"Laura's Dream"
Copyright Francis Blow, 1986.
CHAPTER 10
 
Monday morning, and Laura opened her eyes. Gran was watching her from the bed.
"What time is it, Gran?"
"Half past six. You had a restless night."
Laura sat up amidst scattered bedclothes. She could not remember her dream, except for a vague uneasiness. Oddly though, when she thought about it, Laura felt well rested.
"I'm sorry if I kept you awake, Gran."
"Don't be. I get by on less sleep than most people."
"It must be good to be born with that ability."
"Born my left foot. I learned to get by, because I had to. Necessity is a wonderful motivator. Speaking of motivation, I'll show you something. Close your eyes... Now, with the tips of your fingers, feel the skin from your armpit, and move slowly up to your throat. It starts smooth, then what happens?"
Laura's eyes opened. "Gosh! Its really rough around here."
She stood and went to her mirror. "It's where the skin's tanned that it gets rough. It doesn't look rough."
"True, but it's not too late to save it. Go have your shower, then come back and put the moisturiser on."
Laura took the towel she had worn the previous evening, and went into the shower. When she returned, Gran was up and had the stool in front of the mirror again.
"You put the moisturiser on and I'll make sure you're doing it properly."
The moisturiser felt good after the shower, and Laura asked about using it on her hands and arms.
"We can get into that side of things once I'm back. Just make sure you get into the routine of caring for your face and neck. Do it right, and your skin will stay young, years longer. I didn't have the advantage of things like these at your age, but I did use them when they were available. A woman who takes pride in her beauty will keep her husband happy. And I couldn't care less if that sounds chauvinistic. I'm a woman and expect to be treated with all the respect womanhood deserves, just like I will give a man the respect he deserves for being male. Men still seat me at tables and open doors for me, and I smile and flutter my eyes at them and make them feel as if they are above the rest. It helps everyone feel good deep within themselves. Those women who insist on keeping men in their place as drones are almost always bitter and cold," Gran explained. "Men are never happy unless they are proving themselves to women. Women are happy when they let men be the heroes. We love to be loved, even if it's in corny little ways."
While she listened, Laura pulled open drawers and selected clothes for school. "So, if I want to attract a man, or to keep him, I've got to make him think I need him?"
"That's part of it. The hardest part is attracting him in the first place. You have to look your very best all the time. Even when you have no one but yourself to see you. Who do you think the boys will stare at, a girl in torn jeans and a sloppy joe, or a girl in frills and stockings?"
"Do you think short skirts are wrong?"
"Boys like to look at legs The more leg the better, they think. Girls like to be looked at." Gran answered. "Your father used to bring girls home all the time, and their skirts were so short, they may as well not have worn them."
"Daddy! Really?"
"You bet. Now look at him. And have a look at your mother. I've seen her school photos. See for yourself, and ask them. It's okay to advertise as they say, but be very careful what and how you advertise. Don't cheapen yourself. When you are out there, make sure you're saying 'I'm beautiful and unique', not 'I'm here and available."
Laura looked at the clothes she had laid out. Uniform and clean underwear to put in her backpack, T-shirt and old shorts for her morning run. She threw the old clothes aside, and put on her prettiest shorts and a shirt to match. Gran nodded in approval.
"I'll make a deal with you, Laura. Get someone to teach you how to give good back rubs, and I'll make sure you get the wardrobe you need."
"You're kidding?" Laura exclaimed.
"Is it a deal?"
"Deal, Gran!". Laura's brown eyes glowed. "I'm sorry, but I've really got to run. I love you, Gran."
"I love you, Laura. Make sure you know how to give those back rubs when I come back."
Laura kissed her, and hurried down to pack breakfast and lunch, then out to find Jem waiting for her on a bike.
"You're cutting it fine, Laura. What's with the sexy running clothes?"
"New image. Here's my bag."
All the way to school, Laura went over what Gran had said, and thought it through herself. It made sense.
Self-consciously at first, Laura looked to see who might notice her, in case other teenagers were around. She saw heads turning everywhere, boys, girls, men and women. A lot of the women smiled, while a few scowled. The ones who scowled were dressed in the kind of clothes Gran told her to avoid. The people who smiled were all well-dressed. Gran was right. It really was nice to be watched and admired.
"What are you grinning at?" Jem asked from her bike.
"I'm just happy to be here!"
"You're nuts. Run faster."
 
