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 8

As we walked toward our Spanish class, I thought about things. "This school is AWESOME."

"It is, isn’t it, Dan." Renee responded.

"Yes, sorry, I was thinking out loud I guess."

"I didn’t know you were that good at Judo, Dan."

"Umm. I’m okay."

"You’re more than okay, Dan. I guess this is like your piano playing." I looked at her sharply. "You said you were okay there too. But every time I hear you, I can tell how good you are. You really love the piano, don’t you?"

"I do. Would you believe my folks had to push me to practice when I was little? I mean, I started lessons, in my after school program, when I was five, without telling my parents. They only found out after I’d been doing it for two months and the program asked them to pay for the lessons."

Renee snickered at that.

"But, in first grade, I started getting bored with it. The teacher was having me do scales and such, rather than playing songs. My parents had to push me to practice. I remember my dad said once or twice, ‘We’re paying for your lessons, you’ll practice. If you want to quit fine, we’ll stop, but as long as you want to play, you will practice.’ I suspect mom talked to my teacher though, because shortly after the second or third time of getting that lecture, my teacher let me pick out a song to work on along with the ones he picked. I was much better at doing my practicing then. And by third grade, I was practicing without prompting." I paused, hearing the sound of voices, and saw the rest of the year arriving.

"Joining us for Spanish?" asked Mark.

"We thought we’d suffer and bring ourselves to sit with you mere mortals just this once," I replied in as haughty a voice as I could manage.

That got a laugh from Mark. "Whoa, I walked right into that one, Dan." With that, we all went into the class.

I got another chime just before the end of the class, and looking at my PDA, I saw they’d moved up my appointment with the education department muckety muck. Looking up, I saw that the teacher was putting away her PDA as well.

"You had best be on your way, Dan. Hasta luego."

"Adios, Seá±ora Gutierez." I gave Renee a thumbs up, so she wouldn’t think anything was up.

I was surprised to see Mr. Hobson waiting outside my room. "Come along Dan. I’ll be introducing you to Mister Johnson."

"Why would someone from the education department want to talk to me? Or are they talking to random kids from different classes?"

"Today, he asked to speak to you by name, which is unusual. I think he’s checking up on you as a favor for your parents." At my troubled look he asked, "Something about that bothers you?"

"My dad almost never works around the system. He’s always said that it’s better to work within the system and get it to do what you need. It doesn’t sound right he’d go at it this way."

"I see. Perhaps Dr. Johnson just sees this as an opportunity to check on you, as you’re the first non-British student to be selected to attend our school."

I thought that made some sense, but was still disturbed by something. Then I recalled he’d postponed the Mix-up Monday exercises. "He doesn’t know about all the things that go on in the school, does he?"

"What? Why do you ask?"

"Well, you postponed the Mix-up day. That started me thinking, and it occurred to me that he probably wasn’t aware that we did Mix-up days or you’d have let it go on. Going from there, it made sense that it was likely that there were other things about the school he didn’t know about. I’m guessing now, but I figure the entire dressing bit is part of it, and the support for transsexuals would be another area. But, I’d think the extent of our computer systems might also be more than he’s aware of because I’ve never heard even hints of schools automated even half as much as this one is."

"We’re not unique Dan, but I am impressed by your chain of deductions, even if your grammar was off a bit. I think Dan was right in insisting that we expand your specialty to include intuitive reasoning."

"That’s something else, our specialties. That doesn’t sound like stuff other schools do, and I’ve not been able to figure out why we have them or what they do other than give you something else on which to assign work."

The head chuckled at that. "You’re right on that as well. But, our basic curriculum and the music department are well known to Dr. Johnson. In fact, he sometimes attends some of our dress rehearsal concerts."

Is Mr. Hobson hinting at safe areas to discuss? I suspected that those areas the education department wasn’t aware of as yet, he didn’t want them clued into. Talk about a minefield! Geeze.

We arrived at another room, and Mr. Hobson knocked. Receiving an acknowledgement, he opened the door. "Hello, Sam, I met Dan in the hall, and thought I’d introduce him to you. Dan, this is Dr. Samuel Johnson. Sam, as you probably have guessed, this is Dan Humphrey."

