David dreamed he was falling, then woke up with a start. As his heart slowed, he realised he was on the floor. *Must have fallen out of bed* he thought.

Then he looked round, and realised he was not in his own room. Gail was cuddled up against him, and Samantha was asleep in her bed. *Oh, that's right - we slept over at Samantha's last night.*

The fullness of his bladder forced him to get up. His move- ment revealed the stiffness caused by sleeping on the floor all night and he accidentally disturbed Gail. She looked up at him and grunted, then turned over and went back to sleep.

On returning from the bathroom, he noticed that Samantha was stirring. He had an evil thought and grabbed a pillow from the floor. As Samantha sat up, he hit her full in the face with a well-placed pillow. Samantha shrieked and grabbed one of her own pillows to retaliate.

The noise finally woke Gail, who looked up at what her brother and Samantha were doing. She grabbed a pillow for herself and swung at the back of David's head.

He grunted and turned to attack his sister. As he turned, Samantha saw her opportunity and started beating him with the pillow she held. After getting a few more blows in at his sister and Samantha, and receiving two for every one he gave, David realised that the odds were against him and held his hands up in surrender.

Mrs. Davis looked in at that point and started giving everyone a row for making so much noise. David and Gail looked at the floor as she berated them, but Samantha was unrepentant. She just looked at her mother and said "No need to lose it. We were just having fun."

David and Samantha looked aghast at her cheek, but her mother sighed and rolled her eyes, then said "Well, young ladies, it's 8 O' clock and time to get up. You can't spend all day lounging round in sleep-wear."

They all raced for the bathroom, a race Samantha won by cheating - she had started running before her mother had finished speaking. David and Gail ran into a closed door, and Gail grunted in complaint.

Having already been to the toilet, David was feeling more relaxed. He and Gail walked to the kitchen where Mrs. Davis was making coffee. She offered them each a cup, which they gratefully accepted, Gail with her usual morning grunt.

Mrs. Davis looked at Gail and said "You don't wake up very well, do you honey ?" Gail just stared at her and grunted while sipping her coffee.

When Samantha appeared, having already finished dressing, David let Gail go next. Samantha grabbed a cup of coffee and said "That was nice of you."

David shrugged and replied, "She probably needs to go the toilet and I've already been. Besides, this way I get to finish my coffee in peace. And Gail always improves after she is washed and dressed."

They sat talking quietly about the night before and making plans for later in the day. Gail finally finished in the bathroom, and David went in to shower and change.

When he came out, Mrs. Davis was cooking omelettes for break- fast. They all tucked into a steaming plate of cheese and tomato omelette, then returned to the bathroom to brush their teeth.

Hugging Samantha goodbye, David and Gail waved to her mother. They returned to their own house, where David reached into his handbag for the key and opened the door.

As they entered, they could hear the phone ringing. David dived across to the phone and answered it with a cheery "Hello ?"

A voice on the other end said "Good morning, this is the police. May I speak to Andrea McCall, please."

David thought about that for a moment before remembering that his mother was starting a new job that day.

"I'm sorry," he replied. "She's starting work today at Hewlett Packard. Can I take a message ?"

"No, thanks," replied the voice. "We'll call her at work. Do you have the number ?"

David opened the address book lying on the table and searched for his mother's work number. Remembering that his father was to have started at the same location, he found the number under his name. He gave it to the police, who thanked him and hung up.

David turned to Gail and said "that was the police. They wanted to talk to Mum. I wonder what they wanted ?"

****

Leslie Everrett had spent Sunday curled up in bed. The chat she had had with Andrea McCall had brought back a lot of painful memories. A migraine had completed her misery.

She remembered the pain caused when you were different at school. At that time, she had been male - Leslie was a unisex name.

He was a slight boy who was smaller than the other boys. Also, he had had more in common with the girls in his class than the boys.

He had known from an early age that he should have been born a girl. All through school and college, Leslie had lived a very uncomfortable life.

His gestures and mannerisms had been more feminine than masculine, and that had led to a lot of trouble with the guys in the locker room.

Always a keen athlete, he had preferred solo sports like high jump or track. He found that his lack of stature made games like football or basketball impossible, and the tackles in football were killing.

At college, he had discovered all the transvestite and trans- sexual sites on the Web. His desire to become a woman had crystallised, but there just weren't funds available for these expensive procedures.

After completing a PE teacher's course at college, he had decided that he must do something. So he had taken a year out to begin treatment to make him a woman.

During that painful year living had been hard. He had started hormone therapy, getting the money to pay for it by working three jobs. Extra money had been saved towards the final operation.

When the year was up, Leslie had undergone SRS and applied to have all her records changed. With her new diploma, she had applied to the High School in Gilroy for a position as girl's PE coach.

She had been thankful for the school's non-discrimination policy. That meant that she could compete on an equal basis with the other candidates.

When she had been successful, she had taken on the role of coach for the Gazelles. That role had given her more pleasure than she could have dreamed. Learning how to organise a soccer team had been a challenge she had gloried in. Thinking up training regimes to mould her players had occupied her mind when school wasn't in.

