A New Style of Education: Hidden Gifts
By: Annette MacGregor

An authorized story, based on the characters and environment of A New Style of Education by Karen Page.

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Part 7

I hesitated a second, wondering what had brought that on. I mean, I was a little freaked by having slept in the same room with her, but still… "No. I didn’t even change until this morning."

"I, I’m sorry Dan." She gulped some air and seemed to be settling down.

"You, no WE were kinda exhausted last night."

She gave me a nod. "I’m sorry Dan. I didn’t mean to keep you up."

"We’re in this together, Renee. If you need me, I’ll be there! You were there for me." I continued aloud, but more to myself. "I wonder if that’s what Dan meant when he said we’d help each other."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, I was thinking out loud. In my interview, Dan told me how carefully we, well all the students, were paired. He implied or said that we each had stuff to help the other. And, I guess this is just an example of what he meant."

"I guess. I uh…" she interrupted herself. "Thanks Dan. I don’t think I’d have been able to sleep at all, if you’d not been here."

She seemed to be starting to lose it again, so I changed the topic. "Hey. As I said, I’m glad I was. But, I kinda think I need a shower before breakfast." I lifted my arm, and mimed sniffing. "Ewww. I really think so!"

That got the expected laugh. "What were you doing, anyway?"

"I was doing my Kata, that’s my Judo practice or what I can do by myself. It keeps me limber and sometimes helps me relax."

"Can I watch some time?"

"Sure. Maybe tomorrow, but I think you’ll be bored by it."

"Let me decide, okay? You never know, I might want to learn."

"Well, if you do, and if they get around to finding a teacher, I’m sure he can teach us both."

She laughed a little more, and continued. "I bet you’re good enough, or almost good enough anyway, to BE a teacher"

I looked at her sharply. There’s no way she could know I’d been getting close… Then I saw she’d been joking. "Well, I do still need that shower, and, unless you want folks to see you in rumpled clothing…" I let my voice trail off at the end.

"Ooops. Thanks." She ran off to get ready for the new day.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, for which I was very thankful. Orchestra was eye opening. I mean, how many pieces are we going to be learning? Watching Andrea and Andy switch from various drums to other instruments was as amazing as it was daunting. I was finding it hard to imagine learning to play all of these things even moderately well. At least Renee seemed to be doing okay on the trumpet.

That evening, we both dressed up and tried walking around the room. I wasn’t having any trouble walking on the heels, but kept finding my self doing things Renee said wouldn’t work out. I dunno how a person could be expected to remember all of that stuff. If anything, Renee was having more trouble than I was. I mean, she could wear the cloths and all, but so, when she walked away from me, she just looked like a girl in guys clothing. Despite trying on several outfits apiece, neither of us were happy. I think Renee was a bit depressed, and I know I was, at how hard it actually was, and how poorly we thought we were doing. I really didn’t want to look like a fool or clown on Monday.

I was too keyed up to fall asleep, so I finally got up and grabbed my headphones to do some practicing. I guess the light told Renee I was up again.

"Dan, if you’re going to practice, can you set the volume up where I can listen. Maybe it’ll relax me, too?" she called.

"Okay." I turned, and put the headphones back down. I mean why live with their sound reproduction, when I could use the much better speakers of the keyboard!. It didn’t take long before I was lost in my playing. It certainly relaxed me, and when I started feeling tired enough to go to sleep, I shut down the keyboard. No, I’ll NOT look at the clock. I do NOT want to know how late it is!

I was really glad that Saturday had nothing planned as I was becoming more nervous and stressed all day long. Waking up hadn’t been too bad. I did my Kata again, which helped me start the day centered. Renee even got up and watched a bit. She wasn’t the first person I’ve heard describe it as a kind of dance. When she wanted to learn, I begged off, suggesting that we wait to see if an instructor would be available soon. But, after that, I became tenser and tenser throughout the day. I think I refrained from snapping at anyone, but it was a close thing on an occasion or two.

After dinner that night, I couldn’t stand the tension about how things would be on Monday any more. I decided I’d best do something I didn’t want to. I mean, I shouldn’t have known.

