Chapter 2

My name is Alice Mary McConnell and I’m a teenage girl, wondering what my future holds for me. I don’t wish for things any longer. After a week of getting used to seeing the new me in mirrors, and learning to move around in a nightie, I was almost ready to face the world.

Today, I was in the passenger seat of Mums’ company car, on the road from Ramsgate to Brighton. I could look down and see my smooth legs in front of the hem of my skirt, feel the softness of the camisole and blouse I was wearing, and marvel at the touch of my hair on my neck and shoulders whenever I looked to the side. About the only thing that was giving me trouble right now were the new shoes that I had left the hospital in. They were so far away from what I used to wear; I was finding it hard to accept them as proper footwear.

My new case, with a basic set of clothes, was in the boot, alongside Mum’s overnight bag and the bag of oddments and toiletries that I had used in the hospital. My new purse was in the new shoulder bag that Mum had brought in for me. It also had a small range of the make-up that I had been given in the hospital salon, some items that I never thought that I would ever need in a million years, and a brown envelope with my life savings in.

We took it easy and stopped for lunch at the White Rock Hotel, looking out over to the Hastings Pier. For me, it was three firsts. One was having a hotel meal as a girl, two was being able to order something that I wouldn’t have normally eaten, and three was washing it down with a small glass of white wine.

Actually, make that four firsts. When we had sat at a table and were looking at the menu, a guy came over with a notepad and asked us if he could get anything for us ladies while we decided what to eat, Mum ordered the wines and he smiled at me as he turned. Being polite, I smiled back. When he was far enough away, Mum giggled.

“First day in the world and you’re flirting already!”

“Just being polite, Mum, as you brought me up to be.”

“Man to man, a smile is being friendly. Girl to boy, polite plus a smile is flirting.”

“Oh, joy! Do I get a book of rules to follow?”

“No, love, you just learn from experience. Only flirt when you want to attract a guy, or when you want him to do something for you.”

“It certainly worked today.”

She looked up to see him coming back with our glasses on a tray, along with a basket containing two hot rolls and little containers of butter. He put them on the table and told us to wave when we wanted to order.

After we had eaten, she paid the bill, and he asked me for my number. I told him that I didn’t have a phone at the moment and was only passing through. He watched as we went out to the car. Mum laughed.

“First conquest, Alice. You’re already a man magnet, just like your sister.”

“Unlike my sister, Mum, I have plans for a career, rather than marriage.”

As we left Hastings, I thought about the boy in the hotel.

“Mum, is my mobile in the case?”

“It is, but without the chip. We cancelled the connection. When you’re in the shops in Brighton, you can get it reconnected with a new number in your own name.”

“OK. I understand. What about into the future, won’t there be anyone who will ask about me?”

“We’ll have to wait and see how that pans out. You’ll be missed when football starts in the next term, but you’ve completed the exams, so nobody will question that you haven’t gone back to school.”

She handed me her own phone.

“Glorias’ number is there. When we get onto Kings Road, by the pier, send her a text to say that we’re close. Parking outside her place is terrible, so they have a plan for us.”

We skirted Eastbourne by staying on the A27 and I could see the Long Man as we passed Wilmington. The trip was becoming an adventure. At Falmer, we turned to go into Brighton. I prepared the text and found Glorias’ number to send it to, pressing send when I saw the pier in front of us.

When we turned into Cannon Place, Aunt Gloria and Uncle Maurice were standing at the kerb, a corner before the hotel. Mum pulled up and popped the boot lid. Uncle Maurice pulled out our bags while Aunt Gloria helped me out of the car. She leaned into it and gave Mum a plastic card. When she closed the door, Mum drove off and turned into the big carpark. Gloria looked at me.

“Well, Alice. Welcome to your short period of training. I wondered if it would work, but, seeing you, it’s going to be easy. You’re the image of your sister at around the same age. It’s uncanny. Morrie will take the bigger bags if you grab that small one.”

We walked around the corner to the front door. The park across the road was almost as I remembered it, with more growth and a beautiful show of flower beds. We went inside and Gloria did the guide thing.

“Morrie will take your case up to your room and take the overnight to your mothers’. She will be in one of the guest rooms overnight, while you’re on the top floor with us. This floor has this hall and to the right is the breakfast room with the kitchen behind it. To the left is the lounge and bar, with downstairs toilets, a laundry room and storeroom behind it. Upstairs, each of the next two floors have four rooms, all ensuite. At the top, we have our bedroom with a small sitting room and office. You get a bedroom of your own, ensuite of course. The last room up there is our dressing room and general storage. Every floor has a cleaning cupboard with a vacuum and a linen cupboard.”

“This isn’t what it was when I was last here.”

