"Show me! Show me!" Nicole eagerly giggles. Also giggling happily, I take the mirror from the kitchen table and show my new friend the glittery highlights me and my other friends have applied to her eyelids. "So cool!"

"Me next!" Megan insists. Giggling almost feverishly, Nicole, Suriya, Priya, Harriet and myself take our glittery make-up brushes and set about giving my best friend a make-over just as pretty as Nicole's.

I giggle and laugh as we take turns applying the glittery make-up to Megan's face and try to forget about what's happening just behind the door to the living room. My first week at school- and my first 'public' week as Laura- ended yesterday, and if I wasn't having so much fun with my friends right now, I'd be desperate to get back to school just to spend time with them. I'd also be desperate to get back to wearing my uniform, if I wasn't wearing neon pink tights and my knee-length black skirt- not to mention my own glittery eye make-up!

Unfortunately, whilst some people, like my friends and my teachers, have fully accepted (and even embraced) me as 'one of the girls', some people haven't. The parents of my five friends are talking to my mum right now, and as much fun as I'm having, I can't help but shake the feeling that this will be the last time all six of us have fun like this. Megan's parents are obviously okay with the arrangement, having talked to my mum before the start of school, but Harriet's told me that her parents were furious when they discovered that a transgendered girl was merely at the school, let alone friends with their daughter, and Priya & Suriya's parents come from a very wealthy family, and despite Priya's assurances that as Hindus, they have a great tolerance for 'alternative' people, I can't help but feel that my 'gang' is about to be split in half. As for Nicole's parents... She assures me that they were fine about it, but that's Nicole- always optimistic about everything.

"Laura!" My mum calls, instantly silencing the entire kitchen. "Can you come in here, please?" I take a deep breath and head into the living room, flanked by my friends. Much to my dismay, Harriet's father immediately makes a beeline for his daughter and leads her out of the house, despite her protests.

"We're going. NOW!" Harriet's father snarls, roughly grabbing his daughter's wrist.

"But dad!" Harriet pleads. "Laura's my friend!"

"Not any more she's not!" The middle-aged man growls, not even looking back as he slams the front door. The room sits in shocked silence for a second, before an Indian man, who I assume to be Priya and Suriya's father, speaks up.

"And that," the middle aged man says, "is how NOT to react to the news that your daughter has made a wonderful friend in her first week at a new school!" I can't help but gasp and smile.

"Told you!" Priya says smugly, giving me a quick, girly squeeze.

"You are very brave, Laura," Mr. Malik says. "And I know you will be a great friend to my daughters. You are welcome in my house any time!"

"Thank you," I gush, tears welling in my eyes. "Thank you so much!"

"And I know you already are a great friend to my Meg!" Megan's father says with a kindly grin.

"Thank you," I sniffle.

"M-Mum?" Nicole asks, aware that she's the only girl in the room whose parent hasn't approved of me yet.

"The first thing you said when you got home from your first day," Mrs. Wyatt says, "is 'mum, I've met this great girl and her name is Laura'. I'm not going to break up a friendship like that when it's only just begun." Nicole gasps, happily bouncing up and down before giving me a tight hug.

"I'll talk to Harriet's dad," mum says softly. "I'll make him see sense. I promise."

"Thank you all so much," I say, openly crying as I realise that I'm surrounded by true friends.

"Sucks about Harriet," Megan says later as we sit around the kitchen table, drinking tall glasses of cool lemonade.

"We'll still see her at school," Nicole says confidently. "Her father can't keep her out of every class we're in."

"Yeah," Priya states. "He can't stop her from seeing you at school."

"From seeing US at school," Nicole says with a smile that Priya and Suriya happily share. Megan, however, still looks unhappy, whether it's about losing Harriet as a friend or why she lost Harriet, I can't tell.

"You're right," I say with a smile.

"I know I am!" Nicole giggles. "Now, let me show you something I saw in Teen Globe magazine, we'll make that nasty boy's haircut pretty before you know it!" I giggle as Nicole leaps from her chair and immediately begins fiddling with my short hair, styling it into a pleasingly androgynous style that all the assembled parents- including my own- approve of before they leave!

