Timeline

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The following timeline catalogs the major events related to Dorley Hall as of the most recent public update.

NOTE: This timeline, by its nature, contains unmarked spoilers. Proceeding past this note indicates that you understand and agree to see these spoilers.

The timeline also, counter to practice elsewhere in this wiki, refers to characters by the names they were using at the point in time being documented, rather than their names as of the current public update.

Current status: chapters 1-26, 27-28 (partial), 37.

This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.


1950s

Unspecified

As a young girl, Dorothy Marsden experiences sexual abuse at the hands of her uncle. Upon telling her mother, she is pushed to leave home and seek employment as a maid at a remote manor owned by aristocrat Hugo Mount.[ch. 37]

1962

Unspecified

Fed up with years of abuse at the hands of her employers, Dorothy poisons the food at an important dinner in retaliation. Wallace Mount, Hugo's son, is left unconscious in the aftermath; Dorothy, joined by coworkers Esther and Constance, kidnaps the boy and one of his cousins and brings them to Dorley Hall. Once there, they lock the boys in the basement cells and castrate Wallace, recording video of the process to be sold as a snuff film.[ch. 37]

May

  • 18 (Friday): An incident occurs in which Wallace escapes confinement and murders Constance; he nearly strangles Dorothy to death as well before she manages to stab him in the throat, killing him.[ch. 37]

June

  • 10 (Sunday): Crispin Smyth-Farrow visits Dorley Hall to retrieve the surviving boy, and presents Dorothy an offer: continue and expand her operation with his financial backing to serve as both a threat to his political and business rivals and a source of forcibly-feminised sex slaves for himself and other aristocrats who share his fetish. Dorothy accpets, initially planning to leave after a year, but shortly thereafter Crispin blackmails her into staying on indefinitely using the video footage of her killing Wallace Mount.[ch. 37]

1984

December

  • 3 (Monday): Dorothy receives an order from Crispin Smyth-Farrow to eliminate the Barbier family, former business partners of his with whom relations have soured.[ch. 37]

1985

March

  • 20 (Wednesday): Vincent Barbier is imprisoned in a cell by Dorothy following the murder of his parents by her thugs.[ch. 26]


1986

February

  • 14 (Friday): Vincent is placed in charge of a new intake, Davy.[ch. 26]


September

  • 9 (Tuesday): Vincent, now identifying as a woman, is sent to care for Dee, who is recovering from facial feminization surgery and despairing. She tells Dee about the two names she's considering for herself: Béatrice, a former tutor, and Valérie, the older sister her mother miscarried. Dee tells her to be Valérie, and to use Béatrice as a middle name. The newly-named Valérie suggests instead that Dee should be Béatrice.[ch. 26]


1987

January

  • 22 (Thursday): Valérie recovers from the previous evening and resolves to teach Dee how to perform and embrace femininity.[ch. 26]


August

  • 24 (Monday): Valérie teaches Dee how to brush her hair with extensions in, and admits to herself that she's fallen in love with her. She also observes that Dee is becoming stronger and more resilient.[ch. 26]


December


1988

July

  • 30 (Saturday): Dee sneaks out of Dorley Hall (for the ninth time) to attend a party by the lake, where she dances with (and kisses) a girl called Annie. She is eventually caught and dragged back to the Hall by Frankie[ch. 15]

September

  • 24 (Saturday): At a church charity breakfast, Dee meets Teri and Linda, two transsexual women, who bring her back to their apartment for food and a shower. When asked for a name, she identifies herself as Beatrice. At the apartment, she meets Ashley, another transsexual woman. The three women comfort, feed, and counsel Beatrice, and make a small ceremony of giving her her first hormone pill. Beatrice is emotionally moved by the "A Round Tuit" mug.[ch. 27]


1994

April

  • 8 (Friday): Bea visits Ashley, Linda, and Teri in their house on Handale Road, and meets their newest charge: Susan, a teenaged trans girl the three are fostering. Bea and Sue talk about their lives. Bea decides to stay over for the night. Linda asks for her contact information to pass along to Dahlia, another sex worker, for referring academic clients to her.[ch. 28]

2001

Unspecified

Elle learns of the existence of Dorley Hall from Kelly, the lastest of many Dorley girls purchased as house staff by her grandparents, with whom Elle shares a brief intimate relationship. Elle's grandfather has Kelly killed for revealing the secret; Elle in turn plots to have both her grandparents killed to secure her inheritance of their financial stake in Dorley Hall.[ch. 28]

2002

August

  • 2 (Friday): Bea meets Elle Lambert, who reveals she knows about Dorley Hall and asks for her help in taking it from Dorothy. Bea agrees. The two begin a sexual relationship.[ch. 28][ch. 34]


2003

July

  • 19 (Saturday): Bea attends Linda's memorial. She invites Teri and Ashley to come live with her, and offers to tell them about her past, her present, and the plans she has for the future.[ch. 28]


2004

August

  • 8 (Sunday): Bea returns to Dorley Hall with Elle, interrupting Dorothy and the sponsors at breakfast to notify them that the Hall is now owned by the Lambert family and under management by the Dorley Hall Foundation, of which Beatrice is the sole trustee and administrator. Dorothy is begrudgingly permitted to reside in her flat in the building until its lease expires in two years.[ch. 15] Elle calls in workers from Peckinville to begin renovating the interior of the hall, using the downtime before they arrive to masturbate in her car. After work is finished for the day, Elle voyeuristically witnesses a moment of vulnerability from Maria and attempts to offer her comfort. Feeling inadequate in her efforts, Elle brings her concerns to Beatrice, and the two reassure one another of their ability to handle their assigned roles (Beatrice the well-being of the survivors, and Elle the finances).[ch. 34]

December

  • 24 (Friday): Bea arranges a meeting at Dorley Hall to ask for volunteers to help with the programme. Maria, Sarah, Barbara, Trish, and Ashley agree. Teri objects to the plan and refuses to take part, but promises not to report them. Natalie declines to participate, and leaves with Teri.[ch. 31]


2005

October


2006

Unspecified

The Vogel family move to Almsworth from Cherston following an unspecified incident involving violence between Mark and some schoolmates, and a subsequent suicide attempt by Mark.[ch. 24]


2007

August


2008

Unspecified

Mark is fourteen and his eating disorder is in full swing. One day, Russ brings home a new friend, Stefan. Mark worries that Stefan's behavior is similar to his own, so he helps him with his homework.[ch. 24]


2009

Unspecified

Mark's mother is on her deathbed. She gives Mark her iPod as a gift and makes him promise not to try to kill himself again; she dies a few days later.[ch. 24]

That summer, Shahida comes to visit. Mark's father is rude to Shahida and controlling towards Mark; Mark is handling the household chores alone. Shahida convinces Mark to ignore his father's orders and swim with Rachel and Amy at Amy's pool. Shahida and her friends are concerned by how thin Mark is, but decide not to do anything right away. When Mark gets home, his father is angry enough to hit him for the first time.[ch. 24]

By Christmas, Mark's father has lost his job and Mark needs to work weekends to help support the household.[ch. 24]


2010

Unspecified

Mark has become part of Shahida, Rachel, and Amy's friend group. The girls text and chat with him frequently and visit him at work; Rachel, who goes to his school, even gives him "extra" food there. He's also still tutoring Stef. At home, though, his family barely interact with each other, living like three roommates. Mark is desperately unhappy and mostly hanging on out of obligation to his loved ones.[ch. 24]

After a teacher yells at him, Mark leaves school and heads for a remote rail bridge, standing atop it and considering suicide. Shahida leaves class to find him; she gets him off the bridge and sets up a picnic for the pair of them instead. The spend the night at her house and Mark admits that he doesn't know why he wants to die.[ch. 24]


2011

September

  • 2 (Friday): Mark and Shahida sneak away from Stef's birthday party to attend a party at Rachel's house. At the end of the night, they kiss, but when she touches his chest, he panics and bolts. He cuts off all three of them after that.


