Juliette
My name is Juliet Bond. I am the daughter of Dave Bond and World Famous Champion Cyclist Jenny Bond and sister of Junior Champion Cyclist Drew Bond. I am so proud of my Mum, after she raised Drew and me, she went back to her first love: cycling.
If not for my Dad's support, Mum would never have succeeded. Dad would work crazy hours just so he could take Mum to her races. Drew and I would travel with them when Mum's race was on the weekend or during the hols, otherwise, we would stay with Aunt Carol and go to school.
He proved early on that he has a gift in adjusting a bike to fit the rider. His gift comes from his love for Mum and Drew. He has the ability to make those ever so slight adjustments that mold the bike to the rider. That gift and Mum's unbridled spirit son led her to the pinnacle of the Cycling World.
Mum has a special gift to actually read the other cyclists and adjust her racing strategy. Her favorite strategy is to trick the others as to if she is tiring out. Then she will kick in the afterburners and shoot forward to win. That trick has made her famous in the cycling world.
Mum has become quite the celebrity with her knack of pulling out a victory the way that she does. Working with the German Team Apollinaris, she has won several awards and has reached the top in the cycling world.
When she saw in Drew the very same racing spirit and encouraged him to ride with her in a special race. It was a costume race on a tandem bike. Mum dressed as Xena: Warrior Princess while Drew dressed as Gabrielle: The Battling Bard. Mum looked great as Xena, her black hair and costume sang to me. I started to think how I would look with black hair.
It also got to Dad seeing Mum in that costume. Drew and I heard some very interesting sounds from our rents bedroom that night and Mum had a smile on her face that was priceless. I was surprised that Mum and Dad didn't conceive that night. No, I don't want to wear Mum's Xena costume, just the hair.
The one that wants to wear the costume is Aunt Carol. She wants to give Uncle Bob a real treat I guess. All I know is that the nights that Mum wears that costume, she has quite a smile on her face and Dad walks with a bit of a swing in his step. Drew and I know that they aren't sleeping, we hear some rather bizarre sounds from them. Personally, I am surprised that Mum doesn't get pregnant.
Drew loves to cycle as much as Mum does. He has gone out in all sorts of weather to ride Drew has that same determination that Mum has and has developed the unique ability to read other bikers. This talent has given him the edge needed to win in quite a few races.
Dad has been doing for Drew what he did for Mum when she was home racing. My Dad shows us his love in his actions. He as always encouraged Drew and me to do our best. With Drew, it has resulted in him meeting many celebrities of the Cycling world.
Drew met Lance Armstrong, one time too, even if it was as Gaby at the time.
Still, Drew is a sweet young man that loves racing. When he races, it is as if he is in his own world. When he cycles, he is at peace and calm. One day, he will be as famous as Mum.
Drew can be quite the Ladies Man too. He has befriended two different girls and helped them with their bikes. In both cases, he helped them without them asking him. Drew is so giving of himself that he can hurt himself if he is not careful.
Fred is a girl that lost the use of her legs when she fell off of her horse. She is also an expert archer. When Drew found out, he got our tandem outfitted so that he could take Fred for a ride. When Mum and Dad found out, they gave him permission.
When Drew needed help with the bike, Fred's Dad helped out and got the bike ready. Fred loved riding with Drew and now he has a special place in her and her Dad's heart.
When Drew met Catrina, he got Mum and Dad to let him give her a set of tyres. Cat loves riding as much as Drew, but her clunker needed some modifications, so with the new tyres and gears, she now has a decent racing bike.
She showed up to get the tyres while I was home alone, Drew was at a race and Dad took him, leaving me home to meet Cat. I invited her to a party to celebrate Drew's victory. That poor girl was convinced that she was there simply to fill out the required number. Aunt Carol set her straight about that, telling her if I hadn't invited her, SHE would have.
But Drew also hurt Cat. When Cat showed up here visiting her Gran, Rhod all of a sudden decides to become Mfawny. Drew was all out of sorts and lashed out at Cat. Cat was innocent but Drew had lost his best friend and mate, he was torn up inside. Dad had a few words with Drew about his attitude. Drew started to cry and admitted that losing Rhod had hurt him immensely. After that, Drew was able to accept Mfawny and apologize to Cat.
Maddy has some competition too. Helen is a new neighbor that moved in nearby. She is a quiet and shy girl, nothing like Maddy at all. Drew truly appreciates the difference because with Helen, he doesn't have to worry about Gaby showing up.
No, Helen invited Drew to a party for the Girl Guides. Helen is one and wanted Drew there because he was the only boy there. That action has endeared her to him and now Maddy needs to watch it or she might lose Drew to Helen.
Seeing Mum looking so sexy helped me make up my mind, but I knew that it would take awhile to get my rents to accept me as their Goth Girl. The first thing that I did was to have my tongue pierced. When Drew and Maddy found out, I thought for sure they would out me to my rents, but they both agreed to keep silent bout my new adornment.
When Mum and Dad finally found out, I was grounded! The anguish I saw in their eyes when they saw their Princess was no more broke my heart. I love them with all my heart, but they couldn't see that I needed to be ME!
Drew has his cycling and Maddy. I am still finding out who I am. I don't want to hurt Mum and Dad, but I need to find out just who I am in the world. Then when I dyed my hair, it caused even more pain and tears between us.
My heart was broken, if not for Drew's love and support, I might have runaway. He accepted the new me and was there when I needed support. With his help, I was finally accepted as their Goth Girl.
