Taken for a Ride

Chapter 4

I was woken by a blaze of light and the sound of clapping. I squinted in the sudden brightness and saw Mrs Liang, who’d obviously opened my bedroom curtains to let in the morning sun. She clapped her hands again and said,《Get up, Second Daughter. It’s a school day, and you mustn’t be late.》I groaned, and she turned down the bed cover. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. As I scampered to the toilet, my reflection in the bedroom mirror reminded me of how I’d apparently been transformed into a little girl. After I relieved myself, I washed my hands and splashed cold water over my face to wake myself up. I’d obviously slept heavily.

I returned to the bedroom, where Mrs Liang was laying out the clothes I was to wear. She looked up as I came in and said,《Lusi’s old dress fit you well yesterday, so I’m sure her old uniforms will too. It is so fortunate that we hadn’t donated them or thrown them away. Now, hurry up and get changed. Or do you need my help?》

《I can dress myself,》I snapped. Mrs Liang looked at me warningly,《I mean, no, thank you, I can dress myself, Mama.》

《Much better. I’ll get breakfast, but don’t keep me or Big Sister waiting.》She left the room. I closed the door behind her and undressed. I put on the plain white training bra and panties first. Apart from the slight flattening pressure of the bra, they fit very well. I paused before putting on the next garment, the standard Wellesley Girls High summer junior uniform, a dark blue plaid dress with a white collar and matching cuffs on the short sleeves. Putting on a school uniform for the first time since I was eighteen seemed somehow an irrevocable step away from my adulthood. I tried to shake off the feeling; it was just a costume, surely? It wasn’t going to magically turn me into a real little girl. I slipped on the dress and buttoned it up the front. I sat on the bed to pull on a pair of white ankle socks and then knelt to put on and lace up the clumpy black Department of Education-approved Oxford shoes. Everything seemed to fit horribly well. I put on my glasses and stepped in front of the mirror, and a bespectacled schoolgirl looked back at me. I couldn’t see any detail out of place.

Lucy burst into my room without knocking, “Come on! Breakfast is read-” She stopped short and stared intently at me. “Oh my, Little Sister, you make a perfect year seven! No one who sees you will ever believe you’re anything else.” She was wearing a school uniform herself, of course, but it was that of a senior girl, a year eleven, a white blouse with the school’s WGHS monogram embroidered on the left breast and a plain dark blue skirt. I wished I were in the senior’s uniform, but then realised how ridiculous it was for me to feel jealous of a schoolgirl or to wish I were wearing a school uniform of any kind. I followed Lucy into the kitchen, where the smell of a traditional Chinese breakfast took me back to my real childhood.

《Good morning, girls,》Mrs Liang greeted us.《You both look very smart, a credit to your school. Now sit down and eat.》

Lucy and I tucked into our steaming bowls of zhou topped with pickled vegetables and shredded pork, accompanied with youtiao so crisp and fresh that I exclaimed,《Did you make these yourself, M- Mama?》Lucy sniggered, hearing me call her mother ‘Mama’.

《Of course, Daughter. I want my girls to have a good start to the day.》

《Mama will teach you how to make youtiao when you are older, Little Sister,》Lucy teased,《deep frying is too dangerous for little girls.》She was getting altogether too deeply into her big sister role, I thought.

We finished our breakfast and cleared the table. Then Mrs Liang said,《I will drive Meili to school today because we both need to meet with Ms Cochran. You can come with us, or ride your bike as usual, Elder Daughter.》

《Don’t you think it’d be best for her to ride? If her friends see her with me, won’t it lead to questions we don’t want? We just want to satisfy this lady, book me in for the cycling test, and then get out of there,》I said. 

《I suppose that makes sense,》Mrs Liang said, obviously amused by my desire to keep the lowest possible profile.

《It’s not like I want to be seen hanging out with my little sister,》Lucy snorted,《or be driven to school like a little kid. I’ll ride, thank you very much.》

《I’m not a little kid!》I protested.

