Chris withered under the glare of Mr Hodges.
"Forgot? Again? This is the fourth time this term!" scolded the P.E. teacher.
"I-- Umm-- I'm s-sorry sir, it was an accident," stammered Chris. This was a lie. He hadn't brought his P.E. kit to school on purpose because he hated P.E. He hardly considered charging up and down a field getting knocked over by the bigger boys to be educational, let alone fun. The other boys seemed to enjoy it plenty though. No kit, no field games.
He had recently turned 18 and was in his final year of school. Just got to make it to the end of the year, he thought, then I never have to think about Mr Hodges or P.E. ever again.
"Get down to the lost property office now and pick out a kit from there," ordered his weekly tormentor, Mr Hodges.
Chris gladly left the office and headed to the lost property room. Not that he had any intention of coming back with anything. By the time he had loitered and wandered back to tell Mr Hodges that there wasn't a kit there the game would already have begun and he'd be too busy refereeing to check on Chris' story. He'd be able to spend the rest of the session sitting in the shade watching the other boys compete.
"Don't know what to do with boys like that..." Chris heard Mr Hodges mutter to Miss Gale the girls P.E. teacher.
You should play your games and leave us to more important intellectual pursuits, thought Chris to himself.
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An hour later the P.E. class was over and the boys and girls were filing into their changing rooms. The smell of sweat and the cacophony of voices competed in Chris' mind to be the most obnoxious invader of his senses. The girls had been trying cheerleading to pick out new talent for the cheerleading squad so the inevitable wolf whistles and crude comments about the costumes wafted over the top of the general noise. Wrinkling his nose he collected his bag and headed outside to go to his next lesson.
"Not so far there young man!" called a female voice behind him.
"Yes Miss Gale?"
"Mr Hodges says you have after school detention today because of your poor attitude to your lessons."
Poor attitude! He was top of his class in science and maths. He even got good grades in English. He was just skinny and not very athletic. P.E.'s not even a real subject, he grumbled to himself.
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At 3pm everyone else was streaming out of the school gates chattering excitedly while Chris headed back towards the P.E. block with his head hung low. Mr Hodges was there waiting for him. As he was entering the P.E. block one of the girls came out.
"Left your kit behind after lesson too huh? I'm always forgetting mine and have to come back for it. I'd forget my own head if it wasn't screwed on," Stacey giggled. She was one of the most airheaded and ditzy girls Chris had ever met but she got away with it by being hot.
"Uh yeah, that's right, just got to get mine and then I'll be going home," Chris said quickly and continued to the door. He'd told his parents that he was going over to Mike's for an hour after school and he didn't want it getting out that he'd been in after school detention. His mother would ground him if she found out.
"There you are. I went to the lost property after the lesson and it turns out there was a full kit there. You lied to me." Mr Hodges stood with his arms crossed and a thunderous expression on his face. Chris didn't know what to say, and so stared at the floor.
"You think P.E. is a joke don't you? That it doesn't count, doesn't matter? Well it doesn't matter what you think because you don't get a choice. I am in charge here and until the day comes when you can bugger off to your fancy university you are going to do sport whether you like it or not, do you understand?"
"Yes sir," mumbled Chris still staring at the floor.
"I put a bag with the spare kit over there. Get it, get changed and if you're not ready in 10 minutes I'm going to the principal and putting you on report. Good luck getting your nerdy scholarship with that on your record!"
Chris grabbed the gym bag from and scurried out.
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In the changing room Chris stripped off his clothes. Better get this over with, he thought. The sooner I'm done with Mr Hodges the better. He reached into the bag for the gym shorts and shirt and pulled them out. His eyes widened in surprise as instead of the boys shorts and shirt he had been expecting a Hawkins High cheerleader's outfit spilled out onto the bench! The sleeveless one piece dress had a white top with the word 'Hawks' emblazoned across the chest in broad red lettering. The blue and red skirt was pleated and fanned out before him.
'That bastard!' raged Chris internally. 'This is just the kind of sick joke he would pull to humiliate me!'
He pulled the remainder of the items out of the bag: a pair of white trainers with ankle socks stuffed inside and a sports bra.
Chris was stunned. There was no way could wear this. Doing this to a student must be against the rules. He thrust the costume back into the bag and marched towards the door determined to tell Mr Hodges that he refused. He paused at the door however. Mr Hodges had made it clear that he'd put Chris on report for missing lessons if he didn't do the extra training. That could sink his chances of getting onto the scholarship programme. 'Damn him!' raged Chris once more; he really needed that programme. The dress, lying limply on the bench halfway out of the gym bag, enticed him back. It's just one hour, he thought. Let that pervert have his laughs and make sure to bring my proper kit next time. I can't let that meathead ruin my career before it's even begun. Still cursing the day Mr Hodges had arrived at the school Chris went back over to the bag, grasped the soft material and pulled out the kit once more.
A few minutes later Chris had stripped out of his school uniform and was pulling the red, white and blue dress down over his head. It fit his slim frame surprisingly well although it felt a little short. The slightly padded sports bra was just noticeable however he could not find any underwear in the gym bag so he kept on his boxer shorts. His search of the bag had yielded a hair tie though, and after a couple of tries he had his shoulder length hair tied back in a small pony tail. The reflection in the mirror surprised him, both because of the ridiculousness of a boy being dressed in a cheerleaders costume but also because for some reason it didn't look all that out of place. He'd expected to look like a big dude in a small dress but instead it accentuated his small build and made him look like a slightly awkward girl still learning how to dress up. Perhaps I should hit the gym more, he reflected. He laced up the trainers and went to endure his punishment with Mr Hodges.
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Chris stood in the doorway of the office with a look of shame upon his face and knocked on the open door.
"I'm here sir," he said.
Mr Hodges swiveled his chair round and froze looking shocked at the débutante cheerleader standing before him. Chris coughed nervously. Mr Hodges continued staring at him in a shocked silence.
"Erm... what would you like me to do sir?" asked Chris nervously.
"Wha-- What on Earth are you wearing?!" spluttered Mr Hodges.
"Well, the kit you gave me sir."
"I did not give you that. I found a rugby kit in the lost property for you, why on Earth would I give you one of the girls' kits? What's wrong with you?"
"What? But sir! This was the bag you told me to pick up and you said that I had to put on everything in it and if I didn't you'd put me on report sir!" Chris replied speaking faster and faster.
"Ohh..." A look of great realisation dawned across Mr Hodges. "It must have been that ditz Stacey. She was in her just before you came earlier to grab her bag that she'd left behind after lesson. She must have picked up the one with your rugby kit in it by mistake, stupid girl, and left behind her stuff." He burst out laughing. "And you, and you thought I was making you dress up as a girl as some kind of punishment for being a lazy prat, ahahaha."
Chris looked on in horror. He'd put on this stupid dress for no reason. That stupid girl Stacey!
"Sir, sir please, you can't tell anyone, it was a mistake!"
Mr Hodges laughter subsided to be replaced with a thoughtful expression.
