how to get yourselves a reputation," grinned back Andrea. "I've changed my surname, it is now Harper."

"You can't be sixteen yet, so you can't be married," surmised Helen.

"No, we went through a commitment ceremony. A lot of students, when they realise they are going to be with their partner for life go through this. Anyway, even if we were sixteen we couldn't get married. I'm not allowed to have my SRS till I'm eighteen."

"I'm sorry Andrea," I apologised. "I didn't realise"

"No need to apologise, I take it as a complement."

As we approached the sport hall, I noticed to the left of it were two tennis courts. There was a game of doubles going on We were soon inside the air-conditioned building. There we were shown the swimming pool, squash courts, fitness room and main sport hall. In the sport hall, there was badminton and table tennis.

"All the equipment needed such as racquets and balls can be found in the equipment room," explained Tim.

We strolled back to the main house for the orchestra practice. With only five minutes before we had to be there, we decided to be diligent students and get there early.

We entered through the side entrance and onto the stage. I said thank you and goodbye to Tim and Andrea as they wondered off. Since I had left my old school, the instrument that I borrowed from them had been returned. As expected, Mr Hobson was waiting with the instruments.

"Can all year one students please gather round," he requested.

When all eight of us were assembled, he started issuing the instruments. "Lewis, this is for you," Mr Hobson said handing a box to him.

Lewis looked confused, as he wasn't to play and instrument. He was to learn to be a conductor. For the next few weeks, he would observe while being taught the skill of conducting. Lewis opened the leather case and inside, cushioned by velvet padding, were two conductor batons.

Lewis picked each one up. "This second one is much heavier than the first", he commented.

"The light one is made of white oak and is a good starting baton," explained Mr Hobson. "The heavier one is one you would use at a concert; it is made out of an exotic wood called Cocobolo.

"I've never heard of that wood," admitted Lewis.

A middle-aged woman was walking across from the other side of the stage. She hurried along when she saw Mr Hobson beckon her across.

"It proper name is dalbergia retusa and can be found only in Central America with the best quality in Costa Rica. That's enough geography for now. Now let me introduce you to the schools music teacher, Mrs Russell."

"Hi all," she said. "Welcome to the school orchestra. I have looked over all you musical records and think, with practice, that you will all fit in well."

Mrs Russell then turned to me and said, "Are you Lewis?"

"No, I'm David," I said with a smile, "This is Lewis." I pointed to Lewis who gave a small wave.

"Oh," she flustered. "I'm sorry."

"Well Lewis," she said to the correct boy. "I've put a seat by the conductors stand so you can observe me closer. I'll try and explain why I do things as we go along."

The group broke up as we checked out our instruments. Just then, a young girl I'd not seen before came in; she was carrying an instrument case. A bit behind her were Rachel and an older looking woman.

"Helen," I said in a low voice, "do you think that is Jill and the older woman Julia?"

"I'm not sure, but more than likely," she replied. Helen then stood up and said to the girl who was now near us, "Hi, are you Jill?"

The girl stopped and looked surprised, "Yes, are you one of the new students?"

"Yes, we arrived yesterday. I'm Helen and this is David," she introduced. "I play the bassoon and David plays the horn."

Rachel caught up, "Julia, meet David and Helen."

"THE David and Helen? This is David who has been assigned to me to teach about computer system?"

"THE David and Helen?" I asked. "Rachel, have you been talking behind our backs?"

"No David, I just informed Julia that you surmised certain information and you both had been told certain things."

The way Rachel talked I presumed that Jill didn't know things but Julia did.

"Jill, are you stopping for something to eat afterwards?" Helen asked.

"Probably," Jill replied looking at Julia. "I normally sit with Julia on the guest table."

"You're our age, aren't you? Rachel, Julia, would it be possible for Jill to sit with us?" I asked.

"Ooh, can I Dad?" Jill asked excitedly.

Julia coughed a warning cough. "Sorry Julia, but can I?" asked Jill again

"I have no objection," Julia said, "but it isn't up to me. Ask Mr Hobson."

