Pulling up to the skating rink, I was getting real nervous. It was one thing to wear a dress around Mary, and the mean old sour puss, Ms. Johnson, but around real boys and girls? I thought I might tell Ms. Johnson who I really was, just one more time. I had to be careful though since  I did not want to provoke her into another switching.
    "Mrs. Johnson?" I started.
    "Yes dear." she replied.
    "I was wondering, wouldn't it be better if I wore jeans to skate in?"
    "No dear, this is polite society. None of the girls would dare wear jeans in polite society. It is so un-ladylike." she explained.
    "Mrs. Johnson?" I asked again.
    "Go ahead dear, ask your question." she was getting a little annoyed.
    "What if......I mean......what if I was really a boy, and Bobby was er... I mean, was really ....like a girl....and the other kids found out....... wouldn't that be illegal or something?"
    Turning to look over at Mary (AKA Bobby), she asked, "Are you really a girl?"
Mary did not even pause. "NO MA'AM!" she said emphatically.  (I could have shot her again.)
    "Well, Mary, seems Bobby is not a girl, and since there is a boy and two girls in this car, and since I know I am a girl, that leaves just you to be the other girl." she explained sarcastically.
    "I see." I said quickly.
    "That means that your question has no purpose except to get me angry again. I thought we had this whole "I want to be a boy idea" out of your head. Do we need to step over to the side of the rink there and have another discussion?"
 Recent memories of the brutal switching I received that morning flooded back.
    "Oh no Ma'am. I am a girl, and just was wondering." I lied again.
    "Fine, lets hear no more about it then." she said as she opened the door and beckoned us to follow.
    Mary shrugged and jumped right out. I hesitated before sliding over to the door.  I heard Mrs. Johnson tell me to hurry up, and so reluctantly moved to the outside of the car. It was somehow getting cooler, and the dress with the crinoline did not exactly add warmth.  The wind was much tougher on the skirt and I had to hold it down and even gather it up a little just to keep it under control.  It was all Mary could do to keep from laughing at my predicament. She appreciated the fact that it could have been her, and in the future definitely would be her.  I was relieved to reach the walkway leading up to the door since it had a wall that blocked the wind. Releasing the skirt I straightened it as I should and followed Mrs. Johnson to the door.  As we reached the door, I noticed our shadows on the wall. A tall woman in a narrow skirt lead the way with a shadow of a boy and a girl right behind. The full skirt, the two legs extending to the ground, was clearly evident. And as I turned a little, you could even notice the slight bust.  I was brought out of the "shadow study", by my reflection in the glass door as Mrs. Johnson opened it and ushered us in. I looked all girl, and that was the way I would be treated...... my stomach did another flip flop.
    Once inside, we could see that there were only a few people skating. Apparently the party had reserved the whole rink.  True to Mrs. Johnson's words, all the girls were in dresses. The colors, the styles, the lengths varied, but they all wore skirts of some kind. I was going to fit in quite well as a young lady.  As I waited, I looked down at myself. I could see the embroidery on my dress top, the flared skirt, but not see my feet. Leaning over I could see them, as my dress swung back out of the way.  Mrs. Johnson noticed me looking at myself.
    "You look quite lovely dear. Now just remember everything you learned today, and have a good time." she whispered, as some lady approached. She was the niece's mother, who hugged Mrs. Johnson and then welcomed us all to the party. They chatted a second as I nervously shifted my weight from one foot to another.  I knew to keep my legs together and my hands clasped tight in front of me, but this standing on display was getting old fast. You see, the other kids had seen us come in, and were standing around looking to see who we were. I tried not to look, but could feel their eyes on me. Could they tell ? I wondered. Suddenly the mother suggested that we follow her to meet the other kids.
    Reluctantly we followed. I was conscious more than ever of the skirt as it rustled around my legs. It was really weird having the skirt stick out 5 or 6 inches ahead of my leg.  I tried to walk like I had been taught, and was focusing on the basics when I was suddenly into the crowd of kids.
    "This is Bobby and Mary. Kids you need to make them feel welcome and introduce yourselves. Becky, would you show them where to get their skates?" the mother asked and then left us to the mercy of our peers.
