A young surfer goes through a painful transformation that leaves him battered, bruised and changed. As he attempts to cope with those changes and the new life he must now live he also stumbles on a conspiracy that threatens his family, his friends and the township he lives in. As a young girl can she deal not only with a new body and new feelings but also overcome the evil that could destroy her.

CHAPTER 7 – Middle Man

As soon as I walked in the door Mom grabbed my arms looking at my face. I winced holding my ribs as she inadvertently twisted me.

“What happened?”

“Morgan Chapman happened” I replied and recounted the story to them, how I had dropped in to see Dave at the shop and what had happened after that.

Tim and Jeff were furious and were ready to jump on their motor bikes then and there and head up to Morgan’s place.

It took both Mom and I a good five minutes to talk them down before they saw reason.
“There’s no point in going over there angry boys, you’ll just do something we’ll all regret, they’ll call the cops and it won’t be Morgan who’s in trouble then”

Mom had a good point and I really didn’t want my brothers to get into any trouble over this I mean hey I needed them, who else was going to give me rides to the beach?

“Leave it to me” she said “I’ll talk to his folks tomorrow and threaten police action if they don’t do something about their boy. This is a pretty vicious assault”

Bruising had started to show on my cheek and my lip was fat. I ran my fingers along my ribs and although they hurt I didn’t think anything was broken. It could have been much worse.

“Go and have a shower Jade and I’ll have your dinner ready when you get out, go on scoot” she said. “I’ll show you how to use some makeup to cover the bruises later too.”

I wondered how she knew about things like that. Maybe Dad used to hit her as well. I hoped not, Mom didn’t deserve that.

Jacinta was in our back bathroom with liquids coming out of both ends so I was forced to use Moms. Hers always smelled sweet and feminine in comparison to the one we three siblings used. Mom had said I could use hers now any time I wanted and I appreciated the offer.

When I got out I threw on the short shorts for the first time and my long legs were completely on display. I didn’t bother with a bra and wore just a singlet with spaghetti straps finished off with one of my old plaid shirts with the sleeves rolled up. I didn’t realise it but I looked sexy as hell with my wet hair falling behind me and my dark eyes. I didn’t try to look anything but me but I guess my body had other ideas. I suppose I was just innocent about it all but boys would notice.

Mom certainly did and angrily whispered “go and put a bra on Jade” to me

“Why what’s wrong” I asked looking confused. Mom grabbed my arm and marched me into my room and stood me in front of the mirror.

“That” she said and sure enough when I looked I could see my nipples sticking out from the singlet material very suggestively.

“Oh! Sorry I didn’t realise” I said feeling shamed.

Mom smiled “you’ll learn Jade, you’ll learn”

While we were alone I took the opportunity to fill my Mom in on what Dave had said to me and how I was going to train for the boy’s competition.

“Good for you Jade, you know Dave has a real soft spot for you and now you’re a girl I have a feeling he may care even more”

“What do you mean?” I queried my eyebrows furrowing.

‘I’ll tell you the story one day but not now. Like I always tell you treat people with respect and especially Dave right now. It’s going to affect him every time he sees you”

“Sure Mom, that’s an easy one” but I was left wondering.

We both went back to look at Jacinta. She was doing it rough as she went through the craving stage while her body was attempting to empty itself of everything inside it. She sat on the toilet moaning while Jeff held a bowel for her to vomit in although by now it was just dry retching. Her hair was slick with sweat and she shook like she had a fever. There was no dignity in heroin addiction.

“How long will this last?”

“About a day or two, then she will begin to come out of it all but it will be at least a week before she starts to feel better. She’s a brave girl going through this. Your brothers have been amazing with her.”

I nodded and went out to eat my dinner before taking a turn on ‘the bowl’. Mom and my brothers had decided I wasn’t to take any time off school and because of my age I had to be in bed by a certain time. I reminded them I would be turning 15 next month which wasn’t far away and that senior high school was looming for me.

“Exactly why you’re going to school every day Jade and why there isn’t going to be any argument about it” my Mom wasn’t about to negotiate although my angle was obviously that I was getting older and should have more responsibility.

Funny how parents turn everything around like that.

About 9.30 I was curled up on my bed finishing off some math homework when my phone rang. A picture of Jasmine popped up with the name ‘Jaz” as the phone vibrated beside me.

“Hey Jaz” I answered cheerily “how’s it going?”

