by Ollie

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Part 3
 
He turned and looked at me with a grin on his face. “Somebody will be wearing tights today!” he sang. He threw the packet of black tights over to me. A girl on the front of the packet was modelling the look. I sank back down and sighed.

Evan was up before me on the Saturday morning. ‘Football practice,’ he said when I asked; as if I should know his usual routine! Dad had gone off early to meet a client so I stayed in the makeshift bed. I knew Gina would be up to dress me and I was sort of looking forward to the attention. Evan was busying himself around the room, collecting things he needed. He went to his wardrobe and then whistled.

I sat up. “What?”

He turned and looked at me with a grin on his face. “Somebody will be wearing tights today!” he sang. He threw the packet of black tights over to me. A girl on the front of the packet was modelling the look. I sank back down and sighed.

“I won’t wear them,” I said, more to convince myself than to tell Evan.

“Bet you will be,” he replied.

“I won’t!” I sat up again. “Anyway, they are in your wardrobe so they must be yours,” I tried.

He laughed. “It’s amazing what I find in this wardrobe these days.” He looked up as if the thought had just struck him. “In fact, it has been since you came!” He laughed again.

I threw the tights back at him. He placed them back on a shelf. “They are here for when you need them.” He grinned.

“Bet I don’t wear them,” I mumbled.

“Bet you do!”
 
 
After he left, I wondered whether I should get up or wait for Gina. I went to the bathroom and washed and returned to find Gina waiting for me. My stomach did one of its, now usual, stretches and I realised that I was glad that she hadn’t forgotten me. Then I remembered the tights.

“Can I wear the dungarees?” I said straight away.

Gina beamed. “Of course, sweetie,” she said.

She pulled off my nightie and handed me some underwear which I managed to put on without too much fuss, taking care to keep private parts of me private.

Gina went over to Evan’s wardrobe and pulled out a pink t shirt. It was plain, which was a relief and Gina helped me into it and then held open the dungarees for me to step into.

I once again sat on the stool while Gina brushed my hair. This part of the morning was my favourite. She brushed my hair so lovingly that I almost wished she could do it before school as well. At home, during the week, I had combed my own hair thinking about Gina as I did so.
 
 
The sight of me in the mirror once again made my stomach stretch. It was more girl than boy looking back and I wondered why I couldn’t wear my normal stuff. At least I had avoided the tights, though, and I smiled to myself at the thought of Evan’s face later when I told him. Gina mistook my smile, though, and hugged me.

“I’m so glad you have style,” she said. “You look fabulous and I can tell you think so too!”

I didn’t feel fabulous. On the other hand, strange as I felt, I was pleased with the attention from Gina. She produced some blue Vans for me to wear. “Don’t tell Evan, he’ll be jealous” she said. I felt a bit better knowing that, at least, the shoes I was wearing were ones Evan would wear.
 
 
Shopping at the supermarket was on the cards for the morning. Evan hates shopping, apparently, and only goes when he has to but Gina loved having someone to talk to and share things with when going up and down aisles. She told me all this as we shopped. I didn’t mind it. I went all the time with dad and I could spot a bargain.

This morning, though, I enjoyed it more than normal. Gina’s enthusiasm for everything rubbed off and we had great fun deciding what to cook over the weekend. The only dark cloud was the fact that I spotted boy and then later a girl from my class shopping with their mums. They both spotted me as well. I could tell from the way they both eyed me up and down they were taking in my pink t shirt, dungarees and blue Vans. I would be talked about at school on Monday for sure.
 
 
After lunch, Jasmine and Freya came over. I was thrilled to see them. We jumped up and down and hugged in the hallway for ages, it was so good to see each other after a week at school.

“Oh, we should have worn our dungarees,” Freya said when we had calmed down. “We could all look alike again.”

I noticed they were wearing black tights with their denim shorts and identical white t shirts with a cartoon girl dancing, her arms high in the air.

“Do you two co-ordinate clothing the whole time?” I joked.

“Of course,” they replied.

“And…” Jasmine announced, “We included you, Danny.” She produced an identical white t shirt with the cartoon girl on it.

Gina arrived with drinks and biscuits. This was fantastic. I never had friends over and here was Gina making it all friendly and cosy for us.

“I’ll change into shorts and then we’ll be the same,” I said.

Gina looked up. “But you wanted to wear dungarees,” she said.

“I know but we want to look the same,” I replied. “It looks better when we are dancing.” I looked at my friends. “We are dancing aren’t we?”

They laughed. “Try stopping us.”
 