2012

Unspecified

At the beginning of the next summer break, Shahida visits Mark's house, seeing him again for the first time since the party. His eating disorder has gotten worse; he has fresh scars from another suicide attempt; he seems joyless. She leaves, blaming herself for his regression.[ch. 24]

The text says that this scene is "almost six months" after Stef's birthday, which would place it in the spring if taken literally, but Alyson has indicated on the Discord that "six months" is used loosely here.


October

  • 16 (Tuesday): Stef expresses concern about Mark to Russ, recalling Mark's increasing isolation and moodiness.[ch. 1]


November

  • 3 (Saturday): Mark goes into Legend ("the worst nightclub in Almsworth; also the cheapest") at 19:24.[ch. 1]
  • 4 (Sunday): Mark leaves Legend at 01:44[ch. 1] and is intercepted by Abby, who convinces him to go to Dorley Hall rather than commit suicide.[ch. 24]
  • 8 (Thursday): Russ tells Stef that Mark has gone missing.[ch. 1]


Unspecified

After starting estrogen, Mark experiences almost immediate relief from his mental health issues. Abby swears him to secrecy and discloses him, and Melissa realizes she must have been a girl all along.[ch. 24]


2014

January

  • 19 (Sunday): Stef encounters Melissa at the Tesco near the Royal College of Saint Almsworth. Melissa leaves her groceries behind. Stef follows after to return them to her and, realising she resembles Mark, asks if she knows him. Melissa feigns having known him, then comforts an embarrassed Stef by name—accidentally revealing that she knows who he is—before boarding a bus.[ch. 1]


Unspecified

Sometime during her second year (October 2013–September 2014), Melissa kisses Abby and they begin a relationship.[ch. 24]


2015

September

  • 14 (Monday): Stef considers the other girls he's seen on the Saints campus with resemblances to boys who've gone missing, and theorizes that "Someone at Saints is clearly helping closeted trans women start new lives." He speculates they may be centered on or around Dorley Hall, and realises he wants to seek them out to ask their help in transitioning.[ch. 1]

2018

March

  • 9 (Friday): The boy who will become Christine undergoes his orchiectomy.[ch. 32]
  • 16 (Friday): The boys who will become Christine and Paige share their first kiss.[ch. 32]

