A New Style of Education: Hidden Gifts
By: Annette MacGregor

An authorized story, based on the characters and environment of A New Style of Education by Karen Page.

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Part 4

She nodded. "There was an older guy in the orphanage that had the same problem. They wouldn't tailor his stuff. Eventually someone came up with the idea of women's jeans and it worked for him. At least your shoes fit! He had to get women's trainers, too."

I shook my head. "Thanks, but please don't tell anyone, until I can talk to Dan about getting the wardrobe fixed!"

"Sure enough, do you want to go find the other pair that's here?" At my blank look, she continued, “The car that was a little behind us. They may almost be done too.”

Light dawned, “I guess I’m still a bit addled by the slacks issue, Renee. How could we find their rooms? I mean, there are no signs on the doors?

"I checked on the computer for year mates and we've got the eight rooms at this end of the corridor."

"Okay. I guess we just go and knock until we find someone in."

"Nah, the computer says if they've checked in. There are blanks in the other rooms."

"You're pretty good with the computer, aren't you?"

"I get by. Let's go."

We headed out my door to the corridor and went right across. At her nod, I knocked. And heard a "Just a sec." from inside.

A minute later, a blonde girl opened the door. "Hi"

"Hello, this is Renee and I'm Dan. I guess we're year mates."

"I'm Ingrid. Fran's not ready to see folks yet. She's still playing with her wardrobe."

I laughed a bit by this. "We just wanted to introduce ourselves." At that point, two people were coming down the hall. A petite blonde lady and small brunette were coming down the hall. When she noticed us, she beckoned and the three joined her at a door further down the hall.

“Hi there, I'm Tracy Dine, and this is Sally Smythson." She looked at us, and turning to Sally said. These are three of your year. Ingrid, Dan and Renee." she said indicating us.” Turning to the rest of us, “You'll have a lot of time to get to know each other later. I need to get Sally situated, so I'll see you again at dinner."

Hmmm. She knew us without introductions. I wonder how. I’ve seen dad do that. He said it came from good advanced briefing. Why would SHE have been briefed on us? Well, Dan’s a shrink and he brought Renee and me. And, he interviewed us. Maybe Tracy interviewed Sally. But that means they talked to each other, and she’s probably a shrink too. I bet the shrinks are the selection committee, or at least have input there. That’d be how she knew us. I nodded to my self at having figured out a reasonable answer. Renee and I started heading back down the hall and a moment later Ingrid followed. I'd noticed she'd stayed and greeted Sally a moment longer. Guess I should have, too. Oh well.

"Thanks for coming over Dan and Renee. I'd best go dig Fran out or we'll end up being late. From what Kate Mayhew said we're not supposed to roam around much until we get our PDAs."

"Thanks, Dan said that to me, too."

She looked at me. "Huh"

"Sorry, Dan Mathews. He brought us in today."

"Ahh, I’ll see you just before six. Maybe we can all walk to the common room together!"

"Good idea, Ingrid." I said before Renee and I went back into the room.

I indicated the lounging area. She sat in one of the chairs, so I took the other. "Why were you were so quiet out there, Renee?"

"I get nervous around people I've not met before, and at the end, I was surprised she knew us."

"I think I figured out the how she knew us part, but, it was your idea to go see them."

"Yeah, I know. I wanted to, but was afraid, too."

"I'm glad you know me then. This place would be hard to deal with if I didn't have anyone to talk to."

"You can talk to me any time, Dan." I smiled at that.

"From what Dan said, I guess that's kinda important if we're supposed to be some sort of team." I heard her make a sound, and looked at her face. "What's wrong?"

"I've been an outsider, an outcast, for the past six years, Dan. You're the first person in all that time that's really been nice to me for no reason. "

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I'm used to it."

"Well, it's NOT okay. You have one friend now for sure!" I said, perhaps a little more forceful than I'd meant to, because Renee flinched. "Sorry, but I'll be your friend, if you let me."

"Thanks. You must have left lots of friends back at Westminster."

I shook my head. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I've never really had any close friends. We moved so much, I've been afraid to."

"But you talk to everyone?"

"It's not the same thing. Sure, I can talk to folks. I had to learn that with dad being in the diplomatic corps, but to actually talk and say something? I've probably told you more about me in the past five minutes than I have anyone outside my family in the past five years!"

We both sat there quietly for a few minutes after that outburst. I realized that I'd actually been honest with myself as well as with her in my outburst. I'd never really told anyone why I avoided making friends before, and kept folks at arms length. "Sorry about that outburst, Renee."

"It's okay Dan. I was just surprised; almost as surprised as I am that we've been talking about stuff and not things. Oh, I don't know how to put it. It's like I feel I should trust you or something, and I can't understand that. Being an orphan teaches you that you can't trust people. I mean most social workers want you to think they’re being nice, but they don’t really listen.. And the other kids, well, they’re trying to get into homes mostly or are real trouble."

