Darin Dares

Chapter 5 of 7

© 2014 by D.L.

It wasn't until I stood to put my bowl in the sink did my mother notice what I was wearing. She almost choked when she saw the skirt.

I awoke the next morning at a quarter to eight to the sound of Shania Twain belting out "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!" as the alarm function on my CD player activated. Lifting my mattress I pulled the school uniform from its hiding place and quickly got dressed. I could hear someone enter the bathroom and the water start running as I finished tying my shoelaces. I left my room and descended the stairs.

I realised the person in the bathroom was my mother when I saw my father sat at the table eating a bowl of cereal. He had his back to the kitchen, so didn’t see me as I poured a cup of tea from the pot and got my own breakfast. He was too busy reading the paper to notice my skirt as I slipped into a chair opposite him.

We were joined a few minutes later by my mother. She got her own breakfast and sat down next to my father. The table blocked the view of my lower half, and neither of them noticed that the buttons on my shirt were in the opposite direction to normal. It wasn't until I stood to put my bowl in the sink did my mother notice what I was wearing. She almost choked when she saw the skirt.

"Are you alright, Helen," my father asked as he patted her on the back. All my mother could do was point in my direction as I disappeared out of sight. My father obviously caught sight of me by the expletives I heard as I reached the stairs. I ignored them and ascended up and into the bathroom.

I quickly used the toilet and then brushed my teeth. After washing I took the brush from the shelf and worked on my hair. It's short enough that it doesn't need combing, but I do it anyway. Opening the medicine cabinet I pulled out the metal tin containing cotton buds that nobody ever uses. I extracted the clip on earrings and matching hair slide that I had hidden there a few days before. Each of them featured a metal butterfly painted in multiple colours. I clipped the thumbnail sized butterflies onto my ears and then slid the two inch butterfly into my hair above my left ear. I wasn't sure that I had enough hair for it to stay put, but it seemed secure enough for the moment. I wasn't planning on using the wig today. I would leave that in reserve, as I was still worried my parents would confiscate everything.

Taking a deep breath I checked myself in the mirror one final time before unlocking and opening the bathroom door. I can see my parents waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. I cross to my bedroom and pick up my school bags. I have my kit bag in addition to my normal one as I have P.E. today. After double checking I had everything I needed for the day, I slowly descended the stairs to face the music.

"Just what do you think you are doing dressed like that?" My mother shouted.

Unfazed I calmly replied, "I'm upholding my side of the agreement we made yesterday. You asked me to dress as a girl for a fortnight, and that is what I'm doing. This is the most feminine I can look without breaking the school dress code. While I would look better with a wig and makeup, the former is not allowed and the latter is discouraged. Until my hair grows out this is the best I can do."

"You can't go to school like that, you'd get expelled," Mum continued.

"No I won't. The punishments for breaking the dress code range from a verbal warning up to being sent home for the day. Permanent expulsion would take multiple offences. So far I've received one warning. My next offence could land me in detention or possibly a temporary suspension. However, if you go check the rules on the school website you'll see that everything I have on is compliant. The only thing I may get criticised for is the hair clip, but I can remove that if needed."

I watched my father as he pulled out his smart phone and browse to the website. "There is a notice here posted yesterday about a modification to the dress code. It states that following a complaint, it has been decided that the gender requirements of the rules conflict with the equality and diversity policy and are therefore being temporarily relaxed pending review. Female students could already follow the uniform guidelines for male students. This change means that male students can now follow the guidelines for female students, eliminating the previous bias in favour of girls."

"I'm not going to bother to ask who made the complaint," my mother stated as she shot me a glance. I smiled sweetly in return. "If you're so determined to make a complete arse out of yourself, then fine, you can go like that. However, I'm taking you in the car and we'll go straight to the office on arrival. Go put your normal uniform in a bag so that you can change if needed."

I give a quick salute before spinning round and walking back to my room. I return a minute later with my male clothes and shoes in a carrier bag. I'll take them with me, but already know that they won't be needed.

A few minutes later all three of us set off in my dad's car for the school. As we approach the gates I can see the headmistress standing at the entrance. I smile and wave to her as we drive past heading for a free spot on the side of the road. As soon as we're parked, I get out of the passenger side rear door.

"Good morning, Darin," Mrs Davis greeted me, having followed us to where we parked, "that's a very pretty set of earrings you're wearing today."

"Morning Mrs Davis, is this hair clip okay?" I asked pointing at the item on my head, "I wasn't sure if it was too large."

"No, its fine, but you will have to take it out for P.E. Considering what some of the girls try and get away with, that is quite tame."

My parents had gotten out of the car and just stood there watching our exchange in disbelief. Before they could say anything to the headmistress, she spotted another student larking about and started shouting at them while walking in their direction.

"Thanks for the lift," I said to my parents as I put the carrier bag containing the male uniform back in the car. "That was the headmistress in case you didn't recognise her. As she's happy with my appearance that means I'm not in trouble. If any of the teachers complain I'll be sent to her, and I doubt she will change her mind. See you tonight."

I picked up my bags and walked away, joining a few of my classmates who greeted me. Thankfully they all completely ignored how I was dressed and carried on as if nothing strange was happening, which I'm sure would baffle my parents even more.

