So You Want To Be A Girl, Do You? - Chapter 6
by Barbara Lynn Terry

Part 1 - Hob nobbing at the social.

That night I dreamed about what it would be like at the social. I was going to live every girl's dream and attend a social on snob hill. I was introduced by the butler, and I was immediately surrounded by a pack of boys. They all wanted to know who I was, why haven't they ever seen me before. I was like, petrified, until this boy came and rescued me. We danced all day, and all I could see was approving smiles from Kathy.

Since mom was now calling me her daughter, she came in and woke me up, saying she had just run my bath water. She said go and get the sleep out of my eyes and she will lay out my clothes. When we had gone shopping, I had picked out dresses and skirts that were like two inches above my knees. Mom did not like that, but I convinced her that was how all the girls today were wearing their skirts. The days of wearing floor lentgh dresses, or dresses and skirts that covered the knees was over. Then she saw one of my friends in the store, and decided it was okay for me to look like the rest of the girls.

Well, anyway, I have been safe so far. We will see if it stays that way. After my bath, I went to get dressed. My lingerie consisted of a white training bra, white panties with a pink bow in the center of the waistband and a full slip. I put these on, then sat down to put on a little mascara and face powder. Even though mom and my friends tell me I don't need makeup, I put some on anyway. The dress she laid out for me was teal and had a scoop neckline. I put on my double knit, knee high, white socks, and then my teal boots with the one inch heels. Mother brushed out my hair in to a high pony tail with a teal, silk ribbon to tie it in place. I was ready for school.

I went down with mother and had a slice of jelly toast, a glass of orange juice and a glass of milk. I rinsed off my dishes, put on my teal fall coat and went out to catch the bus.

As I got off of the bus at North 27th Street and West Wisconsin Avenue, I crossed the street to wait for any of the buses that came, because they all stopped at North 18th Street. When the number 31 came by I got on it and was actually able to sit down.

When I got off at North 18th and West Wisconsin Avenue, I walked one block to West Wells Street and then another block to North 19th Street. The door I went in at was near Wells Street on the 19th Street side. As the first bell rang, we all went in the building. Dinglebutt wasn't in the hallway as usual. I looked for him, but didn't see him. Anyway, after the second bell rang, all the doors, except the main doors, were locked. The main doors were right by the office, and anybody coming in late would be given a tardy pass. We called them "tickets", you know, like you would get from a policeman.

I went in to homeroom to listen to the announcements and have attendance taken. This way the school knew who was on time and who was late. After the announcements ended, the first bell for the first period, rang. Everybody got up and went to their first hour classes. The rest of us just sat in our seats, because our first hour English class was right where we were.

Even though Mrs. Richards was a very firm teacher, she was fair. She said if she didn't keep on us about proper English, we wouldn't know to write a decent letter. That is our English teacher, alright. So, anyway, today she wanted to talk about nouns and what did a noun start with. A noun describes a person, place, or thing, according to Mrs. Richards. She said the word "can" is a noun because it is a thing, or a verb because it describes action. But today she said, we were studying nouns. She asked us if we knew of other nouns, and everybody raised their hands. She called on us, one by one.

Some said school, or train, or bus, car, house, name, ball. The girls said that a dress or skirt were nouns as was blouse, shoes, and other things not mentionable. The idiot boys just laughed at that. We were told that a noun could also describe action, as in the following sentence. "Running is my favorite pastime".

She said in this instance, "running" is used as a noun.

"Students, I want you all to write a paragraph for tomorrow, using a noun as an action. I want a full paragraph. A prargraph is a set of sentences with a complete thought. In other words, you will write three or four lines all following the same thought using a noun as an action. Does everybody understand what I am saying?" I raised my hand.

"Yes, Stephanie?"

"In your last question 'everybody' is a pronoun, while 'understand' is the transitive verb and 'saying' is an idiom."

Mrs. Richards looked at me with her hand over her mouth.

"Ye...yes, Stephanie, that is correct. May...may I ask how you know that?"

"Well, when I get bored and I have nothing to do, I read a lot. I study things like history, geography, English, which the word English is a noun."

"And you are how old again, Stephanie?"

"I'm eleven years old, Mrs. Richards."

"Hmmm, eleven going on thirty." Everybody laughed.

"Thank you, Mrs. Richards. That is the best compliment I have had all year."

I sat back down and Sally and Michelle just gave an approving smile. Some of the boys gave me the thumbs up, and poor Mrs. Richards was standing there looking awestruck.

"So, Stephanie, is there anything else in English that you know?"

"I know about verbs, participles, adjectives, nouns of course, pronouns, and a lot of other parts of speech that people use everyday but have no idea why they use the words like they do."