"Thank you, Quentin. I’ll try not to keep him too long. I know you have lunch scheduled fairly soon and knowing teen boys like I do, I’m SURE Dan here would not like to miss lunch, especially given the quality of food you offer." Turning to me, he said "I’m looking forward to lunch myself. One big benefit of a school this size is that you don’t get stuck with the run of the mill institutional food. But, I probably don’t have to tell you about that."

I laughed at the last, knowing he was referring to school cafeterias. I guess they must be the same the world over. The food had been okay in Naples and Athens, and Westminster had had decent food, but nothing to compare to Hayfield!

"We’ll see you at lunch, Quentin."

"All right Sam."

"Have a seat, Dan." He said indicating a chair and taking one himself. "How have you found the school so far?"

"It’s been really awesome, sir. I mean the orchestra is amazing. I just hope I can measure up. I got to see them perform when they did their field trip to Italy a couple years ago."

"I can agree that the students here put on a good performance. I make it a point to get to as many of the dress rehearsals as I can manage. But back to your experience here, how have you found the classes?"

"So far, they’ve only been a bit more challenging than what I saw at Westminster, but they’ve said they’re letting us get out feet under us and get used to things before they start increasing the workload. All of the teachers seem really good and really seem to care about all of us." He nodded at this. "Another thing, they seem to go out of their way to provide extra help if someone needs it. And having a partner for studying seems really neat."

"So you like the study partner concept, do you?"

"Oh yes, sir. I was nervous about it to start with, but I’ve found it really helpful. When Renee has a question on something, I find I get to understand it better by having to explain it to her. She’s helped me a lot, too. And, having someone else to review with makes things much clearer in general." I paused.

"So your study partner is a girl? What do you think about that?"

"Well, there are five girls and three guys in our year, so there had to be a mixed pair. So far, it has worked pretty well. I mean, she’s smart and all."

The conversation went on a while more, when he asked more about my impression of other aspects of the school. I tried to avoid some of the issues I’d discussed with the head, and found it fairly easy to do actually. He didn’t seem to have a clue those topics exist.

"Thank you for taking this time to talk with me, Dan. You’ve confirmed most of the things we’d already known and expected from discussions with the staff here. I just wanted to make sure you were getting along well, since you are our first foreigner at the school. Is there anything you would like me to pass on to your parents?"

"Oh sir, that wouldn’t be fair. None of the other students can have personal messages sent out, just letters. I’d really rather not receive special treatment."

"If you’re sure, I certainly wouldn’t mind bending that rule for you."

"Oh I’m sure. Please, don’t even tell my parents you talked with me!"

"All right young man. I do respect your sense of fairness. Am I right in guessing you’d prefer to not be singled out in the future as well?" I nodded. "All right, I’ll make it a point to not ask to speak to you by name from now on. I can see how your new friends might think you were getting a special privilege, and I hope today’s meeting doesn’t cause any friction."

"Thank you, sir." About then, my stomach made a fairly loud growl. "Oops, sorry about that, sir."

He laughed. "I’ve kept you long enough. I was once young enough to need more regular feeding than I do now. Let’s go avail ourselves of the outstanding lunch they’ve made available." He stood up, so I quickly got up as well.

Lunch was uneventful. I really hoped he didn’t call me out to chat again. I think I’d avoided saying anything that the head wouldn’t want shared. We had some time to ourselves after lunch, and went to the common room to hang out and see what the others were up to. Eventually 2:00 came around, and I told the others I’d see them at orchestra rehearsal. I was off to my third special meeting of the day. I’d weathered the other two, hopefully this one wouldn’t be too bad, though I really was nervous. As I thought about it, I found I was actually more nervous about this than I’d been about my judo evaluation this morning.

The door was open when I got to the room, so I stuck my head inside. "Oh, there you are, Dan," said a lady coming out of an adjoining room. "Come on over here and let’s get acquainted."

I went in as directed, and sat down on the chair opposite the one she was sitting in. "I understand from Dan that you want lessons in presenting like a female. Would you mind explaining why?"

"Well, in some attempts to get ready for the mix-up today, it quickly became apparent that I looked like a guy in a dress and I found that thought disrespectful."

"How so?"

