Content warnings for this story (click here for guide):
WEDNESDAY
“What would you like for lunch, Millicent?” asked Lily.
“To die,” muttered Ash.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Pie,” grimaced Ash.
An eyebrow was raised.
“Please,” she scowled.
Lily continued to stare reproachfully.
Ash sighed. “Please may I have some pie, Miss Green?”
“Better,” said Lily. “Much better manners. Now you sound as nice as you look!”
Ash fidgeted, conscious that the entire lunch room was looking at them.
“I want perfect behaviour today, please,” said Lily. “And no smudges on your nice clothes. You’re a collectible doll today, and I’ve only taken you out of your case for Show and Tell.”
“Show and What?” Ash spun and her sissy ringlets bobbed.
“Show and Tell? Silly dolly. You don’t remember me telling you as I buttoned you up?”
Ash looked down at today’s outfit. Lily had made her a china doll today, with cute blush cheeks, a flouncy Victorian nursery dress, ruffled apron and prim white gloves. Her head was a mass of golden ringlets, topped with a stiff white bonnet tied under the chin in a huge satin bow. With every move she made, her skirts swished and rustled.
As a complement to Ash’s get-up, Lily had acquired a perfect Mary Poppins dress, hat and coat for herself, so she resembled a miniature Victorian lady. She carried a carpet bag, the contents of which were a mystery to Ash.
As usual, the most mischievous students had waited at the gates that morning to see what humiliating guise Ash had been forced into today. As Lily led her doll to school, she waved to see them.
“Aww, looked at those cute little curls! Is this your mama?” cooed a tough kid called Dean.
“No, I’m her nanny,” said Lily.
“How’s Tilly today?” yelled another lad.
“She’s actually not Tilly today,” said Lily plainly. “She’s a nice little Victorian girl called Millicent. Isn’t that right, Millicent?”
Ash winced. “Yes.”
Pause.
“Yes, Miss Green.”
A peal of laughter rang out as Lily and Millicent trip-trapped past.
The lunch queue shuffled interminably on. From time to time one of Ash’s classmates would sidle by and madden her by talking only to her handler.
“Is she being a good girl for you? I heard she was very naughty the other day and you had to smack her bottom.”
Ash flushed scarlet at the memory.
Lily beamed and got fully into her nurse character. “She’s been ever such a good doll today. She’s remembered her pleases and thankyous and walking along very daintily in her nice shoes. She didn’t even make a fuss when I curled her hair. She was a little out of sorts this morning and her papa had to help me a little, but after that she was the sweetest of children.”
Ash felt herself grow hot as she remembered today’s encounter with Lily’s older brother.
Back in Lily’s bedroom, she had put up with being buttoned into the satin frock and having the girl primp the sickly blonde wig, but the bonnet was too far. She whined about having to wear such a fussy headpiece in school. Each time Lily tried to do it up, Ash had stood up as tall as she could, taking her head out of the shorter girl’s reach.
“Now then,” said Finn, striding into the room and putting on his best Victorian patriarch voice: “What’s all this racket? Miss Green, have you really not finished dressing her yet?”
Lily giggled at his voice, and played along. “She’s being awfully difficult Mr Branston! Such a tall child, I simply can’t reach to put her bonnet on!”
“I see, I see,” said Finn, stroking his chin. “Very well. Perhaps I shall have a private word with the girl. Would you give us a moment, Miss Green?”
Lily tittered and ran downstairs in her long dress.
Finn closed the door. Ash felt her pulse quicken.
“I’m actually impressed you’ve lasted this long,” said Finn, dropping the Victorian father act. “I’ve always thought you were a bit of a brat, to be honest. Someone who put up a tough front and made fun of others to impress her mates, even when she knew it was a shitty thing to do.”
Ash hung her head.
“But I’m seeing a new side to you now,” continued Finn. “And if I’m honest, I’m really liking this version. It’s fun seeing you blush for a change. That probably makes me a terrible person, but – eh, it’s refreshing.”
Ash bit her lip and felt her cheeks light up.
“Now then,” said Finn, adopting his Mr Branston voice once more. “No child of mine is going out in that wind with messy hair! Not after your nurse has curled it so adorably! So will you let Papa tie your bonnet on, or do you need to go over his knee?”
