Sometimes life has a habit of creeping up on you and sending you careering down a different and unexpected trajectory. Nicola – the stand-in Chapter 3 by Louise Anne Smithson Copyright © 2021 Louise Anne Smithson All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 3

As soon as Amy had left us, I was invited to strip and put on a pair of knickers followed by some control briefs with some padding already sewn in.

‘Try these for today – they will give a better shape to your hips and buttocks that we are looking for. We won’t expect you to wear them all the time, just when you are in costume, said Sue.

I followed her instructions.

‘Before Sandra makes a start on your hair, I’d like Frances to wax your legs and arms and use some depilatory cream on your armpits.’

‘Is that really necessary, after all they aren’t going to be visible under the costume?’

‘Nick, you have agreed to go ahead with this and are being paid extra to do so, so please don’t question our decisions. Just be assured that anything we do today can either be undone or else will grow back within a short time of you finishing work.’

‘Sorry, I promise not to ask any more questions.’

‘By all means, ask us to explain what we are doing, but please accept that we both know what we are doing. If we do a good job today, you are likely to be more useful not only when they are actually filming but during lighting rehearsals or when they are planning shots’

‘Of course, you’re the professionals, so go ahead and do your worst.’

She smiled.

‘No we’ll do our best to turn you into a suitable stand-in for Amy.

The body waxing was not as bad as I had expected and once it was over I was surprised to discover that it felt quite pleasant to have smooth arms and legs.

‘Unfortunately, we aren’t going to have time to prepare you some tailored prosthetic breasts but we have some silicone forms which are of the right size and weight. I’m afraid we’ll need to glue them in place so they don’t become dislodged whilst you’re riding, but we’ll take them off at the end of each week of filming and replace them later. Now lie down on this couch.’

I didn’t say anything whilst Sue carefully affixed the two forms and disguised the joins with concealer. I merely watched in fascination.

‘How long can they stay in place?’ I eventually asked

‘Probably for a week or more unless they begin to feel sore before then. You should be able to wear them in the shower but you will have to learn how to disguise the joins for yourself afterwards.’

‘I’ll do my best.’

‘OK I should like you to hold each breast in place and sit up for a minute or two whilst the glue cures properly.’

I followed her instructions, but eventually was told I could let them go. The two breasts flopped down and appeared to grow in size as they did so, creating a respectable looking cleavage. I got up and walked over to examine my new appendages in the full-length mirror, feeling them wobble as I did so. It was just as well I’d been offered alternative accommodation and wouldn’t be required to return to my digs in the village after work each evening.

‘So what do you think of your new boobs young lady?’ asked Sue, looking over my shoulder.

Sue had said the words ‘young lady’ quite unconsciously as if she was now beginning to think of me in that way.

‘I don’t know what to say. I’ve not really had much experience with breasts before either as a participant or as an onlooker’ I replied.

She smiled at my choice of words.

‘Well they look pretty realistic to me although we’ll have to check on them next weekend. Here, you can put this on for the time being as it will help to keep them in place and under control,’ she said handing me a bra.

‘I’m not sure how to put a bra on’; I admitted shamefacedly.

She smiled again, but not in an nasty way.

‘You have led a sheltered life! There are several different ways of doing so. I put my arm through each of the arm holes and the straps on my shoulders, then insert each breast into the relevant cup, lean forward a little and reach back and insert the relevant hooks into the eyes.’

I did my best to follow her instructions, but it was rather fiddly doing so.

‘Is that alright?’ I asked.

‘Not quite, you have not lined up the right hook with each eye,’ she said correcting my mistake, and then adjusting the straps so that they provided me with the necessary support.

‘Other women do it up at the back first and then put their arms in the straps. You’ll soon get the hang of putting it on,’ she said.

‘Will I have to wear a bra when I’m filming?’ I asked.

‘No that would be an anachronism, bras were patented in 1914 but weren’t widely used until the 1920s, prior to that women wore stays to support their breasts. However, I would like you to wear one when you are not in costume to avoid putting a strain on the adhesive that is holding your boobs in place. We’ll provide you with a set of underclothes from the costume stores and of course whatever you need to wear when you’re filming, but after that your clothing will be your own responsibility.’