"Well, some of the other kids here are girls, or at least they are inside. I feel that just dressing like a girl would be making fun of them. Someone suggested I could try to clown it up, but I’ve never liked that kind of thing. So, I felt that if I had to wear girls clothing, I should learn how to do it as best I can present myself as much like a girl as possible."

"So, you have no desire to be a girl?"

I’m afraid I was real imaginative by my reply. "Huh?" Thinking back on it later, I was a bit embarrassed by that.

"Your desire to dress like a girl is not driven by any desire to be a girl, or understand what a girl goes through?"

"Not exactly, I figured the second half was part of what was involved in learning how to look and act like a girl."

"I see. Well, I think we can work well together," she said with a smile.

"I’m glad to hear that. I really don’t want to look like a clown or a guy in a dress when I have to do this."

"Here’s how I expect we’ll handle this. We’ll first start on the big things, the stuff that visually tells people looking at you that you’re a guy or a girl when you’re standing still or walking. Then, we’ll move on to more and more subtle things in mannerisms, word selection and even how you pitch your voice."

"Let’s start by seeing where you are. Please go change into the shoes and skirt you’ll find in the changing room." She indicated the room she’d come out of earlier. I guess she had expected things to work out and was putting the stuff in there. I saw the skirt was about the same length as the one I’d had on the other night, and the shoes had a lower heel.

This should be pretty easy. After I got the skirt on, I noticed she’d not included any stockings, so I stuck my head out. "Do you want me wearing these barefoot? Or, do you have some stockings I should wear."

"Well, you passed the first test." She got up and walked over to a chest. "These should do the job for you." I looked and saw she was handing me a ball of nylon.

"Thank you." As I put them on, I saw they were only up to my knee, which looked a little funny with the skirt, but put on the shoes next anyway. As I walked out, I asked "Wouldn’t something longer be better here?"

"Longer?"

"Well, either the skirt should be longer, to cover the top of the stockings, or the stockings longer so the top doesn’t show."

"That’s correct. Either of those would resolve the issue. You spotted that, too. Since neither has impact on what I’m looking at right now, let’s leave things as they are." She paused and looked me over. I wondered why, and then realized she checking how I’d put things on. "Pretty good job, Dan. Generally that style skirt is worn a bit higher on the body. You have it where you’d normally pull up your trousers." She indicated where the skirt’s waist should be, and went on. "That’s one difference you’ll see in many women’s clothing. We have higher waists than most men. Your waist is actually higher than average, and you do have hips. Have a walk across the room and back, please."

I was about half way down the length of the room when she said "Take smaller steps, Dan." I did, but I didn’t really see the point. I got to the end, and turned to walk back. "Take a seat please." I continued over to the chair, swept the skirt under me and sat down. Then, I remembered to tuck one foot behind the other one. I sat there quietly, wondering what would happen now. "I saw the brief hesitation before you tucked your right foot behind your left. Am I correct in guessing someone told you that you should be keeping your knees together and that crossing at the ankles was one way to achieve this?"

"Yes, ma’am."

"Dan, since we will probably be working together for a while, you’d best call me Kelly."

"Okay, Kelly. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you did much better than I’d expected from your comments actually. Many guys have issues with those low heels, and your arms swung fine. You even took care of the skirt without pausing."

"When you told me to sit down again, I thought about the things I’d been told by my friends. I almost forgot the legs."

"Ahh. Well, by the time we’re done, you won’t have to think about it." she said smiling. I’d like you to try a few more sets of heels." She pulled out a box and handed it to me. "These have a one inch heel. Based on the ease you had with the ones you have on, I suspect you’ll be fine with these too. Meanwhile, let me go get two more pair."

While I changed shoes, she went into yet another room, and returned with the boxes. "Done, good, let’s see you cross the room again. Remember shorter steps than you’re used to."

I got up and brushed my skirt smooth before walking across the room. These were about like the shoes I’d been wearing already, and I had no more trouble with them, than I’d had before.

"You were practicing with the highest heels in your closet, weren’t you?"

"Yes, Kelly. Andy suggested them."

She laughed at that. "Yes, he would suggest the highest to start with. Okay, try this pair. It’s a bit different style. It’s a sandal and has a strap that goes across the ankle."

