Playing her way 2 - Chapter 11

© D.L.

"Did someone really get beat up because they were mistaken for you?" Steven asked.

Emily sighed, "Yes, David Larking, John Larking's nephew. John being the owner of the Moonlight server, and business manager for the game development."

Emily related how she had met David in Weymouth when the members of the Moonlight server had a meet up there. Emily had gone on a day trip there by train, as it was only a couple of hours travel from home she could get there and back in a day without her parents realising.

David Larking had gone to the meet up with his Uncle, being both a fan of his and the other moonlighters. Emily had attended the event in her male persona, as it was still before she started full time as a girl.

After meeting up with the other members, she as persuaded to change into girl mode for a short time, which she enjoyed as she interacted with the small group of fans that had turned up to meet the members and get photos and autographs.

Emily had worn her bright purple wig to hide her hair, both to hide her identity and to cover that she was still in the process of growing it out. She also kept dark sunglasses on for most of the day, requesting that photos be kept private.

One of the things discussed was her pending enrollment at St. Mary's. This was done at a private meeting of the members. This was usually done over Skype, so it was a rarity for several members to be there in person, the rest attending remotely as usual.

David, as he was there with his uncle, also attended the meeting, but kept to one side.

Several ideas for publicity stunts were discussed, including making public appearances. During the conversation, Emily mentioned that she would love to do a public appearance, but couldn't because of needing to remain anonymous. She also suggested that it would actual be beneficial if someone could impersonate her, as it would prevent rumours if some of the other students were to see both Emily and Generation2k simultaneously.

David, who had been listening in, offered to impersonate Emily. He was two years younger than Emily, and about four inches shorter. However, he had a similar build and facial shape to her.

It was therefore arranged that when Emily passed through Liverpool street station on her way to school, that a flash mob would take place and David would make an appearance, pretending to be Emily.

John purchased a grey pinafore style school dress for his nephew, along with a suitable pair of girls shoes, bought cheaply from a supermarket. A simple white unisex polo shirt was worn under the dress, along with plain white socks. On Emily's recommendation, David had agreed to wear several layers of girls panties under the dress. The reasoning being that while dancing, he may inadvertently flick the skirt and show off his knickers.

David had previously been involved with the amateur dramatics society through his parents and had taken part in a local pantomime playing one of the babes in the wood. He simply regarded it as an acting job, and the girl's clothing was simply a costume to be worn. The thought of dressing and portraying a girl didn't bother him.

All the official photos released of the event by Emily and John via twitter where carefully picked so that David's face was obscured. Also, while the main focus was on the main concourse, David danced about on the upper floor away from the main crowds. His mother took photos of him, and he was only about in amongst the general public for a few minutes before being led back through to a private area of the station to change back out of costume. Arrangements having been made with the station staff.

Liverpool street station was chosen as the venue as the St. Mary's girls would be gathering there on their way to Norwich. It was also the station in London which acted as the arrival point from the Larkings home near Clacton-on-sea.

Despite the precautions, undoctored photos of David as Generation2k were circulated. Several of these photos were picked up by children of far-right families living in the area, and David was recognised.

It started with insults and accusations, which David brushed off and denied. However, things started to escalate. It was a Tuesday afternoon, a little over a fortnight after the school year had started, that David was struck over the back of the head as he stood at a urinal between afternoon classes. The particular bathroom, while convenient being on route to his destination, was out of the way from the bulk of traffic flow through the school, and was less frequented than the other facilities.

Concern was raised when he didn't arrive for class. His friends had told the teacher that he had stopped at the bathroom, so his absence wasn't immediately questioned. However, as the minutes passed, it became apparent there was a problem. Ten minutes into the class, one of his friends was sent to find out what the problem was.

David was found unconscious on the bathroom floor, bleeding from the head where he had been struck. He was curled in a ball, in an attempt to protect his stomach from attack. The blow to the head had almost knocked him out. He hand curled up on the floor as blows rained down and he lost consciousness.

His attackers were swift and vicious and left quickly so not to be late for their own classes.

Once the alarm was raised, he was rushed to the hospital.

Emily was sat at one of the tables in the dining room with Wendy, Abby, and Anna eating a piece of cake. It was late afternoon turning to early evening, and it was tea time. Lessons had finished for the day, and the evening clubs and activities would be starting shortly.

"Om my God," Jane almost shouted as she dropped the fork she was holding, causing it to clatter to the ground. She was reading something on her tablet. The distraction grabbed the attention in the room.

"What's up?", Francine asked.

"Generation2K has been beaten up and is in hospital," Jane replied.

Emily looked at Wendy and Anna, who were looking back in equal surprise, not sure what to say. They couldn't easily deny the rumour without revealing Emily's secret identity.