2019

October

  • 12 (Saturday): A depressed, dysphoric Stef reflects on his past two years at Saints, in which he has made no progress discovering anything about the mysterious programme, and decides to distract himself by going to a party on campus. At the party, he meets Christine and spends the evening drinking and chatting with her. When she takes her leave, he offers to walk her home. She declines, saying that her dorm is close by—Dorley Hall. Stef reveals his theories about Dorley Hall to her. Worried about the security ramifications, Christine allows the intoxicated Stef to walk her to Dorley, then pretends to have been assaulted by him, leaving him passed out underneath Pippa's window. Stef is apprehended and taken to a cell in the basement.[ch. 1]
  • 13 (Sunday): Stef wakes up in a cell, hung over, wearing only a green medical smock. A voice over the intercom asks what he knows about Dorley Hall.[ch. 1] He insists he knows nothing, and eventually goes back to sleep. He is woken by Pippa, who brings him food and advises him not to scratch his stomach. He investigates, and finds that he's been injected, and that some of his blood has been drawn. He sleeps again, then wakes and decides to practise yoga. Pippa returns, bringing food, to find him upside down. She leaves the food, irritably declaring that he isn't fooling her and calling him a "sociopath." Later, as the lights are dimming to simulate sundown, Christine returns to talk.[ch. 2] She confirms that Stef is in the basement beneath Dorley Hall, and asks what he knows, confirming that she was the voice on the intercom. Stef shares his theory and his search for a missing friend who he believed had transitioned. Christine reacts with dismay, then offers to get him out of the basement in exchange for his silence. Stef asks if his theory is correct, which Christine semi-confirms before leaving just ahead of a returning Pippa, warning Stef as she goes that everyone will think he's a horrible person. She returns to the upstairs and chats with Vicky while Pippa berates and belittles Stef as an abusive misogynist.[ch. 3]
  • 14 (Monday): The following morning, Christine uses the intercom to check on Stef, who is miserable and dysphoric. She promises to get him out later that evening. Shortly after, Aunt Bea and Abby show up in her dorm room for inspection. Pippa has Stef dress and secures his promise of good behavior, then brings him out of the cell. Christine and Abby discuss the inspection and chat about Indira. Abby asks if Christine can illicitly look up information about Stef on the Dorley Hall network, in case he's mentioned at the newspaper. Christine brings up Stef's records, and Abby is startled to realise that Stef is Melissa's younger friend from before her time at Dorley.[ch. 4] Pippa escorts Stef to the common room, where he meets the rest of the intake. Aaron introduces himself and the others, along with the reasons they were basemented: Martin, Raphael, Will, Adam, Declan, and Ollie. They have lunch, and discuss the Goserelin implant—the injection Stef noticed in his belly. Stef talks with Martin after lunch, then remains in the lunch room alone until Pippa returns to collect him. Stef asks her name. Pippa gives it, but insists his "nice guy act" isn't working on her. She explains what is expected of him and alludes to future treatments, then returns him to his cell for the night. Abby and Christine go downstairs to the ground floor kitchen, where Maria, Harmony, and Pippa are discussing Stef. Pippa reveals her misgivings and uncertainty that Stef even belongs in the programme, but Maria convinces her that Stef's record (doctored by Christine to look sealed, but extremely bad) indicates he does, and may be dangerous. Pippa resolves to continue working with him. Abby and Christine go back to Abby's room and discuss Stef further. Abby, believing Stef may have gone bad due to her bringing Melissa into the programme, suggests they should tell Melissa. Christine dissuades her by offering to look into what Stef's record contains.
  • 15 (Tuesday): Christine wakes herself at 2 AM to sneak down to the basement and meet with Stef. She reveals the high-level details of the programme, outing herself as a Dorley girl. She also confirms that Mark is now Melissa, that she's alive and speaks of Stef often, and shows Stef a recent picture. Stef responds emotionally, and Christine promises to get him out of the basement and reunite him with Melissa. Stef declines, stating that he wants to stay.[ch. 5] Christine is incredulous, insisting he has to leave, but Stef comes out to her as a closeted trans girl. Christine tries to convince Stef that Dorley Hall is the worst possible place for him, but he argues convincingly that he has no other options for transition. They continue talking until 5 AM. Christine returns upstairs and convinces Aunt Bea and Pippa that, rather than explain Stef's disappearance as a suicide, they should have him write regular letters to his family pretending to be on an extended European backpacking trip "finding himself." Stef tells Pippa he agrees to participate in the program, and she moves him from the cell to his room. Christine tells Abby the partial truth about Stef—that he was investigating Dorley Hall because of Melissa, and got "a hacker" to fake his bad record to get himself basemented. In the process, she reveals the extent to which she's been hacking Dorley Hall's security systems, much to Abby's excitement.[ch. 6] Stef writes his first letter to his family, uses Consensus to chat with Pippa briefly, and explores his room's entertainment options. Paige tells Maria and Indira about the boy Christine met at the party the other night, then insists they all need to go out for the evening. Abby chats with Stef on Consensus and advises him to befriend someone in the basement, specifically recommending Aaron. Paige, Maria, and Indira try to get Christine excited about going out, but she tells Indira she needs a "time-out," and encourages them to go without her. After they leave, she cries, then goes up to the roof of Dorley to think. There, she meets Naila and Ren, a girl and nonbinary person from the upper floors. They chat, and Christine bums a cigarette off Ren.[ch. 7]
  • 16 (Wednesday): Stef types and deletes multiple "journal" entries on his phone, muses about ways to track his transition, and finally admits that he's feeling dysphoria. Vicky visits Christine, and they discuss Christine's difficulties with presenting femme, then leaves to join a protest against Katherine Frost when Aunt Bea joins them. Aunt Bea discusses Christine's progress and future after the programme, and tells her that the women she hurt before she was taken into the programme are "none the worse for wear" and would likely forgive her. Aaron fetches Stef from his room for breakfast and tells him about life in the basement. Christine joins Vicky, Lorna, and Indira at the protest, and Vicky tells Christine she plans to marry Lorna. Later, Christine goes onto the Trans Youth UK Consensus server and pretends to be a cis girl asking for advice on helping a trans girl in a hostile environment, then messages Stef to check in on him. They discuss why Aaron was taken by Dorley (for sending sexually explicit photographs and sexual harrassment) and Dorley's "recruitment" methods, and establish a way for Stef to keep a record of his transition. Christine assures Stef that he can be a girl, and promises that she and Abby will do what they can to help.[ch. 8]
