The Life and Times of Kelly Anderson

Written by Kristine Roland
Edited by Joni W

Part 2 - This is the Sequel to Jason's Story.

Author's Note: My sincere thanks to Joni W for all her efforts!

Chapter 4

"Mommy, when are we going to see Grandma and Grandpa Anderson again," Billy asked.

"I don't know, Billy."

"I miss them. I miss Emily and Aunt Sarah too. I miss playing with Jason," Billy said.

"Jason is a sinner, Billy. Until Jason comes back to God, you can't see him."

"What has he done, Momma?"

"He mocks the gifts our Lord has given him. He was made male, in God's image, and he spurns that, to pretend to be a woman.'

"Why, Momma."

"I don't know, Billy. I cannot fathom what could possibly drive him to want this."

"Are you sure Jason is a boy, Mommy? Maybe he is really a girl and no one knew it."

"Billy, Jason is definitely a boy. Boys and girls are different, and when he was a baby I changed his diapers and I could see that he was a boy. Just as you are a boy and Emily is a girl."

"How are boys and girls different?"

Jessica started to get annoyed. "Billy! They just are Billy. Look, you are a boy because you have a boy's pee pee. Emily is a girl, because she has a girl's pee pee. Jason has a boy pee pee, so he is a boy. Enough already. Jason is a boy, and his pretending to be a woman is a sin. He should be thankful to God, for making him the way he is."

"Oh…" Billy walked away, with a thoughtful look on his face.

Jessica, now really annoyed, "Just great, my pervert nephew is contaminating Billy, even without having contact. Something has to be done!" Jessica picks up the phone, "May I speak with Reverend Triphard?”

***

At the Jefferson Regional High School, Kelly and her friends sat eating lunch. Kathy was paired off with Steve, Sue with John, Kelly and Julie. Meghan also joined them.

Steve said, "Kelly, I wish we could have you on the boy's soccer team, we could really use you on defense."

"Heck with that, I wish we could have had her on the girl's team," Kathy replied.

"I know, I miss it, but it did not feel right for me to be on either squad, and besides, I was in a cast when tryouts started. Besides, I'm having fun in the choir, and that would have interfered," Kelly said.

"Are you going to try out for cheerleaders next spring?" Kathy said, with a glint in her eye.

"Oh, yeah right. I'd want to subject myself to having to deal with Courtney on a daily basis," Kelly said.

"Maybe you could knock her off the team," Kathy replied.

Kelly answered, "Fat chance of that ever happening."

Meghan, said, "I don't know… I think we should start working on campaigning for you, to be ready to make a run at Homecoming Queen, by the time we are seniors. That would really be something.

"Homecoming Queen? Julie would be a much better choice." Kelly replied.

"Oh, sure. That's all I need, run for a title of Queen. I'm already considered to be the token lesbian for the freshman class." Julie said.

"Well, if you're a lesbian, then so am I. I would think that definition of Queen, would be more directed at me then you. Besides, we have three more years to get through, before we have to worry about any of that."

Meghan, "I know, but I can dream can't I? I would love to turn the establishment upside down on this sort of thing. You know how much I love Courtney's crowd."

"Believe me, I understand. It didn't take her long to overcome the initial cold shoulder, that she and Brad got, after their attacks on me. Her old crowd took right to her again." Kelly said.

Sue answered, "True, but that really wasn't that surprising. They were cold only while they waited to see what was going to happen. Face it, with them, it's all about status, they don't even know what it means to be a real friend."

"Still, it can't hurt to work on getting Kelly into a position where she could run. Face it, to have a chance you have to be pretty and popular. Pretty is not a problem, and for all the initial problems you faced, most people have accepted you. Especially the girls." Meghan said.

Kirsten Conklin stopped over, "Hey gang, mind if I join you for a few minutes?"

"No, not at all." Julie said, "Have a seat."

Kirsten took a seat and said, "Thanks, Julie. Everyone have a nice Thanksgiving?"

They all nodded and told her yes.

"Good. Anyway, as you know, I'm on the school newspaper." Kirsten said.

They all nodded in agreement.

Kirsten hesitated and then said, "Kelly, you know that I think that you are very brave to be doing what you are doing, and completely support you."

Kelly nodded, "Kirsten you have been a big help to me, I consider you to be a friend."

Kirsten's smile brightened, "Thank you Kelly. I think of you that way too." She reached over and touched Kelly's hand.

"So what is it you are trying to ask me, Kirsten," Kelly asked?

"I want to do an article on you and on the issue of Transgendered Teens. I've done a lot of reading since I found out about you and I think that it is an issue that needs to be talked about. I promise that it will be a positive article and that I will let you read what I write about you and let you have the right to require adjustments."

"I don't know Kirsten… things have settled down, I don't know if I want to rile them up again," Kelly said.

"I understand that, Kelly. I just think that it is an important topic. So many of the students have questions and I think that educating them can only help. I'm not asking you to make a quick answer, sleep on it. Kelly, you know me, I wouldn't do this if I thought it was going to hurt you."

