I decided to say nothing about my immanent birthday to my two best friends; Jordan and Mark. If they ask, I’ll just say we’re only having a family meal this year… and if they get wind of my sister’s party, I’ll play it down and claim that’s ‘her’ birthday party, not mine (we are all in the same year at the same school, so it’s likely). Hopefully they’ll presume I’ll not be attending it… and hopefully I’ll be able to talk Sally and her friends into not saying anything afterwards. Sally’s already agreed not to mention my party outfit beforehand, it’s just a case of getting the girls she’s inviting to keep it secret afterwards. It’d be bad enough if my classmates found out that I’d worn a dress, let alone a baby pink one with matching shoes and white lacy tights!
Sally and I seldom walked home from school together. She tends to stick with her friends and I tend to stick with mine. We get along just fine but we’re about as far as you can get from identical twins… she’s a girl and I’m a boy for a start. She listens to pop music whilst I prefer a rockier sound. I enjoy action films, she loves romantic comedies. I’m a normal boy and she’s an old fashioned girlie girl which in this day and age, can be quite an embarrassment. Today however, I loiter by the school gates and wait for her. I spot her exiting the school building with friend Mollie. They stand out because they’re two of the few girls who still wear skirts for school. “You waiting for me Pete?” Sally asked as she approached. Mollie smiled and greeted me too. I suspected Sally had told her about my party outfit, but wasn’t going to ask one way or the other. The three of us walked together for a while until Mollie headed in her own direction. The moment she was out of earshot, I asked Sally if she’d told her. “No… course not!” she insisted.
“You sure?” I asked. “Because the way she grinned at me… I suspected she knew something.” Sally assured me that her lips were sealed and informed me that I’m their ‘big surprise’. “So… who else have you invited?” I asked.
“Mollie and Kirsten and Sarah Clarke…”
“I don’t know her.” I interjected. Sally described Sarah but I was none the wiser, before explaining that she’s not a ‘girlie’ girl and would be borrowing one of Sally’s prissy dresses for the party. “I kinda wish I was borrowing one of yours too.”
“That was the idea.” she informed me. “Then Mum noticed the boy’s section in the back of one of my catalogues and figured you’d rather wear a boy’s dress than a girl’s one.” she explained.
“I’d have much rather borrowed a girl’s dress!” I sighed.“It seems like a lot of expense for just a few hours though.” I stated. “Those pink shoes alone must cost twenty or thirty quid.”
“Well my shoes wouldn’t fit you… so you at least need your own.” she said before asking how I was getting on with them.
I described them as ‘weird’ before adding that they’re ‘OK’. “It was weird when I finally took them off… I felt about two inches shorter.”
“Well you would have been.” she smiled. “I was impressed that you kept them on for so long.”
“It was only a few hours… and I do need the practice if I’m going to carry it off.”
“Oooh it’s great that you’re making the effort.” she said. “Are you looking forward to it?”
“I’m looking forward to it all being over.” I replied. “And when it is over, word’ll get round that I wore a dress and it’ll haunt me for the rest of my life.” I claimed. “So no… I’m dreading it.”
“It’ll be fine.” she insisted. I wasn’t convinced. I asked who else she’d invited. “Melanie.” she replied.
“Cousin Melanie?” I asked. She nodded. “Ohhh… that means the whole family will find out too.”
“It’s just a dress Peter… loads of boys dress as girls for Halloween and stuff.”
“Yeah I guess.” I conceded. We always dress up for Halloween but I’ve never once considered dressing as girl. A zombie, vampire, mummy and Frankenstein’s monster; yes… a girl; no… well not until now. I expect the dress will still be in my wardrobe come autumn. “You know when you shave your legs?” I asked.
“Yeah?”
“How long does it take for them to start growing back?”
“A couple of days.” she replied. “If leave them a week they either need shaving or I wear thick tights.”
“So just a week then?”
“Yeah… a week tops. In the summer I’ll shave every two or three days… in the winter not quite so often.”
“Cool.” I replied. She asked why I was asking and I sheepishly told her that Mum said I have to shave my legs for the party. “…or use some cream.”
“You really are making the effort aren’t you!” she exclaimed.
I replied saying that I have to. I stopped and pulled up my trouser leg. “Can you imagine these sticking out of a pink dress?” I asked as I ran my fingers over my bushy leg hair.
She giggled and said “No.” before informing that it might take a bit more than a week for them to grow back to that extent.
“Well I’ll just have to avoid shorts until they do.” I figured. It’s not a bad plan since we can wear shorts or tracksuit pants for PE, and I can opt out of swimming if I want. The fact that our cousin Melanie had been invited popped back into my head. “Does Mel know that it’s a pink party?” I asked.
“Yep.” Sally replied.
“Does she even own a dress?” I asked. In our mother’s youth, Melanie would have been called a tom-boy, but in this day and age, she’s a typical girl who generally shuns things like dresses, make-up, long hair and jewellery. Sally informed me that like Sarah, Melanie will also be borrowing one of her dresses. “She can borrow mine if she wants.” I suggested. Sally chuckled.
