Drew Goes South Chapter 8 by Angharad Copyright© 2022 Angharad

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(title picture Andrea Piacquadio)

The ruins of the castle at Corfe Castle were extensive and took even the teenagers a good couple of hours to explore. At the main gateway, Gaby drifted off into a daydream, seeing herself as Lady Bankes firing the cannon at the Roundhead soldier, she could hear the defenders cheer and felt proud of her defiance, her husband would be proud of her too.

“Gabs, are you alright?” called Harry, putting his hand on her shoulder.

This was enough to bring Drew back to the present day with a slight shock. Inside he said to himself, 'Gee whiz, what is happening to me? I'm even daydreaming like a girl.' To Harry, he simply said, “Yeah, I'm okay. I was just thinking what it must have been like to have been here during the siege. Horrible I should think, cannonballs flying about the place, musket balls ricocheting all over. People, hurt and dying, horses and other animals terrified. It must have been horrible.” She gave a visible shudder at this last bit.

Harry went to give her a hug, but she stopped him saying she was okay. The event was not wasted on Carol or Maddy. Both wondered what was happening. Most teenage boys would love the thought of cannons and carnage, at least in theory. It's usually girls who worry about people injured and dying and the welfare of animals involved.

They knew he had a soft spot for animals because he was very upset when his hamster died some years ago. But he was much younger then; now in this transitional state that adolescence is, teenagers are frequently rather short on feelings for others.

Carol noticed that Gaby seemed very quiet, at least quieter than she usually was and very much quieter than Drew would have been. It puzzled her and slightly worried her too. Oh, Gaby went with the others and saw everything that they saw and did everything they did, but there was something missing.

As they walked back down the hill towards the exit, the boys ran ahead with Maddy chasing them, Gaby stayed back with Carol. “You okay, Gabs?”

“Yeah, just a bit tired. I overdid it this morning racing Matt.”

“You sure that's all it is. I'll listen if you want to talk.”

“I'm a bit worried about this race. I want to win it more than I have anything before. I want to beat that lump of Cheddar, more than anything.”

“Is there any doubt? You are rather talented in that department.”

“Yeah I know, but it's never been so personal before. It's really playing on my mind. I've never hated anyone before, but I think I hate that boy. Why did he have to insult me or my mother, and why did he have to hit Harry? He's so much bigger than all of us. I just hope I can beat him.”

“You can only do your best kiddo, and you always do that on a bike. Is that bike okay?”

“It's alright, it'll do the job well enough, it's me I'm worried about.”

“When you think of this boy, what's his name, Cheeseman?”

“Yeah, Cheesecake.”

“See him in his underwear, and see that as all grubby and smelly. Perhaps smelling of Gorgonzola.”

“Phaw, phew!” Gaby wrinkled her small turned-up nose just like a girl, “Oh that is too horrible.” Then she started to chuckle and the chuckle gave way to a giggle, and by the time Carol and she were at the exit with Maddy and the boys, they were giggling like schoolgirls, tears running down their cheeks.

“Thanks, Auntie Carol,” said Gaby, as they met with the others. Carol smiled back an acknowledgement.

“Just what are you two laughing at like some demented school kids?” demanded Maddy.

“Nothing,” replied Carol, “Nothing that concerns you at any rate.”

“Oh,” she pouted, “be like that then.” She turned on her heel and strode off towards the village.

Carol and Gaby looked at each other and began another fit of giggles.

They drove onto Swanage and had lunch courtesy of the local fish and chip shop before exploring the town. They did the shops, where Maddy found yet another belt, she just had to have. William produced the money before anyone else could do so. Maddy wondered if Drew would feel jealous, but looking at Gaby and Harry standing close together looking at something in another shop window, she pondered whether Drew had disappeared altogether. She would do some research later.

Drew was still there, he had gone deep inside Gaby and was still chuckling at gorgonzola, although only Gaby knew this, and for the moment she seemed to be the dominant personality, allowing Drew some time out. Harry irritated her at times, but she thought she would wind up Maddy a bit, by pretending to allow Harry to get closer than Maddy would expect. Effectively, by giving Drew the day off, Gaby could allow herself to be really girly without it affecting his self-esteem. He would be there for the race, his energy rested and looking for revenge on behalf of all the others Cheeseman had hurt. Not only that, she would help Drew achieve that end by appearing to be something she wasn't, like a wolf in sheep's clothing. To both his egos, this seemed a reasonable and equitable position.

