Wheels and Wings. 5

Character List.

Jack Thomas Later AKA Ellie Transvestite and keen cyclist.
Amanda Thomas AKA Amie Jack's sister.
Charlotte Dawson Keen girl cyclist and Jack’s soon-to-be girlfriend.
Bob Cycling club captain.
Mr Thomas Weston School games master and keen rugby player.
Billy Davies. Rugby ‘jock’, kind to Jack, he fancies Charlotte.
Marjorie Spencer. Holder of unofficial ‘Prettiest-girl-in-the-school’ title.
Miss Elizabeth Postlethwaite. The English Mistress.
Aunty Olwen Where Jack changes for school and leaves his bike.
Mandy. Olwen’s daughter, Jack’s older cousin.
Mr Griffiths The County solicitor.

Chapter 5

Being ignorant of Jack’s cycling situation, Mr Weston wasted several hours sitting in the lay-by until he gave up just before lunch. Then he decided to go for a coffee because he felt the morning had been totally wasted and he was not in a good mood. As he drove back to town, he encountered the wheelers speeding home but he did not recognise the youngsters who were ensconced in the peloton for safety and slip-streaming. He did however recognise the club name on the cyclist’s jerseys and he cursed them as they obstructed him along a narrow lane. Several cyclists also cursed the gym master for his impatience and when he finally overtook them, tooting his horn and forcing some of the cyclists to stop, two of the club members recorded his inconsiderate behaviour on their helmet cams.

Being well protected inside the group and therefore being forced to concentrate on their immediate companions in the peloton, neither Charlotte nor Jack recognised the gym master or his car. They did however remember the abusive incident. It made them more aware of inconsiderate motorists and they were naturally extra careful when they decided to cycle to the mall after the club disbanded at the end of the ride. Charlotte’s dad had agreed to pick them up after his surgery later that afternoon with the bike rack on his car.

They had stopped by in Jack’s auntie’s house to leave their bikes there and change into their regular clothes. For the rest of the afternoon they were free to wander around the shops. Charlotte was pleased and slightly surprised to discover that Jack was more than keen to accompany her around the boutiques and even occasionally pretend to put some item of clothing on to the accompaniment of giggles and silliness. They were doing exactly that when Mr Weston saw them from the cafe window where he was finishing his coffee. Jack was making Charlotte giggle as he placed a fascinator on his head and held a sequined top against his chest as though sizing it up. He giggled and asked.

“D’you think it would look good in the club colours? The sequins make good reflective material. Does it suit me?”

Charlotte was already bent double with a fit of the giggles when Mr Weston appeared unseen behind the lampooning Jack.

“No! I don’t think it suits you boy. What are you, a girl?”

Jack’s heart missed a beat as his stomach sagged with surprise while Charlotte’s giggle choked in her throat. It was Charlotte who recovered before Jack and she answered quite boldly for Mr Weston was not her teacher.

“We were only having some fun Mr Weston, we weren’t doing any harm. Anyway, I’m buying, so we are allowed to try clothes on!”

Frome Charlotte’s perspective their fun was perfectly legitimate. Girls often held stuff up against each other to compare clothes and they often tried on dozens of different shoes before deciding. It was all a part of girly fun when shopping. The fact that she could behave the same way with Jack only endeared him to her further and she could see no fault. Jack’s still secret propensity for cross-dressing meant he also found the ‘clothes-testing’ to be fun even though he never actually tried anything on. He did however put hats on and try shoes on for a giggle. The young shop assistants knew this from previous visits and, because Charlotte usually made a purchase, it was part of the Saturday fun in the small provincial town.

Mr Weston however was of the ‘old school’ and a dyed-in-the-wool male chauvinist to boot. The very idea of a man, or even a boy, enjoying shopping was anathema to him; especially when that boy seemingly preferred to go shopping with girls rather than represent the school regularly in sport. It did not help that Jack’s somewhat effeminate behaviour was also a red rag to Mr Weston’s bull.
Finding the boy giggling like a girl and prancing around in a girl’s fascinator served only to disgust the games master to the point of anger. He berated Jack loudly to the surprise of several of the female staff as he corrected Charlotte.

"No Miss Dawson, WE are not allowed to try clothes on! Only YOU are allowed to try women's clothes on because this prancing fairy is really a boy!"

Having made Jack feel like some sort of low-life, he stormed out with an order ringing in Jack’s ears.

“You’ll see me in my office during morning break on Monday!”

Jack just stood shocked and frightened but Charlotte was made of sterner stuff.

“Who the hell does he think he is? It’s Saturday and what we do on Saturdays is nothing to do with him.”

“He thinks I should be playing rugby.”

“Why? The games have been cancelled this weekend anyway.”

“Yes, but every other weekend. He thinks I should be a permanent member of the school rugby team and play every weekend.”