She had told Andrea nothing of her past, merely listening to what she had to say. After her initial offer of help, she had remained mostly silent as Andrea outlined her plans.

It seemed to her that Andrea was acting in a very manipulative manner. A talk with the child would be necessary to discover his/her true feelings. And then if, as she suspected, he was transgendered, she would have to get him into therapy/

In order to gain David/Davina's confidence, she would have to reveal her own past. That was not a comfortable thought - she would rather not reveal that to anyone.

With these thoughts going round in her head, Leslie went out to her car and started driving towards the McCall house.

****

David had just put the phone down when the doorbell rang. He walked over and answered it, being surprised when he saw who was at the door.

"Hello, Coach. May I help you ?"

"Yes, Davina. I need to talk to you. Are you alone ?"

"Come in. Gail's in the living room, so we'll have to go to my room. Would you like anything to drink ?"

"A coffee would be lovely, thanks. Black, no sugar"

"OK, come on to the kitchen while I get the coffee ready."

They walked to the kitchen to get the coffee. Gail looked up as they passed and said "Who was at the door ? Oh, hi Coach." She turned back to the television programme she had been watching.

Having prepared coffee for the coach and tea for himself, David led her to his room. Leslie looked round the room, noting the feminine decor.

She sat on the bed and sighed. She looked up at David and said "David. We need to talk."

David started when she called him by his masculine name and almost spilled his tea. He didn't think anyone in America knew it.

*Am I in trouble ? Is Coach going to throw me off the team ?* he wondered as his adrenaline levels rose with fright.

"Wh-What ?" he asked in a stumbling manner.

"David. I was suspicious at the field on Saturday when you told me which competitions you had won. I thought those were for boys teams. At the time, I tried to ignore my feelings.

"After the training session I agonised for a while then turned to the computer. I searched the Web to confirm my suspicions, then drove over to see your mother that evening. I saw you leaving as I arrived.

"That's partly why I'm here rather than kicking you off the team. Another part is what your mother told me of your actions with your boyfriend. But mostly it was the rest of your mother's words.

"I am not prepared to tell you what she said. That's private, and if you want the details you'll have to ask her yourself. I don't think she'll tell you, though."

As Coach Everrett was speaking, David was getting more and more nervous. What was she going to do ? Was he going to be exposed before everyone ? He couldn't stand the humiliation.

She saw the look on his face and said to him "Don't worry, I know what it's like. I've lived through something remarkably similar, though I didn't have your courage. It took me until after college to finally make the change.

"That's right, David, or Davina, whichever you prefer. I was born male. From an early age I knew that I should have been a girl. But I had no-one to help me and I was too afraid to do anything on my own.

"I had a miserable time through school and college. All the time I had to try to hide my nature. I wasn't always successful, and received many beatings.

"From what your mother tells me, you didn't really have any inclinations in this direction until you were dressed in Samantha's strip. Your mother then decided to push you as hard as she could, to see what would happen.

"Part of it was to punish you for the way you behaved towards your sister. But mostly I think she really wanted to have two daughters.

"That doesn't really matter now. From the reports of your behaviour, the Davina part of you is becoming dominant. I would guess that you would be uncomfortable living as David now.

"I even hear you have a boyfriend who thinks you really are a girl. That could lead to a very nasty situation if David were ever to reappear, but I would help you any way I could.

"Please trust me when I say this, I am here to help you. Whatever you need, I'll try to get for you. If you really are transsexual, I will smooth everything with the school authorities.

"But to convince me, you will need to undertake a course of therapy. I'll connect you with a friendly therapist who can help you."

David was stunned when he heard that Coach Everrett used to be a man. He looked at her with amazement as his heart slowly returned to a normal rhythm. With each word she had spoken, he had found himself relaxing, but he had been strung so tight it took a while.

He wondered how anyone who looked as feminine could once have been male. Then he caught his own reflection in the mirror and realised that he looked as feminine as her.

Her offer of help made him feel really warm inside. It was the nicest thing anyone had said to him for a long time. He rushed to her and gave her a great big hug.

As he was holding on to her, he felt himself beginning to cry out all the confusion and fear he had been feeling for the last week. Leslie Everrett just held him until he could get some control back.

"Thank you, Coach Everrett," he said when he had managed to get his tears under control. "I am sincerely grateful for your offer. However, I don't understand all of what you have said to me. What's transsexual ? And what would the therapy involve ?"

As Coach Everrett explained all aspects of transgenderism, David listened with fascination. He had never suspected that there was a whole world of people who faced their problems in this manner.

She went on to describe the steps he would have to undergo to become a girl for real. The therapy she described was to convince the authorities that this really was the best course of action for him.

As she left, she gave him her phone number, telling him to call whenever he needed a friendly voice to talk to or a shoulder to cry on.

Watching her drive away, he realised that he had found a real friend in Coach Everrett. That would make whatever came next so much easier to bear.