So when Harry put his arm around her shoulder, in a slightly proprietary manner, she didn't take too much notice. If he was enjoying himself, then it was okay, they would be going in a day or two, nothing would happen in that sort of time.

She spotted a tee shirt large enough for her dad with a picture of the Cerne Giant on it, the price was reasonable and so she bought it. There was only something for her mum now to get. That was always difficult, and her being in Germany made it even harder.

Maddy spotted a small purse which she would give to Gaby to carry in her bag. She was still using Drew's small wallet, which was okay, but not quite de rigueur, and Maddy did like things to be just so.

After the shops, and another ice cream they had a wander on the beach. Shoes and socks off they paddled along the water's edge, played with an abandoned Frisbee they found and generally ran amok.

At six o clock, they all fell back into the car, tired and sunburnt. Gaby's tan lines were even more noticeable, and the bottom of her skirt was all wet where they had paddled and fooled about. But she didn't care, she was so tired that in moments the motion of the car and the music from the radio caused her to nod off, her head resting on Harry's shoulder. This made everyone else smile, and Harry feel so important, he wasn't just smiling, he was positively beaming.

The Honda, under Carol's careful driving, headed closer to home, when disaster struck at the roundabout near Wareham. An elderly man, whose eyesight probably wasn't all it should have been to drive safely, overshot the white line causing another car to take avoidant action, in the form of a sudden swerve. It was this second car that then hit Carol's Honda.

The impact caught the front offside of the Honda, buckling the wing and wheel arch, strewing glass from the headlight across the road. Carol braked immediately on impact, a reflex action. Gaby was thrown forward against the seatbelt and jerked back onto Harry's shoulder. It was a relatively minor injury, but the shock caused both of them to react more than they might have expected.

Harry shouted in pain, Gaby screamed. She was back at Corfe's siege and the impact coincided with a cannon shot hitting the wall. It took her a moment to wake up and realise what had happened, by which time she was weeping copiously. In her distress, she allowed Harry to hug her, grateful for the realisation that she was relatively safe.

In the melee that followed, the elderly driver carried on his way unaware that he'd caused an accident. The car that hit Carol's, had enough damage to make it undrivable as was the Honda.

Both drivers checked no one was injured. They agreed upon the cause but neither had the number of the elderly man's car. They knew it was an old Ford Escort, in a faded red colour, but that was all.

While the drivers exchanged details and various agencies informed by calls upon mobile phones, the respective passengers were escorted to the pavement and relative safety.

Harry helped Gaby to this refuge, she was still upset by her dream and now this real-life nightmare. Everyone had a sick feeling, a sinking in the pit of the stomach. Carol had called the police, and while other cars were able to get around the two damaged ones, it needed someone official to take control. She had also called the RAC to move the car and get them home. Then a call to her insurers.

As they stood on the pavement, still in a state of semi shock Maddy and Carol hugged, then Maddy and Gaby, them Carol and Gaby, then all three together, then including the boys. Gaby had calmed down.

Carol said to the group, “Sorry about this, kids, but there was nothing I could do.” They all agreed, it wasn't her fault.

“How are we going to get home?” asked Gaby.

“The RAC should be here soon, they'll get us home.”

“No. I mean back to Warsop.”

“I don't know at the moment; hire a car I suppose.”

“Oh.”

“I've told the insurance info line. Once we get home I'll ring them again. I suppose it could mean we're here a day or two longer. It's a pain but at least the cottage is available all week. I'll have to phone my friend to check if it's okay, but we should be alright.”

“What, you could be here a few days longer, that's ace,” said Harry.

“Oh shit!” was what went through Drew's mind, “another few days of being Gaby. Just what I needed, not.”

The police arrived shortly before the RAC. The mess was eventually sorted enough for Carol's car to be put on a suspended tow, and for all the passengers and driver to clamber into the breakdown truck. They took the car to the Honda garage in Dorchester, then went back to the cottage.

The boys went home, and Carol spent the next hour phoning various people including her husband, then Dave, Drew's dad, her friend whose cottage they were in, the insurance helpline to see about a hire/courtesy car. It just went on and on.

Maddy and Gaby went into the kitchen and made some tea, which Carol gratefully accepted. "Shall we make some food?" asked Maddy, Gaby nodded agreement, and between them, they produced a simple omelette and salad. Washed down with copious amounts of wine, Carol thought it was delicious. She went to bed early, ever so slightly tiddly.

“Did you enjoy your little self today?” asked Maddy coyly, handing another plate to Gaby to dry.

“'S'alright, I s'pose, why?”

“Well Harry seemed to be getting rather friendly, that's all.”

