This story is Holly struggling against the sexist ways of Recon. Her only friend is Trouble Kelp, but she finds sympathy with Wing Commander Vinyaya (now, why don’t we know her last name? ;] ) Please enjoy!

Nobody ever seems to understand.
Everyday I wake up and do the best that I can.
I’ve got my problems,
You’ve got your’s too.
You try to label me,
Have you ever looked at you?

Holly had been waiting for this day for months, no, years. The LEP Cadet Conference. The day where she could finally sign up to be on the force.

When she told people she wanted to be in Recon, they would say something like “You? Recon?” or “Girls can’t be in Recon!” She was going to prove them wrong. Show them that girls could be in Recon without breaking a nail.

She sat in a large room with about a hundred or so other LEP hopefuls. Commander Julius Root himself had seen it fit to come and speak in front of the cadets. As with everything Root, his speech was short, sweet, and to the point. Okay, scratch sweet.

“Okay cadets. First of all, congratulations on getting into the LEP. You are the next generation of police officers. But let me tell you something. Police work is not for the weak. If you joined expecting easy money, you might as well walk out of here right now.”

“No, as you know, there are five divisions of the LEP. Wing, Vice, Traffic, Retrieval, and most dangerous, Reconnaissance.” Root went on to explain what the point of each division was, and what they would be doing if they joined. “Now, I want you to think long and hard about what division you will be joining. The decision will affect the rest of your lives. Consider it carefully, especially the girls.” he seemed to be looking right at Holly as he said this. “The sign-up table is over there. Just sign you name neatly on the sheet of the squad you want to join.”

Root shuffled his papers, then steeped down from the podium. Immediately the hall broke out into excited chatter. Holly didn’t need to think about it. She already knew what squad she was joining, and had known for a while.

Holly was one of the first recruits at the table. There were five clipboards on the plastic surface. She grabbed the one labeled “Reconnaissance” and quickly signed her name. Her hand trembled. She had done it! Her lifelong dream. It was finally in her sights.

“Recon?” came a voice behind her. Holly whipped around, ready for another smart remark.

“Look mister-”said Holly, looking the tall male elf in the face. Then she stopped. The elf was really handsome.

“Hey, whoa! I wasn’t making fun of you! I was just admiring your decision. I’ve never heard of a girl joining Recon before.”

“Really? You’re not making fun of me?”

“No! Why would I?”

“Hey buddy, would you mind not holding up the line?” said an angry pixie from behind him.

“Sorry.” said the elf, and quickly scratched his name on the Recon list.

They moved into the hallway. “Wow, I can’t believe you actually admire me. Most of the time they just say something like ’Girls aren’t meant for Recon.’ You are the first person ever to actually say something nice!” Holly said.

“That’s great. By the way, my name’s Trouble, Trouble Kelp.”

Holly just stood there gawking. He was so cool and composed. He didn’t stutter once. This elf was really cute. You cant be serious! Him? Yeah, right.

But why wouldn’t she stare at him? He was really hot. Trouble had a handsome face, and his dark brown hair was messed up in a I-don’t-care-what-my-hair-looks-like-but-I-like-it kinda way. He had glittering white teeth, and a beautiful smile. His dark skin made his wonderful, deep, sea-green eyes look like jewels.

GAAAHHH! Stop staring at his eyes! No, I don‘t want to. He’s cute.She just stood there staring at him like an idiot for the longest time. Finally, she said “Trouble. I like that. My name’s Holly Short.” I like that? What kind of moron would say that?

She just stood there staring at him like an idiot for the longest time. Finally, she said “Trouble. I like that. My name’s Holly Short.”“Nice to meet you Holly. See you around sometime!” Trouble began to walk away.

“Nice to meet you too!” called Holly, and immediately slapped her own forehead.

She liked Trouble, and whether he kne w t or not, he liked her too.

Holly’s first week was bad, to say in the least. She suffered torment and misery everywhere she went. Where was the LEP’s so-called accepting attitude? Being the only girl, she was the only one that the boys could taunt and tease without getting hurt. There were two ways that they annoyed her.

The first being sexual harassment. Holly suffered from cat-calls, wolf-whistles, goosings, winks, “looks”, “Looking good’s”, “You free tonight’s”, and kisses. “The Move” had been practiced on her so many times she couldn’t even begin to count. The worst was, of course, Chix Verbil. He did all of the above and more every time he saw Holly. Eventually she just hid from him altogether.

The fact of the matter was is that Chix Verbil would whistle at anything in a bra. She once overheard him saying ruefully to a friend “Shoulda joined Traffic or Vice. There are more girls.”

Holly even managed to turn some of the older elves heads. It was perverted. They watched her every move as she walked down the hallways. She was sick of it.

The other type of torment were sexist comments. Every time she turned around there was another snide remark or insult following her. “Did girly break a nail today?” and “Girls are weak. I’m surprised you haven’t quit yet.” were the most common. Holly was extremely tempted to slap them across the face.

Most of the time she just ignored these barbed insults, and she always had a witty retort at her disposal. But after a few days her resolve began to fade. Was this why she joined the LEP? To be ridiculed for making a forbearing decision?

