The removals van arrived and we got busy helping to unload it.
The removals men took all the big heavy stuff and we took things like chairs and other smaller items.
The van was unloaded in no time and as it drove off,
we were faced with a mountain of boxes to unpack.
This kept us busy right through the weekend but come Easter Monday,
we were pretty much straight and getting settled in.
Some of the neighbors had made themselves know and they seemed nice enough.
An old couple opposite had grown-up children who’d long flown the nest
The house next door had two youngsters.
From what we could tell, there’s only Jane and I on the small cul-de-sac of high school age.
The other households seem to be professional childless couples,
young families,
and middle/old aged people.
Mother found an old swingball pole in the garage,
but we needed a couple of tennis rackets before we could have a go
. On Tuesday we went into the town center with a view to source said tennis rackets.
But Mother had other purchases in mind too… our school uniforms!
On the upside,
Jane had warmed to the Burberry-esque skirt once she’d tried one on.
On the downside,
I found myself trying on several skirts before the correct length was found,
that being somewhere between the tips of my thumbs and the end of my fingers.
Thankfully I didn’t have to try any of the PE kits for size,
apart from the plimsolls of course, but then came the shoes.
The lady in the shop recommended a pair of black lace-up brogues with a chunky heel which she claimed are popular with the boys.
I balked at the height of the heel and Mother felt they were a little too high for me.
“He’s not used to heels so I think the lowest we can get away with would be better,” Mother suggested.
I agreed with her thinking, but the lower heeled shoes they have in my size also have a T strap and a shiny silver buckle.
I wasn’t given a choice and Mother’s main concern was that they fit, which they did.
Whilst I was moaning about the shoes my sister was trying on the pinafore dresses.
Like the skirts, the length is quite strict as it must fall between one and three inches above the knee.
Jane moaned that it was too daggy and fit like a sack.
Mother told her it wasn’t a fashion parade and reminded her that she won’t be wearing it for months anyway.
Then I had to go through the shame of getting a boy’s pinafore that’s the right size and length.
I now know what Jane meant when she said it felt like a sack… it does,
but at least it’s not short like the skirts are…
and I think I do prefer my blue plaid to Jane’s brown.
Thankfully the ordeal was over, or so I thought.
We left the uniform suppliers with a large carrier bag in one hand and a smaller one (containing our footwear) in the other.
Mother wanted us both to try on our new uniforms when we arrived home.
“Oh, Mother!” I whined.
“Can’t we play swingball for a bit?” I suggested, brandishing the pair of tennis rackets we’d found in a charity shop.
Mother said we could,
but after we’d taken our things upstairs.
“Do we have to put them away too?” I asked.
“Well… at least hang your skirts and pinafores up …
and you can leave the rest ’til later,” she said.
“This is all getting a bit too real,” I said to my sister as we climbed the stairs.
“I’m dreading next Monday,” I added.
At the top of the stairs, we went our separate ways.
I removed the three skirts and two pinafore dresses from the big carrier bag and left everything else inside.
Mother had already left some of those Clippy skirt hangers in my wardrobe,
and even clipping my skirts to those was a shameful task.
I imagine how it might feel unclipping one every morning and having to step into it!
Jane enters as I’m hanging the pinafore up.
“It’s gonna be weird seeing all the boys dressed as girls,” she said as she peered into my wardrobe.
“It’s gonna be weirder being one of ’em,” I replied in a mournful tone.
We returned downstairs and grabbed a tennis racket each.
The swing-ball pole has been waiting in the center of the lawn for this moment since Mother found it.
“I was hoping you might have put your PE kit on,” Mother said, clearly teasing us.
We went out to the back garden and did what siblings do best…
we got competitive.
We played until the light began to fade and by the time we returned indoors,
I’d put today’s other purchases completely out of my mind.
I silently growled when Jane said, “I suppose I’d better go and model my uniform.”
I silently cheered when Mother said we could wait until after supper.
