Breanne enjoys Douglas's hard-work with a day out in the Roadster.

Chapter 4

Breanne smiled as the wind that was barely stopped by the windshield tugged at her new shaven head. She wouldn’t have wind tossed hair with knots to untangle ever again. Turning to her step-dad, Dan, she smiled at the smiling glance he gave her prior to him returning to look at the road. The car shot along on the surface streets of Carlingford and they were quickly on the M2 Motorway toll road and heading west along the ring of Sydney’s suburbs.

Now on the M2 Dan let the roadster go. It was unusual for police to have traps on a none holiday Saturday afternoon. He was of course carefully keeping an eye out for their easily noticed orangey-red stripe, which was then topped by a racing chequered black and white, and then finally plain white top cars. Their distinctive look had given him a head’s up many a time to take his foot off the accelerator pedal. No speeding tickets so far thank goodness. Mind you being now in the flashy roadster he might need to be more careful.

Of course his wife drove more than him really. During the work week Dan rode the train from Epping into his office in Sydney for work. The roadster was his car, and he had just got it ready to drive today. If he chose to drive it for work, it would only be to the train station’s car park. It really wasn’t smart attempting to drive into Sydney. There was an unofficial three side war between pedestrians, motorists and cyclists for the streets of Sydney. Unfortunately, no one had told the three sides that the train company was the only partial victor of their conflict. Luckily he didn’t have to cross one of the more deadly roads. Nope, Dharawal Liquors, Spirits and Wines, the largest alcohol distributer for New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory, ACT and Victoria, had the office he worked out of. It was on the same side of the road as the station exited onto. So he didn’t have to worry about the over twenty pedestrians killed so far this year from aggressive drivers.

He’d done well for himself. Especially when he’d thought his life had collapsed when Teresa ran off with an old high-school sweetheart flame. Even when she initially deserted the kids with him, and he had juggled the two jobs of keeping an income coming in while keeping the family running, he kept his position. He’d stayed afloat largely due to the help from his parents. Two years later in the divorce she got awarded custardy and child payments for kids she suddenly felt he didn’t have any rights to see. In just over a year those payments would be finally over, and most likely the second child like the first would be back in his life. Back in his life due to being eighteen and not having to avoid him on their ‘Mother’s’ court won say so. Rachel his eldest had told him Wayne was counting the days ‘till he could visit him once more. Both kids according to Rachel liked only one parent and that was not their mother.

Looking at Douglas he hoped for the day he could finally say he was the Father of four kids. Currently he was only Dad to one, and step-dad to two, though of course he was paying for all four still. How much would Breanne cost him this weekend? He would be getting the answer to that tonight. He slowed while changing lanes to not take the A2 fork north, rather staying on the ring road that had just become the M7 Westlink slightly earlier. Once clear of the Congestion he let the Roadster purr. “What do you think of that power, son?” He asked over the increased wind noise, and while noting an automatic toll taking booth slip by.

Breanne grinned and nodded back, not even attempting to speak over the wind and risk her voice sounding wrong for Douglas. Thankfully Douglas was quiet, for she had most concern being found out if she said something. Not only did her voice typically range over slightly higher frequencies, even when she attempted to deepen it, but she knew she had habits in saying things that differed and might get noticed. Her rumbling stomach, suddenly cramped. She hoped they would be stopping soon and eating.

As the pain increased she got dizzy as her view became blurry. Something wasn’t right. For superimposed over the view was a slightly different one. In one that she knew was correct the sun was falling from overhead in front of the car, which made sense as they were traveling sort of west, and it was the afternoon. The second had the sun shining in from a high angle on the driver’s side of the car, which would only be the case if they were traveling south in the early afternoon. Her queasy stomach made her worried she wouldn’t be able to keep lunch down, if she even managed to eat it in the first place. That would suck as she knew she was hungry.