“Quite right. We had a lot of thought during COVID and rejigged our business plan. We don’t cater for tourists any longer. We have a number of contracts with the companies that operate shops across the road. We provide high class accommodation for their executives and representatives. It’s year round and gives us a good income. Across the road there’s four floors of parking and we have ten reserved spaces, with eight paid for by the eight biggest companies to ensure that they will have priority parking. There are sixty shops, and our occupancy rate is better than fifty percent every week of the year. The glory is that we only run as a bed and breakfast, with the lounge used by guests in the evening. It’s a very odd week if we have anyone in residence between Saturday morning and Sunday evening. They all work office hours, so leave here after breakfast and get back after they’ve eaten dinner.”

“That sounds like the rooms can be looked at every day, and serious cleaning on Saturday.”

“Quite right. With ensuites, there’s no pee pots to worry about. The clients are usually middle and upper managers, so are very tidy. They do sometimes bring in a companion for the night. We charge at double rates anyway, so it makes no difference to us. You will be working with Jan. She comes in at about nine to do the rooms. If you’re up early, you can help me with breakfast. The rooms only take a few hours, so you’re free from then until five. We have a family dinner and then prepare the breakfast room for the following day. Morrie will show you how to operate the bar in the evening.”

She showed me through the ground floor and one of the upper ones, using a keycard on the door. Skipping the next floor as identical, we arrived on the top floor, and I was shown my room for the rest of summer. It was quite large, with built-in wardrobe and a nice big bed. My case was on a purpose-built shelf, and I added my bag of toiletries. She left me to put my things away. Putting my empty case under the shelf after I had filled drawers and hung my meagre range of outfits, I picked up my bag and added my phone to it.

Going downstairs, there was a door open with Mum humming to herself. I popped my head in, and she joined me to go down to the ground floor. We found Gloria in the lounge, checking the bar stock and Mum told her that we were going to explore the shops.

Mum knew the way to the escalators, and we went up to the first shopping level. We strolled, arm in arm, into the biggest, brightest and most beautiful shops that I had ever seen. It was like being in a wonderland. We found a Vodaphone shop on that level, and I took out a contract for connection only, just needing one of their chips put in my own phone. I paid six months with cash. They gave me a card with a website to contact when I had an email address to send the invoices to.

We noted the location of the NatWest Bank for when I had my new ID, and spent some quality time in Victorias Secret, a first for me but much needed as I didn’t have a lot of underwear or sleepwear. It was daunting at first, but Mum was very patient as I dithered. When I left, I was wearing a bra, ‘for girls who haven’t fully developed’, with another three in the shopping bag with the rest of my purchases.

As we strolled, Mum stopped outside the EE Store.

“That old laptop you’ve been using, love. That will be a bit past it for advanced studies. Let’s have a look in here and see what we can get you. Your Dad can use your old one for his work. You didn’t leave anything incriminating on it, I hope.”

“Just schoolwork and research for essays, Mum. Easily wiped. The access code is in the top drawer of my old desk.”

“When I get home, we’ll power it up and delete your email address, so that you’re unreachable.”

When we were back outside, I had a computer bag hanging off my shoulder, with an Acer Aspire sixteen inch with sixteen gig RAM and five/twelve gig of SSD memory. It had been eight hundred pounds, which Mum had paid. I also had paid cash for the bag, keyboard and mouse special, and a subscription for MS 365 for a year, becoming an EE registered customer. Once I was online, with a new email address, I could activate the 365 and send my new contact details to the family desktop.

Back at the hotel, I put my things in my room and then went down to the kitchen to help with dinner. That evening Uncle Maurice showed me how to pour beer, use the spirits cups, and keep a record of the drinks supplied. No money changed hands, but I was told to look out for anyone exceeding the usual drinking, as they would be reported to their company, and they knew it.

It didn’t take very long for me to get the hang of it, allowing my Uncle to go off and do other things. Mum was helping Gloria in setting up the breakfast room, so I was alone in the lounge with four executives. The two men played poker for matches, while the two women watched the TV show. I had a stool that I could perch on, so it was reasonably easy. After the guys had gone to their rooms to do their office work, both ladies sat on stools in front of me and we talked.

I told them that I was helping my Aunt out before going to Benenden. One had gone there, and I learned a lot about my future that evening. When they had gone to their rooms, I tidied up and collected the empties on a tray to take into the kitchen for a wash. When I brought them back, I stacked them, tidied the room and turned off the TV. Uncle put his head in and told me that he would put the lights out. Mum had already gone to bed, so I went up to my room.

