CHAPTER 17 – Fortunate Fool

My date with Phil went too quickly, we went to the mall like Mom suggested after I introduced him to her. He had this little scooter thing that sounded like a sewing machine but we both fit on it and we zoomed off in a cloud of smoke zipping between cars.

Fortunately I wore jeans but I’d decided to put on the sexiest top I had, it was low cut with spaghetti straps and made of silk that was a baby pink color. It only came down to the top of my jeans so my midriff was exposed now and then. Matched with a black cardigan that sparkled in the light and with jeans that emphasised my rear I looked super hot or so Jacinta said when she critiqued me.

We had chatted over a soda and laughed about the same things. He didn’t take his eyes off me or even attempt to look at another girl. He made me feel……good.

All too soon it was over though and as we walked through the mall I felt him slip his hand in mine our fingers lacing together. He gave my hand a little squeeze and I smiled to myself.

‘Yup I’m a girl’ I thought as I squeezed back

When we got to his scooter he smiled over at me.

“That was fun, I love being with you” he said

He seemed shy, maybe a little nervous. I didn’t get it until he leaned over and kissed me. It took me by surprise at first then I responded and kissed him back. It was gentle our lips just pressed together, I closed my eyes and felt his breath tickle my cheek. We held the kiss and I opened my eyes to see his looking straight at me. He put his arms around me and pulled me close, I felt his warmth and put my arms around him gazing into his eyes.

“I could get used to this” he said

I smiled at the cliché but in a funny way it felt right.

“Yeah me too”

“I guess I should take you home”

“I guess” but I didn’t take my arms from around him, this date was getting better and better.

He laughed “You know if I don’t get you home I’m going to have to answer to your brothers and your Mom. There is no way I’m risking that”

I kind of did a mock sigh and chuckled thinking about Mom and her shotgun. My uncle had told us stories of how he and Mom had lived by orchards out east and that as kids they’d raided the apple trees. The orchardist had shot at them with a shotgun full of salt peter to scare all the kids away. I had this mental image of my mother shooting Phil in the butt.

“Let’s go” he said and I slipped onto the back of his little scooter and snaked my arms around his waist holding him tight leaning my head against his back. He was right I could get used to this.

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“Grom, its October 6th next weekend that’s your birthday got any plans?”

“Umm no why” I asked Tim curious

“Cool don’t make any”

“How come?”

“Thought you might like to go surfing up at Blacks Beach with a few of us, maybe stay the night sleeping in the dunes.” Tim was sitting playing with his motor bike again as I watched. If he wasn’t surfing he was working on the darn thing. He’d usually look at Mom and go “Homework? What homework?” then go back to tinkering whenever she asked.
“Really you mean it?” I was over the moon I’d never had the chance to go on one of these adventures with my brothers I’d always been either too young or doing something else at the time and Blacks Beach was one of the top surfing spots in Southern California. It was bounded by huge cliffs about 300 feet high and the waves were legendary, really fast and really big as they jacked up after moving over an underwater canyon.

“Yeah, thought we could all go in Pete’s Kombi, take a tent, cook some sausages up for dinner. Ummm I was kind of wondering if your friend, Jasmine, wanted to come too. You know keep you company, Jacinta’s gonna tag along with Jeff. It would be fun. A few of the other guys were talking of coming as well. Might be a bit cool but hey this is California”

I ran over to him and squeezed him as hard as I could then did this little dance in front of him that probably looked really girly, but I didn’t care. I had a feeling this was going to be the best birthday ever.

“She likes you, you know”

“Aw yeah I figured as much I umm wouldn’t mind getting to know her”

“I’ll ring her now”

I skipped off to my room and rang Jaz explaining the invitation to her and who would be on the trip. I think Tim heard the squealing outside as he worked on his bike. Jaz had to do a bit to persuade her parents but finally they relented since both Jacinta and I would be there. The three ‘J’s’ I thought Jacinta, Jasmine and Jade. We were now officially the three Musketeers for this coming weekend.