I could see the strap she was referring to. With the strap open, getting the new shoes on was easy! Now, how to buckle the strap; I can’t just cross my legs. I slid forward in the chair a bit, and put my foot beside the chair before leaning down, and buckling the first one with my left hand, and then I switched, and did the same with my right.

"Well done. You appear to have realized that crossing your legs to buckle the straps was a bad idea. Why?"

"Ummm, It would have raised my skirt, and since the buckle is on the outside, it wouldn’t have helped all that much."

"Good, let’s see you cross the room again."

I got up, and felt my balance off again. "Just a second." I paused and got the feeling of things. These shoes shifted my center of gravity a bit forward of where I was used to. "Okay." I headed off across the floor, and after two steps, remembered to shorten my stride. That made walking easier. I turned back, with a smile on my face. It was good understanding why shorter steps helped.

"I saw you shorten your stride to adjust for the heels. Well done there. I’m surprised you’re having so little trouble. Why did you pause when you stood up?"

"I could feel my center of gravity had moved, so I needed to adjust for it."

"Okay, try these three inch heels. Same routine."

I nodded, and while I managed to cross the room well enough, I could feel my lower legs tightening a lot!

"You’re massaging your lower legs. I take it that was uncomfortable?"

"Yes, they feel really tight right now."

"That’s not surprising, you’re not used to walking with heels like that, and you were stiffer walking." She thought for a minute, then said "Why don’t you change back into your things, then we’ll chat about what to do next."

I took those shoes right off, and then the stockings. Then, in my bare feet, I went to the changing room to get dressed again. I hung the skirt back on the hanger, and taking it, the stockings and the shoes, I went back out to see Kelly. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"No. You can hang the skirt on the hook over there. The stockings go in the chute, and the shoes in this box." After I’d put them all where she’d indicated, she asked me to walk across the room again. I wasn’t sure what the issue was, but complied.

"Have a seat, Dan. I think you’ll find this easier than you expect, but it’ll still not be over easy. Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"I don’t think so."

"While you were growing up, did you ever get teased about things by other kids?"

That was certainly not what I’d expected. I sat and thought about it. "Maybe there was some teasing, but not much really, and certainly not in the past year."

"What happened then?"

I laughed. "I finally caught up with my feet, is what my mom said. I got a lot bigger, and became one of the taller kids in my grade. I seem to have stopped growing for now though."

She nodded. "Okay, how fast do you want to learn this, and how serious are you about it?"

"As soon as possible, and if I wasn’t serious, I’d not be here."

She nodded, as if confirming something to herself. "Okay, if you really want to learn as fast as possible, then you will have to live the part."

"I can understand that. But from the way you’re saying that, I think you’re implying something like full time."

At her nod of confirmation, I gulped, closed my eyes and took a big breath. "I’ll do it, starting when? I’m sure it shouldn’t be before Dr. Johnson leaves."

She smiled. "It’ll not be as painful as you appear to believe. Nobody will make fun of you, I assure you! As to when, you are correct in your guess that you shouldn’t start before he has finished his visit. Starting sooner would just lead to unpleasant questions that serve no purpose.

"What I’d like you to do, since your balance seems so good in them, is to use these sandals and wear skirts and blouses for the rest of the week. You’ll meet with me daily, and we’ll touch on things to help you out. If you like, you can ask your friends to point out errors you make as well. That may be uncomfortable for you, but it will speed things up."

"At night, too?"

"That’s up to you, but I think you’ll find it helps."

"What if my legs start to hurt?"

"Well, from what little I saw, I think the worst you’ll feel is a little tightness. I’d strongly suggest you stretch well each morning and evening. If your legs do begin to hurt, you should shift to a lower heel for a few hours."

"Why do you want me using the higher heel?"

"Well, for two reasons, actually. First, it seems to help you remember to take the smaller steps that are appropriate for how you will be presenting. The second is that it changes your gait a little and makes your walk appear a little more feminine all by itself. If you find yourself thinking about your walking, you can’t think about other things. In addition, thinking about it, you’ll likely end up exaggerating the motions, which would produce just the effect you’ve said you wanted to avoid."

"Oh wow." I heard her PDA chime, and I figured my time was up. "Be gentle with Renee, please. She’s really nervous talking to folks she’s not met before."