When I had closed the door, I was alone for the first time in nearly three weeks. I undressed and put on one of my new nighties, a very different sensation to the cotton ones that I had been wearing. I sat in bed with the laptop, powered it up and checked out Windows Eleven, which was new to me. Using the hotel internet connection, I played a few games of FreeCell before I turned off and made ready for bed. After my cleansing, I set my phone for an early alarm. I may as well start as I mean to go on. When I switched off the light, there was a glow from the streetlights in the room. I laid and contemplated my day. It had been a roller-coaster, that was for sure. All of a sudden, I had become an adult, with a closer bond with my mother than ever before. I must have smiled a lot in the night, as my cheeks felt tired when the alarm buzzed.

In the morning, I was showered, dressed, and downstairs in good time to help with the client breakfasts. I wore a simple top and plain black skirt, getting the waitress job. When they had finished, including Mum, the three of us had our own breakfast. I walked with Mum to the car and hugged her before she left. She dropped me off after she had gone through the barrier, and I took the card back to Gloria.

When Jan arrived, we looked in all the rooms with the doors open, changing the bed linen and pillows, then vacuuming and tidying. Lastly, we looked into the rooms where the doors had been shut, with one still containing the clients’ case. We remade the bed and tidied up. Further cleaning and changing would be for when they had left. Jan and I worked well and took the linens down to the laundry to put through the washers and driers, folding the dry loads from yesterday to put back in the linen cupboards.

I wandered over to the shops again, just looking. After my time in Victorias Secret, it was easier to wander around the dress shops, just looking, feeling and trying things on. That afternoon, I discovered what I liked, and a few assistants told me what I may like but wouldn’t suit me, explaining about skin tone and body shape.

On Saturday, I was ready when Gloria came with me. I took her to show her what I had found, and it didn’t take long before we had spent a bunch of the money that Mum had left with her. I now had enough to need another suitcase.

At the end of the following week, there was an envelope in the post for me. It was my new birth certificate. That afternoon, I went to the shops and opened up a bank account with Natwest, depositing most of what I had left in my bag. I gave the hotel address as my current abode, and they would post me my new debit and credit cards.

That took a week, and I was then able to go online to notify EE of my credit card to pay for further subscriptions. I also went on to the Vodaphone website to do the same for my phone. I could now activate the 365 and start using Outlook, although I only had my family to talk to at the moment. Mum and Dad arrived next Saturday and took me out for dinner with them. We caught up with what we were all doing. Dad got serious as we were drinking our coffee.

“Alice, love. There was something that happened during the week. One of your teachers went to the hospital and asked to see you. He was told that you weren’t there and had been taken away. He jumped to the conclusion that there must have been something really wrong and tried to contact you by phone and email. Of course, the phone wasn’t connected any more, and the email bounced. When I was asked about you, I said that you weren’t around any longer and that we were now alone and thinking of selling the house to downsize. The upshot is that they put a notice in the local paper, this morning, in memory of a good student and team player.”

“So, the Alec is dead! Long live the Alec.”

“That’s right. Nobody asked us when or where you were buried, so, as far as the school is concerned, you’re no longer with us. That means that when you visit us, it will have to be as our niece until we’re away from there.”

I proposed a toast to absent friends and we all took a sip and grinned. My new life was now free to live. They went home on Sunday afternoon, and I worked through the remaining weeks in the hotel, wandering the city shops, the pier, and the local tourist sights.

Next time I saw Mum, I was waiting by the side of the road with my luggage beside me, at the spot where we had been dropped off. I had said my byes to my Uncle and Aunt, who told me that I would be welcome back any time. When Mum stopped, she popped the boot lid and I put my cases, my computer bag, a sports bag and a small cosmetic case in the back. I closed the boot and got in the car, leaning over and giving her a kiss on the cheek before I did up the seatbelt.

“Hello, Mum. This is going to be interesting.”

“Good morning, Alice. It’s amazing, but nobody could ever tell that you haven’t been a girl since birth.”

“That was the point, wasn’t it?”

“It was. The thing is that you’ve taken to the life as if Alec had never been here.”

“Alec. Alec who?”

“How did you get on with the guests?”

“They were good. I now have a purse loaded with loyalty cards. Miss Foster from the sporting supplier got me into her shop and kitted me out with tennis gear. They took some pictures of me in various tennis poses that will be in their shop windows next summer. She gave me some money and a full outfit, including a couple of good racquets that the assistant assessed as being right for my size and strength. He said that looked like I had good arm strength for a girl.”

“That’s good. They do tennis at the school. They don’t have a football pitch, so you’ll have to take up something to keep fit. Any boys bother you.”

“It depends on what you mean by bother, Mum. I met a few while I was exploring the town. A couple bought me lunch. I would always tell them that I worked evenings in a private bar, so proper dates were out. One or two were happy with a kiss. There was one boy, Wayne, who I met up with, more than once, and we had quite a pash session in the ghost train on the pier. I won’t miss any of them and really did enjoy the experience.”