We still had to get through the week but I didn’t mind, I could see my friends and Phil at school, we were still working on our charity project plus I had the modelling opportunity coming up. Morgan Chapman had returned to school a much more subdued and quiet guy. I hadn’t told anyone what he had tried to do to me at his home and I intended to keep it just between him and me. He steered clear of me and I kept away from him so it all worked. I continued to work a few days a week at Dave’s shop and would train on the days I didn’t. I even saw Tyler on the bus most days and he excitedly asked me if I could be his ‘fishal babysitter’ I told him I’d talk to his Mom and if she wanted me to babysit and I was free then sure I’d love to make it ‘fishal’. He’d grinned manically and just about tripped over his feet in his rush to tell her that Jade was his new babysitter. She waved and I held my fingers to my head like they were a phone mouthing “I’ll call you” She gave me the thumbs up as the bus chugged away.

I loved my little group of friends we were tight and getting tighter. I’d known Josh, Sam and Jasmine since I’d started and the other girls just seemed to fit together perfectly plus Phil had ‘joined’ the group which didn’t worry me in the slightest although I wasn’t too sure how Lauren felt about her brother hanging around so much. We sat together, talked and laughed together. Life was getting back to normal.

CHAPTER 18 – Inaudible Melodies
Jacinta and I walked through the mall looking for the shop we had come there for.

I wanted to spend some of my savings on some very intimate and sexy black lingerie and had persuaded Jacinta to accompany me to buy it.

The shop assistant walked over to us eventually. We had found the store, it was lined wall to wall with every piece of intimate girly underwear you can imagine from push up bras to lacy panties and boy shorts. They even had a section with corsets. I was drawn to the beautiful baby doll sets however and held the filmy material between my fingers wondering what it would feel like to wear one of these. Jacinta was no better and we spent a good 10 minutes enraptured with just looking and touching.

“Is there anything you’re interested in?” the girl said

“Um yes I was wanting to buy a black push up bra and um some matching boy shorts please, sexy ones” I was half embarrassed half freaking out excited.

The shop assistant looked me over and smiled, leading me to a rack of bras. She sorted through them and finally found what she was looking for.

“What cup size are you?” she wasn’t talking to herself as much as to me, looking me over assessing my size.

“Let’s try a C cup I think” and she handed me a selection of three very lacy, very sexy underwired bras. “Go and try these on see what you like then we’ll find some matching panties”

A C cup I was astonished, really, I looked down at my breasts, wow I thought.

Walking in to the changing rooms I quickly pulled my top and bra off. Trying on these bras was somewhere between exhilaration and a spiritual experience. They pushed my breasts up and gave me cleavage. I was gobsmacked looking at myself in the full length mirror. The assistant knew what she was doing; I wanted to buy all three. Finally however I decided on the two I liked best and wandered back out. It took another 15 minutes to decide on the panties but I was soon walking from the store with two matching sets of rather sexy lingerie. Jacinta and I strolled along giggling like school girls, which I suppose is exactly what we were.
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The big dance was coming up and I couldn’t wait, I had the most beautiful dress to wear. It was Wednesday recess and I was walking to my locker with Jaz. Aside from Jacinta she was the closest girlfriend I had and we shared everything together.

Coming to my locker we noticed a flower had been taped to the door, a red rose, but it was dead, curled over and wilted, the green leaves now dry and brittle. Slipped inside the locker was an envelope, just plain, white. I looked at Jasmine as I opened it. We both stared at the writing:-

I LOVED YOU
WHY COULDN’T YOU LOVE ME BACK?

A genuinely large shiver went up and down my spine.
The main corridor of our school was like any school lined with lockers and punctuated by doors that led to classrooms or laboratories. Students were sitting inside some listening, some with heads bowed concentrating on the work given others laughing and talking. Jaz and I hurried along not seeing any of it. We needed to see Mrs Shirley and show her the note. Was it for real or was someone pranking us and who could it be? This was not making my day. Additionally Jaz and I had skirts on that were probably far too short so not only were we going to get advice and help we were probably going to get told off as well.