I spend the rest of the day, and the subsequent Sunday, at home. Between homework, playing with my new hair and checking out the website of the magazine Nicole recommended, I've got more than enough to keep myself busy, but by the time Monday morning rolls around, I'm eager to get back to school- dressed in my skirt, tights and blouse- to meet with my friends. Much to my delight, Nicole and Megan are waiting for me at the school gate, so we all walk in together. The teasing I'd endured had got much less as last week went on, but it's still so nice to have friends around me- just in case. We meet up with Priya and Suriya before walking to form, but Harriet is nowhere to be found, and when we get to form, she's sat on her own on a table as far away from me as possible. Sadly, I don't get the chance to speak to her before form starts, nor do I get the chance to talk to her during maths, where she again moves table to be as far away as possible from me, Nicole and Suriya.

During break, Nicole, Suriya and myself meet up with Megan and Priya, but Harriet is still noticeably steering clear of us. I suggest leaving her alone, allowing her to come to us in her own time, but Nicole and Priya both insist on forcing the issue, so the five of us approach the timid young girl.

"Hi Harriet," I say cautiously.

"Hi Laura," Harriet says with a sad voice. "I'm sorry- my dad says I can't talk to you anymore."

"But why not?" I ask.

"Because you're really a boy," Harriet answers- an answer that tears my heart in two.

"But I'm not a boy," I say, gesturing to my skirt. "I'm a girl."

"I'm sorry, Laura- I can't talk to you any more..." Harriet gets up and walks away before I can argue further. All of a sudden, I become VERY aware of the other pupils pointing and laughing at me.

"Come on, Laura," Megan says, leading me back to class as the school bell signals the end of break.

My next lesson is PE, and as per my 'agreement' with the school, I change in the PE teacher's office. It's cramped, but as I'm only changing from my uniform into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, it's not too bad. I'm disappointed by how boyish I look in my PE kit, but when I see Suriya dressed the same way, my fears ease up slightly. For my first PE lesson, we're doing gymnastics, so whilst most of the class are dressed similarly to me, a few- including Nicole- are wearing skimpy tank leotards with a purple pattern.

The lesson is very basic- just doing a few very basic stretches and exercises- and after I've changed back into my skirt and my tights, I can't help but find Nicole and comment on her gym attire.

"That's a very pretty leotard," I say, with Suriya nodding in agreement.

"Aw, thanks!" Nicole replies, lifting her blouse to show us the clingy garment that she's still wearing under her uniform. "I've applied for the school's gymnastics team, that's why I get to wear it. If you applied, you'd get to wear one to class too!" I can't help but feel sad as I'm reminded that however many concessions have been made for me to attend school as a girl, there are some bridges I'm not allowed to cross.

"Laura's not allowed on the school team, remember?" Suriya points out, making Nicole blush with embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry," Nicole grimaces. "I'm really, really sorry, Laura! I completely forgot..."

"No, it's okay," I sigh. "I'd probably look, you know, stupid in a leotard anyway..."

"You'd better not hope that's the case," Nicole says, her smile returning to her face. "Remember, we're meeting with Suriya's ballet instructor tonight? You'll HAVE to wear a leotard to that!" I can't help but smile as we head off to lunch, Suriya talking excitedly about her new ballet class.

At lunch, we meet up with Priya and Megan, and Priya joins in with her younger sister's enthusiastic tales about their ballet lessons. Megan, however, seems miserable.

"What's up, Megan?" I ask. "You seem blue..."

"Some of the girls in my class are picking on me," Megan confesses. "They think because I'm friends with you, that I'm really a boy as well..."

"One, Laura is not 'really a boy'," Nicole says, leaping to my defense. "Two, that's so stupid! Obviously you're a girl, I mean, they've seen you in the changing rooms, right?"

"Yes, but-" Megan says, before being interrupted.

"And no matter what, we'll always be your real friends, right girls?" Nicole asks.

"Yeah!" I say confidently, followed by Priya and Suriya.

"I know, but I still hate it," Megan sighs. "I wish you'd just been born a girl."

"YOU wish that?" I ask. "How d'you think I feel!?"