“Why does he think that? You cycle for the club. They want you just as much as the school. You don’t have to represent the school!”

Jack shrugged. He hated rugby but the school was fanatical about it. The head master had already sent a letter to his mother about the team spirit and her son apparently wasting his talent. Jack explained this to Charlotte and she snorted derisively.

“Huh! What do they know about team spirit? It’s all ‘LOOK AT ME!’ on the rugby field and then they smash the other guy into the ground. Everybody’s in it for their own glory. Every time the team wins, the jocks turn up in school on Mondays thinking they’re cocks of the walk!”

Jack knew that Charlotte was right and he nodded. This only encouraged Charlotte to lay it on thicker.

“Just look at that Billy Davies, he thinks every girl should be slavering at his feet if they come home as winners.”

Jack frowned. Billy Davies was not a fraction as bad as some of the dumber jocks from the lower grade classes. He explained to Charlotte.

“Billy’s okay really. He sees to it that I don’t get any bad passes so I can get a clear run to the line. Besides he seems a bit shy around d girls for all his popularity. Honestly Charlie, Billy’s okay. He’s a nice guy at heart.”

“Yeah, well that maybe but he’s still a dork when he’s got a win under his belt. There’s no stopping his stupidity. He thinks every girl should be his slave.”

“Ah that’s a bit unfair Charlie. All the boys act like dorks around you, you’re dead pretty and they all fancy you like crazy.”

Charlotte stared stupidly as she disbelived her own ears.

“Crickey Jack Thomas I did I just hear a compliment?”

Jack stalled as Charlotte’s smile widened then he crimsoned with embarrassment as he mumbled.

“Well, yes; you are pretty, prettier than all the others.”

Charlotte’s smile widened to a huge face splitting grin as she threw her arms open and dragged Jack into her embrace then kissed him passionately on the lips. Jack was taken totally by surprise and initially tried to escape then he found the sensation nice and relaxed as he felt tingles running down his spine. Eventually he tried to speak.

“Mmmmm, mmmmmph. Stoppit Charlie, somebody ‘ll see us.”

Charlotte loosened her embrace disappointed that Jack hadn’t simply fallen into the kiss with the same degree of Passion. She asked pointedly.

“Why should you worry, are you ashamed of me or something?”

Jack gasped with surprise that Charlotte had taken his remark completely the wrong way. He protested vehemently.

“No, no. It’s just that; well ... if any of the boys see us, they’ll make my life hell. They all fancy you. They’ll be jealous as hell and then it’ll get stupid cos they call me Tinker-bell and some think I'm gay. If they think I’m going with you, some of the dumber jocks might get nasty. They all fancy you like hell; you should hear what they say about you.”

Charlotte smirked with disgust.

“You don’t have to tell me. I suppose they all want to get into my knickers. They're just glands looking for somewhere to spurt”

Jack paused; he’d never heard Charlotte speak so earthily of such things. Then he nodded uncertainly.

“Well, yes; yes they do. The jocks are pretty crude about it in the changing rooms."

"Yeah, all the rugby jocks are the same."

"No, not all," Jack protested, "Billy’s not. He tries to stick up for you but only he can get away with doing that cos he's popular and he's the captain. If anybody else sticks up for you the others accuse that boy of being in love with you. Billy’s the only one popular enough to protect your reputation and avoid the ribbing. But even he’d have a hard time doing it if you were seen kissing me, the runtiest kid in the class.”

Charlotte smiled at the thought that Billy Davies stuck up for her in the locker rooms because in class he behaved like a dork with all the girls. Despite this, all the girls, fancied him cos he was a good looking lad. Jack then asked Charlotte what the girls talked about in their locker rooms.

“They talk about boys, what d’you expect?”

“Do the girls like Billy, I suppose they do?”

“Yes they do, mostly except for the stupid stuff like the strutting around after they’ve won a match. That can annoy us but some girls even respond to that. They like the attention.”

Jack nodded.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. Some of them go along with it. That Marjorie Spencer’s all over Billy like a rash.”

Charlotte snorted with disgust.

“Marjorie Spencer’s a slag. Her body rules her brain!”

Jack fell silent. Marjorie Spencer was truly a pretty girl but when she opened her mouth, uugh! She had a voice like a fish-wife. Despite this, Marjorie was quite nice to Jack but he had no idea why. Her kindness to Jack gainsayed her reputation as a slut in Jack's eyes. Jack of course knew little of the girl's opinions of each other so he had no comment to offer about Marjorie.

Charlotte mistakenly took his silence for some sort of secret attraction. She demanded to know if Jack fancied Marjorie and her tone betrayed her jealousy. Jack, being preoccupied with Mr Weston’s summons to see him on Monday, did not deny Charlotte’s accusation vehemently enough and Charlotte got into a huff. A row developed and when her father arrived to collect them the pair were not talking.

~~ooo000ooo~~