Orphan ~ 15

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I started being taught how to be more of a girl by a persistent and aggravating Sheila, whilst the other girls went to school wearing that strange, outlandish uniform.

 
Orphan 15

by Susan Brown

 

The rest of the week passed without incident (phew I hear you say).

I started being taught how to be more of a girl by a persistent and aggravating Sheila, whilst the other girls went to school wearing that strange, outlandish uniform.

Anyway, Sheila was a bit of a task master and I soon got fed up with her voice droning on about how I should walk, talk, sit, eat my food - ya.di,ya,di,ya….

‘Stephanie, how many times do I have to tell you to put your knees together when you sit down. Do you really want everyone to see your panties! Don’t take such big mouthfuls; you eat like a boy. When you walk, take smaller steps. Your hair looks like it’s been dragged through a hedge, backwards. ; STEPHANIE, GIRLS DO NOT DO THAT!’

And so it went on until, by the weekend, I was worn to a frazzle.

On Saturday, Matron called me into her office. I wondered if I had done something wrong, but as she motioned for me to sit on the comfy leather sofa with her, I relaxed a bit - but not for long.

‘Well Stephanie, I’m glad that you’ve settled in OK and made lots of friends.’

‘Yes everyone has been nice to me.’

‘That’s good. I hear from Sheila that you a re a model pupil.’

‘She never said that to me!’

‘No,’ laughed the Matron, ‘she wouldn’t, but never the less, she is happy with you and thinks that you are a quick learner. How do you feel about acting like a girl?’

‘Sometimes it’s OK. It’s nice to fit in with the other girls and it’s great that I don’t have to act like a tough boy.’

‘Were you ever a tough boy?’

‘No, not really; at my last school I was bullied sometimes. The only way I could stop it a bit was by joking around and doing impressions of the teachers.’

‘Impressions?’

‘Yes, I can sound like some of them if I want; when I spoke like a teacher and it sounded close to the real thing, it sometimes made the bullies laugh and forget to thump me.’

‘Hmm, can you do an impression of me?’

I looked at her. She was smiling so I thought, why not.

‘Girls, Freeze! Now what is all this about? I keep telling you not to play ball in the corridor now go outside in the fresh air.’

She looked at me. Her jaw dropped and I couldn’t help but giggle at her face.

‘Is that me?’

I just nodded, feeling a bit shy all of a sudden.

She laughed out loud.

‘Well, that just takes the biscuit. You definitely have an ear, you sound as good as a female Mike Yarwood!’ *

She then realised what she said and blushed a bit.

‘Sorry, but dressed like that and behaving like a normal girl, I can’t think of you as a boy.’

‘That’s all right, dressed like this I don’t feel much like a boy.’

‘Do you want to talk about it?’

‘Not yet, if that’s OK; I’m still a bit confused.’

‘Well as I said before, my door is always open. Anyway, we need talk about something else.’

‘Have I been naughty?’

‘No nothing like that; we can’t put things off; you need to go to school or we will be breaking regulations.’

‘School!’

‘Yes, I thought that we would get away with it until you were moved to a boys home, but it looks like there are not going to be any places there for quite some time. So Stephanie, we have to send you to the girls school.’

I groaned.

‘Never mind it’s not that bad. You and I have an appointment with the head mistress at 10.am on Monday, She vets all the girls and needs to approve of you before you can go to the school.

I think I looked worried.

‘It’s OK, Stephanie. I will make sure things go smoothly.’

‘Will you have to tell the head mistress about me being a boy?’

‘Yes. I can’t keep that from her. If she says that you cannot go, then we will have no alternative but to transfer you to a boys home out of the area.’

‘But I don’t want to leave,’ I said as I started snivelling like a girl.

‘Don’t worry, I will do everything I can to help you. Anyway, between you and me, I think that you will be accepted without too much trouble.’

‘Why?’

‘The head mistress is my sister.’

-*-

The weekend was nice even though I had the worry of school hanging over my head. At least I got to be around the girls a bit more. We spent the warm days playing in the large gardens or listening to music on the tranny or record player, talking about stuff that girls were interested in, you know, boys, pop stars, makeup and stuff like that.

Mind you, I got a bit embarrassed when they started talking about periods. I wasn’t the only one though as Rachel looked a bit queasy too. We were in bed at the time and lights were out. There were a few torches and whoever was telling their tale about the monthly horror had the torch shone on their face whilst telling us of their grizzly nightmare ordeal.

As usual, Tracy went over the top. I had to cover Teddy’s ears, as she was too young to hear about that sort of thing. Mind you so was I!

‘Never mind,’ I thought, ‘it must be a girl thing. You know, boys boast about how high up the wall they can pee and girls, erm…do other things.’

‘Well,’ said Tracy, her face, eerie and ghostly in the torchlight. ‘I was in bed at the Jones’s; they had fostered me for about a week, God help them. Anyway, I had just woken up and it was about eight in the morning I felt a bit damp down below and thought, “Na, I haven’t wet myself in the night, have I?” Anyway, I put my hand down below, you know, just to check and then when I pulled it out and looked at my drippingwet hand, I screamed. It was covered in blood!’