Jill skipped off to find the headmaster.

"I'll see you on tomorrow," said Julia as she went off with Rachel.

Mrs Russell tapped the conductors stand and said, "Seats everyone, lets get going."

Each chair had a first name and year on it. I found mine and sat down. Being a brass player, I was seated towards the back, so yet again had a good view of the goings on. Only the percussion players would have a better view.

"On your stands should be three pieces of music that we are going to start learning; Beethoven's first symphony, Schubert's third symphony, and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture."

The practice was the most exhausting thing I'd ever done. I thought I played quite well but I could see that I had lots of practice to do. We'd run through the two symphonies as they weren't technically that challenging. In between the first two pieces I looked around at the students. Music was something that sung in all our hearts. There was no idle gossiping and slacking, this was something that brought the school together, a shared single passion away from the existence we had lived our earlier lives in.

There was a slight delay in starting practicing the 1812 Overture, as they had to improvise something for the cannon. For a live concert, we would have one but not for rehearsals. Mrs Russell came up with idea of putting a microphone in between two pillows inside a base drum. When Andrea, who was one of the percussionists, stuck the drum the sound that came out of the speaker sounded like a muffled cannon. It would do for practice.

As the music faded from the first full run through of the 1812 Overture, I thought I'd gone to heaven and hell at the same time. My ears were shot with the volume the orchestra managed to produce at the end. Having the timpani just behind me didn't help, nor did the amount of volume the tuba player managed to effortlessly produce. I'm sure the stage vibrated during the last eight bars. My ears might still be ringing and my lips might feel like they were going to fall off, but my soul was singing. Playing such exhilarating music just left me on a high. The passion that the orchestra gave the music made me feel so alive, so together with the school. We weren't forty school children; we were a single heart giving life to music.

At the end of the practice, we all folded up our stands and put them away. We put our instruments in our year's common room before heading for the dining room. Jill had put her instrument inside the common room as well, so I got chatting as we wandered across to the dining room.

"So Jill, how long have you been helping with the orchestra?" asked Helen.

"Since March," Jill replied. "Julia has been working part time here for over a year."

"And the company she works for doesn't mind?" I asked rather surprised.

"I'm not sure why and Julia has told me not to ask."

We arrived at the dinning room and Dan moved across one seat so that Jill could sit next to me. Someone must have informed the dinning staff, as Jill's meal was already on one of the year one trolleys.

"It's nice to be able to mix with children my own age here," Jill said, as I tackled my cottage cheese salad. "I was always at least a year younger than anyone else here and I had trouble fitting in."

During dessert, I plucked up the courage to whisper to Jill, "Do you mind if I ask you something personal?"

"I may refuse to answer, but ask away," she replied in equally hushed tones.

"How did you know that Jill was right for you?"

Jill thought for a moment and said, "It's quite a story and it's going to take longer than this meal. It might also look suspicious if I spend ages talking to just you. Why don't, after the meal, I tell you my entire story. That should help not just you, but others in this year that might be confused."

"Julia won't mind?" I asked.

Jill just giggled, "No, it'll be good for her to catch up with some items here. My sister Beth was staying with friends, so there isn't any problem."

"What about your Mum?" I asked.

"Mum died at the beginning of January," Jill said sadly. "It's all part of how I became Jill."

I put my hand onto hers, "You okay?"

"I think so," she replied. "I've not really talked about this, so if I'm emotional then please forgive me."

"Do you have anyone special?"

"Oh yeah, there is a very special person called Anna. I wouldn't have survived without her."

"So why didn't you come to this school?" I asked. "With Julia helping here, I'm sure they would have got you in."

"I don't need to come here," she explained. "There are a lot more people, such as you, who need this school. Who out of the eight shouldn't have come so I could be admitted?"

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that."

"And I wouldn't have come without Anna. It would have broken her heart that she couldn't see her parents again."

"Until she was eighteen," I added.

"Oh yes, of course, not until she was eighteen," Jill confirmed, looking meaningfully at me.