Instead of blushing and becoming a stammering wreck as Drew, Gaby chose to respond, which surprised both Maddy and Drew. “Why, you jealous?”

Taken aback, it was a blushing Maddy who said, “No, course not, but Paul might be.”

“Wassit got to do with Paul?” continued Gaby, Drew seemingly having departed the scene, leaving this to his alter ego to deal with.

“I wondered if you were going to have boyfriends, shouldn't he have first shout?”

“Why?”

“Well,'cos like, he's fancied you for ages.”

“So?” said Gaby drying the next plate, “He's two hundred miles away, Harry is half a mile down the road. No contest.”

This really did faze Maddy, who stopped washing up and grabbing Gaby on the shoulders, looked her straight in the eye and said, “Hello, Maddy to Drew. Anybody home?”

This resulted in Gaby/Drew holding a poker face for all of a microsecond before sniggering and then giggling. “Had you worried for a moment, didn't I?”

“Who me?” asked Maddy with feigned innocence.

“Yes, you.”

“Gi's a hug.” She used one of her all-consuming hugs to distract him and it worked every time. If she really wanted to throw him, she gave him a kiss. She did and it did. Once more he left the planet, flew around the stratosphere and descended back to earth only when Maddy's lips left his own.

“I don't know Missy,” continued Maddy, “you started the day getting flowers and kissing boys, then you spend the rest of the day wandering around with him attached to you like Siamese twins, his arm around your shoulder or your waist.”

“William did the same with you.”

“Yeah, but I'm a girl.”

“So, what d'ya think I am then?” snapped back Gaby.

“Drew do you want to think about what you just said, and like, rephrase it?”

“Why, what did I say?”

“You just told me you were a girl too.”

“Well, I thought that was what I had to be this week since I only seem to be wearing skirts and makeup and I have these things sticking out of my chest. Plus, everyone seems to think I'm a girl, including you.”

“Meeeeeee?”

“Yes, “it's customary to kiss someone who's got themselves hurt defending your honour,” or words to that effect. If he thought I was a boy and had kissed him, I'd be wearing a matching black eye to the one he got. You encouraged him to think I'm a girl and for me to act like one.”

“Meeeeeeeeeeee?”

“Yes, you.”

“Now come off it, Gabs. It wasn't me who lost their trousers in the motorway bogs, nor scalded themselves, nor forgot to pack jammies or much else, come to think of it. I didn't force you to wear a skirt when we came here, nor to have your photos taken and splashed in the local rag as a girl. Neither did I talk you into pretending to be Harry's girlfriend to wind up Godzilla, any more than I made you want to race aforesaid Neanderthal on Sunday.”

“Finished?”

“I don't know, why?”

“Give me another hug, my legs hurt.”

“I thought your legs were better. Let me see.”

“They'll be alright, it's my lips that hurt.”

“Your lips?”

“Why is that?” asked Maddy putting her arms around Drew's neck.

“They need kissing.”

“How do I know you're not trying to wind me up or make Harry jealous?”

“I thought it was Paul, earlier?”

“Well alright then, wind me up and make Harry and Paul jealous?”

“You don't, but gi's a kiss anyway.”

“Oh, all right, seeing as you asked me so nicely.”

A little later as they were going up to bed, Maddy said, “What are you going to do if we are stuck down here another week?”

“Ask if I can keep the bike till we go home?”

“What about being a girl for another week?”

“How's that bloke in, A Sale of Two Titties go, ‘It's a far, far better thing I do….”

“I think you mean Sidney Carton in a Tale of Two Cities .”

“That's him, I never forget a face.”

“Drew, you are completely crazy.”

“It's being with you that does it. I reckon it's something in the glue.”

“Glue, what glue?” asked a puzzled Maddy. Drew then stuck out his chest and she smirked at him and said, “Oh, that glue.” Then after recovering, she added, “But they do make your nightie fit better.” Then she ran into her room and shut the door.

Sounds of Carol snoring stopped Drew from giving chase, he'd almost forgotten she was there. He went to his own room and sat on the bed. He reflected on his day.

He could see his reflection in the mirror, he looked like a girl in the nightdress. If he took it off, he looked even more like a girl, this was where he'd started that morning. He didn't really want to go there, but there were unresolved issues from the rest of the day.

This bike race thing, he had never wanted to win so badly. Maybe that wasn't quite a literal statement, he always wanted to win. Even if you know you can't, it doesn't stop you wanting to, and if you want it badly enough, you work at it and one day, bingo! You get there.

