Taken for a Ride

Chapter 3

A few days later, on Mrs Liang’s orders, I took a taxi over to her house. She opened the door to me, nodding approval at the overnight bag in my hand.《Ah, come in. Did you bring what I told you to?》She stepped back to let me in.

《Everything on your list, yes. And I booked the fortnight’s leave at work. They weren’t happy at the short notice, but I said it was a family emergency.》

《Well, that wasn’t a lie. Thanks to your irresponsibility, it is an emergency for my family,》she snapped.

《OK, so why am I here? This isn’t how I want to be spending Sunday night.》It wasn’t worth arguing about my responsibility for the situation.

《I have spoken to deputy headmistress Cochran, and she is willing to help us by letting you take the cycling test at her school, but of course, she doesn’t want herself or the school to get in trouble, and she’s sceptical that you can pass for a little girl.》

《So what does she want to do?》

《She wants to interview my new daughter at the school tomorrow. I’ll give you a proper makeover tonight, to make sure you make a good impression. Come with me.》She led the way to the back bedroom. The boxes of old clothes were gone, and the whole room looked tidy and clean. To my surprise, there was a She-Ra poster on the wall, and a couple of soft toys on the bed, as if the room were occupied by a real little girl.

《You will be sleeping here tonight, so you’ll be ready for an early start in the morning. Now take your clothes off and wrap this towel around you. And don’t forget to take out your contact lenses,》Mrs Liang said as she bustled out, and I began to undress. I took off my dress and sandals, then my bra and panties, and wrapped myself in the large fluffy bath towel on the bed. She came in just as I was putting my lenses in their case and beckoned to me. I followed her into the bathroom, and she closed the door. She picked up a tub of cleansing cream, and I noticed with surprise that she was wearing blue rubber gloves.《Let’s get that make-up off you first,》she said.

She knelt down and slathered cream over my face, telling me to close my eyes as she worked the cream up to my hairline and into every fold of my features. She paused for a moment, then tugged off my towel, and I felt her smear something cold between my legs and up onto my lower belly. I squealed and tried to flinch away in surprise. Mrs Liang grabbed my arm, and I felt a flash of pain as she swatted me once on the bottom.

《Keep still!》She continued to massage whatever it was into my groin, and it soon warmed up and began to tingle. I burned with humiliation at the way she touched me in such an intimate place. I waited, hearing her moving around the room, but after a seemingly interminable interval, she turned on the shower and guided me into it.《Rinse off the cream, and use the body wash and shampoo in there.》I rinsed the cream off my face and then directed the shower between my legs. My relief at washing away the itching cream turned to shock when I realised that my pubic hair had disappeared with it, leaving my groin as bare as a baby’s. It was too late to worry about it, I realised, so I washed my body and shampooed my hair with the products Mrs Liang had supplied. She left me no time to linger under the hot water, but banged on the shower door, calling out《Hurry up, Daughter!》

I stepped out of the shower, and Mrs Liang dried me before wrapping me in the towel again. Then she sat me on a stool and combed out my wet hair. She combed it forward at the front, telling me to close my eyes. I obeyed, and before I could react, I heard three quick snips of scissors!《Hey, what are you doing to my hair?》

《I’m just tidying it up. Now be quiet unless you want another spanking.》She wrapped my hair in a towel to soak up most of the water, then plugged in a hairdryer to finish it off. Once my hair was dry, she brushed it into two sections and plaited it into a pair of pigtails. She stood me up, and I tried to see what I looked like, but the bathroom mirror was all steamed up from my shower.《You can admire yourself later.》

Mrs Liang led me back to the bedroom and stood me in front of the full-length mirror. I saw at once that she’d cut my hair into a fringe falling to my eyebrows, with the rest pulled back into pigtails, giving me a classic schoolgirl hairstyle. Nervously I undid my towel and gasped at my slightly fuzzy reflection. Stripped of my pubic hair, scrubbed of every trace of make-up, and with a juvenile haircut, I honestly did look like a little girl. I tried in vain to see any trace of the smart, confident professional woman that I always thought myself.《What have you done to me?》I gasped.