Laura worked harder at her schoolwork. Every lesson was bringing her closer to her goal. At the same time, she enjoyed the attention she received from the boys, most of whom had not even seen her in her new running clothes.
When she saw Josh with Simone, Laura decided it was time to make the break, but she had to do it in such a way that feelings were not hurt.
"Hi, Josh, will you be bringing Simone on Friday? I know you live close together."
"Um. Yeah, I could. We did talk about it. Will you... I mean, who else will be there?" Josh was flustered.
"Jem is bringing Alan. Doug and Suzie are coming, and Suzie is bringing someone. If you want anyone else, invite them too."
"Thanks. I'll think about it."
"I've got to go. See you later. 'Bye, Sim." Laura gave them her brightest smile, and turned away with an inward sigh. That had gone well. She felt good about it, too.
After school, Laura started running home in the usual afternoon sweltering heat, only to give up after two kilometres. She did not want to risk heat prostration on the evening she was to start helping out with Cubs.
Jem rearranged the bike to make room for Laura on the back. They doubled up the rest of the way home, where they had a quick practice swim before separating for homework and dinner.
At six, after changing into her Guide uniform, Laura found all the family ready to go. Joey was in his Cub uniform, which was bare of any badges, unlike Laura's shirt, which was covered in the symbols of her Guiding achievements.
Laura thought about telling Joey he should not wear a uniform before he was accepted into the pack, until she remembered that he had every right to strive for his own private goals, as well.
"You know you don't all have to come," she told her parents. "I am a big girl."
"We want to come... Unless you don't want us there, in which case, all I have to say to you is: tough," her father grinned. "Let's go and have a look."
"It's early."
"So? We can inspect the place while we're waiting. It would only be a five or ten minute wait."
When the Shell family arrived at the hall, there were two uniformed leaders already inside, looking at piles of papers.
"You must be Laura," the woman greeted her. "I'm Akela to the Cubs, but my name is Jane. This is Mr. Andrews, who we call Hathi."
"Hello, Akela. I'd like to introduce my parents, John and Carla, and this is my brother Joey. You can see he's trying to let you know he wants to be a Cub."
"Yes, I've met your parents." She shook hands with all the Shells, as did Hathi. "All right, Laura, for tonight, what we'll do is introduce you and your family at the same time we bring in the new Cubs. Then, after opening parade..."
Laura listened carefully, then she waited for all the screaming boys and girls to fill the hall. Eventually, everything was in order, and Akela got everyone on parade at six thirty.
"Good evening, Pack. It's a special night tonight as we welcome some new people. This is Laura, a young lady from Guides. She'll be working with you for the next few weeks. Also, we have two newcomers to Cubs: Sharon Grove and Joey Shell, who is Laura's brother."
Laura was stunned. Joey had been accepted!
"The best news, however," Akela continued, "is that Laura's father is joining us as a new leader. He has chosen the Scouting name of Mang."
After that bombshell, the rest of the evening was an anticlimax.
 