  • 25 (Friday): In the ground floor kitchen, Indira advises Paige, Christine, and the second years to be on "best behavior" (not revealing anything about the programme), as her boyfriend Hasan will be visiting. The second years are surprised to learn they will be able to have relationships with outsiders once they complete the programme. Christine reassures Faye that she'll make it through and be okay. Stef, Aaron, Will, and Adam are watching a fashion show (possibly Queer Eye), with Aaron and Will bickering periodically, until Aaron drags Stef away to get a shower together. Aaron asks Stef if the goserelin is causing his breasts to grow, which Stef denies. Their shower is interrupted by Declan entering the shower area and hitting Aaron, then threatening to attack Stef. Monica intervenes, joined by Pippa and Maria, and sends Stef and Aaron away. In his bedroom, Stef cleans Aaron's minor wounds. Pippa joins them, tells them to expect a medical examination the following day, and sends Aaron back to his room. She advises Stef to be careful around Aaron, mentioning that he's flashed Stef multiple times. Abby, Vicky, Paige, and Christine are chatting in the dining hall, waiting for Aunt Bea's birthday party to begin, when Nell enters and complains loudly about Faye. Christine goes to check on Faye, against Nell's wishes but with Abby's blessing. Abby visits Stef in his room, deactivating the security cameras and giving them actual privacy, and holds him while he cries in a dysphoria-induced meltdown. They discuss Pippa's difficulties sponsoring him, then talk about Melissa. Abby also explains the upcoming medical examination is to establish a baseline for the upcoming estradiol injections, ensures that the Goserelin hasn’t had any unexpected side-effects, and provide sperm for freezing, in the event that the boys want to have children after they complete the programme. Christine finds Faye hiding in the conservatory and learns about Nell's harsh sponsoring techniques. Faye tries to kiss Christine, who demurs, then assures a stricken Faye that she did nothing wrong. They discuss consent and their lives after the programme. Faye worries about her makeup being ruined from crying, and Christine offers to take her up to her room so Paige can redo her makeup, then uses her phone to unlock the door.[ch. 9] Paige meets them in Christine's room to redo both girls' makeup and give them new outfits, and they discuss being a girl around other women. While Faye dresses, Paige thanks Christine for intervening with Nell and Pippa. When they return to the kitchen, Aunt Bea takes Christine aside to ask why she took Faye upstairs. Christine opines that Nell is either cruel or incompetent as a sponsor, and that Faye has reformed in spite of Nell's antagonistic approach to sponsoring her. Aunt Bea promises to investigate the issue, discusses Dorley's staffing shortage as a contributing factor, and says she'll be assigning Indira as sponsor monitor, suggesting that Christine has grown past the need for a sponsor. Christine returns to the party and discusses Stef's well-being with Abby via text, then chats with Hasan before letting Indira know she's being reassigned. The birthday party continues in full swing, with cake, drinks, and a mock-serious discussion of gender and pronouns. Christine, Paige, and Vicky retire to Christine's room to sleep, and Christine texts Abby again to ask her to check in on Pippa.[ch. 10]
  • 26 (Saturday): Maria, Pippa, and the other sponsors—all hung over—wake the boys and herd them into showers, two at a time, with sponsors watching them. Stef scalds himself with the shower while excoriating Aaron for his dick pics and sexual harrassment, scaring the boy and injuring himself. Christine, Paige, and Vicky wake in Christine's room, hung over, with Indira and Hasan bringing them water and cereal bars. When Christine goes to shower, Paige follows, and the two discuss living together in a flatshare after they graduate from the programme and Saints. Back in his room, Stef dries off from his scalding shower dresses before Maria and Pippa escort an unfamiliar nurse into his room. She orders Stef to strip, threatens him with a taser, and proceeds with a humiliating, sexually-abusive medical "examination." After she leaves with Maria and Pippa, Stef hears commotion in the hallway. Pippa returns and apologies to Stef, who is withdrawn and unreceptive to her. Pippa leaves, and talks to Christine and Paige about the nurse's behavior and her worries about Stef. They get permission from Aunt Bea to take Pippa out shopping with the Dorley credit card. Aaron shows up to talk with Stef, which helps them both decompress.[ch. 11] In the basement dining room, Stef needles Aaron about his dick pics. At Martin's questioning, Stef reveals that he's never been tased. This angers Will, which upsets Adam. Stef outright says they were assaulted, which causes Adam to become psychologically triggered. Stef sends the others to the common room to watch TV while he talks with Adam. Afterwards, Stef approaches the sponsors (Edy and Tabby) and asks to speak to "someone in charge." In a cafe in Almsworth, Paige and Pippa comfort Christine about her difficulty being in public. In one of the cells, Stef meets with Aunt Bea, who takes him upstairs to the ground-floor kitchen. She dismisses Abby from the room, then welcomes Stef to Dorley Hall. They discuss Karen's sexual assault of Stef and the boys. Stef says he believes this was not a part of the programme, and that Karen acted on her own. Abby, who hasn't yet left, confirms that nothing like this was done to her, revealing that she was once in the programme. Aunt Bea states that Karen will be disciplined, then instructs Stef not to reveal that he met with her. Summoning Abby to take Stef back downstairs, she expresses interest in him, and observes that during their conversation, at no point did he look towards the exit visible from the kitchen. Abby takes Stef back to the basement, hugging him on the way. While clothes shopping in Almsworth, Christine learns from Abby's texts that Stef spoke with Aunt Bea, and passes this along to Paige and Pippa. Back in Christine's room, Paige does Christine's makeup. Pippa and Abby show up, followed shortly by Maria, who tells them all that Karen was one of Grandmother's people, brought in only because the previous nurse Barb is retiring, and will never be coming back to Dorley Hall. Abby asks Christine not to be too angry with Maria, explaining that she came up under Grandmother and knows better than anyone how bad things were. Christine suggests Aunt Bea might have Karen killed to protect Dorley, and the girls discuss what Paige calls "the cold logic of Dorley," the secrecy which protects them all. At Legend ("still popularly considered the worst nightclub in Almsworth; also still the cheapest"), Christine discusses Stef's predicament with Lorna without disclosing that he's in the programme, then encourages Pippa to stop worrying about being a "good sponsor" for Stef, and to just be his friend instead. Paige flirts with a boy, and Pippa's girlfriend Rani discusses Christine's past relationship with Paige. Later, Paige pulls Christine onto the dance floor, asks her to be with her just for one night, and kisses her. Alone in his room, Stef cries, reflecting on everything which brought him to this point. Pippa shows up afterwards, still in her clubbing clothes, to administer the "vitamin jab"—actually the first estradiol injection. After, she apologies for her behavior and actions as his sponsor and asks to start over with him. They drink hot chocolate and watch a movie together.[ch. 12]
  • 27 (Sunday): Stef's journal entry: Day 1. No boobs yet.
  • 28 (Monday): Stef's journal entry: Day 2. No boobs yet.
  • 29 (Tuesday): Stef's journal entry: Day 3. No boobs yet!
  • 30 (Wednesday): Stef's journal entry: Day 4. No boobs yet.
  • 31 (Thursday): Stef's journal entry: Day 5. No boobs yet. Stef also mentions Aaron asking if his nipples are more sensitive, and expresses the impossibility that Aaron is developing faster than him.