《I have done what was necessary to ensure our family does not lose face. What’s the matter? You look perfect as my younger daughter.》

Much too perfect, I thought as Mrs Liang brought me the clothes I was to wear. She handed me plain white cotton panties and a training bra. I put them on, finding that they fitted me as if they’d been bought for me. Then she held out a pink A-line dress with a rounded white collar. I raised my arms, and she slipped it on over my head. As I buttoned up the front, I found, to my dismay, that the skirt was short, falling only to mid-thigh. Mrs Liang gestured for me to sit on the bed and buckled a pair of white sandals on my feet. She rummaged in my overnight bag, took out a spectacle case, and handed me my emergency glasses. I’d bought them on price, and they had simple round lenses with metal rims. I put them on, stood up and went to the mirror to inspect my now clear reflection. A bespectacled little girl looked back at me, and as Mrs Liang came up behind me and put her hands on my shoulders, I realised that nobody seeing us would think we were anything but mother and daughter. Not only was I completely convincing as an eleven-year-old girl, I worried I might even look younger. It was as if I was cut off from the adult I was less than two hours ago. Then I was an attractive woman, but now my flat chest and childish dress took away any shred of desirability.

《From now on, until we extricate ourselves from the mess you created, you are Liang Meili, my second daughter, and you will answer to that name only. You will address me as your mother and Lusi as your big sister. Is that clear?》

《Yes,》I nodded.

《Yes, what?》Mrs Liang squeezed my shoulder.

《Yes, Mama,》I capitulated.

《That’s better. And remember that as long as you are a good, well-behaved, and above all obedient little girl, nobody needs to see or hear your embarrassing photos and words. But for now, come along; I must prepare our dinner.》

I looked around and noticed that my purse, the clothes I was wearing when I arrived, and my wristwatch were nowhere in sight.《Where is all my stuff?》

《I put those things away to keep them safe until they’re needed. Little girls shouldn’t play dress-up in grown-ups’ clothes anyway; they might damage them.》She took my hand and led me to the sitting room, where Lucy was waiting. She was watching TV, but muted the sound and stood up as we entered, giggling and clapping her hands.

《Oh, my! You look perfect, Little Sister! No one is going to suspect that you’re really twenty-seven. You certainly can’t drive looking like that.》Much too perfect, I thought again, hearing her say aloud what I had been thinking since I saw my reflection clearly. My makeover and childish clothes had utterly erased my adulthood.

Mrs Liang pushed me gently towards Lusi and said,《I don’t want to hear any more of that sort of talk, Daughter. We can’t afford any little winks and smiles that might give us away. This is your little sister, Meili, and you must forget she was ever anything else. As for you, Second Daughter, Lusi is Big Sister, and you must defer to her as you do to me. I give her permission to discipline you if you misbehave when I am not present.》Lusi’s eyes widened, and she grinned broadly. I was horrified. It was humiliating enough to receive a spanking from Mrs Liang, and now I had to worry about being punished by Lucy too. I couldn’t help imagining myself face down over her lap.

Mrs Liang left the room, and Lucy sat down, patting the sofa next to her in invitation. I sat beside her, tugging my short skirt in a futile attempt to show less thigh. Lucy picked up the remote and changed the TV onto some children’s cartoon channel for me to watch while she played a game on her phone. I gazed blindly at the colourful childish antics on the screen while I tried to process what had happened to me. The tight compression of my training bra, the touch of my panties on my hairless groin, the feel of the leather sofa under my bare thighs, and the way the sofa’s deep seat forced me to sit with my legs straight out and my feet in the air all conspired to undermine my sense of self. I didn’t just look different, I realised. I felt different too, as if I were another person entirely.

