Poor Andrew felt incredibly glum when he sauntered up to his bedroom.
He can’t believe that he has to continue wearing his sister’s hand-me-downs for the foreseeable future.
Feeling hard done by, Andrew grumbles and mumbles to himself as he changes out of his uniform and dons his dance kit.
He pulls the chair out from his dressing table, laid the worksheet on its seat and opened his bedroom door before working his way through the various positions and routines, using the back of his chair to steady himself when needed.
After ten minutes, he sensed a presence and turned to see his mother watching from the landing.
“You do look ever so graceful.” she says as he practises his ‘rond de jambe’.
“Oh don’t stop on my account.”
Andrew says he feels silly with her watching and can feel himself blushing as he moves onto the next step; the développé.
“Do you have to watch?” he whined.
“No but I like to.” his mother replied.
“Plus I need to make sure you’re actually practising and not just prancing about.” she added, that being the reason he has to practice with the door wide open.
He’d been so looking forward to waking up in his own bedroom on Saturday morning and spending the day wearing his own clothes, but he didn’t.
He woke in his sister’s room, wearing a frilly nylon nightie and resigned himself to the fact that this is the new normal.
He don’s his sister’s old dressing gown and goes for breakfast.
On the kitchen table is a number of pamphlets that the headteacher had given his parents;
Petticoating at Home,
Petticoating for Schoolboys,
St Urshalla’s Holiday Club and on top
, Saturday Dance at St Urshalla’s.
“Do I really have to go to that dance class today?” he frowned.
“Well…” his mother began. “…having flicked through the pamphlet, it turns out you’ll need a new leotard and tights,” she said.
“So we’ll leave it ’til next week,” she added.
This came as a huge relief to Andrew, but since he already has a leotard and tights, he quizzed why.
“Because beginners wear a white leotard and tights and yours are burgundy and pink,” she replied.
“So we’ll go shopping for those this morning, then you can visit William and you can enrol next week.”
A one week delay was better than nothing, and thankfully he was allowed to wear boyish clothes for their trip into town.
Afterwards, Andrew’s mother dropped him off outside William’s house and told him to be home before dark.
“I will,” Andrew replied.
His mother waited until he knocked on the door.
“Hello, Mrs Dowson. Is William in?” he asked.
“Hello Andrew… yes, come in,” she said, acknowledging the boy’s mother with a smile and a wave.
“William! Andrew’s here to see you.” she hollers, before looking Alan up and down.
“I like that coat.”
“Er… it’s my sister’s.” Andrew meekly replied.
“Of course.” she smiled as William leans over the balustrade and invites Andrew upstairs.
Andrew enters William’s bedroom and casts his eyes around.
It’s a typical boy’s room with a poster of Slade on one wall and the Six Million Dollar Man on another.
Do it anyway you wanna do it blasts out of a crackly transistor radio.
William looks Andrew up and down as he begins sheepishly unfastening a double-breasted dress coat that covered him from neck to knee
He dropped it from his shoulders and revealed a pair of sky blue dungarees with a butterfly embroidered on the bib pocket.
Beneath this, he wears a pale blue long-sleeved blouse.
“How come that shirt’s got buttons on the front and the back?” William asked.
“Because it’s a girl’s shirt,” Andrew replied, pointing out that the buttons on the front are only for show.
After a brief uncomfortable silence, Andrew confessed that his parents have decided to continue petticoating him at home.
“And she’s gonna make me go to the Saturday dance class,” he grumbled.
“So… are you staying at St Urshalla’s?” William asked as he took Andrew’s jacket and hung it from the back of the door.
“No… I’m going back to Cromwell Road…
I wouldn’t mind so much if I did have to stay at St Urshalla’s but I don’t and I still have to wear her clothes.” he moaned.
“Didn’t they offer you a place?” William asked. “…at St Urshalla’s?” he added.
“Yeah but there’s no way I’d take it.” Andrew retorted.
William said they’d offered him a place too.
“They probably say that to everyone.” Andrew figured.
“I took it,” William confessed.
“What?!”
Willam gulped. “I’m staying at St Urshalla’s,” he said.
“You’re kidding!” Andrew gulped. William shook his head.
“Why?” Andrew gasped.
“Because it’ll be unbearable if I go back to Cromwell Road and everyone knows we’ve spent two weeks attending a girl’s school.” William explained.
“Doesn’t it bother you?”
“Course… but Miss Culnane said blah blah blah.” was Andrew’s lengthy reply.
Both Miss Culnane and Mrs Vaughn were at the meeting with the headteacher on Friday afternoon, and between them, they assured Andrew that the details of his suspension are held in the strictest confidence.
“Yeah they said that to me too… but anyone might have seen us on the bus, or passed the school gates during the break.” William reckoned.
“They can’t guarantee that word won’t get out.”
