Ryan always called for Darren, as his house was on the way to the bus stop, and as nothing had been said to change the arrangement, he stuck to the habit even though Sebastian had told him that his best friend had been petticoated. He had noted what Sebastian Montague had said about Darren needing his friends, and he was not going to desert Darren. It was really no big deal at Meadvale, of course. At their last school, Darren would have been ridiculed and bullied even more, and Ryan might have found it harder to hang out with him, for fear of being tarred with the same brush, but at Meadvale, everything would be fine. But he was still nervous as he opened the Baxter's front gate and approached their front door, because his best friend being petticoated would not escape his dear mother's attention, and he was worried that it might have some serious consequences for him.
"Good morning, Ryan, you are looking very smart today?" Mrs Baxter said, smiling as she answered the door.
"Hi, Mrs Baxter...thanks?" He grinned back, not sure about the compliment. He knew that the Meadvale uniform was smart, and he was the sort of boy who wore clothes well, in that he looked good in anything. That was not a boast, but he had noticed that some people, girls as well as boys, were naturally scruffy. Not deliberately, but if they ran up the stairs or something like that, their shirts would be untucked and their ties would be crooked in no time. Ryan was not like that at all, he could run miles for the bus and still look perfectly neat and tidy. But the Meadvale uniform was not just about making everyone look smart, or even neat and tidy. It was more about making every single pupil look like a nice young lady, a studious, rather old-fashioned picture of genteel obedience. "Is Darren coming to school today?"
"Yes...but we have made some changes over the weekend, Ryan...Darren is fully petticoated now, so I need you to look after him for me?" Mrs Baxter said, quite matter of factly, as if it was something one just did and not worthy of comment, standing to the side to allow her son to join her on the doorstep. "I have asked young Danielle to keep an eye on him when he gets to the bus stop, but I need you to get him there...is that all right with you, Ryan? I know you two are good friends?"
"Yes...of course...we always walk together anyway?"
"Yes, dear...but now I need you to be responsible for him...hold his hand and make sure that he behaves himself for me?" Mrs Baxter said, putting her arm around Darren's shoulders and kissing him on the cheek. "You will be good for Ryan, won't you, darling?"
"Yes, Mummy...I'll be a good little boy, I promise?" Darren murmured, reaching out for Ryan's hand, and Ryan found himself leading his friend back down the garden path and along the road, not daring to speak until he was sure that Mrs Baxter would not be able to hear.
"Do I really need to hold your hand, mate?" He finally said, feeling very self-conscious.
"Mummy says if you don't, we won't be able to walk together...she will get someone else to walk me?" Darren mumbled, his cheeks burning with shame. "So...please?"
"Okay...if you want me too?" Ryan gulped, hoping that no one would see them. They had not run into many people the previous week, because they had to leave quite early, but they had got a bit of stick about their uniforms from the few non-Meadvale kids they did see. He doubted being seen holding hands with Darren would go down very well. "How bad is it?"
"Mummy said fully-petticoated...so just like Sebastian and Callum?"
"Bloody hell...sorry, mate?" Ryan sighed, well aware that it was an inadequate response.
"I am...I have to...I am...I am diapered?" Darren stammered, because it seemed to be the easiest way to explain the extent of his transformation.
"Christ, really? I bet they had to beat you within an inch of your life to get you into a nappy mate...right?" Ryan asked, imagining what his own reaction would be if his parents tried to do that to him. It was one thing wearing his uniform as a punishment for being awkward, but that would be a step too far for him, he felt. He would never let it happen to him without putting up a real fight.
"No...I just...Mummy told me in the car...she said it was the best for me?" Darren admitted as they heard someone running behind them, to catch up. Ryan turned to find Danielle, the head girl and diapered petticoatee, rushing up to join them.
"Hi Ryan...Mrs Baxter asked me to look out for Darren...is he okay?" Danielle asked, all smiles, automatically taking hold of Darren's other hand, which allowed Ryan to let go, as if it was suddenly red hot.
