Hello boys and girls, it's time for our history lesson.
So, everyone get your blankie and your pillow, and make a circle around Auntie Penny.
And don't forget your tissues.

I would like to thank my dear friends,
Angel O’Hare, Karen Page, Joni W. and Holly Logan
for their kindness, help, support, and input.

Education in the Hills
Chapter 8

By Penny Reed Cardon

Suddenly, I was floating through the air. For a moment, I thought that my Mother had come to my rescue as she had so many times in the past. Still sobbing, I hugged my rescuer out of instinct.

"Easy now, I haven't been hugged like that for some time."

That wasn't Mom's voice. I looked up and tried to focus with my tearful eyes. As they cleared, I saw ... Ellen.

"Twice in one day I've been summoned to assist you. You know, if you keep this up we may need to hire another psychiatrist just to take care of you," she said with a smile, as we entered her office.

We had been sitting on the large couch for several minutes before I was able to regain some control over my tear ducts. All the while Ellen sat next to me with an arm around my shoulder, holding me close.

Ellen waited for me to settle down a bit before trying to talk with me, "I received a note from Mary Beth indicating you'd gone to see your mother. Mary Beth thought it was unusual, and asked me to check on you. When I arrived outside your mother's office I heard some agitated voices. I was wondering who or what was going on, when suddenly you appeared. So tell me, what caused you to seek out your mother, and why did you collapse in tears?"

I was still crying and found it hard to form some of my words, "I know! ... I, I didn't th ... th ... think I'd ever get th … the chance again ... After you found out th ... that I know."

"Matilda, I'm not sure what you're ..."

"Th ... The school rules ... you didn't explain all of them to me and Mary Beth, did you?" I cried out. I was still crying, but obviously upset.

"I'm not sure I know which rules you're referring to. Perhaps you could ..."

"Ellen, I know that what we've been told about going home to our families after we graduate, is a lie. We're never allowed to see our families again, ARE WE?"

"You are a clever girl, aren't you? We've never had anyone from year A, B, or C come up with anything resembling speculation along that line. How did you come to that conclusion?"

I'd stopped crying by this time; in fact, I was on the verge of being down right mad. "No speculation. I found it on one of the school servers. It's spelled out very plainly in black and white, 'Security Measure Twenty-Four’ - Upon graduation all students will be relocated to areas as far from their birth family as possible.' You want to tell me what that means? Go ahead, try telling me that it's something other than we’re NEVER to see our families again."

After a slight pause and a deep breath, Ellen conceded, "It appears that you are holding a few more aces than I am. It's also obvious that RJ's security measures aren't as good as he claimed they were."

"Is that all you're going to say?"

"At the moment there isn't much I can say, except that we hadn't planned on you having to grow up so soon."

"What do you mean, grow up so soon?"

"As a child, the knowledge and information you acquire may be freely shared. Even what you know about Bart and his actions, you are at liberty to share with the other students, if you wish. As an adult, frequently we will acquire knowledge that, if shared so freely, would be detrimental to others, causing pain and suffering, it could possibly be ... fatal. I just hope that Mary Beth is ready to grow up."

"What do you mean? Mary Beth doesn't know about any of this."

"Matilda, as you know, there are no secrets between study partners. You must tell her what you know."

"WHAT? ... YOU WANT ME TO TELL HER? NOW I KNOW YOU’RE CRAZY! I CAN'T TELL HER SOMETHING LIKE THIS. 'Hi Mary Beth, how was your day? Oh by the way, you can never see your family again, EVER! You have a nice day now.’ She'll never understand. I'm not sure that I understand, and I'm the dummy that doesn't know enough to keep her nose out of where it doesn't belong." At least by the time I'd stopped talking, I'd also stopped yelling.

‘What made me tremble in fear was that I knew Ellen was right. Mary Beth had to be told, and I had to be the one to tell her. I was looking at the floor, shaking my head, trying to figure out how I keep getting myself into these situations. I was also trying to figure out when, where, and how to tell Mary Beth. Sometimes I hate being so smart … that I'm stupid.’

