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Description
[Preparations taking place at St Tibb's for Lucy's starting in September. ]

Another day passes for Lucy as she waits for the 19th of August and her appointment to see her new school. Today, her mother has been on a shopping trip in the centre of Mettleham where she picked up the last few items of Lucy's new uniform. She and Lucy then set about getting Lucy dressed in it to see if everything fits. And, of course, to check out how it looks.

Marianne stands up after making finishing touches to the socks. She takes a step back and casts an appraising look over her daughter.

"My god, Lucinda, it looks fantastic on you!" she exclaims with a big smile.

Lucy is uncertain how to respond. Admittedly, she does like the St Tibb's uniform: The colours work, the white trim on the blazer is an elegant touch, the splashes of burgundy on the tie and the socks work well to bind the items into the main burgundy of the blazer... she cannot really fault it from an aesthetic point of view. However, it is not her old uniform, the one she wore at her old school back in Hanfort. Part of her still imagines, still hopes, that one day soon she will be wearing it again.

"Thanks, Mum," she finally says. A compliment is a compliment and she cannot feel bad for receiving one, no matter what it is given for.

Marianne turns and goes to the bedroom door. She opens it and pokes her head out. "Jeremy!" she shouts. "Come and see our beloved girl, she's got her new uniform on!"

She comes back in and, a few seconds later, Lucy's father enters the room. He is having a much-needed day off work, having put in many hours beyond his contracted time in an attempt to impress his bosses. He walks into the centre of the room and looks at Lucy sitting in her wheelchair. "Whoa! Lucinda!" he gasps as he takes in the effect of how Lucy is dressed. "How good do you look, eh?" He steps nearer, moving around his wife to get a closer look. "You look brilliant! So pretty! So smart! That burgundy really suits you. You're an absolute knock-out, love!"

"Thanks, Dad," Lucy says, allowing herself a wide grin. She is a true 'daddy's girl' and, out of the two, finds she gets along with her father a lot better than her mother, and is always pleased when she gets his approval. "It does look kind of cool, I guess, in a prim and preppy way."

Jeremy laughs. "'Preppy'? You've been watching too many American Tee-Vee shows!"

Lucy shrugs, dismissing the critique of her choice of words, and looks at her mother. "Mum had to help me get everything sorted so I wasn't sitting on my blazer and creasing it, and my skirt wasn't all bunched up under me and all that thing. I'd be a total mess if she hadn't tidied me up. Cherry used to do all that for me back in Han--" She pauses mid-word, feeling a reluctance to say out loud the name of the place she misses so much. She feels like every time she says it now, she can see the dark clouds forming over her parents' brows, in their eyes, in their expression, as if merely uttering the name is to summon all of the bad things they remember from that place (whereas, for Lucy, recalling the name brings forth mainly good memories). She blinks a few times and restarts what she wanted to say. "Cherry used to see to all of that, back there. Before and after Games, she would help me get dressed properly and wouldn't allow me to leave the changing room until I'd passed proper inspection. She looked after me back then." She pauses again, this time for a brief second of fond reverie. "I don't know what I'm gonna do now, though. What if I don't find anybody here who's willing to put in the time to help me out like that?"

Marianne immediately steps forward, waving a hand dismissively. "Oh, someone will volunteer to help you, darling. They'll see how nice you are and will make friends with you instantly. The girls at Tibb's, I've heard, are some of the best, and they'll be tripping over themselves to assist you and be your friend. Don't worry, dear."

Lucy smiles unconvincingly at her mother's optimism and Jeremy moves forward to take his daughter's hand for comfort, seeing that she is having a moment of self-doubt. "You'll be fine, love," he says softly as he pats her hand. "Like your mother says, you're a total sweetheart and the girls in your class will be lining up to be your friend."

Lucy continues with her smile, deeply wishing she could believe what she is hearing.

(Posed and rendered in Poser 12, clothes created in Marvelous Designer 9.5, postwork in PSP 2023.)
(There is something incredibly satisfying about making a garment in Marvelous Designer that functions exactly as the item in real life works. In this case, I spent some time working out how some pyjamas I actually have are constructed, particularly in the fly and waist area, and then exactly recreating it in MD. Jeremy's PJs are the result, and although it can't be seen here, the fly fastens exactly the way the real-life version does. There's always the quick and easy method, simply joining the two pieces at the crotch, but when I know that it is folded and buttoned exactly as the real-life garment does, I feel like I have achieved something worthwhile today.)
Night-time for Lucy >>>

Lucy Comes To Mettleham
More of Kate's Exciting Life

Description
[Preparations taking place at St Tibb's for Lucy's starting in September. ]

Another day passes for Lucy as she waits for the 19th of August and her appointment to see her new school. Today, her mother has been on a shopping trip in the centre of Mettleham where she picked up the last few items of Lucy's new uniform. She and Lucy then set about getting Lucy dressed in it to see if everything fits. And, of course, to check out how it looks.