Walking nervously across the hall to Fran’s room, I knocked on the door. When she answered, I asked, "Fran, do you have a few minutes we can talk?"

"Sure Dan, what’s up?"

"Privately I mean."

She looked at me strangely. "Okay, your room or mine?"

"It had best be yours. Renee and I don’t close the door between our rooms." That got an odd look. "Long story."

"Okay, come on in."

I took a seat on the chair, and she sat on the settee. Danged, she was graceful.

"What’s up Dan?"

"I don’t know where to start Fran. But, it’s about Monday."

She looked at me nervously. "What about Monday?"

"Well, I’ve been trying to work things out, but whatever I do, I come off looking silly. I mean, I look like a man, well a boy, with a skirt on."

She was looking a little nervous the way I was talking. "Why are you telling me this, Dan?"

"Fran, I’m sorry. The other day when I knocked you down falling off the table," I took a breath and continued. "Your hem… it was up… I pulled it down. I don’t think anyone else saw."

Fran sat there, barely breathing. "What do you want, Dan?"

"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come over. I’ve not said anything about that to anyone, Fran. I wouldn’t have brought it up even now, if I wasn’t so scared I’d look so bad on Monday and people would believe I was making fun of girls. I mean, I’d never do that. I’ll never tell anyone. I’m so sorry, Fran." I got up, and rushed toward to the door.

"Dan, no!" as I paused, "I’m sorry. Don’t go yet."

I turned back to her.

"Dan, I didn’t mean to reject you. I just thought nobody would know. You surprised me."

"I’m sorry Fran. I shouldn’t have asked."

She giggled at that. "You’ve not asked anything yet, Dan."

"Umm. I was wondering…"

"Why?" She interrupted.

"No. I was wondering how you were able to be so natural, and hoping you might be willing to teach me!" I blurted it out in a rush.

"Dan, it’s not that easy. I’ve been living this way part time for over a year." My heart fell with that. "But, I’m taking an extra set of lessons that are really helping. Remember the head’s introduction?" At my nod, she continued. "Well, Kate had already told me about those lessons. That’s where I went when you and Renee were getting checked out on your instruments. I’ve a few bad habits to correct."

"You do?" That got a big laugh out of her.

"I’m afraid so. For one, that barking laugh has to go. It also seems I overdress, or so a teacher told me."

I nodded, thinking back to her dress the other day.

"You agree with them?"

"I don’t know Fran, but your dress that first day was one of the things that made me wonder."

"Thanks for telling me that, Dan. The fact that you wondered tells me I have further to go than I’d thought. But, what’s the other thing that made you wonder."

"It wasn’t specifically about you. But I noticed that Renee and I had the same support staff and that you and Ingrid had Kate. Well alone, that wouldn’t have meant anything, but with some other little things, I wondered. I’m sorry to say, I even asked Dan about it. He said you’d have to say." I took a deep breath. "I’m really sorry I even raised the issue, Fran. At the time, I was more curious about Renee and me, I didn’t think."

"Don’t worry, Dan. But back to your question... Monday, I might be able to tell you some of the things that were hardest for me when I started dressing. I don’t think there’s time in a day and a half to do much, though."

I hung my head then, "I guess there’s no hope this time, but I’m going to take those classes! I’ll NEVER dress so anyone could think I was making fun of you or anyone else!"

"Oh Dan, thank you."

"For what?" I really wasn’t sure why she was thanking me.

"Dan, thank you for accepting me as I am, not as some freak."

I sat there with a blank expression on my face. I couldn’t imagine why someone would thank me for that. I mean people were people? I knew there were people out there that had issues with differences, but I never did understand that. "Ummm. Sure."

"Fran, would you mind if I asked Renee to come over? She’s really been helping me!"

"Of course not, go get Renee, and I’ll get Ingrid at the same time."

I went across to Renee’s room. "Why are you out here knocking, Dan?"

"Ummm. I was over talking to Fran, and we wanted you to join us to continue the discussion." I felt a little uncomfortable asking her like this.

"Okay."

