Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 10 Who Is Cindy?

The morning calm was shattered when the house was assaulted by a little girl’s screaming, “Barbra, Barbra, Barbra! Something’s wrong with Cindy.”

Barbra and Hunter ran into the guest room and tore the top off the Princess Castle. Samantha stopped and looked up at the two of them.

“She’s crying. She won’t tell me what’s wrong. She won’t stop crying,” Samantha quickly explained.

Barbra went down on the floor next to Cindy, “What’s wrong dear?”

“I . . . I . . . I wet,” Cindy finally got out through the tears.

“Oh Cindy,” Samantha went in for a hug. “It’s okay. Lots of kids wet the bed. Tonight, just wear a Pull-up, no big deal.”

Cindy started to cry louder.

Hunter and Barbra looked at each other, then Hunter focused his attention on the other two girls. “Jessica and Samantha, let’s go out into the living room and let Barbra deal with this.”

“I want to stay with Cindy,” Samantha complained.

Mr. Elks quietly got Jessica’s attention, and with an eye motion, asked for help.

“Come on Samantha,” Jessica got up still holding her stuffed tiger, and put her hand on Samantha’s shoulder. “Let’s go see what’s on Disney Junior.”

Reluctantly, and with a few objections, Samantha finally went with Mr. Elks and Jessica, dragging her blankie behind her as they went down the hall.

“Cindy, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

“No,” Cindy started crying more. “I don’t want to be a baby again. I’m not a baby! . . . Am I?”

“Oh Cindy, you’re not a baby. You’re a big girl sweetie. Even big girls wet the bed sometimes. You have been going through some tough things the last few days. Sometimes the body does things you don’t like when you are dealing with hard things.”

“I am a baby. My panties and now the bed. It’s not fair. It’s not fair.”

“No, it is not fair Cindy, but you are not a baby just because you had a few ‘accidents’.”

“Mommy will be mad, real mad,” Cindy quietly got out. “She . . . she will . . . will.”

“It's okay Cindy. She will understand.”

“No! She won’t. She will . . .” Cindy broke down in tears again.

“She will what Cindy?”

In a barely audible voice, “She spanks me when I wet. Then, . . . she turns me into a baby. Diapers at night and pull-ups in the day.”

“Diapers and Pull-ups dear, are tools. They are for people who have trouble, or can’t get all their pee-pee and poopy in the potty. Much better to have an ‘accident’ in one of them, than in your panties.”

“Yeah, I guess, but . . . but, I’m nine.”

“I know,” Barbra rubbed Cindy’s back. “It is hard to be a big girl who still has potty ‘accidents’. It’s okay. There are other big girls who still have potty accidents.”

“No there aren’t.”

“Way more than you would ever believe. Lots of kids your age wear Goodnites at night and some need to wear them during the day too. There are even a few that just wear them when they perform on stage. I am sorry your mom spanks you when you wet. That shouldn’t happen. Kids should never be spanked for wetting. They don’t wet their pants on purpose.”

“I didn’t want to wet, honest.”

“I know Cindy, but you did. It happened because you were under so much stress. Your body was struggling to deal with Ariel, and that made it harder for your body to give you control of when your pee-pee comes out. Today, I will buy you some Goodnites, but it will be up to you if you wear them or not. I see no reason for you to wear them during the day, unless you want to. At night, you can wear one like Samantha suggested, but I’m not going to make you after only one accident. Sometimes, people just have potty ‘accidents’ and then it never happens again.”

“It happened again.”

“When bad things happen to you, sometimes the body loses control. It’s okay. The two times Ariel threatened you, your body was scared and lost control.”

“You knew about yesterday?”

“Yes Cindy. I knew about your ‘accident’ yesterday. You tried to hide it when you ran off to the bathroom as soon as you got into the house. You changed your panties then. Don’t worry, I did some laundry after you went to sleep last night so the other girls will not find out.”

“See, I am a baby. Wet panties day and night. Only baby’s wet day and night. Mommy will put me in diapers day and night. I deserve to be a baby again.”

“You’re not a baby Cindy, just a scared little girl,” Barbara rubbed Cindy’s back. “Ariel and her friends are gone. No one will threaten you again here at camp. You’re safe now, so you will probably not have any more daytime ‘accidents’.”

“She’s really gone?”