At first I was jealous of Drew and Mum's closeness. To fight back, I tricked Drew into being Gaby as often as I could. I thought that if he was outed as Gaby, his humiliation would make me feel better. I never knew that being Gaby was so hard for him. He was so natural as Gaby that it was as if he was born a girl. When Drew finally told me about his anxiety and confusion about Gaby, I repented and vowed that I would never trick him into being Gaby ever again.
It was the American Exchange Students that caused him a lot of grief while they were here. Those girls tricked Drew into being Gaby all for a laugh! When they finally told Drew, Maddy and the gang were quite mad for Drew. Drew was stunned that they carried their joke as far as they did.
We did forgive them for their stupidity, but we should have made sure that their rents knew the truth about Drew/Gaby. When we went to America, they told us that they had not told their rents about Drew/Gaby. Poor Drew was furious! But since I was there, I was able to help him during his time as Gaby.
If we had told them the truth, it might very well have ended the entire program, and Drew did not want to be responsible for that. I never did trust the American students after that. Their JOKE has hurt Drew worse than anything I can think of.
I saw Drew succumb to Gaby bit by bit during our stay. It was so difficult for him to return to being Drew back home in Warsop, but we helped him to return. I know he was chuffed to be able to remove those breast forms and gaffe, but he was still Gaby for awhile.
He finally was able to put Gaby behind him after he broke down with Mum and Dad. Their acceptance of him and his special nature helped to heal his spirit. I know that Maddy and I will be there for him. Drew needs to find out who he is and learn to be himself and not let others decide for him.
Drew's body does not produce enough testosterone for him to go through a male puberty. He is developing as a girl instead, much to his dismay. he has asked many times just what he is and is confused about his identity. We do what we can to help him, but he must decide who he is in the long run.
Maddy and Drew are MATES! They truly look like twins, but we are cousins so their snogging is not that bad. They maybe "kissing cousins", but they are 3rd and 4th cousins. In fact, Aunt Carol had THE TALK with them recently. They were caught sleeping in bed, just sleeping. Aunt Carol did assure herself that Maddy was still a virgin, but since those two are so close, she had to set them straight about sex. They both swore that they would wait until marraige. Me, I want to be the bridesmaid for Maddy when they marry.
Now, I love Maddy, but she has a very bad habit of tricking Drew into becoming Gaby. The first time, she got me , Drew, Brit and Rhod to go to a convention with her. We all went as female characters, she got Drew to wear a costume that matched hers. Drew went along with even though he wore a miniskirt and had to wear knickers that matched the skirt.
Mister Woods also got Drew to take part in a special school brochure. Drew dressed as a school girl for a week and got paid for it too. He made quite an impression as Gaby. While he was Gaby, Drew was sick with a cold to explain why he wasn't attending. What we can't understand is why nobody outed Drew as Gaby! Nobody called home to check on him much, I guess that Gaby eclipsed Drew that week. Funny thing is that Drew's friend Clive has a crush upon Gaby.
Clive wants to kiss Gaby and date her. He has no clue that she is Drew. Drew and Maddy finally decided that Clive needed to get over Gaby, so at a party, Gaby publicly broke up with him. Drew hated to do it, but then Clive was getting a bit fresh too and Drew is not into kissing boys. Clive took it very hard and got caught drinking soon after. Clive seems to have gotten over Gaby, only time will tell.
Aunt Carol has really hurt Drew too. Aunt Carol needed to get some clothes for Maddy and since Maddy and Drew are the same size, she asked him to be Gaby for her. Drew went along with the deal that they would quit if he asked to leave. Aunt Carol ignored him until he threatened to take the bus home. They left but Drew lost faith in Aunt Carol and doesn't trust her anymore. Drew love her because she has always been there for him. But now that she has hurt him, he is afraid to trust her. Aunt Carol bemoans the fact that she hurt Drew and wants to make amends, but Drew needs to forgive her, when or if he does is up to him.
As for the trip to Germany, I was against it because I would be away from my band and friends. But in time, I accepted the fact that we were moving. The main reason for me to move was to be there for Drew. I know how easily he is mistaken for a girl, He needed me for when the pressure was too great.
I know that with me going away to school, that I was not there for Drew at times, but Mum and Dad were. Drew even got a job as a waitress. He was able to wear trousers, so he was able to be Drew. But those Germans think that Drew is Gaby when she wants to dress as a boy!!
It really shows their blindness that Drew won the local beauty pageant as a girl! It was a celebration of the local winery. I must admit that Drew was a cute and adorable WINE PRINCESS, but I could tell that he wanted to let the ground swallow him to end his humiliation.
Drew asked Mum and Dad if he could get a job as a WAITRESS. The only reason he wants to try is that the uniform is a blouse and trousers. If it was a skirt or dress, he wouldn't have asked. He got permission as long has he does not neglect schooling or cycling.
Then there was the time that Drew was a part of a class project. He and two other students were asked to be pregnant for a week. They were given a pregnancy kit and asked to wear them for a week. Drew was the only one of them that went ahead and dressed the part. He wore some of Mum's old maternity stuff while the others just wore the kit over their uniforms. Drew won top marks for his part while the others got lower marks.
Mum, Dad , Gran and I have decided to help Drew deal with his dual identity. In time, I hope Drew can accept Gaby and combine both halves and make him complete. In a way, I used Drew and hopefully helped him too. I had an assignment in school, I made Drew the focus. In it, Drew died while cycling on New Year's Day. I was crying all during writing the fictional obituary. I love my brother!! The idea of him dying broke my heart! In fact, the entire family cried. It was a bonding moment for us Bonds. I did get top marks for my assignment too.
Stan 03.02.08 (revised 19.02.08) © 2008