We went over to Fran’s room where Ingrid was waiting with her.

"Ingrid, Renee, thanks for joining us." Fran started. "Renee, Dan was over asking for advice on presenting as a girl. Before you get upset, he told me how much help you’ve already been." She took a big breath, and continued. "And I think I should tell you why." She turned to Ingrid, "I think you already know, or at least guess, some of it, but you need to know more, too."

I’m glad that Fran is telling Renee. Now I don’t have to remember to keep it hidden from her. Secrets sometimes have to happen, but they’re harder with someone you spend a lot of time with. I remember Dad talking about that once, how that part of his job he didn’t like. Mom always said she understood, but it couldn’t have been easy for them.

Fran told us an amazing story of her time growing up. It seems her father was in the army, and posted away from home a lot, so she was raised by her mom with no brothers or sisters for the first 8 years of her life. During that time, her mother allowed her to dress as she wished and play with the toys she wished. There were not that many of either. Her family was not wealthy by any stretch. She’d been a well behaved child, and wore her trousers and such, when daddy was home, and to go to school. But at home, it was not unusual to see her in skirts. It wasn’t an all the time thing either, she told us. About four years ago, her father was posted locally, so the family could be together all the time. And, a year later, her little sister was born. She loved her little sister, and helped her mother a lot in her care and feeding. Her father wasn’t sure he approved of this, as the activity wasn’t manly, but he didn’t forbid it either. Fran said she was only rarely able to wear or have skirts the last few years. The one time her father had caught her, he’d spanked her and told her he never wanted to see her dressing like a sissy again!

This caused a strong reaction from both Ingrid and Renee, but Fran said that it didn’t hurt much; it was more the pain of the fact that her dad had spanked her. She explained that he’d never done it before, and she made sure he didn’t have a reason to again. Fran further described her dad as generally a very gentle man, rarely raising his voice. It was obvious from the difficulty she had telling this story that she loved her father very much, but it had also hurt her to not be able to be herself. Last year, her father had been posted overseas again, and she resumed wearing skirts. Her mother had arranged for her to get some counseling, and she said after a few months the counselor had determined that she needed to see a specialist in gender issues. She’d been living full time as a girl when not at school, for most of the past year, though with her still limited wardrobe, her exposure to the bounty that this school made available had been more than she could resist that first day.

"So that explains why you were trying on every outfit in the closet, Fran!" Ingrid chimed in. "I just thought you’d not had much growing up. Wow."

"I didn’t have that much, Ingrid, but I also had never been able to have a dress. It was like all my Christmas’s rolled up into one! It’s so wonderful being able to mostly be the way I need." Her face lit up a lot at this, but then it darkened a little as she continued. "I just hope my dad can accept me when we’re finished. At least mom told me she’d not let my sister forget me." She finished with a sigh.

"I’m sure we’ll all change a lot over the next five years, Fran. If I can help any time, ask. And, I’m sure Renee and Ingrid will help you too!" I replied quietly, while they both nodded agreement.

"Thanks, Dan! I know this school’s supposed to be different and it sure seems that way, but the three of you accepting me like this is more than I had hoped for."

"Somehow, we need to encourage the rest of our year to be more of a team," Ingrid stated rather more intensely than I’d have expected

Thinking about that, I decided it probably would help us all, "That’s good, and maybe we can think about ways to help it happen." I thought for a minute, trying to remember something my dad had said. Then I remembered, "Whatever we start with needs to be something that doesn’t threaten anyone."

They thought about it for a bit and all nodded in agreement.

"Fran, you don’t need to tell them anything until you’re ready!" Ingrid chimed in!

To which I said, "And I’m sure none of us will say anything!"

I could feel Renee nodding agreement, as she sat beside me on the settee. Ingrid was nodding as well, from her chair.

"Well, enough about that." said Fran. "Now, for the real reason Dan and I wanted to bring you in. He’s asked me to help with presenting as a girl. Renee, he told me how much you’ve helped him already." Then back to Ingrid and Renee, "I think helping you and Ingrid pretend to be guys will be a tough task, too."

