Chapter 3

Willow was concentrating on the music. She was listening to the others as she played. The songs were a mixture of the album tracks, but with more of the live album content as they moved from ‘Child in Time’ to ‘Woman from Tokyo’. She glanced across to the others, to see Geoff with his eyes shut and mouth open. Gerry had a big grin on his face.

As they moved into ‘Speed King’, she could feel the pressure on her ease, as the others were playing freely. They weren’t the original band, but she thought that they were getting close to it. Geoff was no Ritchie Blackmore, but he was good, fast, and accurate. So was Gerry as they swapped the lead breaks. Geoff was using the Rickenbaker and Gerry was on the Telecaster. She looked the other way to see Garry give her a wink and a grin as he worked hard on his bass. Billie, Garry and Grant were the powerhouse, giving the two guitarists free rein to do even more elaborate things.

As they ended ‘Highway Star’, Gerry reached up and twisted the volume knobs on the amps and then played the first, iconic, notes of ‘Smoke on the Water’. Waiting for her cue to start, Billie looked out to the theatre for the first time, amazed to see about fifty teenagers on the dance floor and a row of seats filled.

As the song thundered to an end, there were cheers and applause. Geoff called out for them to repeat ‘Child in Time’, but “the way we’re playing now!” Billie started the organ introduction, and they did the live version of the song, sounding a lot louder, and a lot more full-bloodied than the first time they had played it. When they finished, she was sweating, and so was everyone else.

The boys took their guitars off and put them on the stands. Billie just stood behind the keyboard, trying to process what had just happened. Grant was sitting on his drum stool, head down and breathing heavily. Garry was the first to make the move. He came over to Billie and gave her a huge hug. Geoff and Gerry followed, and then the three of them helped Grant stand and gave him man hugs.

Miss Russell came up on the stage with bottles of water in her hands, and Billie’s mother followed with more. The five musicians took the water, gratefully, and drank before anyone was able to speak. Geoff and Gerry had shared the vocals, and both needed the water before they were able to talk naturally.

Billie had her mum help her down the steps, while the boys helped Grant down. They sat in the first-row seats and Billie looked up at the stage to see where she had spent over half an hour, playing music that had just been her sideline from the classics in her bedroom. She closed her eyes and wondered what everyone thought of what they had just done. As she started to follow the chatter, she realised that she didn’t have to worry. The teenagers that were still here were full of praise.

Her mother was sitting beside her, and they looked at each other.

“Mum. I’ve played violin and clarinet in front of audiences before, but that was something else again. Although I can play well, just now I realised that I’ve never felt the music inside me. It was if I had Jon Lord in my head, telling me that I was all right.”

“You were more than all right, my daughter. I saw Deep Purple once, and you all just relived that experience. I recorded it all on my phone. It was uncanny how you went from playing as a cover band with the normal album tracks, to being Purple live. You always played the keyboard to headphones, so that was the first time I’ve heard you.”

Miss Russell came to stand in front of them, along with a couple of men.

“Billie-Jean. These gentlemen will be teaching you when you join us. I’ve told them about your results on violin and clarinet, and they’re keen to hear what you can do. Mister Jamieson teaches three girls who should have been playing on Saturday night. Are you free, after a break, if we can get you a violin. It would be nice if they could add their recital to the evening, perhaps to open it. You do read music, I hope.”

“I do but can play without it if I’ve played it before. What do have planned, sir?”

“The girls have been working on the ‘Tchaikovsky Number One’. We planned to do the second movement, the ‘Andante Cantabile’.”

“I’ve played that a few times in my last school.”

“Good. I’ll try to muster the others, although I saw a couple of them dancing. We’ll get you a violin. I suggest that you spend a little while resting, that was some workout that you lot did on stage. If we can meet in the rehearsal room two, in about twenty minutes?”

Billie looked at her mother, who answered for them both.

“We’ll be there.”

He went off to find the girls, the other man held out his hand to Billie.

“Miss Rose. I’m Howard Bamborough, the head of the music side of the school. Miss Russell has told me that you will be transferring to us at the beginning of your second year. I have to tell you that what you have just done was well above a thirteen-year-old. I teach guitar, and you’ve just pushed young Geoff into an area which I’ve long thought him capable of but was despairing of actually seeing. Both he and Gerry lifted a couple of notches. I welcome you to Blue Coat, and I wonder if you will inspire others. I’ll be around to sit in on the quartet.”

He nodded to her mother and went off to speak to the boys in the band.

