On the way home, I cycled by the Academy. I slowed down and was about to turn and visit it, but then said hell no and cycled home.

Mom was in the sitting room with my suitcase and told me I would be going to a new school. I would be living there.

I shouted no way was I going to that old ladies school. I told mom that she was totally weird. Mom told me to sit down, while we talked about it.

“You cannot force me to go there. I am quite happy to go to the school that I have now”

“You are 11 years old, and the fact is that I decide. Of course, you like your school. They allow you to get away with everything.”

“I am not going to that woman's school. I will just skip school if I go there!”

“It is a boarding school, so you will be there all the time. In fact, I will be moving to a small town and open a small shop there. It is about time that I think of myself. The change will do me good.”
“Never mind about you,” I shouted, “You are getting rid of me so you can live in some boring little town!”

Mom buried her head in her hands and explained, “I love you and you will never know how much I love you. The fact is that I am at my wits end. You are not a good boy. You are getting in more and more trouble, you are rude and arrogant, and you have no empathy or respect for others.”

“Nice that my mom loves me!”

“I do love you! This is going to be hard for me. However, I spoke with Miss Victoria when I collected you. She told me about her special program, which is quite old and not used anymore. However, it has a 100% success rate. I said you are a bad boy, but deep down, I know you are good and capable of doing great things”

I didn’t want to hear more, so I went to my room and slammed the door. All my things were either in a suitcase or in a moving box. I needed some help. I wished I had a dad that cares about me. I rang to my grandmother and told her what mom was planning. I complained that Mom doesn’t love me anymore and wants me to go to some strange school. I begged granny if I could live with her. There was silence on the phone and granny said she was too old to take care of me.

I hung up.

Shortly afterwards, I heard Moms phone ring. She was arguing and crying. I guessed it was granny that was asking mom what the hell she was up to. The only thing I heard was that mom agreed to give Miss Victoria temporary custody, whatever that meant.

I was now in bed about to sleep when mom came in. I could see she was crying. She whispered and begged me to forgive her. She just felt powerless! She told me that felt like such a bad mother!
I told her that I hated her and to leave me alone.

I cried as I tried to sleep. Did I hate my mother? I know I was no angel, but I was a tween and I did not consider myself evil. The things I did were pranks. Was this not part of being a boy? Was mom sending me to a new place because I was just a boy that got in trouble once in a while?
Did mom really love me or did she just want me to be a momma’s boy?

The next day was the day I would start at the Dollie Academy. I promised myself I would not change. That old woman could not accept this, so I probably would be expelled in no time.

As we were driving there, granny rang to me on my cell phone. She told me that she did not agree with sending me there and especially giving Miss Victoria temporary custody. She finished by telling me to ring to her if I ever needed help, as she would do her best to help me.

When we came to the house, Miss Victoria was standing at the door with a smile on her face. She was wearing an old Victorian dress. She told us to come in and say our goodbyes. She even told me to give mom a hug. I just looked at her with tears in my eyes and told her I hated her. This made mom cry. I know you think I was being rude and mean in doing this, but imagine your mom dropping you off with some old woman you never met. I loved my mom, but I could not forgive her for doing this. I wanted her to say that we should go home!

Miss Victoria closed the door and I realized that I was stuck with her. She told me to follow her. She was going to show me my room. The house was full of fancy old furniture. There was a smell of polish. She also had a lot of ornaments. It was like walking through a museum. It was also so quiet. I wondered where the others were. This was supposed to be an academy. Where were all the other boys? She showed me a wall that had pictures of girls in fancy frames. She told me they were old pupils. I asked where the other children were. The old woman just giggled and told me I would be told.

I nearly fainted when I saw the room. A huge canopy bed with curtains around it. The bedsheets were flowers and an old-fashioned quilt was over it. There was no computer, but a box full of dolls and a huge doll house. There was a table with a huge mirror. The carpet was red velvet and the walls were pink. Did she expect me to sleep here?

“There is no WAY I am sleeping here!” I shouted at her.
“This is the only room we have.” She said, “You see your mother has enlisted you in The Dollie academy. Sit down and let me explain.”

She explained that this house was part of the accommodation. There were several accommodation houses with an aunt and a boy. I should consider her as my new aunt as her job would be to take care of me. She said once in a while I would meet the other boys, where we danced or did something fun. I asked what classes I should have. She told me I was to be home-schooled and then told me to settle in, as I would find out later.

I asked where my suitcase was. She told the clothes I needed were in the wardrobe. I looked in and just seen girl clothes. Dresses, jeans, skirts, blouses… you name it, it was there. Fist I said I was in the wrong room, and then she told me to sit down again, as I may as well know the whole purpose of the Dollie Academy.

“Sighs,” She started, “You saw the pictures of the past pupils. They all have one thing in common with you. They were all boys. When you are here, you will be entering a program that is as old as child raising itself. You were being given the petticoat treatment…”

“They were all boys?”