"Yes...he can still speak for himself, you know?" Ryan frowned, although he was not so sure that Darren could, really. He did not sound like his old self.
"Of course, but he is in newbie shock...you need looking after, don't you, Darren?" Danielle said brightly, giving his hand an encouraging squeeze.
"Yes...please...Danielle?" Darren whispered and she squeezed again, trying hard to make him feel better. She had met a lot of new petticoatees over the eight years she had been one of them and she recognised his reaction to his changed circumstances. Some people were furious and resentful, understandably so in her view, but just occasionally, she had come across boys who were overwhelmed by the process but also strangely accepting of their new lives. Danielle had listened to a lot of adults talking about the science of petticoating over the years, although some of them actually thought that it was more of an art than a science, and she was aware that some boys were thought of as natural sissies. Sebastian Montague was one. He had not resisted his mother at all, although he argued that he had made a bit of a fuss at Burnham College in his one term as a boarder at the infamous sissy school, and having spent some time with Darren at the party, she suspected that he might be another. She thought that he had been worrying about being petticoated ever since his parents put his name down for Meadvale Mixed, and when the deed was done, he was therefore sort of relieved, because he did not have to worry anymore. It was one of the things that children who were not petticoated found impossible to understand in her experience. Petticoatees did not have the freedom of choice. Everything really was decided for them, and in some ways, that was a relief.
"Don't worry, Darren...I'll take you to the nurse and tell you when to mess...you have been messing over the weekend, haven't you?"
"Yes, Danielle." Darren admitted, biting his bottom lip. "Mummy didn't let me use the potty at all?"
"I know it isn't nice...but it won't be forever...once you are settled, your Mummy will let you have your knickers back?" She suggested, trying to encourage the poor lad.
"Yours hasn't?" Ryan pointed out, and Danielle glared at him, and rolled her eyes.
"That's different...Mummy just likes to remind me that I am not grown up yet?" She retorted a little defensively. Her mother was being very annoying about her getting too big for her boots after being made head girl, and she did not need anyone, let alone a boy like Ryan who did not know what he was talking about, making fun of her over something she could not do anything much about. She was petticoated and she was largely fine with that, because she had been so young when it started, but as she approached the time when she ought to be allowed to spread her wings a little, some things were starting to frustrate her. "Darren is really nervous and rather unsettled at the moment, but as soon as he proves he can last between lessons, he will be back in his knickers...if he is a good boy?"
Ryan shook his head in disbelief, mostly because he had never known Darren be anything but good, but they reached the bus stop before he could say anything else, and the others were there waiting for them, eager to help Darren as much as possible. He had to admit that all of the petticoatees that he knew looked out for each other. Olivia, Amelia, Sebastian, Callum and Danielle were all being really nice to Darren, and had all been very friendly towards him since they all met on the first day of term. On the bus, he ended up sitting next to Sebastian, whilst the girls fussed over Darren, and he took the chance to ask the question that had been bugging him ever since he got his first sight of his transformed friend.
"Why does he have to be diapered?" He asked, leaning close to Sebastian to whisper. "And why is he being made to use them?"
"Petticoatees aren't supposed to touch themselves down there, really?" Sebastian mumbled back, pointing vaguely down at his lap. "Mummy takes me and wipes me at home, and one of the girls takes me at school...but that is a bit of a compromise, and not ideal for them, because they are petticoatees too. But the school facilities are good, so it is allowed...as long as we prove that we can last through lessons..."
"Darren always has before?"
"Yes...but he is in shock, right now...so, his Mummy is just playing safe..."
"But Danielle is diapered...you all are, sometimes?"
"We all are at night, because we aren't allowed to get out of bed...and we wear nappies if we are going somewhere where the toilets might be dirty or unsuitable for us...and being sent to school in diapers is usually a punishment?" Sebastian explained as if he was talking basic common sense. "Or a reminder...like with Danielle?"