“If that’s the sort of impression you’re going to make, my girl, it’s going to be an interesting few years.”

“I’ve always tried to disappear before, but now I feel free to express myself. A lot still depends on the doctor next week.”

She looked around and saw a group of girls looking her way. She gave them a smile and they came over, an older one in front.

“Hello. I’m Abbie and we’re from the school orchestra. Miss Russell just told us that you will be joining us next year, and we all think that it’s awesome!”

Billie stood.

“Hello Abbie; girls. I’m Willow Jean Rose, and the girls from my last school called me Billie-Jean. Miss Russell has told me that I’ll have a seat in the orchestra, but I don’t know what I’ll be playing.”

“You play other instruments?”

“Yes. I play violin and clarinet and some piano. The organ stuff was something that I’ve been playing about with on my keyboard at home. We’ve just moved to a house where we can have our piano, so I’ve been using an electric one which can double as an organ. That was the first time I’ve played without headphones.”

“That’s even more awesome. It sounded like you’ve been playing in a band for years. I’ve never heard the G-Force sound so good.”

One by one, all the girls gave her a hug and told her their names. She knew that it would take some weeks before she remembered them all. They went off and Geoff came over.

“Billie, that was something else again. Can you play like that again on Saturday night?”

She looked at her mother, who smiled broadly.

“If Miss Russell can swing a couple of tickets for me and my husband, she’ll be here.”

Miss Russell put her thumb up and said that they would be at the door. After that, they were shown the school canteen, which was open for hot pies and drinks. While they were there, they had several visitors telling her that she was a great organist.

They were sitting with a cup of tea. Billie looked around the room, realising that she’ll be having many lunches here. She wondered if there were tables that never allowed strangers. Her mother saw her looking.

“Penny for them.”

“This will become a place of new experiences, Mum. This room has the opportunity to be a place of hell to be avoided, as was the lunchroom in Bristol, or a place of companionship and joy. From the girls I met, this morning, I hope it will be the latter.”

“I’m sure it will be, as long as you keep embracing the girl that you’ve become, the future has no dark clouds.”

When Miss Russell came to their table, they followed her to rehearsal room two. There, they saw that Mister Bamborough and Mister Jamieson were there, along with three girls. The Music Head took charge.

“Girls, this is Willow Jean Rose. Barbara and Dianne saw her performance in the pop band, this morning. That’s something that Zara has to look forward to on Saturday night. Mister Jamieson has his own violin for her to use. We can give you fifteen minutes to warm up and get to know each other, then you can show us what you’ve come up with.”

He turned to the others.

“We can give these girls some time to find out if they have a piece to play. Girls, if it doesn’t work out, you’re no further back than you were before. You’ll get some marks for giving it a try.”

The adults left the room, no doubt to quiz Willow’s mother. Willow went and picked up the violin and bow.

“It’s good to meet you all. How about we chat after we’ve nailed this piece. It runs for about six and a half minutes, so we’ve got time to do it twice. OK?”

The other girls grinned and took their places at the music stands. Zara sat at the cello and counted down the time and they started playing. The other three had been playing it a lot, and Billie could hear it. The music was almost mournful but had hints of a Russian folk song. They were all smiling when they finished, and Zara counted them down for a second run-through.

Barbara played violin, and Dianne played a viola. As Willow watched them play, she decided that they must be sisters. Zara seemed to be older. Once again, Willow was feeling the music spring from within her. When they finished, they had a few minutes to talk. Willow found that Dianne was going to be second year with her. Barbara was going to be starting third, and Zara would be in the fourth year. The girl that she was standing in for was a neighbour to Jim and had gone down with measles a week earlier. All were in the orchestra. Barbara laughed.

“Di and I are also in the singing group. We get to go on for the second act, before the drama people do their thing. We may be able to open the show now.”

“What do the singing group do?”

“It is part of the choir when there is a big service in the school chapel. For the show, we’re doing ‘In Dulci Jubilo’, the Pearsall version, all four verses.”

“That’s funny. That’s the last thing I sang with my friends before we left school, last term. We didn’t have a singing group; it was just some of the girls from the orchestra who would get together in the playground to let off steam.”

“One thing is that we have to wear the same dresses as them, so we could leave the stage and then come back again. They are a royal blue.”

Zara had her phone out and showed Willow the picture.

“I saw something like that in Peacock’s the other day.”

“That’s where they came from. Will you be able to get your own before the show?”

“That’s what stage mothers are for!”

The four of them were giggling when the door opened, and the adults came in.