"Ummm. I'm not sure how to respond to that Renee. Now I'm afraid I'll come to disappoint you. I mean I'll probably shove my foot in my mouth sooner or later, and ruin things. Please tell me if I get off base or start run on or something."

"Only, if you do the same!"

I agreed, and we sat quietly for a bit. “Dan, a bit ago you said you figured out how that lady knew who we were.”

I nodded. “I figure Tracy must have interviewed Sally, just like Dan interviewed us. And, I figure that all of the interviewers are probably either on the selection committee or at least review all of the candidates so she may well know a lot of stuff about us.”

Renee shuddered at that. “I’m not sure I want anyone to know that much about me.”

That hurt a bit, but I kept a straight face. At least she’s talking to me some. Maybe one day she’ll tell me more.

Then, from out of nowhere, she said. "You actually play that?"

I nodded sheepishly. "I'm afraid the Piano's my instrument. Dan told me in my interview I'll have to learn something else for playing in the orchestra."

"They let you bring your own?"

"No, sorry, they put that in here. Since I only play one instrument, the piano and, since I'm not good enough to play with the orchestra, I'll need to learn something else. I hope they don't kick me out cause of this though."

"I'm sure they won't. Play something for me please?"

"You sure?"

She nodded.

"Gotta warm up a little first." I said, as I sat down. I played a few scales, and several of the Hanon exercises. I remember hating those when I was just starting. What to play. Hmmm. I figured something sorta light would be a good place to start. I started with Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin, being my favorite of his rags. Then I shifted to Piano Man by Billy Joel. I figured everyone had to play it. It was also difficult to play it like he did, rather than the easy arrangements that were most available. My teacher back in Italy said his stuff was good and challenging, since they caused me to stretch my hands. I still couldn't reach all of the chords he played. My hands just aren't large enough. Then, I decided I should do some classical music too. I played Bagatelle in A minor by Beethoven, figuring it would be recognized. I stopped after that.

"Dan, you don't know what you're talking about when you say you're not that good. That was beautiful!"

I just sat there, not knowing what to say. Folks had said nice stuff at recitals and such before. But, I'd thought they were really just being nice. I knew I'd grown past some teachers, but could I actually be that good? I decided to take a chance, and play something of mine. "Tell me what you think about this please?" And I started to play in a minor key. I finished it about ten minutes later, and she just sat there. I just sat there, unable to turn around. I couldn't bear to look. Finally, I had to break the silence. "That bad huh?"

"That was amazing,” she whispered. “I've listened to a lot of classical music, but I’ve never heard that one before. Who wrote it?"

Still keeping my back to her, I said in a quiet voice "I did."

"That was so beautiful. It made me think about walking through the park on a sunny day."

I couldn't believe it. That's what I'd tried to capture ...

"What did you call it?"

"I never did name it. You're the first person to hear the whole thing."

"Wow. That's so cool." About then, my computer chimed.

"I wonder what that is?" I said as I walked over and woke up the screen. "It's a note from Ingrid reminding us to get out and meet like we agreed. We can talk some more later."

"Okay. Please help me, if I need to talk."

"Sure."

With that, we joined the others in the corridor. "Hi, Ingrid, sorry we were late."

"It's okay Dan; I just wanted to get us all down there together." She told me as we headed down toward the common room.

As we walked, she went on, "I'm Ingrid, as you probably guessed, and this clothes horse is my study partner, Fran."

She turned to me and nodded, and I figured would continue the introductions. "Hi I'm Dan, not to be confused with the staff guy Dan.” This got a chuckle or two as I’d hoped. “And this is my partner Renee. You're next, Sally." She was the only other person I knew.

"I'm Sally, as Dan said, and this is my study partner, Pru."

The two guys that hadn't said anything yet looked at each other, and shrugged. One said "I'm Mark and I figured this was my study partner when he came out of his room. I barely had time to get all the stuff done before you message called me out here.

"Well, I … I … I … I g … g … guess that l leaves me. I … I … I’m Wayne."

“Hi Wayne.” She was good, ignoring his stutter. I could see how much it disturbed him. “Now that we all know each other’s names, we can work to get to know each other better later. I just wanted us to have a chance to know each other's names before anything else happened, or we got asked or something."

"Good idea, Ingrid." She seems to be on the ball. That's good.

When we arrived at our common room, Dan was standing outside. "Hi Dan, are you our keeper?"

He laughed at that. "Well, until they can find someone qualified. It's nice to see you all arriving together. Sorry you don't have time to get to know each other now, but the Head will be here momentarily. Do you mind if I wait inside with you?"

"Guys, do you mind if Mr. Mathews waits with us? He's the guy that interviewed me, and delivered Renee and me here this afternoon." Nobody said no. Wow, I guess they were serious about nobody coming in without our invite.

"I guess that's settled." Ingrid led us all into the room. "What happens now, Mr. Mathews?"