~o0o~
Friday evening comes around all to quickly. Although I shave my chin semi-regularly, I’m reluctant to shave my legs for fear of cutting myself. Mum gave me a tube of Veet and instructed me how to use it. She warned that the tingly sensation is normal and advised me to leave it on for a good ten minutes for best results. I took it and myself into the bathroom and stripped down to my underpants. Judging by the amount of hair there is to remove, I could be here for some time. It took far far longer than I’d expected. About ninety minutes later I sheepishly emerged wearing my bathrobe. Mum asked me if I’d showered and moisturised afterwards like she’d advised. “Yeah.” I replied. She smiled and asked how they felt. “Er… quite nice I guess.” I confessed.
“Let me feel.” she asked. I put my foot on the chair arm and she ran her fingers over my knee and down my shin. “Very nice… did you go all the way up?”
I gulped and nodded. “I’m not sure if I was supposed to but… I did my arms too.” I said as I showed her my forearm.
“Oh. You didn’t have to go that far.” Mum replied. I explained that I was in two minds but it made sense under the circumstances. “That explains why it took you so long.” she smiled.
“Yeah.” I coyly replied. I rolled my sleeve down and headed toward the door. Mum asked where I was going. “To put my shoes on.”
I returned a moment later wearing my pink heeled shoes along with my pyjama bottoms and bathrobe. “Don’t your toes get clammy without socks?” Mum asked.
“A bit.” I replied. Mum suggested I put some socks on. “Nah… it’d have to be those frilly ones and I’d rather have clammy toes.” I said. “I’ll wear those tights tomorrow I think.”
“I was hoping you would.” Mum smiled. We watched TV for a while before Sally’s absence dawned on me. “Still deciding what to wear I expect.” Mum replied before suggesting that I go up and help her decide.
In spite of my total lack of interest regarding my sister’s party outfit, I sauntered upstairs, trying my best to work with my heels with each and every step. I knocked on Sally’s door and she opened it. “Oh! Hi Pete. I thought you were Mum.”
“Nah. Just me.” she invited me inside. “Blimey!” I said as I gorped at a selection of dresses that lay strewn across her bed.
I turn towards her wardrobe and my jaw drops. “How do you get those…” I pointed to the numerous frocks on her duvet. “…in there?” I asked, turning to her wardrobe.
“With great difficulty.” she replied. I’m not surprised. “I might have to start putting some in your wardrobe.” she suggested.
“It’s bad enough having one dress in there.” I retorted. “No wonder you can’t decide what to wear.”
“I know.. and deciding for Kirsten, Sarah and cousin Mel… it’s no easy task.”
I cast my eyes over the frocks on her bed. “Well… there’s four pink ones. And it’s a pink theme so…”
“I know but Sarah doesn’t want to wear pink and Melanie doesn’t want to wear a dress at all… maybe I could get her into a blue one but…”
“What about those really girlie shorts… them frilly dungaree things”
Sally rummaged in her wardrobe and dragged an item out. “These?”
“That’s them.” I said as she laid them on a chair and told me that Melanie won’t wear pink.
“If I was given a choice between those or a dress… I think I’d go for the dress.”
“Yeah… I love the look of them but I didn’t like wearing them very much.” Sally commented.
“Why not?”
“Too boyish.”
“Sally… there’s nothing boyish about those.”
“Apart from the fact they are for boys.” she retorted. “Look…” she showed me the label, “…Kawaii-Boi… it’s a Japanese boy’s brand.”
“Hmm… it’s quite worrying that they’re actually making this sort of stuff for boys.” I said. “Especially when most girls don’t even wear stiff like this any more.”
“I think it’s a bit weird but it sort of makes sense.”
“In what way?”
“Well… if the girls aren’t buying, sell it to the boys.” she replied. “Maybe in ten, twenty years time boys and men will be wearing the skirts and dresses?”
“I can’t see it somehow.”
“Me neither but… you never know. My sociology teacher said that girls and boys are gender neutral these days and the pendulum could swing the other way before long.” she explained. I’ve had similar lectures and discussions in sociology class but I, along with most believe the ‘pendulum’ has stopped swinging and the future is one that’s more gender neutral than the past. But maybe the metaphorical pendulum is still swaying a little? I am after all preparing to wear my first dress. I cast my eyes over the collection on her bed and ask which she’s going to wear. “I don’t know!” she whined. “I think I might be able to shoehorn Kirsten into the lilac one, and put Melanie in that blue one…”
“Or those.” I interrupted, grinning and pointing at the pink dungaree shorts.
Sally smiled and raised her eyebrows. “…and Sarah’s wearing pink whether she likes it or not.”
“And you?”
“I don’t know!” she giddily exclaimed. “I’ve got too many to choose from!”
“I guess I’m lucky having just the one.” I dryly stated. “I’d best leave you to it.”
“You can stay if you want… you could model them for me… help me make my mind up.”
I glanced at the dreadful dungarees. “Er… no thanks. I’m only gonna wear one dress and that’s hanging in my wardrobe.” I replied before opening her door.
“Got your shoes on I see.”
“Yeah.” I replied. “I’m kind of getting used to them.” I said before leaving. I returned downstairs and described the scene to my mother; dresses all over the bed, wardrobe wide open, shoes all over the floor. Mum was amused by my account. I told her about the pink dungarees which will be used to ‘hopefully’ get cousin Melanie to wear a dress. “Even I’d rather wear a dress than those.” I stated. “They’re gross!”
“Oh I think they’re quite sweet.” Mum replied. “Not very practical for a girl though.” she added, before casually informing me that they’re actually a male garment.
“Yeah Sally said.” I replied. “Hard to believe eh?”
“It is… but the world is changing.”