《You sure look like one,》Lucy laughed,《and what you see in the mirror is really you, no matter what mental image you have of yourself. When people look at you now, they won’t see Anli, the professional woman. They’ll see a little kid with glasses in a school uniform. You can’t drive, and Mum’s put away all your identification, credit cards and whatever. Nobody is going to believe you’re twenty-seven, so get used to it!》

Mrs Liang slapped her hand on the table.《Enough! Both of you! Elder Daughter, don’t be mean to your little sister, or you’ll find out that you’re not yet too old to receive a spanking.》I stuck out my tongue at Lucy, and her mother turned to me.《As for you, Second Daughter, you’re going to be a well-behaved little girl, or I’ll warm your bottom again. Do you both understand?》Lucy and I gave chastened nods.《You squabble like sisters, which is nicely authentic, but you must stay in character. Now go and get ready for school while I clear the table.》

Lucy stood up and beckoned me, so I followed her out into the hall.《Mum found you my old backpack. You don’t have any books yet, but I put in some folders and school supplies. Let’s try it on you,》she said and held up a navy blue pack with the WGHS badge printed on the back in white. I slipped into the straps, and she adjusted them, saying,《Year sevens always wear them neatly adjusted like this at the beginning of the year. As a senior, I’m too cool for that, of course.》Satisfied with my backpack, she shrugged on her own, which had the straps loose and the buckles unfastened so that it hung low on her back. I rolled my eyes at these immature status games and went to the front door with Lucy. I sat on the step while she got her bike out of the garage, strapped on her helmet, and rode off with a wave.

I heard footsteps behind me, and Mrs Liang said,《Once you’ve passed the Cycling Proficiency Test, you’ll be able to ride with Big Sister. Won’t that be fun?》

《Once I’ve passed the test, I’ll be done with this ridiculous charade and back to my adult life,》I said. I stood up and turned to find her smiling condescendingly at me.

《Yes, yes. Little girls are always in such a hurry to grow up but remember, you must stay in character this morning, Meili. Now, put your pack in the car.》She opened the boot of her Hyundai Kona, watched me put my backpack in, and then closed the tailgate. Then she opened the nearside rear door for me to get in.

《I’m big enough to ride in the front,》I protested,《I’m eleven, not seven.》Mrs Liang grinned.《I mean, I’m supposed to be eleven.》I blushed, realising that I was behaving like a real eleven-year-old wanting to ride in front.

《You’re barely tall enough to ride in front legally, and the recommendation is that children under twelve should ride in the back. At least you don’t need a booster seat. Now get in!》She gave me a token swat on the bottom, and I grudgingly climbed into the seat. I fastened my seatbelt, and Mrs Liang reached over to check the buckle as if I were a child who couldn’t be trusted to do it properly. She closed the door, walked around the car, and sat in the driver’s seat. She started the engine, and we pulled out of the drive.

It was only a short drive from Mrs Liang’s house to the school, and all too soon, we were pulling into one of the visitors’ parking spaces. I got out of the car, and Mrs Liang helped me put on my pack. Then she took my hand and led me into the school’s main building. She obviously knew where she was going from previous visits, and we walked through the halls past girls of various ages wearing the school’s uniforms. Some stared at me, but only with the indifferent curiosity they would show to any new girl. We went into the administration office, and Mrs Liang announced us to the school secretary. She made a call, and after a few moments, a woman emerged from an office door. She was tall and thin, wearing a cream bow-neck blouse, a tweed skirt, and brown pumps with modest high heels. She had short salt-and-pepper hair and wore reading glasses on a chain around her neck. I found myself envying her outfit; it might have been rather dowdy, but at least she was dressed like an adult woman. She stared at me for a long moment and then said, “Good morning, Mrs Liang. And this must be your daughter Meili. Please come this way.” She led us into her office, closed the door behind us and gestured for us to sit. I slipped off my pack and took one of the visitors’ chairs.

Ms Cochran said, “Is this some sort of joke, June? You told me you had an adult friend who needed to pass for a year seven to take the cycling test. But surely this can’t be her?” Mrs Liang just smiled. “Can it?”