She looked at me sharply. "Renee’s your study partner, isn’t; she?" I nodded. "The two of you agreed to do this at the same time as well, didn’t you?" I nodded again. "Okay. Thanks for the warning; I’ll pass it on to Simon. Please don’t tell her anything about your session, except that it went well, and that I asked you to wait until later to talk."

"Simon?" I paused a moment, and realized I’d forgotten Renee had a different teacher, and that Kelly must be referring to Mr. Green. "Duh, I feel like an idiot. I know she’s not working with you." Catching my breath, "Thanks, she’s seeing him shortly."

She laughed at that. "Yes, though I don’t know about short. Simon is one of the taller gentlemen around here."

I laughed with her. "Okay. Thanks Kelly."

I headed out the door, carrying the sandals in their box. Renee was just coming from the other direction. "Hi Renee, Kelly was really nice. If Simon’s anything like her, you’ll have an interesting time."

"I’m worried about It, Dan. I’ve never met him before."

"You want me to walk with you?"

"Would you?" At my nod, she continued, "Thanks, Dan."

"Hey, I said I’d be there for you, all you had to do was ask! Now, where is his room?" I said, turning back the way I’d come.

We walked quietly down the hall. "Dan, what did you have to do?"

I checked my PDA for the time, and saw it was getting close to her start time. "Mostly walk around in heels; she gave me another pair to practice in." I indicated the box under my arm. "But, since we’re almost there, I’ll tell you more tonight." I didn’t want to worry her about my plans for the next few days. I also didn’t want to tell her too much about what I’d done, since Kelly’d asked me not to.

"Okay. Wish me luck."

I gave her a quick hug. "I’ll wait for you if you want, Renee. But, like I said, Kelly was really nice, and I’m sure Simon will be, too."

"Thanks, Dan. If you’re sure you don’t mind?" She paused, then quietly, "I don’t know what I’d do without you, Dan."

"The feeling’s mutual." We ended back in a hug.

Moments later we heard someone clearing their throat, and jumped apart. "Excuse me. Are either of you Renee MacInnis?"

There, addressing us, was a very tall and slim man. He must have been as tall as that Broadway guy Timmy Tune or something. My folks had some videos that showed him dancing.

He turned to me. "Well, if you’re Miss MacInnis, I can see we have a lot of work to do." His voice was very serious, but I could see what I thought was a twinkle in his eye. It also got a snort out of Renee.

"No, sir. I’m afraid not. I’m Dan Humphrey. But, if you think I need help, maybe I’d best schedule some time when I’m done with Kelly."

"I’ll do my best for you, of course." he said, with a bow to his head. "Then this young lady must be Miss MacInnis. Would you mind introducing us, Mr. Humphrey?"

"I’d be glad to, sir. You are Mr. Green, aren’t you?"

"Yes, how remiss of me. I’m forgetting my own manners. Simon Green, at your service, Mr. Humphrey."

I turned to Renee, and tried to keep myself from laughing. "Miss MacInnis, this is Mr. Green. Mr. Green, this is my partner, Miss MacInnis."

"Enchanted my dear. Now that we have the introductions out of the way, shall we get on with your lesson?"

He turned, and entered a room and the two of us followed. I could see it had some similarities in size to Kelly’s, but was much different in décor.

"Mr. Humphrey," he said as he turned and noticed that I’d followed as well. "These lessons are generally private, at least initially."

"Renee asked me to be here, sir."

"For the first part, I’m going to have to insist that you wait outside, Mr. Humphrey. If she still desires your presence after that, I may be able to allow it."

Thinking back to how my session had gone, I guessed he wanted time to discuss reasons and goals privately. "Renee, are you okay? I’ll just be out in the hall if you need me."

At her nod, I turned back to the door.

"Mr. Humphrey, we could be a half hour." He turned to Renee, "Miss MacInnes, why don’t you let Mr. Humphrey take his box back to his room, and return then."

Renee agreed. I was a bit concerned, leaving her as nervous as she was. "Renee, I’ll get your trumpet, so we can go straight to orchestra rehearsal when you’re finished."

I guess reminding her about orchestra helped, because she gave a hint of a smile before she responded, "Thanks, Dan."

