Chapter 2

As I entered the workroom there were a lot of giggles, and even a cheeky wolf-whistle, which Miss Carter let go on for a minute or so for the girls to get most of their joking out of their systems.

“ Right girls, before we start, as you have all noticed, we have a new class member today, Carla. I’m sure that you will all make her welcome. As you all know, from next week your uniform changes to the summer style of a half sleeve yellow and white gingham dress Some of you may still be able to fit into last year’s, but your project for the rest of the week is to make yourselves a new one. Split into pairs to help each other and collect the material and patterns from the back of the room“

I was in a state of shock, iI had no idea how to sew or use a machine, never mind work out how to make a dress and I didn’t even know if I wanted to find out.

“ Carla, as you are new to this, I have paired you with Zoe, she was rated the highest in this class last year and should be able to help you a lot.”

“ Hi Zoe, sorry that you have been lumbered with me. I am sure that you know all about me, the jungle telegraph in this school is amazing, and apart from that I have absolutely no idea what I am supposed to be doing, or why I am having to take this class. I’m sure that they are just trying to shame me into quitting.”

“ Carla, as long as you are in this class, you are just another one of the girls, If you are taking this seriously and intend to see it through I’m happy to work alongside you, but if you are not committed and are going to treat it as a joke, I am going to go and talk to Miss Carter now. I would rather work alone than with somebody who is going to mess up my grades.”

“ Sorry Zoe, I am a little confused and annoyed at the actions of the school.There is no need to talk to Miss Carter. I promise that I will try my best, after all I will be graded on this too. I have absolutely no idea where to start though.”

“We all had to learn sometime, just work with me and follow what I do and we will get through this together. First thing isle need to measure each other, I’ll do you first, watch what I am doing because you will have to measure me afterwards, and you need to get it all right or my dress could turn out badly and I will not get the top marks again.”

We soon had each other measured up, which was a lot more extensive than the chest, waist and inside leg that I was used to, and collected our material and cutout patterns. Marking out the material from the patterns was not as easy as I expected, The fabric pattern on the front and back had to match at the seams, and where the sleeves joined the main body parts. Zoe quickly cut out her sections and then helped me with mine. I was glad of her help, I would have made a proper mess of it on my own.

That was all we managed to get done in that session, some of the other girls had started to sew theirs together, but I was really slowing Zoe down. As we were packing up and getting ready to go to our next class Miss Carter called us to stay.

“Because Carla is new to this, you two are a bit behind the others. I will be in here for a couple of hours after school finishes, you can come in and use the machines then if you want to catch up with everybody.”

I looked at Zoe, who nodded and smiled “ That’s very kind, I would love to, is that ok with you Carla?”

“ I think i need as much time as I can have, and we need to work together as a team. See you later Miss Carter.”

“ What’s your next class Carla, mine is science, which is not my favourite.”

‘I’m off there too, I quite like science, particularly physics, it is one of my better subjects. Let’s go and get there before they start without us.”

“ Glad you could join us Miss Marshall and, er, Miss Duggan, sit down and we will begin the lesson.” Miss Thomas stressed the title ‘Miss’ and glared at me as we made our way to spare desks.

The rest of the afternoon went off without anything being much different to normal and after classes Zoe and I made our way to the craft room to work on our dresses.

“ Have you used a sewing machine before Carla, they can be quite tricky, Let me show you how to work the machine, set the stitch style and tension, feed the material through, and then we can use some of the offcuts for you to practice with, we don’t want to mess up the material for your finished dress.”

While I was getting to grips with my machine and how to feed the material pieces through it, Zoe was working very quickly on tacking her main sections together and soon had hers done. By now I had mastered the basics but was still a bit unsure about starting on my dress. If I was going to do this, I wanted to do it properly and prove to Zoe that I was taking it seriously, she at least deserved that for the help she was giving me

“ Don’t worry too much, this is just the first stage, getting the basic shape, we will be adjusting it all later so any mistakes can be easily corrected. your test pieces seem ok, so get started on putting yours together and I will watch and give you instructions as we go along.”

By the time Miss Carter was ready to leave my dress was all tacked together, ready for us to try a fitting the next time and pin everything more snugly to follow our body shape, before doing the final seam stitching. As our houses were on her way back to her flat, she gave Zoe and I lifts home and I jumped out of the car, thanked both of them for their help and walked inside to find Mum waiting for me.

“ What on earth have you done to yourself. Cassie told me about what happened at school, I was convinced that she was exaggerating, but for once she was being totally honest. Have you had a good look at yourself?”

“ Yes, and I think I am looking good, Cassie did a good job on me.”

“ How long do you intend to keep this up then, to prove your point to the school.”

“ As long as it takes Mum, I am determined to get the rules changed.”