“Jade hi, good thanks, have you asked your Mom about Friday, I talked to my ‘rents and it’s all good, they really want to meet you, all the other girls are coming.”

“Uh no sorry I completely forgot I kind of got waylaid from school this evening and beaten up but…”

“What! Beaten up what happened” yelled Jasmine down the phone and so for the second time that night I recounted what had happened with Morgan.

“That little punk, so your Mom is going to talk with his parents tomorrow?”

“Yeah, we had to stop my brothers from heading over to his place and beating the crap out of him.”

“Yeah I’d have let them, but you know what I have a much better way of getting revenge on him”

And so for the next half hour Jasmine and I talked about how we would pay back Morgan for what he had done. At the end of it I thought ‘wow, I never realized just how much power girls had, after this I doubted Morgan would ever be able to show his face at school again’

“So do you think your Mom will be okay with the sleepover then? I really hope so it’s going to be soooooo much fun.”

“Yeah I don’t think it’ll be a problem”

“Coooool, so how’s your brother, Tim, does he have a girlfriend or anything” Jaz inquired coyly

I smiled to myself, just this morning Jasmine had mentioned she’d had a crush on me, now she was switching allegiances to Tim. I didn’t blame her I mean I was definitely more than unavailable and Tim was really hot. He’d had a couple of girlfriends growing up but his first love had always been surfing and not every girl could fit into his lifestyle. I figured this was my initiation into how girls used sisters to get introduced to hot brothers.

“Nah’ he’s single” I said “wanna meet him?”
“Well, you know, if it was possible” Jasmine came back, I don’t think she was ready for my up front response.

For my part I really liked her and she was really cute with her long brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. Tim was a big boy now and if he didn’t like her well he’d just say. My brother was anything but shy and after all he was 16 and she was already 15. Next year we would all be together at Senior High so how logical was that?

“Leave it to me” I grinned down the phone, this whole playing cupid thing might be a bit of fun.

We chatted on for a few more minutes and I yawned. It had been a long day and I was beat so I said my goodbyes and promised to meet Jaz outside school in the morning.

“Wear something really cute, revenge starts tomorrow” she said.

Tuesday dawned bright and clear, pretty much as always in this part of the world. I got up early and listened to the silence outside other than the odd bird song or chirp. Looking out my window I contemplated my new life. I didn’t notice but I stood with my arms folded under my breasts and my legs together. It was the way a girl stood not a boy. I was changing quickly without even realizing it. Danielle had been right about how my fears were over exaggerated and that I would be accepted much more than I thought. I hated to admit it to myself but being a girl was becoming more and more natural to me. I wanted to fight it, to somehow believe that I could return to my old body but deep inside I knew that wasn’t going to happen. My own happiness was up to me now, I could easily mope around in the quagmire of self-pity or I could embrace the changes. I figured right now I was about somewhere in the middle.

I pulled out the dress I planned to wear today and lay it on the bed. Although I had told Mom I wasn’t about to wear one anytime soon this was different. It was a figure hugging creation by Billabong Australia and we had picked it up from the surf shop in the mall. It was short and also showed off my shoulders and back. The material was kind of a cream color with flecks of black and blue running through it. Combing out my hair and leaving it to fall freely down my back I rubbed in some conditioner to make it look really healthy and shiny. I applied some moisturiser and foundation today, partly for the look but also to hide the bruising on my cheek. I added mascara and a hint of eyeliner to my bottom eyelid that really brought out my green eyes. Finishing off the look with a necklace and bracelets I looked super hot just the way Jaz and I had planned. She and the other four girls in our group Chloe, Sarah, Debbie and Lauren were all going to look amazing. Jaz had said she would ring them as soon as she hung up with me to fill them in.

I ran my finger along my lip, the swelling had gone down but it still hurt. I didn’t feel overly sorry for what we were about to do.

Poor Morgan didn’t know what was going to hit him.

Little did I know it but I was also going to get a phone call today that was going to change my life plus I had to do fitness training with Dave after school.

I looked at the little emerald sitting on my finger “Let’s do this” I said to it, picked up my bag, slipped on some cute sandals and got ready to catch my bus.

CHAPTER 8 – They Do, They Don’t

We all met together outside of the school getting looks from everyone who walked past. The other girls looked incredible with short skirts and revealing tops. I wasn’t going to be involved with the first part of the process and was feeling more and more worried about whether this was really the right thing to do. Despite my beating I wondered if we were perhaps going a little too far with our retribution.

