The upcoming weeks were rough on the Angels as they performed outside on stage. Between the humidity and heat, they were sweating like pigs. Cassady was soaked in sweat by the time they finished their performance. All the other ladies were sweating as well.

The gigs they played at some of the bars they played at were profitable. The managers of those bars wanted them to come back and play again. Cynthia was going to talk to their booking manager to arrange it.

They had left Maryland after playing at one of the largest rodeos there and were making their way back down toward Tennessee. After the new laws were passed against transgender kids and drag queens, the girls didn’t want to play in the state. However, their manager had already signed contracts with the clients they were to play at.

So, to piss off the lawmakers, the girls team up with a bunch of Drag performers and play. They were dressed in drag as well. When some of the people in the audience started to boo and complain. The girls stop playing and tell them everyone has the right to express themselves. What they were doing was no different from wearing t-shirts that said you can take my gun away from my cold dead hands.

When some people in the crowd complained, the girls told them they could leave and forget about a refund. They would rather have a small group that respected other people’s rights than have many ignorant people at their gigs. After the people leave the place they were playing, they return to playing music.

“You know that is going to cost us?” Cynthia looks at the girls after the show.

“We know, and to be frank with you. I really don’t care. These politicians need to pull their heads out of their asses and leave people along.” Cassady flops down on the sofa on their bus.

“Cassady, it’s not just them. This whole conservative group is trying to tell people what to do.”

“Well, they must shut up or live in another country. They don’t have the right to tell people how to live their lives. Mother nature already makes life hard for people like me, and add on that religion and assholes in Congress just passing laws because they want to line their pockets with
donations from groups. It’s just making life harder for everyone.” Cassady looks at the other girls in the band. They all knew she was trans from
her cousin telling them.

“Look, I know what you mean, Cassady. We all are upset with how things are going. I don’t think many women like the state telling them what they can or can’t do with their bodies.” Debbie didn’t like that many states were passing ridiculous laws telling women what they could or couldn’t do with their bodies.

Some of the ideas antiabortionists have, she agreed with, but the choice should be left to the woman, not the government telling women what they can or can’t do. No one has the right to restrict what goes on with a woman’s body or mental state after being raped. Debbie clinches her fist as she recalls what happened to her on her sixteenth birthday.

Juni walks over and hugs Debbie. She knew what Debbie experienced on her sixteenth birthday. She didn’t think Joey would have done what he did to her.

Jessie knew what had happened as well. She hugs Debbie hoping she will feel better. Angela looks at her friends and hopes they never have to experience what Debbie went through.

As for the drag queens that performed with them, they invited the group to one of the popular clubs in town. The club’s owner was the brother of one of the drag queens. He wasn’t gay or anything like that, but he did believe in helping the LGBTQ community.

He treated the girls to a banquet in their honor. The drag queens who performed with them made a show just for them. The girls watched and tossed money up on the stage for the performers.

Afterward, the girls leave and head toward their next destination. Cassady was sitting by one of the windows and was watching the scenery pass by as they drove past. She thinks back to when she first started to dress as a girl.

Most of the people she thought would support her decision didn’t. She lost a few friends because of how close-minded they were toward trans people. Those friends that didn’t abandon her didn’t care. There were a few that stayed by her but distanced themselves from her.

They didn’t invite her to events they held or when they went somewhere to camp or hike. She could tell they felt uncomfortable being around her. Even when they went swimming, she could tell her female friends weren’t happy she was changing in the same room with them.

Jessie noticed her cousin sitting by the window and thinking about something. She knew her cousin wondered if she made the right choice. She walks over and sits next to Cassady.

“What are you thinking about, cousin?”

Cassady looks at her cousin. If there was anyone she respected and trusted a lot, it was Jessie.

“Thinking about how things have changed for me.” Cassady tucks a strand of her behind her ear.

“Well, are you regretting becoming a woman?” Jessie knew Cassady has had a hard time with the decision.

“No, it’s what I should have been when I was born, instead of being born with a birth defect and having to live my life like that. I wonder if I would have encountered half what you guys did as you grew up.” Cassady knew Jessie experienced being molested when she was younger by one of their uncles.

“Who knows, Cassady? Not everyone’s life was as hard as some of the others. As girls, we all have experienced things we wish we never did.
Even Juni experienced things she didn’t ask for. I know life for you was hard. But as girls, sometimes life for us can be difficult. It’s how you handle the situation and how you recover from it.”

Cassady grabs Jessie’s hand and gives it a light squeeze. She knew Jessie was a trusting person.

“I know cousin.”

Jessie smiled at Cassady and knew life wasn’t easy for her either. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be born in the wrong body and have to live life like that. She heard how the family felt about Cassady.