On my way back to my room, I thought about how things seemed to be bothering Renee, and wondered what could have made her so nervous around people. I’d just have to do my best to be there for her. I wandered back to the rooms, and put away the sandals. I think I’d best tell Ingrid and Fran my plan for tomorrow, so they’re not surprised. I dunno how much time I’ll have tonight.

I grabbed Renee’s trumpet, and went over to knock on Fran’s door.

"Hi Dan, how’d it go with Kelly?"

"How did you know I was seeing her?"

"Just a good guess, I figured with you being pulled out three different times today one of them had to be with her. What did she think?"

"I only have time to go through the story once right now, so can we grab Ingrid too? I kinda think she should hear it, too."

"Good idea." She went over to knock on the door to Ingrid’s room. Shortly we were seated and I briefly described what I’d been through, and what she wanted me to do starting in the morning.

"Wow, that’s intense, Dan. Thank you for taking it so seriously, though I can’t say I’m really surprised."

"Fran’s right, Dan, I’m glad you are, too. We’ll both keep an eye on you and bug you when you mess up." Ingrid paused then. "I thought I’d sent Kate a note asking for the lessons too. Let me check and see if anything’s scheduled yet." She pulled out her PDA, and looked. "I feel like an idiot. It’s still sitting here in my drafts folder. I must have gotten interrupted before sending the note. Let me do it now."

I laughed at that. "My dad said that happened to him once, and it was a report he was supposed to have sent out. He got in the next Monday morning to have the consul giving him a dressing down for not getting the report to him on time. Once they found out what caused the error, things were okay, but Dad said ever since, he makes it a point to check his drafts folder at the end of every day, and first thing each morning."

"That’s a good idea. Maybe I could have had my appointment by now. What’s this teacher like?"

"He’s really formal, and was really smartly dressed." My PDA chimed, and when I looked down, I was glad that I’d set myself a little reminder while walking back to the rooms. "I’ve gotta run, maybe we can chat more this evening. I’m meeting Renee, and then we’ll be off to rehearsal."

After I got back to the room I put the shoes in the closet with the rest. I checked my PDA, and saw I had only a few minutes, so I ran into Renee’s room, and seeing her trumpet case beside the door, I grabbed it and was off.

"Is there a reason you’re running indoors Dan?" I skidded to a stop and looked around.

"Sorry, Becky. I was supposed to meet Renee in a few minutes outside Mr. Green’s room and I’m running late."

"Be more careful, young man. If I’d not heard you coming, I might have stepped out in front of you, rather than behind you." I hung my head at that. We’d have both ended up on the floor I suspect. "We can talk more later, if you need, but most things are rarely so time critical, at this point in your school career, that you have to run." She smiled at that.

"I’ll be more careful, Ma’am."

"No need to get formal now. Just be careful and go find your study partner."

I thanked her, and took off at a little slower pace. Eventually I got back to Mr. Green’s room, and took a seat on the floor outside the door. Just after I got seated, the door opened and Mr. Green asked "Why don’t you come in now, Mr. Humphrey. There’s no need to sit on the floor."

I came in, and saw Renee standing still on one side. She wasn’t moving. What the heck is going on? Is this some strange exercise he’s got her doing? I glanced back at Mr. Green, and he indicated that I should have a seat by the door.

"Now Miss. MacInnes, you may relax now. Okay now slowly turn toward the door, and walk over here." From what I could see, she was walking just like she did before. "Mr. Humphrey, would you mind helping us out a bit?" I looked up, surprised, "Sure, Mr. Green."

"All right, please walk over and stand where Miss MacInnes was standing a moment a go. Yes there, and look at the corner of the room and stand still." I complied, wondering what he was attempting to show her. This was certainly nothing like what I’d been through earlier. I guess it’ll eventually make sense.

"Miss MacInnes, please sit in the chair Mr. Humphrey just vacated." I assume she did so, because I could hear some motion behind me, but they were just out of my peripheral vision.

"All right, Mr. Humphrey, turn and walk to the door, like Miss MacInnes did." I turned, and walked over, only to see him give me a look. "You’re a dancer, Mr. Humphrey?"

"No, Sir." I wonder what brought that up.