“I see that your hair is really nice. Different colour?”

“Two hours in the salon this week. A bit more up-market than Ramsgate Hospital. It seems to be growing quickly. I’m as smooth as a babies’ bottom, all over. I hope that the school doesn’t mind the ear studs. I’m still getting used to them.”

“Some bling as well, I see.”

“Yep! Genuine bling from genuine bling shops in the Lanes. All look like a thousand, but nothing over a fiver. It took a while to get the hang of wearing a couple of rings, and I sometimes can feel them, even when I can see them on my bedside table. I’ve got a china finger that they all sit on. Actually, there is one ring that’s real. Real gold plated. Wayne gave that to me on the Friday before he went back to Huddersfield. That was from the twenty quid tray in the Lanes.”

We had a good talk as we rode along, stopping for lunch at the Royal George in Hurst Green. From there, we stayed on better roads to Hartley, and then cut east towards Benenden, turning left to go to the school. We were here in the week before the start of term. It was to give us both a full tour, put my things in my room, give us the uniform list, and sign the paperwork.

When we arrived and sat down with the assistant head, I found out that although I was at Benenden, the sixth form college was in a separate complex called Echyngham House. I would be sharing a room with two other girls in the Beeches Boarding House. Mum would be with me overnight, as we needed to go to the on-site Stevensons shop to get my uniforms. We were told that sixth form had a lot of leeway with uniforms, with the usual outfit being a pale blouse over a short, dark, skirt.

The site tour was done with us in a golf buggy, with a driver and a guide. We got to see everything. The place was huge! There were complexes for boarders, classrooms, an entertainment centre, laboratories, cookery kitchens, enough tennis courts to be an alternative venue for Wimbledon, and a full-size running track. The entertainment centre was the base for music, dance and drama classes. The list of Advanced Level Subjects was longer than the full curriculum of my old school.

With my results, I was encouraged to sign on for more than I thought that I could do. There was a combined English Language and Literature. Physics and Biology were certain, along with Maths and French, all of my higher scores. One that was new was Further Mathematics, and another that we discussed was a general Business subject, which had some computer content, as they didn’t do a computer course.

I was also given a list of the co-curricular activities to look at, just something to fill the weekends as a boarder. I caught a glimpse of the fees, and it took my breath away. That evening, as we were getting ready for bed in the room that I would call home, I sat on the bed.

“Mum. I saw the fees today. Sending me here will cost sixty thousand a year without extras. That’s getting up to a quarter of a million for the three years. Can you afford that?”

“Darling. We wouldn’t be doing it if we couldn’t. We had no further education costs for your sister, and the only costs of your schooling, so far, has been uniforms and books. Between us, your Dad and I earn close to that every year, and we save a regular amount. With our savings, we can afford to send you here. More to the point, can you afford to not be here. This school was founded in nineteen twenty-three. Princess Anne came here, most of the daughters of the peerage are old scholars, pupils go on to be famous doctors, lawyers, politicians. You name it, a Benenden girl will be near the top of the tree. You’re an exceptional girl with a first-class brain. This is the place to get the first-class education and one hell of a contact book.”

“OK, I get the reason. If you find it hard, I can always drop out.”

“No. If you’re doing well, we’ll make sure that you go the distance. The results will be well worth it. You may even get a career without needing to do university if you make the right contacts. We discussed this at length and decided that this was the best way to ensure your success in life as our daughter.”

The next day, we bought the school-approved clothing for a sixth-form girl and Mum left to go home. We were both a bit teary when we hugged. She said that they would be in their new home by Christmas and to stay here for the breaks up to then. I was worried that when I was taken home, it would be to some large caravan in a park full of them.

Over the next couple of days, I explored the school more and met up with some of the other girls who had arrived early. I spent some time on the running track to see if I still had my speed. I spent some time in the gym on their machines, and I was attracted to a tennis court where a few were playing. Invited to join in, I told them that I had the kit but was a total amateur. A half an hour later, I had joined them and started to get the hang of it. My speed and agility, plus my arm strength, were points in my favour. By the end of the session, I was told that I just had to join them whenever they were playing.

Just before the beginning of term, I met the girls that I was sharing with. Clementine was a budding model and daughter of a baron. Geraldine was the daughter of a lawyer and a bit more down to earth. Both were a year older than me and had arrived in BMW sports cars. Clementine looked as if she had been chosen to advertise the brand. They made me feel like the poor relation, until we got talking about boys, clothes and drink. I wasn’t a drinker, but the hotel bar had taught me a lot about the brands and the differences between them.

On top of that, they both played tennis at club level, and it only took me to beat one of them in a serious game to be considered an equal.

Marianne Gregory © 2026