"Kirsten, I know that. Really I do, I trust you; that is not the issue. As I said, you have been a big help to me, and I know you would not knowingly hurt me. Let me think about it. I need to talk it over with my parents as well."

Kirsten said, "Fair enough, Kelly. If you do decide to let me, I'm going to want to interview all of you as well, so please think about that as well."

With that, Kirsten got up and went back over to the table with her friends.

"Hmm… That was interesting," Sue said.

"I'm kind of surprised the school paper would even consider such an article. They usually stay away from anything controversial," Steve added.

John asked, "Do you think she has already approached Mr. Griphon, isn't he the faculty advisor for the paper?"

Kelly said, "Interesting point. What do you know about Mr. Griphon?"

"Not much. He teaches twelfth grade Literature," Kathy replied.

Kelly said, "I'll talk it over with my parents tonight. See what they think."

Chapter 5

Later that night, Kelly and her mother worked together to make dinner. "Mom, Kirsten Conklin wants to write an article on transgendered teens for the school newspaper. She is one of my big supporters at school and she would like to interview me."
"Oh, I'm not sure that is such a good idea. It might stir the pot. Things have improved quite a bit since September; that might just bring it back to the center of attention again."

"I know, I had the same concern. You know, even last month at the Halloween dance, we were still getting picketed by Aunt Jessica's crazy church. Do you really think this would be any worse?"

"Well, most people think that Reverend Triphard is a lunatic, and that his followers are off the wall lunatics as well, so I don't think too many people put too much stock in them. But if the school newspaper were to print a positive article about you and provide real information on Transgendered children, well, there are those that would be pretty upset about it."

"So you don't want me to do it?"

"I did not say that. I can't really make the decision for you; on the one hand, of course, what I want is for you to be safe. On the other hand, it is an issue that people need to be educated on. You and I both know that there have to be other kids in the school that are just too afraid to tell anyone.

"So you want me to do it?"

"I did not say that either. I don't know. It's a risk. Is it as big a risk as going to school as Kelly in the first place? Probably not. You are sure that you trust Kirsten to treat you fairly and to put a positive spin on things? Who is the faculty advisor for the paper, I'd want to check on them as well."

"Yes, I trust Kirsten. She has been a vocal supporter since the first day of school. I think of her as a friend. Not a best friend, but a friend. She has her own circle of friends, just as I do. You know how that goes. I don't have problems with any of the people she is close to; she doesn't hang out with the jerks. The faculty advisor is Mr. Griphon. I don't know him."

"I'll do some checking on him, it is important."

"Ok."

"How was choir practice tonight?"

"It was good. We are working on the songs for our first performance. We got the details finally. We are going to do a tour of the area nursing homes, the senior center, and the local hospital, late in December. We're performing a selection of the Christmas and Hanukah music, from what we will be performing at the concert, at the school on December 22. I need you to sign the permission slip to let me go on the field trip. I'll miss some classes."

"That's not a problem. I'm glad to hear that, I know that those concerts mean a lot to the seniors. I think it is a great tradition for the choir. I'm proud of you for being part of it."

"I like it. It's one of those things, were it really doesn't matter if I'm a girl or not, my voice just is what it is and belongs in the right section. There are both girls and boys in my section."

"Did they measure you for your gown finally?"

"Yes, we finally got measured tonight. That was a bit awkward. They had us split up into different rooms, because they needed to do that privately, they had to do me separately."

"Oh… Yes, I guess they would have."

"Yeah, the lady that was doing the measuring for the gowns, was not the nicest of people."

"No?"

"No, she was kind of short, and definitely was not happy about it." Kelly said

"Did you get the measurements?"

"Yes. I wrote them down."

"Good, because we are going to have them checked. I don't want you to get a gown that doesn't fit, because some bigot did not like you."

"I thought the same thing." Kelly told her.

Chapter 6

After dinner that night, Kelly and her mother drove to the local mall.

"You know, it's almost nine months since that day I brought you here, and got you your first clothes of your own. Hard to believe isn't it."

"Yes. Things sure have changed since then. I just wanted to make sure I didn't wake up and find out I had been dreaming. I couldn't believe it when I came home that day and you told me where we were going and what we were going to be buying. You thought I would be disappointed, because it wasn't a 'complete' wardrobe. I was ecstatic."

"I remember. By the way, I meant to ask you this summer. Remember when we had that conversation, right after we met with Dr. Adams? The first time you dressed in front of me, that morning you helped me around the house, with socks for breasts?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"You came out and said, that it was just comfortable, and I said, tell me that it's comfortable on a one hundred degree day to be wearing a bra."

"Hey, I told you that I knew it wouldn't be! That it wasn't what I meant. You think it's bad for you, try wearing these breast forms. They hold and reflect the heat!"

Her mother laughed, and said, "Ok. Ok… That's right, you did say that."