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, startling me. "Are you expecting someone? I'll come back later," I mumbled as I started to get up.

"Yes, I am expecting someone," Ellen replied, keeping a straight face. "Please sit down."

Reluctantly I sat down on the edge of the couch with my elbows on my knees and my chin in my hands, not very ladylike, but at the time, I really didn't care. I decided to make another study of the pattern in the carpet as Ellen opened the door. "Come in, please have a seat on one of the couches," I heard her say.

A few seconds later, someone in a blue gown sat next to me. Not having any idea why Ellen would want me here, while she talked with someone else, I remained quiet and stared at the floor.

I twitched as a hand came to rest on my shoulder, and I heard a familiar voice asking gently, "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

That was all it took to open the floodgates again. With my head hanging lower, I was sobbing again. I managed to ask, "Ellen, what is she doing here?"

"Matilda, you know why Mary Beth is here. There is something you have to tell her."

"Tell me what?" Mary Beth asked, while rubbing my back and shoulders.

Ignoring Mary Beth’s question, I asked, "I know, but does it have to be right now? Couldn't it have waited a week or two?"

"Matilda, you know that would be keeping a secret from your study partner. She must be told, it must be today, and it must come from you. I’ll be here to help afterwards."

Shaking my head, I knew Ellen was right. Slowly I sat up and in agony turned to face my partner. I threw my arms around Mary Beth. She hugged me close as I cried and cried, soaking her gown.

'Never again will I refer to Mary Beth as just my study partner. As of this moment, we are partners, partners in life, separated from everyone else because of what we know. I've cursed us both to a life of secrecy where the only other person we can turn to in the entire world, is each other. Right now ... I just don't feel all that special.'

After I'd slowly exhausted myself and stopped crying. Pulling back, I looked into Mary Beth's eyes. "Mary Beth, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to cause you so much pain."

"Matilda, what are you talking about? What did you do, this time?"

"Well ... You know how I'm always solving puzzles and mysteries. Um, well, Ellen threw down the gauntlet; that is, she gave me a mystery to solve."

"Don't involve me in this. I didn't do, or say, anything that would have led you to your discovery," Ellen tried to profess her innocence.

"No, you didn't say anything directly that led me to it, you just left all the clues of a mystery lying around," I countered.

"Matilda I'm not sure I know what you're talking about, but I assure you I never ..."

I know it was rude, but I cut Ellen off, "Mary Beth, Monday morning, didn’t it seem that Beca, Lizy, and the others were acting very strange, or was it just my imagination?"

"Yes, they were acting strange. It was almost like we weren't supposed to be there," she replied, confirming my speculation, although it was something we'd never discussed.

"Ellen, please answer a question. Who rescheduled our French class to begin right after breakfast, eliminating the possibly of us being in the cafeteria with years D through H?"

Ellen didn't answer. The room was so quiet you could hear the second hand of the clock on the wall, ticking off the seconds.

"Who was it that escorted me to breakfast this morning, taking me into a private dining room, deliberately avoiding the main dining room? Who was so gracious as to get my breakfast for me, again keeping me out of the main dining room? Lastly, who escorted me to my French class by means of a side door and the emergency stairwell, once again avoiding the main dining room? Clues, Ellen, they’re all clues to a mystery. Because I'm in the cafeteria three times a day it had to be something else. Examining all the clues pointed in the direction of someone I'm not supposed to see. Someone who would be in the cafeteria at the same time as years D through H."

"Perhaps our actions could have been misinterpreted," Ellen reluctantly admitted, after some thought. "This is the first time that we've been in this situation. This entire episode will have to be reviewed."

"So, that's what has kept you so preoccupied all day," Mary Beth stated gently. "Every time you had a few moments to spare, you were busy tapping at the keys on your PDA. I take it you solved the mystery and that's what this is all about, why we’re here?" I nodded in response, "So tell me, who is it you aren't supposed to see?"