The wonky view showed the car pass the Power Street exit which overlaid on the Sunnyholt Road exit they actually passed. Her stomach was meanwhile attempting to do a tumbling floor exercise, and she swallowed back the bile and acid from a thankfully failed upchuck. The double vision continued to bother her though as after passing above both differently named roads there was no feed on access from Power street, while Sunnyholt road did have one on her passenger side of the car, complete with toll booths for entry onto the toll road. Less than a minute later and the wonky vision of the road finally had an entrance on her side of the car, though there had been no exit, unless you counted the Power street one several hundred meters before. Looking at the entrance that in reality wasn’t there, she saw several police cars. One of them suddenly turned on their flashing lights.

Thankfully the awkward stomach cramps and ghost false image faded away together. “So where are we eating?” She asked her step-dad. Hoping if she ate soon she wouldn’t get a repeat of the earlier cramps. Initially she’d worried it was that time of the month. Thankfully as soon as she had thought that she had realized it wasn’t possible for that yet, which was extremely good news as Douglas had her purse. It also brought up a concern on how she was going to handle those days when pretending to be Douglas.

“We could be in Mount Vernon in about twenty minutes. How’s that sound, Mark?” Her step-dad asked, obviously currying favor by using the newly minted name. She knew she could likely talk him into the Distillery but that was only slightly more than five minutes closer, and not as fancy a fare offered. The only thing was she’d have to interact with the other members’ kids as Douglas. Then again she was going to have to start the birth of the new Mark somewhere, why not at The Lodge at Mount Vernon. Being members only, meant a lot less kids for the initial outing than would be at school, plus it would be only the best social movers if there even was anyone from her school there. This was the exclusive club for Sydney. The waiting list to become a member was over five years. During which you still paid base membership dues.

“Sounds good,” Breanne said while seeing the exit sign for Power Street and getting a feeling of déjà vu. Oh and the sun was still high but over her step-dad’s side of the car. That’s right they were traveling south now on the ring road. “Hey don’t the police usually stake out the on-ramp here?”

“There is no on-ramp this way from Power Street.” Dan replied, but still eased his foot off the accelerator when he saw his speed.

“I meant the next street’s entrance, the one that doesn’t have an exit that pairs with this one.”

“You’ve seen police there?”

“Just about every time we travel to Mount Vernon.” Breanne lied.

“I guess they must be easier to see from the passenger side of the car.” Dan said while pulling into the outside lane after checking there was room. Having maneuvered into the slower lane on the left he broke to the same speed as the previously approaching car ahead.

Just prior to the point of being able to see the merging on-ramp where she had seen a few police cars they were overtaken. Moments later there was a changed not quite déjà vu. This time she saw the flashing lights a bit in front of their car, though still on the left hand side, and on the on-ramp. Whereas before when she’d seen them they had been level, or actually just behind their car when its lights had gone off. It had seemed so real, how lucky she was to have imagined there would be a police trap here. Had she subconsciously made note of the police cars’ speeding trap on prior trips to the Lodge? But Douglas normally sits on this side of the car. She was normally behind the driver on the right side of the car.

Dan slowed more to allow the police car to enter the toll road in front of him, its sirens now blaring. “Thank you Mark, you likely have just saved me, the money your sister is spending.” He decided after the close call to increase only enough to stay slightly over the speed limit. It was still fun even if not traveling at quiet as crazy a speed as he had been. “Mark, with soccer finishing in three to four weeks, have you any idea what you might want to take up for summer?”

“How about tennis,” Breanne said before suddenly realizing she had goofed up.

“Douglas you turned that down, even though I wanted you to play with Breanne in the mixed tennis camp and tournament the Lodge is putting on. There will be some really nice prizes.”

“I didn’t want to play with my sister. I mean come on, I’m fourteen.”

Dan withheld comment on how young fourteen still was. Instead he asked. “Then who did you want to play with?”

“Leah…

“Leah Martins?” at his son’s nod he carried on. “The Martins are not members of the club. Look you know how much Breanne wanted to play. If you did this for her, Mark. Well she would owe you and I would owe you double. You actually could find a girl that is in our social… What I mean is that you have a better chance of starting a relationship with a girl by being noticed competing than being her partner. In fact being on the same team could be a sure fine way to prevent a relationship from launching.”