"You're not a child, you're a...a...uhm, a, uhm...body snatching alien. Yes, that's what it is, you're an alien."

"You're right, Mrs. Richards. Junior high school is very alien to me, so in that context, I am an alien."

"Young lady, you are way too smart for this class. But we will see when you turn your paragraph in tomorrow when you come to class.

The bell rang ending class for the day. Our next class was math with Mr. Jenkins. Mr. Jenkins didn't act like a teacher, because one, he didn't dress like a teacher, two, he didn't berate any of us, three, he had a good sense of humor and four, he was absolutely gorgeous. I mean, if I was twenty years older, I would definitely date him.

I stopped and thought to myself, that these thoughts were just coming. Mom said I think like a girl. I guess I do, at that. I'm starting to notice guys a lot more, looking at their handsome faces and muscles some of the boys are getting. My chest is starting to itch more, and my voice is the same pitch as the other girls.

Some of the boys are starting to get deep voices, while my voice sounds like it is getting higher. I will have to talk to mom about this. I mean, shouldn't my voice start to get like the boys? I guess we will see.

Mrs. Richards called me smart today. I couldn't help but think, if I really applied myself, just what I could do. I know who I am, but I don't. I know what feelings I have, or do I? All of a sudden, I am questioning my whole being. I wonder why? I will talk to mom when I get home.

Before I knew it, the bell rang for the end of class. I must have been in a daze, because Sally even had to tap me on the shoulder.

"What? Oh! Hi Sally."

"Hi my foot. I was talking to you and you seemed far away."

"I need to talk to my mom after school today. I was thinking about things while we were in Mr. Jenkins class."

"Like what?"

"I was thinking how my voice is still high and seems to be getting higher, my chest has been itching a lot and I am getting a figure. I know I said I want to live as a girl for the rest of my life. So, am I a boy going through this, or am I really a girl underneath all of this?"

"That is a lot to think about, Stepahnie. What brought this on?"

"I was thinking about how handsome Mr. Jenkins is and thought that I have been noticing boys a lot more. How handsome their faces are, their muscles, their gruff voices. My voice is still high. I need to talk to my mom after school about all of this."

"I see your point. Come on, or we will be late for Mr. Johnston's class."

We made in to the classroom just as the second bell rang.

"Well, ladies, I am happy you could join us. Now the last time we were here, we were talking about points of interest. Does anybody know where Old Faithful is?" He waited for an answer, then Bobby Reese raised his hand. "Yes, Bobby."

"Isn't it in Jellystone National Park?" Everybody giggled because everybody knew there was no such place, except in the Yogi Bear cartoons.

"No Bobby. Alright class, does anybody know?" He waited for an answer. "Alright, Old Faithful is located in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. It attracts thousands of visitors each year. Here's a hard one. Does anybody know where the Washington Monument is?"

Bobby raised his hand again.

"Bobby?"

"Is that in Washington, D.C.?"

"Yes, it is, Bobby. Thank you."

"Can anybody tell me other points of interest that people visit each year?" I raised my hand. "Stephanie."

"The Grand Canyon in Arizona is a famous landmark people visit each year. It actually took millions of years for the Colorado River to dig the Grand Canyon as deep as it is now."

"You are right, Stephanie. However, there are arguments going on about the Grand Canyon's development. It seems the geologists, that's people who study rocks and things, can't agree on any certain time frame. But you are right Stephanie. Anybody else know of any points of interest?" Janey Richards raised her hand.

"Yes, Janey?"

"I have been to the Statute of Liberty in New York. We got to climb to the top by the torch and look around. You can see quite a lot of things from up there."

"Yes, thank you, Janey. Anybody else?" The bell rang for ending class. "See you tomorrow. There is no homework for tonight."

We went to our lockers to put our books away for the lunch period. When we got to the cafeteria, I saw they were having a sort of stroganoff...mmm looks like more gravy than anything else. I got a chocolate milk and a raspberry danish. I paid my thirty five cents and we all went to sit down.

"Stephanie, how much reading do you do?"

"I like to read, Sally. I learn a lot by reading. I read about history, places to visit, geography. Now that I am in junior high school, I should start reading up on math." We all giggled.

"What are you doing this weekend, Steph?"

"I'm going to Kathy's sleepover."

"I just wanted to see what you would say."

"Sally, has anybody ever told you are a..."

"All the time." We all giggled.

The bell rang ending lunch and we went to get our books for the second half of the day.

"Well, study hall is next. Are we ready?"

"I think so. I really don't have any homework, but there are books I can read. Well, it is a good thing we sit near each other. Do you think Donny will come over and ask you for a date, again."