"As I said, the head will be here in a few minutes to welcome you. He'll introduce some folks, probably say a few words." Before he could say any more, there was a knock on the door. Since I was closest, I went over and opened it. Before me stood the blonde we'd seen with Sally, two other ladies, and two guys. "Hi Ms. Dine, I think you must be the head and staff."

"Yes Dan, and it’s Tracy." said Tracy, "Do you mind if we come in?" Wow. I seem keep to say that, but this place really deserves it!

"Sure, we're expecting you." I said, as I got out of their way.

When the door was closed again, the middle aged looking man started talking. I'd guessed he was the head, but his first words confirmed that. "Good evening everyone, and welcome to Hayfield Hall. My name is Mr. Hobson, and I'm the headmaster at this school. Since we recognize that it is very emotional leaving your families and familiar environments at such an early age, we have a support team in place to help you and look after you. They can override everything and everyone at the school, including me. So it's a good idea to stay in their good books."

Several of us laughed at this. I remained over on the side, next to Renee.

"I'll introduce the support team. You appear to have already met Daniel Mathews."

"Just Dan" I said, so only Renee could hear. I could feel her relax a little with that.

Dan smiled waved at all of us "That's Dan, please. Daniel sounds so formal, like you're talking to my dad or something."

"Sorry, Dan." Seeing the grin on Mr. Hobson’s face, I figured
they went through this every year as a ground breaker. I'd seen that kinda stuff done at some of my parents’ parties. "Moving on, we've got Tracy Dine.” Tracy waved at the rest of the year. She looked to be about the same age my folks were, or Mr. Hobson for that matter.

"Next we have Katherine Mayhew, or Kate as she's sometimes called." This was an older lady; I'd almost go as far as to say grandmotherly.

"Only by my friends, young man," she responded with a smile.

"Next we have ..." started Mr. Hobson before he was interrupted by the other lady.

"Tweedledum and Tweedledee" she said, as she and the man next to her stepped forward. They both seemed to be much younger than the rest. "No, actually, I'm Becky Thompson and this lummox over here is Keith Thompson." He waved at that. "And, in case any of you were wondering at the coincidence of our similar last names, I'll tell you a secret. He's my husband, so hands off, young ladies!" She looked sternly at us for a moment, before breaking into a giggle.

Mr. Hobson just shook his head. "That's three years in a row they've done something to throw off my introduction." They both gave him a bow, and stepped back. "Well, in any event, you all have been assigned a support person. They are always available. If for some reason they aren't available, such as being ill or perhaps they are with another student in your or one of the other years, please feel free to approach any of the others." He indicated for all of us to find seats. I sat down with Renee on one of the double chairs. I noticed that Ingrid and Fran did as well. The others seemed to be taking the single chairs.

Mr. Hobson took a deep breath, as the support team sat down. "Okay, one thing that all the test results show is that you are all extremely intelligent, but had some issue or issues holding you back from excelling. At Hayfield Hall, we hope you will be able to excel. It is likely you will take your GCSE exams earlier than you would have done in your old schools. You may even take some before the year is out. That's a good two years earlier than normal. All students will study all lessons. Each of you will study one subject in much more depth. You'll be the expert on that subject for your year, and sometimes for the school. I'm going to call people's names. I'm not going to ask you to speak, but please just stand so everyone sees who you are. Your support person will then indicate your study major. Let's start with Sally Smythson.

Sally stood up, and Tracy stepped forward, and said "You'll be specializing in statistics and statistical analysis."

"Cool!" I guessed she liked that.

“Next, we have her study partner, Prudence Winter. Becky Thompson got up and said, "Pru will be specializing in modeling."

Someone said, "She's tall enough." Becky turned, saying, "Yes, but that's the wrong kind of modeling. I'm referring to building miniatures of things like ships, buildings, even entire dioramas. It includes the use of different materials and other skills. You'll all get to experience some of this, and she's already got some practice at this."

With that, they both sat down and Mr. Hobson said, "I'll take that interruption to remind all of you that this is a school that is here to help our students. We don't tolerate any kind of discrimination or harassment. I may as well go ahead and do the other part of my talk now, too. You probably all noticed the clothing selection in your rooms.” He looked around to see our reactions I guess. “Any of you can wear anything you like while here. Some of you will be doing more experimenting than others. This is fine and encouraged. In fact, periodically we require you to dress in a manner different from your norm. That is, if you normally present yourself as a male, you'll be required to present yourself as a female, and vice versa. If your normal presentation is androgynous, you'll have to pick male or female on those days. The one exception is the three weeks prior to a field trip. You will be required to spend the remainder of the time before the trip, and do the trip as you present yourself on the day the trip is announced."

Mark chimed in. "So, I'll occasionally have to wear a dress?"

"That's a distinct possibility, Mark."

"Ho, boy, will you folks get a laugh on that day!"