“You do mixed doubles with Ellin.” Breanne noted how he had been referred as Douglas when he dropped herself in it and was Mark when his step-dad needed a favor. Unfortunately, Douglas disliked tennis more than soccer. He had refused to do this exact mixed doubles with her, and she was unsure if even saying he had to do it to ensure the steps didn’t work out they’d swapped would work here. There was a limit that she knew she couldn’t push her brother beyond, and she was fairly sure this was way further along than that.

“Your, mum, and I had been in our relationship before we started playing as a tennis team.” Dan stated emphasizing the ‘mum’ rather than wasting time starting in on a battle over Mark using ‘Ellin’, before muttering. “Even then it can still be a close thing at times.”

Slowing down he took the off ramp for ‘The Horsley Drive’. Breanne saw the northern edge of the Sydney International Equestrian Center. It ran along the inside of the ring road from the other side of the cross road. They turned right onto Horsley, traveling under the toll road, and west toward Mount Vernon. A couple more turns and after passing ‘The nineteenth hole driving range’ they entered the private drive. Stopping at the gate Dan lifted his club pass up over the side window to the guard who lifted the barrier letting them in.

Breanne remembered asking why it wasn’t electric, and being told that having it be manually lifted showed the club to be more pretentious. As paying a staff to lift the entrance, and exit barriers was more expensive than installing an electric one. Personally she thought it was poor money management.

Being half two the restaurant was rather empty. As they were being walked to their table a man called out. “Afternoon Dan, are your better half and daughter following?” Breanne looked to see a couple with two girls. One was about her age. She figured she’d seen her at the club before but not interacted with her. She was still staring trying to think if she knew anything about the two girls only vaguely paying attention to her step-dad talking with the other kids’ wrinkles.

“I should be mad with you Douglas, but I guess I have to give credit where credit is due, that goal yesterday was a beaut’.” The elder girl said. Did Douglas know her? This would be awkward.

“I hadn’t realized you went to North Rocks.” She decided as the best thing to say. Hopefully Douglas knew her from the club as she’d not seen him interacting with any girl but Leah at North Rocks.

“I don’t. We go to West Pennant Hills.” The still un-named girl replied for herself, and so far unspoken younger sister. There was a bit of a pregnant pause as Breanne didn’t want to say anything, and was hoping for a few clues, like why she would be at a North Rocks’ game. “West Pennant Hills was the team you destroyed the playoff chances of yesterday.” She finally clued him in on why she would be at another school’s soccer game. “Oh, and I am Sophia, and this is Marlene.” She indicated the younger sister. Who even though likely thirteen or fourteen showed she would most probably be prettier than Sophia later. Marlene took after her mother who could be a top model. Sophia resembled her dad too much to escape being called handsome. She knew that Sophia was not like her in desiring to be handsome though. “I know your name as it has been tweeted all over our school’s social network. We have even been talking about your sudden hair cut. So you can stop worrying if you were supposed to know me, and forgot me.” She snorted with the humor at her own expense. Sadly she seemed to expect people who knew her would forget her.

“Well I wish I didn’t know you Douglas, and I recommend you don’t visit our school any time soon.” A voice from behind Breanne called out. Spinning she saw a boy that she also didn’t know. “Brett, midfielder for the team you more or less single handedly dismantled yesterday. You’ve met my older and younger sisters, now you meet the best Morrison kid.” He held his hand out and shook hers. “Why didn’t you play striker from the beginning?”

Breanne figured she needed to go with Douglas’s excuse. “I was a bit sick, and felt the team would be better with Michael starting as striker.”

“God, that was you playing under the weather!”

“Brett!”

“Sorry mum.”

“Michael, can we pull another chair or table up so these two can join us?” Mister Morrison asked.