"Don't believe everything you read," Svetlana stated, "It's obviously wrong. Nobody here has been beaten up."

"Shut up Svetlana," Francine interrupted, "We know you think Jenny is here, but we have already discredited that theory."

Mrs Rogers, having turned round from where she was sitting on the next table to Jane to peer over the younger girl's shoulder, added, "Random rumours on Twitter and Reddit do not mean that the story is true. I suggest waiting for an official announcement from Jenny herself. She is bound to make a statement when she hears about it."

Emily took her own tablet out of her book bag, sat on the floor at her feet, and examined her twitter feed. Several tweets had been copied to her regarding the incident. David Larking had been connected to his uncle and outed as Generation2k. A picture was circulating on Imgur showing two photos side by side. The left being a photo of David taken a few days before as he walked out of the school, the right of him on Liverpool Street station in dress, wig and dark glasses. The resemblance was obvious, despite the efforts to disguise his appearance.

Emily took the earliest opportunity she dared to leave the table and head to her room. Anna and Wendy, sensing that she had business to attend to, ran interference so nobody questioned her swift disappearance.

Mrs Rogers followed the girl out of the dining hall, catching her as she headed back to her room. Diverting the teen to her office, she asked, "Is that the first you have heard?"

"Yes," Emily replied, "I need to call John and find out what is going on."

Mrs Rogers agreed and brought up John's number, dialling the speakerphone. It was answered on the third ring.

"Fuck," Emily swore as John finished explaining what he knew. He had been called shortly after the incident by his brother, who was currently at the hospital. "Please tell me they have the bastards who did this."

"Not yet," John responded, "The police are currently interviewing David to find out more information."

"What can I do?" Emily asked, "Obviously I'll put a video out ASAP. I need to show that they got the wrong person."

"Perhaps," Mrs Rogers stated, "I should review the video before you upload it. The state you are in you may say something in anger that you regret later."

"Like my real identity," Emily growled. "The thought has crossed my mind that it may be needed in order to prove David isn't me. I may need to appear on camera with David in order to prove we are not the same person."

"I don't think that will be required," Mrs Rogers replied.

"How else do I explain why he was impersonating me?" Emily asked. Thinking further she added, "How long is he likely to be in hospital, and how soon can I possibly visit?"

"I'll find out and get back to you," John responded.

A few minutes later, after further discussion, a series of tweets were composed, circulated and re-tweeted:

@CrazyVikingMan - Nephew in hospital after beating. Not Happy. Seriously Angry Right now.

@Generation2K - I'm not in hospital. F*cktards got the wrong person. Beat up the Vikings Nephew instead of me.

@Generation2K - Seriously want to use those who beat David up as a punching bag. Get well soon buddy.

Westfield Acadamy was abuzz. The sound of the sirens could be heard through the school as first the ambulance arrived, followed by three police cars. All the classes on south side of the building witnessed a young boy being wheeled out on a stretcher. Many students were interviewed as they left that afternoon.

It was the following morning, and the rumours about what had happened had spread like wildfire. It was now widely known that David Larking had been attacked after being outed as both Generation2K and as a transexual. There was little surprise that a school-side assembly was being called.

The students filed into the large sports hall. The room doubled as a theatre for school productions, and a stage had been constructed at one end. It was a tight squeeze to fit all the students in, but it was managed.

What had been a surprise was the unusual instruction given to the students as they entered. The girls were to sit on the left side of the room as you faced the stage, the boy's on the right.

Once everybody was seated, mostly on chairs brought with the students from their classrooms, the teachers pulled the curtains on the ceiling-high windows on the side where the girls were sat. The two sets of doors on the other side, near the boys, were also closed.

A single spotlight illuminated the stage, where the headmaster, Mr Nichols, was standing.

"Welcome," he began, "I would normally say good morning. However, this morning is far from good. I'm sure you have heard the rumours after one of our students, David Larking, was taken away by ambulance yesterday. Because of this, we have some guests with us today. However, before I introduce them, there is a matter that needs to be cleared up regarding the motive for the attack. Please pay attention to the following video presentation."

The headmaster walked to the side of the stage, and the spotlight turned off, leaving the room in near darkness. A projector mounted on the ceiling started to project an image onto the large white canvas above the stage.

A picture of a Minecraft scene of a blocky tree on a hill, in front of a star-filled sky and a half-moon, filled the screen. An electric guitar version of Mozart's Moonlight Serenade belted out the speakers mounted on either side of the stage.

The opening of many of Generation2K's videos was instantly recognisable to many of those present. Those not familiar with Emily's usual output were left in no doubt due to the logo in the bottom right corner.