"Yeah, I know," Megan sighs, turning her attention back to her lunch. I've known Megan longer than anyone, but she always knew me as Leon- and I can tell she's having some difficulty NOT seeing me as that little boy. It's hard seeing her this miserable- Nicole & Suriya's attempts to get her to join in our ballet adventure all fail, and at the end of lunch I'm left with the horrible feeling that I may be losing a second friend in as many weeks.

After two more lessons, during which Nicole and Suriya succeed in making me feel better- despite Harriet 'moving on' with other friends at an adjacent table- the 3:20 bell rings and the three of us- along with Priya and Megan- head to the car park to be collected by our parents.

"I'll see you tonight, Laura!" Nicole says with her trademark grin as she gets in her mum's car and heads home.

"Did you have a good day?" Mum asks as I sit down in the passenger seat of her car.

"It was okay," I say. "Harriet won't talk to me any more..."

"Oh, that's terrible," mum replies with genuine concern. "I promise you I'll talk to her dad when I get the time, I can see this is upsetting you. Still, at least you've got the meeting with your ballet instructor to look forward to tonight!" I smile as I remember the meeting- that mum and I head to immediately after I change into a casual denim skirt and long-sleeved t-shirt (though I keep my tights on for warmth).

We arrive at the studio a few minutes before Nicole and her mother, and spend the time watching the graceful older girls performing their dance moves.

"That'll be you in a few years' time!" Mum says, giving me a quick hug. I barely have time to say hi to Nicole when the lead instructor- a tall, blonde woman in her early twenties- comes out to greet us.

"Hi," the teacher says. "You must be Mrs. White and Mrs. Wyatt."

"And you must be Miss Fullerton," Nicole's mother says, shaking the young woman's hand.

"Yes, though I don't mind being called Krystie," Miss Fullerton says. "By everyone EXCEPT my students, of course!" Nicole and I can't help but giggle at the teacher's bubbly personality- certainly a far cry from some of the teachers I've encountered at school.

"I'm glad you've chosen my dance school," Miss Fullerton says, taking a seat behind her reception desk. "Have either of you two ever taken ballet before?" Both Nicole and I shake our heads.

"Well the beginner class is very straightforward," Miss Fullerton continues. "It's Wednesday evenings, and you'll be dancing with other 9-13 year olds, learning the basic steps, the basic positions. After a year, if I think you're ready, I'll advance you to the intermediate class, where you'll be doing more complicated routines, and after another year- again, if I think you're ready- to pointe shoes and the advanced class."

"Which class are Suriya and Priya in?" Nicole asks.

"The Malik girls?" Miss Fullerton asks. "They'll be in the same class as you two. What, have you got a little 'gang' going on at school?" Nicole and I smile bashfully and nod. "Aw, how cute! I remember getting together with my friends from school for ballet. Not that much has changed in the intervening ten years, hehe!"

"What will we have to wear?" I enquire nervously.

"Basic attire for your class is pink tights, canvass ballet shoes with elastic and a light-blue leotard," the teacher explains. "Style and make of the leo doesn't matter as long as it's light blue."

"How much will that cost?" Mum- ever money-conscious- asks.

"If you order from my recommended supplier, you get 30% off if you mention my class," Miss Fullerton explains, handing my mother and Nicole's mother a small catalogue filled with pictures of ballet dancers. "One of the perks of having a celebrity friend- you get to piggyback on their endorsements!"

"There's... One other thing," mum says nervously. "Laura here is transgendered." Miss Fullerton simply nods and smiles.

"Yes. And?" She asks, instantly earning a place in my heart.

"Well, um, will anything special need to be put in place to allow her to attend?" Mum continues.

"Not really," Miss Fullerton says with a shrug. "She'll have to wear a skirt over her leotard but most of the girls in that class wear dance skirts anyway so I don't see what difference it makes. She wouldn't even be my first transgendered student." I look up at mum with an excited look in my face, and she almost instantly gives in.

"Oh, okay then," mum says, getting out her purse. "But this is part of your birthday present, okay?" I nod, and both myself and Nicole giggle excitedly as our mothers enter their payment details onto pieces of paper that they and Miss Fullerton sign.

"This is so cool!" Nicole laughs, giving me a quick hug as we leave the dance studio. "We're both ballerinas now!"