Chloe had agreed to be the one to entice Morgan and had left a note slipped into his locker asking him to meet her near the girl’s toilets at recess. He had always had a thing for her and had asked her out on a couple of occasions. She to her credit had always rejected him.

Sarah, Debbie, Lauren and Jaz would act as back up and make sure the restroom was free of anyone else while my job was to record everything on my iphone ready to go up on You tube, Facebook and Twitter. At the end of second period Jasmine and I concealed ourselves figuring if Morgan saw us he would instantly suspect something wrong. Sarah and Debs locked themselves into a cubicle and right on cue Morgan turned up looking both anxious and yet eager. He wasn’t actually an unhandsome guy with tousled hair and a fresh looking face. Like most surfers he was lean and ripped but his aggression and mean streak meant most of the really nice girls at school didn’t want to know him. The fact that Chloe was both really nice and incredibly hot made her very attractive especially to players like Morgan.

She met him by the door and smiled all come hither and suggestive. It didn’t take long for them to slip inside while Jaz stood nearby and wouldn’t let anyone else in. About four minutes later Chloe came sauntering out holding a pair of jeans and boys underwear and within 10 seconds piercing screams and cries of “get out” and “you sick pervert” came from the toilets. Jaz, Chloe and I stood outside iphones ready as Morgan came crashing through the door trying unsuccessfully to hide his erection with his hands. He had no pants or underwear on and since he couldn’t stop he ran straight into the opposite wall. Students everywhere stopped and stared, girls pointing with their hands over their mouths while guys started to laugh. Jaz stepped over and grabbed Morgan by the hair and whispered something in his ear. Wild eyed he looked at me then looked around at all the students watching him. Many had their phones out recording his humiliation as he picked himself up then stumbled down the hallway to try and find the relative safety of a classroom or office. A lot of students rushed after him recording his every move while we girls regrouped.

“Job done” announced Jaz “he won’t bother you again in a zillion years, promise”

I felt massively bad for Morgan and what we’d just done to him. By tonight most of the student population of Imperial Beach would have seen the footage of him running practically naked down the corridors of the school after being caught in the girl’s toilets. Rumours would fly around and he would be lucky to still be attending here by the end of the week. Some would say justice had been served but I wondered if the punishment suited the crime. I made up my mind to try and put a few things right between us and visit him at home before the week was out.

As we split up to go to our respective classes each of the girls gave me a hug and told me how sorry they were I’d been beaten up the night before. They hoped I was okay and if I needed them they were just a text away. Thanking them I was glad to have friends who looked after each other but before we left a voice from behind us said “Girls we need to talk”

Mrs Shirley stood there her wide frame filling the corridor while her boobs announced her presence to all and sundry.

“Do you have any knowledge of what happened to Morgan Chapman and more importantly did you have anything to do with his, shall we say, lack of attire as he ran down the hallway just now?”

I’m sure I went bright red and looked as guilty as it was possible to look.

Chloe and Jasmine tried to vigorously deny anything but Mrs Shirley had been around the block with a thousand more students and just eyeballed us until we all became silent and looked at our feet.

“Hmm as I thought, all of you to my office please and wait outside I’ll be along shortly. Oh and while you’re waiting I want you all to have a good think about what it means to be truthful and what the word integrity means.”

She was good and we all looked at each other guiltily then made our way to sit quietly outside her office. She left us there to stew for a good 20 minutes then bustled up with a slight frown on her face.

One at a time we were led into her office and interviewed. I was left until last and by the time Jasmine came out her eyes red and tears leaving black mascara streaks down her face I knew my goose was well and truly cooked.

“So, Jade. What was your part in this whole sorry saga hmmm?” Mrs Shirley asked peering over her glasses and looking like the classic school mistress that she obviously was.
I looked at my hands spread out on my lap, my knees together just like my Mom had taught me and thought carefully about what I should say. The last thing I wanted to do was get my friends into any-more trouble than they already were but because we had been interviewed separately, I had no idea what each person had said or whether they had contradicted each other. I decided the best course of action was mostly the truth except I was going to take the blame for our actions. I started with the argument in Geography the day before, my visit to Dave and what had happened with Morgan after that.

Mrs Shirley looked very angry and asked me to show her the bruising down my side. I felt a little embarrassed pulling my dress up to show her but there was no one else to see it and she made me pull it down quickly after taking a look.

“So who’s idea was it to take the situation into your own hands and deal with Mr Chapman in the way you did?”

“Mine Mrs Shirley. I guess I was so upset and well I suppose I thought he deserved it.”

