Previously…

As I lay on my bed that night, still a bit battered and bruised, with my favourite dolly on one side of me and my favourite kitten purring in her sleep on the other, I reviewed the day that had just passed. I had no idea if Percy had survived. I hoped that he had because life is precious, even a life like his. Mr.Goldstein turned out to be quite a nice man and I would go and see him again and thank him for being so nice in the circumstances.

On another note, Alicia wasn't with us tonight as she was staying at school. I would be going to school the very next day and I was in her and Tanya’s dorm as well. I would come home at the weekend. Alicia had said that morning that her mother and father were patching things up and hoped to be home very soon so we didn’t know if she would be with us at the weekend or at her own home. I hoped that things worked out OK with her parents. It was so nice to have a happy family around you.

I smiled at the thought of the happy family that I was in now. After all that I had been through, I felt the luckiest girl alive!

And now the story continues…

‘Lucinda, come and have some breakfast.’

‘Okay Mummy,’ I called.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw a young girl in the uniform of St Helen’s School for Girls. There was absolutely no sign of Brian and for that I was grateful.

The uniform was a dark green pinafore dress with a white, soft collard, short sleeved blouse underneath. The dress went to just below the knee and to finish things off were a pair of white knee socks and black, highly polished buckled shoes.

Hardly the height of fashion but it beat my old boys’ uniform hands down!

I brushed my hair again rather nervously and wondered whether I would get away with it– not the hair, that was nice after Mummy treated me to a salon experience a few days ago; no what I meant was I wondered if I would be found out, exposed and things like that at my ‘new’ school. After all, I had been a sort of land based stow-away or whatever it was called at the school and had survived by stealing clothes and food.

Now I was going to be a real pupil there and to say was nervous, would be an understatement and I had had very little sleep the night before as I went over and over what might happen today.

After one final look and the fervent wish that makeup had been allowed at school (it wasn’t) as I wanted to disguise myself, I had to make do with a bare face and trust in luck that no one would recognise me as someone other than who I was presenting.

I picked up my green hat with red and green hat band, another non fashion item, my coat–you guessed it–green and my satchel and went down to breakfast.

In the hall were two cases–my cases; chock full of clothes and other things. I was going to board during the week, like Alicia and Tanya and come home for the weekends.

I left my satchel and hat in the hall with the cases and made my way into the breakfast room. Mummy and Daddy were there and my heart warmed as they smiled at me.

‘You look nice dear,’ said Mummy.

‘Mmm,’ said Daddy, nice colours,’

‘Ha ha Daddy–it’s not very cool, but I suppose I have to wear the stuff. Now give me a nice mini skirt and...’

‘Enough of that young Luc,’ said Mummy in a mock stern voice, ‘you look the very epitome of a well brought up gel.’

‘If you say so.’ I said, not really minding about the uniform and sitting down opposite them. I feel that it’s a girl’s job to wind up parents–don’t you?

‘How are you feeling dear?’ said Daddy.

‘Nervous,’

‘Why.’

‘Because I’m worried that someone might realise that I had been there before and make trouble for me. It would only take a word or two from someone in the office or the matron or the teachers that spoke to me, when I shouldn’t have been there...’

‘Look,’ interrupted Mummy, ‘you have no need to worry. The people that work there are the soul of discretion. They have to be; there are girls with issues at the school and privacy is one of the important rules.’

‘What about Alicia or Tanya? One stray word out of place and my life won’t be worth living.’

‘Tanya won’t say anything; she, above all, knows the meaning of secrecy when it matters and Alicia is as good as a sister to you and would hate to hurt you. Beneath that daft, exasperating, infuriating and troublesome exterior, there beats a heart of gold–but never let on that I said so. Let’s hope that her parents can at last get their act together and think before they do something sillyt. Alicia has been the main one affected by their shenanigans.’

‘Is that an Irish pop group?’ I asked innocently.

‘Who?’

‘Shenanigans.’

‘Idiot girl!’ said Mummy as Daddy nearly choked on his coffee.

As we drove to the school in the Rolls, I kept ringing my hands and my heart felt like it was jumping over hurdles.

‘Oh by the way Lucinda, I had a word with the hospital and that Pointer chap is going to be all right–or should be, despite appearances it was only a minor heart attack. Nevertheless you saved his life and should be proud of yourself.’