"If you let me know Laura's size, I'll pick her uniform up when I get Nicole's tomorrow," Mrs. Wyatt says.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly ask you to do that," mum replies.

"Oh, don't be silly," Mrs. Wyatt says warmly. "You don't want your daughter to miss out on her first lesson with her friends now, do you? You can pay me back when you're able to. No arguments!" With that, Nicole and her mother get into their car and drive away before mum can argue any further.

"I can see where Nicole gets it from," I say as I get into mum's car.

"Yeah, so can I," mum laughs. At home, after finishing my homework, I change into my nightdress and climb into bed, excited by all the new feminine experiences that will be heading my way.

I wake up the following morning and I literally can't wait to pull on my uniform and get to school, I'm that excited by the day ahead. I have a big smile on my face as I walk into school with Nicole and Megan- and much to my relief, Megan has a smile on her face too. Throughout form and my first lesson- Art- everything goes great, but at break, things come crashing down.

Break starts normally, with Priya and Suriya gossiping about ballet and music, specifically One Direction- as they share a surname with one of the members, they've been trying to con people into thinking they're distant relatives of Zayn! The conversation pauses, however, when we see an unexpected figure approach our group.

"Harriet?" Nicole asks excitedly.

"Oh, hi Harriet!" I say, happy to see my former friend return. What she says next, however, breaks my heart.

"Hi, BOY," Harriet spits in my direction, almost immediately bringing tears to my eyes.

"Harriet!" Priya scolds. "That's not nice! You say sorry right now!"

"Whatever," Harriet says. "If you want to spend your time hanging around with a FREAK, that's your problem!" By now I'm openly crying, and would be in a ball on the floor if it wasn't for Megan’s supporting hands on my shoulders.

"Laura's not a freak!" Nicole shouts angrily.

"And I'd rather be friends with her than with a bitch like you!" Priya snaps. In a fit of pique, Harriet shoves the older girl back, and if it wasn't for Nicole and Suriya, she would surely have fallen to the floor.

"Come on," Priya says, helping Megan to keep me upright. "Let's go somewhere else, we don't need to be around people like HER!"

"Yeah, that's right, take the FREAK away!" Harriet calls as I bawl my eyes out in a quiet corner of the school's playing field.

I'm barely composed by the time the bell rings for the next lesson- German. As always, I'm sat on a table with Suriya and Nicole, but much to my dismay, Harriet is sat behind me, and even worse, the lesson is on the use of German articles- der for a masculine subject, die for a feminine subject, and das for a gender-neutral subject. Throughout the first fifteen minutes of the lesson, I'm hounded by Harriet whispering 'Der Laura' or 'Das Laura' at me, before I finally snap and scream at Harriet to leave me alone- bringing the entire class to a standstill.

"Laura!" The teacher, a youngish woman named Mrs. Keller snaps. "Get outside! Now!" Trembling with fear and rage, I dutifully obey, desperately trying not to hear the triumphant sniggering of Harriet as I walk past her table. Once I'm outside, I break down fully, crying my eyes out where I'm sure that no one can see me. A couple of minutes later, Mrs. Keller comes out of the room, obviously to tell me off further, but her stern face cracks when she sees me crying.

"Laura," the teacher says stoically, "why did you snap like that?"

"H-Harriet was teasing me," I blub.

"That's still no reason to disrupt the class," Mrs. Keller says. "What was Harriet saying to you?"

"She was leaning over and saying 'der Laura' and 'das Laura' at me," I sob. Mrs. Keller- clearly aware of my 'situation', nods sympathetically.

"I'm not going to give you detention this time," she explains, "as I'm sure it's just a one-off incident and you were obviously provoked. Take some time to dry your eyes, then we'll go back into class and I'll move Harriet to the opposite side of the room, okay?"

"Yes, Mrs. Keller," I say, making the woman smile.

"In Deutsch?" She asks, making me giggle.

"Ja, Frau Keller," I say in my best German accent. Sure enough, a minute later, I return to my seat next to the highly concerned Nicole and Suriya, and true to her word, Frau Keller moves Harriet to a desk on the opposite side of the room the second she looks like she might lean over to start teasing me again. I breathe a sigh of relief having 'won' this battle of a war I never wanted to fight, but as Harriet's in most of my classes, I know it's far from over. At lunch, it's almost a relief to be able to discuss the incident with Megan and Priya.

