Joint Book Celebrations

With Pauline Sutcliffe

Cynthia and Pattie Boyd attended the opening celebration of the Cafesjian Center of the Arts in Yerevan, Armenia on November 8, 2009 to promote their autobiographies, John (by Cynthia) and Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me (by Pattie).

Behind Bedroom Doors

Passion. Affection. Kissing, hugging, making love… here we go! The subject was bound to be brought up, right? Yes, it is in the Too Much Information category, but I honestly don't care because 1) it proves they had a sex life as the same with John and Yoko who chose to publicized it. If you don't wanna know, feel free to go on the next post. Their sex life started the same day their relationship began at Stuart Sutcliffe's apartment after a college party that had an after-party at Ye Cracke. After that, John and Cynthia would have sex at every chance they had when opportunity presented itself. According to Cynthia, their first time lasted an hour. In order to be together, Stuart would have to leave- he usually went to his mother's house. I don't know how he could stand sleeping in the same bed afterwards… I just hope he thought of washing his sheets but I have a funny feeling he didn't. One day while Stuart was out, John and Cynthia gleefully took the opportunity to make love but Cynthia crumbled in pain- they quickly got dressed and John literally carried her to the train station to go home and then to the hospital: she had appendix removed. John would sometimes try to convince Cynthia to have quickies in alleyways but instead she stuck to kissing (although I wouldn't be shocked if a quickie or two happened), however they did had sex at the sand dunes with sand going into their clothes. 

"Stuart, when there were too many sleeping in his room, would sometimes come home, which was three miles away. He would also stay with us when John and Cynthia wanted some privacy. He wouldn't call it that obviously, he wouldn't say, 'I'm coming home, Mother, because I'm letting Cynthia and John have my bed.' My mother couldn't have cared less what the reason was, for she was always elated to have Stuart home."

Pauline Sutcliffe, Stuart's sister

In August of 1960 before John went to Hamburg, he was home in Mendips while Mimi went to visit her sister Nanny. He borrowed a camera and invited Cynthia over to take pictures to take with him to Hamburg. Cynthia modeled for him in sexy Brigitte Bardot-like poses. Where are those pictures now? I'm guessing either Julian or Yoko has them. After the photo session, John and Cynthia made love before putting on a fire and raided the refrigerator. Just before Cynthia was about to leave, Mimi called to say she'll be coming in the next day due to fog. John and Cynthia couldn't believe their luck! Cynthia quickly set up her alibi of lying to her mother that she's at Phyllis's house and then they went upstairs to John's single bed to squeeze together until early morning when she left before Mimi's arrival. 

After when Cynthia returned home from Hamburg visiting John in 1961, her mother moved to Canada and so Cynthia moved in with Mimi as a lounger paying rent. Whenever John returned, they couldn't do anything with Mimi around. Despite Cynthia's denials, does anyone besides me think otherwise? I suspect some sneaky lovemaking happened on a rare free opportunity! Mimi got difficult to live with and after living with a relative, Cynthia eventually found her own apartment. A perfect love nest where they could go on uninterrupted or worry about being caught: John and Cynthia finally had a place to be together. He did visit often and the only thing he didn't want was to have next door neighbor Dot Rhone to be walking in on them. 

"I don't like the idea of Dot moving in permanently with you 'cause we could never be alone really- I mean when I come home- can't she have another room or find another flat- imagine having her there all the time when we were in bed- and imagine Paul coming all the time … God I'm knackered it's 6 o'clock in the morning and I want you … I love you Cyn Powell and I wish I was on the way to your flat with the Sunday papers and chocies and a throbber! … I'm dead beat my sweet so I hope you don't mind if I finish now and have a lovely sleep (without you but it'll still be lovely- don't be hurt- but I'm so so so tired)"

John, April of 1962 in a letter to Cynthia while he was in Hamburg

Then, in the Summer of 1962, Cynthia got pregnant. It's a miracle that she didn't get pregnant sooner! They never used protection as it never occurred to them. They got married, moved into a new apartment, and started their new married life together. I don't know if John and Cynthia had sex while she was pregnant but she did confirm that their sex life didn't end there. They had holidays (aka vacations), film locations, and the first American visit. When John was home, he would gift Cynthia 'naughty nighties' and have a private fashion show that would conclude a dance before going to bed. I will later explain the naughty nighties further in another post but let's say it's not exactly the typical lingerie. 

