Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 14 The Conductors

When it was time for everyone to switch classes, Mrs. Johnson had Cindy stay behind.

“Cindy, I told you that I would give you some time with Candie Cramer. The room across the hall will be empty for the next hour. You and Miss Cramer can go in there and talk. I am sure you have a lot of questions for her. There will be one more student joining you in a few minutes. Don’t worry, from what I have heard, You want to meet the other student just as much as wanting to meet Miss Cramer.”

Cindy and Candie Cramer went across the hall, with the other guest speakers staying behind to do another panel discussion with the next class.

“Okay Cindy,” Miss Cramer said once they were alone. “From what I have been told you are a transgender little girl who has faced some challenges this summer. I don’t know much more than that. I am amazed that you have the courage to be yourself at camp. I never could have pulled that off at your age.”

Cindy started out by telling Miss Cramer about her friend’s birthday party and what Mom did when things were discovered. She told about Jessica, and the small orchestra that was created. During the discussion of what Ariel did this last week, Miss Cramer gave Cindy a lot of sympathetic hugs. Then Miss Cramer told Cindy about a bully she faced as a kid.

Then there was a knock at the door, and it slowly opened. A teenager entered the room, “Sorry to interrupt, but Mrs. Johnson said there was someone in here I would want to meet. She said you were expecting me. Oh, it’s you Cindy.”

Cindy looked up at the pretty teenage girl. She had seen her before but didn’t know her name.

“Are you Tanya,” Miss Cramer asked?

“Yes, and you are?”

“I am Candie Cramer, a transgender flutist.”

“Really,” Tanya said in surprise. “Now that is really cool.”

“You appear to know Cindy here, but Cindy, do you know Tanya?”

Cindy hugged the Molly Doll tight, “No.”

“Well, I think it is time that the two of you were formally introduced. I guess the whole camp knows Cindy’s secret. Tanya, is it okay if Cindy learns your secret?”

Tanya nodded her head

“Cindy,” Miss Cramer looked at Cindy and took one of her hands. “This is Tanya. The two of you were invited to meet personally with me, since you are both transgender, like I am.”

Cindy looked at Tanya and then back at Miss Cramer, “Really? She’s the other camper who is transgender?”

“That is what I have been told,” Miss Cramer said.

“You knew there was another transgender camper?” Tanya inquired.

“Yeah, Mike told me there was another camper, but he never told me who it was. He did say that you wished that you could have been yourself when you were my age,” Cindy looked at Tanya with a questioning glance.

“Oh yes, I sure do. Mike would know that too. He is one of the few kids at camp who know my secret. He was my roommate our first year at camp. I missed a chance to play with other little girls and wear pretty dresses. I never got to play with dolls or bounce around with my hair up in pigtails. I think it is really cool that you get to. Sorry I didn’t introduce myself sooner, but I have learned to be very cautious about who I reveal my identity to.”

“I understand. Threat of punishment didn’t mean anything to Ariel once she found out that I was transgender,” Cindy recalled.

Cindy and Tanya asked Candie all sorts of questions about being a musician and transgender. They wanted to know if someone really could be publicly transgender and a professional musician. About ten minutes before the hour was up, there was another knock on the door.

Mrs. Dulles entered the room, “Cindy, it is my understanding that you need an agent to represent you?”

“You need a what,” Tanya questioned?

“Yes Mrs. Dulles,” Cindy responded. “Apparently there are two conductors who want me to perform with their orchestras.”

“What,” Tanya kept looking back and forth between Cindy and Mrs. Dulles.

“Actually Cindy, you have three conductors who want you,” replied Mrs. Dulles. “Mr. Frances would also like you to perform with his orchestra.”

“But I am just nine.”

“Oh, sweet heart, age has nothing to do with it. It is all based upon your talent, and from what I have seen, you definitely have the talent to perform with any orchestra around the world.”

“What?” Tanya expressed again looking at the three other individuals in the room.

“Do you want to go to a private room to talk,” Mrs. Dulles inquired?

“It is okay, Tanya and Candie can be here.”

