Lacking The Magic Words To Make Grown-Ups Understand

20260624

Prompt from “pridemonthprompts” 2025 list.

These characters were first seen here, which is the future for them.

Dad was still at work. Mum was having a bath. The perfect time to play dress-up with your little sister, who was only allowed to be your sister when grown-ups weren’t around.
And today, Lucy had a surprise to share!
Seeing Julie bounce up and down with excitement filled Lucy with a proud sort of joy. A very big-sister-y feeling. While Lucy knew that mum and dad wouldn’t view what she was doing as Being Responsible, the opposite in fact, she felt certain that’s exactly what this was. She was looking out for her little sister and making Julie happy. She was the only one who would.
Nobody else even listened when Julie said she was a girl! It was so stupid. Just like how nobody listened when Lucy explained that tomatoes made her mouth hurt. For years and years. Until Dora listened, and told her mummy to tell Lucy’s mummy to talk to the doctor about ‘allergies’, and now the grown-ups finally understood and Lucy didn’t have to eat tomatoes anymore.
One day Lucy would learn the magic word and which grown-up to tell it to, and people would finally understand that Julie was a girl, and everything would be better. But for now, Lucy had to look after her sister.
So it was with reverent, responsible seriousness that Lucy laid out the new-to-them clothing, claimed from the latest mum’s group swap. And almost all chosen not because Lucy liked it, but because she felt sure Julie would. After all, Lucy could ask mum and dad to buy her clothes she liked.
“I think dad won’t mind if you get these once I’ve outgrown them.” Lucy pointed to one pile of not-too-girly t-shirts and shorts. “I know they’re not…”
“They’re pretty!” Julie assured her, hugging Lucy tight. “And, and maybe we can get you bigger ones and then we’ll match!”
“Yeah! That’d be fun. We’ll look like twins.” Julie said, blithely ignoring the size difference and the fact Julie’s hair was darker and curlier, taking more after dad. “Annnnnd…”
Julie gasped, her hands flying to her mouth and her eyes wide with amazement.
Lucy beamed. “Uh-huh, your very own Princess Julie shirt!”
“It’s beautiful.” Julie whispered, drinking in the beloved cartoon character. Her role model. Everything she wished the world would let her be - dainty, feminine, beautiful, gentle, sensitive…
Everything ‘Lyle’ was told was shameful.
“Try it on - I think it’ll look like a dress!”
With Julie having already stripped off the boyish clothes their parents insisted on, ready for dressing up, Lucy was able to simply slip the shirt over Julie’s head. Sure enough, it went to Julie’s knees, and neither girl cared about how baggy it was around her torso. Far more important was pairing it with Julie’s favourite tiara, and sparkly slippers.
“Perfect!”
Julie tried a curtsy, like she’d seen in the Princess Julie cartoon, and Lucy returned it.
“I’ll wear the yellow dress and be Princess Marigold. Let’s say under the bed is the castle…”

Prompt was “Wardrobe”.