Eventually the sex dried up. Not sure when though- John did tour a lot, spent time in the studio, having a random affair, business meeting, photo session, and so on that it reached the level of leading separate lives under the same roof. They had irregular sleeping hours: after tours, John would sleep up to 3 days and then would stay up late until the sun comes up while Cynthia had the normal going to bed at a reasonable hour to get up early with Julian. The only times Cynthia stayed up late would be at an event, party, or keeping John company during his songwriting. My guess would be around the end of 1966 as John was heavily into LSD; that being said, according to Dot Jarlett's written testimony in the divorce, John's interest in Cynthia started to wane in the Summer of 1967. It could've been a gradual thing. 

"Cynthia was also out a good deal, especially in the evenings, and I soon noticed with surprise how very little time she and John spent in each other's company. In fact such was the irregularity of their respective comings and goings that they had agreed that whoever came home last would sleep in the guest room so as not to disturb the other. The master bedroom, which they normally shared, was actually a vast room on the first floor housing a massive eight-foot double bed and a sunken bath at the far end, and it was here that John loved to lie in till late in the morning."

Pauline Lennon Stone

By the time they were in India, forget it! Nothing! Within a few days of arriving, John got his own bedroom claiming not to be disturbed while meditating. Then he ignored Cynthia 95% of the time. You can see the strain in the photos. But they did managed to have sex in 1968… unfortunate timing as it was near the end of their marriage. It was after John and Yoko first had sex while Cynthia was in Greece and she came home unexpectedly to find them together in the kitchen wearing bathrobes; Cynthia left for 3 days before returning back to her husband. After a long talk, they made love. I suspect for the final time.

Rest in Peace Stuart

Photographed by Astrid Kirchherr

Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe

June 23, 1940 - April 10, 1962

Cynthia met Stuart at Liverpool College of Art when they started in 1956 as classmates and became friends.

“Cynthia and Stuart got on much better, and Cynthia has told me many times how people couldn't help being aware of Stuart; she said he could always be found at work, always sketching something. She said it was clear to everyone that art was his whole life. By the time Cynthia began going out with John, they were both good friends of my brother. When John was difficult with either of them, they also had each other; Cynthia said she was so close to Stuart she instinctively turned to him and he her when John’s moods became too difficult to cope with alone. She also emphasized that John and Stuart had a remarkable affinity, each transmitting his own particular talents to the other.”

Pauline Sutcliffe

Stuart would encourage and help John with his art work. Cynthia would be in the corner, watching (and maybe doing her own work!). John moved in with Stuart and his roommate and friend Rod Murray.

“He was very spotty with horn-rimmed glasses and, just like John's, they were taped up at the edges. As a student, he was precisely the opposite of John, because he was working himself to death, totally dedicated. He wasn't eating properly and didn't have much to do with girls. His work was all-important to him. John needed Stuart really badly. He was going down the wrong road with these two characters, Tony Carricker and Geoff Mohammed, and he probably realized it because John wasn't stupid… Stuart was great fun in art and their minds were right for each other. John obviously looked up to him, and he was bringing John out as an artist.”

Cynthia, 1985

Stuart did have girlfriends in college: Susan Williams and Veronica Johnson. He was with Veronica by 1960 when they went to see Gene Vincent in concert with John, Cynthia, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. Stuart briefly dated Susan but he left for Hamburg before their relationship grew to the steady phase; they remained friends and Stuart wrote to Susan often.

“He didn't work with us. We were in different departments. But he was the star student in Liverpool College of Art. And everywhere you went, if you went into Life class, there would be drawings or sketches by Stuart. He was a real star pupil. So, we were always influenced and always bumping into each other. Sort of not a lot and not very close friends in the beginning and then John and Stuart suddenly struck up this very bizarre friendship, because Stuart was so unlike John. I think John was desperate for some normality, or, I don't know, something straight in his life because he’s just lost his mother and his history is well known with his father and mother, his mother dying, and his father leaving him. I think there was some stability in Stuart and myself at the time.”

Cynthia

“I loved Stuart. He was really lovely. He was a good friend,a really good friend.”