“I could move your drinks to those two tables pushed together. It has a great view of the eighteenth green, and the afternoon breeze I swear is known to bring the Pacific Ocean’s freshness from the terrace through the open veranda doors.” The Maitre D’ offered, and after getting the nod asked. “Could I get you anything to drink Mister Parson, Master Parson?” Michael’s idea was a better decision than pushing a square table up against the current six-person round top, or worse trying to squeeze a seventh of the overlarge rounded wicker chairs to go around the table.

Breanne quickly found herself sitting between Brett and Sophia, with her step-dad opposite between the Morison wrinkles, and Marlene was sat beside Sophia. This enabled the adults to have their own conversation, and Sophia and herself to have sort of three conversations that waxed and waned. She had a conversation just with Brett, while Sophia had one with Marlene, the second was with Sophia, and the third was all four of them talking together.

The entrees halted most of the individual conversations. Breanne became worried as half way through the meal her stomach cramps returned with a vengeance. She also got feelings of choices to make, and others to avoid. Why she was thinking the best of the numerous options started by accepting Misses Morison’s offer even though this included finding out she wouldn’t get a girlfriend as far as she could see, which true was a bit over a couple of weeks, but when bad choices could yield a girlfriend by this evening it was as if the universe was out to get her. Thinking she could manipulate what would happen, was she going mad?

She was awake and yet dreaming of hundreds of futures, they were all overlapping. She had to make choices to shut off some of them so the number was reduced to stop the headache. Ones that ended with one ominous word, ‘Syndicate’ were the worst. Quickly toggling options to get rid of those seemed to remove most of the aches and drowsiness. It was worse than drowsiness though, her brain seemed to not quite work right and was muffled, and ‘chained?’ in those images. Removing the obviously bad options that led to those scenes seemed to let her see about twenty choices, each of a different two weeks forward from now, which was confusing to keep track of. In those two weeks the only possible girlfriend were those where she got with Sophia, and she knew even in those options where she had chosen to accept her that she never considered her a girlfriend even when she was apparently kissing her.

What was even odder was that in most Sophia knew too that she was being used, and always didn’t care. Refusing to believe she could have a gift and not be able to use it to her own advantage she quickly went back trying to see which options led to her getting Leah as her girlfriend. There were only three; one enabled her to have her as a girlfriend for one day prior to the ‘Syndicate’ ending it. The next was three days and then the same ending. The last was half a kiss for the length of relationship, and ‘The Center’ broke it up, and she suddenly had a gay boyfriend. That nearly had her throwing up. In fact looking through them except for four, all the ones with ‘The Center’ arriving led to her having a flamboyantly gay boyfriend or a rather pretty boy one. Three she had no one and knew that ‘The Center’ had labeled her nonsexual and according to them will not have a relationship. The fourth reading a file that she somehow felt had been purposely left out for her to read, it said “…subject is bisexual, the interest in girls being actually secondary to a refused acceptance of his homosexual primary interest in boys…”

“Douglas…

“Mark. Son…

Breanne managed to get up from the table, through the open door, and out onto the patio before hurling up on the terrace. She needed to do whatever it took to avoid ‘The Center’ they initially seem like the good guys, but the forced feminization or masculinization of the newly gender flipped. The lies, manipulation and basically brain washing so their kids will appear to have similar percentages of sexual orientation to the world at large were sickening. All of it just so ‘The Center’ blends in, and doesn’t stand out. The manipulation in some ways is nearly as evil as the ‘Syndicate’ that is completely obvious in being evil. ‘The Center’ allows all freedoms except who you can be sexually attracted to, and contact with your actual family that they stole you from.

“Hey son, sorry you must be going down with something we should leave.” Her step-dad joined her outside.

“No I need to accept Misses Morison’s offer.”

“We can…

“I must do it now.” Breanne turned and returned into the dining room. “I am really sorry, I must be still not completely better. However, I would completely love to do it.” Breanne said the last part looking at Misses Morison. The lady looked across the table to Sophia, an eyebrow raised.

“Oh yes, yes, yes! A million times yes!” Sophia squealed.

“Fantastic, I am sure that you and Sophia will make a perfect couple. I’m sure you can exchange contact info with my daughter, and make all the arrangements when you are feeling better.”