“No but we can just deny it… and Miss Culnane did say she’d back us if we say we’d been suspended and grounded at home,” Andrew stated.
“I’m not gonna risk it… anyway, it’s not just about having people laughing at me… uniform aside, St Urshalla’s is a much better school.”
“It’d be better if it wasn’t a girl’s school,” Andrew said, before expressing his utter shock and surprise that Willam has decided to stay at St Urshalla’s. “…that’s the last thing I expected.”
“Sorry.” William frowned.
“I’d been thinking about it all week… I just didn’t say owt…”
“I wish you had.
Then I could have talked you out of it. This is crazy!”
“Not really,” Willam replied.
“It’s a better school and I’ve discovered that I like learning stuff.
There’s a fat chance of that happening at Cromwell Road.
It’s just crowd control.
No wonder we kept nicking off.” he shrugged.
“Yeah but… at least we don’t have to dress like girls and answer to girls’ names, skip around the playground or attend dance classes.”
“Well apart from skipping around the playground… you still have to do all that.” William reminded him.
“Don’t remind me.” Andrew sighed, before asking if William would be joining the Saturday dance class too.
William wasn’t sure and said he hadn’t really thought about it.
“Oh go on… I’d hate it if it was just me.” Andrew said.
“I’ve already got two dance classes a week… and Saturday’s the only day I’ve really got to myself,” William replied.
“The downside of staying at St Urshalla’s is that I’m supposed to wear my Sunday dress every Sunday.”
“Yeah, that and about a million others,” Andrew grunted.
“I know.” William agreed.
“I’ve just got used to all the other downsides… and I’d much rather play netball than rugby at this time of year.”
“There is that.” Andrew replied.
“Is that your Mum shouting?”
Wayne turned the radio down.
“William!” his mother shouts again.
“Yeah?” he replied, opening the door and leaning over the balustrade.
“We need to go into town soon… does Andrew want to come?” she asked.
“Er… Mum’s asking if you wanna come into town with us.”
“Nah… I’ve already been once.” Andrew replied, but he refrained from telling William what for.
“I’d better get home,” he said.
The boys descended the stairs.
Andrew pushed his arms into the sleeves of his sister’s dress coat.
What are we going to town for Mum?” William asked.
“Well… now you’re staying at St Urshalla’s, I thought I’d treat you to a new Sunday dress… I saw a lovely one in Debenham’s window.”
“Do I need another one?” William gulped.
“Well you can’t wear the same one every week… that’d be boring.” his mother said.
William gulped and bit his lip.
He glanced at his friend.
“Errr… I’d better get home.” Andrew said. “I’ll see you soon?”
“Sure… I’ll come round one night after school if you want.”
“OK.” Andrew replied.
He walked home feeling a little glum.
It’s not going to be the same at Cromwell Road without his best mate.
He wondered for a moment if he too should have accepted a permanent place at St Urshalla’s but quickly decided he’d made the right decision.
It’s OK for William, he can dress like a boy at home.
For Andrew, the only place he can dress like a boy is when he goes back to Cromwell Road… the rest of the time it’s going to be girl’s clothes and a girl’s room.
He arrived home and told his mother that William had decided to stay at St Urshalla’s.
“Now that surprises me.” his mother retorted.
“Still it is a much better school than Cromwell Road,” she added.
“And talking of Cromwell Road… look what I dugout.”
Andrew gorped at the familiar box pleated skirt and gulped.
“I don’t have to wear that do I?” he feared.
“Of course.” his mother replied.
Andrew bit his lip and spent the remainder of the weekend dreading going back to Cromwell Road.
On Monday morning his mother put out some clean underwear; knickers, training bra and white pelerine knee socks.
She tells him to get dressed before coming down for breakfast…
“If I’d known I had to wear this I’d have stayed at St Urshalla’s with Wayne.” Andrew moaned as he sauntered into the kitchen wearing the grey box pleated skirt with white pelerine knee socks and his Mary Jane shoes.
“Oh Andrew!” his mother giggled.
“I didn’t mean you had to wear that skirt at school… it’s for after school, when you’re doing your homework.”
“Seriously?” Andrew asked.
His mother grinned and nodded.
“Oh thank god for that.” he exclaimed.
“You wouldn’t be allowed to wear the girl’s uniform at Cromwell Road even if you wanted to.” his mother told him, before suggesting he return to his room and put his trousers and normal school shoes on
Andrew bounced out of the kitchen before stopping and turning.
“But… why did you put out my girlie undies when I’m wearing the boy’s uniform?” he quizzed.
“You always wear girlie undergarments,” she replied.
“Only when I’m wearing girl’s clothes,” he claimed.
His mother shook her head and told him that now he’s allowed to wear boy’s clothes for school, he still has to wear his girlie underwear beneath them.
“Even my bra?”
“Yes… especially your training bra.” his mother replied.
“Now go and get changed, you don’t want to be late on your first day back.” she smiled.