I did not respond, unsure what to think.

‘So how does it feel to have a woman’s body, above the waist?’ she asked.

‘It feels a little unusual to have something pressing on my chest, but I can see that it does provide support and helps to keep the boobs under control.’

Sue now handed me a pink satin dressing gown.

‘You can wear this whilst my two colleagues make some further amendments to your appearance. I have to go now but I’ll look in again at lunch time to see how you are getting on. Remember what I said before; they do know what they are doing.'

I took the garment and put it on, admiring myself in the mirror as I did so.

Over the next three and a half hours Sandra washed, trimmed and dyed my already longish hair. Before it was entirely dry she began to comb a parting at the rear of my head, which she held in place with some grips. She then separated several groups of strands of my natural hair using a plastic shield to hold them in place. From a packet, she pulled out several swatches of long black hair each of which had a nylon loop attached to a metal bead with a nylon lining. She slid the loop over each group of strands of hair and pulled one end until my hair was inserted into the bead, which was then slid to near my scalp. Once it was in place, Sandra flattened the bead using a pair of pliers. The swatch was now securely attached to the strands. She gradually worked her way across the back of my head inserting eight or nine swatches in a row, before removing the grips and my hair fell back into place entirely covering the joins.

‘These may feel a little uncomfortable at first as your hair begins to dry, but they should be alright by the time you begin filming tomorrow. It is important for us to get the braids as tight to your scalp as possible so that the extensions will be more secure,’ Sandra commented.

Having completed the first row she created three further rows at the back and sides of my head and attached a swatch to each strand and fixed it into place. I just sat and watched, wondering what I had let myself in for, and gradually over the next couple of hours I felt the increased weight of long hair which now reached down to my breasts.

‘How easy is it going to be to take these out?’ I asked.

‘Don’t worry about that, we will sort you out once you have finished filming.’

Whilst Sandra was doing her work, Frances manicured and put clear polish on to my fingernails but decided against fitting extensions as my nails were already reasonably long for a guy and, in any event, I was going to be wearing riding gloves during the equestrian scenes.

‘I’m afraid I am now going to pierce your ears, Nick, but it doesn’t hurt.’

I wondered whether my ears would be visible beneath these new long tresses but then remembered that Amy had her hair tied back when she wore her riding habit.

‘Go ahead, I have been warned.’

‘We shall insert some studs which will enable us to attach earrings, if necessary.’

She took out a spring-loaded gun and I felt a slight pinching session in each ear and the job was done.

‘Your ears may feel a little uncomfortable tonight, and you will need to swab them with antiseptic each night and morning for the next week, but the holes will quickly close up again once we take out the studs when we have finished filming.’

By this time, Sandra had finished her work putting in my hair extensions and gave my new hair style a final trim, referring as she did so to the close-up pictures of Amy’s hair. She then put in some heated rollers.

‘I’ll make the last few finishing touches to your hair when Amy comes in after lunch. How does it feel to have long hair?’

‘My scalp feels slightly uncomfortable but it is a nice feeling to have long hair,’ I commented as I looked at myself in the mirror.

‘The discomfort will disappear after a few hours, but you’re going to have to learn how to look after your hair, especially at night, otherwise it will get tangled and will be difficult to deal with in the mornings. Ask Amy if she’ll show you what she does to her own hair each night before going to bed and when she gets up. Ideally you should do the same.’

‘Alright then.’

Whilst all this was going on, Joan, the assistant producer came in to check on progress and to bring a couple of release forms and a new contract for me to sign.

‘Wow, you’re really beginning to look like a girl, much more attractive than I feared,’ she commented.

‘I suppose I should thank you for that compliment,’ I replied, ‘even if it does mean that I will look most odd when I am not filming.

‘OK Nick we are offering you two weeks of work as an extra starting from today. You will receive double your existing salary, which does mean that we can call upon you as necessary during that period even on those days when you will not be filming.’

