Soccer Queen
by Andrew ( anr )
Chapter 18

Samantha stretched luxuriously as she woke up. She was sorry to have missed Davina and Gail last night; she had some good news for them.

Jim had phoned last night, inviting her to a dance on Friday. He had told her to pass the word on to Davina and Gail; Jack and Alex were also going to the dance, and wanted them as dates. When she had gone round to tell them, their house had been locked up.

She wondered what they could do today. Stretching again, she rose from her bed and headed for the bathroom to have a shower.

As she returned to her room after drying herself, she decided that she would dress casually in shorts and sneakers, so that she was ready for anything.

****

At breakfast that morning, David and Gail discussed their fight the previous lunch time. Their mother had already left for work, telling them to behave themselves.

"Sorry for hurting you, Gail" David started.

"That's okay," Gail replied, "I've been a bit of a pig to you since I got here. I'll try to do better. I really do love you, you know."

She continued "You make a very beautiful girl, you know. Do you think you will stay as Davina, or will you return to being David ?"

Her question mirrored his own thoughts of yesterday. Remembering the conclusions he had come to, he replied "I don't think returning to David is an option any longer. Too many people know me as Davina now. Maybe I could have gone back when Samantha first put me in her strip, but Mum seems to like me this way. Then there's before Jack. That changes everything.

"I am extremely attracted to him, but I don't think he would be attracted to me if he knew the whole truth. More likely, he'd kill me.

"Then there's Becky. She likes Davina, but Samantha says she has a bad attitude towards cross dressers, which I suppose I am at present. Samantha told me that Becky hates cross dressers with a passion.

"Coach Everrett describes me as transsexual like herself, so I guess that's about the best description. I think I'll have to live as Davina from now on. I only hope I can be registered at school as a girl!"

Gail didn't understand everything David had just told her. She asked "What's a transsexual ?"

"A transsexual is someone who has the body of one sex, but the mind of the other. Nowadays, medication and surgery can give these people the outward appearance of their desired sex."

Gail was stunned. "You mean Coach Everrett wants to be a man ?" she squeaked.

"No, she used to be a man. Don't tell anyone, I don't think she wants her circumstances spread round the school as gossip. As the girl's PE coach, it could be really embarrassing for her."

That floored Gail. She had seen Coach Everrett and knew how feminine she appeared even in a track suit when she was training the team. Then she looked across the table at her sister/brother and realised just how feminine he had become in only a week and a half. If he kept this up for years, she decided that there would be no way to tell him from someone born female.

Just then, the phone began to ring. David ran to answer it. "Hello, McCall residence" he said into the mouthpiece.

"Davina! It's lovely to hear your voice," said a voice on the other end. After a moment's thought, David identified it as Jack. His heart skipped a beat as he answered excitedly

"Oh, hi Jack. What's up ?"

"Are you coming on Friday ?"

"Sorry, what's happening on Friday ?"

"Didn't Samantha tell you about the dance on Friday ? Jim was supposed to ask her to invite you and Gail - Alex will be there as well."

"When did Jim talk to Samantha ?"

"Last night, about nine o'clock, I think."

"Ah, we didn't see Samantha last night. We were at the hospital visiting Dad and didn't get home until late.

"I'd love to go to the dance with you, but you'd better get Alex to ask Gail himself. It would only be polite. However, I'll tell her about the dance and to expect Alex's call."

"Great! I'll see you Friday, then."

"OK, see you then. I'm in the middle of breakfast just now, so I'll have to go. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye"

As David put the phone down, he thought about what had just happened. Hearing Jack's voice on the phone had really excited him, and he was eagerly anticipating the dance on Friday. *This is not normal for a boy,* he thought. *I must be beginning to think like a girl now.*

He turned back to the table and Gail was sitting with an expectant expression on her face.

"What was that about Alex ?" she asked. "I heard his name mentioned, but I didn't catch what you were saying."

"The boys are going to a dance on Friday, and they're asking us to accompany them. That was Jack on the phone, inviting me. Well, he thought we knew about it, apparently Jim called Samantha last night, but we haven't seen her since teatime yesterday.

"I told Jack that Alex should ask you personally, it's only polite."

"Thank you, Davina. You're the best sister in the world, you know that ? As a brother you were a beast, but I like you much more now.

"You know your birthday is on Saturday, so we can treat the dance as a sort of birthday party. I bet the boys will go for it."

As David was about to reply, the doorbell rang. He changed directions and walked over to the front door. When he opened it, he saw Samantha standing there with a huge grin on her face.

"Guess where we're going this Friday," she said as she bounded into the house.

David looked at his friend as he closed the door, and was happy to see she was as excited about Friday as he was.

"Jack just called, to check that I was going on Friday. At first I didn't have a clue what he was talking about - we hadn't seen you since football yesterday. Then he explained about the dance, and I became as excited as you obviously are."