Cynthia

“Stuart will always have a special corner in my heart. A sensitive, caring young man, he was my friend and supportive ally on many occasions. His talent was outstanding and, thank God, will endure as his memory endures me. His life was cruelly cut short but the legacy he left behind was his work- and his enthusiasm for life, truth, and love.”

Cynthia

While John was in Hamburg, Cynthia went to the funeral with Astrid. When he returned, John and Cynthia visited the Sutcliffe family.

John the Naughty Boyfriend

Part one of two. I am going to say (well, write) it: once again this won't be an easy read and there will be other difficult subjects to explore. However, I can't ignore it either. It's another part of John that makes me cringe and wonder why Cynthia managed to be with him… but to be fair, Cynthia didn't know this part was going on until much later. Cynthia admitted that she was blinded by love and naive.

Aside from his infidelity while with Cynthia, I am also going to take a little look into John's previous relationships with girlfriends before Cynthia here as well.

John was not an angelic boyfriend: he was jealous, possessive, quick mood swings, and he cheated. Why be in a relationship in the first place? Only John can answer that. It's been said that John cheated right from the start. And, of course, he didn't want Cynthia to know about it. Although I do think some affair claims were exaggerating and mythical, but fact is fact: he had a wandering eye.

To be fair though, so did Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and later Ringo Starr. I have heard, and I can believe it, that Paul was the worst of the four. At least until he became a married man because I never heard Paul cheating on any of his three wives. Anyway, back to our main focus: John. I think Cynthia had her own suspicions, but had little lack of proof. She wasn't that stupid but love can be blind. John also kept Cynthia away from some parties- probably told her it would be too dangerous or some lame yet believable excuse to keep her away. His friends would also cover for John.

“Cynthia never went to them or many other parties; everybody protected her from what was going on between John and other women.”

Pauline Sutcliffe

“I didn't suspect, none of us did. We only heard about it years later. Now I’ve got to know how many there were and what happened and I've thought, 'My God, when he was in Hamburg, I could have caught anything off him!’ Thank God I was lucky. They must have gone through so many German frauleins while they were there, but we didn't honestly think of it.”

Cynthia, 2005

“John, who didn't mind describing himself as 'a great wanker from way back’ was highly delighted with some of his efforts. 'I’ve had a great session,’ he would tell us, 'I pulled a couple of birds- but not a word to Cyn!’ Cynthia would often arrive at Mathew Street for our evening performances- and so perhaps would a girl who had been posing for John in the afternoon. When a girl beamed a knowing smile his way, he would switch off as if he never seen her before in his life or, if near enough, give a quick innocuous 'Hello’, for fear of Cynthia stumbling onto his secret.”

Pete Best

John would take pictures of these girls. I wonder where those pictures are today? John may have hidden or destroyed them.

I do wonder what made John want to cheat? Although some say John cheated right from the start. Cynthia did consistently say that they were inseparable in those early days of their relationship. The only real time John could cheat was when he took Cynthia to the bus station late at night. John was a night owl, so there is a good chance he used that time. Other chances would be when Cynthia was in class during the day (morning and afternoon); John playing hooky wasn't unusual. He was either playing with his band, drinking, and, yes, a side treat. Another available time would be playing somewhere with the Beatles out of town (not Hamburg or Scotland) or in a dangerous neighborhood where John convinced Cynthia to stay away. John did indeed have quite an opportunity to do as he pleased.

The affairs. The girls. Let's get into the ones who came forward or that we know about.

Beth was already talked about in a previous post (read Wild Ride: the Dating Years or click on her name under Labels on the right side of the blog ➡).

Barbara Baker

Barbara Baker (previous girlfriend)

John's first serious girlfriend when he was 16 years old and who he lost his virginity to. John's sister Julia remembers finding them making out and he would pay her to scram off (yet, he didn't pay when while doing the same thing to Cynthia!). Obviously, the relationship didn't last. Maybe a year.

Margaret Jones (previous girlfriend)

On and off girlfriend of Len Garry who briefly dated John in between while with Barbara. It was so brief, it was a type of relationship that if you blink, you would miss seeing it happen.