After dessert, Jill went to talk to Julia about her socialising a bit with us. She wasn't going to mention what she was going to discuss, as Jill didn't want to worry Julia.

After the meal had all been cleared away, we disappeared into the confines of the year one common room.

"What does everyone want to do this evening," asked Paula.

"I've been told that you were informed that I was born a boy called Bill," Jill started. "I was told that you might find it helpful if I explain how and why I decided to live as Jill."

All of us made interested sounds, so we moved the settee's round so that we could be cosier. When all the furniture was rearranged, we sat down. Helen sat on a three-seat settee with me on one side; Jill sat on the other.

"Please don't ask questions till I'm done. I've never told people this before and I know parts will be difficult."

For two hours, Jill opened up her life to us all. Eventually it was too much and she couldn't say anymore, her tears were affecting her speech too much. She just broke down and cried over the loss of her mother. Helen had grabbed Jill and held her in her arms, but nothing appeared to calm her down.

"Emma," I hissed, "can you help Helen while I see if any of the psychiatrists can help."

After I slipped into the hall, I called Rachel, using the PDA as a cordless phone. "Rachel, do you know if Jill is under any of the psychiatrists here?"

"Not officially," Rachel replied, "though Julia came under me when I joined. Why?"

"Jill just started telling us her story including the death of her mother. She said she has never told anyone before and it looks like she has just released six months of bottled up emotions."

"I'm on my way," she said. "Who is comforting her?"

"It was mostly Helen because Jill prefers the comfort of a girl. Emma is helping."

"Emma might not be the best to help," said Rachel breathlessly as she ran down the stairs, her shoes in her hands.

When she appeared outside the year one common room Rachel said, "I've tried to get hold of Julia but her PDA is unavailable. She said earlier that she was preparing some lessons for you, so she is probably hooked into the hacking network. Her PDA then won't be able to register where she is in the building and she could be anywhere. I'm giving you permission to hack the school network to track down Julia while I try and talk to Jill. Do you mind if I let Helen comfort Jill?"

"Hack the network?" I squeaked. "The systems here are very sophisticated."

"Aren't you up to it?" she goaded.

"I'll try," I said, wondering how I was going to achieve the result.

"What about Helen?"

"That is up to her," I said, "but Jill certainly needs someone. Jill has a girlfriend who helped her become Jill. Her name is Anna. Anna's father, George, is friends with Julia and is the personnel director at the company Julia works for."

"I don't want Jill away from professional help till she has recovered a bit. If Anna gets involved, it would have to be here. We need to speak with Julia first and if Anna is going to come here for a day then Mr Hobson needs to agree to it. I'm going to clear the common room," said Rachel, explaining her plan. "Since you're going to be doing things that we don't want to explain to other people, it will have to be just you and Helen."

"Okay," I agreed. "Yesterday it was explained that there was someone in year two that was an expert in network communications. I will need to get the computer terminal patched and that person will probably be quicker than I'll be."

"Ingrid, this is Rachel. We have a large problem and need your help immediately in the year one common room. Bring your network gear as soon as possible and please keep this between you and Fran."

I went into the common room. Jill was still a bubbling mess. Helen was comforting as best as she could and Emma was trying to help but wasn't succeeding much.

"I need to talk privately with Jill. Would you all be kind enough to visit the library? Helen, can you stay as Jill doesn't want to let go?"

"Will you let us know that she is okay?" asked Emma.

"I will send you all a message later," confirmed Rachel as they disappeared out of the door.

A few moments later, there was a knock and I let in Ingrid. "I need to track down Julia," I explained quietly so Jill wouldn't hear. "However, it looks like Julia has patched herself into the hacking network. I need to gain access to that network to get a message to her. Can you patch this terminal into that network?"

"I take it you're David?" she said with a grin. "What a start you're having."

Ingrid removed some panels and pulled out a special network lead from the case she brought with her. "The hacking network has the network wires twisted so you can't connect to the network by accident," she explained as she worked. She then pulled out her PDA, "The switch is computer controlled so we have to pass into the switch and redirect to a different virtual LAN so you can connect through the router."