‘How many days will I be needed on set?’

‘I can’t say for sure at the moment. It will depend on how we get on with the filming, but I would imagine it will be eight or nine.’

‘Alright where do I sign?’ I asked.

I signed the contract ‘N. Stevens,’ and handed it back.

‘I will also issue you with a new photo id, this time in the name of Nicola Stevens so you shouldn’t have any difficulty with security personnel,’ she said taking a head and shoulders picture of the new me with her phone.

Sue returned at quarter to one bringing us some sandwiches from the catering caravan, and so we stopped to have lunch together.

‘How’s it going?’ she asked me.

‘Not too bad I guess, my scalp and my ear lobes are uncomfortable but your colleagues assure me that I should be alright by tomorrow.’

‘How about your boobs?’

‘They feel fine, a little bit strange but not uncomfortable.’

‘Try to avoid getting them wet this evening, if you can, until the glue is completely dry. After that they should be safe enough in the shower.’

‘I usually shower at night but I guess having a wash tonight and showering tomorrow morning instead won’t do me any harm for once.’

‘Good, but make sure you wear a shower cap tomorrow morning we don’t want your new long hair to get wet otherwise we may not be able to get it dry in time.’

‘What else needs to be done?’ Sue asked Sandra.

‘We have two hours to reshape his brows to correspond with Amy and put in some lash extensions, before a final check on his hair as soon as Amy comes back.’

‘How long will it take for my eyebrows to grow back afterwards?’ I asked Sandra.

‘We’re not intending to shave them off, just pluck a few stray hairs to give a more feminine shape to your brow. It usually takes between eight and sixteen weeks for them to grow back fully.

‘I hope I don’t end up looking too girly or I may have difficulty in finding another job afterwards.’

‘There should be some regrowth after about four weeks which you will be able to enhance by using an eyebrow pencil.’

‘What are lash extensions?’ I asked Sue.

‘We will glue synthetic hairs to a proportion of your eyelashes to create the effect of your having longer and fuller lashes, like Amy. It will save us time each morning as we will no longer need to fit you with false eyelashes.’

I guess she could see from my face that I was a little anxious about the prospect.

‘Don’t worry, Nick, there’s no discomfort involved and they will gradually fall out over the next three to four weeks as your existing lashes are naturally replaced.

‘Will they affect my eyes in any way?’ he asked.

‘They shouldn’t do so. You may find that your eyes flutter a little more to begin with but you’ll quickly get used to them. You will need to keep your eyes dry for the first 24 hours otherwise there is a danger that the glue will become tacky and your lashes will start to clump together.’

‘How am I going to do that?’

‘We will loan you some swimming goggles to wear when you wash tonight and shower tomorrow morning, after that they should be alright.’

I found the process of having my eyes ‘adjusted’ to involve a mixture of pain and pleasure as I lay back on the couch with one assistant working on each eye. Sandra worked on shaping my eyebrows, periodically referring to a close-up shot of Amy’s eyes and giving periodic sharp tugs to remove stray hairs. I'd no idea that they would wish to go into such detail.

‘Amy has darker hair colouring than you, and so I’ll have to darken your brows to match hers,’ she commented.

At the same time, Frances got on with the fiddly task of gluing tiny black lash extension on to my existing lashes. This was entirely a pleasurable experience involving no discomfort as she first covered my lower lashes with a cotton pad to enable her to work on the upper ones and afterwards reversed the procedure.

‘I’ll provide you with an eyelash brush to use each morning and evening to help keep them straight and separated,’ she said. ‘If you want to use any makeup at other times, please avoid using a mascara that is oil-based as that can affect the glue.’

‘I wasn’t planning on wearing makeup at any other times,’ I replied, slightly surprised.

‘That’s a pity, because I think you would look pretty good as a twenty-first century girl,’ suggested Frances with a smile.

I did not reply as I was unsure what I thought about that comment.

Thanks for the comments and corrections, everyone. Please feel free to keep them coming.
Louise