First Day, Part One

"That's our little senorita Irene," said the hot-and-bothered sounding boy. "Pretty, but such a tease."

I stared at the Spanish girl.  

"Tease?" I couldn't help repeating incredulously. "I mean," I went on hurriedly, flurried, "I was teased by other boys quite a bit at my old school, because I'm not so good at PE, but..."

But a girl doing it to you sounded a whole lot worse!  I'd been embarrassed enough by the very thought of going to a school that had girls - I didn't at all like the thought of actually getting teased by one! Then it got worse.  

"If you're not very good at that, you'll probably get Smellissa for your PE partner at first," said my guide, and added with a kind of sympathetic sigh, "now she just loves to tease."

Surely that couldn't be her real name! "Wh-Which one is this, um, Melissa, then?" I stammered, starting to feel downright scared.  But before my flustered friend had a chance to answer, a girl's voice demanded from right behind us:

"What are the pair of you saying about me?"

I jumped and turned quickly around. There stood exactly the kind of girl I'd been fretting about having to meet ever since I heard I was coming to this school. She was wearing her skirt and socks for gym, with bare pink legs and a stuffed-out white tee and a netball under one arm.

"Is this the new boy?" Melissa continued to my friend. She seemed amused. "Heard you talking just now about how he's rubbish at gym, suppose that means I'm going to get him, great news!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't have been listening in on us!" the blushing boy put in primly. A small crowd had started to gather, maybe hoping there was going to be an argument. Irene hadn't moved, but I was fitfully aware she was watching.

"Let's see what he can do then!" Melissa challenged us boldly, with a smirk. And suddenly all eyes shot to me, so much so that I felt as if my new school uniform had just turned transparent and everyone was seeing me down to my underwear!

Irene was watching. So was everyone else. I gulped.

But there was nothing else for it. Before I knew it I'd accepted Melissa's dare. Frightened as I was, I knew that as a boy on my first day this was kind of my duty, even if it was true I was "rubbish at gym" like she'd said! So with my bouncies fast climbing-up inside my underpants I got ready to play.

She was only a girl, I told myself. How hard could this be?

Unable to wait any longer I clumsily shot out my hand to knock the ball away. Fwip! Melissa twirled and her netball-skirt kicked up, showing me light pink silky knickers with "Monday" impressed on the reverse in fancy print. This made me blush, and it also put the ball suddenly on my wrong side where I couldn't reach it. Flustered, I tried to scamper round her, but she'd already shot off. The only thing for me to do was pelt wildly after her in pursuit, with our giggling audience hot on our heels.

I couldn't, just couldn't, let a girl get the better of me on my first day!  My face was burning as if to burst, and how I strained to keep up!  With every step the pavement of the playground was a stinging slap on the soles of my feet, as I stumbled on in school shoes that were too thin for running. But try as I might, I just couldn't catch up with Melissa ahead. This girl really seemed faster than me, though I tried to tell myself that was just because she was dressed for PE and I wasn't.

There was a net not far from where we'd been talking, and Melissa was already under it.  Desperate by now I lurched double for my last flailing strides, at exactly the moment she hopped prettily to shoot.  That was how my hot face ended up in the worst place possible, as Melissa, having successfully scored, landed in a picture-perfect skirt-parachute.

I'd not even seen girls' knickers that many times, having only ever been to an all-boys school. So, to get a pair of them shoved right in my face was a bit more than I knew how to deal with!  It left me dizzy, though I stayed very aware how achy and sweaty I was.

Next second though I was furious at myself. Letting myself get in such a state over a girl whose cheesy knickers were a kind no-one had worn since the fifties...!

Her boobs and her smug little smirk were before me.  All my other whirling feelings didn't change the fact I was more embarrassed than I'd ever been in my life.

"So, how does it feel to lose to a girl?" Melissa inquired.

All I knew about that was that Irene must have seen.  That was why I couldn't even bear to turn round and look at her...!

END OF PART ONE