"Please, be careful" said Fancy's mum while she straightened Fancy's collar.

Fancy could see the tear that was making its way over her mothers cheek to her chin. She had tried to act like nothing strange was going to happen, but, good lord, something strange was going to happen. Her mother was sending her away. Sure it was for het own good, but still. She would get away from everything she knew. Suddenly Fancy found herself crying. She threw herself in her mothers arms and sobbed in her soft shoulder.

"Mum, I want to stay here. I want dad to come back. I- I-.."

Fancy's voice broke.

"I know sweetheart" her mum whispered, trying to hold her tears. She pushed her daughter away and looked at her while still holding her daughters fragile shoulders.
"We have to go now, or else you will miss the plane"

Fancy nodded and for a moment her mother ruffled her new short boy haircut.

The depressing grey pavement flashed away under their feet as Fancy and her mother walked to the airport. Fancy felt how the rough fabric of her pants chafe against her thighs. How on earth did boys live with the torture of wearing pants. Fancy felt horrible by the thought of wearing pants for….well, actually, she didn't know for how long. She asked her mum, who was walking next to her. 'As long as necessary' was the only answer she got. 'As long as necessary' what was that supposed to mean. Did it mean she had to wear them till the war was over.

There was no time to think some more about this subject, 'cause Fancy and her mother reached the airport. There was so much to see that Fancy totally forgot about her torturing pants. The crowed airport was overwhelming. Boys from all ages where sitting everywhere. Fancy quickly followed her mother, who was already looking for the right plane, scared of staying alone in this strange place.

Fancy was the last one to enter the plane. As soon as the door was closed behind her, Fancy got the shock of her life: the airplane was full of 'boys'. They were chattering, playing around, standing on their chairs and one of them threw a pellet that just missed her head.

She mentally slapped herself, of course it was full of boys. This was a boy evacuation. Slowly Fancy tried to make her way to an empty chair somewhere in the middle of the plane.

She felt something -probably another pellet- hit the back of her head and she tried to ignore the laughter that followed. She accidently bumped into a little boy with a brown spot that covered the whole left right of his face. There were tear marks on his cheeks and his eyes were wet from the still coming tears. Fancy tried to give him a comforting smile, happy that she wasn't the only one on this airplane who felt unwelcome.

With a sighed of relief Fancy settled down in the empty chair, next to a younger quiet boy who was starring out of the window. Still not feeling comfortable she stared at the back of the chair in front of her. Suddenly a head appeared above it. Fancy's eyes widened but she relaxed when she saw the kind and comforting sparkle in the boy's eyes.
"Hi" the boy spoke.

"Hi" Fancy slightly blushed.

"I'm Ralph" he said with a teeth-showing grin.

"Fa-Ferdinand" She corrected herself just in time.

"Well, nice to meet you Fa-Ferdinand"

Fancy felt her face grew hot, but Ralph send her a reassuring look. Before she could reply they heard the pilot speak: "Fasten your seatbelts"

Ralph turned around and Fancy tried to find the right way to fasten her seatbelt. This was the very first time she would travel by air and she was scared to dead. When the airplane took off Fancy clenched her fingers in the blue fabric of her chair and tried not to look scared.

Ralph smiled, this wasn't the first time he'd travelled by air. In fact it was the third time. He loved the tensed exciting feeling you got in you stomach when the plane would take of or land. Since there was nobody sitting next to him he moved to the other chair so he could look out of the small window. The sky was full of dark clouds and it looked like it was about to thunder. Soon after that Ralph's thoughts were proved. The ominous thunder made the plane shudder and Ralph started to think that flying wasn't so grand after all. Some of the other boys fastened their seatbelts again and Ralph decided to do the same.