“We will need to get your mom and dad involved,” Mrs. Dulles said. “But first, I must ask you one question. Do you want to do this?”

“I thought Mr. Davies was kidding when he said they wanted me to perform. I guess they weren’t. Mr. Davies did say I should get something good out of this, like a professional flute.”

“I have never negotiated for that before, but I don’t see why we can’t ask.”

“Santa didn’t bring me one for Christmas, and I will need one, if I am going to be playing in a professional orchestra,” Cindy said. “I have a cheap student one, and my playing sounded so much nicer when I played on Mr. Davies flute.”

“Skill and a professional instrument do make a lovely sound,” Candie Cramer added. “And you did play quite amazingly with Mr. Davies’ flute.”

“Okay, then I will contact your Mom and Dad, before I go any further.”

“But Mrs. Dulles,” Cindy added. “I need you to wait before contacting my parents.”

“Why Cindy?” inquired Mrs. Dulles.

“They do not know I am Cindy at Camp and will be super dooper mad when they find out,” Cindy replied with a quiver in her voice.

“Oh my,” Mrs. Dulles stated. “Super Dooper mad is not good.”

Cindy looked over at Candie Cramer and then at Tanya, “Mrs. Dulles?”

“Yes, Cindy?”

“Can I hire you to negotiate one more thing for me,” Cindy hugged the Molly doll tight.

“I don’t see why not,” Mrs. Dulles responded.

Taking a deep breath, Cindy looked straight at Mrs. Dulles, “I want to do this as Cindy. Mommy will not allow that. I want the deal to be that Cindy plays, not Frank.”

Candie gave Cindy a hug.

“Is that a deal breaker?” Mrs. Dulles inquired.

Cindy closed her eyes and hugged the Molly doll. With a look at Tanya and Candie, “Yes.”

“You know your parents might say no to that and then . . .”

“I know Mrs. Dulles, but Cindy can play much better than Frank. The conductors want Cindy up on stage, not Frank. They have never heard Frank play, and . . . I don’t want them to.”

“Okay,” Mrs. Dulles smiled. “My client is Cindy then, not Frank.”

“Then, I definitely don’t want you to talk with my parents until after the concert tomorrow. If my Mom finds out that I have been Cindy at camp, she might just drive up and get me before the concert begins.”

“If I promise not to bring up Cindy or Frank until after the concert, could I start talking with your parents today or tomorrow morning? I can just say that there is one more condition to the deal, that can not be revealed until after the concert.”

“Okay,” Cindy reluctantly agreed.

“For such a little girl, you know what you want. I am going to enjoy working with you Cindy.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Dulles.”

“Having such a talented new artist is a pleasure Cindy. Thank You.”

As soon as the door was closed from Mrs. Dulles leaving, Tanya turned to Cindy, “What just happened?”

“Apparently, Mr. Turkovic, Mr. Frost, and Mr. Frances all want me to perform with them and their orchestras,” Cindy calmly explained.

“But you are just a little nine-year-old,” Tanya said in disbelief. “I guess the rumors are true that you are the best performer at camp this summer.”

“I don’t think so,” responded Cindy. “There are a lot of people who, however, appear to think I am a good flutist.”

“Nine,” Tanya said in disbelief. “And a soloist for a major symphony orchestra. No one at camp has ever played on or with a major Symphony Orchestra, and you, at nine, have three different conductors wanting you to be a featured soloist with their Orchestras. That Cindy, makes you the best performer at camp, whether you win the award or not.”

“She might be right about that Cindy,” Candie Cramer added. “Only gifted artists are ever asked to be featured soloists for a major symphony orchestra, and to be asked as a nine-year-old is extremely rare.”

“Nine-year-old prodigy and she doesn’t even know it,” Tanya commented.

“Be careful Tanya,” Candie Cramer responded. “Don’t confuse a person being humble versus ignorant. I suspect Cindy is aware of her skills and ability, just doesn’t yet understand the significance of that. She has done something that neither of us had the guts to do. She has come out as transgender at nine. Not an easy thing to do, especially with at least one parent adamantly against it. The insults and degradation faced in just the last few weeks would give anyone a low self-esteem and perception of themselves in the world.”