Ingrid thought. "How hard can it be? Just pull the hair back into a pony tail and put on guys clothing?"

I choked back a laugh at that, but I think Renee felt me because she gave me a little poke. "Ingrid, I don’t think it’s that easy. Renee tried last night, and I’m afraid all I could see was a girl in guys clothing."

Renee finally decided to join our chat. "I think it was all Dan could do to not laugh at me, Ingrid, and I’ve not developed as far as you have."

"Well, there is the thing Kate told me about in the drawer to keep these strapped down so they don’t show so much. I bet I could pull it off."

"Okay, let’s go try, Ingrid? Do you mind if I get my clothes and bring them to your room to change? I’m not ready for the rest of the year to see me yet."

"Of course, Renee, or if you’d rather, we can do it over in your rooms. I’ll get my stuff and we can go over, get dressed, and meet in Dan’s room."

"Sounds like a plan. Fran, maybe you can help me get dressed, too, so you can all see how far I have to go."

"I’ll be happy to, Dan. You two go ahead. I’ve one more thing to ask Dan, and we’ll meet you."

Renee went into Ingrid’s room with her, I guess to help her collect her things.

"Dan, I don’t want to have to pretend to be a guy any more." She gave a big sigh. "I’d thought that was done."

I looked at her, and then light dawned. "You’re worried about pretending to be a guy on Monday aren’t you?" At her nod, I continued. "It may be easier if you remember you’re just pretending. As little as you like it, you’ll probably be better at it than Renee or Ingrid. I mean, they’ve never tried before." I was quiet a minute, then an idea came to me. "Maybe if you picked a different boy name from the one your dad gave you it’d be easier."

"I’ll think about it, Dan, thanks. Oh, we’d best get going or they’ll tease you about how long things take!" I guess I must have given her a blank look, because she continued. "You know, the stereotype that women always take longer to get ready."

That got a loud laugh from me, which I think was her point. We went over to my room, and she was quick to notice that the door between our rooms was open part way. "Should I close that?"

"No, we’ve made a point of leaving the door at least part way open." I said, as I headed for my closet. I decided, in the interest of speed to forgo the panties, and stripped out of the rest of my stuff, grabbed a bra and managed to put it on. "Fran, would you mind grabbing those things from the drawer?" I called out. Then I grabbed a blouse and started putting it on. Gotta remember not to button it all the way. Danged, why do these things have to button the wrong way? Well. Now for a skirt, khaki should do nicely. I pulled it up, hooked it and then zipped it. I looked on the rack for a pair of shoes, and chose a pair of black ones with the highest heel in the closet. It looked like more than an inch, which I guessed was quite a lot. I slid them on, and walked out.

"Fran, if I pull the bra open, can you slide those things in? I’m not sure how you know which way they go." This got a giggle out of her. "I mean, it’s not like I ever thought I’d need to know this stuff."

"This is the top, and here’s how you can tell the left from the right." She indicated some things to me and I closed my eyes and thought hard to fix that in memory.

"Okay. Maybe I should put them in. You just make sure I don’t twist them around, okay?"

"Sure Dan. Here’s the left one."

As I was putting it in the bra, I shivered. "Ohhh, they’re cold, Fran. I can feel the shivers going up and down my spine!"

"They will warm up, Dan. Don’t worry." She said smiling, as she handed me the other one. I got my courage up, and put the other one in. Uhhh, as bad as the first one. I’ve gotta figure out some way to warm them before putting them in if I’m going to be wearing them much.

Then from the door, "You ready in there Dan?"

"Just a sec." I said, as I buttoned the last few buttons. "Okay, come on in. I need help with the wig."

Renee and Ingrid came into the room. Hmmm. Ingrid doesn’t look as wrong as I had expected, I mean what had happened to her breasts. Then it came to me. She’d said there was something to fix her chest. Though, even with that, there was no way anyone could mistake her for a guy. I looked over at Fran who was shaking her head with a grave expression, so I figured it was my place to say it. "Hi girls."

Ingrid tried to carry it off, saying "Whacha mean, mate?" She was trying sound like a guy, but it just came out as Ingrid. It even set off Renee giggling. "No good huh."