November

  • 1 (Friday): Stef's journal entry: Day 6. No boobs yet. Maybe Aaron IS developing faster than I am? It’d be just my luck. Christine breaks into his journal entry to banter with him.
  • 2 (Saturday): Stef's journal entry discusses the effects the estradiol is having on his mood, and his developing relationship with Pippa.
  • 9 (Saturday): Stef showers with Aaron, discussing the impossibility of fighting back against the sponsors and agreeing to put conditioner in Aaron's hair. Pippa replaces Stef's Goserelin implant and gives him another "vitamin jab." After breakfast, Declan is returned to the general population. Christine and Paige make love, then go downstairs for breakfast. Aunt Bea and some of the sponsors discuss Stef's progress. Monica laments Declan's lack of progress and the threat he poses to the others, specifically Stef and Aaron. Stef, Aaron, Adam, and Will meet in Stef's bedroom to discuss Declan. Aaron expresses remorse for his past and rejects the idea that Stef likes him. Stef insists that Aaron is his friend, saying, "I’ve not been as close to anyone since Russ or Melissa.” Worrying for Stef, Christine logs into the Trans Youth UK Consensus server to ask for advice. Paige enters the room and tells Christine she knows Christine is hiding something. She goes to make them both a cup of tea, and tells Christine to decide whether or not to tell her when she gets back. In the common room, Will suggests that he, Adam, Aaron, and Stef do everything together, including bathroom visits and showers, to stay safe. Stef overhears Declan, on the other side of the common room, bragging about raping a former girlfriend. Stef punches Declan in the face.[ch. 13] Declan is taken to a cell, as is Stef, though Stef's cell is left open. Pippa examines Stef's injured thumb (from having it inside his fist when he punched Declan), then escorts him back to his room, stating he won't be punished for hitting Declan. She tells Stef about her older cousin, who used to take care of her and made the friendship bracelet Pippa always wears, and how she was manipulated, abused, and raped by "a man a bit too much like Declan." Stef comforts her, and they watch Legally Blonde together. On a bathroom break, Stef tells Pippa about the boys' plans to stay safe from Declan, and she asks to finish the movie later, making an excuse to leave. Christine tells Paige the whole truth about Stef and her role in basementing and, later, protecting him. They reconcile, and Christine shows Paige her access to Dorley's security systems. They notice Declan is back in a cell, then find Pippa going through the hard-copy archives on all Dorley graduates. Christine deduces she must be looking for information on Melissa, meaning that Stef revealed something to Pippa inadvertently. Pippa returns to Stef's room and wakes him, showing him a paused video on her phone and demanding to know who he really is. Stef views the video of himself mentioning Melissa by name earlier in the day. He tries to dissemble, telling a version of his story that protects himself and Christine, but Pippa angrily calls out his lies. He responds by pointing out her lies about the "vitamin injection" and the Goserelin implant they'll move the boys off by performing orchiectomies on them, and that he knows she went through the programme as well. He then comes out to her as a trans girl. Pippa confirms that Stef hasn't told anyone about Dorley, then asks how Stef found out about them. Before Stef can try to come up with a believable lie, Christine confesses over the PA in the room. Christine and Paige meets Pippa on the roof, where they discuss how to best care for Stef and keep his secret until Paige points out that Maria has just joined them on the roof. Stef is trying to write another journal entry when Aunt Bea enters his room unexpectedly, confronting him on the whole scheme. She accuses him of using Dorley, and especially of using Pippa, for his own aims. He fires back that Dorley is using transition services for their own project, rather than helping trans people in the UK. Aunt Bea discusses the fate of independent trans healthcare provders in the UK and the inherently misogyny of UK culture. She confirms that Declan is washing out and Karen has been "dealt with," then secures Stef's cooperation as a "Judas goat"—an insider, to help reassure the boys as they go through the programme—in exchange for continued access to transition care. Stef agrees, and she welcomes him to the team.[ch. 14] Aunt Bea then confronts Declan in his cell to tell him he's being washed out, then returns to her office to drink gin. Maria joins her, and they discuss Declan's fate and how Pippa is doing. Maria plays a recording of Pippa venting her disgust with Aunt Bea for manipulating Stef. They agree not to tell Melissa about Stef, and Maria confirms that Christine has accepted a new paid position running Dorley Hall's technical systems. Bea meets Elle for dinner in the restaurant of an expensive hotel, where they catch up on the latest events at Dorley and discuss the possibility that Grandmother is planning to move against them. After, they retire to a hotel room and have sex.[ch. 15] Stef reflects on his new position with Dorley and grapples with dysphoric feelings. He receives a notification on his computer to set up a new PIN, then finds a note from Christine advising him of his updated access privileges. Aaron checks in on Stef to make sure he's okay, and they discuss what Stef learned about the programme. Stef assures Aaron they'll survive, and that the point of the programme is to make them better people.[ch. 16]
  • 10 (Sunday): Stef and Aaron take an unsupervised shower together. Aaron tells Stef about some of his experiences in boarding school, including mentioning Elizabeth.[ch. 16] Christine and Paige are in the ground floor dining room, having rekindled their relationship, when Maria and Indira give a briefing to the sponsors about Stef's status and also Nell being suspended as Faye's sponsor.[ch. 16]
  • 13 (Wednesday): In the process of picking up Declan from Dorley Hall, Trevor is abducted by Jake, a double agent working for Dorothy, and imprisoned in a Silver River facility.[ch. 29]
  • 14 (Thursday): Declan having departed overnight after washing out, the basement boys react to his permanent absence. Monica runs a lecture on feminism for the basementees. [ch. 16] Christine and Paige visit Stef in Stef's room. They discuss Stef's pronouns, feelings about the programme and the role Bea wants Stef to embody, the boys' reactions to the future orchiectomy, bottom surgery. Aaron interrupts to complain of erectile dysfunction. [ch. 16]
  • 22 (Friday): A cold spreads through the basement for a few days prior. Aaron speaks in a state of panic to Stef about a successful and potent masturbatory experience he had via stimulating his nipples.[ch. 16] Stef manages to allay Aaron's wild suspicions that he is growing breasts and reassures him they'll go away when he "gets out of here". [ch. 17]
  • 25 (Monday): Aaron returns to Stef and apologises for dumping his panic about breast growth and sexual response on Stef three days ago, and has reassured himself that while he still thinks (accurately) that he is growing breasts, he could get any breast growth surgically corrected later even if it doesn't go away on its own. He confesses to continuing to stimulate his nipples to achieve orgasm while masturbating. [ch. 17]
  • 27 (Wednesday): Maria briefs the sponsors that today is a likely day for the basementees to attempt some kind of physical resistance, because a critical mass of the captive boys have noticed physical changes - in particular, Adam speaking to Will overnight about breast development. Pippa warns Stef about the content of this briefing. [ch. 17] Stef speaks to Aaron in the common room about the tense atmosphere, and Stef attempts to again promulgate a theory that the boys are experiencing gynaecomastia. Will rubbishes this theory. In a planned attack in the common room after noon, Will, Raph and Ollie rush and attempt to disarm the sponsors Maria, Edy and Pippa who are briefly the only staff supervising during a shift change. Stef shouts a warning but is otherwise powerless to prevent Will from knocking Maria to the floor and causing her a significant head injury and knocking her unconscious. The PMC soldiers contain the attempted riot, returning the three perpetrators to confinement in the cells, and Maria is rushed to hospital by Christine. [ch. 17] Amidst the activity, Paige temporarily fills in to guard the basementees who havent been returned to cells. Paige fills Stef in on Maria being taken to hospital. Aaron angrily confronts Stef about shouting the warning, and Stef rationalizes that resistance was always futile thanks to the existence of the PMC soldiers. Stef gets angry about Maria being hurt, and his yelling triggers a trauma response in Adam, who blames himself for talking to Will and thus triggering the attack, knowing that his own sponsor Edy is in a relationship with Maria. Stef and Aaron comfort Adam. Edy returns to the basement, warning the four basementees not in cells that any repeat attempt at escape like this would lead not to merely washing out but to their deaths. Meanwhile, Christine has taken Maria to hospital, meeting there with Rabia, a nurse and Dorley girl, who can see that Maria gets care discreetly without alerting authorities. Christine reflects on her former smoking habit and her psychological need to be preoccupied, and also her father's abuse of his mother and her father's subsequent terminal illness. Abby meets up with Christine to offer her coffee and baked goods. Maria, Christine, and Abby spend the night in the hospital room: Maria is now lucid and takes a group selfie to show the other sponsors.[ch. 17]