‘If you say so.’ I replied, remembering the hateful things that he said to me just prior to keeling over.

‘Yes, it appears that he will be taking early retirement due to the heart attack and the stress of the job.’

‘Good,’ I replied shortly, dismissing him from my mind as I continued to worry my way towards school. At this rate, I would have to retire from the school myself, due to stress and that was before I even got there!

Despite Mummy’s encouraging words, I was as nervous as a turkey at Christmas. After what seemed like seconds, we had arrived at the school. As before, the place was all hustle and bustle and it didn’t help that it was break time.

Alicia and Tanya must have been looking out for me and ran up as the car stopped in front of the imposing main entrance.

They grabbed my door and opened it and in moments, I was outside and both of them were talking at once and not making much sense.

‘You’re here!’

‘About time we’ve been waiting for ages.’

‘The Mole said that we were allowed to settle you in.’

‘So no lessons this morning!’

There was more of this and I was getting a bit embarrassed as a lot of the girls were looking at us and no doubt wondering why these two girls were hopping about and getting excited.

I heard the bell go and the place suddenly emptied.

As far as I was concerned, I was getting close to a blue funk as a few moments later, I recognised one of the teachers that had spoken to me when I had been there incognito as it were, was coming our way! I hadn’t a clue who she was, but she looked as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

Alicia looked over to where I was staring.

‘Oh Lord, its Stinky’

‘Stinky?’ I said in a strangled voice.

‘Mmm, she causes a stink whenever she sees any wrongdoing which, to be honest, is quite often when I’m around.’

She strode over, her brown brogues making crunching noises on the gravel.

‘What is all this about girls? The bell has just gone and I don’t see any movement from you lot, except Alicia and Tanya; you two were jumping about like overactive rabbits.’

‘Sorry Miss,’ said Tanya brightly, ‘we have permission from Miss Molestrangler to show the new girl around and settle her in.’

Her radar type eyes swivelled towards me and she frowned slightly.

‘And you are?’

‘Pardon?’

‘Your name girl?’

‘Oh, it’s Lucinda Miss.’

‘Lucinda, hmm, there’s something about you? Hmm I must have seen you around. Have you been here before?’

‘Erm yes Miss...’

‘She came the other day for an interview with The Mole...I mean Miss Molestrangler, Miss.’

‘Thank you Alicia and don’t let me hear you call the head by any other name than Miss Molestrangler, otherwise, I might think that you need a bit of detention. Do you understand?’

‘Yes Miss.’

Stinky–I would have to find out her real name–turned back to me.

‘Welcome to the school Lucinda. I hope that you will do well and be a credit to us. Now, you had better go to the office first and report in.’

‘Yes Miss,’ I said brightly and after a nod, the teacher went off in search of more prey.

I entered the school with my two minders. It was pandemonium as other children were rushing about in an attempt to get to their next class without being late.

Knocking on the office door, I went in. The others stayed outside as they didn’t want to run into The Mole, for some reason.

The secretary looked up from her typing and smiled. I think that her name was Dora or Nora–I couldn’t remember.

‘Lucinda? Good we were expecting you. The Head Mistress would like a word. Would you like to sit over there and I’ll let her know that you are here?’

I sat on the hard wooden chair and like a good girl, I brushed my skirt under me as I sat. It still felt a bit strange dressed like this after so many years having to dress as a boy, but I wouldn’t change it for anything!

I was miles away when the door opened and Miss Molestrangler came out.

‘Ah Lucinda, come in and let’s have a chat.’

I stood up and she motioned me into her inner sanctum and then following me, she closed the door and walked over to her desk and sat down. She motioned for me to sit in a chair opposite her.

‘You look very smart in your uniform.’

‘Thank you Miss.’

She opened a file in front of her and glanced at it.

‘Good...hmm; yes,’ she looked up and smiled, ‘right, as I think I mentioned before, you will be in the same dorm as your cousin and Tanya.’

I felt a warm glow; cousin, well I suppose I was in a way, well I would be when all the paperwork went through and I was officially adopted. Anyway, I already thought of Alicia as my sort of sister, but this would really make me family. I looked up as the headmistress continued.

‘Also you will have same form teacher and are in most of the classes that they are in. However, because you are a bit of a wiz at some subjects, I have decided to place you in a higher stream for maths and English. We tend to place pupils in the correct classes for their ability. Don’t worry though, I am sure that you can cope. If you have any problems about things, you can always talk to your form teacher–Miss Howe, your head of year, Mrs Golightly or myself. How are you feeling dear, nervous?’