"Sorry, Ingrid. You do look better than I’d thought you would, but just like last night with Renee, you both look like girls dressing up in guy’s cloths for a gag or something."

"I’ll go get your wig, Dan."

"Thanks, Renee." When she got back, I knelt down a bit so she could get it on my head properly, then turned and trying to get a squeaky voice "Well, ladies, as you can see, I’m no better than you are." And then, as I was about to bow, the three of them broke out laughing.

"What’d I do now?"

"Oh, Dan, your skirt." Ingrid said, laughing.

I looked down. "What’s wrong with it? It matches doesn’t it? I’ve got this plaid blouse. That should go with the khaki skirt."

"Dan, the skirt’s on backwards." At my questioning look, Renee continued. "The zipper goes in the back." My face must have turned bright red at that.

I let out my breath, and tried to scrunch it around, but, it didn’t go. "Oh well." I just unzipped it and unbuttoned it, and pulled it around. Then, I reached behind me, and buttoned and zipped it back up. "Better?"

"How’d you do that so easily?" Ingrid exclaimed. "I mean, I have to work a bit to get my hands behind me to button and zip it." She quieted down a moment. "You probably put your bra on that way too, not by spinning it around." At my blank expression, she said, "When I got my first bra, my mom said if I were having trouble hooking it, I should hook it in front and then twist it around."

"Oh." My, "That never occurred to me," elicited another laugh from the three girls, "but that doesn’t address the big issue. I’m still Dan. I’m just wearing a skirt." To which they all nodded.

I walked over to the settee and was about to plop down when Fran stopped me. "Wait, Dan. You may as well get a bit of a lesson here. Sweep your hand under your bottom to get the skirt out flat before you sit down." I sighed, and did as she directed. "Now keep your knees close together. It’s generally easier to remember if you just tuck one of your feet behind the other."

"There’s no way any of us will be ready for Monday."

Ingrid thought. "Well, Renee and I can clown it up a bit on Monday. I mean it’s not so bad for girls to do that. Nobody would think we were making fun of a guy. But, I do see what you mean." She paused a moment. "By the way, from the back, you weren’t too bad."

"Of course. That’s my best side." I said with a snort.

"Dan, I’m really surprised at how easy you are on those heels." said Fran. "Are you sure you’ve not worn them before?"

I laughed, "First time was yesterday, when Andy came over to give me a few pointers."

"Well, you’re lucky, there. How about we all just sleep on it tonight. Maybe one of us can think of some miracle to solve our problems."

We all agreed with Ingrid’s suggestion. Ingrid went back to Renee’s room to change back and Renee sat down next to me.

"Fran, if it’s really going to bother you on Monday. You should talk to Kate! I think it’s her job to make sure you’re okay." I got about as close as I could to hinting that Kate was a shrink. "I mean she’s your assigned support person. Maybe they can make an exception for you."

"I’ll try tomorrow, Dan. And, if it bothers me too much, I’ll send her a note." You’ve been a lot of help with your suggestion as it is. Thanks." She went over to the door between the rooms, "I’m heading over to my room now, Ingrid."

"I’ll be right over, Fran, thanks."

Renee and I decided to practice a little bit. I set the synthesizer to do trumpet, and we practiced her part for quite a while. She seemed to appreciate that I could play along with her or play the other seat’s part as well. Finishing that, we chatted for a while before calling it a night, as it’d been a long day. Only then did we both realize we’d not bothered to change. Oh well. It’s our rooms, and at least the clothing was comfortable. I’ll have to check to find out if there’s something that needs to be done to clean these lumps. I’d hate to ruin them ‘cause of something I did wrong in their care.

Sunday started out peacefully enough. I did my Kata again, and Renee came into the room and watched a while. We chatted about it on the way to breakfast. The rest of the day was pretty peaceful. We managed to work in a bit of homework and studying, some practicing of music and other stuff. No, I should be honest with myself. We did the stuff we needed to do, but we also took plenty of breaks. I was looking forward to dinner, as I’d selected some nice things. They came up to expectations. Just after dessert had been served, the head got up. "I’ve got some bad news for most of you, though the first years may be happy. Due to some guests who will be visiting the school tomorrow, Mix-Up-Monday will be postponed." I heaved a big sigh of relief. "I’m afraid that you first years will just not be up to presenting that way with visitors."