Okay so with some races, you can do that, practice and train and keep trying and one day you might win it. But for one-offs, it was different. Then you only had one shot at it. Beating Cheesecake, was a real priority. It was also important that he thought he was beaten by a girl.

What difference did that make? Well, Cheesecake was a real male chauvinist pig. His attitude offended both Drew as Drew and Drew as Gaby. If Drew beat him in the race, that would be much less of a slap in the face, after all, he was the British Champion at his age group. And to be beaten by quality is no disgrace.

However, to be beaten by someone he considers a lesser being than himself on account of them being a girl! Well, that would really piss him off. And a girl younger than him and so much smaller... it would humiliate him, which is exactly what Drew as Drew and as Gaby wanted. Drew was going to do the riding and win the race, but Gaby was going to rub his nose in it, and she was looking forward to it. It was Drew who was worried, just in case he couldn't deliver. He looked in the mirror again, he was worried, very worried.

What would Jenny say? his mother, a World Champion, who always knew what to do and say. How would she counsel him now? He wasn't sure, and he missed her. He missed her very much.

He climbed into bed, with eyes filled with tears. He was missing his mum, she was so far away. So far away.

He thought about phoning his dad, but it was getting late and Dave would probably be in bed by now. He was an early riser and liked to be in bed by eleven. It was that time now. It was too late. He felt very alone. The tears came and he sobbed himself to sleep cuddling the fluffy bunny Harry had bought him earlier.

About four o'clock the next morning he awoke from the strangest dream. He was back at Corfe Castle, walking the ruins on his own. He was still rapt with his concerns about the race when he almost walked into a woman, he nearly didn't see.

“Who art thou maid?” said the woman, addressing Gaby.

Gaby looked at this woman and recognised her dress as well as her language as antiquated. Shit! Was this the ghost of Lady Bankes? “Me (how do you address an aristocratic ghost?) Lady Bankes?”

“Aye, thou lookest troubled? Thou'st not with child?”

Gaby had to think what this meant and nearly responded, “No I'm here with friends.” But realised that would not have been appropriate. Damn, where's Maddy when you want her? “No, Lady Bankes, I'm not with child.”

“What troublest thou wench? Some oaf of a man I presume?”

“Yes, Lady Bankes, but not in the way you think. I have to race a boy who is bigger and stronger than I am. I want to win, much depends upon it.”

“Canst thee win? Thou springest from a line of highest pedigree.”

“Yes, I can, and you're right, my mother is a champion.”

“Very well then, go and do thy best, and may God's speed go with thee.”

“Thank you, Lady Bankes, you're a star,” said Gaby, dropping a curtsey. At this point Drew woke up having dropped the bunny rabbit Harry had given him earlier.

“What was all that about?” he said to himself as he went for a wee. He looked out the window and to his astonishment saw a deer in the garden. He rushed into Maddy's room. She took a little waking, but sleepily followed him back to his room. He had a cursory glance out the window, the deer was still there. “Look,” he said, pointing out the window.

“Look at what?” said a sleepy Maddy as she blundered up to the window. “What am I suppo……..Wow! It's a deer. Our very own deer, Gabs.”

“Hush it will hear us,” whispered Drew in response.

“Yeah, course,” Maddy hissed back. She continued watching the animal for several minutes, it moved about the garden, then strolled off hopping over the fence with no effort at all. “Wow, that was ace, Gabs. What you doin' up anyway, it's quarter past four?”

“I had a funny dream.”

“Oh, what kinda funny?”

“I was back at Corfe Castle, walking about the ruins and I bumped into Lady Bankes or her ghost.”

“Scare…….eeee,” commented Maddy.

“It wasn't actually, funny isn't it?”

“So what happened?”

“She called me, maid.”

“Well, depending on what you were wearing, it's not so surprising, is it?”

“I s'pose not, but she asked me what was worrying me? She thought I might be pregnant.”

At this, Maddy hooted with laughter, “She thought you were what?”

“Shush, you'll wake Aunt Carol.”

“Sorry,” she whispered back.

“I told her I was worried about the race, and she asked me if I could win. I told her I could, and she told me to go and do it.”

“And?”

“I feel better about it now.”

“Good, I'm getting cold, gi's a hug and I'm going back to bed.” They hugged and Maddy departed back to her own room. Drew reflecting on what had happened, shrugged his shoulders, but he felt happier about things now. He thought to himself, this was just my mind sorting things out, including where we'd been today. It all got tangled up, and his imagination did the rest. He got back into bed and went straight off to sleep, feeling calmer than he had for the previous day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corfe_Castle