“ If that is the way you want to play it, fair enough, but don’t think that you are going to pretend to be a girl at school and then come home to be Carl again. If you are doing this it has to be 24/7. Go and hang up your uniform for tomorrow. Cassie please dig out a few your old skirts, tops, and shoes for Carla to wear around the house.”

Cassie was up like a shot, she had obviously planned this with Mum while I was still at school.

“ Do I have to Mum, it is only the school that I am having a go at. I was hoping to go down to the park to meet a few of the lads.” i pleaded in my best whiny voice.

“ I told you, you are either going to dress as girl all the time, or as a boy all the time, you are not jumping back and forward as the mood takes you.”

“ If that is what you want, but you will get fed up of it long before I will. You and the school are not going to make me back down.”

“ Come on then Carla, let’s go up to my room and see what I can find for you.” Cassie dragged me away before Mum and I had a big row.

Cassie rummaged through her wardrobe and drawers throwing an assortment of her old stuff on the bed.

“ I don’t want any of that anymore, take it all to your room, we’ll see what fits you and suits you, the rest can go in the bag for the charity shop or in the bin.”

We quickly decided to keep most of the stuff, including a few bras that she had outgrown, and just to wind Mum up even more I put on a tight denim mini-skirt, a skimpy crop top and 2” wedge strappy sandals before going down to show her what I was wearing.

“ My God are you doing this deliberately to annoy me, I remember when Cassie wore that outfit, I thought I had seen the last of stuff like that.”

“ Now you have seen me, I am going up to my room to do my homework.”

“Before you do that, do you mind telling me why you were so late getting home.”

“ I stayed behind with one of the girls, Zoe, to catch up on my craft assignment making my uniform summer dress for next week.”

“ Making your summer dress? This gets worse and worse, get out of my sight before I start screaming at you.”

I escaped up to my room while I still had the chance and quickly finished my homework. I was just about to risk going downstairs again when my phone buzzed at me.

“ Hi Carla, it’s Zoe, are you busy?”

“ No Ive just finished my homework and was about to put the tv on.”

“ That’s handy, do you fancy coming round to mine to help me with the science stuff, I didn’t really understand it in class, and you seemed to be following it ok?”

“I will be glad to help, I owe you for staying late to let me catch up with making my dress. Let me grab my things and I should be at yours in about ten minutes.:

“Mum, I am going round to Zoe’s to help her with her homework, is that ok?”

“ Are you going dressed like that? Won’t you be embarrassed letting her see you in those clothes?”

‘ No I’m fine, after all you said I have to dress like a girl all the time, I am just doing as I have been told.”

“ Don’t be so cheeky! Don’t stay too late, I want you back here by 7 o’clock”

“ Why, I always am allowed out until 8?”

“Different rules apply to girls, you have to be more careful about being out late now. Cassie always had a 7 o’clock deadline and so will you.”

I decided that I wasn’t going to win this argument, so grabbed my shoulder bag, rushed out of the door and made my way to Zoe’s, where I was met at the door by her Mum.

“ Hello Mrs Marshall , I’m Carla Duggan, Zoe asked me to come round to help her with her science homework.”

“ Yes, she told me, she’s up in her bedroom, just go on up, she normally leaves the door open.”

“ Hi Zoe, I guess that you haven’t told your mum about me really being a boy.”

“ Of course not, if she knew you are really a boy, there is no way she would leave me alone with you in my bedroom. Anyway, I have sort of put all that to the back of my mind after working with you on making your dress, it is not exactly stuff that makes me think of you as a boy, is it?”

“Let’s get your homework sorted first, I will try and explain things for you so that you understand it all, we can chat afterwards.”

I went through the science work with her, explaining again what we had been told in class and helping her to complete the work.

“ That was all so easy after you simplified things for me, I don’t know why I didn’t follow it all in class, i just think that Miss Thomas is not very good at putting things across. Thank you so much, i really appreciate that you have come over. I won’t worry now that I have got you to help me when I need it.”

“ Hey, we are a team now, it’a bit like me with the dressmaking, you just need someone to explain it in a way you can follow.”

“ Now that is done, give me the full story of how you have ended up as Carla, it is the talk of the school. If we are going to be seen to be friends, people will ask me about you, and I don’t want to tell them anything that you think is wrong.“

I went through the whole story with her, from the first chat with the boys at the field, Cassie having fun dressing me up, and the reaction from the school and my Mum just making me more determined to get the rules changed.”

“ So how long is this going on for?”

“ At least until the end of the month, maybe longer if they decide to leave the dress code as it is.”

“ Don’t you feel a bit weird though, after all, it is not normal. I like your outfit by the way, my mum doesn’t like me wearing skirts that short, where did you get your clothes from?”

“ They are all Cassie’s cast-offs, that she has outgrown, the only things new are the knickers, Cassie insisted that I had to get my own, she wasn’t keen on sharing those with me. In the end they are just clothes, they do not change me as a person, although when things had calmed down after the initial reaction I settled in quite well, especially with you and the rest of the girls in the needlework class.”

