Chapter 12

D

I got home fairly quickly it had been an interesting day. Tish'd had some trouble, but she had gratifyingly bounced back from it in both cases. She had also been set to try out for the club, which would be great. I hoped that she decided to join, as the team spirit would probably help her confidence no end, plus, she would be a great addition to the team.

I was just going to find Mum, when the door bell rang. "I'll get it," I called out.

I opened the door to find Tish standing there. She was dressed in a mish-mash of assorted colours and styles, with nothing at all matching or even going together. She had a habit of just grabbing whatever was on top of the pile of clean clothes and throwing it on regardless. She seemed to have got used to dressing in girl clothes. but she still had trouble dressing like a girl. Maybe she needed some more helpful hints.

"Hiya, Gwen left me a note saying me and her were joining you for dinner so I came over early."

"Cool," I waved her in, and we walked to the kitchen, where I put the kettle on.

"I'm going to go get changed back in a moment," I told her. I rushed upstairs and got changed into some non-school clothes, taking a little care of my appearance to act as a subtle example for my friend. I hurried back down stairs to see mum sitting at the table talking to Tish.

When I walked in she turned to me and said, "Hello, dear. How was school?"

"Not too bad, I heard you were there today," I replied.

"Yes. I was seeing the head teacher with Amanda's sister about this bullying business. Gwen wasn't sure what to do, so I offered to accompany her to talk to Mrs Thomas. It didn't do much good, so we are going to see if there is anyone who can help."

"It seems like a lot of fuss just for me," Tish said.

"Well, we want you to have a safe learning environment. Besides, it's not just you who will benefit. If we can get the school to start taking bullying of MORFS survivors seriously, many more will be helped," Mum said.

"So Mrs Thomas gave you the run around like she did me and Tish then? What's the next step?" I asked.

"Well, Gwen and myself will be discussing that after dinner, which reminds me, I must make a start on the food. Will you two girls give me a hand?"

"Sure," I looked at Tish, who nodded.

We went into the kitchen area and mum began getting ingredients out. "Dorothy would you chop those carrots? And Amanda, will you wash and peel the potatoes."

I got started on the carrots. Tish stood there examining the potatoes, looking a little confused.

"What do I do?" she asked. "I've never done potatoes before."

"Didn't your mother show you how to cook?"

"No mother never cooked, she had someone to do that for her. She saw it as demeaning, servants work. The closest I've come to cooking before my change was microwaving things. I would like to learn though. It would mean I could do the dinner so Gwen doesn't have to. Besides, Gwen is as clueless about these things as I am. She can only make spaghetti bolognese. We've had it every day, 3 weeks in a row and it would be nice to have something else for a change."

"I can't believe how snobbish your parents were," I said at which Tish nodded.

"OK I'll show you the first one, then you can do the rest," Mum said.

She showed Tish how to wash and peel the first potato, then handed her the peeler. Tish started hesitantly at first, then got stuck in peeling away. Soon she had a pot full of potatoes ready for boiling.

"Right then, let's put those on to cook. Would you hand me the matches dear?" Mum asked.

"That igniter isn't broken again, is it?" I asked.

"I'm afraid so, dear."

Our cooker was in need of replacement, it was a reasonably old gas cooker, the dials were beginning to wear out, and the little igniter sparks were constantly on the blink. I rummaged around in the drawer looking for the box of matches, only to discover it empty.

"Oh dear, we'll have to go to the corner shop to get some matches to light the oven, that is a bother," Mum said.

"I can do it," said Tish brightly.

She walked over to the oven and then rolled up one of her sleeves, "You might want to take a few steps back, just in case," she said with a sheepish smile.

We stepped back and watched as she extended one hand and pointed her index finger then got a look of intense concentration on her face. Suddenly the tip of her finger burst into flames. She put her finger to the hob, then reached down and turned the gas on. The ring burst into flame and she moved the pot of potatoes over it. She then smiled and lifted her still flaming finger to her lips and blew it out, which caused me to burst into fit of giggles.

"Well, you are handy to have around the kitchen, Amanda dear. You're are starting to get the hang of those elemental abilities," said Mum.

"The practice I got today helped me a lot in getting the balance right of generating enough heat where it's needed, but not burning all my clothes up," said Tish.

"So, Little Miss Oven-Lighter now as well as Little Miss Hair-Dryer," I said with a smile, which caused Tish to laugh.