Dan turned to me "Relieved, are you Dan?" I nodded vigorously.

Mr. Hobson continued. "We’ve not yet determined when it’s postponed to, but it will not be that far away, so for most of you, don’t worry." He turned to our table, smiling. "And, as I said before, you get a reprieve; make the most of your time."

I turned to Dan, and quietly asked, "Dan, any chance I can get those lessons on presenting as a girl? I tried, and I still look like a guy in a skirt."

"I’ll see what I can do and let you know. If I can sort it, it’ll show up on your PDA schedule. Okay?"

I got a quizzical look, and then remembered sorted meant arranged and nodded my thanks. Turning back to the rest of the class, I got a poke from Renee. Looking at her, I saw her point at herself, holding up two fingers. I thought a minute, and realized she was saying ‘Me Too’. I turned back to Dan, and said. "Renee reminded me she wanted to take the boy classes."

"Okay same for her then."

On the way back to the common room, I mentioned to Ingrid that Dan was looking into getting the special lessons for Renee and me, and she said she’d already asked Kate about it. Fran seemed to be doing okay, so I didn’t worry about her.

Monday started out like any other day, until midway through breakfast that is. I heard a light chime. I looked around, and then it happened again.

"Dan, you might want to see what the alert is." At my questioning look, Tracy said "Your PDA, Dan."

"Sorry Tracy. I guess I’m not used to it yet." I pulled out my PDA, and checked the note. Wow, three extra things. "I guess Dan’s been busy, but who’s this Mr. Johnson I’m supposed to meet this afternoon, Tracy?"

She looked at me with a strange look. "He’s with the Department of Education. I suspect they’re just interviewing a few students. But, what do you mean by busy?"

"Oh, I’m scheduled for a martial arts evaluation and a meeting with a Kelly Baxter." She was nodding at the first, but her nod stopped when I mentioned the name. I wondered if this Kelly Baxter was also someone from outside. "Is there a problem?"

"Oh no, Kelly’s very nice. I suspect you’ll like her a lot. Did you ask for the meeting with her?"

"I think so." I said, and then I lowered my voice and continued "she teaches the classes on how to act like a girl, right?"

Tracy nodded. "Sounds like you do have a busy day. " She was smiling again with that. Then she noticed that I was pushing away some of my breakfast. "Not hungry any more?"

"It’s not that. I don’t do well exercising on a full stomach, and my Judo evaluation is shortly after breakfast."

"That’s good thinking, Dan. Would you like to reset your menu to give you a bit more at lunch and dinner?"

"You mean I can?"

"Of course! We don’t make it easy but, for situations like this where you need to change a meal, it has to be possible. I’ll set the reset flag, and you’ll be able to indicate what you actually ate for breakfast and you’ll have lunch and dinner to correct."

"Thank you, Tracy." I could see Renee looking at me so I turned, and showed her my schedule for the day. "Renee, since I’ve got that evaluation with this Mr. Smith, I’m not going to finish breakfast. Tracy’s going to reset things so I can have a bit more to make up for it later in the day." My PDA flashed an alert, and I saw that I could update my menu for the day.

While I was updating my menu, she quietly said, I’m seeing Simon Green right after you see Ms. Baxter, Dan. I think he’s supposed to help me."

I nodded at that, and then turned to Tracy. "I’ve not been out of the main buildings yet. Where is this?" I showed her my PDA. "Oh, that’s down the hill out back. You’ll have no problem finding it." Then toward the year as a whole, "Dan just asked a question that may occur to all of you at some time or another. If you take out your PDAs and look at your schedule, you’ll see a little icon to the left of the event name. If you position your pointer over that icon, you’ll see that it says ‘show me’. Clicking that icon will take you to a map showing your location. The school and grounds are indicated on the map for you. As in Dan’s case, you will eventually need to get to the sports hall, which is the building behind the trees in that direction," she said with a wave. "You’ll find that clicking on buildings give you information on them. And for those of you looking at your maps, that little house icon in the upper left corner? That will show you how to get from where you are back to your rooms. A much more detailed map is available on the computers in your rooms. You’ll also find it’s much easier to use."