Marianne stands up after making finishing touches to the socks. She takes a step back and casts an appraising look over her daughter.

"My god, Lucinda, it looks fantastic on you!" she exclaims with a big smile.

Lucy is uncertain how to respond. Admittedly, she does like the St Tibb's uniform: The colours work, the white trim on the blazer is an elegant touch, the splashes of burgundy on the tie and the socks work well to bind the items into the main burgundy of the blazer... she cannot really fault it from an aesthetic point of view. However, it is not her old uniform, the one she wore at her old school back in Hanfort. Part of her still imagines, still hopes, that one day soon she will be wearing it again.

"Thanks, Mum," she finally says. A compliment is a compliment and she cannot feel bad for receiving one, no matter what it is given for.

Marianne turns and goes to the bedroom door. She opens it and pokes her head out. "Jeremy!" she shouts. "Come and see our beloved girl, she's got her new uniform on!"

She comes back in and, a few seconds later, Lucy's father enters the room. He is having a much-needed day off work, having put in many hours beyond his contracted time in an attempt to impress his bosses. He walks into the centre of the room and looks at Lucy sitting in her wheelchair. "Whoa! Lucinda!" he gasps as he takes in the effect of how Lucy is dressed. "How good do you look, eh?" He steps nearer, moving around his wife to get a closer look. "You look brilliant! So pretty! So smart! That burgundy really suits you. You're an absolute knock-out, love!"

"Thanks, Dad," Lucy says, allowing herself a wide grin. She is a true 'daddy's girl' and, out of the two, finds she gets along with her father a lot better than her mother, and is always pleased when she gets his approval. "It does look kind of cool, I guess, in a prim and preppy way."

Jeremy laughs. "'Preppy'? You've been watching too many American Tee-Vee shows!"

Lucy shrugs, dismissing the critique of her choice of words, and looks at her mother. "Mum had to help me get everything sorted so I wasn't sitting on my blazer and creasing it, and my skirt wasn't all bunched up under me and all that thing. I'd be a total mess if she hadn't tidied me up. Cherry used to do all that for me back in Han--" She pauses mid-word, feeling a reluctance to say out loud the name of the place she misses so much. She feels like every time she says it now, she can see the dark clouds forming over her parents' brows, in their eyes, in their expression, as if merely uttering the name is to summon all of the bad things they remember from that place (whereas, for Lucy, recalling the name brings forth mainly good memories). She blinks a few times and restarts what she wanted to say. "Cherry used to see to all of that, back there. Before and after Games, she would help me get dressed properly and wouldn't allow me to leave the changing room until I'd passed proper inspection. She looked after me back then." She pauses again, this time for a brief second of fond reverie. "I don't know what I'm gonna do now, though. What if I don't find anybody here who's willing to put in the time to help me out like that?"

Marianne immediately steps forward, waving a hand dismissively. "Oh, someone will volunteer to help you, darling. They'll see how nice you are and will make friends with you instantly. The girls at Tibb's, I've heard, are some of the best, and they'll be tripping over themselves to assist you and be your friend. Don't worry, dear."

Lucy smiles unconvincingly at her mother's optimism and Jeremy moves forward to take his daughter's hand for comfort, seeing that she is having a moment of self-doubt. "You'll be fine, love," he says softly as he pats her hand. "Like your mother says, you're a total sweetheart and the girls in your class will be lining up to be your friend."

Lucy continues with her smile, deeply wishing she could believe what she is hearing.

(Posed and rendered in Poser 12, clothes created in Marvelous Designer 9.5, postwork in PSP 2023.)
(There is something incredibly satisfying about making a garment in Marvelous Designer that functions exactly as the item in real life works. In this case, I spent some time working out how some pyjamas I actually have are constructed, particularly in the fly and waist area, and then exactly recreating it in MD. Jeremy's PJs are the result, and although it can't be seen here, the fly fastens exactly the way the real-life version does. There's always the quick and easy method, simply joining the two pieces at the crotch, but when I know that it is folded and buttoned exactly as the real-life garment does, I feel like I have achieved something worthwhile today.)
Night-time for Lucy >>>

Lucy Comes To Mettleham
More of Kate's Exciting Life