I smiled ruefully, “I’m afraid it is, Ms Cochran. I’m really twenty-seven.” Mrs Liang nodded in confirmation.

“Stand up and turn around,” said Ms Cochran. I complied, and she waved me back down on my chair. She scribbled on a notepad, tore off the page and handed it to me. “Read that aloud.”

“Hello, my name is Meili Liang,” I spoke without my usual deliberate effort to pitch my voice down, to give her the full benefit of my embarrassing little-girl voice, “and this is my first day at Wellesley Girls’ High School.”

Ms Cochran smiled, “To be honest, I didn’t think this could work, Meili, but you’re completely convincing as an eleven-year-old girl, and from this moment on, that is what you are as far as I and the school are concerned.” She opened a laptop computer on her desk and typed a few characters, presumably logging into the school network. “Right, June, let’s get your daughter enrolled.”

“Wait! What? What do you mean enrolled? I only came in so you could satisfy yourself that I could pass at the cycling test!”

“Watch your tone, young lady!” snapped Ms Cochran. “Didn’t your mother tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“That the computer system won’t let me book you in for the test unless you’re enrolled at this school,” she said as if addressing a particularly stupid pupil, “because it’s all funded through the Department of Education.”

“Oh, so it’s just bureaucracy,” I relaxed, thinking she’d just have to create a stub entry in the database. Then Mrs Liang and I could go home, and I could change out of this awful school uniform.

Ms Cochran typed rapidly, “So… Meili Liang… new enrolment… now we need to set up your class schedule.”

“Class schedule? I don’t need a class schedule; I’m not going to attend classes. I just need to do this cycling test. I’m not a real schoolgirl, remember.”

Mrs Liang glared at me, and Ms Cochran sighed impatiently, “To do the test, you must be enrolled. The system won’t let me enrol you unless you have a class schedule. If you don’t attend your scheduled classes, the system will flag you for truancy, and then questions will be asked. And I won’t have that.”

I jumped to my feet, slamming my hands down on the desk, and leaned over in a dominant gesture I used at work, though my confidence was undermined by the short uniform dress flaring around my thighs.

“This is ridiculous. I’m not doing thi- Eeek!” Before I could react, Ms Cochran grabbed my wrists and pulled me forward. I immediately lost my balance and flopped forward onto her desk as my feet came off the ground. To my horror, I felt Mrs Liang flip up the hem of my dress and pull my panties down. “Let me go!” I squealed, my legs flailing helplessly.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! My bottom exploded with pain.

“Eeeeoow! Stop i- Owwww! I’m sorr- Yeeeooow!” I wailed.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

“I thought you understand, Daughter, but I have to teach you lesson again?”

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

“Who are you?”

“I am Meili Liang, your daughter!”

“How old are you?”

“I’m eleven years old,” I sobbed.

“Are you a big girl?”

“No, I’m a little girl,”

“And where should little girls be during the day in term time?”

I hesitated, and her hand came down again.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

“At s-school! At school! They should be at school!” My tears formed a puddle on the polished surface of Ms Cochran’s desk.

“And what year should a little girl like you be in at school?”

“I should be in year seven.” I knew there could be only one answer, and I just wanted to bring this humiliating catechism to an end.

“Now say after me: ‘I am Liang Meili, an eleven-year-old little girl in year seven,’ and repeat until I tell you to stop.” She thrust her phone in front of my face. I could see the recording icon on the screen.

“I am Liang Meili, an eleven-year-old little girl in year seven.”

“I am Liang Meili, an eleven-year-old little girl in year seven.”

“I am Liang Meili, an eleven-year-old little girl in year seven.”

“I am Liang Meili, an eleven-year-old little girl in year seven.”

“I am Liang Meili, an eleven-year-old little girl in year seven.”

“I am Liang Meili, an eleven-year-old little girl in year seven.”

“I am Liang Meili, an eleven-year-old little girl in year seven.”

“I am Liang Meili, an eleven-year-old little girl in year seven.”