"What’s the triangle with the letter ‘n’ inside?" asked Mark.

"Any guesses?"

Everyone else was quiet, so I interjected, "A compass rose?"

"That’s it Dan. And, the default is to have North at the top, but if you click it, and are moving, the direction of movement will be at the top and the point of the triangle will show you the relative direction of North."

"Oh, cool!" I agreed with Mark’s sentiments there. It WAS cool.

"Most students think so, Mark. Now, looking at the time, you’ve got some lessons to attend, don’t you?" There were a few yelps, and we all helped Sally and Pru clean up so they wouldn’t be late.

"I’ll see you guys after this extra evaluation. I’m scheduled to be done in time to meet you in Spanish." I hit the show me button next to my evaluation session, and started off. Wow, it was quick in showing my movement.

"Dan, wait up." Renee said as she came after me. "Tracy said I could go with you, and that she’d have our history lessons sent to our computers so we can catch up tonight."

"Okay. I hope you’re not bored by it."

With that, we walked together out and over to the sports hall. I did wonder why they used that term instead of gymnasium, but at least I could figure out what it meant. "These things are amazing, you know Renee?"

"What, Dan?"

"These PDAs."

"I guess."

"What’s the problem Renee?"

"I’m not sure Dan. I just feel nervous I guess."

"I’m the one that should be nervous; after all it’s me that’s being tested."

"Then, you must be Dan Humphrey." said a man in a Judogi; who stepped out from the shadows. Wow, I’d not even noticed him back there.

"Yes sir."

"And you must be Renee MacInnis." He said turning to her. At her nod, he said continued "We can talk once Dan and I are finished. Would you please wait over there?" He indicated some mats to one side. "Also, no talking while Dan and I get this out of the way."

He turned to me, and beckoning, said, "The locker room is this way. We can discuss your background and where you believe you are and what you believe your weaknesses are while you change."

Uh oh, I bet he knows most of what I’ve done. Well, there’s nothing in my training to be ashamed of. But, there is that fight.

We chatted, and it appeared I’d been right that they’d checked on my training here in England.

"Fine, your self assessment may perhaps be a bit more critical than it should be, but we shall see." He indicated a ring on the mats. "We will check your Judo. It’s not my primary area, but I am competent to determine where you stand."

I’d wondered, since he just wore a white belt, the same color as his Judogi. Well, I’d best both assume he knew what he was doing, but also make sure I didn’t surprise him until I was sure he was as good as he said. That is, assuming I could.

We started out simply enough. His basic movements were not that far from what I’d been taught. Usually I could let my training react. After a bit though, he came at me faster, and with combinations I’d not seen. Eventually, he wasn’t even allowing me to center between attacks. That made it more difficult to counter. It’s so much easier when you start centered. He was as fast as my last sensei had been! Eventually, he paused and signaled me to wait. "I will now see how your training does when you are attacked by someone from different traditions. Do you understand?"

I nodded. It was the kind of thing Private Ramsey had done when I got cocky. "Yes, Sensei. Am I to respond with judo or with what seems appropriate, based on your attack."

I think he was pleased by my answer, but I’m not sure. His face didn’t telegraph anything. It was more his stance. He’d been a bit tense when he asked, and now he was relaxed. "You will do as you see fit."

We resumed again, but this time, he came at me with kicks and strikes which I was able to parry. His movements kept me from closing though, so we seemed at a stalemate. Some of his strikes had really hurt when I blocked, instead of deflecting them. I realized that his extra inches and strength were beginning to tell though, and figured that I’d not score on him if I continued the way I was. So I decided to try one of the striking attacks Private Ramsey had shown me, that maximized my size against a larger opponent. It’d worked for her, against some of the strongest Marines. I began to set things up, and right after one of his kick attacks, I followed my parry with the attack, and it worked.