After an hour or so, Mrs Liang called us to the kitchen to set the table. Lucy mainly ordered me around, saying that I needed to learn where everything was. Her mother nodded firmly in confirmation, so I scurried around, putting out the bowls, chopsticks, and other items. We ate dinner, sharing the food like a typical Chinese family. The food was excellent, and dinner was definitely the best part of the day so far. Even the way Mrs Liang and Lucy kept calling me ‘Daughter’ and ‘Little Sister’ to reinforce my new identity couldn’t put me off. After dinner, Mrs Liang left Lucy and me to do the washing up. Lucy washed while I dried, struggling a bit with the height of the countertop.《You need a hop-up, Little Sister,》Lucy giggled, obviously enjoying her height advantage. I stuck out my tongue, but then felt like biting it off as I realised how juvenile the gesture had been. Lucy smiled at my expression.

Once we’d put away the dinner things, Lucy and I joined Mrs Liang in the sitting room. As we entered, she turned off the television and said,《TV makes you stupid; books make you smart. You girls read until bedtime.》Lucy pouted but took a book off the shelves and opened it at a bookmark. Mrs Liang picked up a new-looking paperback from the coffee table and handed it to me. It was titled ‘The Children of Castle Rock’. Judging by the colourful cover, it was a book aimed at children, and when I read the blurb on the back, sure enough, it was about the adventures of an eleven-year-old girl being sent to a boarding school in Scotland. I groaned internally, anticipating the sort of simplistic writing that put me off the Harry Potter novels when everyone insisted I just had to read them. Seeing my expression, Mrs Liang said,《The man at the bookshop recommended that book for a girl your age and said it has won awards. You need to read to improve your English.》

《Yes, Mama,》I said and sat down, wondering what she meant; the only flaw in my English was my Chinese accent, and reading would not help with that. She smiled at hearing me address her as my mother without prompting. The writing was as babyish as I’d feared, but at least it was lively, and I was soon engrossed in the story.

《It is time for you to go to bed, Second Daughter. It is a school day tomorrow,》said Mrs Liang some time later. I looked up, startled, and was surprised to see it was already nine o’clock. I stood up reluctantly but obediently followed Mrs Liang out. Lucy grinned at me, very obviously amused that I had been demoted to an earlier bedtime than her.《I have put out night things for you in your bedroom,》Mrs Liang went on,《that I think are just perfect for a young girl like you.》My heart sank to see her smile.

Spread out on the bed was a little girl’s pyjama set in white cotton printed with little flowers. At Mrs Liang’s gesture, I undressed and put the pyjamas on. The sleeveless top was like a babydoll nightie, flaring out around my narrow hips and hiding any curves I might have. There were frills around the arm holes and little cloth flowers sewn to the bodice. The pants were plainer with an elastic waist and hanging loose to mid-calf. In the mirror, I looked almost unbearably cute and hideously convincing as a little girl.

《Stop admiring yourself, and clean your teeth,》said Mrs Liang, bustling me into the bathroom. She handed me a brand new child’s toothbrush, still in its packaging. I opened it, squeezed on my toothpaste and started brushing. Mrs Liang insisted that I spend two minutes on it. I spat, rinsed, and spat again before wiping my face with my flannel. Mrs Liang escorted me back to what I was beginning to think of as ‘my’ bedroom. I took off my glasses and climbed into bed. Mrs Liang tucked me in, and with a smile, she slipped a teddy bear in beside me. I rolled my eyes, and she wagged her finger at me warningly. Then she left the room, switching off the light and closing the door behind her.

I lay in the dark in the narrow child’s bed, dressed in little-girl pyjamas, with my pigtails framing my face on the pillow, wondering how a few hours, a makeover, and a change of clothes could make me feel so cut off from my real self. How could I have foreseen that doing a favour for Mrs Liang would lead to me being spanked like a child and blackmailed into obeying her commands? Oh well, I thought, all I have to do is satisfy this Cochran woman that I can pass for a little girl and get through the cycling proficiency test. Then I’ll be home free and able to return to my adult life, putting this horrible experience behind me. I yawned suddenly and realised that I felt surprisingly sleepy, given how early I’d been put to bed. After a few more minutes, I could hardly keep my eyes open and slipped, unaware, into sleep.