"It must be horrible?" Ryan murmured, trying not to imagine himself in nappies. It was bad enough having a dress in his wardrobe.
"It is...at first...but you sort of get used to it? We all have to do what we're told in the end Ryan, don't we?" Sebastian said with a shrug of his shoulders as the bus pulled into the stop outside the school. "Did you spend all weekend in your school uniform?"
Ryan was quite glad to get into lessons. He sat next to Darren as always, but it was not the same, somehow, so he was glad to concentrate on his work. He was sort of used to the academic side of Meadvale Mixed, and he could see why his parents had wanted him to go there. It was not just that the facilities were first class and the teachers brilliant, but the strict discipline and structure ensured that there was no messing around, and no distractions. He had never worked so hard at his lessons before, or had so much homework, but it was the same for everyone. He had been a bit of a class clown at his old school, but at Meadvale Mixed, even a word out of turn would be considered a major crime. That did not mean that no one had any fun in class, or were too scared to breathe out of place, because the teachers knew how to engage their studious audience, but there was never any messing around. None at all. But he was still not entirely sure why he had to dress like a girl to go to a decent school, or why some other parents seemed to want to take that even further. And all he could think about, as he got to know the new Darren Baxter, was that he had a dress hanging up in his wardrobe.
"Thanks, Danielle," Amelia Carter said as she pulled her dark red knickers back up after being wiped dry. She did not think she would ever get used to being taken to the loo, but she was grateful to Danielle, because she was always nice about it. Mrs Carter was still being tough with her daughter and she was not allowed to do anything for herself, not even take Sebastian like she used to. Her surrogate brother still loved her, and they did most things together, but she was not allowed to look after him anymore.
"No problem...but I have to go see the nurse now...where is Darren?" The head girl asked as Amelia smoothed down her tunic and buttoned her blazer.
"Outside...I think he got Ryan to help him with his coat?" Sebastian said from the next little cubicle, whilst Olivia wiped his bottom for him. She was allowed to help the boys, as long as Danielle helped her and was there to supervise.
"But why? I told him to wait for me?" Danielle groaned as she hurried to wash her hands. "I don't have time to chase around after him? The nurse goes ballistic if she has to wait around for us...it is her lunchtime too?"
"You go...we'll find him and bring him straight over?" Olivia suggested, and a very grateful Danielle hugged her, before running off. "Come on, you three...get your coats on...if he is trying to avoid going to the nurse, he could be anywhere?"
Meadvale Mixed was not a big school as yet, with only three classes per year, other than year seven where there were six, and the sixth form, which had fifty students. It would get bigger in time, and more pupils were supposed to be lined up to start after half-term, but there were only about four hundred and fifty pupils to search for Darren amongst. Unfortunately, they were all dressed exactly the same, which did not make the job any easier. In the end, they split up, with Olivia and Callum going one way, and Amelia and Sebastian going the other. And Olivia found him, with Ryan, at the furthest corner of the huge playground.
"Darren? You need to get to the nurse?" She said, gasping for breath after running across the concrete in such a panic.
"I don't need to go?" Darren mumbled, looking down at his shiny black shoes.
"That doesn't matter...you still have to go see the nurse, because you are on her list? You'll get in big trouble?" Olivia insisted, grabbing his arm, intending to take his hand. "Didn't your Mummy explain?"
"He is going to talk to his Mum after school...he doesn't want to be petticoated?" Ryan said as he took Darren's other arm, looking as if he was ready for a tug of war.
"Don't be so silly...she isn't going to just change her mind, is she? And no one ever wants to be petticoated...Darren will just get spanked and he will be back here tomorrow in complete disgrace?" Olivia said, glaring at Ryan, before speaking more softly to Darren. "I know it's not nice, going to the nurse...but you don't have a choice? None of us do...and Ryan just does not understand that...whatever he has said to you, he is wrong...I promise?"