They walked into the mall and headed to a store that carried formal wear.

"Mrs. Berkley works here; she is a good friend of mine. We will get her to check your measurements for the gown."

Mrs. Berkley looks up and says, "Kristine, Hi! Hello Kelly. What brings you here?"

"Joan, Kelly is in the choir, and they had their measurements taken today. The lady that did it though, was apparently not happy about Kelly, so we want to make sure that she did it right."

"Well, I can help you with that. Come on back into the measuring room. Jennifer, I will be back out in a moment." Mrs. Berkley said to the other sales assistant.

Kelly and her mother followed Mrs. Berkley into the back room.

"There is no one in their now, so don't worry. Kelly please go in there, and take off your outer clothes, and then come back here." She locked the outer door.

When Kelly had stripped down to her underwear, she came out to the measuring room. Mrs. Berkley quickly took Kelly's measurements.

Mrs. Berkley asked, "So how do they compare?"

"Damn, I knew it. Look at this, these are the measurements that they took, and these are yours." Kelly's mother showed Mrs. Berkley.

"Oh, my. Kelly would never be able to wear a gown with those measurements. It's too small in the bust and too big in the hips, it would look horrible on her. She would have to remove the breast forms to get it on at all, and even then it would look ridiculous."

"Thanks Joan. I'll be calling the choir leader in the morning."

After a few more minutes of chit chat, they left the mall and went on home.

The next morning, Mrs. Anderson called the school and asked to speak to the choir director. She was in class at the moment so she left a message asking her to please call back immediately.

Around lunchtime she got a call from Mrs. Dixon.

"Thank you for calling Mrs. Dixon. We have a problem. Kelly showed me the measurements that were taken for her gown last evening. I did not think they looked right, so I went and had her professionally measured last night, and they are clearly wrong. They are too tight in the bust, and way too loose in the hip area. If the gown is delivered as they measured, it will not work. Kelly mentioned that the woman taking the measurements, was not pleasant to her, and this comes off as intentional. I certainly hope that she did not make similar mistakes for the rest of the choir!"

"Mrs. Anderson, I am shocked to hear this. I have been working with this company for many years. Mrs. Drysdale has never made a mistake like this before. Let me call the company and get it corrected, and see what I can find out."

A little while later, she got another phone call from Mrs. Dixon.

"Mrs. Anderson, I am so sorry. I just spoke with the owner of the company that supplies our gowns. He was shocked when he learned what had happened. He would like to confirm the measurements for himself. Can he come to your home tonight? He said that if the measurements are confirmed as being off, as you have said, he will provide Kelly's gown for free. I told him that I was deeply disappointed that Mrs. Drysdale would deliberately attempt to do something like this, no matter how she felt about Kelly."

"Mrs. Dixon that will be fine. We will be home this evening, please give him the information, and have him call me to confirm the time."

"Thank you Mrs. Anderson. I will. Please let me know if there are any further issues."

"Thank you Mrs. Dixon, I will."

That night, right at seven o'clock, the front doorbell rang. Mrs. Anderson opened the door, and a middle aged, dark haired man, wearing a meticulous suit, was waiting on the stoop.

"Mrs. Anderson? I am Stanley Winthrop; we spoke on the phone earlier today." The man handed her his card.

"Yes, Mr. Winthrop, please come in."

Mr. Winthrop followed her into living room.

"Kelly is in her room, shall we do this in there? It is a bit more private."

"That will be fine."

They went into Kelly's room, and found Kelly working on her homework, at her desk.

"Kelly, this is Mr. Winthrop. He will need to take your measurements again. What do you need her to do?"

"Please stand up, Kelly."

Kelly stood up and came to the middle of the room.

"That is sufficient. Mrs. Anderson, I do not need to measure Kelly. There is no way that Mrs. Drysdales measurements could be correct. They are over an inch off in the bust area alone, and I can see that the hip measurement is completely wrong. Just to be clear, my dear, you were wearing those breast forms and were not wearing any kind of hip enhancement yesterday were you?"

"Yes sir, I was wearing these forms, and don't have anything for the hips."

"I assumed as much, but needed to be certain. Thank you my dear. I am very sorry that your experience with our company has been less than stellar. We pride ourselves on customer service, and quality. Mrs. Anderson, here is your check, it has not been cashed. Kelly's gown is on the house and it will be made to the correct sizes. Mrs. Drysdale will be disciplined accordingly. We do not condone such behavior and she has sullied our name."

"Mr. Winthrop, I appreciate your integrity, and your personal attention to this matter." Kelly's mother told him.

"Mrs. Anderson, my great grandfather started this business, over one hundred years ago. I could do no less. I must be going, thank you for allowing me to address this situation."

Mrs. Anderson walked Mr. Winthrop to the front door.

Kelly came up to her and said, "thank you, Mom. I love you."

Kelly gave her mother a huge hug, and then went back to her homework.