I looked at Ellen; her expression hadn't changed, only a slight nod told me to continue.

Turning back to Mary Beth I quietly answered her question, "My Mother!” I couldn't help it … I started gently crying, again hugging Mary Beth close. Softly, I whimpered out, “I'm not supposed to see my Mother."

"Matilda that's crazy! Why wouldn't they want you to see your Mother?"

After I’d reduced to sniffling and sat up to answer, "That's what I thought, crazy, no reason to stop me from seeing my own Mother, so I kept looking for a different answer. Every lead I followed took me back to the same place, a mysterious server that had been electronically hidden from me. Once I found it, cracking the access code was only a little more difficult than the other servers. What I found there was, was, well ... it was Pandora’s Box. There is more information about this school than anyone our age has a right to know."

I paused as I hung my head, slowly shaking it from side to side. It didn't help arrange my thoughts or help me know just what to tell Mary Beth or when. The long hair tickling my ears did remind me of how much I loved being a girl. That, along with the knowledge I had acquired, helped reaffirm what in my heart I knew. I knew that I would do everything within my power to protect my partner, this school with all of her students, and our sister schools.

Again, I looked into Mary Beth's eyes, "Mary Beth, Ellen didn't tell us, or your parents, everything about this school. They were trying to stop me from seeing my Mother, because of one of the security measures for the school."

‘Enough beating around the bush, it's time to get this out in the open.’

I took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds before exhaling, before I continued, "Mary Beth, you will never be allowed to see your family again."

"Well yeah, this is a live-in school. We are here until we graduate. We won’t see our families until we ..."

I softly interrupted her, "No Mary Beth, no. We can never go home! We will NEVER see our families again."

"You mean never, as in, never ever? But ... Why?"

'There she goes, it's starting to sink in; Mary Beth is starting to cry. Now it’s time for me to be the strong one, to put my arms around my partner and comfort her. It is after all, my fault that she's in pain, a pain that isn't going to go away quickly and will resurface from time to time. I will always be there for her, to care for and look after her. … Why is Ellen looking at me like that? She’s smiling, she seems to be ... almost proud of something.'

I was holding my partner as she cried on my shoulder, which only seemed fair, after all, I’d soaked her gown and now she was soaking mine. As we were trying to find comfort in each other’s arms, Ellen answered another knock. I chuckled to myself thinking that she'd sent for Dr. Harris and some tranquilizers.

To my surprise, it was Beca and Lizy.

"Good evening ladies," Ellen greeted. "Please have a seat."

As they sat on the couch facing us, I looked over at Beca, who looked back at me. Because I couldn't hide the agony I felt, Beca read the pain on my face and gently asked, "Oh Munchkin, you did it, didn't you?"

I shyly nodded, still clutching a very distraught Mary Beth, while softly crying myself.

"I told you not to go looking for the answer ..."

"Beca, that's enough," Ellen interrupted. "Matilda feels bad enough. I've asked you two here to help me explain the reason why. Liz, I know it's still causes you some distress and for that I'm sorry, but I need you to tell the girls about Gregory."

"Oh, now I see. Two crying girls in your office isn't enough, you need a third to make things complete?" Beca chastised.

"No Beca," Lizy said softly. "If Ellen thinks knowing about Gregory can help them, then I want them to know. Will you help me?"

"You know you don't have to ask that." Beca replied softly. "I'm here for you now, and I'll be there for you tonight. Do you want me to start?" Lizy gently nodded.

Ellen interrupted before Beca got started, "Beca, what did you mean when you told Lizy you'd be there tonight?"

Beca looked at Ellen as she softly answered, "She'll be up most of the night after reliving this again. It's a good thing that today is Friday."

"I'm sorry; I had no idea that she was still that troubled by the episode. I'll talk with Kathy Ray about it."

Turning back to face us; Beca began, "All right boys and girls ... Sorry, Girls, let’s set the way back machine for November of 2001.”