Knocking on her door very timidly we stood outside waiting, trying to pull our skirts down so they kind of looked a bit longer than they actually were. I rubbed a little of my lip gloss off too and tried to make a sweet innocent face although in reality I was feeling pretty freaked out by the note and just looked scared.

Mrs Shirley came to the door and looked at us smiling.

“Come in girls, is something wrong, what’s the matter?” she always got straight down to business.

I showed her the note and the flower that had been taped to my locker. I think she noticed my hand shaking as I passed it to her. I saw her looking at my skirt but she said nothing about it. For her it was compassion first, justice second. I knew I’d get the telling off but it wouldn’t be now.

“Sit down girls and fill me in” she looked at the note again as we sat on seats in front of her desk. I pressed my knees together and put my hands in my lap. It wasn’t done consciously I just did it.

“We found this on Jade’s locker” Jaz indicated the rose “and then we found the note slipped inside. It freaked us out, what should we do?”

“Well the first thing you must do is not panic ladies and you’ve already done the second thing and that is to bring it to me. Now Jade is there anyone you know who might send you a note like this a, ahh, jilted lover shall we say, not that you would have a lover at your age but you know what I mean”

“Well I did go on a date with a boy, Phil Thomas, he’s in the same grade as me and I um kissed him”

“And that’s it?”

“Yes ma’am that’s right”

“And you were straight up with this boy, you haven’t two timed him or anything?”

“No ma’am I have enough trouble keeping up with one boy let alone two” Mrs Shirley chortled at that for some reason.

“Yes well be that as it may I think I’ll call young Phillip in and have a bit of a chat with him and see if we can’t get to the bottom of this. See if he knows anything. Don’t worry girls I’m sure it’s all very innocent, maybe a boy with a broken heart. I have a feeling you are both going to break a few in your lifetime”

We both blushed looking down at our toes.

“If only we could have a TARDIS Jade and be able to go back in time and sort these messes out before they start hmmmm”

Jasmine’s eyes shot up while I looked perplexed. What was a TARDIS?

“You watch The Doctor Mrs Shirley really?” Jaz was beside herself.

“Of course Jaz, all cultured intelligent people do, isn’t Matt Smith divine and that David Tennant wasn’t he just gorgeous?”

This led on to a protracted discussion about Time Lords, Daleks, Cybermen and Weeping Angels. I sat there in a daze as they talked and chuckled together about some British television program and which episode was their favorite. Jaz looked over at me.

“Oh Jade you don’t know what you’re missing Doctor Who is just the best TV program in the world. You are so coming over one night and watching it. I have all of them.”

I nodded giving her that fake smile that said ‘Yeah right sister’ but I had the feeling I had no chance and would soon be initiated into ‘The Doctor’. The letter was forgotten, for now.

“Now since you’re both here you might as well help me. What class are you supposed to be in now?” said Mrs Shirley

We were both meant to be in Math but missing that would be sensational.

“I’ll let your teacher know. Now the school has decided to introduce a school uniform”

We looked aghast ‘Uniform!!!’

“Don’t look like that, it’s not going to be worn all the time, we simply want to introduce a dress uniform for our students when they represent us at something. For instance if you did hockey and went as a team to play another school you would all wear it and look very smart before changing into your playing uniform. For the girls it would consist of a nice black blazer and a white blouse and a black pleated skirt, not quite as short as the ones you are wearing now though” she looked pointedly over her glasses at us, there was the telling off.

“The blazer would have our school crest embroided onto it. What do you think?”

I actually liked the idea and thought it would make us look very smart and nice.

“I like it” I said

“Good because you two are going to be our girl models. I want to put some photographs on our school website and into a newsletter home to parents to let them know about it. Any objections to doing a little modelling?”

We had none especially if it got us out of Math.

“Can you suggest a couple of boys who might be willing to help us with modelling the male version at all?”

I had just the two.

“Josh Sayers and Sam Gibson they’d make lovely models”

“Right go and get them” she looked them up on her computer and gave us a slip of paper to give to their teachers.

We skipped off to get the boys. This was going to be fun.