    In just seconds two of the girls had stepped up to me and told me their names. (Becky and Jill).  They were  pretty and dressed in very similar outfits.  They explained that I was indeed welcome and that if I would go over to the desk I could get my skates. They would wait on me.
    Moving to the desk with Mary, she grinned. She was having a great time as a guy and was really liking all the male banter. At the desk the owner asked my size. I did not know. Looking at Mary she told him that we both needed 5's. He handed me a white pair, and Mary a black pair. He also handed me some white socks to wear with my skates. I took my skates and headed over to Becky and Jill. They waved me to follow and skated into the room marked, "ladies". I walked in expecting to find a bathroom, but instead it was a large lounge type area that had bathrooms through another door in the back. While I donned my skates, (as carefully as I could) they prattled on.
    Jill started, "So Mary you go to Mark Luke School?"
    "Yeah", I said.
    "Becky and I go to Washington. It is such a rotten school."
    "Why do you say that?" I asked.
    They giggled. Then Jill turned to look at me and whispered. "Because the boys are all such idiots."
    "Oh" I said.
    "What about Mark Luke? What are the boys like there?" asked Becky.
    "Well, there are some nice ones, but we have a lot of idiots too." I tried to answer as middle of the road as I could.
    "OHHH OHHHH, I think you might have a boyfriend at Mark Luke." laughed Jill.
    "I do not? Why did you say that." I asked.  Suddenly I was offended by the idea of having a boyfriend.
    "Well, you did say there were some nice boys, that tells us that you like somebody there."  She grinned.
    "Well I do like some of them, Bobby for instance, but he is not my boyfriend." I explained.
    "Yeah, sure, we understand." giggled the both of them as they winked at each other. Then Becky started away, "Come on, lets skate."
 I followed carefully behind them. There was no doubt, I now officially hated my life as a girl. In only 6 hours I had come to hate dresses, hate Mary's mother for putting me through this, and hated being a girl. Now Becky and Jill could not wait to go out and tell the others that I was Bobby's girlfriend. I thought I was going to puke.  Sure enough they did just that. In seconds it was understood that I was Bobby's girlfriend. This was not going to be my day.
    As I skated carefully around the rink, the other zoomed about. Even the other girls seemed to glide along. I tried to duplicate their moves and almost fell a couple of times. This went on for several minutes and then the DJ announced it would be boys only. I skated off to the side with the girls and watched as Mary laughed and jostled with the boys. They did the usual showing off, and it seemed that some of the girls liked some of the boys. I heard comments about "Jim being so cute"....and "Billy looking so powerful." I also heard whispers and giggles that led me to believe comments were not confined to just their looks.  At the end of the song, the DJ announced it would be girls only. I waited back, but Mary came up behind me and then shoved me out onto the floor.
    I was totally shocked and tried my best to control the speed, but instead lost my balance and went down in the middle of the floor with skirts flying.  In my attempt to catch myself, I had rubbed my bare knee on the floor and it hurt.  Luckily the crinoline had covered my rear, so I had not lost all my dignity. Struggling to get up, Mary skated over with a serious look on her face.
    "I am sorry. I did not realize my own strength." she explained as she helped me up.  Once on my feet, I straightened my dress and started skating like I never heard her.  Mary skated back to the side and waited as the laughs died down, and I bore my humiliation in silence.  Then suddenly another girl went down with a similar display of petticoats and this time the laughing was even louder. Another boy skated over to her up and she too pretended to ignore the laughter.
    I managed to skate to the end of the song without further mishap, but then the DJ announced "couples only." That cleared the floor real fast.  At 11 years of age, we were not going to do that. Then the chaperones intervened. Pairing up Becky with another boy, they pushed them gently onto the floor, while Jill and others were also paired off and forced onto the floor. I suddenly found myself being guided out to the floor with a boy named Cliff.  Cliff shrugged and pretended to be skating alone. That suited me.  As we skated however, the chaperones coaxed us to hold hands. Slowly most of the girls did as they were told and took the hand of their partner. I resisted.  Eventually, everyone was holding hands except Cliff and I. Then the other kids started yelling at us to do it too. Before I could stop him, Cliff took my hand and we skated like the others.
