May Queen Book 1 by Maddy Bell Copyright© 2024 Madeline Bell One day your life is just, well life, the next has Daisy in it!

As you might imagine, I didn’t sleep well or long, my dreams a fantastical mix of what if’s and fantasy. Okay, I do have quite a vivid imagination, my teachers expect me to get an A at the very least in English Language, but honestly, I couldn’t see how they, we could pull this off. On the other hand, if I don’t at least give it a go we’ll never know will we?

"Morning kiddo,” Mum greeted when I made my way to the kitchen for breakfast.

Dad and Jake were nowhere to be seen, they’d both be at footy training, not my cup of tea, I’m more a cricket man and I’m no great shakes at that.

"Mornin’,” I allowed.
"Full English?” she offered.
"Er sure,” was she buttering up the condemmed? You could see that she was dying to ask the question, so I thought it worth a punt, could I have scrambled rather than fried?”
"No problem kiddo, there’s tea in the pot.”

Usually about this point it’d be a conversation about my plans for the day, which, to be honest were usually on the lines of getting the bus into Worksop for cricket practice, sometimes Mand would tag along and we’d do the teen thing around the town centre for a bit, if there wasn’t cricket we might even go down to Newark. There isn’t really a great deal going on for the youth of Wellow outside of school, school friends can live ten miles away, it’s not like the buses connect everywhere in any sort of timely manner. But this morning, the question wasn’t even posed.

The food had mostly been in the warming oven, yes we have an Aga, the scrambled eggs took literally two minutes in the microwave so, by the time I’d poured the tea, ‘pour me one’, my breakfast was placed on the table. Oh boy, Mum really had gone the extra mile, sausage, bacon, tomato, mushrooms, hash brown, black pudding, the eggs and fried bread, the Full Monty indeed.

"Thanks,” I allowed reaching for the red sauce.
"I know you like a fry up.”
 
Who doesn’t? I barely had the first forkful in my mouth before she broke.

"You made a decision?”

Had I? Well sort of, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure it was the right decision but it was mine, no one had pressured me one way or the other so it was all down to me. I finished eating my mouthful of egg, bacon and fried bread before replying.

"I’ll do it.”

Mum’s face lit up with obvious relief.

"I’ve got two conditions, firstly my girl name will be Daisy and secondly, you let me finish my breakfast in peace.”
"Daisy it is, I’ll leave you to eat, I need to ring your Gran, let her know.”
"Sure,” I agreed.

Daisy? Where the hell did that come from? I had given it some thought this morning as I lay in bed, you don’t usually get to name yourself in this life, you go from cutie, poppet, darling to whatever your parents decide. I’d tried a few options out in my head, Joanne, Sarah, Julie, Rose and I’d sort of settled on Marie, not a common name but quite traditional.

So why did I blurt out Daisy as my choice to Mum? I ran it through a few scenarios as I consumed my plate of food, there weren’t any weird substitutions, shortening it to Dais wasn’t too bad. Overall it was definitely girly, not in current use in the village as far as I know and, well it sounds kinda cute and sassy.

I did my best to savour what, for now could be my last meal as Johnny. I was putting the empty plate and cutlery into the dishwasher, it’s a pub okay, when I heard Mum end the call with Gran.

"Okay then Daisy, the ball is rolling, lets start getting you ready to be May Queen kiddo.”

Strangely it didn’t sound odd to be called Daisy by my Mum.
 
"So um, what now?”
"First job is to get you feeling the part, run yourself a bath, use one of my bath bombs but don’t bother washing your hair, we’ll be going over to Retford once you’re clean. I’ll sort you out some stuff to wear.”
"A dress?”
"Lets not get ahead of ourselves, besides which, no teenage girls that I know willingly wear dresses unless its an occasion and we want you to fit in with other girls your age.”
"I guess,” I agreed, at least I’m dodging that for now.
"And Dais?”
"Yes Mum?”
"Shave your legs, there’s a packet of disposables under the sink.”
"Really?”
"Really, no daughter of mine is going round looking like a rugby player.”
"Yes Mum,” I conceded. And what’s with referring to me as a girl and using my ‘new’ name all the time, I only agreed thirty minutes ago and already Johnny has been banished.
"Now off with you, we need to be in Retford at eleven thirty.”
 

I’d not had an actual bath since I was about ten, showers are just so much quicker, I don’t need to look like a prune to know I’m clean. Mum, I know does like to have a bath at least once a week, says its more relaxing than a shower. All I know is that on bath nights you do not want to disturb proceedings or you’ll know about it.

I must say, having a bath at nine o’clock on a Saturday morning did feel a bit decadent, the flowery scent of the bath bomb relaxing and the woes of the world seemed far away. A voice from beyond the bathroom door urged me to hurry up and not forget to do my legs. Easier said than done, I’m not overly hairy, not like some of the lads at school, Gareth Ardron looks like a gorilla, but even so, the razor kept jamming with hair.

But I managed to avoid a bloodbath, it wasn’t a perfect job but I’m sure I’ll get plenty of practice over the next few weeks. My legs, as I dried myself off, felt different, definitely naked but times ten and they looked, I dunno, slimmer and more shapely.

"I’ve put you some clothes out Dais,” Mum called up, obviously the creaking boards had given me away.
"Okay.”
"Don’t be all day about it, I want to leave in twenty minutes.”
 
© Maddy Bell 04.08.2025