  • 28 (Thursday): Christine and Abby have coffee the following morning and discuss how Maria is doing. Maria reminisces about her family's vacation breakfasts (including variety-pack cereals and blue-top milk) and her father's cooking. Bea shows up to comfort Maria. Abby and Christine leave the two of them alone, and Abby explains to Christine that Maria's family were murdered by Grandmother. Bea emerges and tells Christine that Vicky and Lorna will take her back to Dorley. In Lorna's car, Christine realises she forgot her estradiol. She asks Vicky if she has any pills, then remembers that Vicky isn't out to Lorna and hastily corrects herself to refer to "vitamins." Back at Dorley, Pippa and the other sponsors wake up Stef, Aaron, Adam, and Martin, who slept together in the common room. Over breakfast, Edy updates them on Maria's condition, and confirms that Will, Raph, and Ollie won't be washed out. Edy also tells Adam that she'll be gone for a week, and that Indira and Stef will help take care of him, accidentally referring to Stef as "her." Lorna and Christine have coffee at Café One, and Lorna asks Christine about the pills she mentioned earlier. Christine improvises and says they're venlafaxine, an SNRI used to treat depression, which she says she and Vicky were both taking. Lorna thanks Christine and apologises for pushing. Edy cuddles with Maria. Vicky and Christine text each other, and Vicky laments having to lie to Lorna about her past. Stef and Aaron hang out in the common room, chatting and re-bonding after their argument earlier. Lorna logs into the Trans Youth UK Consensus server and asks for advice about her relationship with Vicky, mentioning both the SNRI story and having seen Vicky's vaginoplasty scars in the shower. Gemma (Far and Away) helps Lorna calm down and advises her to just talk with Vicky. Indira asks Stef to talk with Adam, who is upset after speaking with an angry Will. Christine looks through the unopened reports on her mother and father, then Abby comes in to console her. After, she asks Christine to clandestinely meet her at a restaurant in Almsworth on Saturday, to explain why she's been gone so much recently. Stef, alone in his room and listening to white noise, reflects on his relationship with Mark, the situation in the basement, and his conversation with Adam. Pippa texts, and Stef asks her to find a way for him to not have to lie to the boys in the basement. Shortly after, Pippa shows up to tell Stef that Bea gave permission to do disclosure with the four boys who aren't in the cells. Stef looks on Consensus to see the latest Maria status pictures, and Pippa gives Stef back the frog and elephant keychains she was holding onto. They listen to some music together and relax.[ch. 18]
  • 29 (Friday): Stef wakes up in his bed with Pippa and a hangover, the two of them having spent the evening drinking three bottles of wine and watching a non-approved show (most likely Euphoria). Stef expresses concern about having to spend one more day lying, and Pippa encourages him to stay in his room with a headache, or to come upstairs with her. Stef takes some painkillers and naps, waking when Aaron knocks on his door to rouse him, with Indira watching. Stef and Aaron shower and talk about Indira's sponsoring technique, the increase in people using Stef's nickname rather than "Stefan," and the missing women in their lives, Melissa and Elizabeth. Aaron tries to express sympathy, and Stef hugs him. After, they go to breakfast, which includes variety-pack cereals and blue-top milk along with the usual Weetabix.[ch. 19]
  • 30 (Saturday): Christine wakes up, showers, dresses, and prepares for disclosure. At breakfast, she texts with Vicky, who is highly anxious about the conversations she's been having with Lorna about her past. Christine offers to go to Maria and the other sponsors for help, but Vicky begs her not to tell anyone, and Christine promises not to. Shortly after, Julia and Yasmin talk to Christine about why they're not being allowed to graduate early, namely, their failure to socialise with the other Dorley girls, including those in their intake. The conversation becomes heated until Julia warns Yasmin about the cameras recording them. Christine regains their trust by openly removing the security camera footage of the argument. She asks Julia and Yasmin if they're security threats, which they both deny, saying they wouldn't want to hurt anyone, especially Stef. The four non-celled basementees are gathered in the common room by the sponsors, and Monica discloses that they've all been put on estrogen. Aaron protests angrily, and Indira restrains him. Christine brings up a PowerPoint presentation of Aaron's past misdeeds, which Monica narrates, humiliating him. Adam asks how far their plans to transition the boys will go, and Monica replies, "All the way." Adam asks to be taken back to his room. Aaron does the same. Martin and Stef discuss their lacks of response to the news, and Stef points out that Martin figured it out, but didn't tell anyone. Martin replies that Stef didn't, either. Christine meets Abby at The Fallen General, a pub in Almsworth. They meet with Abby's parents Diane and Robert and her cousin Derek, who had a private investigator looking for Abby. The family has a quietly emotional reunion. Stef plays poker with the sponsors and discusses Martin's ambivalence about being forcibly transitioned. At Stef's puzzlement, Tabby explains that some people are the gender they are simply because that's the role they've been assigned. Monica mentions that people with rigid gender identities are either not brought into the program or washed out almost immediately, and Jane affirms that basementees are selected for having flexible enough gender identities to be able to change and adapt. The sponsors go to their duties, and Stef checks in with Indira by text. She comes by to explain that Aaron has become nonresponsive, not eating or drinking. Stef goes by to talk with him. Aaron initially refuses to respond, then demands to know why Stef is there. They discuss Aaron's past, and his belief that the programme is intended to make them weak and vulnerable as punishment for their misdeeds. Aaron demands to know why Stef is taking everything so well, and Stef replies that it's because he's fallen for Aaron. Aaron responds with anger, yelling and throwing things at Stef, who flees to the common room. The sponsors escort him up to the first floor and comfort him, assuring him that he helped Aaron. Edy assures Stef that it's okay to love Aaron, and takes him up to see Maria in her room. They have tea, and Maria commends Stef for helping Aaron, then offers to have him moved out of the basement permanently, to transition upstairs with the rest of the girls. Stef declines, and Maria affirms that the offer stands. She then tells Stef about her own past, forcibly transitioned under Grandmother, as a way of advising him on how to deal with his own dysphoria. Edy takes Stef back to the basement, where he has an email from Maria encouraging him to take care of himself first, and just be an example for the boys. It includes a photo of a print Stef noticed in her room, which makes him laugh. He then forces himself to look in the mirror and see himself, then closes his eyes and tries to intentionally reset his image of himself. He opens his eyes again, and is able to see herself in the mirror—"the girl the others all say they can see"—for the first time ever. (Note: Stef's pronouns will be given as she/her/hers from this point forward.)[ch. 19]