Thelma Pickles

Thelma Pickles (previous girlfriend)

Thelma was John's next girlfriend when he started Liverpool College of Art. I would say that they had most in common: her father bailed when she was 9 and they had a similar outlook on life. Thelma and John did have sex- even at Mendips when Mimi wasn't home. Their relationship basically petered out and remained friends. Thelma did briefly dated Paul a few short years later. Thelma and Cynthia knew each other but mainly as friendly associates. Thelma thought Cynthia could edge off John's anger. During their respected time with John at Liverpool College of Art, both Thelma and Cynthia would try to do John's schoolwork for him so he could squeak by, or attempted.

“He called her Miss Prim, and he said to me, 'It’s a pity she's a bit posh,’ implying there was a gulf he would never be able to overcome. It wasn't that John thought she had any feelings of superiority. He just recognized her different background, because she was from over the water. It was our inverted snobbery. When she walked into the room, he’d say, 'Don't talk like that 'cause Cynthia's here.’ He meant we had to be on our best behavior.”

Thelma Pickles

“Cynthia was so quiet. A completely different type from us. She came from over the water, the posh part, from a middle class area. She wore a twin set. She was very nice, but I just couldn't see her suiting John. He used to go on about her, telling us how marvelous she was. I just couldn't see it. I left college for a year, and when I was away I heard they were going strong. I thought that would settle him down, calm him a bit, but it didn't turn out that way at all.”

Thelma Pickles

I don't know if John cheated on Thelma but I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

Patricia Inder

Patricia Inder

One time on my Children of the Beatles Facebook page, my co-Administrator put up a picture of Julian with Paul Kilmister, son of Lemmy from a popular metal rock band Motorhead and Patricia, when they were briefly in a band together. Patricia made a comment and I, being slightly as a Cynthia defender and sarcastical bitch, replied to her, referring her as John's mistress. I guess she didn't like that word mistress at all as she insisted that she wasn't his mistress but a girlfriend who already shared her story in recent biographies on The Beatles. So… I suppose in her mind that she was The girlfriend and Cynthia was the side piece? I think I used the proper definition of 'mistress’ quite well… what do you think? Well, that was my only encounter with a side lover (MISTRESS!) of John's. That must have been awkward for Julian and for Paul of their parents’ love triangle.

Anyway, let's get down to the real point: Patricia regularly saw the Beatles perform, hardly missing their shows, and became friends with the band. She was 15 at the time and John thought she was too young, but as she claims, John wrote Hello Little Girl for her. When Patricia turned 19, their friendship turned romantic. They mostly had their trysts at her friend's apartment with a spare room and spend their nights together (after John took Cynthia to the train station), and when Cynthia got her own apartment, he would say he would be with Paul writing songs.

“John and I were friends before we became lovers and he was my first. I supposed I’ve always loved him.”

Patricia Inder

During their 'friend’ years (1958-1960), Patricia had a crush on Paul, who was dating Dot at the time. She wasn't attracted to John until he kissed her at a private party for two at a mutual friend’s apartment. He was romantic with her- kissing her eyelids. They would also talk, John spoke about his parents… I guess Cynthia was wrong that he only opened up to her… he would talk about his late mother to Patricia as well as with Cynthia.

“I knew about her, but she didn't know about me. John didn't often bring her to gigs, but I do remember one time he brought her to the Cavern. He came up to me and said he’d be over later after he’d put Cynthia in a taxi. Obviously, I wasn't happy about the situation and I’d tell John I felt I was wasting my time. His response was that one woman was never enough for a man. He would say he was torn between two blondes, that he loved Cynthia, but was in love with me. I have nothing against Cynthia. In fact, I’d love to meet her because we’d have a lot to talk about.”

Patricia Inder

If John was so 'in love’ with Patricia, why didn't he broke up with Cynthia? He had no problems doing so with Yoko, so why not with Patricia? Again, only John can answer that. Patricia claims that while they were drinking over dinner and after they left the restaurant, he proposed. She thought he was joking. The next day, it was forgotten. From the way she told her story, John was mostly with her in between gigs with the Beatles, nevermind with Cynthia. What about when John was in Hamburg- did he also write to Patricia? Did she travel up to see and be with him?

After Cynthia discovered she was pregnant, Paul told Patricia and John confirmed it (Patricia also claimed she had a pregnancy scare around the same time Cynthia discovered she was pregnant). He wanted to continue on with Patricia… ok, now this is the area where it gets sketchy as there are two different versions of the story:

1. According to the Daily Mail (admittedly not the best source), Patricia didn't want to continue on. After the Beatles left Liverpool for good in 1963, Patricia moved on as a Nanny and didn't see John again until 1965.
2. According to Philip Norman’s book, John Lennon: The Life, Patricia did continue to see John after he got married and had Julian. He would have Cynthia believe that he was working (on tour, writing with Paul) until he moved to London.