“You seem to be happy, girls? Do you have something for us to listen to?”

“Yes, sir. I think that it will be satisfactory.”

“Right, Zara. We’ll go to the wall and wait for you to surprise us.”

They took their places and Zara counted them in. When they finished, there was a few moments of silence before Miss Russell announced that it looked like it was going to be a big show after all. Mister Bamborough agreed. Zara looked at Miss Russell.

“Miss. We’ve just found out that Willow sings acapella. Do you mind if we try a bit of the Saturday part. If she’s leaving the stage with us, she’ll be able to join the choir later.”

Mister Jamieson laughed.

“If you grab her for the singing group, she’s not going to get much rest during the evening. Let’s hear the four of you, then.”

Willow gave him back the violin and then stood with the other three. Zara counted them in, and they sang the first verse of ‘In Dulci Jubilo’. The three girls let Willow sing the repeat of the last line on her own. As the sound of ‘Alpha es et O’ faded, Miss Russell turned to Mrs. Rose.

“It looks like I’ll only need to save two tickets for you. Your daughter will be on stage for most of the evening.” They all laughed. Willow batted her eyes at her mother.

“Mummy Mum. I’ll need a new dress. Zara will show you the picture. They’re in Peacocks.”

As they were leaving, Geoff saw them and ran over.

“Willow, we were thinking about the show. If we get asked for an encore, have you any idea what we can do?”

“If we do ‘Lazy’ I can do the intro without trying to destroy the organ.”

“That’s great! Gerry wanted to do that. I’ll leave all the guitar to him, and I’ll bring my mouth organ. Most of it can be improvised. We’ll see you Saturday evening.”

He rushed away and Zara, who was near them, giggled.

“Not even in school and you’re already on speaking terms with the most eligible boy in the fourth year to come.”

“All I know is that he’s a great guitarist and I’ll be on stage with the four Gees in the second half.”

Miss Russell, walking behind them, snorted.

“My dear girl, the Shallow Blues are the second half.”

They went into the city and to the shopping centre again. In Peacocks, Willow tried on one of the blue dresses. After that, she needed some shoes, finding a pair with a two-inch heel that she could walk in.

That evening, after dinner, she went to her room to listen to ‘Lazy’ and figure out what she was going to play for the intro. With Purple, Jon Lord had altered his organ to play discord notes, similar to the way that Keith Emerson had done. She needed to be flashy enough to sound right.

…………………………………………..

Downstairs, her mother downloaded the rehearsals to a USB and turned on the TV.

“Billie and I needed to go to the school today to sort out the mix-up with her name on the admin paperwork. While we were there, we were hijacked by Miss Russell, the woman who had brought that uniform around. She introduced us to four lads who are in a band. Their fifth member has gone down with measles. Miss Russell also told me that a girl who was to play in a quartet had gone down with measles a few weeks earlier.”

“So, you have an evil look in your lovely eyes.”

“Do you remember that you took me to a Deep Purple concert, after that you made me a woman, your woman.”

“I remember it well; the band was fantastic. And so were you, my darling.”

“Well. These lads were short of an organist. I had heard Billie singing but there had been no sounds of instruments coming from her room. Today, I found out that she had piggy-backed her MP3 player into the keyboard feed and has been playing along to Purple for some weeks, as a way to blow of the pressure that she’s been feeling.”

“And you’re going to tell me that you captured her on stage?”

“Yep. If you want the full experience, we can plug in our headphones and watch our daughter light up a stage. I hope I was steady enough.”

She took the remote and chose the USB feed and they sat and watched the full program, including the quartet and the acapella performances. Then, he wanted to see it again as they cuddled on the settee. When that had finished, they kissed.

“There’s something about those songs that turn me on. What say we go upstairs and repeat that night.”

…………………………………

The next morning was Saturday. To Willow, the week had raced by. On Monday, he had been a sad boy, and now she was a popular girl. Next week would tell if it was all going to be better, but, even if they decided that Bill was the best way to go, she wanted to remain as Billie-Jean. Or, better still, Willow Rose.

She showered and dressed in a skirt and top and went down for breakfast. In the kitchen, her mother was humming as she organised some eggs and bacon, while her father was sitting at the table with a silly grin on his face as he watched his wife. As Willow walked in, his smile broadened, and he got up and hugged her.

“Your mother showed me the recording she made of you yesterday. You, my darling daughter, are out of this world. I bet that someone told you that you had too much talent for a thirteen-year-old.”