“Oh Cindy, yes she is gone. Her Mommy and Daddy came and picked her up last night. Same with the other girls that were helping her. They are all gone. Twelve kids left camp for good last night. You are safe now.”

Cindy hugged Barbra.

Barbra picked up Cindy and carried her to the bathroom. While Cindy took a shower, Barbara collected all the wet things that could be washed to the washing machine. When she got back to the room, she looked down at the wet spot on the floor where Cindy had been sleeping. She thought about how she would address that issue once the girls left for breakfast. With a quick look at the closed bathroom door, Barbara went to get Jessica and Samantha. She had them get their things and change for the day in Lizzy’s room.

Once showered and dried off, Cindy put on the Frozen t-shirt, a blue skirt, and some white leggins. The look was finished off with the Frozen sneakers and the Frozen head band with a Blue bow. Grabbing the Molly doll and her backpack with her flute in it, she headed for the living room.

As Cindy entered the living room Jessica asked, “Are you feeling better Cindy?”

“You’re wearing everything Frozen. Does this mean we’re going to sing and dance Let It Go?” Samantha ran up to Cindy bouncing up and down.

“Sure,” Cindy said with a smile. “Let’s show the other campers how it’s done.”

“Are you really going to let Mike play his guitar while we sing?” Jessica inquired.

“Why not,” Samantha replied?

“It will be more fun with live music to go along with our singing and dancing,” Cindy added.

Jessica looked up and shook her head, “What have I gotten myself into here?”

With that, the three girls giggled and headed out the door with Mr. Elks for breakfast.

As they entered the cafeteria, kids that none of them knew started saying hi or good morning. A little strange, but none of them thought anything about it until someone said, “Gutsy move Cindy. Really gutsy move.”

“Everyone knows,” Jessica whispered to Cindy and Samantha. “After last night, it would have spread like crazy to the rest of the campers. They all know about Frank.”

“So,” said Samantha, with her eyebrows scrunched down?

“We’ll talk about it at the table,” Jessica replied.

When they reached the table, Mr. Elks told Marcus and George to keep up the Protection Squad for at least today. Frank may cause some problems with Cindy’s presence today. The two of them said they would, and Mr. Elks headed for the front of the room.

“That little girl beat up Ariel? Wow!” everyone at the table heard a kid say as they walked by.

“Rumors,” Mike sat down next to Marcus and looked around. “There are wild rumors spreading all over camp. I think we need to tell everyone the truth.”

“Mike, are you crazy,” George replied. “Anyone who doesn’t like Transgender kids would beat her up.”

“I don’t want to be beaten up,” Cindy meekly interjected.

“Don’t worry Cindy,” Marcus added. “No one is going to beat you up. Mike though, might have the right idea about things. We would have to present it just right.”

“Get them all to be an advocate for her,” Mike responded.

“That might be hard,” Marcus replied. “There are still some kids at camp that dislike transgender kids.”

“Present her as the brave little girl who was the victim for being a very good flute player,” George added.

Marcus turned to Cindy with a smile on his face, “Cindy, everyone at camp knows about you and Frank. They know Mr. Elks and I have said you might be the best performer, and they know you are on the Best Performer Competition list. They all know Ariel and a bunch of other kids got kicked out last night. With all of that they are going to fill in the blanks that they don’t know. We need to come out and tell the truth to everyone. Stop the rumors and wild stories that could put another target on you. Will you please let us tell everyone the truth?”

Cindy thought for a moment, looking at the various people at the table who were all nodding their heads yes, even the teacher. Taking a deep breath and hugging the Molly doll tight, “Okay, let’s do it.”

Marcus and Mike quickly got up and headed over to Mr. Elks. Initially he was shaking his head, no. With a bit more discussion, Mr. Elks looked over to Cindy, who nodded yes. After a bit more discussion, the boys returned to the table.

“He said he would think about it. If he agrees, he will call us up during announcements,” Mike explained before leaving for his table.

“If we go up,” Marcus said as he sat down. “I want George and Jessica up there with us. Most of the kids know at least one of us, so if all three of us are supporting you, they will more likely listen.”

“I want Samantha up there too,” Cindy said reaching out to grab Samantha’s hand.

“Of course I will go up with you Cindy,” Samantha smiled.

Shortly afterwards, Mr. Elks rung the bell for morning announcements.

