Chapter 6

As the term progressed so did all the groups’ confidence. Everyone was helping each other and the teachers were really enjoying being part of a session that they had trained for. The four boys were becoming able to talk to, and with, the girls in the study group and they all grew up more as time went on.

His family was slowly getting over the loss of Brenton and his father planned that the Easter period would be the days when Brentons’ old room would be stripped and repainted. By the time they had pulled everything apart they had a box of odd bags of powder and several items in original cartons, mainly phones, which were obviously stolen property. It was taken to the local police station on the first trading day after Easter.

One night Timothy was dreaming that he and the Unicorn were sitting on a grassy bank, overlooking the city, and the Unicorn said “Timothy, you have done very well since I have known you. One day you won’t need me anymore and, when that day comes, you must pass me on to Jason. He needs help to decide what he wants out of life. I guess you know that he loves you and you know that it would not take much for you to love him. If you go to the grammar school you will be in close contact for some more years so you both must be certain of what you want out of life.”

When Timothy woke up he thought long and hard about his dream. He knew that he and Jason had a connection but, deep in his heart, he knew that two boys did not act that way. He determined that he was not going to think about it until after the last exam in early December. As they got into the second term there was a spate of birthdays and all four of them turned eleven as the weather started to improve with thoughts turning towards the summer holidays.

In the last week of the school year they organised two-weekly sessions to stay up with their level of learning. On the last day of school Timothy did the thing that he had planned almost a year ago. He took the Unicorn to school and made sure he could get Jason alone and gave him the Unicorn, saying “Jason, I found this last year and she has helped me decide things. I don’t know if she is magic or not but the change she has made to my life seems magical. Her name is Rosalie and she told me that when I felt I no longer needed her I should pass her on to you. She thinks that there are things you need to decide for yourself. Let her into your dreams, you won’t regret it.”

Jason held the pink toy with tears in his eyes and said “Thank you, Timothy. You are such a wonderful boy and I cannot thank you enough for the help and companionship you have given me. Please say we will be together as friends for a long time to come.” Timothy held his arms out and said “Of course, no question” and Jason hugged him hard and buried his face in Timothys’ shoulder. He then backed off and ran away before he did something he would regret. Timothy just stood there in wonder; for several seconds all he wanted to do was kiss Jason. No! He suddenly realised that the person he wanted to kiss was Janice, the girl within.

For the rest of the day he acted as he should, said the things he should and walked home in a daze. For the first time in months he was without the Unicorn, once more following her orders, just as he did the first morning when he washed her clean. He was quiet enough at home that his mother commented on it and he told her that he had given Rosalie to Jason. His mother hugged him and told him that he had done something so adult that it was almost impossible for her to conceive that eleven year old could be so caring and thoughtful. All he could think about was the fact that he would not have the dream companion anymore and he felt sad at the idea.

That night he went into his bedroom and sat on the bed with tears in his eyes. He now was in Brentons’ old room with new furniture and bed, a new paint scheme that he had picked and helped do. He had more room and his desk and chair in the corner got a lot of use these days. His old room was slowly becoming a spare bedroom so that relatives could visit. He did not want to go to sleep but eventually he did get into bed and, as soon as he started dreaming, Rosalie was there, waiting for him, sitting on the beach looking out at a ship that was now a lot closer.

“Rosalie!” he exclaimed, “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you with Jason?” Rosalie laughed and said “Why shouldn’t I appear to you? If you think about it you know that all the things we spoke of were things already in your mind. I have not been magic. I have been your excuse to make a decision. I will be your excuse to make decisions for as long as you need me. One day you will come to believe in yourself enough to decide things as they needed to be decided and that day you won’t need me again. Don’t tell Jason, he will come to his own ways of moving forward. You know, in your heart, that he really should be a girl; he is so much like the other girls it is no wonder that you are attracted to each other. Give him time, perhaps when you go to do the exams you will be sitting next to Janice.”