"I thought I had it bad," Megan whispers. "I'm so sorry, Laura!"

"YOU have nothing to apologise for," I sigh. "I dunno why Harriet's suddenly become so nasty."

"You saw the way her dad acted," Priya says. "Do you reckon he's trying to fill her head with his evil ideas?"

"'Evil ideas' is a bit strong, isn't it?" I ask.

"If it is her dad, 'evil' is the right word," Suriya says. "What kind of 'man' would justify acting like that to an 11 year old girl?"

"Well," Nicole says confidently. "We'll just have to make sure nothing like that ever happens to Laura ever again, right girls?"

"Yeah!" Megan says, her smile finally bring a grin back to my own face. As talk returns to that of music and dancing, I actually start to regain my shattered confidence, but as I walk back to class with my friends, something happens that destroys my confidence entirely. Yelling excitedly, two boys from my year rush up to me, shoving my friends out of the way, and lift my skirt at the back whilst simultaneously trying to pull down my tights and panties. If I hadn't been quick enough to grab a hold of 'myself' at the front, the laughing, cackling boys would have exposed me right then and there in front of the entire school.

The attack only lasts two seconds before a passing teacher angrily yells the boys off, but I'm in near hysterics. I manage to pull my tights back up and rearrange my skirt, but as I try to take a step I collapse to the floor in a state of panic. Immediately, my friends help me back to my feet as the teacher who yelled the boys off- a stern, middle-aged man named Mr. Allen- comes over to me.

"Are you okay, girl?" Mr. Allen asks, and when I shake my head, he leads me to his office near the headteacher's. "You other girls get to class." Even once I'm sat in Mr. Allen's office, my feeling of panic doesn't subside, my body keeps shaking, my palms keep sweating and I keep feeling like I'm going to scream, cry and throw up all at the same time.

"You're Laura White, aren't you?" Mr. Allen asks softly, and I nod in response. "I thought so. What's your next class?"

"IT," I barely whisper.

"I'll call Miss Henderson and let her know you won't be in the class," Mr. Allen says, a kindly look in his normally fierce eyes. "Do you have your mum's number?"

"Ple-please don't tell her what happened," I plead.

"She needs to know," Mr. Allen says firmly. "Laura, I know who the boys were who assaulted you. And that is precisely what it was- an assault. I promise you they will be punished SEVERELY." Knowing better than to argue with a teacher, I nod my head. "I'll let Mrs. Houghton know what happened and call your mother from her office. Are you okay to stay here for a while?" Again, I silently nod my head. What feels like an eternity- but is in actuality, just five minutes- passes, before Mr. Allen returns to his office with Mrs. Houghton in tow.

"Laura," Mrs. Houghton says softly, crouching down in front of me. "I heard what happened. Are you okay?" Still crying, I shake my head.

"I'm sending you home sick for the rest of the day," the headteacher explains. "I've already spoken to your mother, she's on her way to pick you up. Laura, on your first day I made a promise to you that that sort of bullying would not be tolerated, and I intend to keep that promise. The boys who assaulted you have already been excluded for the rest of the week, and THEIR parents have been informed of what they did."

"Thank you," I whisper. Less than fifteen minutes later, my mum arrives, and I give her the biggest hug I have ever given anyone in my short life.

"Laura, oh god," mum blubs. "Are you okay?" When I shake my head, mum only hugs me tighter. I'm grateful that all the kids are in classes as I walk out into the car park hand in hand with my mum, though I can still feel their stares out of the classroom windows as we drive home.

"Are you feeling any better?" Mum asks as we head home.

"A little," I whisper.

"Do- do you want to stop being a girl?" Mum asks carefully.

"I don't know," I answer honestly. The last few days of being Laura, making friends with Nicole, Priya and Suriya were the best days of my life. Wearing the uniform I dreamed of all throughout primary school, playing with hair and cosmetics, signing up for ballet, being accepted as a 'real' girl... But if the price of living my dream is knowing that I could be attacked at a moment's notice, is it really worth it?

"Can- can you buy me some school trousers?" I ask, making my mum almost cry. "Girl's school trousers."