“That was the Head of the music school. He told me that he had been teaching the two guitarists and that I had pushed them onto another level. I thought that they were both good, but hadn’t seen them play before, so who am I to comment. I just hope that we can recreate it tonight.”

“You’re playing again tonight?”

“Yes. It’s the concert night. Mum has organised tickets for the two of you with Miss Russell. Didn’t she tell you?”

“No. That’s one thing that was cunningly missed.”

Her mother put a plate in his place.

“Just think, my love. You can listen to your daughter play Purple again. It might just keep you awake tonight.”

“What about the other thing you played?”

“I will be part of the quartet to open the show, then we leave the stage. When the stage is cleared, I come back with the other three girls and the singing group, and we do an acapella piece. Then, the rest of the first half is for the drama students. After the break, I’ll be part of Shallow Blue and we take the show to the end. And you, darling Daddy, have a seat in the audience. I don’t know what they will be serving in the break but be sure to save a drink for me. Can you get me a bottle of water for me to take on stage. It was hot yesterday, but tonight there’ll be spotlights, I expect.”

“So, what time are we getting there?”

“Miss Russell said that we should arrive about six-thirty for a seven start. There will be us young ones and they don’t want it to go too late.”

“That means that I get to take my two beautiful ladies out for dinner for about five-thirty. I’d better book somewhere.”

His wife picked up her phone.

“I did research yesterday. There’s a Miller and Carter steakhouse west of the main road into the city. It will be about fifteen minutes from there to the school.”

He looked at the details on the phone and smiled.

“Just what I’ll need, my darling, steak for my strength. Can you book a place for three for tonight, please?”

Willow grinned as her mother went off to make the call. She was starting to understand the plays between men and women, and how to please a man into doing exactly what you wanted him to do. After breakfast, she helped her mother with the housework until a courier arrived with a package. Her mother carried it to her room, and they opened it.

Inside, there was three pairs of odd-looking underpants and a box with false breasts that could be stuck on. She undressed and, between them, they figured out how to put the pants on while putting her small winkle so that she could pee while sitting down. Then, her mother got her to lie on her bed while she attached the breasts. After some minutes, she was able to stand up and feel the weight of the breasts pulling on her skin. This time, when she put a bra on, it was there for a reason. With panties on over the gaff, she looked more female than before, and had a look at herself in the bathroom mirror.

“This is amazing, Mum. I do look more like a girl than I did. These breasts aren’t much bigger than those fillers we got, but they have a life of their own.”

“They do that, my daughter. When you grow your own, you’ll find that they have sensations that you wouldn’t believe. Wear the blue top and the denim skirt today. Before we go out, I’ll help you get dressed and do your make-up as an artiste on stage. We’ll need to start to get ready at about four, which will allow me some time once we have you ready for your adoring fans. We’ll have sandwiches for lunch, seeing that we’re going out for dinner. You can spend the day working through your performances.”

The rest of the day had Willow working through violin exercises and getting used to the breasts, before wiping the violin over and making sure she had everything needed in the case. Then, she looked up the four verses of the carol and sang it several times to get it into her brain. After lunch, she listened to “Lazy’ again, playing her own version over the top of the original.

At four, her mother got her to shower, which was odd with the breasts on. She was powdered and dressed in the gaff, with a new bra and pantie set, in blue. Her mother opened a new pack of tights in her size and showed her how to put them on, then she put on the blue dress and the shoes. She had to go and look at herself in the big mirror to prove to herself that she looked good. Her mother went off to get herself ready, leaving Willow to walk about in the new shoes and practice sitting and standing without flashing her panties. The dress was knee-length, the same as the other girls, and she knew that, tonight, she had to look lady-like for the first part of the show.

Her father came downstairs, looking dapper in his suit.

“Go upstairs, poppet. It’s time for the face painting.”

Upstairs, her mother looked really good, and had already made up her face. Sitting Willow at her vanity, she made her up in an evening style, then swapped the studs for pearl drops and a pearl necklace.

“My mother gave me these when I was your age. They look good on you and they’re yours now. Hold still while I spritz you with this perfume, then go and get your coat in case it gets cool tonight. Don’t forget the violin.”

They took the company car and found the steakhouse and had a good dinner. Afterwards, she found that a compact toothbrush had been put in her bag as she joined her mother to freshen up. At the school, her father parked the car and they walked towards the theatre. Miss Russell was on the door and gave her parents the tickets. Zara was close by and took charge of Willow, taking her to the dressing rooms.

Marianne Gregory © 2025