“Good morning everyone. We have a busy day ahead of us. The order of the Final Concert will be decided today, and be posted when you get up in the morning. Most of the people or groups already know if you are going to be in the concert, but there are a few more that will be decided upon today. Everyone will be in the Final Concert for at least one performance. You are all amazing artists and we want the parents to hear you play.”

Mr. Elks looked over to Cindy and took a deep breath, “The judges for the Best Performer Competition will be going around today to hear everyone on the list. If they come into your room or class today, please keep going as usual. They may not be judging you at the time they are in the room, they may be judging someone else on the list. We have already seen or heard a recording of you playing.”

A murmur erupted in the room.

“Your camp application submission video was sent to each judge, so the voting has already started.”

The talk in the room was louder now. Mr. Elks had to ring the bell again to quiet everyone down.

“Now, we need to talk about a very serious issue. Twelve kids left camp last night. One of them threatened to beat up another camper, and tried to do so. That same student, threatened the same camper two days earlier to keep them out of the Best Performer Competition. Many of you saw the incident last night. An eighteen year old tried to beat up a Little. Cindy could you come up here please?”

Cindy looked at Jessica and Samantha. They were both nodding their heads in agreement. Squeezing Samantha’s hand, Cindy stood up and went to the front of the Cafeteria.

“Cindy here was the target,” Mr. Elks said looking down at Cindy who was holding the Molly doll. “Let me restate that, eighteen year old Ariel tried to beat up Cindy here. Cindy never did or said anything to Ariel to cause the attacks. Mike and Marcus, could you please come up here.”

The two boys headed for the front of the cafeteria, as small chatter occurred throughout the room. They went up and stood behind Cindy.

“These two individuals both went out of their way to help a Little who was under attack by a bully,” Mr. Elks said. “After Marcus stopped the first attack, he set up a group of kids to help protect Cindy in case of future attacks. That Protection Force is the reason that Cindy did not get beat up last night.”

Marcus signaled for the others to come up.

“I will now give Marcus a chance to say a few things.”

“Thank you Mr. Elks. Cindy was first attacked because she was good at playing the flute. We are a music camp full of amazing artists. We have singers and instrument players, all with various levels of skill. Cindy is very talented, and has qualified for the Best Performer Competition. There are only 3 Littles that are in the competition; Cindy, Samantha here, and Elvis. Elvis, will you please come up here.”

Elvis stood up and joined the group up front, to a bunch of kids clapping.

“Everyone up here is competing in the competition. Three of us have won in the past. If I lose to any of these three Littles, I have no problem with that. If they are that good, I would be honored to know them, for in the future they will most likely be world known performers in their field, and I got to know them when they were little kids. That is something I would be proud to tell my kids when I am an adult. Think about it everyone. In twenty years, you are in an orchestra or your band is part of a multi-band concert and one of these three Littles is playing as the special guest performer. Now imagine everyone’s shock when you go up and treat them like an old friend,” Marcus let that sink in for a moment.

“Which would you rather have, the world famous artist meet you as a friend, or have them refuse to perform with you because you teased and bullied them when they were little kids.”

The room erupted in chatter.

“Some of you believe that Cindy has just as much of a chance to win this competition as I would if, I don’t know, If I was playing the piano.”

Several kids started to laugh, and one shouted out, “Yeah, not a chance in a million years.”

“It does sound pretty funny doesn’t it, but anything is possible. Anyone in the competition has a chance to win. It doesn’t matter if they are a Little like these three, or a teenager like Mike, George, or me. That is one of the things I love about this camp, and why I come back year after year. Judging is based on skill, not age or favoritism.”

“My first year here at Camp, at age seven, I was a solo performer in the coveted position of the final concert. I want that position again, but if I lose that position to any of these three Littles, I will be okay with that. The best submitted performance wins that spot, just as the best performer wins the Best Performer Competition. Do you want to be friend’s or enemies of the winners of these two competitions?”

Marcus could see that the last comment got a lot of the kids thinking. He looked over to Mr. Elks who was smiling and nodding yes.

“Last night Ariel tried to beat up Cindy. Jessica here,” Marcus went and stood behind Jessica. “Got Cindy to safety and then stood in the way of Ariel and her friends to allow enough time for Cindy and Samantha here to get help. That took a lot of guts for a tween to stand up to a bunch of 17 and 18 year old teenagers.”