So, which one is true?

In 1965, the Beatles were playing at the Hammersmith Odeon. Patricia somehow got a backstage pass to see John. He was combing his hair until he saw her. Calling her the love of his life, John swing her around and kissed Patricia. They had little time to talk before he was to be on stage. That was the last time they would ever see each other. Patricia moved on with Lemmy Kilmister but held a torch for John. Apparently, John would ask mutual friends about her and would've loved to see her again.

“John spoilt it for me. He made me think all men were as romantic, funny, and talented as him. John was special, he really was. Wouldn't it have been great if I had married him after he proposed? Things may have turned out very differently for both of us.”

Patricia Inder

I wonder if John would have left Patricia for Yoko as he did with Cynthia? We will never know…

Besides Liverpool, there was also Hamburg.

John and Bettina Derlien in Hamburg, 1966

Bettina Derlien

Bettina worked as a barmaid at the Star Club in Hamburg. She soon discovered that she and John had a lot in common. They would go to the movies whenever John had free time and then some. It wasn't long until Bettina got pregnant; John allegedly demanded that she would get an abortion (proof that John was a naughty boy), which she did so. But the abortion would affect her health and weight by developing a glandular condition. Their relationship changed when John acted all shoddy but Bettina believed he really cared for her. In 1963, knowing that the Beatles were becoming popular, Bettina convinced a friend to take her down to where they were staying to reunite with John, who was now married. John saw her but avoided her as much as he could. Bettina encountered John once more in 1966 when the Beatles tour in Hamburg; it was a much friendlier encounter than three years previously and even posed together for photos.

Renata

A brief girlfriend in Hamburg but they had little time for each other due to conflicting schedules.

Cynthia was unaware of these affairs, she didn't find out until much later. I am not sure about Patricia, but Cynthia was at least happy to be the one John held on to. Cynthia was the one he wrote home to (that we know of!) and she was also the one John sent money to from his meager earnings for Cynthia to save for their future.

“I couldn't believe what he was doing. I said, 'If you do this every week, what do you live on?’ and he said, 'Oh, I can earn a few marks by playing for this stripper 'round the back street in the afternoon.’ It was incredible- very responsible behavior for a boy of that age. All the musicians seemed to booze their money away. John had to get it back to Liverpool quickly.”

Henry Henroid, the Star Club’s booking agent

“When John was with me, it was total commitment. Whatever he did outside our relationship didn't seem very important. We were together such a lot of the time that whatever other affairs he had once we met couldn't have amounted to much because I was with him most of the time. He kept me in Liverpool as late as I dared stay. It wasn't as if he wanted to get rid of me. Later on, during the Beatles’ very busy period and when he was away a lot, it was a different matter. But love is blind.”

Cynthia, 1985

It Wasn't Love at First Sight…

“We met at art school in Liverpool. I was 18 and he was 17. He’d just lost his mother. I had a boyfriend when I was 17, he was a lot older than me, about 25. And John went out with a girl called Barbara for a couple of years before he met me. So we’d both been through the first flush of romance. I was a bit apprehensive of him. I thought he was very funny, but in a rather cruel sort of way. He was fighting the world.”

Cynthia

“He was scruffy, dangerous looking, and totally disruptive. He frightened the life out of me.”

Cynthia

“My impression when I first met John- he was outrageous. At art school, his work was innovative- totally different from everybody else's. I was an art student who followed the rules. But John wanted to break all the rules and that's what made him such an individual and such a terror. With John, there was an element of fear. He really quite frightened people, including me in the beginning, because of his attitude. He was rough-ready and not my type at all, to start with. But this enigmatic character you couldn't resist. He walked around without his glasses, because you know there were lots of rough characters in Liverpool and, wearing glasses, he would be picked on. And because he couldn't see, he felt he was being attacked, so he was always on the run. Even though he’d come from the middle class, his dress was very teddy boy, his hair slicked back with grease, no glasses, a guitar slung over his shoulder, and a look that said 'kill’... I think after losing his mum, which had only just been a year before I met him- his whole world had collapsed and this was his battle. He was a mixture of war and peace. There was a lot of battling and the peace eventually came out.”