Later that week, Laura recalled something her grandmother had suggested. Curiosity sent her searching for her mother.
"Mum, can I see your old school photos?"
"Of course, Laura. Do you know where they are?"
"Yes. Thanks, Mum."
"I'll come up in a minute and we can look at them together."
Laura found the albums on a top shelf in her parents' wardrobe. She sat on the big bed to browse through the photos. Carla soon joined her.
"I sure look young in these pictures. And those hair styles!"
"I'm more interested in your skirts, Mum. The longest one is shorter than any of mine." Laura accused. "Look at this one. You can even see your knickers!"
"Oops... You know my secret," Carla laughed. "It was normal fashion for schoolgirls in those days. No one cared except for parents and schoolboys. Look here, at my class photo. Every girl was the same, or had even shorter skirts. And we made sure our pants contrasted with the skirt colours to make it more obvious. You girls today wear sports briefs the same colour as your uniforms. It's just the same as if you wore your running shorts under your skirt. There's no adventure in it."
"Mum! What a thing to say!"
"It is wanton by today's standards, certainly. The only thing that's changed is our perception of things. Tell me something, Laura. Do you think we, your parents, have done anything that makes you doubt our moral standards?"
Laura blinked at her mother. "No. If anything, I always thought you were pretty strict."
"We're not really different from our own parents. You'll be the same. Enjoy the freedom of your youth, so you can let your children enjoy theirs. I had fun as a girl. Now I'm having fun as a mother, and in ten years or so, I expect I'll have fun as a grandmother."
Laura had to smile at a thought she had. "Just like Gran is having fun?"
"Now that would be a neat trick. I'd love to do that, but I think Gran has more get up and go now, than I ever had."
"She is amazing, isn't she? Was she always rich?"
"Actually, she and her husband were pretty average, until they were in their forties. They made a decision to better themselves, and went looking at ways and means of doing it. They started several businesses, most of which failed, but I remember your grandfather telling me 'Never give up, ever'. I can't remember the reasons for it, only that it was a few months before your father and I were married."
They continued to look at more of the photos, laughing at some of the fashions, especially the swimming costumes.
"There's no way that those cossies are worse than the ones you girls wear today. In fact there were beaches then, where you would have been thrown off for wearing that bikini I gave you for Christmas, because the sides are too narrow. Beach inspectors would measure the sides of costumes to make sure they were more than two inches wide."
"You've got to be joking!" Laura grinned.
"Word of honour, Laura." Carla crossed her heart. "Now, I have to go and finish cooking. Remember this: at your age I didn't think of anything more than how I looked to boys. School was fun, usually, and I knew that someday I'd be married. Did we think of anything else besides boys? No way, Jose! You have so much more to interest you, now. Go for it, and never give up on what's important to you."
After her mother went out Laura put the albums away, and went to inspect her own wardrobe.
She made three piles of clothes: ones to give to the Smith Family collections, one for clothes that might come in handy, and one of clothes to keep.
The biggest pile was the one to donate to the poor. Next she tried on the clothes from the second pile, and she realised most of them were less than flattering or too small, so they went into the first pile. What remained in the wardrobe were the ones she liked to wear because she looked and felt good in them. The wardrobe was much roomier than before.
Finally, on impulse, she put on one of her school skirts, and pulled the waistband up, until it was as revealing as her mother's uniform had been. Laura giggled at the result.
"How uncool! No wonder boys like them. Maybe I'll wear it like this to school, and start a trend? Dad'll probably hit the roof."
She changed into a sky blue skirt that hung softly to her knees, and an imitation silk blouse in white, with a golden orchid embroidered on the left side. When the family sat for dinner, instead of only holding out Carla's chair to seat her, Laura's father held out Laura's chair, too.
"Thank you, Daddy." She said, smiling.
"When a young lady goes to the trouble of dressing like that to eat with me, I must act like a gentleman."
"Dad, who do you know who can teach me to give Gran good back rubs?"
"Gosh, I don't know. Carla, who do you go to when your back aches?"
"Jem's father does acupressure treatment. Why, Laura?"
"Gran and I made a deal, and I promised to learn so I can help her."
"Well I'll give Mr. Cheng a call after we've eaten, and ask if he can see you."
Less than an hour later, Laura was watching as Mr. Cheng demonstrated on Jem some of the simpler acupressure points for the relief of various forms of back pain. Laura was surprised to learn that many pressure points for the back were in strange places such as legs and even ear lobes.
"You need very little pressure to make this work, Laura, though the points are fairly precise. Until you become more expert at it, I suggest you concentrate on these points here." He poked Jem in several places, and the patient yelped.
Mr. Cheng continued. "The lower back and the knees are the key areas that support the rest of the body. From just above where the spine joins the pelvis, to the tailbone is where you should work gently and repeatedly..."
He allowed Laura to practice on the protesting Jem, until he thought Laura could work without causing pain or injury to anyone.
 
The next day, Thursday, was the final selections for the school swimming team. Laura had done moderately well up to then, yet she knew she had to do a lot better. Three girls stood between her and a place on the team, and they all looked ready to break records.
When her turn was only five minutes away, Laura rushed to the toilet and locked herself in a cubicle. She sat with her arms squeezing the nervous flutter in her stomach.
"Never give up. You can do it, Laura. Come on! Pull yourself together. You are going to win. You will come first! Do it!"
Though she said the words, Laura still felt terrible doubt, but she had to get out and prepare to stand on the blocks against girls who were consistently faster than she was in practice. As she stood behind the blocks, watching the group before hers stand ready to dive in. Laura made a promise to herself.
No matter what happened, she was going to beat her personal-best time, regardless of what any other girl did.
"I'm going to beat you, Laura Shell," she defied herself. "You are history!"
It was her turn to stand on the starting blocks. There was no more time to think.
The gun fired.

 
Laura IndexCh 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch 11 Ch 12 Ch 13 Ch 14 Ch 15 Ch 16 Ch 17 Ch 18 Ch 19 Ch 20 Ch 21 Ch 22 Ch 23 Ch 24 Ch 25

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