"Of course, darling," mum whispers as we detour to the nearest supermarket. Whilst there, I try on several styles of school trousers, eventually settling on a £6 pair that mum buys for me. Mum tried to argue that if she bought me trousers, it meant I couldn't get my ballet uniform, but when I reminded mum that Mrs. Wyatt said she could pay her back whenever, mum quickly withdrew her argument.

"Do you want to wear your new trousers now?" Mum asks as we leave the supermarket.

"No," I say, looking down at my skirt and my tights. In truth, I would wear these clothes every second of every day if I was given the choice, but sometimes, that's not such a good idea- something that's only reinforced when I exit the supermarket and spot one of my attackers stood on the other side of the supermarket car park with his mother. I try to quickly steer my mum back to our car when the woman spots me and shouts after me.

"Hey!" She yells angrily. "Hey! You two, come here! I've got something I want to say to you!" I desperately try to persuade mum that we should leave, but she disagrees, practically dragging me across the car park to confront the woman and her son.

"Are you Laura White's mum?" the lower-class woman asks.

"Yes, that's me," mum says defensively. Much to my- and my mum's- surprise, the woman then turns to her son with a truly vicious look on her face.

"Say it!" The woman snaps.

"Sorry," the boy mumbles under his breath.

"Louder!" His mum orders.

"I'm sorry!" The boy- red faced with embarrassment- says.

"Apology accepted," I say, trying to make my voice loud enough that I wouldn't have to repeat myself.

"I'm never been more ashamed in my life than when I heard what this one did today," the boy’s mother says with genuine contrition in her voice. "I want you to know he's got a hard three days of gardening and cleaning the house ahead of him, and if he ever thinks about lifting a girl's skirt again, he's got this to look forward to!" Much to my amusement, the woman then opens her shopping bag to reveal a pleated grey school skirt, identical to the one I'm wearing right now. It doesn't take long to twig that the skirt is intended for use by her son in case he misbehaves again.

"Thank you, I really mean it," mum says. "But, um, you do know that Laura isn't a, um, 'normal' girl, right?" My heart sinks a little as my mum says these words to the unknown woman.

"It doesn't matter how 'normal' she is," the loud woman retorts. "She's obviously a girl, and I'm not raising my Declan to treat girls- ANY girls- the way he did."

"Thank you," mum says, before prompting me with a gentle shove.

"Thank you," I say timidly.

"You’re very welcome, young lady," the woman says with a kind grin on her face. "I promise you won't get any trouble from my son again!"

After I arrive home, I don't change out of my uniform, instead keeping my skirt and my tights on after dinner. I'm about to sit down and do some homework when I'm interrupted by a knock at the door- and stood on my doorstep, much to my surprise, are Nicole, Megan, Priya and Suriya, along with the Indian girls' father.

"Hi girls, Hi Mr. Malik," I say with a shocked expression.

"Hello Laura," Mr. Mailk says politely. "May we come in please?"

"Oh, of course!" I say, leading the unexpected visitors into the living room.

"Hi girls," mum says with surprise in her voice. "Hi Rupesh, what's up?"

"Priya and Suriya told me what happened to Laura at school," Mr. Mailk explains. "I wanted to know what I could do to help."

"Oh, well that's very kind," mum says. "But, I'm not really sure there's anything you CAN do..."

"Nonsense!" Mr. Mailk dismisses. "I'm on the board of governors of the school, your daughter is friends with my daughters, and I have a duty to help! Girls, didn't you want to show Laura something?"

"Oh yes," Suriya says excitedly. "Laura, which way's your bedroom?" Confused, I lead the four girls into my craped room, where Nicole and Suriya almost bounce up and down with excitement.

"This is so cool, what Suriya's got!" Nicole squeaks as Suriya pulls a long, decorative piece of red fabric out of her school bag.

"If you want to leave your skirt and your tights on, you can," Suriya says as she unfolds the fabric on my bed. "But this works much better without them on." Slowly realising what Suriya has in her hands, I slowly strip off my skirt and my tights for the first time today, feeling slightly silly as I stand there in my light blue girls' panties.