Assembled back in Mrs Shirley’s office we were all smiles and laughter as she handed out the clothes. We were to get changed in our respective restrooms and come back quickly with the emphasis on quickly. Doing so we admired each other standing there waiting for the photographer to organise himself. Jaz and I had been given skirts that came down to just above the knee. Too long we thought so we did what all girls do who have to wear a uniform skirt. We rolled the waist band to make them shorter. Being pleated they flared out from our tiny waists and showed off our legs. The blouses sat outside the skirt and then the blazer over that. We looked really snobby and flash.

Josh and Sam had long dark trousers and a white shirt with a tie. The blazer was cut for a man and I had to admit the boys looked really handsome other than Sam’s mess of hair. Mrs Shirley sent him off to comb it and when he came back we were led off to the front of the school outside the administration building and beside the school flagpole where the American flag fluttered. Josh was paired with Jaz and Sam with me. We took pictures standing together or separately which reminded me of the surfing shoot. The photographer said Jaz and I had very photogenic faces and seemed to take an awful lot of us. For one shot Sam had to put his arm around my waist and seemed really reserved.

“Come on Sam I won’t bite” I grinned at him “We’re friends remember”

Tentatively he reached his arm around me and held my side. I could feel his whole arm shaking and when I reached around to hold his hand he was sweating.

“Are you okay?” I asked genuinely worried for him, maybe he was sick.

He glanced at me then away

“I’m fine, let’s just get this done then we can get changed”

He was on edge, unusually so. I decided we needed to talk.

After that the photographer seemed to take a never-ending time. How many did he need for a school newsletter and a website I wondered but finally it was over and we could get changed. Mrs Shirley thanked us and looked pointedly at our skirts before we left. We got the message loud and clear, she appreciated modesty from the girl students and it was the school rules that our skirts had to be a certain length. We took that as a first and final warning. Longer skirts tomorrow or face the consequences. Before we left though Mrs Shirley told us she’d tried to get a hold of Phil but he wasn’t here at school today. She’d rung home and his Mom had confirmed he was there sick. It didn’t look like he was the mysterious letter writer.

I caught up with the boys and walked next to Sam, he was quiet

“Everything okay you seemed really nervous holding me today”

He stopped and waved the others to continue. When they were out of earshot he breathed out noisily.

“Yeah look about that, sorry but every time I’m close to you I get that reaction.”

I looked puzzled “How come?”

“Have you looked at yourself lately? Ever since you turned up to school as a girl every guy has gone gaga over you. Haven’t you noticed the stares or how guys open doors for you or offer you things?”

I thought about it and acknowledged that perhaps Sam was right but I hadn’t really noticed; it just seemed to be part of my day. Didn’t guys do that with all the girls?

“Jade!” he seemed exasperated “you’re beautiful, gorgeous, stunning how else can I put this? Whenever I’m around you I can’t think I can hardly breathe and you don’t even notice me. Shit my heart stops when you laugh or smile.”

I smiled

“See like that, honest I can’t take it any-more, other than perhaps Jaz who maybe comes close to you and your brothers got her, you’re the most beautiful girl in school. I’m just Sam I have no chance”

“Sam if I wasn’t interested in someone else and you asked me out. I’d say yes. I think you are kind and gentle and considerate. You’d make a fine boyfriend for any girl in this school and beside you’re not bad looking, specially when that hair of yours is combed”

He didn’t seem convinced and a dark look came over his face.

“Yeah well its okay for you to say” he stomped off in the direction of his classroom but the bell rang for lunch. Students poured out of the doors of each room and he was quickly lost to sight. I stood there jostled a bit by the thronging masses wondering about our conversation. Turning on my heel I made my way to my locker. Jaz was standing there looking at the door taped to it this time was a yellow carnation wilted and dead like the rose. Jaz held her iPhone in front of her looking something up on the net. She looked at me.

“You know how a red rose symbolises love and affection?”

“Yeah”

“Do you know what a yellow carnation means?”

“No” I dreaded the answer

“It means rejection and disappointment”

I opened my locker wondering if there was a note in it……..there stuck to the side sat an envelope.

“I think I know who it is” I said to Jaz