"Never mind." He walked over to a cabinet I’d noticed on the wall, and when he opened it, a TV was displayed. "Miss MacInnes, please come over here. There is something I would like you to watch."

I walked over as well. We saw her standing there, and then turn and walk to the door. "You recorded me!" Renee said.

"Only at certain points Miss MacInnes, primarily to allow you to see yourself how others perceive you." I heard a click and looking at him, I saw he had a plastic controller of some kind in his hand. Looking back at the screen, I was in time to see my picture coming over. "Do you see any difference in the walks?"

"I do, but I’m not sure what I see," I replied.

"The question was to Miss MacInnes, Mr. Humphrey. Miss MacInnes?"

"Well, his walk is smoother than mine."

"Yes, that it is, but that’s not what I was referring to." He fiddled with the control again, and both our images were side by side. I could see our walks were different, but I didn’t know what he was hinting at. I suspected I’d need to find out eventually.

"You mean the hips moving for me more, and his not?"

"Exactly, Miss MacInnis. It isn’t as apparent with Mr. Humphrey as it is with most males. His gait is more common with dancers." He turned to me. "That is why I asked you the question Mr. Humphrey. To what do you attribute your smooth stride?"

"Oh, that’s from my martial arts training, I think. Some of us used to try to walk on the rice paper, like in some movies, but we never managed."

He nodded at that explanation. "That explains it. Here, I’ll add one of the staff doing the same action. See if you can see the difference in the gait."

A few more clicks, and then there were the two of us, and Mr. Hobson. I smiled at that. "If you’ll watch Mr. Hobson, you’ll notice that his arms seem to swing from the shoulders more than the elbows, and that his entire torso participates more in the walk. Not all men involve the torso so much. Actually, you’ll find those with certain military training tend to do it less, though their arms do swing from the shoulders. Females with that background will also swing their arms from the shoulders, and their gait is typically more masculine. This is due to their marching, where the pace is fit to an average male’s height." Wow, I didn’t know all of that.

He paused then, and turned to us. "Now, Miss MacInnis, in order for you to be perceived as a male, you will need to learn how to suppress your natural walk and move more toward a masculine walk. A little exaggeration to begin with will probably help you, now that you’ve seen what the difference is. Other things you can do to mask your normal walk is to increase the length of your stride by a small amount. Men also do not tend to put one foot right in front of the other, it’s more of a sway from side to side, though with most it’s fairly subtle."

She nodded, as he continued. "You should practice walking alone, or where only a friend is around to observe. There are a few dance studios that you can reserve when classes are not running. They have a mirror wall, so you can see yourself." He paused, then "I would like you to work on this, and when you believe you’ve at least partially learned what you need, arrange for a follow-up session. If you have questions before then, you can mail me and I’ll either reply the same, or arrange for a meeting so I can help you. Do you have any questions, Miss MacInnes?"

She indicated that she understood, and he dismissed us. "I believe you have sufficient time to get to your rehearsal." I glanced down at my PDA, and realized we’d have to move pretty quickly.

We left, and walked over to rehearsal. "Are you okay, Renee?"

"I think so, Dan. He was so formal. It was like talking to a butler or something. It almost made it easier for me. Thanks for being there for me at the beginning and coming back."

I nodded, but didn’t have any time to respond since we had to separate to our own areas.

"Hi, Dan, do you remember everything from last week?" Andy was already there, with a smile on his face.

"I dunno, Andy. What are all those black bugs on the paper?" I said with a straight face. He howled, and Andrea came over to see what the joke was.

"What did you do to Andy?"

"I just asked him about all the little black bugs on the paper. I didn’t think it was THAT funny."

"It’s not Dan, except that I asked him the same question last year, and he was actually looking for the bugs before I laughed." I laughed at that.

"What seems to be the trouble back here?" I jumped, and Andrea responded.

"Sorry, Mrs. Russell. Dan just asked Andy about the bugs on his paper. I guess he’s remembering the gag I pulled on him last year."

She turned to Andy, "A little less laughter, Andy, we do have a rehearsal to get through."

He choked down his laughing. "Sorry Mrs. Russell, he just, sorry." He took a deep breath. "I’ll be okay."

The rest of rehearsal went like that last two. It was all I could do to keep up with my part.

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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.