Gasps went around the hall as the image cross-faded to a scene of a child in a hospital bed. The figure was sat propped up on cushions. A bandage was across his forehead and bruising evident on his face. David's hands were resting on his stomach, holding a microphone, and the cannula in his left hand was visible, along with the pipes of clear liquid to which it was attached.

"Morning Moonlighters," David stated. "Despite rumours to the contrary, I'm not Generation2K."

The camera zoomed out to reveal a second person sat in a chair next to the bed. The distinctive purple wig and dark glasses were easily recognisable to those who had previously seen her videos. Emily grinned as she took over mic, using it to partially obscure her face as the camera zoomed in slightly, "David is not me, as you can plainly see. However, he has played me, standing in for me a couple of weeks ago."

The scene changed to show a still portrait of David dressed up as Generation2k. This one was of his head and shoulders and was taken on the day in question. Unlike the other photos that had been circulated, this one was not trying to hide the identity of the individual, and his face could clearly be seen.

The video was paused, leaving the still image on screen. The spotlight was turned back on as a figure emerged from the darkness, dressed in clothing identical to the photo.

"Hello everybody," Emily stated. "I would like to say it's nice to meet you, but I'm not expecting a warm welcome."

The curtains were pulled, allowing natural light to flood into the room as the spotlight dimmed, and the overhead neon lights flashed into life.

"That's better," Emily responded. "I want to be able to see the faces of the fucking cowardly arseholes who think it funny and appropriate to sneak up behind somebody taking a piss and whack them over the head."

Gasps went through the hall at the statement.

"Does my language shock you? Well tough, my level of anger is well past the point where I care about censoring myself. Mr Nicohols and your teachers can't tell me off because I'm not a student here. Just like the little shits yesterday, I'm not pulling any punches. The only difference is I'll be delivering verbal kicks, not physical. That is unless any of you would like to come up here and have a go at me."

Emily paused for a moment, scanning for movement before continuing, "not that I expect anybody to do that, after all, there are two many witnesses. Including the police officers on the doorways waiting to arrest the idiots responsible, and anybody else who may have been protecting or assisting them.

"Yes, we are aware of the culprits, and I hope you are shitting yourselves now, as it is only a matter of time before you get dragged down the police station.

"Some people in this room, despite being born this century, seem to have attitudes that the majority left behind in the last millennium.

"Yes, I'm physically male and I'm wearing a dress. So fucking what. I hear that you have some boy's here that moved from Scotland. Guess you better beat the crap out of them as well, after all, they may have worn a kilt at some point.

"So I happen to like skirts and dresses, not that it's particularly relevant. Half the girls here seem to be in trousers. If cross dressing is such a bug crime, why aren't they being harassed and beaten? In some backwards countries, they would be.

"Do I like being a transexual? Fuck no! I hate the fact my body doesn't match my own internal self-image. I've taken steps to correct that problem. One of those steps is to live as a girl, amongst other girls. Those girls have no idea that I have a birth defect, as it isn't relevant and it doesn't really matter.

"What does matter, at least to me, is that I have the opportunity to live my life like any other girl here in this room. The only way I can be sure that I'm being treated equally is if they don't know about me. That is why I keep my identity secret, and it is why I couldn't appear at Liverpool Street as myself. I was there, but with girls that don't know I'm Generation2K, and more importantly, don't know I'm not the same as they are.

"David volunteered to stand in for me, so I could be in two places at once. Just like a doctor puts on scrubs, or a mechanic puts on overalls, as an actor he put on a costume. That costume just happened to be of a schoolgirl. Because of that, he is now lying in a hospital bed wondering if he can ever safely come back here again.

"I don't know if he will or not, but I can perhaps try and neutralise some of the hatred towards him. Quite frankly I would love to be able to make all the boys here come to school in dresses for a week. I suspect there might be some of you that would actually love that. Alas, I can't do that.

"I can, however, do other things to piss the haters off. Although I suspect I'm doing that by simply being here. You may be wondering why you are split up by gender. That is so when you all hold hands with the person next to you, it will be somebody of the same sex. That won't bother most of you, but the culprits will probably see that as an incredibly gay thing to do, and will therefore automatically hate it."

Mr Nichols stepped alongside Emily and added, "Of course, you could refuse. Just be aware anybody not holding hands within the next twenty seconds will be in detention for a week."

Grumbling and shuffling could be heard as the mass of students complied with the instructions, some less willingly than others.

"I do apologise to those standing next to the miscreants," Emily continued, "they must have really sweaty palms by now, waiting for the police to call them out. Maybe they are wondering if I'm bluffing. After all, they cowardly snuck up behind David thinking they wouldn't be seen. They were wrong. Note I say they, as in multiple attackers. We know there was more than one. David caught a glimpse as he passed out. He has given names and descriptions to the police. I don't know the exact details, of who was involved, but the police do.