"Well Mark, that leads me to the next bit on the topic. For those of you that desire, or need, to live and dress in a way different from how you've lived so far, or who need help in learning to pass as a male or female, there are a couple series of lessons available to help in this. These classes are designed to allow you to learn what you need to pass.” Turning to look directly at Mark, he continued. “Yes Mark, after successfully completing these classes, even you will have no trouble convincing the world you're a girl."

Wow, that has to be the strangest thing I’ve heard yet. I raised my hand.

"Yes Dan?"

"I think I just added up a few things. This is one of the big reasons the school doesn't allow visitors, isn't it?"

"I don't know about big, but yes, it is one reason. A related reason is that some of the students in the school are actually transitioning. For those of you that don't understand that, I'll go into more detail. Some people are born with the body of one sex, but internally, they are the other and know this from an early age. Others feel issues, but just don't know. Those that decide they are in the wrong bodies, we help transition to the sex they should have had. No, I'm not talking major surgery here; it’s against the law to perform reassignment surgery before a person is eighteen. But we help in every other way. The classes and experiences you all go through helps them as well. Does that answer your question Dan?"

"Yes sir." I looked more carefully over at Fran, wondering. It couldn’t be, could it?

"Nice observation. Well, we may as well continue with you, Dan Humphrey." I stood up, and so did Dan Mathews. "Dan here doesn't play a normal orchestral instrument, so he'll be learning percussion with two of our experienced percussionists. You'll occasionally get to hear him on his primary instrument as well. Dan will be specializing in a hybrid of Intuitive Thinking and Operations Analysis. You just saw him do some of this when he brought together several independent pieces of information and deduced something else not directly implied by any of them. You'll all have some training in this area, but he seems to have a knack for it."

"A bit long winded, but a useful description, Dan. We'll go on to his study partner Renee MacInnis."

I gave her an encouraging smile, and she stood up. Dan got up again. "I knew that was next. I probably shouldn't have bothered sitting down. In any event, Renee will be specializing in Logistics. She's also got a unique instrument, but it's her second one. I'm sure you'll hear it later." She sat down almost as fast as Dan stopped talking. I gave her another smile and got a nod for my efforts.

"On to Ingrid Olafson."

Kate Mayhew stood up. "Ingrid will be your networking guru. She'll be learning all there is to know, well a lot of it anyway, about computer communications. In any event, she'll be learning Local and Wide Area Networking, securing them, as well as breaching them."

"Way to go, Ingrid. That’s how you knew how to send us messages?"

She nodded, "Sorta. I can find my way around computers okay. It's just more fun to see how they hook up."

"What’s this about messages?" Mr. Hobson asked.

"I sent them all messages so we could get together and come to the common room as a group."

"Nice forethought, though I didn't realize that function was turned on yet. He looked over at Kate."

"It's there, just hidden. She's not the first to find it before the intros."

Mr. Hobson nodded, and then continued. “And Ingrid's study partner is Fran Becker."

Fran stood up, and as Kate was still standing, she continued. "Fran will be specializing in power generation and transmission systems.”

"And we come to our final pair. Mark Springer."

Tracy stood up with Mark and said "Mark will get to further his hobby in radio controlled toys by specializing in automation systems." It was obvious that he was happy with this idea.

"Mark, you can stop dancing and sit down now." Once he did, Mr. Hobson continued. "And finally we come to Mark's study partner Wayne Woogan."

Wayne got up, and Keith said "Wayne will be specializing in ceramics." Mark gave a bark of laughter at this, before stifling it. "No Mark. Not plates and bowls, though it may start out there. You might want to look up the field of ceramics. There are prototype engine blocks made of certain kinds of ceramics. They can sustain extremely high temperatures without shape distortion. In addition, they’re significantly lighter than corresponding metal blocks."

Mark got kinda still at this, and then said, "Sorry, Wayne."

"Now that this is sorted, let’s get on to the next item. When you return to your rooms, you'll find that your schedules have been made available on the computer system. You'll notice that your classes are together, apart from the time you're taking the extra sessions for your specialty. The entire school has orchestra practices Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons between four and six. This is on your schedule. In addition, there's a larger practice Sunday afternoons between three and six. I'm glad to see two trumpeters in the class. We were short there, with our previous trumpeters graduating last year." He turned to Kate. "How do we always get into these binds, with an entire section graduating together?" Turning back to us, "Two of you" nodding at Renee and me "bring different instruments to our orchestra. I understand our head of music intends to take advantage of this over the course of the year."

He paused, apparently looking around for questions. I wondered about Renee's other instrument. I'd have to ask her about it later. Dan's comment that it was loud, had me thinking.

"Well, there's one last thing before we go and eat, sleeping arrangements. As you've no doubt noticed, you and your study partner have interconnecting doors. That's to facilitate your studying, and to make it easier for you to support each other in times of need. Many of you may be lonely, having moved away from your families." No surprise he avoided looking in our direction. Nice that he's not reminding Renee that she doesn't have a family.