Everyone gasped at this and there was more than one, ‘yuk!’

‘Anyhoo, Mr and Mrs Jones came running in. I jumped out of bed; my jim-jams were covered in blood and the bed looked as if I had slaughtered a pig on it. Mrs Jones took one look and fainted and Mr Jones looked as if he was gong to barf up or something. I wasn’t feeling too bright myself as I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach and I wasn’t my normal cheerful self. I just told Jones boy to pull himself together and do something with his wimpy wife. Needless to say, I was back in the clutches of the authorities before you could say sanitary belt.’

Looking at Tracy, I felt that she may have gone a bit over the top with her description, but anyway, I gave her the benefit of the doubt — this time.

‘Stephanie,.’ said Paula, ‘what about you.’

‘What about me, what?’

‘How did you find your first period?’

‘Under the bed?’

Everyone laughed at my wit.

‘No, come on, tell us.’

‘Erm…I haven’t had one.’

‘Ooh you’re lucky,’ said Sharon, ‘mind you, you are still a kid, after all.’

That coming from a girl of 13!

Anyway we went to sleep after that as no one could top Tracy!

As I went to sleep with Teddy, whispering that teddies don’t have periods and not to have any nasty dreams about it; I remembered that it was Monday the next day and I had an interview with the head mistress. I shuddered a bit as I remembered something else, that flaming school uniform!

I gripped Teddy a bit tighter and tried to get some sleep.

Angel

To be continued…

*Mike Yarwood was British television's first truly successful impressionist, with his own long-running series on both the BBC and ITV.

Please leave comments as it takes Teddy’s mind off things like the above chapter. I keep telling her that periods are full stops, but she doesn’t quite believe me…

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Comments

Sue, Please Tell Teddy Not To Worry

Teddy Bears are magical. This is a sweet/sentimental chapter. May Your Light Forever Shine

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine

I have several Teddy's

I have several Teddy's because they need all their friends so they can have their picnic in the woods. (if you remember the old song about them) So tell Teddy, she is invited if she wants to come along. Giggle, J-Lynn

So Brits listen to music on the Trany?

I supose years ago it would have been on the Rad or the Valve,

IE the British term for a vacumn tube.

Very charming; mind you they are not exactly busting their tails to get him in any boys home are they? Susan worries me, she is too keen to feminized the boy. Is she trying to be kind or does she have another purpose?

It's way too soon for him to know if he wants to really be a girl, he just despparately wants stabilty and love, even at the cost of his boyhood. I just hope he doesn'r pay too high a price for that. To be honest, the governement is mistreating this orphan badly.

And you, Ms Brown are writing a cracker, would that be the right Britisism? As in "Crackn' toast, Gromett!"

John in Wauwatosa

P.S Wensleydale cheese, made famouse by Wallace and Gromett, is available in America, packaged in red wax coated rounds like an Edam and is a fine cheese. Whole Foods carries it for one. A bit of a cross between aged chedar and a blue cheese with a hint of aged Swiss. Great as a snack or possibly used like Feta in a salad.

John in Wauwatosa

Tranny

KevSkegRed's picture

Tranny is a shortened word for Transister radio John. I thought they used that term in America too lol. Anyway I agree about the cracker Sue, lovely story, although my favourite cheese is a more mature cheddar but I'm partial to the aforementioned Edam too :o)

Kev [Ρĥàńŧāśĩ»ßő™], Skeg Vegas, England, UK.

KevSkegRed, Skeg Vegas, England, UK.

Tranny & TV

I used to work in a place where I was doing transcriptions.
They called us transcribers Trannies.
We transcribed things we heard on the tranny or on the TV.
Perfect job.
I changed over there.
XX
AD

Wensleydale cheese

If it's in a red wax coat it ain't Wensleydale it's something else. And as everyone knows Edam is made backwards.

Before 'trannies' it was the wireless. I spent my early years making single valve regenerative radio receivers before transistors were available and I always hated the abbreviation. To me, they were transistor portables and the early ones didn't work if it was too cold because the 'holes' and electrons were lazy :)

Geoff

Teddy Leads The Way

joannebarbarella's picture

It is plain that Teddy is now Theodora Bear, so will that metamorphosis foreshadow the same process in Stephanie?
Joanne

Teddies are wonderful friends

They give you all the love you can possibly want, well if you treat them right.

Rich Little's a really good impressionist (still) here in the states. Way Back when he was starting, I recall a "sketch" where John Wayne was asking him. "Now, how do I do that walk?" Implying he'd forgotten how to do his "signature" walk. :-) Of course, both Rich & the Duke were in cowboy attire.

Guess you had to be there...

Annette

Teddy!

Please assure Stephanie that periods are quite normal. Perhaps you even know some older mrs. Bears that have periods and kids.

A very nice chapter - again!

Hugs,
Sissy Baby Paula and Snowball (Snowball is a girl toy husky puppy and she doesn't know much about periods...)

poor boy

*** I dont know what to think. That poor bo..girl. She must be at whits end. I did like it when she said was asked about her first period and she said under the bed. It was very funny and made light of a messy situation.... Rebecca p/s sorry I missed a couple of chapters. I was getting into it to much...