December

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  • 1 (Sunday): Stef spends the day in her upstairs room, and has her first voice training lesson with Christine.[ch. 20]
  • 2 (Monday): Stef ponders possible names and thinks about her fight with Aaron. Pippa brings her upstairs to shower, dress, and do makeup before a sponsor briefing Maria has asked her to attend. Lorna goes to Dorley Hall to see Christine. Indira calls Christine, referring to her as "sis," to tell her that Lorna is coming up. As Lorna goes up the stairs, she hears Tabby and Indira discussing the slip-up. Stef and Pippa relieve Nell in the security room, then discuss Nell's failure as a sponsor and Stef's difficulties with Aaron before Maria, Edy, Jane, Tabby, Monica, and Harmony arrive for the briefing. They discuss Monica's latest romantic woes (another "boyfriend" who turned out to be a trans woman) before moving on to the issue with Lorna, and Indira assures them that Christine will handle the situation correctly. In the second floor kitchen, Christine offers to make breakfast for Lorna, who demurs in favor of tea. They begin to discuss Lorna and Vicky's relationship issues, but are interrupted by Yasmin and Julia, who flippantly tell Lorna they were men who were turned into women in Dorley's basement. Christine plays this off at first, but when Lorna is clearly upset by the secrecy, she has Lorna sign an NDA, then discloses her own history at Dorley. Stef and Pippa return to Stef's first-floor room, where they discuss the briefing and Stef's treatment plan. Stef gets a call from Christine asking her to share her perspective with Lorna. Stef agrees, and Pippa insists on going with her. They join Christine and Lorna in the kitchen, and Stef shares her story, including her reservations about the programme. Paige joins them, and they discuss whether or not Vicky was trans, like Stef. Vicky shows up, and is deeply upset on learning that Lorna has been disclosed. Paige guides them to Vicky's unused bedroom to talk. Pippa takes Stef up to the fourth floor common area to play video games and hang out with Naila and Ren for a while. Pippa leaves for class and Stef takes Paige and Christine in to talk with Vicky and Lorna. Lorna asks for time to process the disclosure and agrees to keep their secrets, but asks them to promise that the boys in the basement will be okay. Stef assures her that she'll do everything she can. Alone in his room, Aaron ponders his future, hating himself and regretting sending Stef away.[ch. 20]
  • 5 (Thursday): Edy wakes up, gets ready for work, and makes breakfast for Maria. Aunt Bea, away from Dorley to search for Valerie, calls Edy to check on Maria, and expresses concern that Stef’s self-actualisation in the basement calls the programme into question. Edy reassures her, and suggests she should come home, to which Bea agrees. Edy goes to work and checks in on Adam, reflecting on their first week when he taught her his sect’s prayer, unaware that she already knew it. Paige does Christine’s makeup and dresses her. Aaron’s self-loathing peaks, and he decides to leave his room and get a shower, almost colliding with Stef as she’s returning from the shower. Aaron falls and drops his shower kit, astonished at how different she seems to look. Stef gets him a new toothbrush and offers to meet him in the common room after he showers. Aaron agrees, but asks for “no gay stuff,” to which Stef agrees. Stef dresses and goes to the common room to read a sapphic romance novel (“lesbian baker meets bisexual barista”) and wait for Aaron. Aaron enters the common room, noting how feminine Stef looks. Indira greets him, then leaves them to catch up. They discuss their fight, and Stef confirms that she has feelings for Aaron, which startles Aaron into a coughing fit. He observes how different she is now, comparing her old self to mice he used to trap and release, and puzzles over why Stef likes him, then asks to excuse himself to get a little space. They hug, and he leaves. Indira returns to the common room and commends Stef’s actions, then the two of them go to the upstairs dining for lunch. Paige does Stef’s makeup. Indira tells Stef about Melissa’s difficulties before and during the programme, and suggests she might feel responsible for Stef being at Dorley. Tabby shows up and says Will has asked to talk with Stef, which she agrees to. Christine, having received several texts from Vicky, leaves with Paige to go talk with Lorna, who threatens to whistleblow on the programme. Christine tries to stress that the secrecy is for all of their protection, and Lorna responds by angrily misgendering Christine, accusing her of being abused and gaslit into believing she’s a girl, while still being a boy who threatens women. Christine withdraws, traumatized, and Paige furiously shuts Lorna down, explaining that Christine was trying to protect her as well, and that whistleblowing Dorley would have a terrible impact on trans rights in the UK, even globally. She also explains that Vicky can never be out as a trans woman... and neither can she. Lorna realises the gravity of the situation, and the compromise she must make. Stef visits Will in his cell, and he expresses regret about attacking Maria and reflects on his past violence, including beating his brother in a homophobic rage. He concludes by saying that he won’t resist the programme anymore, hoping they can fix him, and asks Stef to come back again. Lorna apologises to Christine, and they chat about whether Dorley girls are trans. Christine suggests Lorna come to Dorley Hall for a consult for gender reassignment surgery, and they return to the living room to wait for takeout and play video games. Stef visits Aaron in his room, still wearing makeup, to watch a vampire romance TV show together and, eventually, fall asleep.[ch. 21] At the Silver River facility, Dorothy taunts Trevor with the knowledge that he would have simply been killed if not for his androgynous features; now, she informs him, he will be forcibly transitioned and sold to the highest bidder.[ch. 29]
  • 11 (Wednesday): Vicky and Lorna go to Dorley Hall in a rainstorm. Jodie lets them in and takes Lorna upstairs to use her shower and put on dry clothes. After Lorna dresses, Jodie asks her advice about whether it’s worth the risk of being trans in the UK to be in community with other trans people. Aaron examines the physical changes HRT has made to his body, then uses a t-shirt as a makeshift binder for his budding breasts. Lorna affirms that it’s very much worth being trans in the world to have the trans community, and reasserts that Dorley girls are trans. Jodie agrees, and immediately calls her sponsor Donna to let her know that she’s choosing a trans NPH. Donna is overjoyed, and promises to buy Lorna a present. Maria joins Aaron at breakfast, and they discuss Aaron’s possible futures. He insists he wants to go back to his life, but Maria pushes back, suggesting that returning to his old life would be a death sentence. She invites him to the common room after breakfast for a group activity, which Steph won’t be at. Aaron insists that Stef not be left alone with Will, and Maria promises they’ll be careful. She also offers to get him a sports bra, which he declines. In the upstairs kitchen, everyone celebrates Jodie’s decision, and Lorna offers to set Tabby up with a trans man she knows, which Tabby accepts. Indira and Steph take Lorna down to tour the first basement before their consult appointments. Steph steps away for a bit, and Indira angrily confronts Lorna about hurting Christine, explaining that the girls at Dorley are all processing trauma, and that Lorna cannot make that mistake again. Lorna goes to the restroom to repair her makeup, and returns to find Steph instead of Indira. Steph tells Lorna her story, then describes basement life. Aaron and Maria join the others in the common room for a feminism lecture from Monica. Aaron gives wrong answers and makes bad jokes, which Maria unaccountably laughs at. On a break, he expresses his concern for her. Maria turns off the cameras so they can be alone, and holds Aaron while he cries. Lorna discusses electrolysis, then meets with the surgeon Mrs Prentice to schedule GRS. Stef alternates with Lorna to discuss facial feminization surgery and orchiectomy and does a test patch of electrolysis. At Maria’s suggestion, she checks in on Aaron, who is worried about Maria, feeling guilty about her attack, and emotionally conflicted about his own changing psyche. Stef tells him it’s okay to be vulnerable with her, and he cries in her arms. Lorna dines in the kitchen with several other girls, soon joined by Vicky, and the two start to head out when Vicky sees a woman pinning a something to the cork board near the entrance: a missing persons flier for Mark Vogel.