“ I can’t remember what other classes we share, what are you due to do tomorrow.?”

“ First thing it should be Gym, but I don’t know how the school will deal with that, they have already changed my craft class to needlework and have put me into the home economics group too, they are definitely trying to embarrass me into backing down.”

“ I have gym too, if they put you in with us, we should be playing netball. It would be fun if you joined us as there are not too many of the girls interested, most prefer aerobics or modern dance.”

“ That probably won’t happen, for one thing I don’t have any girl’s sports gear, and I am sure that they won’t allow me to use the girls’ changing rooms, I can hardly go in with the boys dressed like this either, can I?”

“ You can borrow some of my stuff if you want, I have a few sets. I’ll get some for you now, take off your skirt and top and you can try them on.”

I was quickly stripped down to my bra and knickers, waiting for her to give me some gym clothes. “Does it not bother you seeing me like this in just my underwear?”

“ Don’t be silly, girls swap clothes and change in front of each other all the time, and at the moment what I see is ‘girl’, Here, put on the netball skirt first to see how it looks and fits. That’s fine. I am not sure about your top though, I normally wear a sports bra to hold things in place a bit more firmly, if you know what I mean, but I don’t know how that will work with your enhancers. take off the bra you have on and try one of mine with my sports vest. Now run around a bit and jump up and down a few times.”

“That seemed to hold everything in place ok, are you sure that you don’t mind lending me your stuff?”

“ It’s not my stuff anymore, it’s yours, just make sure that you bring it all with you tomorrow.”

“ One other thing, although we are not officially allowed makeup, most of the girls in my class use a little mascara and pale lipstick, mainly when they are going home after school. have you noticed.”

“ Not really, but now you have mentioned it i can see you have some on now.”

“ Right. At the end of the day the washrooms get quite busy with girls getting themselves ready in case the meet anyone they fancy on the way home. Do you want me to use some on you now, so that you can see what it is like.”

Ok let me get changed back into my street clothes again and get the sports gear packed in a bag, have you got one I could borrow? Then you have have a quick go at me, before I go home. I really must be leaving soon, mum has me on an early curfew. It’s not fair, as Carl I could stay here another hour.”

“ That’s as may be, but as Carl you would not be allowed up here at all, there are some advantages to being Carla, just get used to the differences.”

After she applied a light coat of mascara, which put me in fear of losing an eye, and a very pale, almost clear lipstick, I had a look in the mirror, and was surprised at the difference they made and thought that I looked even more like the other girls in my classes.

“ Bye Zoe, I’ve enjoyed being here with you tonight, maybe we can do our homework together more often, we can help each other out. I’ll just let your mum know I’m going and then I will have to hurry home.”

“Ok, see you tomorrow, and don’t forget to take your mascara, lipstick and the sports clothes with you.”

I arrived home in the nick of time, another couple of minutes and I would have missed my curfew.

“Do you want anything to eat Carla or did you have something at Zoe’s?” Mum asked, she had obviously calmed down since earlier.

“ To be honest we were quite busy and forgot. Any chance of a quick snack, maybe a burger?”

“ Don’t be silly you have to cut down now and look after your figure. I’ll do you scrambled egg on toast while you go upstairs and get changed into your nightclothes.

When I went into my room, Cassie was sitting waiting for me, with a big self-satisfied smile.

“While you were out Mum had me help her pack all your boy clothes and put them up in the loft. I have put the stuff away that I gave you earlier, the dresses, skirts and trousers are hung in the wardrobe, the tops, jumpers and underwear are in the drawers, but you really need to get more underwear of your own, particularly a few bras and packs of tights. You might want to get some decent panties too, school knickers aren’t really ideal for wearing when you are socialising.”

“ You are really enjoying this aren’t you, I can’t make my mind up whether you are being helpful or having a good laugh at my expense.”

“Honestly, i wouldn’t deliberately do anything to upset you, I’m just enjoying having a younger sister that I can pass on a lot of helpful tips to. That reminds me, you better clean off that mascara and lippy before mum notices, I will give you a pack of cleansing wipes, but I expect you to get your own and replace mine tomorrow. Get your clothes hung up there is a nightie on the bed for you for tonight, put it on before you go downstairs again, and leave on your bra and the enhancers, it will help the nightie sit better.”

If they were all trying to embarrass me into dropping my campaign it wasn’t working, it all just made me more determined, but I decided not to get into an argument with her, I needed her on my side.

I changed and went down for my toast and egg, Mum said nothing about me wearing the nightie but gave me a quick look over and smiled.”

“ It’ just as well that your dad is away on business for a few days, he was never comfortable with Cassie walking around in her nightie, what he would make of you I have no idea.”

I thought that if she is winding me up I would play her at her own game, and when I had finished my toast I walked over gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, something I had not done for a few years. “ Goodnight Mummy, I’m off to my room now.”

To be continued.