“Oh he deserves to be punished alright and punished he has been my girl but here’s my problem. By taking revenge on him it’s going to be very difficult for me to also punish him above and beyond what you’ve already done. You see you hadn’t been home when he did this to you which means legally you were still our responsibility and since Morgan is a student at this school he was also our responsibility and what he did falls under the school’s jurisdiction.”

Before I could say anything she went on.

“The funny thing too Jade is that every one of your friends out there has taken responsibility for what happened. Each one has said it was their idea. Now that leaves me in somewhat of a quandary because I have just punished each one of them after tearing a strip or two off them about taking revenge on another student in such a degrading way”

I felt the prickle of tears behind my eyes as I sensed how torn up about all this Mrs Shirley was. She was on our side and I felt the sympathy she had for me regarding the ordeal I had just been through but she also had to be seen to be just and fair.

“Whatever their punishment is I’ll do too”

“And how can I do that hmm. You are just as much a victim here as Morgan. Do you know each one of those girls out there cried not because of the telling off or because of the punishment I gave them but because they begged me not to punish you. Jasmine was even willing to do double the punishment so you didn’t have to do any.”

I hung my head while tear drops splashed over my hands and fingers staining my dress.

I couldn’t say anything as I sat and thought about what my new friends had just done for me.

Mrs Shirley got up and went over to her door. Opening it she ushered all the girls back in and closed it behind them. Jaz stood beside me with her hand on my shoulder as we all looked at our Deputy Principal.

“Girls I’ve had a think about this situation and I’ve decided that each one of you is just as responsible for it as the other, including you Jade. However I cannot deny that there were quite extenuating circumstances so I’ve also decided to change your punishments.”

Jaz began to protest but Mrs Shirley cut her off swiftly with a raised hand.

“I’ve decided instead of the two weeks of after school detentions you were going to get you’ll each be here every lunchtime this week to work as a team under my supervision and come up with a scheme to raise money for a charity. You will then execute that scheme and will raise as much money as you can for it. The person who will decide which charity the money will be donated to will be…”

She looked at me “Jade”

I heard a collective out take of breath as each one of us thought about what Mrs Shirley had just said.

Two weeks of after school detentions would have meant the involvement of our parents. I wouldn’t have been able to work at the surf shop or train with Dave for the competition. It would have meant the money I got from him wouldn’t have gone to my Mom.

This way we got to work together as friends and do something positive.

In unison it seemed we all said thank you to Mrs Shirley together looking suitably humbled by this wise woman’s compassion.

“Right then off to class with you, your punishment starts tomorrow” she said “and I don’t ever want to see any of you in trouble like this again, are we quite clear.”

“Yes Ma’am” we all said and hurried out of that office as fast as we could. Splitting up I followed Jaz and gave her a big hug.

“Thanks, Mrs Shirley told me you offered to do double the detentions so I wouldn’t have to do any” I said softly

“Wouldn’t be fair for you to do them would it” Jaz was grinning from ear to ear as she hugged me.

“Well I’m so glad to have you as a friend. By the way what did you say to Morgan before he ran off?”

“I told him to look at you, how incredibly beautiful you were and that if he ever laid another finger on you again I’d organise to have his nuts chopped off”

We both laughed and hugged again. I loved how girls could do that so easily

“See you at lunch”

“Yeah we have to think up some money making scheme”

“Could be fun”

Jaz wandered off toward her class as just then my phone began to buzz in my bag.

The number wasn’t one I knew so I answered it simply saying ‘hello’

“Hi is that Jade?” came a girls voice.

“Umm yes”

“You don’t know me but my name is Bridee Gordon, I work for Human Resources at Chances Surf. Anyway your photograph was submitted to us yesterday by one of our employees and we really liked what we saw. I was wondering if you might be available to come in to our San Diego office next week after school for a photo shoot. We’d like to consider you as one of our models for our new line of swimwear coming out next spring along with some of our clothes. It may mean having you in the water on a surf board though, think you’d be up for that?”

“Really? Honestly?” I said “on a surfboard yeah that would rock”

“Yup it pays good money plus if you’re chosen there’s a chance of a contract and who knows where that might go.”

“Umm look I’d love to can I talk to my Mom and get back to you, I mean I’m only 14?”

“Of course but don’t leave it long. Can you let me know by tomorrow?”

“Sure” I said

We swapped details and she hung up.

Wow I thought what a ride, life was getting crazy.