 
I raced up the stairs, unhooking my dungarees as I went. In Evan’s room, I reached into the wardrobe and found the shorts I wore last week. They were exactly the same as Freya’s and Jasmine’s. Then I spotted the tights. I hesitated. We would all be exactly the same if I wore them. On the other hand, that was a step too far. I put them back and headed back down the stairs. The music had started. I could see they had started a routine and were already trying out moves. They looked great. That decided me. I raced back upstairs and found the tights, took them out of their packet and dropped my shorts.

Gina appeared. “Need any help?” she asked. I had worn tights in a school show when I was much younger but I was inexperienced in putting them on. I was grateful that Gina helped me get them straight and pulled up snug and tight. “They are opaque,” she explained, not that I really knew what that meant. I just liked the way they made my legs look longer and they were so comfortable.
 
 
Back downstairs, we danced and jumped around and were so good together. Gina recorded us again but only after we had practiced enough to be really good. Then, exhausted, we sat around and talked. My legs dangled over the side of the sofa and I got to admire the way I looked in the tights. Freya said that I was lucky to be staying with Evan because he was a ‘total cutie’. I couldn’t agree with her but didn’t want to say anything rude about him in case Gina heard.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” Jasmine asked me suddenly.

“No!” I almost shouted. I recovered and said I was a bit young. It occurred to me for the first time that they actually thought I was a girl. I sat up. The tights and shorts outfit suddenly felt odd. Perhaps I should tell them the truth.

“Do you want a boyfriend?” Jasmine asked me. I presumed that they knew I was a boy who happened to be an ace dancer. Now I felt out of place. I went quiet.

Freya wanted to know if Evan had a girlfriend. To be honest, I didn’t know but I didn’t want to talk about him.

Jasmine suggested we went into town to ‘hang around’. I wasn’t keen but Gina, when she heard the plans, thought it was a brilliant idea. “It will give me a chance to clear up,” she said.

“I’ll go and change.” I didn’t get far with that idea because both Jasmine and Freya objected and Gina guided me to the door practically pushing me out so that within minutes I was outside dressed from head to toe in girl wear. With one girl on each side, they hooked arms through mine and trotted down the road towards town.
 
 
I didn’t know anybody from Evan’s side of town but as we got closer to the centre I knew we were bound to bump into people I knew from school. I was so self- conscious. I was never a guy guy, always had girls as friends, and making up dance routines meant that most boys at school avoided me. But…I had never pretended to be a girl. I had never dressed up as a girl before. Now, I was walking through town hoping that the people who passed me would think I was a girl. The worst thing that could happen now would be meeting somebody I knew. I would have a hard job explaining why I was dressed in tights and shorts or I would be giving Freya and Jasmine a big surprise. I felt doomed.
 
 
When we reached the park Freya led us to a park bench. Her idea of ‘hanging around’ was trying to catch the attention of boys our age. There were quite a few on skateboards and bikes doing nothing much other than circling each other. Freya headed for the bench in the middle of them. Jasmine followed dragging me by the arm. We sat in a row. I looked around. Fortunately, I didn’t recognise any of the boys. Freya did. She made comments about each of them using her own ‘cutie scale’ to grade them. Jasmine added her views, sometimes agreeing with Freya but mostly not. Then they turned to me.

“You’re being quiet,” Jasmine said. I didn’t have much to add but didn’t need to because Freya became all animated.

“Shush, shush, they’re coming over,” she said making such a fuss. “Pretend you’re not interested,” she continued which wasn’t hard as I wasn’t.

A boy cycled his bike over breaking so that he skidded to a halt right beside me.

“Who’s your friend, girls?” he asked.

“Her dad’s going out with Evan’s mum,” Freya explained. I looked at my feet. Red converse with black tights didn’t feel very boylike.

“Hi, I’m Toby,” the boy said.

“She’s Dani,” Jasmine said when it was clear I wasn’t going to answer.

“Or Danielle to be formal,” Freya said nudging me, “as this is your first introduction.”

“Hi Dani,” Toby said and I half- heartedly lifted my hand in a wave.
 
 
I knew I was going red and Freya telling Toby I was shy didn’t help matters. My mind was racing for a way out of this problem I now had. Should I tell the girls I was a boy before matters got worse? I even thought I should ask my dad if we could move away, from Gina and Evan and all this upside down stuff. I suppose it was because I was so confused about what to do that I did nothing and that is what led to me sitting silently for as long as possible while Freya and Jasmine flirted, because that is what they were doing, with Toby and his friends who soon joined us.
 