I decided to head towards the library. It is one place where there is constant supervision and where I will be least likely to be harassed. On the way there I spot Kevin, and go over to him to have a word. I indicate to him we should find somewhere where we can talk and head back outside and find a spot away from other people.

"Do I take from your appearance that you have been given permission to attend like that?" Kevin asked.

"Yes, and I also have more good news for you as well," I started, "but first, I have an apology to make. I told Mrs Davis about your incident with Mrs Bates, although I made sure not to identify you directly. Unfortunately, she's worked out that I was probably talking about you. I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention. However, as a result of that and my own concerns about her, Mrs Davis has decided to investigate the claims and it seems she's very unhappy with the outcome. She is keen to speak to you about your experience."

I could see the worried look on his face, but he didn't appear angry with me or overly upset. After a pause he replied, "Is she still outside? I think I might take a wander over and see if I can have a word."

We both wander over in the direction of the gates. Mrs Davis is just walking back towards the office and we intercept her.

"Morning, Kevin, Darin, is there something I can do for you?" Mrs Davis greets us.

"I believe Darin told you about an incident I had with Mrs Bates, and you wanted to speak to me about it," Kevin shyly replied.

"Certainly, please come along to my office with me so that we can discuss it in private. Darin, would you come as well, I need a quick word with you as well. Don't worry, you're not in trouble."

It is only a short walk to the school offices. We were soon in Mrs Davis's office.

"Darin, I had a quick word with your parents before they left," Mrs Davis said, "They told me about the challenge they set you. I must admit I had to laugh, I take it you didn't admit to attending as a girl yesterday?"

I shook my head and she continued, "I informed them about yesterday and basically repeated what I told you. I also told them that they need to get you to see a specialist, preferably one familiar with Gender issues. Your mother is going to phone the doctors when she gets to work to see if they can get you an appointment with your G.P. I suggested if they needed to pull you out of school for that, then to do it during your P.E. lesson."

I thanked her and she then turned to Kevin. He asked that I stay while he talked. I knew the subject upsets him, and suspected he may want some moral support, especially given the negative outcome the last time he spoke to anybody in authority about it. They spent the next twenty minutes discussing what happened. I stay out of the conversation, and simply provide comfort and moral support by my presence. I end up holding his hand for most of the session, which seems to help. At least he didn't end up crying this time, although I could tell he was getting close.

Mrs Davis assures Kevin that his sexuality is not an issue and will be treated with the upmost confidentiality.

We are dismissed just before registration, so that we don't end up being marked as being late by Mr Brett as he would be unaware where we were, although the office would have corrected that afterwards if needed.

The room once again fell silent as I entered. Coming dressed as a girl yesterday was a surprise for most people. I don't think many of them expected me to turn up as a girl again, or if they did, they probably weren't expecting I would be allowed.

Mr Brett ignored my entrance and simply started to call out names as the bell rang. We all respectfully fell silent as required when the register is being called.

"I have one announcement this morning," the teacher stated, "As you have all noticed, Darin is still wearing a skirt today. In line with the equality and diversity policy it was considered unfair that we allow girls to wear skirts but boys aren't permitted to do the same. Therefore pending the uniform rules being reviewed and rewritten, a clarification has been issued. Any gender references are to be ignored until further notice. This doesn't affect the girls, as you can already wear trousers, but if any of the other boys want to wear skirts then they can."

"Does that extend to kilts, or only skirts?" Mark enquired. "I have no intention of wearing a skirt, but I might consider wearing a kilt. I have one that is blue and black, but it's obviously tartan and not plain."

"I'll ask for clarification on that," Mr Brett replied. "Skirts are only allowed to be plain at the moment and there is no mention of kilts, so I'm not sure. I'll raise it as an issue. The problem is if we allowed boys to wear tartan and the girls could only wear plain skirts, then we would have an inequality again. I think if we did go down that line then we may specify a specific tartan, Black Watch, for example, and allow everybody to wear it. If anybody has any suggestions on how the uniform should be changed, then please write an essay explaining why you think it should be adopted and I'll submit it to the board. I don't think we will be dropping the uniform requirement, but if there are reasons for having it changed, then they will be looked at."

The registration period doesn't last long, and we are soon heading to the first lesson of the day, which is French. I don't mind the subject, but I'm not particularly good at it. This is something that worries me slightly. Females are supposedly better with language skills while males are more spatially aware. Hence jokes about women drivers. There is actually some scientific evidence that men can judge speed and distances better. I know that this is a generalisation and doesn't always hold true. What you have is two bell curves that overlap if you were to plot individual male and female characteristics. The offset is probably very small, and the overlap very large.

If I have a female brain, even with a male body, does that mean I should have better language skills and worse spatial orientation? Admittedly I can't throw for toffees, but I'm not any good with learning languages either. I am probably over thinking things again. Going existential is a habit I have every now and then. It doesn't do me any good getting to philosophical. It tends to make me think of my own mortality and make me extremely depressed.

The second period passed without incident and I made sure to find a quiet spot in the library during break where I wouldn't be disturbed. At the bell for the third period I headed outside and over to the sports block. Given that I really don't like having to use the changing rooms, and that I have threatened to boycott the lesson, I was apprehensive as to how the next hour would unfold.