    His hand was wet and sweaty, or maybe mine was. At any rate, we could not wait for the song to end. I was actually skating better with his hand, but could only be amazed by the fact that I was skating "hand-in-hand" with a boy. If he only knew.
    Eventually, the song ended and we quickly broke apart and went back to our old ways.  I was relieved to be alone again, and finally found a table to sit at off the skate floor.
    Later we had a little birthday cake, and sang "Happy Birthday". Then we watched her open presents and after that we skated some more. The girls included me more and more and I found that they each had a different boy they liked, though some liked the same boy.  Nobody questioned my relationship with Bobby except to ask if I had ever kissed him. I assured them that we were just friends and had never kissed..
    After awhile I found my self alone again, wishing it would all end. Eventually, Mary joined me. She was really enjoying herself.
    "I am really so sorry about that push. I thought you could skate better than that. I guess I am really acting like a rude boy. Do you accept my apology?" she asked.
    "Yeah, I guess." I said coldly.
    "Good, I want you to know I did not mean to embarrass you."
    "I understand. It is this dumb dress." I answered.
    "Hey, you know, you do look very pretty in that dress. Actually, you look better in it than I did." she offered.  Strangely, that made me feel better. I knew it was crazy, but the compliment was nice.
    "Thanks,..... I guess." I said.
    "And your recovery from that fall was very ladylike. You showed real dignity and grace." she added.
    "Oh please, get real." I laughed.
    "Well, you did do well." she laughed, "Whether you believe me or not."
I nodded. "How much longer are we going to have to do this. And have you thought of how we are going to change back?" I asked getting serious.
    "Not long, and yes." came her reply. "But I will tell you later."
    "Tell me now." I asked.
    "Not now, I am having too much fun." she smiled.
    "I am glad one of us is having fun." I replied.
    "Oh it is great. I have never known such freedom in all my life. I was able to ride all over the neighborhood today without worrying about being "molested", I got as dirty as I wanted, and now I can be as wild as I want. Even the guys accept me as one of their own. It is great." she gushed.
    "I know, I know. I on the other hand, must be prim and proper. I have spent the day cleaning house, waiting on you, and now have to worry about boys looking up my dress, I have been treated like some doll that might break, and I just skated "holding hands" with a boy." I said in anger. "I hate this dress, and I hate your mom for doing this, and I hate being a girl!" I added. There was a pause as I looked at Mary, and  then I started to giggle. Mary giggled too. She knew very well that I was mimicking her performance from this morning.
    "See?....." she asked. "See what I meant?"
 "Yes, I see, and the next time I tell you I understand, you will have to agree won't you." I asked with a smile.
    "I guess, though a single day hardly qualifies as a lifetime as a girl." she added.
    "Long enough for a guy." I responded.
    "Well, I guess we will have to accept that." she ended and sat back grinning.
 Just then the DJ announced the last song. "Couples only."  He lowered the lights and the floor emptied again. Then slowly couples started to go out. They were the same couples as before, and Cliff once again took my hand and led me out.
    We skated around as a couple for several rounds, then in one of the dark corners we saw a couple kissing quickly and returning to the light before anyone noticed their actions.  It was Becky and Jim. (Becky thought he was cute, I remembered.)  Then as we approached the corner again we saw two couples do the same thing. Each round was the same. Some couples did it more than once, while others not at all. I was whispering loudly to Cliff that it was fun to see who was going into the shadows next.  Suddenly Cliff did a turn and pulled me into the dark.
    "I must do this to make my day complete." he said. We were in the dark and he had only seconds. "You can't ki......" I started to say but before I could finish, Cliff had planted a firm kiss on my lips. I had never kissed a girl before, and suddenly found that my first kiss would be with a boy. I was totally shocked. I wanted to slug him but Cliff turned quickly and pulled me back out onto the floor. He  no doubt knew what he was doing. It had happened so fast, I had been helpless to stop him.  He had pinned my arms forcing my arms up inside his embrace, just like any other girl would do and then he had kissed me. I was in shock, a boy had kissed me. YUCH!  What could I do?  I had to play the part with Cliff skating along beside me with a big smile on his face. What was the use? No need to scream or cuss, it was over now. I would just have to forget it. So reluctantly I finished the song with him.