"Your blouse too," Priya explains as she helps her sister wrap the fabric around my bare legs. "You can leave your vest on, it doesn't matter too much." I take off my blouse as the sparkling fabric snakes its way around my body, eventually covering one shoulder and being allowed to drape loosely over the other shoulder.

"Now, you're wearing a real Indian sari!" Suriya says excitedly as I 'model' the exquisite garment for myself in my mirror.

"It used to be mine," Priya explains. "Now it's Suriya's, and we thought after today, you might need reminding how great it is being a girl!" In truth, I did need reminding- and this beautiful sari is just the thing to do it. Despite my pale skin and short, blonde hair, I feel like a real eastern princess as the sari swishes around my body with every step I take.

"This is so cool," I say. "Thank you, thank you all so much!"

"It was the least we could do," Suriya says with a smile. "Even if it's making Nicole and Megan green with envy!"

"No, no," Nicole says, clearly as envious as Suriya's hinting. "It's Laura's bedroom, she's the one who should wear the sari."

"She should wear THAT sari," Priya says, unzipping her own school bag. "You two can wear these!" Nicole and Megan both squeak excitedly as Priya takes two more saris- one blue, one purple- out of her bag and, along with Suriya, helps Nicole and Megan change into the beautiful garments. Once we're dressed, we head downstairs to where my mum and Priya & Suriya's dad are still talking, but they immediately stop when they catch sight of the three of us in our saris.

"What beautiful young women," Mr. Mailk says with genuine kindness in his voice. "Any parent would be proud to have you as their daughter. All of you." Almost simultaneously, Nicole, Megan and myself all blush and giggle at the unexpected compliment.

"Here, I have to get a photo of this," mum says with pride in her voice. I smile widely- the happiest I've felt all day- as I stand in front of the living room door whilst mum takes photo after photo of me in Suriya's sari.

I remain in the sari for the rest of the evening as the five of us chat about school, ballet- despite our attempts at persuasion, Megan STILL isn't interested in joining us- music, and everything that's great about being a girl- and there are a LOT of entries on that list. The four best things about being a girl, however, have to be the four true friends I have in my bedroom right now.

I feel a twinge of sadness as I strip off the gorgeous sari, changing into a plain grey t-shirt and black skirt as Mr. Malik takes the four girls back home.

"So, do you still want to stop being a girl?" Mum asks as I park myself on the sofa.

"No," I say confidently. "I definitely want to keep being a girl."

"I'm glad," mum says. "Will- will you be wearing your new trousers to school tomorrow?" This question catches me out- I've been so wrapped up- literally, in the case of the sari- in girls' things tonight that I hadn't considered that I'd have to go back to school tomorrow and face everyone after what happened earlier today.

"I don't know," I whisper.

"It doesn't make you any less of a girl if you do choose to wear the trousers," mum explains. "You're still my daughter, still my Laura, and I'll still love you no matter what."

"Thanks," I say. "Mum... Have you talked to Harriet's dad yet?"

"Not yet," mum says. "Why?"

"She was being nasty to me at school," I say sadly.

"Oh no," mum says with genuine concern in her voice. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I didn't get the chance," I say. "She was saying nasty things to me in class... The other girls think her dad might have put her up to it."

"Well I'll speak to him as soon as I get the chance," mum says firmly. "I'll make sure Harriet doesn't bother you any more. Did you tell the teachers about it today?" I shake my head.

"I told my German teacher, but only because I shouted at Harriet in class," I say. "I hate her."

"Don't say that," mum says sadly. "You two were best friends three days ago..."

"She obviously doesn't want to be my friend any more," I moan as I sink back into the sofa.

"Well," mum says with a smile, "at least you four girls who do want to be your friend, and each of them is worth a thousand Harriets!" I smile- mum is, as ever, right in what she says.

I wake up the following morning and glance over at the chair in my room- draped over one side is my new pair of trousers, over the other side is my usual school skirt and a fresh pair of grey tights. I eat breakfast in silence- mum obviously wants to know what I'll choose for today, but doesn't want to pressure me into making a choice. I pull on my panties, my vest, my blouse and my tie, but I dither before choosing what to wear on my legs. Mum's right, even if I wear the trousers, I'll still be a girl, I'll still be Laura... But I'll also be giving in, I'll be telling the bullies, telling Harriet, 'you win'. But is my pride worth the risk of being attacked like I was yesterday? Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and pick my outfit for the day...