Luckily, the five divisions were in separate buildings. Otherwise, Holly would have to suffer the torment of a hundred other fairies. Honestly, she thought that girls were worse than boys. At least most male fairies went by the “established” rule that boys aren’t supposed to hit girls. Other women weren’t above slapping or biting.

Holly didn’t know what she’d do without Trouble Kelp. They were in most of the same classes, and he walked her to them. He shielded her from insults. Obviously, insults were still thrown, but not nearly as often. Being the handsome, smart elf that he was, he was very popular. Just being seen with him made Holly immune to torment.

The first day was possibly the worst. She was a few minutes late, so she was last into class. Heads turned to look at her, but she pretended not to notice. She walked along the back of the classroom.

Holly looked around and immediately spotted Trouble. He saw her and gave her an encouraging smile and a jaunty wave. Holly smiled back and sat down in the back row of desks.

She was surprised to see Commander Root standing at the head of the room. He had obviously come to talk to the cadets on the first day of their new careers. “I have the misfortune of teaching you kids how to survive LEPrecon. I’m not going to congratulate you on your decision to join the most dangerous squad. Most of you are either idiots or extremely cocky. Recon is-”

Holly stopped listening. Something had hit her in the side of the head. She picked it up. It was a sheet of crumpled up looseleaf paper. The fairy looked around. Robert Berths was sitting beside her, smirking. She uncrumpled the note. It read “Hey Short. I like your nails. It looks like you’ve been scrubbing moss. P.S.- Why did you join Recon? You’re a girl, and it’s meant for people who can actually be tough.”

Holly fumed but said nothing. She had painted her nails bright green to match her uniform. She liked green.

She looked at Berths again and rolled her eyes. She wrote “Yeah. Matches the snot in your nose, Bob.”

The threw the note back. He read it and the tips of his pointed ears turned scarlet. He looked ready to punch something. But he wouldn’t hurt her in class. Not with Commander Root here. Now, after class was a totally different matter.

Root was still talking. Holly figured she had better listen. “I’m gonna whip you all into shape and turn you into first class law enforcement. Except you.” He pointed a finger at Holly. “You’re not going to last a week.”

Holly turned red from embarrassment and fury. Everyone turned to face her. She felt ready to puke. She had known that pretty much everyone in the building was sexist, but Commander Root was just the same.

She looked at Trouble again. He looked outraged. At least someone supported her in this nightmare.

After a rough week full of insults, Holly was beat and in a bad mood. To make matters worse, no Friday Trouble wasn’t there. No one was there to protect her from sexist comments. She rushed to classes, barely sparing anyone a second look.

“Hey Holly. I’m surprised you lasted the week. And you didn’t break a nail? That must’ve been quite a feat.” came a voice from behind her. It was Bobby Berths.

Normally, Holly would’ve just completely ignored him or given him a witty retort, but she was fed up with being pushed around. She was going to push back. Those who knew her knew that when Holly wasn’t happy, then nobody else was happy. Especially a person that insults her.

She whipped around and marched over to the laughing elf. All she wanted to do was smack him so hard that his grandchildren hurt.

She pulled her arm back and let fly the hardest punch she had ever thrown It hit him square in the nose. He sprawled out on the floor and blood gushed form his nostrils. She had broken his snotty appendage.

Unfortunately for Holly, it was at that precise moment that Wing Commander Vinyaya came around the corner. “Short, Berths! What’s going on here?”

Robert, seeing his chance to finally get revenge, said “’Olly broge by dose!”

Vinyaya glanced sharply at Holly. “Short, is this true?”

Holly looked defiant. “Yes. And I’m not in the least bit sorry. He got what was coming to him.” Her eyes dared the Wing Commander to argue.

She looked irate. “Into my office. Now!”

Holly followed Vinyaya into her small office. She sat down heavily in the chair behind her desk. “Why did you feel it was necessary to punch your fellow cadet?” she said exasperatedly.

After a week of torment, Holly shed her steel skin. She began to cry. “They are so sexist! All week, I’ve been teased, harassed, and insulted just because I’m a girl. I’m so sick of it. The only person who supports me is Trouble Kelp. Even Commander Root…”

Vinyaya’s expression softened. “I know how you feel. I was the first girl in Wing. But I held my head high in the face of hardship. I defied them and plowed on. I’m hoping someday that there will be a girl brave enough to try Retrieval.” Her face hardened again. “But as much as I would like to, I can’t just ignore a broken nose. I don’t want to, but I’m giving you detention. Come back here after class today at five.” Then she winked. “He got what was coming to him.”

Holly couldn’t believe her luck. Only one day of detention? She would gladly do it again if that was all she got. But she doubted the punishment would be the same next time. Best not to tempt it.

Holly left with new confidence. She would show those sexist pigs who was tough. She would show them that girls could be in Recon. She would rise though the ranks and leave them in her dust. Show them that anything boys could do, girls could do just as well. She would show them.

She would show them all.

 

 

Some other stories by 1crazyhollyfan:

• Shifting Sands
• Still here.
• Heaven at Christmas
• "Foaly's Visit" announcement
• The Long Awaited Part 3 of The Breakup!