"I only told him to stand up for himself...he is being bullied all over again, but by his parents this time?" Ryan demanded, not letting go of Darren's other arm.
"Oh, don't be such an idiot? Darren's parents love him, and they clearly think he needs to be petticoated...all you are doing is getting him into huge trouble?" Olivia snapped angrily, before softening her tone to appeal to Darren, who had tears rolling down his cheeks. "Darren...please come with me? Don't you think that your Mummy loves you, and wants the best for you...she is not trying to make you unhappy, is she?"
"Parents have to be tough sometimes...for our own good?" Callum added, supporting his big sister, but also concerned for Darren. No one was really sure what the school would do about insubordination or open resistance, but like all petticoatees, Callum knew how parents usually reacted to it, and that was often brutal. Callum was a good boy, and had accepted his Sunday petticoating at the age of ten without too much fuss, but over four and a half years, he had made mistakes, and he had seen others get themselves into trouble. And it was not just the spankings which he feared, but the shame of being in disgrace. His sister had suffered five days in nappies just the previous week, and Callum had seen what that did to her. Being diapered was supposed to be a precaution, like at night, when petticoatees were not allowed to get out of their cots to visit the toilet, or when they were out and the convenient facilities might not be suitable or even readily available. In his family, it was very rare that either he or Olivia had to actually use one of their nappies. His parents followed the advice of the British Petticoating Society in most if not all things, but they did not want their children unnecessarily upset, so they went out of their way to make sure that Olivia and Callum did not have to mess themselves, except when they were being punished. "Darren...if you don't go to the nurse now, you will be in nappies all the time, for ages...you are being really silly?"
It worked, just about, and with Darren in floods of tears, Olivia and Callum hurried him to the nurse's office, just in time. Only one other child, a year seven girl, was waiting to go inside for her change, accompanied by a nervous Danielle, who had been in but had decided to wait for Darren. She helped the others calm Darren down and dried his tears. "It would be better if you messed now, Darren? She isn't very patient and she doesn't put anyone on the potty?"
"I don't think I can?" He wailed as Olivia put her arm around his shoulders.
"You've done it with your Mummy?" Danielle reminded him, and he nodded, sadly. "So...I know you can do it, and so do you...your Mummy wants you to do this and you love your Mummy, don't you? Make her proud, Darren?"
Ryan watched his friend surrender from the end of the corridor, peeking through the glass panel in the door. He could not hear the little burp of gas, but he did see Darren shudder and then slump into Danielle's arms. His friend was broken, beaten, defeated and deflated, and it was horrible to watch, because Ryan knew it could be him next, one day. Heading back outside into the cold air, hands in his coat pockets, Ryan felt sick to the stomach, and all he could think of, other than Darren's weakness, was the dress in his wardrobe and his own mother. He was not weak, he told himself. He would not give in, no matter what his parents did to him.
"Hands out of your pockets, young man!" Mrs Mason, one of the teachers, barked as she saw him walking towards her.
"Sorry, Miss." He mumbled, almost jumping to attention as she reached his side.
"Zip your coat up...and don't slouch...what is your name?"
"Ryan Hooper, Miss?" He replied, hurrying to obey. It was a rule. Coats were supposed to be worn properly done up, but he was not a sheep, and it was not that cold, not with his blazer and the thick tunic.
"Lunchtime detention...for the rest of the week...and you can spend the time writing me two hundred lines each day, Hooper...school rules are to be obeyed!"
"Four detentions for not doing up my coat?" He exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yes...lenience is appropriate for a first offence, it will be a month at least if it ever happens again...but I am sure your parents will want to talk to you about your attitude." She growled angrily, giving him a look of such ferocity that he could feel his knees shaking. "Meadvale Mixed does not tolerate rebellious louts like you, Hooper...I will be keeping a very close eye on you, young man!"