[ch. 22] They catch up to Shahida, who talks about Mark’s disappearance and its effect on everyone. Shahida leaves, and Vicky and Lorna return to let the Hall know the situation. Bella is the only sponsor available, as everyone else is occupied or not answering their phones. Lorna and Vicky drive Mrs Prentice and Tanya the electrologist home. Bella sends Faye and Rebecca on an excursion across campus to fetch Christine so she can get in touch with Abby. Christine is in a tense meeting with Prof Dawson, her Lingustics professor, about her absences from lectures and workshops, when Faye and Rebecca show up to fetch her. They head back to Dorley while the girls explain the situation. Melissa is at work, ignoring phone calls from multiple Dorley girls, and bantering with her boss Zach. Christine excoriates Bella for sending two second-years to fetch her and sends her to take care of the second-years. Rabia and Christine talk, then Christine leaves to get Abby. Stef wakes in Aaron’s bed with his arm around her. They shower together, and he asks what name he should use for her. She tells him she’s trying out “Stephanie,” and he says it suits her. She hugs him, and they separate as the hug becomes unexpectedly intimate. Stephanie realizes that she loves Aaron. Christine fetches Paige from a lecture, citing a family emergency, and they drive to pick up Abby while discussing taking the second-years on a fun excursion, like roller-skating. Indira brings delivery pizza down to the basement for lunch, and Aaron and Stephanie eat together. Partway through, Aaron excuses himself to go back to his room and nap. Before he leaves, he asks if she’s okay with what’s happening to her. She agrees that she is. Aaron leaves, then returns to embrace her, kisses her forehead, and says he’s happy for her, before leaving again. Christine and Paige show up at the Grants’ house to fetch Abby. They catch her up on the way back to Dorley, and Abby talks about her relationship with Melissa. Melissa leaves work early and gets a phone call from Abby, who tells her about Shahida and the missing person posters. Abby tells the others the plan she and Melissa worked up: Melissa will stay in Manchester, while Abby and Christine will meet Shahida to give her the official story about Melissa’s disappearance. Shahida agrees to meet them at Egg Nation. On the way, Abby tells Christine that Melissa asked her to tell Shahida that she’s not dead, just gone. Shahida is waiting when they arrive at Egg Nation, and Abby gives a modified version of what she knows about “Mark.” At one point, she uses “her” instead of “him,” and Shahida notices Christine jump in reaction. Shahida is reminded of the trans people she knew in California, and begins to wonder if Mark isn’t dead, but gone, possibly reinvented. Alone in the dark in his room, Aaron stares into his mirror ruminates on how he feels he’s wasted his life. Indira messages Maria to let her know that Aaron needs her. She goes to his room, and he asks her to help him die, because he can’t see a way forward for himself. She tells him she won’t, because she knows she will love him like a sister. She comments on how similar their hands are, then asks if he can keep a secret. [ch. 23] Maria tells Aaron she was once a man, before her time in Grandmother's Dorley, and discloses the truth about the programme. Steph enters the room, and Maria leaves them together.[ch. 24]
  • 12 (Thursday): After midnight, Melissa logs into the Dorley intranet to look over her intake's profiles and discovers that Stefan's entry on her profile has been changed to read "Stephanie R. [placeholder surname]," meaning that he's at Dorley. She decides to rescue him.[ch. 24] Aaron apologises to Stef and tries to comfort her, pushing her to reveal that she knew about the programme from the beginning and kept it secret from him. She flees to her own room and breaks down. Melissa goes into work to resign due to a “family emergency." Zach refuses to accept her resignation, gives her all of her time off at once and sends her home sick. At the Student Union Bar, Shahida chats with Rachel on Consensus to let her know she may have a lead on Mark. She calls to ask her mother to send her photos of Mark, which she edits to feminise Mark’s features. Aaron struggles with his anger at Stef’s revelation, then tries to find her to reconcile. Martin says that Pippa took Stef away, so Aaron returns to his room to find Maria, who shares Stef’s history before and during the programme. Pippa takes Stef upstairs to shower and dress, and assures her that things will be alright. Melissa arrives at Dorley with Abby’s taser in her shoulder bag. Pippa does Stef’s makeup to take her downstairs for lunch with Christine and Paige. Christine sees Melissa enter Dorley, sets the building’s locks to sponsors-only, and sends out messages alerting everyone. Maria gets the alert, calls Tabby to take the lead on the situation, and returns to talking with Aaron. Shahida sees a a woman who looks almost exactly like Mark walk by the Student Union. She grabs a quick video, then compares it to her modified photos and confirms the woman’s identity. Melissa grabs Stef and drags her into the back halls of Dorley. Abby, Bella, Donna, and Edy get the alert and leave their place in the voting queue to return to Dorley. Shahida sends an email to Rachel, then leaves a voicemail saying to open the email only if Shahida doesn’t contact her by the end of the day. Melissa and Steph make their way to the conservatory, but Melissa is unable to open the exit, and Stef has an anxiety attack. Shahida approaches Dorley Hall, encounters Tabby, and asks her about Mark Vogel. Tabby invites her into the hall and takes her to the kitchen, locking the doors behind them. Christine drafts the second-years into searching the back rooms. Melissa assures Stef she’ll get them out, but Stef replies that she wants to stay, stunning Melissa. Christine and the second-years enter the conservatory. She tries to defuse the situation, explaining that Stef is a trans girl, not an intake, and could leave if she wants. Melissa draws her taser, and Faye steps in front of Christine. Christine uses her phone to open the conservatory doors to the outside. Vicky and Lorna get the alert message and go to Dorley to help. Melissa asks if Stef really wants to stay and if she’s really trans, both of which she confirms. Melissa is emotionally overcome by this, and Paige catches her as she collapses. Paige returns to the kitchen, and Tabby drafts her to help disclose to Shahida. Vicky and Lorna show up and offer to help as well. Abby shows up in the conservatory to take care of Melissa. Paige, Tabby, Vicky, and Lorna disclose Shahida. Abby helps Melissa put herself back together, then takes her to the second-floor kitchen for food. They meet Stephanie, and she and Melissa reunite properly. Aaron and Maria continue talking, and he breaks down, realising for the first time the full extent of his boundary violations. Stef and Melissa talk over lunch, then go to the roof to talk more. Melissa reassures Stef about Aaron, and Stef encourages her to talk with Shahida. Steph arranges to have Melissa sleep in her first-floor bedroom, then brings Melissa in to reunite with Shahida. Stef goes to the basement and finds Aaron knocking at her bedroom door. Aaron comes in with her and says he understands why she didn’t tell him, then confesses all of his misdeeds to her. She falls asleep partway through, and he asks Maria to put a movie on Steph's screen for him, which she does: The Little Mermaid.[ch. 25] Shahida leaves Rachel a second voicemail telling her to disregard both the email and previous message. She and Melissa talk in the kitchen for a while before retiring to Steph's room on the first floor; en route they encounter the second-years, and Melissa takes the opportunity to apologize to Faye for pointing a taser at her. Lying awake with a sleeping Steph in his arms, Aaron fully commits himself to seeing the program through and eventually becoming a girl.[ch. 26]
  • 13 (Friday): The second-years bring Shahida and Melissa breakfast in bed. Shahida receives a series of texts from a frantic Rachel, who is concerned for Shahida’s safety after reading the email without checking her voicemail. When Shahida’s attempts to deflect fail, Melissa reveals herself by rejoining their childhood group chat. Bewildered, Rachel insists that the three of them meet up immediately on campus. Melissa explains to Indira her plan to give Rachel the “standard story” to explain her disappearance and transition without revealing any information on the program; Indira agrees, provided that Melissa and Shahida record audio of the interaction. Melissa and Shahida joyfully reunite with Rachel outside Café One, then leave to talk somewhere quiet. Rachel appears to accept Melissa’s story, and Shahida insists that the three of them go swimming at the university’s pool. She and Melissa change into their swimsuits, and Shahida reminisces about how she came to understand herself as a lesbian. While Melissa swims, Rachel confronts Shahida about the obvious inconsistencies in Melissa’s story. Shahida admits the story is fake, but urges her to trust Melissa and not press her for more information, to which Rachel agrees. In the ground floor kitchen, Tabby comforts Christine as she struggles with the stress of balancing her schoolwork and her job with the programme, as well as her nascent plans to reunite with her mother. Beatrice and Elle arrive at the Hall, returning from their annual search for Valerie. Bea goes to speak with Maria, and Elle informs Christine that Peckinville has suffered a security breach. Stef eats lunch upstairs with Edy, Pippa, and the second-years. Shahida and Melissa return from their excursion and inform Stef that they plan to stay at the hall for the rest of the month. Stef returns to the basement to find Aaron bickering with Maria about what message she may or may not have been trying to send with her choice of movie from the night prior. Stef and Aaron go back to her room, where Aaron shares the conclusions he’s come to about himself and the programme with her, and the two kiss for the first time.[ch. 26]
  • 14 (Saturday): Valérie, still trapped in Stenordale Manor and forced to play caretaker for Dorothy and her cronies, wakes to find a uniform laid out for her for the first time in years. She dresses and leaves her room, where she encounters Dorothy and Frankie with a surgically feminized Declan in tow--they have taken him in retaliation for Elle's murder of Karen.[ch. 26]

2020

January

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