"If you fall asleep, in the same room, nobody is going to care or know and you won't be told off. However, we do ask one thing, keep your underwear on. At your age, it's illegal to have sex, and we don't want the school shut down. This, after all, is NOT a brothel." I could feel a few eyes on Renee and me. Just because we were the only mixed pair didn't mean we'd be doing that kind of thing, or were we. Hmmm. Come to think of it, Ingrid and Fran had the same support person. I looked over again. Her business, like the head said. I’d have to ask Dan about my guess when I talked to him about my pants. Glad nobody noticed them, though.

A couple of the other kids laughed a little at the joke. I missed it while thinking.

"And with that, are any of you hungry?" Of course we jumped up at that. Following his lead, we went back to the main entry area. I just loved all the wood. He led us down a corridor. About twenty meters down, he opened a door on the left. I always laughed at that. My folks keep referring to things in yards. What a lark. I'm glad I learned meters; it's so much easier and makes sense! There were five large round tables, and a smaller table off to the side. The tables were set the way I'd expect a formal dining room to be set up.

Dan said to us "Each year has eight students," as he guided us to a table. "One person from the support team will sit at each year's table. That rotates around, and tonight, you're again stuck with me. The headmaster will sit in the tenth seat at one of the year's tables, unless we've got guests. If we do, he'll sit with them at the sixth table."

I noticed he had Ingrid to his right, and Fran sat next to her, so I steered Renee and myself to the seats on his left. The other four spread around, I wondered why the seat next to Renee got left open. Coincidence I decided. They missed out though, because it put their backs to the middle. I looked around, and yep. All of the support staff had their backs to the outside of the room so they could easily see all of us. I bet they did that on purpose.

I saw a girl on the furthest table stand up, and nudged Renee. "We all want to welcome the new students to Hayfield Hall and hope you have as good a time here as we all have." Then the rest on the other four tables stood back up and applauded. Since they did that without prompting, I'm guessing that it's a tradition, which would make her the head girl. Best keep an eye on her.

Renee poked me under the table, and looked around. "With us again, Dan?"

"Sorry."

"As I was saying, members of the year serve their own table. If you'll notice, you'll see two students from the other tables getting up. Dan, you and Renee can do it tonight. Just follow the other students."

When we got into the room, there was a cart for us, with names next to each plate. As we were heading back, I noticed the older kids were doing it up like waiters, and whispered to Renee "Napkins in lap first, serve from the left". She nodded. Danged. I'd never thought sitting through so many state dinners would ever come in handy.

When we got to the table, I made a point of going up to Dan first and offering him his napkin. When he'd taken it, I placed his plate in front of him from the left. I saw Renee start to do the same to Mark around the table, so I figured she'd be okay. Dan gave me a nod when I'd done. After serving the rest, we went back to our seats to eat as well. "Well done, you two. We normally have to give instructions. You sure you've not waited tables before?" he asked with a chuckle. "Anyone notice what they did?"

Ingrid piped up. "You mean the serving from the left?"

"Exactly, that, and offering all of us our napkins. I'll go ahead and tell you that when we're done, they'll be taking it away on our right sides and we'll get a dessert course after that."

Mark piped up at that. "Are we going to learn how to be waiters, too?"

Dan looked over at him. "Yes. But it's more that. This lets you know what to expect, and how to behave at a formal meal. We'll even have some multi-course meals where you learn which forks, spoons and such to use."

I bet it also let them cut down on total staff! Interesting thought … Is it to save money, or to reduce the number that interact with us? I bet it’s the later.

"There's more than one?" came from Mark again.

"Yes. Don't worry about it for now, but you'll see. I hope you're all enjoying the food." We all nodded at that. "Well, get used to it. I find the food one of the special benefits here. Don't hesitate to experiment on the food, too. Also, if you think of something you’d like, but don’t see, let someone know. I've yet to taste anything that was less than marvelous." He paused then, “One more thing. When it’s your turn to wait the table, it’ll show up on your calendar. And, before any of you ask, yes, you can trade turns, but you should log the swap in most of the time. In addition, there will also be times that a last minute change is made, like for illness. We don’t have people with colds serving the food. I don’t know about you, but I like that last rule. Imagine a plate being offered, a big sneeze, and what would happen to the plate.” The last bit was said with a smile. “Such a waste of good food!”

As we were delivering the last of the dishes to the kitchen, I said laughing, "I'm glad we don't have to wash, too."

“Me to Dan.” Renee replied, smiling.

Hmmm, I wonder why they’re all still at the table. I looked over at the other tables. They’re mostly near their tables too.

As we arrived, Dan said, "I kept the others here because it's common for a year to return to the common room following dinner. Doesn't always happen, but it's common. I wanted to give you all a chance on your first night."

"Thanks, Dan. I needed to ask you something anyway, and didn't want to have to page you again." I turned to the rest of them, "You don't mind if I catch up?"

Ingrid looked at me, gave a quick nod before she said, "Sure, see you back there in a few. Don't get lost, or we'll have to come find you two."