“We have a very special school outside the sleepy little town of Marshallville Ohio. One day, one of their very bright students was even more bubbly than usual. It was on that day that our bubbly friend Nichols received approval from his psychiatrist and the school doctor, to start taking a little pink pill. You see, Nichols had this problem. He didn't feel right, not about the clothes he wore, not about the way he felt about himself, not about the way his body looked. Nichols knew, deep in his heart, that he wasn't meant to be ... Nichols."

"Oh Beca, you're being so overdramatic," Lizy giggled.

"Do you want me to tell the story, or are you going to tell it?"

"No, no, you're doing fine. As funny as you're making it out to be, maybe I won’t feel so bad when we’re done. Please continue."

"All right then. Now, where was I?" Beca asked sarcastically.

"Nichols didn't want to be Nichols," Mary Beth whispered. Her tears were easing as she started to pay attention, momentarily forgetting about her own situation.

"That was it, thank you. Not only did Nichols not want to be Nichols, he didn't want to be, well … a he. Because of this special school, where everyone was allowed to be what he or she wanted to be, Nichols had been able to dress as the person he felt he truly was. Now then, Nichols had a wonderful study partner, whose name was Gregory. Gregory was a special person as well. He cared for his study partner so much that he tried to help Nichols become the person he truly needed to be. In less time than was normal for study partners, these two had bonded and Nichols, with Gregory's help, became ... Elizabeth.”

“Elizabeth? Lizy, Gregory was your study partner?” Mary Beth asked.

"Yes, the very same,” Beca answered, and then she continued. “Gregory wanted so much to help Elizabeth that he did some research to find out how she could make her change permanent. Soon they both knew what would be needed, and more importantly, when they could take the steps needed to make Elizabeth truly happy. What they didn't know was that their special school sometimes did things a little differently. So, when the doctor told Elizabeth that she could start taking the little pink pill five years early, she was very happy. Of course, she had to tell Gregory so he could share in her joy. That's when the trouble started."

"I'll take it from here Beca," Lizy kissed Beca's cheek. "You've done such a wonder job of describing the opening scene. I'm almost tempted to let you finish the story, but that's my job. Now, as Beca said, the problem started when the school allowed me to start my transition when I was thirteen. Greg and I both knew that legally I was supposed to wait until I was eighteen. But waiting until I was eighteen to start my transition meant male puberty would have taken its toll and I would never have a truly feminine figure. Greg said it didn’t matter to him, and that he'd stand by me no matter what, well, I guess he found something more important to him than I was.

"Anyway, I was upset that I wouldn’t look like the person that I truly felt that I was. I was so upset that I … I tried to do something really stupid."

"I know that feeling," I said softly.

"Yes Matilda, we do have a lot in common. Even more than you might think," Lizy smiled at me.

‘Over the next hour and a half, Lizy and Beca told us a horror story, a story of betrayal, of heartbreak, of fear, and of a fight for survival and a fight for life. I’ll condense it for your benefit, and besides, I don’t remember all of the details.’

On February Fifteenth, two thousand and two, just after midnight the school left the facility in Marshallville, Ohio. This was twelve days after the disappearance of thirteen-year-old Gregory. His psychiatrist, James, had somehow missed the signs that there was a serious problem with Greg. Two months before, Greg had inadvertently discovered that he would never be allowed to see his family again. This knowledge was not to be revealed to him, or his classmates, until they were sixteen. Greg knew that in allowing Elizabeth to start transitioning so early, the school was breaking the law (because of his father being a lawyer). Up until this point in time, Greg had assumed that all of the transgender girls were using the same type of appliances that he used, when the school had Freaky Fridays.

Greg realized that for the school to break the law this way, someone would have to pay a price. He'd hoped he was wrong, however when he confronted James, he discovered, to his horror, that he was right. He would be paying the price by never being allowed to see his family again. Greg's goals were to return home, and to one day take over his father's law firm; something that had been missed in the evaluation process.