“I was fifteen before I told anyone other than my sister about being transgender,” Tanya said. “Cindy is nine and going around as herself at camp.”

“Let’s talk about something other than me,” Cindy said grasping the Molly doll very tight.

“Candie,” Tanya asked? “After being out for years, do you still get the insults and discrimination?”

“Some idiots are not willing to get to know me. They see the label, and are unable to see past it,” Candie said. “But, I try to surround myself with those that support me and see me as Candie, not as transgender.”

“I like that,” Tanya said. “It makes me regret not reaching out to Cindy as soon as I found out she was transgender.”

“Supporting those around you is very important,” Candie gave Cindy a hug. “If you only focus on protecting yourself from possible harm, you will end up hurting yourself in other ways. Don’t cut yourself off from others, it is not worth the consequences.”

The three of them talked for a little bit more before breaking up to each go their own ways.

Cindy found herself in an art class, but immediately got a lot of attention for the trophy she was carrying. She decided to put it in her backpack, so people wouldn’t see it. They were finishing up projects from earlier in the week. Cindy had been drawing a unicorn in a field with a rainbow above it. Yesterday the teacher had taught Cindy some about shading on body parts to give depth to the image. Today Cindy wanted to go in on the Unicorn to give subtle shading.

Smiling as the unicorn started to come alive on the page, Cindy suddenly slumped and frowned. She realized there was no way her mom would let her hang such a ‘girly’ thing up in her room. Not wanting to let it go to waist, Cindy decided she would give it to Samantha, as a thank you for letting her carry around the Molly doll all week.

At lunch Cindy was surprised to see the center of the table full of trophies as she approached.

“Cindy,” Eleanor said as Cindy sat down. “Put your trophy up with all the others from our table. Isn’t it amazing how many trophies we have all gotten at this table?”

Reluctantly, Cindy opened her bag and got out her trophy. She put it in front of her at the table.

“Wow Cindy,” Samantha said. “You got Best Woodwind Performer, and I got Bests Strings Performer. Isn’t that cool?”

“I got Best Rock’n Roll Performer,” Marcus said sitting down at the table and putting his trophy in front of him.

“And I got Best Piano Performer,” Jessica added. “George, I assume you got Best Brass Performer.”

“Yup, as expected.”

“That is it then,” Jessica said with pride. “I truly did it. I got the best performers in camp to perform my piece in the final concert. Wow!”

A few of the kids at the table looked over at Jessica in confusion.

“Everyone but Marcus,” Eleanor said.

Jessica looked at Marcus and just smiled.

“What type of music did you write Jessica,” Eleanor asked? “Marcus plays only Rock&Roll and George very definitely doesn’t. How in the world did you write a score that included both of them?”

“Well, you will just have to wait for the final concert to find that out,” Jessica said with the biggest smile you can imagine.

“Marcus?”

“No Eleanor,” Marcus replied. “Like Jessica said, you will just have to wait until tomorrow to find out.”

“I bet it is something like the nerds did in the movie Revenge of the Nerds,” Axel thought out loud.

Cindy and Samantha looked at each other in confusion, but everyone else seemed to understand that reference, agreeing that must be the case considering the variety of instruments that would be involved.

Jessica, Marcus, and George just smiled, giving no indication if Axel was correct or not.

“Quiet everyone! Quiet!” Mr. Elks started announcements. “I want to announce the top five winners of the Best Performer Competition. When I announce your name, please come up here. To follow with tradition, this announcement will tell you who is in the top five, but not the order of the winners. That will be announced at the end of the concert tomorrow. Today I announce the top five in order of their age from youngest to oldest. The youngest winner is the violinist Samantha. She is only seven-years-old.”

The whole cafeteria erupted into applause as Samantha made her way up to Mr. Elks.

“Next, we have another Little, yes that is two in the top five. She is nine-years-old, but known by everyone here at camp this summer. A little but powerful flutist, Cindy.”