"I'm ready," I call as I head downstairs to mum, who smiles and almost cries as she sees my descend the stairs, my legs covered in thick grey tights, my skirt moving side to side as I practically skip down the stairs.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Mum asks. "I can always call the school and tell them you're sick, I'm sure they'd understand if you wanted to take another day..."

"No, I want to see my friends," I say with a smile. "And if I went off sick, I'd have to miss ballet tonight, too!" Mum laughs happily as I sit down in her car and she drives me to school- where, as yesterday, Nicole and Megan are waiting for me, as are Priya and Suriya, all of whom greet me with wide smiles and big hugs when they see me walk up to them wearing my skirt.

"You're such an awesome girl!" Nicole gushes. "I don't know if I'd be as brave as you!"

"Thanks, but you four are where I get my courage from!" I say as the five of us walk into school, our friendship stronger than ever. I can't help but buckle slightly as Harriet sneers at me as I walk past her to form, but flanked by Nicole and Suriya, I simply smile sweetly at her before walking off, not once looking back at the girl who abandoned our friendship.

Instead of form, our entire year attends a special assembly, where Mrs. Houghton explains- without naming specific names- that what happened to me yesterday was a serious offence, and anybody caught lifting a girl's skirt could expect to be expelled permanently. Even though no names were named, it's clear that the entire year knows that Mrs. Houghton is talking about me- and it's also clear that her threat is being taken VERY seriously.

Throughout the day, none of the girls let me out of their sight even once. Every time Harriet tried to approach me, or anyone looked like they were going to try to tease me, fierce glares from Nicole and Suriya- and Priya and Megan, during break- warned my would-be tormentors off. For the first day since I started secondary school, I didn't experience a single second of teasing, no unkind words, and no whispers behind my back. I almost didn't want the day to end, but when Nicole came to me at the end of the day with a carrier bag full of new, special clothes, I realised just how much better the day was going to get.

After eating dinner- mum being only too happy to feed Nicole, given all that she's done for me- the two of us head up to my bedroom, where Nicole quickly strips out of her inform, stuffing it into her school bag. I turn my back, only to be laughed at by me new friend.

"Why are you turning your back?" Nicole says. "You're a girl, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, but-" I begin.

"No buts!" Nicole laughs. "We're both girls, end of story. Now come on, I want to show you what I've got!" My heart starts to race as Nicole tips out the carrier bag onto my bed, revealing three pairs of soft pink tights, a light blue thin-strapped leotard, a flimsy light blue wraparound skirt and a pair of canvas dance shoes.

"Come on! We need to get dressed!" Nicole says, quickly pulling on her own tights and her leotard over her panties. I emulate my friend- marvelling at how different the soft dance tights feel to my thick school tights, and how snug and clingy the leotard is once it's stretched over my body. After pulling on the shoes and tying the dance skirt around my waist. Once we're both ready (Nicole having also tied her long hair into a severe bun), we head downstairs, where mum almost giggles with happiness at the sight of the two of us.

"Aw, don't you two make perfect little ballerinas?" Mum coos as she leads us to her car.

"Thanks, Mrs. White," Nicole says.

"And thank you for being such a good friend to my Laura!" Mum says as we drive to the dance studio.

After arriving, Miss Fullerton introduces Nicole and me to her class, explaining that we're new students who'll be learning the basics. Priya and Suriya are, of course, delighted to see us, and help myself and Nicole over the course of the lesson as we start to learn the basics of ballet. By the end of the lesson, sixty minutes later, I'm buzzing so much I feel I could dance all night- and Nicole looks like she's going to dance all night anyway!

After Mr. Malik takes a few photos of the four of us for posterity (he'd been given the go ahead by my mum and Nicole's mum earlier in the day), Nicole and I head back to mum's car, almost giddy with excitement. However, as seems to always happen when I feel happy, my positive mood is brought crashing down to Earth by my mother.

"Hi Laura," mum says solemnly. "I've got some news for you- your brother's going to be coming home on leave over half term." All of a sudden, I feel VERY self-conscious in my beautiful girl's clothes.