A few clicks later and she was finished. "I hope you're good at this. Julia knows lots of tricks, so you aren't going to have an easy job."

"Nothing like filling me with confidence," I lamented. "I'll give you a shout when I'm finished. Julia is going to kill me for this anyway and I don't want to muck up her network by attempting to undo your magic."

Ingrid left and all that were left in the room was Helen, who was holding Jill, Rachel and me. I tried to shut out what Rachel was saying to Jill as I made my first forage into the network. After twenty minutes, I was sweating. I understood the system I was on, but the defences were difficult to penetrate. I needed a lower level of access so I could hop onto Julia's protected PDA and display a message.

So far, I'd tried to be sneaky so not to worry Julia but that wasn't getting me anywhere. I decided to rattle one of the defences to see Julia's reaction. Her reaction was swift but I saw what she'd done. It gave me a method of bypassing certain checks. Ten minutes later, I had the message "Julia emergency. Contact Rachel, Helen or David urgently" displayed on the console. I even caused the PDA to vibrate and chirp just for added effect. Okay, I was showing off.

Three seconds later Rachel's PDA rang. Rachel moved away from Jill towards me so Jill wouldn't hear the conversation. "Julia, Jill decided to tell the year one students about how she became Jill. She broke down when she discussed Carol's death. Please don't come in but wait outside the door. I have Jill a bit calmer but if she sees you then she might get worse again. Did Anna help her in January? She did? Okay, we will need to see Quentin."

"Jill, I need to sort some things out for you. I'll be back in a few minutes. Helen will stay with you. David, can you come with me please."

I looked at Helen who nodded, so I followed Rachel out of the door.

"Rachel," I asked as we waited for Julia to appear. "Why are you keeping Helen and me in the loop on this?"

"Students help each other. Jill trusts Helen enough to be held and Jill trusts you enough to tell you things that she hasn't told anyone else."

Just then, Julia arrived and straight away, she asked, "Tell me what we can do about Jill?"

"I recommend that we get Anna down here. Will her parents mind?"

"Well George, Anna's father, knows I help out here. He knows the public face of the school but isn't aware of the nature of the field trips."

"Jill knows more though," I interrupted. "She indicated she knew that students were isolated from families, not till they were eighteen, but forever. I asked her why she wasn't a student at Hayfield Hall and she said because she would have to bring Anna and the separation for Anna's parents would be too much."

"Let's go and see Mr Hobson and see if Jill and Anna can stay till Jill is a bit better," suggested Rachel to Julia. "I'll keep what you said David, to myself. Jill has enough to worry about right now and I think if she was going to tell anyone she would have spilled the beans by now."

"I'll get Ingrid back so we can restore the common room back to normal," I offered which Rachel and Julia readily accepted.

Ingrid had just finished restoring the normal network connections and I was walking out of the door when Rachel and Julia appeared. "Well done you two," said Julia. "I want a full report from both of you in my email account by tomorrow morning at ten. I want to know how you did it and why you did what you did."

"Yes Julia," we both agreed.

"So what's happening?" I asked as Ingrid disappeared.

"Anna will be here in twenty minutes. Looking at the maps the A5 looks to be clear, so it shouldn't take as long as it usually does."

"Can Jill and Anna leave when Jill is better?"

"They shouldn't see anything unusual apart from a very well equipped school. Therefore, there shouldn't be any trouble there. Jill has been coming here for months."

"Jill is still going to be upset," I surmised.

"Yes," agreed Rachel. "She probably is."

I went back into the study to spend time with Helen and Jill. I didn't mention what was happening and they didn't ask. We just sat, hugged, and cried together. After fifteen minutes, I excused myself.

I saw Rachel and Julia by the front hall. "Security has just let the car in through the gates," said Julia.

"Does Anna know about the school?" I asked.

"No, she doesn't even know the public part," replied Julia. "I told George not to tell her. It is something we will do ourselves, or rather something that you will tell her. It's best coming from the students."