‘Yes, very. I can’t forget the time I was here before and what I did.’

‘Well, that is water under the bridge. In have forgiven you and realise that although what you did was wrong, it was understandable. I won’t hold it against you. I heard about what you did to save Mr Pointer,’

‘That was nothing.’ I replied, not wanting to think or speak about it.

‘I would not describe saving someone life as ‘nothing’ Lucinda. It shows that you have gumption, foresight and an ability to deal with a crisis and those qualities I hold in high regard. I won’t embarrass you any more. I can see how it makes you uncomfortable. Let’s get down to practical matters. I have given you a list of those members of staff who are in the know about your condition, so you are aware of whom you can talk to about it. After leaving here, please go and see the matron as she wants a word. Then you can go up to your dormitory and get your cases unpacked. Your form teacher will see you after lunch and then the rest of the day, you can have a good look around, study your time table and familiarise yourself with where your classes are. I am sure that Alicia and Tanya will help you to get around.’

She stood up, walked around the desk and put out her hand.

I shook it and smiled up at her. I don’t think that I would ever call her The Mole now. She was a bit of a sweetie on the quiet!

‘Thank you for letting me be a pupil here.’

‘I want you to prove that my trust in you is well placed. Work and play hard and do the best that you can. That is all I ask.’

The others were waiting outside the office, whispering and giggling. They looked up as I came out and closed the office door behind me quietly.

‘She’s still in one piece then?’ said Alicia, grinning.

’No blood as far as I can see.’ said Tanya, ‘Hyacinth recons that The Mole is a vampire in disguise. She comes out in the full moon and sucks the blood out of those kids with marks of less than fifty percent.’

‘Fifty, I thought that it was thirty, I’ll have to look out!’

‘Stop it, you two; I think that she’s lovely.’

Alicia looked at me anxiously and then stared at my neck.

‘No puncture marks–hmm, mind you Tan, we’ll have to watch her. She might be one of those clone girls that are under The Mole’s spell. I’ll dust off my crucifix, dig up some garlic and sharpen a stake; you can’t be too careful!’

We all started giggling at that and were shushed by a passing prefect and then I told the others about my meeting with the head.

‘So,’ said Tanya, ‘Matron first; let’s try and catch her now.’

It was fairly quiet in the halls and corridors of the school as all the girls except us were now in classes. We made our way to the medical room and I knocked on the door and went in. the others, cowards that they were, elected to stay outside.

I walked in and saw the Matron was in her office. I looked over at the ward, remembering the time in the dead of night when I was here before and the deception. I wasn’t looking forward to this; but ‘needs must’ as Mummy was apt to say in sticky situations.

I knocked on her office door.

‘Come,’

I went in and stood in the doorway.

‘Well come in girl, I don’t bite. Pop yourself on that chair and let have a natter.’

I erm, popped myself down, as requested and waited for Matron to speak. My legs felt a bit jellified for some reason.

‘Well young Lucinda, you have been through it. I thought that I had heard everything. Been here since Queen Victoria was knee high to a grasshopper, but your story is quite remarkable, but don’t look so worried, I don’t bite. Right let’s get down to brass tacks shall we?’

She glanced at some papers on her desk and then looked up.

‘You are under a doctor for your gender issues, I see? Doctor Fletcher–nice chap, if a bit modern for my taste. Anyway, he knows his onions, so should be helpful to you. Now re PE and all that; as you know we have individual changing rooms here and I have a chit for you to say that you can bathe in private due to unspecified medical issues. If any teacher queries that, tell him or her to see me. If Doctor Fletcher prescribes anything for you, he’ll pop the stuff over to me and I’ll dish it out to you, comprende?’

‘Sorry?’

She shook her head.

‘Do you understand?’

‘Erm, yes Miss.’

‘Yes Matron.’

‘Sorry,’

She smiled.

‘You’ll learn. Now I know that it’s not going to be easy for you, but try to ensure that you don’t expose your erm, boy bits when you get changed or anything. The last thing you want to do is draw attention to yourself. I know that it’s supposed to be the swinging sixties and all that, but we do not want you to be in a position where you are embarrassed in any way. This school is progressive, but there are dinosaurs around even in the most modern of establishments and we don’t want to give them any ammo to shoot you down–understand?’