For about two months James and the lead psychiatrist, Yvonne, worked with Greg. They both thought that Greg had adjusted well and understood what they were trying to accomplish, and also the need for complete secrecy. The secrecy was essential for the school to continue helping children that had special abilities and special needs. It wasn’t until Greg disappeared on February Third that they realized there was a serious problem.

Mr. Struthers, the principal, received word that Gregory had managed to evade security and had been able to contact his father, who had arranged for Greg to be picked up. More importantly, Greg's father had arranged for an investigation by the Federal Marshals.

Mr. Struthers, whose only concern was the safety of the students under his care was forced into making some unpopular decisions. Among others, he arranged for the students to leave the school barely a day or two before the Federal Marshals arrived. By the time the marshals arrived, the school had been completely stripped of all furnishings and technologies, and in almost every way appeared to have been vacant for several years.

After the sudden exodus, the school and students were homeless. It took three months to arrange for a new facility, and another month before the necessary preparations could be completed. Therefore, for just over four months, the students lived in fear as they were moved from city to city, hotel to hotel. Gone was the security of knowing where to call home, what bed they would sleep in, where their friends were, even knowing if they were safe. For the students in transition, there was also the added fear that they might not be allowed to complete the transition process, and that they might be discovered.

Mr. Struthers had arranged for eight busses instead of the usual four, separating the students by years, so they wouldn’t attract any unwanted attention. Great care was taken to assure that no two groups of students were ever in the same city at the same time. In addition, no group stayed in any place for more than a week.

During this time, new psychiatric evaluations were created, and administered to everyone. Then they were checked, double checked, and checked again, to make sure that each child was paired with the correct study partner. Knowing what would be required of each student, the evaluations were also designed to determine how the students would react to and accept the isolation from their friends and family.

Eventually, the new home that had been arranged for them was ready, an abandoned government research facility, in a secluded mountain valley. The site appeared to be perfect; there was enough housing for about three hundred scientists along with their families, assistants, as well as teachers and other necessary support personal. This meant there would be more than enough space for the approximately one hundred fifty students, plus staff.

Naturally, the first to arrive at the new site had been the new security team. A completely new security system was installed, because what was left in the abandoned facility was very outdated.

The first students to arrive were Year H. They spent two weeks assisting in the final preparations of the student’s living quarters. The rest of the students arrived gradually, two to eight days apart, and from different directions.

Elizabeth was watched carefully by her psychiatrist, with whom she had many long talks. Elizabeth blamed herself, although unjustly, for Greg's disappearance and for the forced relocation of the school. It took a long time, and a lot of counseling, before she could accept the fact that she wasn't responsible for Greg’s actions. Unfortunately, she was left with a distrust of the male of the species.

It was unusual for a year to have an odd number of students, but not unheard of. For about seven months Elizabeth, Angelina, and Kimberly made up a three-person study group. It wasn’t until about three months after arriving at the new facility before an appropriate study partner for Elizabeth was located. Because of her severe feelings of guilt concerning Greg, and subsequently distrust of almost all men, it was decided to pair her with a female, or at least another male to female transsexual. After an extensive and exhaustive search, the person whose personality best matched Lizy's, was a loud boisterous young lad who knew that more than anything else he should have been a girl, named Rebecca. This, once again completed year C.

The school delayed the testing and admitting of a new, ‘Year A’ until September of 2002. This gave them time to complete the re-assessment of their testing, research, and evaluation procedures. The conclusion was that a much more in-depth research of each candidate would be done, along with a new two-part testing program. These procedures were adopted by their sister schools, whose existence was known only by a select few.

With the latest in security, as well the new testing and research procedures in place, along with new administration, staff and almost all new psychiatrist's, the school was ready to continue. The mistakes of the past had hopefully been, or were in the process of being, corrected.

One final detail remained, what to call the new faculty. The old faculty had been referred to as Marshallville, because it was located near Marshallville, Ohio. It was felt that using that naming convention was part of the weakness of the old faculty, as it partly revealed the schools location. After several long discussions, it was decided to name the school based upon its primary objective; that is to assist predominantly transgender children, to go from where they are to where they want to be. This process is commonly referred to as transitioning. However, in a geographical sense, moving from where you are, to where you want to be, is referred to as ... Immigration.