“I am Liang Meili, an eleven-year-old little girl in year seven.”

“I am Liang Meili, an eleven-year-old little girl in year seven.”

“That’s enough. Now stand up and apologise to Ms Cochran for being rude.”

Ms Cochran released my wrists, and I pushed myself off her desk. “I am very sorry I was rude, Ms Cochran.” I looked down in shame, unable to meet her gaze.

“And so you should be,” she replied. “Now go and stand in the corner there. Leave your panties where they are.”

I waddled over to the corner with my panties around my knees and stood there while Mrs Liang and Ms Cochran completed my enrolment. It wasn’t complicated since year sevens do a standard curriculum and don’t get to choose any electives until year eight. Facing the corner, I couldn’t see what they were doing, but what I heard made it clear that they were concocting a whole false history for me. Mrs Liang had me coming from China, where I’d been living with my father, to explain my lack of primary school records, which I suppose made sense, but then I was shocked to hear her say, “These are copies of her birth certificate and school records, and these are the certified translations.” Where did those come from? Were they forgeries? Surely they must be; how could they be genuine?

After what seemed a long time, Ms Cochran made a phone call, asking a Ms Fingal to come to her office. Mrs Liang said, “Pull your panties up, Daughter, and come over here.” I obeyed, and she cleaned my tear-stained face with a wet wipe she took from a pack in her purse.

“We’re not allowed to use corporal punishment any more, of course, June,” said Ms Cochran, “no matter how much the little shits might deserve it, so it felt so good to see you discipline your daughter. And she can’t complain without revealing her secret. It’s delicious!” She came around her desk and pinned a plastic name badge to my dress. I glanced down and saw that it carried my new name, Meili, in large letters. In my imagination, the tiny click as she fastened the badge sounded like a key turning in a lock, trapping me in this new identity. There was a knock at the door, and a young woman with frizzy red hair came in.

“Mrs Liang, this is Alice Fingal, one of our year seven teachers, who will be your daughter’s form mistress. Alice, this is June Liang and her daughter Meili who will be starting school today. She’s transferring from a school in China.”

“Hello Meili,” the teacher smiled condescendingly at me, “you must be very excited, but maybe a little scared too? Don’t worry; I’m sure you’ll fit in and soon make new friends.” I just smiled like a shy little girl, and she frowned, “You do speak English, don’t you?”

“Yes, I speak English quite well, I think,” I replied.

“That’s good,” she said with a rather too-obvious tone of relief. “Well then, come with me, and I’ll introduce you to your new classmates.”

“Be good, and work hard, Daughter,” said Mrs Liang. “Wait at the school gates until I come to pick you up at the end of school day.”

I collected my backpack and followed Ms Fingal out of the administration offices and across a grassed quadrangle. Though I remembered every step in my descent, I still could not believe how I had been transformed in less than twenty-four hours from a smart adult professional woman into a schoolgirl going to class with her teacher. Clumpy school shoes made my walk as coltish as any real eleven-year-old’s. My adulthood had been stripped away, and Mrs Liang had locked up all my identification. I was horribly afraid that nobody would ever believe I was an adult unless my new mother or the deputy headmistress vouched for me. I felt hopelessly trapped as a dorky little girl.

Ms Fingal opened the classroom door and ushered me in, “Good morning, class! Say hello to Meili, who is joining us today.”

“Good morning, Miss. Hello, Meili,” the class chorused.

“Hello, everyone,” I answered with a little wave. Ms Fingal closed the classroom door with a bang that felt like a prison gate slamming shut behind me. I took the seat she directed me to and looked around. Every girl in the class was in the same uniform as me, and I fit in seamlessly among them. Ms Fingal hadn’t picked me out, and I knew now that no one ever would.

The End.

This work is Copyright 2023 by Andrea Jane Foster. No part of it may be distributed as an original work by another person or group. This story appears here with the permission of the author. You may download a copy free for your personal enjoyment, but please respect the author’s wishes and do not reproduce or distribute this story elsewhere without their express written permission.