 
Freya suggested we play chase and everyone seemed to think this was a good idea, except me and I stayed silent. With the bench as ‘home’ the game began and I decided to sit it out. The others ran and shrieked and chased and pushed. I hoped they would get tired of it but, before they did, Freya came up behind me and pushed me off the bench. Toby came straight for me and I ran off shrieking as I did. Toby grabbed me and lifted me off the ground and swung me around. I couldn’t do a thing about it except shriek, which I did, and giggle. He set me down and then ran off. I looked around and could see that the others were waiting for me to catch them so, without thinking too much more I set off to try and catch them. I had Toby in my sights. He was the one I wanted to catch. Try as I might I couldn’t get him, he was too fast and the others tired of waiting for me so set off a rival game while I concentrated on Toby. I lost sight of him and was about to return to the bench when two arms reached out, grabbed me and pulled me into him. His arms locked around me and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

“I can feel your heart beating,” Toby said. I didn’t know what to say but I didn’t struggle I stayed still with his arms wrapped right around me.
 
 
It was Freya who spoiled the moment. She appeared and made a sarcastic comment about lovers in the bushes. It was quite unnecessary and Toby dropped his arms immediately. I went red and walked back to the bench, quite annoyed with her.
 
 
The boys started to drift off and, I think because she knew she had upset me, Freya tried to make amends.

“Dani is a great dancer,” she said to Toby.

“Really?” he asked. His interest was clear.

“Toby is a dancer too,” Freya explained.

“Ballet,” Jasmine added. “He’s brilliant!” It was Toby who went red this time. He didn’t say much but wheeled his bike alongside us as we walked home. I knew I was supposed to say something but I was so confused myself I didn’t know what to say. In the end, Jasmine suggested we all meet up again the next day so we could show our dance routines.
 
 
I was a mix of emotions back at Gina’s. At first she thought something awful had happened and I had to convince her that I had had a great time. I had. That was why I was so confused. Dad had not returned from work and Evan was at a friend’s house. I sat in front of the television not paying attention. I replayed the day to try to work out how I had ended up shyly waving to a boy who obviously liked me. ‘A total cutie’ Freya had called him and, when pressed by Jasmine, I had agreed that he was really nice. How had I reached that point?
 
 
When I went back over it, I couldn’t find the single moment when I was forced by Gina to wear anything I didn’t want to. Neither did I correct the girls when they called me ‘she’. When Evan returned home he took one look at me and nodded at my legs and I realised that he was right, I had ended up in the tights. At least he hadn’t said, ‘told you so’ even though his look did all that for him. But this was part of my concern, I had spent all day wearing girls’ clothes and didn’t think to get changed back when I came home.
 
 
I had a slight panic. Dad would be home and he would see me in tights. Maybe that was pushing my luck. I went into the kitchen and tried to find the words to tell Gina that I needed to change my clothes. She could tell something was up. I didn’t know what to say. Instead, I told her about the game of chase in the park and Toby grabbing me. She smiled the whole time. I then told her that Freya and Jasmine had introduced me as a girl. I stopped. The smile never left Gina’s face.

“What did you say?” she asked.

“Nothing,” I replied, looking down.

“Well, there’s nothing to say really is there?” she said. I looked at her, confused. “Why would you correct them?”

I thought it was obvious. “Because I’m not a girl!” I said, slowly.

Gina held out her hands and taking mine held me at arms’ length. She made me do a complete turn.

“What do we have here, looking fabulous and oh so pretty?” I blushed. “Is it a boy I see before me or a girl?” I didn’t answer. “Or doesn’t it matter as long as this little person is fabulous?” She hugged me and held me close. I was still confused but Gina’s hug made me feel better.
 
 
And that was how dad found us as he came home. Normally he would hug and kiss Gina but, today, he threw his arms around us both and hugged us closer. He didn’t mention my clothes and when Evan came into the kitchen he invited Evan over to join in, which he did because he hero worshipped my dad and would do anything he asked.
 
 
I stayed in my tights all evening until it was time for bed. Once again, Gina undressed me and helped me into my nightdress. I didn’t question it or ask for my pyjamas, I just went along with it all. I had enjoyed the day. Later, lying in bed I asked Evan if he knew Toby.

“He’s gay,” he shot back.

“He’s not, you know,” I replied. Evan looked at me. “Take it from me, he isn’t.”

Evan didn’t follow it up but gave me a look. “Wonder what is in the wardrobe for tomorrow!” he said. I wondered too. I had a few ideas for what I wanted in there as well.
 
 
To Be Continued...