As he was talking, David and Samantha walked into the kitchen where Gail was just finishing her breakfast. She immediately got another cup out of the cabinet, and offered Samantha a cup of tea.

"I'd really prefer coffee, if you have any," replied Samantha.

Putting the kettle on, Gail lifted a jar of instant coffee from the work top. She waved it at Samantha and asked if that would be OK.

"That'll do," Samantha replied, so Gail put some coffee granules in the cup and waited for the kettle to boil. When it did, she poured water onto the coffee and passed it to Samantha telling her to help herself to milk and sugar.

They sat round the table as David finished his breakfast and Samantha drank her coffee. Gail poured herself another cup of tea as they discussed what they could do that day.

Gail and Samantha both wanted to go swimming, but agreed that David couldn't change in the ladies' changing room without fear of discovery. They were still puzzling over what to do, when the telephone rang again.

Gail jumped up, shouting "I hope that's for me!" as she ran to pick it up. She recovered her breath before picking up the receiver and saying "Hello ?"

"H-hello, c-can I s-speak to G-Gail please" a nervous voice answered her.

Gail thought it might be Alex, so she said "Alex ? It's Gail speaking. Calm down please, there's no need to be nervous."

There was a great sigh of relief from the other end and Alex said "Hello, Gail. Do y-you w-want to go to the d-dance with me on F-Friday ?"

"Of course, silly. There's nothing to be frightened of. I'll be glad to go to the dance with you. I'm already looking forward to it, and you will be the most perfect partner there. I'll make sure of that."

"I'm not very good at talking on the phone. I always get t-tounge-tied and start s-stuttering when I have to do it. I-I l-look f-forward to seeing you on F-Friday."

"Oh Alex, you loveable lunk. We'll have to work on your telephone manner. Practice makes perfect, you know. (*giggle*)"

"Awww, G-Gail, don't t-tease me. I-I'm f-frightened enough as it is. I'll s-see you on F-Friday then ?"

"Of course. I'm really looking forward to it. See you then."

"Bye."

As Gail was about to reply, she heard the phone at the other end being put down. "Bye ?" she said to the dialling tone, and replaced the handset.

"That was Alex," she announced as she returned to the kitchen. "He wants to take me to the dance on Friday. The ninny was so nervous he was stuttering. He even replaced the receiver before I said goodbye. I'll have to teach him some manners."

"That's great, Gail!" shouted David. "Now we all have dates for Friday night. I agree that we should make it a sort of birthday party. I've not had a chance to organise one. Samantha, is Becky coming to the dance ?"

"Yes, she should be there. Jim said that Ted was going to the dance as well, and as far as I know, they're still together. I'll ask her later today, though, just to make sure. What's this about making it a birthday party, though ? Who's birthday, and when is it ?"

"It's my birthday on Saturday, I'll be sixteen," David replied. "Hardly sweet, though!"

He laughed at his own joke as Gail and Samantha dissolved in giggles.

"Wow!" shouted Samantha. "Don't you worry about a thing. Just enjoy the dance, and let's see what we can arrange with the boys.

"Now, what can we do today ? Swimming is out, so how about a game of tennis ? We've played soccer nearly every day, so let's do something different."

"What can I wear for that ?" questioned David. "Besides, we don't have racquets."

"Just wear a short skirt and sneakers. Besides, you can hire a racquet at the tennis court."

"Sneakers ?" David sounded puzzled. "What are sneakers ?"

"Like these," Samantha said as she pointed at her feet.

"Ahh, training shoes. OK, give us a minute to get changed and we'll head down to the courts when we're ready. Help yourself to another cup of coffee while you're waiting if you want."

David and Gail returned to their rooms to get changed as Samantha poured herself another cup of coffee. She sipped at it as she thought about these two people, her new friends.

*It sure is nice having two girls next door,* she thought *Even if one of them isn't _exactly_ a girl. We can get together and have lots of fun.

*Now what can we do for Davina's birthday ? The boys will agree to make the dance a party for her, but where can we get a cake ?*

She thought about that for a while, and then picked up the phone. "Jim ?" she asked when he answered the phone. "Listen, it's Davina's birthday on Saturday, and we want to make Friday into a kind of birthday party for her. Do you know where we can get a cake ?"

"That's great!" Jim's warm voice responded. "I'll phone the organisers of the dance, and see if they can do anything for us. I'll phone now, to give us as much notice as possible. See you soon, love."

"Bye. Kiss"

As she replaced the phone, she wondered how Davina would take this. *It'll probably end up being one of those really embarrassing affairs where a large cake is given to the birthday girl. Ah well, she'll survive a little embarrassment.*

David and Gail returned at that point, both dressed for a game of tennis. They left the house and walked to the courts, talking excitedly about the dance coming up on Friday. Samantha didn't mention the arrangements she had asked Jim to make.

More Soccer Queen Soon!