It hadn't occurred to me that Renee would stay, but I guess it made sense, since she knew part of the issue and was part of the rest of it.

As the rest trooped off, Dan said. "I take it you've come up with some more questions. Should we just grab a few chairs here? Or do you want to go to my office?"

I looked around, and not seeing anyone else still around, "Here's probably okay."

"Okay" he said, as he grabbed a chair and spun it around. “Welcome to my office away from my office. What seems to be the issue?"

"Two things, actually. Let's hit the easy one first. My clothing."

He looked at me, "Looks like it fits well to me." At which Renee gave a little giggle, which got his attention.

"Ummm. Yea, that's the issue. See, these slacks came from the RIGHT side of the closet. Nothing on the left, fit."

"You're kidding, right?" Renee giggled a little more. He looked at her. "Apparently not. I don't know how they could have messed that up."

"Umm. My mom's been taking a couple inches out the waist of my pants for several years. She said I‘d apparently inherited her big hips."

"Hmmm. Well, we can certainly take care of that issue for you, but it could take a little time. Whose idea was it to use the ladies slacks?"

I nodded, indicating Renee.

"That was quick thinking there, Renee."

"A kid in the orphanage had to wear girls jeans and trainers for the same reason."

"That's still good thinking. And Dan, it's good you were willing to go ahead and wear them."

"I didn't know they were girls when I put them on, Dan. Renee didn't tell me until after I'd changed into them."

"Good for both of you. I’m glad to see you both already looking out for each other. Well, I guess the question is how to get through the next week or so until we can correct the problem."

"He could experiment as a girl," said Renee giggling.

I probably turned a bright shade of red at that. "Umm. I don't think I'm ready for that, despite what the head said earlier. I think I'd be a pretty ugly girl."

"Not really, Dan. You have the hips for it. That's one of the things many of our genetic males have issues with when trying to present themselves. But, if you want to try, that is an option."

"Can't I just keep using the girl's slacks with my normal tops?"

"Of course, remember, Mr. Hobson said most of the time you could wear anything you wanted."

"Okay. I probably will do that. I hope there's enough." A thought just came to me. "You don't have to tell anyone else, do you?"

"Just the staff, to correct the clothing issue. A few of the older kids might figure it out, but if you act natural, like you have tonight, you should continue to be fine with your year."

"Thanks."

"Now, you said there was something else."

I looked at Renee. “I noticed that we both have you for a counselor and that Ingrid and Fran have Ms. Mayhew. He gave me a look at that. “Ummm, do you always assign the same support person to mixed pairs, and if so, are they a mixed pair like the Head indicated some kids are?”

“Astute question and I can only answer part of it. Whether or not Ingrid or Fran are genetically female is their business. If and when they tell the rest of you, you’ll know. One thing the head didn’t say, was that you must refer to people the way they are presented. On those days when you need to present yourself as a female, as part of your education, you’ll need to pick a feminine name. And Renee, you’ll have to do the other.”

We both nodded. We both sat there quiet.

He continued. “Is there any particular reason for the rest of your question?”

"Initially, I thought we were the only mixed pair in the year. Then, when I saw we had the same shrink, I was thinking maybe it was related. Later, when I saw that Ingrid and Fran had Ms. Mayhew, I became confused and looked more carefully at them. Then I remembered Ingrid saying Fran had been playing with the clothing a lot, and I added in Mr. Hobson’s comment about wearing what we wanted, and transgendered kids. I looked over at them again and wondered about them. All that, plus some things you said in the interview and yesterday.”

"A lot of thinking you did there. Did you come to any conclusions?"

"Mostly questions, but a few guesses."

"Go ahead."

"You think we'll be good for each other, and you think that if either of us talks to you in private, it helps that you're also helping our friend. Also, you think that there are, were, or will be greater issues for the two of us, than the other six, except maybe Ingrid and Fran. Finally, you expect us to become much more than just study partners, don't you."

He looked at us closely, and appeared to be coming to a decision. "That's substantially correct." He kept a close look on both of us. "You've helped each other more than expected already, showing each other a degree of trust that is really surprising in two that are just getting to know each other. We expected some of this due to your profiles, but just not quite this fast. Yes, I saw you signaling to Renee when serving. Well done. But, back to your issue, I'm here for both of you, either apart or together as you need. Renee, I want to thank you for staying with Dan while he asked these questions. There should be no secrets between the two of you. When you decide to share your pasts, is up to you. But eventually it'll help you each better understand each other, and know when to be there for the other."

‘Wow, this is heavy stuff!’ I looked over at Renee, to see how she was taking it. She looked a little scared of something.

"If either of you need me, you've just to page me. Once you get your PDAs, it's even easier, since I’ll be programmed into a speed dial. Speaking of which, we need to get you yours. Is there anything else?" He looked at both of us. "Okay, why don't you head back to your common room, Kate should be there passing out the PDAs for your year group. I’ll send her a note that you’re on your way.”