Cindy didn’t think the applause could get any louder than it had for Samantha, she was shocked by the noise she heard as she made her way up to Mr. Elks. She even saw some of the kids standing up.

“Our third musician may not technically be a Little, but she isn’t a Teenager yet. At just twelve, this piano player won the coveted Final Performance Position. Jessica, come join us up here,” Mr. Elks announced.

Cindy and Samantha couldn’t contain their enthusiasm. They were jumping up and down as Jessica approached them to everyone applauding.

“Three of our top five are not teenagers. That is impressive and a reminder to all of you that age does not determines a person’s skill level. The next two are teenagers. We have French Horn player, fourteen-year-old George.”

George made his way up to the front, getting just as much applause as Jessica and Samantha.

“The oldest of our top five Best Performers is fifteen. You all know him as our own personal Rock Star, Marcus.”

Cindy thought the cheering and applause was loud for her, but it was even louder for Marcus.

“Now,” Mr. Elks continued when the room got quiet again. “The reason I decided to bring these five up here instead of just posting the list like in the past, these five not only have won a position in the top five Best Performer Competition, they have also all won a trophy as top player in their musical class of instrument. I think this is a first for us, to have the top five also the top winners of five different classes of instruments. At three o’clock they will join my wife and I at my house for an amazing meal with the judges. Let’s give our top five winners a final round of applause.”

The room was full of cheering and applause as the five made their way back to their table.

At one o’clock the little orchestra was all assembled in the practice room. They were looking at each other’s trophies and talking about the day. Everyone’s focus switched to Cindy when she casually said that she had hired Mrs. Dulles to represent her.

“Cindy?” Marcus was the first to break the silence. “You hired Mrs. Dulles to represent you?”

“Yeah,” Cindy sheepishly replied. “I sort of needed an agent after the conductors all wanted me to perform in their orchestras.”

“Conductors?” George inquired.

“It is just Mr. Frances, Mr. Turkovic, and . . .”

“Mr. Turkovic, internationally known bassoonist and conductor?” George inquired.

“Yeah, him,” Cindy calmly stated. “And the third conductor who wants me to perform for them is Mr. Frost.”

“The Martin Frost,” Jessica asked? “World-renowned clarinet player and conductor? He is amazing. I went to one of his performances once.”

“Yeah, him,” Cindy looked at the rest of the kids staring at her. “They all want me to be a solo artist with their orchestras. Mrs. Dulles is going to see if she can make it happen. It probably won’t though, since I said I would only do it if Cindy was performing, not Frank. Mommy will never allow that, so I will never get the chance.”

“Story time, Story time,” Samantha announced as she sat down on the floor in front of Cindy. “It sounds like Cindy has had the most amazing day, so let’s hear the story.”

Jessica and George laughed, but they sat down on the floor next to Samantha. Marcus looked over the situation and shaking his head he sat down too.

“Marcus,” Cindy inquired. “You too?”

“Rumor has it Cindy, that today you played a duet with Gareth Davies, played a solo on his personal flute, and now I hear that you have three conductors recruiting you. This is a story I have to hear.”

Cindy sat down in a chair with the Molly doll on her lap. She started in on the events of the morning. There were many questions, and Cindy answered them as best she could. Until she told the group the events of the morning, it had never really sunk in what a big deal the morning was.

As they were setting up to go through the performance one last time before the concert, Mr. Elks walked in. Looking straight at Cindy, he shook his head back and forth.

“Cindy,” Mr. Elks started. “You have been the cause of a lot of headaches over the last two weeks. Today however, is the biggest I have ever had in all my years directing this camp.”

Cindy looked at Mr. Elks in complete confusion.

“Everyone, pack up your instruments and go over to my house. There are a collection of judges and guest artists there that need to talk to you all. They have convinced me to break tradition and do something I have never done before. Cindy, I don’t know how you manage it. For a nine-year-old little girl, you bring up a lot of emotions in people. I am hoping you can also calm them all down.”

The group looked at Cindy, while she looked at Mr. Elks in complete confusion. The group packed up their instruments and followed Mr. Elks to his house.