Easy As Falling Off a Bike pt 3276

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The Weekly Dormouse.
(aka Bike, est. 2007)
Part 3276
by Angharad

Copyright© 2021 Angharad

  
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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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273 dozen for dodecaphiles.
Over the next day or so Danielle calmed down and I tried to get her to focus on other things, like her schoolwork, they'd probably be going back in a week or so's time and that would also produce problems of its own sort. But what I hoped was we'd be at relatively low risk.

It was the day after, the one before she went up to London, that produced the biggest impact. The children don't get much in the way of mail unless it's a birthday or Christmas. Danni had a letter arrive for her. I placed it on the hall table and told her it was there. The envelope looked vaguely familiar but it rang no bells. She came down and finished her breakfast and I mentioned the letter so she went and got it and brought it back into the kitchen. "This is like the ones the FA used to send to say you were offered a place for training," she said sliding a knife under the edge and slitting it open.

I watched her read it and she shook her head as if in disbelief. "I don't believe these people, here, have a look, Mummy." I took the letter and read it.

"What d'you reckon is going on?" I asked her, though I had my own ideas.

"They don't want Scotland to beat 'em, do they?" She chuckled at me.

"In which case they should have thought about it earlier," I replied but it seemed we were thinking along the same lines.

"Wassup?" asked David seeing us looking at the letter and the questioning glances.

"Only England suddenly want me for a sunbeam," said Danni showing a degree of sarcasm I'd not heard from her before.

"What?" asked David switching on the kettle.

"You know I'm going to have a trial with Scotland?" said Danni.

"Yeah, 'cos England did the dirty on you."

"Yeah, well it looks like they are frightened I might help Scotland beat them."

"Serve 'em right if you did," said David nodding.

"So they're only trying to call me up to the squad again."

"They never?" gasped David, "talk about playing bloody politics." Danni showed him the letter and he read it and shook his head, "They gotta be joking," he said handing it back to her. "They couldn't like stop you playing for Scotland could they?"

That was something I hadn't even considered. Her parents and grandparents are Scottish, so surely she would qualify on those grounds alone, though I'm aware the adopted bit might be a slight hiccup, the Scottish FA seemed happy to go with what we'd discussed with them, so surely they'd know, wouldn't they?

Why is it that transgender people have ten times as much complications with everyday life as muggles? It all seemed so unnecessary and designed to keep us in our place, under the stones pissed upon by the rest. But then Danni was female, legally and for the purposes of international sport. If she'd qualified for England and won them matches, surely the same would apply to Scotland, and if the top club were interested in her, surely she had credibility as a woman player. Mind you I wasn't exactly happy about that either because I suspect it would take up too much of her time travelling to and fro London to play or train, but if Chelsea women were interested in her, she has obviously reminded England that she is still here and still good enough to play for or against them and to possibly beat them, and knowing Danielle, she would try her damnedest to do just that. She doesn't like rejection any more than anyone else and the FA were rather crass in the way they did it, spurred on by the scum of the earth otherwise known as the tabloid press. Only the Sunday Mirror defended her.

"What do you want to do about this letter?" I asked her, wondering if she wanted me to write to them to tell them where they got off.

"How about if I wipe my bum on it and we send it back," it was tempting, I had to admit.

"Aren't you being as bad as them?" I tried to keep the moral high-ground, my natural position, okay so I'm a clever hypocrite.

"Yeah, but wouldn't it be great to be a fly on the wall when they opened it?" she cackled as she said it imagining the scene.

"I'd have thought the flies would be marching all over the envelope, not on the wall," suggested David laughing as he said it.

"Wassofunny?" asked Trish coming into the kitchen for a drink.

"England have only asked me to play for them again," smirked Danni.

"I thought you was playing for Chelsea?" asked the brainiac.

"They haven't seen me play yet, have they?" Danielle shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"No course they 'aven't, but you're playing for Scotland, aren't you?"

"She's not yet Trish because the virus and snow has stopped us getting up there to finalise things." I offered as an update though she must have been well aware of the situation.

"What they trying to do stop you beatin' 'em?" Asked her younger sibling showing that we were all thinking alike.

"That's what we think maybe what this is all about," I agreed.