Thus, Immigration Manor came to life. A very special school, whose primary goal, is to educated selected transgender children, preparing them for roles they may have never considered for themselves, while helping them become the person that their inner self believes them to be.

After Lizy finished her story, the only dry eyes in the room belonged to Ellen. I think we each used up a box of tissues. Beca had her arms around Lizy, while Mary Beth and I were comforting each other.

After some time had passed, Mary Beth asked, "But why should this rule apply to me ... Or Greg? I don't want to change who I am, I'm guessing he didn't want to change who he was. So why would it be a problem for me to go home?"

“Mary Beth,” Ellen started, “do your parents love you?”

“Yes, of course they do. That’s a silly question,” she replied.

“Of course it’s a silly question. All parents love their children, don’t they?” Ellen asked, while looking at me.

‘I hope she isn’t asking me to answer that? I know that Mom loves me, but as for Dad … I think he stopped loving me when he realized that I just wasn’t going to be the kind of man he wanted me to be.’

Fortunately, Ellen continued. Looking back towards Mary Beth, she asked, “How did your mother act, after she found out that Matilda was … unusual?”

“Well … um, she doesn’t normally, I mean, she didn’t …”

“She wasn’t quite herself, was she?” Ellen asked rhetorically. “Mary Beth, you do know that your mother still loves you, she just doesn’t know how to deal with something or someone she doesn’t understand. So her actions are unpredictable, inappropriate, and out of character for her, am I correct?”

Mary Beth hesitated for a while before responding. I think she was remembering how her mother had been before and after the birthday party. Eventually she nodded in reply.

“Mary Beth, sit back, close your eyes, and relax. … Good, now let me paint a picture for you if I can. The rule doesn't exist, you’re eighteen, you’ve grown into quite an attractive young lady, and you’ve just graduated from this school and have a scholarship to a medical school back east. You go home for a visit after leaving here before going back east. You and your family have a wonderful visit, you’re all sitting around the table having a nice dinner, and someone innocently asks you about the school. You tell them about some of your classes, about the field trips and the choir. You tell them about some of your friends and then you happen to mention Matilda. How do you think your mother react to the knowledge that you and Matilda were roommates?”

“I, I, I don’t …”

“You don’t know? Come now Mary Beth, I think you know how your mother will react. She'll react the same as she did before, won't she? She will start yelling again won’t she? You being eighteen, and considered an adult, will not only get upset, you’ll undoubtedly try to defend the school and its actions. You may even do some yelling of your own, and before you know it you will have told them about Freaky Friday, and the Mix Up Ball, and how the school has helped students like Elizabeth, Rebecca, Matilda, and many, many others. They've all become the loving caring persons that they wanted to be. What will your mother do when she learns that this school has helped all these students, what will she do?”

Mary Beth didn’t say anything, her eyes were open and she appeared to be in shock. Slowly she shook her head.

“I’ve seen it before, Mary Beth. Your mother would be outraged that a school would do such a thing. She would start out slow, but before you know what is happening, she would have told all your aunts and uncles, most of your neighbors, everyone at your church, the supermarket and everyone else she meets. Now how many of those people will react the same way, fearing something that they don’t understand, something that isn't considered normal? They will do exactly the same thing your mother did, they would tell everyone they know.

“Before you know what’s happening, civic leaders and religious leaders throughout the intermountain west will be screaming for an investigation. First, the local police will get involved, then the state police will get dragged into it. All of this publicity will attract the different news services. Overnight what was a closely guarded secret will become headline news across the country. Eventually the Federal Marshals will be asked to help track down the monsters that dare do such inhumane things to innocent children. Someone at the Marshal’s office will remember a case, back in two thousand and two, having to do with the same sort of thing. This time they won’t stop at a local search, they will search the entire country for the school. We will have to shut down, move all the students again, hoping to find a new facility. The problem is that by then it will be very hard to find someplace large enough for us, because of all the publicity. Any place we find will be even more remote than we are here. The school may even have to close permanently. What would happen to the students then? Where would they go? Where could they go? Some of them would be getting ready for the final stages of transition; they would have no place to call home, and no one to help them.”