The room filled with clapping.

“Mike also came to Cindy’s rescue last night. Not by stopping Ariel, but by accepting Cindy in front of everyone. Ariel learned that Cindy was Transgender and started at camp as a kid named Frank. Mike stood up from a crowd and said that he was okay with that. You don’t have to like Cindy or individuals who are transgender, but if they are not harming you, then just let them live their lives. We are in the music field and there are a lot of unique individuals out there in this field.”

“Cindy is the victim of everything that has happened over the last few days. Twelve kids left last night when only five were involved in the attack on Cindy. The others believed Cindy was to blame for everything, or that they could not be in the same camp as an individual who is transgender. Mr. Elks is happy to call any of your parents if you believe the same thing,” Marcus looked over to Mr. Elks who was nodding his head in agreement.

“Poor little Cindy has not had a good time over the last few days. We,” Marcus gestured to the whole cafeteria. “Need to be responsible to show Cindy that musicians are good people. I stopped playing a particular instrument when I was a little kid because of a bully. That same bully was kicked out of camp last night. I would hate for Cindy to stop playing the flute just because of a bad time at camp. We need to make sure Cindy knows that she is welcome to be herself here at camp and that she can enjoy camp just like the rest of us.”

Mike took the microphone at this point, “Last night Cindy was about to get up on stage at Open Mic and do a singing and dancing routine with Samantha and Jessica. It would have just been something fun to do. Three friends getting up on stage and singing Let It Go from the movie Frozen. Probably every girl under the age of 15 knows that song by heart. Most of you, girls and boys, have played it on your instrument in your school’s band or music class. Getting up on stage and singing with your friends is the type of thing you will always remember about camp. Cindy was robbed of that experience because of a bully who tried to beat her up. Instead, she is always going to remember the kid who tried to beat her up because she was a good flute player.”

Mike let that sink in for a moment before continuing, “I want Cindy to have that positive memory she was robbed of last night. At the end of the song the girls will probably get off the stage in a bunch of giggles. I have a little sister and I have heard her sing the song many times with her friends. Trust me, they usually end with a bunch of giggles.”

Giggles and laughs were heard throughout the room.

“Tonight’s open mic was scheduled to start at 8pm. Unfortunately, that is Samantha and Cindy’s bed time. I told Cindy that I want to hear her singing and dancing today. I also said that I would play the song on my guitar for her. There was a discussion last night at the Jam Session long after Cindy had gone to bed. Several of us are going to let Cindy and her friends do a singing and dancing routine for Let It Go during either the afternoon or early evening jam sessions. Several have also offered to play the music for the girls.”

Mike turned to Cindy, “Cindy, when do you want to sing your song?”

“After dinner,” Cindy quietly said to Mike. “I want to watch Sofia the First and Vampirina on Disney Junior in the afternoon.”

Mike laughed, “Okay everyone, Cindy said she wants to do it in the early evening, so she could watch some girl Disney Junior shows in the afternoon. That is so cute. She carries around a dolly and watches Sofia the First and Vampirina on Disney Junior. Yet, 18 year old Ariel thought she was so dangerous that she had to beat Cindy up. Tell me, does Cindy here look like a threat?”

It sounded like everyone in the room said, No, all at the same time.

Mike continued, “So, right after evening activities…”

Mr. Elks interrupted, “Well, it sounds like we have a group effort to put on a Let It Go performance. This I have to see. I will open the Concert Hall for Open Mic just after evening activities. This way if we have a piano player there will be a piano available. This will also give us as much room as needed for as many people who want to play the music for the girls. I will keep it open until 7:30pm, and we are going to have a Disney theme. Everyone at camp knows at least one Disney song on their instrument or just for singing and dancing. It is Open Mic people, I expect to see teenagers as well as Littles there. Remember the main purpose of this time is for stage performance experience, and to have a little fun with your friends. I would love to see more matches like Mike and Cindy, where we have teenagers and Littles on stage together. Oh, and by the way everyone, Disney owns Star Wars and Marvel Comics.”

The room erupted in a discussion among friends.

“Okay,” Mr. Elks said to the group up front. “Thanks, why don’t you go back to your table now.”

In a much louder voice he said, “Let’s Eat!”