"Well, if they get desperate, tell 'em I could be available but I'd want to negotiate terms myself," said Trish pouring herself a glass of milk and walking back out of the kitchen completely without the slightest self-consciousness. As soon as she was out of sight we all fell about laughing, but she was deadly serious, humour not being one of her strong points.

"Whatta we do, Mummy?" my teenage daughter was back, the bravado now vanished.

"What would you like to do?"

"I dunno, play for Chelsea I s'pose."

"If that's what you really want to do, then let's go for that and deal with the other things afterwards."

"Okay, what about the Farcical Association?"

"Let them stew, as you didn't solicit the letter, I don't feel too urgent a need to respond just yet and besides if we don't they'll have to come back to you. Just be sure you understand if you do tell them where to get off, you'll never be asked again."

"Yeah, I know."

"You'd still like to play for them, wouldn't you?"

With eyes filling up with tears she nodded and then fell into my arms, "Why is life always so painful, Mummy?" she sobbed.

"I don't know, sweetheart, but I think much of it has to do with the way that humans seem to operate, or some do anyway, as they never seem happy unless they're making someone else unhappy."

"Sometimes I wish Pia had killed me," she sobbed.

"Hey, don't think like that," I said squeezing her, "You are so precious to so many people here."

"Dead right there, Cathy, don't let 'em get to you, girl, you're better than them in every sense," said David, which I know was in support of my daughter but I wished he'd kept out of it.

"C'mon, Kiddo, let's see what Gramps has to say," I said as I walked her out of the kitchen and down towards my study. The only person I could think of talking to was Jason to ask if he thought England could stop her playing for Scotland or what if she still wanted to play for England, it was originally all she ever wanted to do but their treatment of her was so off-handed and all because the tabloids had found out about her history. Sometimes I despised a significant proportion of the inhabitants of this country and on a good day just hated them. There was no solution to it, bigots will be bigots and while part of me hoped they all had trans children, I knew if that were the case there would be an enormous number of unhappy children because their parents would cause enormous pain to them. It's just something we have to deal with but it does leave a nasty taste in one's mouth.

I called Henry, who was only working part-time after his illness and he was finally doing what he said he would and sorting his life and his moral compass out. He was home when I called and he said he'd have a think and consult one or two people he knew and come back to me. He then asked to speak with Danni and I left them to it.

I returned with two cups of tea and she told me he'd asked her what she really wanted to do and she started crying again. "You want to play for England again, don't you?"

Weeping copiously she nodded and said quietly, "Sorry, Mummy."

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Comments

what a pleasant surprise

Maddy Bell's picture

Bike on a Thursday!

Nice balanced epsipode, seems Danni has some hard decisions to make in the near future.

carry on!


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Madeline Anafrid Bell

Unfair

joannebarbarella's picture

To put a teenage girl in such an invidious position. The sheer effrontery of sending a letter like that! "Get thee behind me, Satan."

It can only end in tears.

Fascinating

I can't wait to see who she decides to play for.

Decisions

Now this was a lovely surprise, a bike bonus, as it were.
Danielle has made a decision which may cause problems, although I suspect that Henry will get involved and something will happen. A first sign of a change in his life perhaps.
Thanks for this lovely episode, Angharad
Love to All
Anne G.

Muggles

I like the reference. Maybe time for all the girls whip out their wands throw a few curses on them clowns. Maybe one that gives them the ears of a jackass since that is what they are. Not permanent, maybe one that lasts two weeks or so.

Midweek bonus

Robertlouis's picture

Lovely!

The insidious political implications of this are horrible. If Danni were to reject the overtures from the English FA in favour of Scotland, the former could make life very uncomfortable for her, and they know that.

She also knows that if things get too hot for the FA a second time, they’re just as likely to cut her adrift yet again if the tabloids cut up rough. It’s a hellish position for a vulnerable teenager to end up in, even with her supportive family around her.

And it’s obviously a placeholder to make her pause. They’d rather she didn’t play for anyone than play for someone else. That’s what’s at the heart of this, I suspect. Nasty.

Thanks for the bonus, Angharad. xxx

☠️

What she really needs

is a very public apology to even consider it.

Sneaked by me..

did this one, Seems Danni has a choice to make , I know if put in her position I would almost always opt for the team likely to win more trophies ,Following the heart is a close second , But it does seem Danni wants to prove a point , So that negates the second .consideration, That being the case her only choice has to be England....

Kirri