"No wonder that even the year two students seem mature," I laughed.

"Taking personal responsibility is very important. It doesn't mean that you lose your childhood, but it helps you see yourself as who you want to be and not who other people want you to be."

We heard the sound of a car approaching and soon a car drew up outside the school. George hopped out of the car, looked around and shook his head in wonder at the site of the school.

"Some place," George said, approaching Julia.

"I hope you don't mind if I don't invite you inside," said Julia. "We had new students start yesterday and some are quite skittish."

"I'm sure they are," he replied. "Will Anna be safe here?"

"Of course," Julia replied. "The students aren't dangerous. Some just have issues to overcome, like I did and Jill did. Jill and I weren't dangerous, were we?"

"No," he agreed.

"George, let me introduce you to Rachel. She is the lead psychiatrist here. She has been trying to help Jill after Jill suddenly decided to tell her story to the other students. She got as far as Carol's death when it became too much."

"Anna certainly helped Jill last time," mused George. "Well she was Bill then, but they are the same person."

George returned to his car and started to remove Anna's suitcase. "Anna won't need that," explained Rachel. "We provide all the clothes for the children."

"But Anna isn't a student here," George said.

"True, but it will help her fit in if she has similar style clothes to the other students."

"Okay," he said, putting the suitcase back. He opened Anna's door and she climbed out.

"Where is she?" Anna asked Julia.

"David, one of our new students, will take you to her," said Rachel. "Say bye to your Dad."

After Anna gave her Dad a quick kiss on his cheek, she followed me into the school. Anna gasped when she saw the décor. It certainly wasn't what she had expected.

"What is this place?" she asked in awe at the sight of the expensive paintings hung on the wall.

"Hayfield Hall," I replied with a grin. "It's a school for children who have difficulty fitting in at school, which affects their education. Some of the students are transsexuals, others not. Now what happens here is not to be discussed outside of this school. Your Dad is aware of some of what I just told you. However, he is not aware of some of the methods of the school. What you see and do in this school must never be discussed with anyone outside the school. Jill knows some of it but not all."

"Okay," she said. "I'm used to transsexuals, due to knowing Jill and Julia. I won't discuss the school with anyone, not even Jill."

"Students are paired with a compatible student. They are study partners and are there for each other in all circumstances. Study partners have adjoining rooms and it isn't unknown for them to fall asleep in the same room if they are emotionally distressed. That isn't a problem as long as you both keep on your underwear. Now Jill is very distressed, so nobody here is going to mind. Jill is your study partner and there are no secrets between study partners for anything, so anything you see at the school you can discuss with her."

"It sounds a very liberal school," commented Anna. "I thought the school I go to was great for allowing Jill, but this makes my school look bigoted."

"It is like this due to necessity. Many students, me included, didn't actually live their lives before coming here, we just existed. We need the freedom to be able to live and to decide who or what we want to be. There is a lot more to this school, which I can't tell you. I think Jill knows more than she should and will try to shield you from that. She is going to be very upset to see you here, so be warned."

I opened the door to the common room and I walked in followed by Anna. When Anna saw Jill crying in Helen's arms, she rushed across to her. Helen was about to let go of Jill when I shook my head.

"Anna," cried Jill when she saw her. "What are you doing here? You can't stay here. You must go immediately."

"Anna is going to stay with you," I said firmly as Jill struggled in Helen's strong arms. "You need her. She is your study partner. Anyway, you're not a fulltime student here and you can both go home when you've got yourself sorted."

Anna approached Jill and Helen released her grip. Anna cuddled with Jill on the settee while Helen sat next to me on the settee opposite. Jill started to calm down. The effect that Anna had was astounding. You could see that they were not just study partners but that was something I was not going to mention.

"The lady with Julia said you were new," commented Anna as she stroked Jill's face. "I thought you'd be breaking up for the summer holidays and going home to your families. We finish this week."

Helen shuddered a bit and I put my arm round her. "Jill will explain," I said.