Cynthia, 1988

“I met Cynthia at art school. She was a right Hoylake runt. Dead snobby. We used to poke fun at her and mock her, me and Geoff Mohammed. 'Quiet please,’ we’d shout, 'no dirty jokes, it's Cynthia.’”

John, 1968

“I was in his camp of boys because I was a bit of an arty beatnik. Cynthia was dainty and sweet. We used to take the mickey out of her, but John always said he fancied her. He was certainly always attracted to her from the first time he saw her in the canteen.”

Thelma Pickles, 1985

“I hate the word, but posh best describes John's first impression of Cynthia. He was clearly attracted to her but hid that behind a regular barrage of bad jokes about her. She was the most important to him for a long time, but John did not want to look weak to his peers, to be soppy over a girl.”

Pauline Sutcliffe

'His whole persona was really rebellious. He didn't give a damn about anybody: He would not work when he should be working. He’d have everybody in fits of laughter, because his jokes were very crude and very cruel. He was one-off. I don't know why he fell for me because I was the exact opposite of him. But that's how I was attracted to him. And of course, we were in quite close quarters in college, so we got to know each other very slowly, but that was it.”

Cynthia

“It was just an instant attraction. It was probably from the inside, not the outside, because he wasn't very attractive on the outside when I met him. But there was something about him that was for me. I was fascinated to the point where I wanted to know who he was, what he was, where he’d come from, and what made him into who he was at that time, which we all found out later on. That was it really, it was an attraction I couldn't help.”

Cynthia

“I always sensed it, and I was very attuned, but I dismissed it because I thought she'd be far too good for him. She was sweet and lovely, a very nice, quiet girl who would blush and be embarrassed.”

Thelma Pickles

• 

Cynthia and John outside of Ye Cracke pub in Liverpool

John and Cynthia met at Liverpool College of Art. Cynthia enrolled in September of 1956, after her father's death in June of that year. John enrolled the following year and started to date Thelma Pickles. Cynthia was dating a man named Barry for about 3 years and he worked as a window cleaner with his father. They were thinking about getting engaged by the time John and Cynthia started the same class together: Lettering. John sat behind Cynthia, borrowing her prepared utensils and didn't return them. Cynthia wasn't a fan and wanted nothing to do with him. Over time, Cynthia got curious and fascinated of John.

“He was always around, always surrounded by people who were in awe of him. He was such a rebel. He was always somewhere around college, putting on his act, doing his thing, and people were having hysterics. He was embarrassingly funny and you couldn't resist it. I’d never met anybody like this before. I was new to college. I was definitely brought into his orbit when he was moved into my class.”

Cynthia, 2005

“I saw him around college frequently and he was a scruffy teddy boy, but what fascinated me was that he was always surrounded by crowds of people who were laughing. He kept them all laughing- he joked and he was grotesque, but he was a clown. I was just an onlooker until he came into the same class, that's where we came into close quarters. He was changing at that point. He’d got rid of most of his teddy boy outfits and was trying to blend into the arty style, the bohemian style of dress.”

Cynthia, 2005

“He would entertain people with his rebellion but if he actually had to confront anybody on an one-to-one basis and be aggressive to them, he couldn't do that unless he drank. He couldn't take his drink; it made him very aggressive.”

Cynthia, 2005

“It was his charisma. Even though he didn't fit into any kind of pattern in terms of college, I think if he’d done anything in that college he would have succeeded if he put his mind to it. But music was his greatest love and that's what ended up in his life.”

Cynthia, 2005

“He was not to be confronted, let's put it that way. You either loved him or you hated him, and that's still the same now, even though he's not here. You either loved him or you hated him, but you could not ignore him.”

Cynthia, 2009

“We were such opposites. I was conscientious, very studious. John was foolhardy, disruptive.”

Cynthia, 1999

“He might have been scruffy, but he was always clean. And he was not mean- he’d usually offer to pay my fare, eight old pence, just because he knew I was, like him, a hard up student at college.”

Phyllis Mackenzie, 1985

John already had nicknames for Cynthia while teasing her: Miss Powell and Miss Prim. There's an old saying that if a boy teases a girl, he likes her.