"Stop, that is enough."

Breathing a bit hard, I stopped and stepped back and bowed, while he got up off of the mat. "You have done better than I had expected. It is obvious you’ve been exposed to more styles than Sensei Tenaka tends to teach."

That got my attention. He knew my last teacher. "Sensei said one should master the basics before expanding ones skills in other areas."

"He is a wise man. Why do you not have your black belt?"

I was startled by his question, but responded as best I could. "I am not ready."

"You have the technical skills. Why do you say you are not ready?"

"Achieving the belt implies control of self as much as the use of any skills. As my last week at Westminster taught me, that control is not there yet."

"Did you lose your temper at any point?"

"No."

"Then, how did you lose control of yourself?"

I had to think about his question then. Each step along the way, I’d decided what I would do. It’s just that my original plan was flawed. Was THIS what Sensei had been trying to bring me to understanding, beyond just understanding there were more ways to achieve a goal than one? It would be like him to have hidden another lesson in the first. "No sir. I was in control throughout."

"Then why do you say you do not have control of self?"

"That was an error sir. My problem last week was caused by a flawed plan, more than by my loss of control."

Suddenly he was smiling. "I’m glad you finally figured that out, son. When I talked with Sensei Tenaka yesterday, he told me that he expected you to figure that out, though he’d hoped you would do so without hints." I hung my shoulders a bit at that last. "But that is my role as well; to teach thinking. You have demonstrated your mastery of the basics, as you and he put it. It is time to expand your horizons. By the way, that last attack, it’s certainly NOT something you learned from him."

"No sir. One of the Privates in the detachment at the Embassy in Athens was teaching me, and she felt I should know some things that were more effective against larger opponents."

"Is she also the one that gave you experience in countering other traditions?"

"Yes sir."

"Come, let’s join your friend." Hmmm. I guess she really is my friend. I smiled at the thought.

As we approached her, he said. "Well Renee, do you think you want to learn some of what you saw?"

"Oh, yes." she responded feelingly.

That was awfully intense. I wonder what’s bugging her.

"You were both moving so fast most of the time, I couldn’t follow much, and at the end, I have no clue how Dan got you on the mat."

He laughed at that. "That’s not really surprising. I believe I understand the move he used, but I’ve a lot more experience than you do. If you apply yourself, you could perform at that level before you are finished here at Hayfield."

"You’ll teach me?"

"I’ve another teacher in mind for you, Renee, but to answer what you are really asking, yes you are welcome to learn."

I stood quietly at the side. I wondered if he would teach me. He’d hinted at it, but not come out and said it like that. "It’s a lot of fun learning, Renee. Well, it is after the first few weeks."

He grunted at that. "Yes, learning how to fall without getting hurt is not always the easiest of lessons." Then he turned to me. "Would you be interested in learning other traditions?"

"I would, sir."

"Very well then, we will arrange this as well." I felt myself finally relaxing. I hadn’t realized how tense I’d been. "You will both be seeing these lessons along with your other scheduled classes in your schedule."

"Thank you very much. How should I refer to you, sir?"

"In a teaching situation, how would you refer to your teacher?"

"Here, as Sensei, I guess. I was more wondering about away from this setting."

"Well Sensei is acceptable here, and hopefully you’ll not be seeing much of me away from the Sports Hall. If you do, just ignore me unless I approach you. In that case continuing as you’ve done is fine."

Wow, way mysterious. I bowed in acknowledgement. "Thank you, Sensei."

"Now, you’d best go shower and change back so you can get to your next class."

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Author's Note: I want to thank Karen for allowing me the pleasure of continuing this story and I hope you all get as much pleasure out of reading it as I've had writing it. I also want to thank the two individuals that proofed and commented on the story as it developed (Karen Page & Penny Cardon). Their comments and criticisms helped immesurably! I also want to thank Holly Logan, the person that gave the chapter a final review to hopefully reduce the mechanical errors (typos and the like). Any problems remaining are mine and not that of any of these remarkable ladies.