"Helen, David and six other students arrived yesterday. They live here full time and don't go home to their families."

"So when will they see them again," she asked.

"When they're eighteen," lied Jill.

"Jill," I warned. "You have to be one hundred percent truthful with Anna. I know that you know more than you're supposed to."

Jill looked at me with daggers and then nodded as she thought about the situation. "They will never see their families again."

I felt Helen shudder in my arms and I could tell she was near breakdown.

"Why?" asked Anna. It was a simple question and not one that I was going to answer.

Jill opened her mouth and I quickly interjected, "If you and Jill don't want to be a student here, then don't ask that question."

Jill closed her mouth and then mouthed, "Thank you."

"It isn't something you discuss with other students," I said. "Year one students aren't told this information till later on. Helen and I know because I'm too observant and guessed certain things. I was reluctant to tell Helen because I knew she was close to her family but Rachel told me about sharing and it worked out for the best."

Helen and I suddenly heard a "ting" from our PDA's. There was an urgent message to all students': "Six months ago Jill's mother was killed when a drunk driver crashed into her car. Jill was with her mother when she died. Jill has bottled up her emotions and not discussed her feelings with anyone. Tonight she talked about it for the first time and broke down. Since Jill has given so much to this school by playing in the orchestra, we decided it would be best for her to stay here where there is professional help. Jill will be staying with a girl called Anna who is the best person to help her over these issues. Jill and Anna will be here a few days."

"Rachel has just informed the students of you staying here for a few days," said Helen.

"Rachel was the lady with Julia," I said seeing Anna's puzzled face.

"Do all students have PDA's?" asked Anna, her eyes wide open.

"Yes," I replied, not telling her of some of the other facilities. There was no point in making her jealous or wanting to stay.

"Rachel is organising a pair of rooms for you."

We chatted quietly for a few minutes, when there was a knock on the door. Helen got up and let Rachel in.

"Well you certainly look better," smiled Rachel at Jill. "Do you want to chat some more tonight or start tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow please," begged Jill. "I don't think I could cope with more emotional upheaval."

"David and Helen will show you your room and make sure your okay. They will collect you in the morning and after breakfast, show you to my office. Both of the rooms are fully equipped with clothes in the correct sizes."

"How do you know my sizes?" asked Anna.

"There was talk about allowing ten students instead of eight. We even have a table that can seat twelve," was all Rachel would say before leaving us.

I pulled out my PDA and sure enough, there were two rooms marked for Jill and Anna. As we walked down the corridors to the bedrooms, we were as quiet as we could be so not to disturb anyone trying to sleep.

"This is your room Jill," I said opening the door. "If we all go in here then Helen and I can explain things. Anna can get to her room from yours."

As they looked around Jill looked in the wardrobe, "Oh my god!" she exclaimed and then covered up her mouth. "There has got to be some mistake."

"Boys clothes on the left, androgynous clothes at the back and female on the right," Helen said.

Anna just gapped. "Are all rooms like this?" she asked.

"Yes."

Inside the bathroom was a black bag. "It looks like the clothing rules apply for our guests," I said, showing her the bag.

"Okay Jill and Anna, this is going to sound real strange. During your short stay, you are only allowed to wear clothes that are provided. That includes underwear. You must put your clothes and jewellery in the black bag and deposit it down the chute."

"Okay," said a worn out Jill. Anna was in too bewildered to comment.

"Oh and before we leave you we are just opposite you. My door is just opposite Jill's. Helen's door is just opposite Anna's. We will come by tomorrow morning at about seven to make sure you're okay."

I followed Helen into my room and collapsed on to the bed. I was exhausted.

"I hope this place calms down," said Helen as she walked into her room. "I can't cope with many more days like this."

"I recon this is nothing compared to when we go on a field trip," I answered, getting off the bed to clean my teeth.

"Yours or mine?" I asked, hoping that Helen would understand the question and not mind that I was asking.

"Yours," Helen answered. "I think you could do with a nice cuddle."