‘Ellen isn’t pulling her punches. She’s letting us have both barrels. I hope I don’t look like I’m in shock, like Mary Beth does.’

“Now I realize you are very young to have to make such serious decisions, but I have to ask you. Is it inhumane to help people like Rebecca and Elizabeth … and Matilda? Are we monsters to be willing to lovingly help the students here be the persons that they want and need to be?”

The room was silent again, well almost. I couldn’t hear the clock ticking this time, because Lizy was crying and muttering, “No, no, not again, please, not again, we can’t do that again ...” she kept mumbling over and over.

Mary Beth and I held hands as we looked at each other. Beca was lovingly holding Lizy while gently stroking her hair. Ellen sat motionless as she looked at us.

“Well Mary Beth,” Ellen finally broke the near silence. “Will you help us, by helping others?”

‘Mary Beth continued to look at Ellen for a few moments, then she looked at me. I couldn’t help her with her decision, as I’d already made mine; all I could do was look at my partner as I smiled inwardly, somehow knowing that we would always together.’

Eventually Mary Beth smiled at me and I knew she had made her decision. She turned to Ellen and nodded.

“That’s wonderful, thank you,” Ellen said, a smile returning to her face. “There is one more thing I need to ask of you.”

Mary Beth quickly turned back to me, her expression telling me that she was expecting another tragic announcement.

“We can’t tell anyone else about this,” I told her.

“What? The others don’t know?” she quizzed me.

“No,” I replied. “The Years are normally not told until they are in year E. The only reason you and I are so, so ... ‘privileged’, if you can call it that, is that I stuck my nose in where it shouldn’t have been. So you see, my friend, this is my fault. I’m sorry.”

“Remind me to beat you later,” she replied with a half a smile, while holding her arms out for another hug. She was still upset, more so than I was. I knew that as long as we were together, somehow everything would work out all right.

“Well, this has been an eventful day,” Ellen stated. “I guess I’d better send another note of apology to Mrs. Taylor and get the four of you off to choir practice.”

“When you send her the note, apologizing for keeping us late, tell her that we won’t be there at all tonight,” I said with a bit more confidence.

“But there is still plenty of time to get to …” Ellen started.

“There is now, but there won’t be after we raid the kitchen,” I told her.

“Kitchen?” Beca asked.

“I don’t know about the rest of you,” I started, “but when I’ve been this emotionally upset there is only one thing that helps, and it isn't singing.”

Everyone looked at me as if I was about to need a straight jacket. I couldn’t help myself as I giggled. “According to Ellen, Mary Beth and I have, in a small way, been thrust into the role of adults, like it or not. So, as the youngest adult here, I’m making a decision.” I paused as I looked at Beca and Lizy. “We need ice cream, care to join us?”

Everyone broke into laughter; not just laughter, but laughter of agreement. The four of us girls got up and headed for the door.

It took us a while, but we found some ice cream, a five-gallon container of mint chocolate chip. After drowning our sorrows in a large bowl, we went our separate ways.

Beca assured me that Lizy would be okay. I have to admit, she looked a lot better after consuming a large quantity of ice cream, so did Mary Beth. But I knew there would be more tears to come, when we’d had time to think.

It was a bit early for bed, but both Mary Beth and I were exhausted. We got ready for bed quickly, then spent another hour or so talking. It’s funny how you can’t sleep when you're completely exhausted. At least tomorrow is Saturday and we don’t have any classes, just afternoon and evening choir practice.

As we were dropping off, we decided that tomorrow we needed to check out the hot tub and get in some well-deserved relaxation.

* * * To Be Continued * * *

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