I blushed. Being called Rebecca was alien to me “Oh I’d forgotten about that!” I claimed as I leapt up to retrieve it from my desk. “Cheryl sent me some earrings to wear.” I said as I returned.
“Are they nice?” Mother asked.
I perused the several pairs of earrings before passing them to Mother.
“Oh I like these ones.” She said, holding up a small metal flower shaped stud for me to see. “I think these are a bit too old for you though.” She added holding a pair of long dangley ones.
Mother did a double take at my protest, before looking me up and down. “Of course.” She replied.
I looked myself up and down. I knew what Mother meant. Maybe I should stop just shutting my eyes and blindly choosing something to wear. It’s only a matter of time before I end up wearing Grannies favourite dress again! Mother passed me the earrings back. “Thank you.” I said as I took them.
Before long Mother did her usual glance at the clock, sighed and then glanced at me. As she did so the clock chimed and it was time for me to change into my night clothes. On my return Mother proceeded to list my chores to me, a procedure there was no need for as they were fully detailed on the kitchen notice board.
The next morning I awoke long before my alarm went off. After washing I reluctantly buttoned myself into my old school dress. “I’m so glad I don’t have to wear this thing everyday” I though as I made my way to the kitchen to begin my chores.
Several hours later, I was cleaning my bedroom (last as usual), when Mother entered. “Do you want to try on your new suit?” She asked rhetorically as she opened my wardrobe and removed it. “Best to ensure it fits properly.”
“Oh… er, OK.” I replied, packing up the hoover.
Mother placed the jacket and trousers on my bed along side my blouse. “You’ll need the girdle too.” She said as she removed my new boots from the box. “And you might feel better wearing tights too.” she added.
“Under trousers?” I quizzed.
“Yes… but thin ones I think.”
I did as I was told and selected a pair of thin black tights from my underwear drawer. Mother left me alone as I squeezed myself into the girdle. “God I can hardly breathe in this.” I said to myself as I carefully pulled the tights up my hairless legs, followed by the trousers and blouse. The trousers were way too long until I fastened myself into the high heeled Victorian boots. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The trousers fell perfectly to the floor once I had the boots on and flared nicely over them. The blouse was short and fitted so I chose not to tuck it in. For the first time in weeks I was wearing trousers again! However I didn’t look any less feminine as the trousers were obviously women’s trousers, being fitted on my upper leg and flaring out towards the bottom, where my boots were just visible. The jacket was short and fitted too and accentuated the feminine shape the girdle gave me. That coupled with my pierced ears, shaped eyebrows and longish hair, I still looked like a girl in spite of the fact I had trousers on. I went down to the kitchen so Mother could see me.
“It’s perfect.” Mother said, “You look great!”
“I’m not sure I could go outside in this though?” I added.
“Why ever not?” Mother asked.
“Because I look like a girl Mother!”
“Well that’s good Peter, you look very smart.”
“But outside!?!?” I pleaded. “Visiting museums and galleries!?!?” I tried to explain. “Why can’t I just wear my own… er… boy clothes?”
Mother gave me a knowing look before explaining. “Well… since you let Cheryl shape your eyebrows and pierce your ears you look more like a girl than a boy… regardless of the gender of your clothing”
I blushed before looking at my reflection again in the hallway mirror and tried to imagine myself in my old jeans, trainers and hoody. Mother was right. “I suppose.” I conceded, having one last look at myself.
After a moments silence Mother said I should change as not to ruin my smart new clothes. I returned to my bedroom and changed into something more casual. A short denim skirt and a skinny t-shirt. I decided to keep the girdle on as I knew it’d take some getting used to. On observing my reflection I realised just how much the girdle altered my shape, giving me a much more feminine appearance.
On my return Mother noticed I still had the girdle on and made a comment. I explained that I needed to get used to wearing it and Mother agreed.