He ran his hand under her chin, gently stroking beneath her left ear, and Ash closed her eyes. In that moment, she wasn’t sure what she wanted, but she stood still and let him tie on the bonnet, fluffing out the huge bow beneath her chin before leading her out to the car.
“Well, Lily” said the teacher, “I’m afraid we don’t have any spare chairs. I wasn’t expecting a live Show & Tell today!”
Ash recognised Lily’s teacher as someone she had tormented during her third year at school. Rather than doing her homework for English, she had used her skill with words to dream up cruel nicknames for the tutor, organise her friends to hide equipment ahead of class, and even snuck a live spider into the teacher’s desk, knowing she feared them greatly. Clearly the memory was fresh for Ms Parsons as well. She couldn’t help smirking when she saw Ash’s fate.
“I’m afraid I can’t let her sit on the floor,” said Lily earnestly. “She’s quite a precious, valuable doll.”
“Well,” said Ms Parsons, “I think the Drama Department might have something that can help. And perhaps we can make it a feature of the presentation.”
Several minutes later, Ash found herself sat at the front of a class of 11-yr-olds, jammed into a tiny antique child’s school desk. Her frilly skirts flowed over the sides of the hard seat.
The younger kids found the sight of a tall 18-yr-old student dressed as a little china doll hilarious.
“Why’s she wearing that big silly hat?” asked one boy, and Ash cringed.
“It’s a bonnet,” explained Lily. “It’s to keep her hair looking pretty.”
“Can we have a look at her hair?” asked Ms Parsons. “This is a good lesson in how little rich girls were dressed 150 years ago. How old is she, by the way?”
Ash frowned and flushed as Lily took off her bonnet to reveal her angelic curls and a sweet silk ribbon tied at the back.
“She’s five years old,” said Lily confidently.
“What would a five-year-old girl enjoy doing back then?” asked Ms Parsons, as some of the good children took notes.
“Well,” said Lily. “Even though Millicent is a dolly, and not a real girl, she likes to play with dolls of her own because one day she wants to be a mama.”
Ash squirmed at the idea. Ugh!
“No grumpy faces please, Millicent,” said Lily, wagging her finger. “Nanny doesn’t want to have to spank you again.”
She dug into her carpet bag and held up a slipper.
“If little Victorian girls were spoiled or naughty, they would get a slippering on their bottoms,” said Lily. “Isn’t that true, Ms Parsons?”
“Sometimes, yes,” said the teacher.
“That’s why Millicent is so well behaved,” said Lily, waving the slipper in front of her Ash’s horrified face. “She knows what Nanny’s spankings are like!”
“Well, I don’t think Millicent needs a slippering today,” said Ms Parsons, taking pity on Ash. “I think she’s learned her lesson. Isn’t that right?”
Ash nodded energetically, thanking her old teacher silently for not letting her get spanked again. She felt suddenly very guilty for pulling mean pranks in the past. Ms P wasn’t so bad after all.
“Well, thank you to Lily and Millicent for such a lovely Show & Tell presentation!” said Ms Parsons. “Now, if you can help your dolly out of her seat, Lily, we’ll have the next speaker.”
Lily tried to pull Ash loose from the little desk, and Ash used all of her might to push upwards, but the puffy skirts of her dress had wedged her in place. Ash panicked. Was she stuck here?
“Oh dear,” said Ms Parsons, smothering a giggle at Ash’s fate. “Looks like we might need to lift you in your chair and plop you at the back of the class until break-time.”
Ash turned pale.
Ms Parsons went next door to a sixth-form class and brought back Finn and another tall lad.
“Noooo,” moaned Ash inwardly, and she tried even harder to pull herself free.
“Now now,” said Finn. “You’d better sit still if you don’t want us to drop you. You’re a very precious dolly, after all.”
Ash thumped the desk and folded her arms as she was carried to the back of the room.
“Good girl,” whispered Ben as he gently placed her down. Then he turned to his sister.
“Oh, Lily – Miss Green? – I think your doll is missing her bonnet.”
Ash scowled at him as Lily dashed to collect the bonnet from the teacher’s desk.
“Now, now,” he whispered, grinning mischievously at Ash. “Anyone would think you wanted a smacked bottom…”
He returned to his classroom, leaving Ash fuming as Lily fussed with her ribbon.