“We won’t be in trouble will we?”

“No. Your personal growth comes first. Remember, you were told that the support staff can override the rest?” I nodded. “Well, if I say this meeting was important, it was, and that’s all there is to it.”

I gave a sigh of relief and thanked him.

“One more thing.”

I looked up. “You can call all of us on the support staff by our first names, that’s why we told them to you, and let’s not mention to the others that I’m a shrink, okay?”

I nodded agreement and then it hit me. “All the support staff are, aren’t they?” Not waiting for him to confirm it, I went on. “And, you want us used to talking to you before admitting you might be more than we thought.” Continuing aloud, but more to myself, “Yeah, it hangs together. We’ll have issues, and the support staff that can override teachers and administrators. What kind of place have I gotten myself into?” My voice trailed off at the end.

“Dan, you’ve gotten yourself into what we consider an outstanding school that will let you grow however you need to. I’d like you both to keep that speculation to yourselves. You’ll probably talk about it on your own, which is fine, but don’t bother the others with it for now.” I nodded slowly, and I assume Renee did as well. “I’m glad you brought this speculation to me, rather than discussing it with your year right now. In the future, if you speculate on something disturbing to you, please continue to bring them to me. I am here to support you, you know.”

“Thanks Dan.”

“Okay you two, go get your PDAs.”

We started back. "Dan, did you really figure all that stuff out?"

I nodded. “Yea, I’m not sure I’m glad I did, though.”

“Yea, I don’t know if I’m happy knowing he’s a shrink or not. We had to talk to them at the orphanage, and some of them were not nice.”

“I’m sorry I got you into this, Renee.”

“No, like Dan said, we’re supposed to be partners in learning stuff, so I guess this really is something I should know.”

“Thanks, Renee.”

“If you ever need a sounding board for your thinking, Dan, I’m here. Maybe I can tell you you’re way off before you go talk to Dan.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. The more I see, the more I think there’s stuff going on here beyond just a simple school. And, I don’t think it’d be a good idea to ask the wrong questions.”

“You think something would happen?”

I thought a minute. “No. I’m sure that’s not it. Otherwise the background check my dad did on the school would have turned something up. But maybe there’s stuff we just don’t want to know about.”

“What could possibly be going on?”

“Well, I dunno. Maybe there’s a law about helping transgendered kids. But that really doesn’t make any sense. I’m probably just imagining things, Renee. Sorry I asked him about your past, even obliquely.”

“It’s okay Dan. You didn’t go behind my back. I'll try to tell you what he hinted at, but I’m not ready right now."

"Hey, it wasn’t meant as pressure, Renee! I'm there for you, too, if you need me."

"Thanks Dan. That'll take some getting used to." I smiled to her. In some ways, it was like Kirk being back, but in others better. The more I saw of this place, the more amazed I was.

We got to the common room, Kate was there giving out the PDAs. "Hi, folks, sorry we’re late.”

"Hey man, we get PDAs!" chimed Mark, showing his.

“Well Dan, since you and Renee are here now. I can get the two of you taken care of as soon as I finish with Fran.

I watched her go through a process, and realized how we’d be logging in. "Wow, first retinal scans, now biometric thumb print recognition."

"Got it in one. Once registered to you, only you can log into your PDA. They're linked into the school network. They're phones, messaging devices, terminals, browsers. They're synced to your desktops, as well." She kept this babble going, as she finished up with Fran, and registered Renee with her PDA. "When you look on your desktops, you'll see a sync folder. Anything there will show up on your PDA, and anything on the PDA shows up there. Your schedule appears on the PDA, and if there are updates or changes to your schedule, you'll be notified - depending on how you've set up your notifications. The default is a vibration followed by a chime. While you can turn the notifications off, your support person can override that, and cause an audible alert anyway. I don't generally recommend turning alerts completely off, as who knows, they could be calling to let you know you won the lottery if you respond within five minutes." Most of us chuckled dutifully. "Your default home screen has apps to call your support staff, call your study partner, and once established, call your year leader. That won't happen until after you've gotten to know each other better."

Finally, she was down to the last one. "I guess this must be yours Dan.” She held the two PDAs close together and keyed a sequence on the one that was to be mine. "Okay, like the others, swipe your thumb across the sensor until it registers." Two swipes, and a flash. "Okay" she took it back, and keyed in something else and returned it. "Try it now." I slid my thumb and was greeted by a home screen. This was way nice.

"It's going to take me a bit to get used to this. It's a lot nicer than the cell phone I had."

"It has to be to do everything we need." Then she turned to all of us. "Your PDA is to be on your person anytime you're outside your room, from now on. Do any of have any questions?"

"There any games on here?" Mark again. What's with that guy?

"Scroll to the end, you'll see a 'Stuff' icon, click that. You'll see a bunch of the configuration areas where you can customize how your PDA works. Scroll to the end of that, and you'll see 'More Stuff'. Select it, and there you go."