Ryan could not believe it. Four detentions for not zipping up his silly coat, which Mrs Mason seemed to think was a serious act of rebellion, worthy of harsh punishment and contacting his parents to boot. Everyone starting at Meadvale Mixed had been told that the discipline would be strict, and that bad behaviour would be stamped on, but that was ridiculous. He stomped off cursing his bad luck, and worrying about what his parents would say, or do. He did not think that his father would be bothered about an unzipped coat, but his mother would be furious about him getting into trouble. His larking about and generally casual attitude to his studies had got him transferred to Meadvale Mixed in the first place, and she would see his refusal to conform with a simple rule as a concern, even if the offence was obviously minor. And there was always that dress hanging up in his wardrobe.
"Olivia...you did really well...and I am proud of all of you for trying to find Darren and to help him be a good boy?" Barbara Carter sighed, resting her hands on Olivia's shoulders as the four children started their pre-prep snack, sitting around her kitchen table. She had just heard what had happened at Meadvale that lunchtime, and she was genuinely pleased about how her daughter, Amelia, and her friends had rallied around Darren. "Darren has only been petticoated for three days and he was bound to have a wobble at some stage...but you all did the right thing and showed what good friends you are?"
"He was so traumatised, Mummy?" Amelia said, still a bit shocked about the state Darren had got himself into, both before and after his change. It had been much worse than Sebastian was when he came home from Burnham College and was properly petticoated, which was her only other experience of a full petticoating, if you did not count her own. And it was different for girls, still difficult, but not quite so fundamental. Sebastian had been distraught, and he had cried a lot, but it did not last long really. But Sebastian loved his Mummy, and he had Amelia as well, his closest friend, his surrogate sister. Darren did not have anyone. His best friend had tried to get him into trouble.
"It is all so raw for him...but he managed to mess, so it will be easier tomorrow...you four just have to be kind to him and help him settle?" Barbara said, stroking Amelia's cheek with her fingers. Petticoating her only child had been rather a last-minute decision, much like Penny Baxter's. She had seen how Sebastian's transformation had saved him, and although Amelia was not in any real trouble, Barbara and her husband had decided to petticoat her just two days before the start of the winter term at Reigate School. It had taken one spanking and a lot of talking to get her over that first hurdle, but then it had been relatively straightforward. Amelia was quite high-spirited at times, and needed a firm hand, but she was a good girl at heart, and her friendship with Olivia Peters had been crucial to her progress. Sebastian and Callum were good friends too, but they were still little boys at heart, and looked up to their sisters, so it was Olivia who provided Amelia with the perfect example.
"Darren was one of four boys petticoated for our party, Auntie Barbara?" Olivia sighed, just a little disheartened after a difficult day.
"Olivia...they have all been enrolled at a petticoating school...it was always likely that some people would consider going further than the school requires?" Barbara replied, looking around the table at four sweetly concerned little faces. She reached into the pocket of her apron and produced four pacifiers. "Right...prep time...and I am going to make you all a nice bottle of milk and honey...I'll feed you all one by one...I think you all need a bit of a cuddle?"
Barbara knew her daughter, and her friends. They were all good kids who had all adapted to being petticoated quite well, although none of them would admit that they liked being properly looked after. Deep down, they were all happier than they were, and certainly safer, which was the main point. Childhood was worth protecting and saving. Modern life forced children to grow up far too quickly, but if you removed the teenager from the child, you were left with an innocence and a purity that still astonished Barbara. None of the fabulous four watched much television anymore. Barbara sometimes let Amelia watch CBBC, but mostly recorded suitable programs for her, so that she never saw anything with adult themes. In the week, school filled their lives, and there was no room for anything else. Amelia wore only her uniform and her pyjamas from Monday morning to Saturday lunchtime, because of weekend prep, and she was really focussed on her studies. She was getting good grades before she started at Meadvale, and Barbara was confident that she would do well with her GCSEs. And she would emerge at the age of sixteen with good qualifications and all the life-lessons necessary for her to become a nice young lady. That was the objective. That was what petticoating was all about, and Barbara did not regret petticoating her only child for one single minute.