I was finding it a bit difficult to understand all of the things she was saying–but I got the gist. I wondered if the other adults here were a bit, well strange, I would find out soon enough, I supposed.

‘Right, off you pop then and tell Alicia that if she comes to me any more with scraped knees and elbows after scrambling about doing Lord knows what, I will put something on her wounds that will make her smart. I get fed up with having to repair her self-inflicted damage and Lucinda?’

I stood up and looked at her. She smiled and her face looked twenty years younger.

‘Welcome to our school. It will be a real home for you as long as you stay. Come to me if ever you want to get things off your chest, all right?’

I just smiled, blinked back some sudden tears and nodded.

Outside were the terrible two as I now sort of named them.

‘She looks okay,’ said Tanya as she scanned my features.

‘Hmm, I think that Matron is another vampire type. I swear that she enjoys the sight of blood. Look at the armful she took out of me when I was in the San that night. It all seems suspicious to me.’

I giggled at that and then looked at Alicia with a serious look on my face–well I hoped that it was serious, anyway.

‘She asked me to tell you not to go to her with any more scrapes. She has some nasty stuff that she’ll use on your cuts and bruises–she implied that it would hurt–a lot.’

Alicia turned a sort of puce colour.

‘Blimey, she has got it in for me. I am an innocent young girl and I get the blame for everything around here. You can almost see the halo around my head.’

Both Tanya and I looked pointedly above her head and then as one we just shook our heads. No way was Alicia an angel in any way shape or form!

We dropped my cases off in the dormitory and then for the rest of the morning we had a look around and I got the opportunity of looking at the classrooms that I would soon be going to. It was strange as everyone seemed so well behaved in class. Not like my old school. I could vividly remember what it was like there. Teachers had little or no control over the classes. Many kids just couldn’t be bothered to learn. What was the point? There were no jobs for losers like us. I was quite bright, but any signs of intelligence meant that you were marked down as a swot or teacher’s pet.

Mum did her best when she was sober and not full of drugs. She went up to see the teachers on countless occasions to find out why I came home with bruises or how it was that my grades were going down the tubes.

I tried to explain why things were the way they were, but she didn’t really understand. Even if they had stopped the bullying at school, there was little that the authorities could do once school was over. There was always the chance that I and those like me would be attacked once the final bell went and I was on my way home to Mum...

I shook my head and tried to stop such negative thoughts, but I still missed my mum and dad so much. I sometimes felt guilty that I had sort of managed to get my life together and they hadn’t. I just hoped that they were looking down at me and maybe approve of the way things were going for me.

‘Penny for them?’ asked Tanya as we all sat on the grass and watched a surprisingly frenetic and brutal game of hockey on the field before us. And here was I thinking that these public school girls were all dainty and refined. Judging by what I was seeing before me, they had more mud on them and did more brutal and bone crunching manoeuvres than boys on the rugger field!

‘What have I let myself in for?’ I replied.

‘What do you mean?’ said Tanya.

‘Never mind; I was just sort of comparing this school with my old one.’

‘Is it better?’

‘Is it better? Well at least the violence is controlled here and I don’t have to go around without the danger of being thumped because I am too brainy or have my dinner money pinched because I wasn’t big or ugly enough to defend myself.’

‘Gosh, your old school sounds like hell,’ said Alicia as she loudly sucked on a can of coke through a straw.

‘Hell sounds like heaven after that place. Anyway, enough of that; what shall we do now?’ I asked, getting up and brushing the grass from my skirt.

‘Don’t know really,’ said Tanya, ‘we’ve seen everything you need to see and lunch time is half an hour away.’

‘I’m starving,’ said Alicia.

‘You are always starving,’ I replied, ‘if you eat much more, you’ll look like the Michelin Man,’

‘I’m not fat,’ she said, sucking in her tummy.

‘I’ll be kind and call it puppy fat!’

‘Do you think that I should be a red-head?’ asked Alicia, doing a lightning change of subject for some reason.

‘Oh Alicia, you have such nice mousy hair.’ said Tanya.

‘Flaming cheek!’ shouted Alicia as she proceeded to chase the shrieking Tanya down the hill towards the school.

I followed at a more leisurely pace, as becoming of my stature as a more mentally mature girl and general good egg. Being the soon to be daughter of almost royalty, I had a sort of position to keep up–who was I kidding?