"Have any of you ever watch any of the CSI series? Most of what they portray is a load of nonsense, but there are some things that are real. DNA evidence is a thing, as is blood splatter. Also, you really shouldn't wear bling when punching, it leaves marks. The search warrants recovering what was worn yesterday were executed as we entered the room here.

"Of course, the most concrete evidence is that of the hidden CCTV cameras in the hallway."

The projector sprang back into life on cue. David could be seen in the distance disappearing out of view through a door. Two individuals entered behind them and came dashing out shortly afterwards, heading straight down the hall towards the camera.

"You fucking idiot, I told you that it was a bad idea" one of the perpretators shouted at the other as he punched the other culprit as their faces became clear on the screen.

A small scuffle broke out as policemen invaded the hall and restrained those fighting. The two boys were quickly cuffed and led out of the room.

"You can let go of each other's hands now," Emily stated. "Let's lighten the mood a little now that nastiness is over."

Several cheers came from the crowd as the music teacher came onto the stage and handed an electric guitar to Emily.

"This isn't the first time I've faced bullying and physical violence. At my previous school, although I never came out as transgender, I was singled out for being gay. I was lucky in that I had friends stick by me, otherwise, it might have become unbearable. I came across a video on youtube filmed five years ago with a message that puts things into perspective: It gets better. I'm going to perform it now. It isn't one I play often, especially in public, due to the amount of swearing involved, but I figured I've used enough bad language this morning, a bit more won't hurt. It gets better, by Rebecca Drysdale." https://youtu.be/cTQNwMxqM3E

"I ended up doing three other songs as well, before signing autographs," Emily explained to Steve.

"You didn't get in trouble for swearing then," Steve asked.

"No, it had been prearranged that morning," Emily replied.

"I'm surprised the police didn't just immediately arrest the individuals," Steve observed.

"That was my idea," Emily explained.

As Emily was new to St. Mary's, her individual lesson plan was still under development. That meant she was yet to have a fixed timetable and had already undergone numerous tests to find out her current knowledge level. It was, therefore, easy to hide her absence from the other students. A few questioned why she missed breakfast, but that was covered by an early morning dentist appointment.

Emily actually left school grounds after curfew the night before and stayed overnight at her guardian's house. Mrs Jennings then drove her down to Essex early the next morning, arriving in time for breakfast at the hospital. The children's ward had open visiting hours, and Emily paid David a visit, and helped him with his breakfast, as he was struggling to eat with his hands bandaged.

While there, the police detective in charge of the case arrived with some photos taken from the CCTV footage from the school. The cameras had been installed by the school janitor with the permission of the headmaster, in order to catch whoever had been stealing supplies out of the janitors closet on that particular corridor. None of the other staff knew that the camera was there, as it was suspected it could be a teacher rather than a student.

Neither the Janitor or the Headmaster had been present the previous afternoon, the former taking a day off and the latter being at a meeting at the county hall in Chelmsford, an hours drive from the school. The headmaster found out about the incident the previous evening after arriving home from the meeting. He met the police at the school at seven the next morning to retrieve the footage from the camera.

Emily had offered to do a rebuttal video with David the night before, in conversation with John. David suggested doing a more personal message for his school friends, in addition to the one for general release for her YouTube fans. Emily decided she would like to take it one step further, and with David's father's help, phoned and spoke with Mr Nichols while the police interviewed David.

After recording the intro, Emily was driven to David's school. In the meantime, warrents were sought for the boys identified, and police dispatched. By this time the boys had already left for school. However, they were able to raid one of the two homes, as the parents of the main suspect were unemployed and home.

Emily was with Mr Nichols at the school when the police arrived. It was then that Emily requested that they boy's not be arrested as they arrived, but instead wait until the assembly. Emily pointed out that the evidence was still thin, and that they might do something to incriminate themselves when confronted. The chief detective decided that waiting a few minutes wasn't likely to cause a problem, and it would be interesting to observe, especially as he suspected the may be more people covering for the main attacker, or at least sympathetic to the hate crimes committed.

While not standard police procedure, the opportunity to gather intelligence could not be overlooked, so the plan for the assembly was set into motion.

The police were happy with the outcome, the fight between the two boys being the final evidence they needed for a conviction. Emily was satisfied that she had at least somewhat made amends for causing David an issue, and David, after reviewing the footage taken of the school assembly, was glad that the two boys had been arrested, and that in general, there appeared to be anger at what had been done to him, meaning that there would be plenty of students welcoming him back to school when he was well enough to attend.