During that summer Timothy kept up with his studies and spent a lot of time sitting in the garden with a book in his hands. He didn’t see much of John and Geoff but Jason was a regular visitor, sitting with him and reading as well before they discussed the books. This way both of them got well ahead in the final years work. One of the things that Timothy noticed was that as the summer progressed, the more Jason was becoming Janice. His hair was now much shinier and his choice of clothes tended towards the colourful. When Timothy asked his mother about it she told him that Sharon had taken Jason to a doctor and he had prescribed pills that would help Jason become the person he wanted to be.

As the summer waned and they went back to school it was full speed ahead for the general exam. The teachers were quite excited because there would be three times as many children sitting for it than usual. Usually most of the children were just happy to go to the comprehensive because they didn’t want to lose their usual friends. The Headmaster was very happy that so many had embraced the thought of going to the grammar school. He was old enough to remember the old eleven plus exam that encouraged students. The new system was, he thought, contributing to a much dumber populace. Just watching quiz shows on TV where the most common answers were ‘I’ll have to take a guess’, ‘That’s not one of my strong points’ or even ‘I’ve never heard of that’ made him want to take the contestants and shake some knowledge into them.

The week they took the exams were the most stressful of his life but Timothy still had time to support his friends, now a pretty large group. It would have been a lot to ask for everyone passing but those that didn’t had already expected it anyway. In October they were visited by a representative from the grammar school who sat with each of the fifteen that had passed and a week later the original four, plus another boy and five girls, were presented with the paperwork for their parents to sign, along with an invoice for the fee, which had to be paid before the sitting. Harold was happy to pay for the four friends and now considered Jason as one of his family, a ‘brother’ for Geoff. He and Sharon were often together and Timothy wondered what happens now. All four friends had spent several days near the end of the summer holiday in the shop, helping Harold put together parcels of school uniforms in the busy time before the new school year.

The day they sat for the entrance exams they had to go to the grammar school. It was very exciting for all of them as it was a huge building compared with the Academy. At the end of the day none of them were certain that they had done well so it was a surprise, a week later, when there was a letter pushed through the door of Timothys’ home. He had been offered a place in the grammar school, starting with the Autumn term of the next year, early in September. His parents were over the moon to see the offer as they knew it would mean so much more for him in later life. All he needed to do was to study and pass the next lot of exams and his future would be assured.

The next day at school there was a sense of something special in his classroom. The teachers who had helped the group were satisfied that they had achieved their calling for one year, at least. The school had put more students into the grammar school than the last five years combined. All ten had been offered places and Geoff said that his father was so happy he would supply the first year uniforms for all ten, on top of his promise to continue supplying uniforms for the four friends.

That Christmas they had a party that was put on by the parents of the other six students, as a thank you for getting them into the grammar school. It was held at a local church hall and was a very festive affair with even a DJ so that everyone could dance. Jason came along in skinny jeans with a flower on one back pocket and a soft woollen jumper. During the course of the evening the two of them found themselves dancing together a couple of times. Timothy found that he was being asked to dance by most of the five girls during the night and was really enjoying himself. One of the girls, Monica, made sure that when it came time for slow dances, she was his partner. He learned how to hold a girl that night and she told him that she really admired him and his drive. When they danced under the mistletoe she said “Thank you for everything” and kissed him.

Before the evening finished he was in the kitchen putting soft drink bottles in a bag for recycling when Jason came up to him. “Timothy” he said “when I saw you dancing with Monica I was jealous but I do know that, although we cannot be boyfriend and girlfriend, I think that we may be true friends for life.” As they were alone, Jason hugged him and gave him a peck on the cheek, saying “Thank you, dear Tim, I know we will take that grammar by storm next year.”

Timothy was not used to all this adoration so just gave Jason a hug and wished him a happy, and different, New Year; to which Jason said “Oh, it’s going to be different, no doubt about that!” Before his parents took him home, Timothy was approached by Monicas’ mother and invited to Monicas’ birthday party, early in January. Just before they left, he needed to go to the toilet and had a big shock when he walked into the gents to find John and Geoff hugging with Geoff holding a sprig of mistletoe over their heads as they kissed. They sprung apart as Timothy walked in and he did something so strange he thought about it for days afterwards. He went to them and hugged them in turn, saying “Congratulations my friends, I wish you well” before diving into a cubicle to relieve himself. When he came out they had gone.

Marianne G 2021