I found them doing a sort of tickle-fest on the lawn in front of the main entrance. Why no one stopped them I would never know. I could see that being involved with these two nut cases would be interesting to say the least.

Once things had calmed down and they had got their breath back, Tanya looked up at me and smiled. I was smoothing down my hair. I hate fly away hair, don’t you?

‘What?’ I said looking up at their smug faces.

‘You look more girlyfied than me and I am considered extremely girly here. I’d have pink cornflakes if it was available.’

‘Well pink is my colour,’ I said.

‘Tell me about it,’ said Alicia. ‘Do you know, Tan, she has pink wallpaper and pink sheets and pink everything in her bedroom. She wears pink nighties’ too. I went into her bedroom the other day and I couldn’t see her. Perfect camouflage–pink, including her face...’

It was my turn to attack Alicia and get her writhing about on the grass again. She was extremely ticklish and I knew her weak spots.

‘What is going on here?’

We stopped mid tickle and looked up. There was someone standing there in front of us and she looked far from happy. She looked like a teacher. You can always tell a teacher. They have that expression on their faces that they always know more than you and they have seen it all.

‘Sorry Miss Golightly,’ said Alicia as she struggled to her feet. I followed and sort of tried to hide behind Tanya, who was trying her best to look the innocent party and failing miserably.

‘You should be in classes girls.’

Tanya explained in a few words why we were not in class and Miss Golightly looked at me with an unreadable expression on her face.

‘Ah, so you are Lucinda. I am your head of year and I expect a certain level of good behaviour. Hmm, I am not sure that you should...well never mind that. I expect you to be a credit to the school and not show us up. Bad publicity will do us no good. I suggest young, erm–lady, that you keep a low profile and not rock the boat. I am surprised at you, Tanya, you should know better. Alicia, I expect little from you but I do expect to have a hundred lines from each of you by breakfast tomorrow. You shall write the following–I shall not play the fool in future as it is not becoming of a young lady. Now be off with you before I decide that detention is in order.’

She strode off leaving me feeling breathless and slightly sick.

‘She’s a cow,’ said Alicia with venom, ‘she was made head of year at the beginning of term and she likes to throw her weight about.’

‘She doesn’t like me,’ I said.

‘She doesn’t like anyone,’ said Tanya.

‘She knows about me.’ I said.

‘Well she knows about me too,’ replied Tanya, ‘but she’s been no trouble really. I don’t see her much. I try to avoid her like the plague,’

‘She confiscated my stink bombs once,’ said Alicia. ‘I never did get them back. That’s theft, that is.’

‘Anyhoo,’ said Tanya,’ can you show me your hideout, when you were here in secret, I mean. I know that Alicia has seen it, but I’m dying to have a look.’

I looked at Alicia and shrugged. We still had twenty minutes before lunch so I led the way into school and then across the hallway, along the familiar corridor past the dorms and then through the door, up the staircase and then along to the room that I called home for a few short nights.

As I opened the door, I had a strange feeling come over me. It all seemed like a dream to me now–how I had stayed up here without anyone knowing. It seemed amazing to me that I managed to get away with it without being caught. As the others chatted excitedly, I went over to the window and looked out. The last time I did this, I had realised that I couldn’t continue the way I had been. Alicia had made me confront the truth–that you can’t run forever. Then, shortly afterwards she had persuaded me to confide in her aunt and the rest was now history–a history which was part of my life.

I had learned from my experiences and although I had been through a lot of heartache, I knew that it had all been for a reason. I had confronted my problems and with the help of the ones that I loved, I had won through.

The others had stopped talking and as I turned they looked at me. I think that they could see how I felt at that moment and without a word, they came over and we went all had a bit of a group hug.

The bell went off in the distance. We were all a bit tearful for some reason and after wiping our eyes and blowing our noses, we were ready to go.

I took one last look at the room as the others went out and then without looking back, I closed the door behind me.

A few minutes later we were downstairs and about to go into the dining hall. This was the moment when I would join the rest of the school and become one of them. Alicia grabbed one of my arms and Tanya, the other. There was cacophony of noise coming from the hall and I was feeling nervous. Would I be accepted? Would I be happy?

Alicia pushed open the door and we went in–and then...well that’s another story.

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Please leave comments…thanks! ~Sue