    When we finished, the kids skated in to take off their skates. After removing mine and turning them in, I looked to find Mrs. Johnson. I did not see Mary either, though I knew they were both around somewhere. While I waited, Jill and Becky stopped to talk on their way out.
    "That was some kiss Cliff gave you." smiled Becky.  I must have blushed.
    "Oh don't deny you kissed him." added Jill. "We both saw you." added Becky.
    "Well, I didn't say we didn't kiss,.....but he kissed me, I.....I ......didn't kiss him." I tried to explain.
    "Yeah sure. Just a sweet innocent girl, I understand." laughed Jill.
    I was getting flustered. "Well, I saw you and Ray." I pointed out.
    "Ray....Oh he is so dreamy...." Jill seemed lost for a second.
    Then Becky got into the act, "Was Ray a good kisser?" she asked.
    "The best." she replied.
    "What about Cliff?" Becky asked me.
    "I didn't like it, he forced me." I Explained.
    "Oh, so innocent, you poor girl. You loved it, and you know it. Cliff is such a good looking guy." said Becky. "Besides I saw the way your arms went up around his neck."
    "They did not. I was pinned, er...you know, I ....." I was embarrassed and getting sick.
    "You know, that kiss made me feel all woman." gushed Jill.
    "I wish Cliff had kissed me like that, Mary." said Becky.
    "Ain't it wonderful being a girl?" said Jill. (Still in a dreamlike state.)
    "Yeah" Said Becky.
    With that, they had to leave and bid my bye. As I waved bye, Mary came up and stood beside me.
    "I hate to see it end." she said.
    "Well, I don't. I tell you,  girls sure have some strange ideas." I said.
    "What," she started laughing, " Jill and Becky talking about boys?"
    "Yes, I can't believe it. One kiss and you'd think he had given her a hundred dollars."
    Mary just shook her head, "Even in a dress you don't get it. Boys are so slow to understand the art of romance." she said.
    "You're a fine one to talk, standing there in my jeans, and rough housing with the guys all afternoon." I chided her.
    "Well, don't kid yourself, I saw you kissing Cliff. What was that all about?" she replied.
    "HE kissed ME, I tried to resist." I explained. "I don't kiss boys!" I explained.
    "Well, Cliff said you wanted the kiss, and were one fine kisser." she grinned.
    "He lies." I said. "I can't believe he told you that." I protested.
    "That is what he said." she noted.
    "Well, just because I wear a pretty dress, and hold his hand, doesn't give him a right to kiss me. Then on top of that he has to tell people that I WANTED A KISS!" I was angry.
    "Well welcome to the girls world." she laughed again. "It is something we fight against all the time." she added.
    "Well I have had it." I said.
    "Yeah, well, it will soon be over." she reminded me.
    "Not soon enough. How are we going to change back?" I asked.
    She started explaining that we were going to get home before her Mom and since Ms. Johnson had to get back home, we would be left alone again. I was hoping she was right.
    Well, as the day ended, it happened just as she said. In the end, I was able to bathe, and change into my real clothes before her mother and then later, my mother arrived.  Oddly, it felt strange with pants on, and I had to listen to Mary gripe about the dress again.  But I was clear of the dress and glad to be back into pants.
    As it turned out, no one ever found out about that day. Mary finally got into being a girl and eventually married, though she is in a "non-traditional" job. (Forest Ranger) Needless to say, I never forgot it, and don't kid yourself, I later realized that I really did like that kiss.  Though I have married, and have a wonderful wife, I have had my awkward moments. (She does not know that I now like to dress up from time to time.) One of the most awkward was during a serious conversation when we were confessing our past relationships. After going over the three or four serious girlfriends I had, my wife looked at me and asked,
    "So honey, tell me about  your first kiss?"
    Now I ask you........What could I say?