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Most of us had it done at some point or other. And each one mounted up like notches on a bedpost. Francesca’s parents were Christians so they’d rung up and complained. There’d been an assembly. And every time Miss Morby said “misconduct,” her lip curled up to one side and she’d look to the other teachers, who’d all nod their heads like she had them on a rope.
It was Charles who got me, when I was upside-down in a handstand.
“Debagged!” he yelled, as my arms gave way and I crumpled to the ground. And although I yanked my skirt on pretty quickly, half the boys got a flash.
“Bastard,” I shouted, my face bright red, more from the word than having everyone stare at me. He got Carol in the same way. And Kate. He pulled Lizzie’s skirt up over her face just as she was about to take an important shot with her marble. She said it didn’t count, but Charles said it did as we all saw her knickers.
He only needed one more to beat the school record, held by a boy called Stuart in the year above. There were three of them, all talking together, but Francesca was the easiest as she was redoing her hair.
“Debagged!” He slid in like he was doing a football tackle, then rolled clear, giggling, before she could kick him where it hurts.
It wasn’t like he knew about granny pants. How they came right up to the belly button. How they tucked just underneath the waistband of your skirt. It wasn’t like he knew anything until he heard her frozen scream.
And all anyone did was stare at her privates; saw she had hair growing there. I expect some people wanted to touch it: inspect themselves just in case.
Then one of the grey-permed dinner-ladies piled in and sorted her. And the rest of us made our way to lessons. Charles got expelled for being a sex pest, and when Francesca returned to school that autumn, she’d dyed her hair dark and cut off her plait.
About Rhoda Greaves
Rhoda Greaves is a PhD Creative Writing student, dog blogger, and Mum. She won second place in the flash fiction competition Flash500 (2011), was longlisted for the Bristol Short Story Prize (2012), and shortlisted for the Fish Publishing Flash Fiction Prize (2013). Her work is up coming for publication at The View From Here.