"Whose idea was 'Stuff' and 'More Stuff'?" asked Ingrid.

"I understand our IT staff thinks it has a sense of humor. You'll discover a lot more games, including multiplayer ones on the network as well. You're free to play them, as long as you keep up elsewhere. If your grades suffer, you will be cut off. Any more questions?"

I guess most of us were playing with our toys. I figured I would later; I just wanted to look around and see if I could tell anything about my new classmates. I saw Ingrid doing the same and nodded to her. That girl is on the ball! It seemed Renee was still sticking by me.

"Okay one last bit. There's a rule that you all have to be in your bedrooms by ten. Years four and five have a midnight curfew. So, you've got from now until ten to get to know each other. Normally you have the time from last lessons until curfew to use any way you like, assuming any homework's done. If you look at your PDAs, and select the schedule applet …" she waited a minute for all of us to do that. "Okay, if you scroll to tomorrow, you'll see the orchestra rehearsal and then the evening meal at half six. That's the normal evening meal time, unless otherwise noted. We were at half seven today, so we could get the introductions done." She paused Again. "Okay, last time for questions before I leave you to yourselves." She paused again. "Okay then. I'll see you at breakfast."

I closed the door behind her, then turned to Renee. "You okay?"

She nodded "Later Dan, OK?" I nodded, then saw Ingrid making her way over.

"What's up with you two?"

"Nothing much."

"You're not holding out are you?" I gave her a blank stare. "You knew how to serve the table at dinner. How come?"

"Oh, that. It was easy. You sit through enough of those formal state dinners, you pick stuff up."

"State dinners? Who are you?"

"Nobody really. My dad's just in the diplomatic corps and the family had to attend functions sometimes."

"That's interesting. So that's why you're here in the UK?"

I nodded. "We just moved here from Greece a few months ago."

"That clears up that bit. I'd figured your family was just over here for business or something. I never would have guessed that, though."

There was a chime from everyone's PDAs. As mine was still in my hand I looked at it. "Ahh, ten minute warning note from Kate. I guess she's reminding us, make sure we're in our rooms by ten." I raised my voice, "Best be going. I'll see you all in the morning."

Renee was already at the door. We could hear Ingrid herding the rest of the year toward the door. Hmmm, there she goes again. I'd just figured everyone would come. She made sure. I shrugged. "Are you doing okay Renee?"

She nodded. "Let's get back, Dan."

As we came to her door first, we went in that way.

"Are you going to be okay tonight, Renee?"

"Yeah. Oh, we'd best find you something for tomorrow now, so we're not rushed in the morning."

"Thanks, I'd almost forgotten that." We went over to my closet, and decided on another pair of slacks, and I grabbed a shirt that matched, and hung them on the door.

"Nice choice, Dan. I'd not expected to see such sense in a guy."

"Mom drummed color coordination into our heads so we'd not embarrass Dad." She laughed at that. It was nice hearing her laugh. "You wanna sit and talk some more tonight?"

"We're supposed to be in our rooms in another minute or so."

"We are. Remember the head saying the door was there for a reason?"

"Oh yeah, I guess." We talked for a while after that. I had to fill her in on the school after she'd left, and who else had tested and such. Somehow we got around to me describing when I'd rescued Chris and James, and my discussion with Sensei afterward. That, I think, impressed her more than my intervention on her behalf. I don't think she accepted my comment that I should have found a way to avoid the fight. Eventually she did tell me some of how life was in the orphanage. I could tell it wasn't something she enjoyed talking about. After a bit, we were both yawning and I looked at my PDA.

"Whoa!. I had no idea."

She looked down. "Uh, oh. We're gunna catch it."

"No, we're in our rooms. We just need to find a way to squeeze a full night’s sleep into about four hours."

She got up to head for her room. Before she left, I asked, "Do you mind leaving the door open some? I'm not used to having all my doors closed."

"That's okay. I'll open it back up once I'm changed. Thanks for talking to me, Dan. I don't know why, but I feel better."

"Me too, Renee. Guess I was lonelier than I thought. Thanks for the help."

With that, she closed the door and I gave a sigh. Was I actually getting a friend? We'd talked in a way I'd never talked before, about things I’d never been able to talk to anyone about before. I quickly sent Dan a note that we'd been up late talking, and was surprised to get a response almost immediately. It said, "Good, go to sleep and we'll talk later in the morning."

I put the clothes down the laundry chute, and put my shoes away, did my teeth and such in the en-suite and headed for bed. About then, the door opened part way. "Okay, Dan," I heard.

"Thanks, Renee."

---

Author's Note: I want to thank Karen for allowing me the pleasure of continuing this story and I hope you all get as much pleasure out of reading it as I've had writing it. I also want to thank the two individuals that proofed and commented on the story as it developed. Their comments and criticisms helped immesurably! I also want to thank the person that gave the chapter a final review to hopefully reduce the mechanical errors (typos and the like). Any problems remaining are mine.