“Yes, Barbie. You will no longer be treated as a boy. You will be treated as a girl. You will look like a girl, think like a girl and act like a girl. You will be…”

“You are crazy and senile old lady. No way will I ever be a sissy! You can’t do that! Mom would never allow it! This must be a joke to make me afraid!”

“It’s no joke. Your dear mom is so worried about you. She knows you smoke, she knows you sniffed glue, she knows you steal and get in fights. She also suspects it was you that destroyed my flowerbed and spray painted on the wall. Your poor mother is so worried that you will end up hurting someone or end up in jail. She was told about this project and in despair, she signed temporary custody over to me!”

“This must be against the law!”

“Temporary custody is when I am responsible for you and there is no law against treating you like a girl, so if I was you… I would get used to it. The sooner you pass the program, the sooner you go back to your mom”

I told her to get out and leave me alone. Miss Victoria left the room with a smile on her face. I looked around at all the pink in the room and looked at the dresses and girl things. Then I started to get mad and furious. I tore the heads off all the dolls and teddys and then threw the clothes all over the room. I smashed the dollhouse as well. I was now in a crazy mad mood. I was not going to be a sissy! I started tearing the dresses and any clothes I could wear. At the end, I collapsed on the bed.

She couldn’t make me wear the dresses now, as they were all in shreds.

No way was I going to stay here! I crawled out the window and ran as far as my legs could take me. I ran over her prizes flowers and ran down the street. I must have walked for miles.

It started to rain and rain a lot! I only had a t-shirt and jeans so within no time I was drenched to the skin. How stupid could I be that I was running away without a coat? I sat in on a wet bench outside the Church. I looked at the cross and thought why God even allowed that woman. She was old… maybe he should call her home.

I admit I did some pranks. What did mom want? A boy that was so submissive he did everything others wanted. Did she want a son that could not think and just look pretty? Let's say if I agreed to be a sissy princess. How would I be good for anyone? I would look like a girl but be a boy under the dresses. I would be teased and humiliated! I would be submissive… and I would not be who God created!

This car stopped and a man opened his window and asked why I was out in the rain. His wife got out and came over to me and put a blanket around me and asked what I was doing in the middle of the rain. I cried as I was tired and cold. I could not explain I was escaping from a woman that wanted to treat me like a girl. I looked up and asked her could they not drive me home. I gave her the address of where my mom and I lived.

I stopped crying in the car and was feeling happy once again as they started driving down my old road. The only thing that worried me was that my mom already moved to her new house. I am sure mom would understand that Miss Victoria is one crazy woman! If mom was not there, I would simply hike my way to Grannies.

The car went past our house!

I told them to stop as they went past my house, but they kept on driving. I started to scream and panic while trying to open the car door. They were kidnapping me! The woman stuck me with a needle. She drugged me!

Everything went black.

When I woke up again, I was back in the girl's room while Miss Victoria was sitting next to me. I felt very weak as Miss Victoria told me today was a day in bed as I got a cold because I was drenched wet. She told me it was foolish to run away and maybe it was the time I understood that I was stuck with her.

“As soon as you pass the academy's program, you can go home to your mom” she finished.

She left the room.

I looked around and everything was tidy. I looked at the teddy bears and wondered why their heads were not torn off and neither were the dolls. The Dollhouse was not smashed! What was the hell happening? Did I dream that I wrecked everything? I looked under the bedsheets and noticed I was wearing a white nightdress with flowers in the front and lots of lace. I must have looked like a geeky sissy!

I fell asleep again.

When I woke up, she was sitting beside me again. She had a pink collar in her hand.
She put it around my neck and said, “This is a collar, and you have to wear it. I hoped it would not be needed and you could go to stage 2, but after you ran away, you will have to start at stage one. Remember, the quicker you do the stages, the quicker you see your mom.”

“It's against the law to put a collar on a child!” I shouted

“It’s also against the law to destroy my property! This collar will help you. It has nanotechnology that will help you calm down and accept your new situation. It also has a GPS, so I know where you are… That night dress does make you look pretty!”

When she went out, I tried to take the collar off. It would not come off. Then I managed to find my cell phone. I dialled Grannies telephone number and got her stupid answering machine. “Granny…. Come and Save me” I started telling the answering machine, “I am wearing a girl’s night dress and this academy is totally weird. The old lady hear wants me to be a girl. I am no sissy and tried running away. Now she put a collar on me. Ring to the police!”

As I said this, Miss Victoria came in saying she forgot my old clothes as I would not need them. She also took my cell phone saying it was not allowed in Stage one. Does she not understand anything about children…? We need our cell phones!

She gave me a present and told me to unpack it. When I opened it, it was an old-fashioned doll. She told me the doll could be my best friend and to make sure to give her a name.

She left again.

I looked at the doll. It was mostly just a stuffed doll, but a wooden face, hands and legs. It had a long petticoat dress on and long hair. The doll was not smiling and had a tear going down her face. I hugged it close to me and whispered, “I bet you were a boy that had fun like any other boy, and your mom did not like it, so she gave you to some crazy woman that treated you like a girl. What will become of you? What will become of me? How can we escape?”

I cried as I fell asleep.