"I doubt it. I mentioned George and he started to get filthy. Now that I know where he is with a girl, he can go over to thirty first and Wisconsin Avenue." All the girls giggled.

When we got to our table in study hall, Donny Baird was looking over at me. He had that, 'I will get you on a date, yet', look. I just ignored him. I found a book on the American Revolution and sat down and started reading. Sure enough, here comes Donny Baird, walking like a rooster in a hen house.

"Stephanie, why don't you tell that friend of George's to fly a kite and go to the dance with me?"

"Because, Donny, you have the manners of a goat. Now..."

"Mr. Baird, return to your seat, right now."

"Yes, ma'am. I still want to take you to the dance," Donny stated, as he got up to leave.

George came over and was pretending to look for a book on the shelf behind me.

"Don't worry, Steph," George whispered. "I will make sure that Fred takes you to the dance. See you after class." George went back to his seat.

George was one of my protectors at Cass Street, but I didn't have to worry about protectors then. But it was nice to have friends that were looking out for me. Now, I am eleven years old, in the seventh grade, and wishing I was still at Cass Street.

I was also told by Sally and the other girls, that girls mature faster than boys. I was wondering about that, because Donny asking me to the dance, didn't seem to bother me. I will talk to Sally and the others, later.

I was reading up on the Coercive Acts that the British Parliament set against the colonies, especially Massachusetts, when the bell rang ending class. Our next class was American History. I wonder just what Mr. Davis has in mind for us today.

After we were all seated and Mr. Davis took roll call, he said were going to review what we have been studying about the Acts that were enacted by the British Paliament against the Thirteen Colonies.

"Does anybody know any of the Coercvie Acts?" I raised my hand. "Yes, Stephanie."

"There are five Coercvie Acts or Intolerable Acts that were set against the Thirteen Colonies by the British Parliament. One of those acts was the Boston Port Act which closed the city of Boston to all trade both in and out of the colony of Massachusetts. This act was because the British Parliament demanded that Massachusetts pay the East India Tea Company for the 342 crates of tea some of the colonists dumped in to Boston Harbor dressed as Mohawk Indians. This was one of the straws that broke the camel's back and led to the American Revolution."

"Thank you, Stephanie, that was really insightful. You are correct. Does anybody know any of the other Coercive or Intolerable Acts?" Nobody raised their hand. "Another Act was the Massachusetts Government Act, which restricted government in Massachusetts and limited town meetings and the governor's council was no longer elected, but appointed either by Parliament or the British governor.

"You should all read about these Acts and other reasons that led to the 'shot heard round the world' at Lexington Green. Does anybody know anything about the Revolutionary War?"

"John Michaels."

"Yes, Mr. Davis. I read about a man named Francis Marion who went up through the ranks to brigadier general and lived in a swamp area. From there he and his men, who were poorly equipped to fight a war, would raid British encampments and then go back to the swamp. He was also known as The Swamp Fox."

"Thank you, John. That is also correct. Brigadier General Francis "The Swamp Fox" Marion was quite the soldier. He stood in defense of the farms and the countryside that would become a nation. He actually died of natural causes when he was 63, which was considered ancient in those days."

"Anybody else know anything about the Revolutionary War?" Billy Ames raised his hand. "Yes, Billy."

"I was reading about Paul Revere's ride, and I found out that he was sent to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming to arrest them. There were three riders that night that set out to warn the people of Middlesex, Lexington, Concord and the farms and houses, that the British were coming. I was told there was a poem about Paul Revere's ride, but I have never read it. The three riders were William Dawes, Paul Revere and Dr. Samuel Prescott. They alerted the towns and farms and houses in time to prepare for the battle of Concord."

"Well, it seems there are some of you who have been reading about how our country was actually started and who some of the heroes of the American Revolutionary War were. Class, Paul Revere was a dispatch rider for the Massachusetts Committee of Correspondence and the Massachusetts Committee of Safety. His job was to carry news, resolutions, and messages to as far away as New York and Philadelphia. That is why he was chosen for this memorable ride, because he knew the countryside. Because of his duties as a dispatch rider, he was asked to spy on British movements as well as their encampments. Paul Revere was a true patriot in that he believed that the British Parliament was wrong in passing the Coercive or the Intolerable Acts as they were know." The bell rang ending class. "Tomorrow we are having a quiz on this, so you had better be prepared. Class dismissed."

Timothy Davis sat down at his desk, and took out a book of poems. He turned to the page and read the poem that started;

"Listen my children and you shall hear
of the midnight ride of Paul Revere..."

As he read, he remembered what Billy had said. He was proud of his class, because it seemed that they actually wanted to learn. He sat back and read the rest of the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.