I Can See Clearly Now
Third and Final Song of the Kylie Warren Saga
by Jennifer Sue

I can see clearly now the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way,
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.

Part 1

Astrally Kylie and Heather hit a brick wall when they attempted to download the musical abilities. Only Bobby and Heather could accept some of the abilities as they already had experience with the instruments. It quickly became apparent that without some pre-existing familiarity they could not download the music abilities they’d copied into their siblings and friends because without a pre-existing framework, there was nothing to enhance. Even Kylie found herself unable to fully accept the keyboard abilities. They found they could ramp up the desire to learn the selected instruments. Since they’d all had basic lessons in reading music in elementary school music classes, they already had the groundwork for learning to read music, so that was easily refreshed and improved. But each of them would have to physically learn the basics of their chosen instrument to enable them to incorporate the downloads. It would have to be done a step at a time. While frustrated, the girls realized they had been saved from creating awkward questions about how their group had suddenly discovered their musical talents.

They slept till around ten, then after a hearty breakfast, Kylie asked if everyone was serious about forming a band. After everyone agreed they were still interested, she astrally placed a suggestion in Bobby’s mind.

“Well, if we’re going to be a band, we all have to know how to read music,” Bobby announced. “Heather and I can teach you to read music. If we can show our parents we’re really serious about forming a band, learning to read a score will prove our determination. Then we can pest them to get us the instruments we’ll need!”

Heather astrally tuned the others to accept Bobby’s suggestion. Together, they reviewed the basic scales and notes, sharps and flats, and the various other musical notations. For Kylie, Kathy, Billy, and DJ, what they had briefly learned in school coupled with what Bobby and Heather were teaching them coalesced into being able to able to understand how to read music. The shared general knowledge of reading music gathered from their many downloads now had a firm base for the downloading to commence.

When the music reading lessons had gone as far as they could, they all were capable of reading orchestral and operatic scores. Heather spoke up. "Guys, I know our church is going to be taking a special collection for relief of the Tsunami victims. I was thinking we could help out by offering to sing for the congregation tomorrow. I know it's short notice, but I think the pastor and church board will okay it. Are you up giving it a shot?"

"I think that's a great idea," Kylie enthused. "Maybe we can schedule a relief concert next Sunday evening. Once the congregation hears us, I bet they'd be willing to tell others to come! It'll also give us a bit of group recognition for our band. We'll have to think up a name for ourselves."

The others readily agreed. As they tossed names back and forth, Heather went online to download a few appropriate songs so they could practice. DJ called the pastor and when he explained Heath was part of their group, got an enthusiastic okay to their doing three songs during the special collection. The pastor agreed to contact the board members for their approval and to hold a brief meeting after the service to discuss their idea for the Sunday evening mini relief concert.

Heather downloaded 'We Are The World', 'It's A Small World" and 'Amazing Grace' for Sunday. For the mini-concert she selected those three plus 'I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing', 'Help', 'We've Only Just Begun', Imagine', 'Don't Stop', 'Don't Worry, Be Happy', 'Everything Is Beautiful', 'Dreamweaver', 'Put Your Hand In The Hand', 'I Can See Clearly Now' and lastly, 'Amazing Grace' which they would do acappella.

As they ran through the first three songs, it was decided that Heather would accompany them on the flute and recorders with Bobby on drums for tomorrow's performance. As they began singing, Kylie and Heather cautiously astrally probed each of their friends. Kylie monitored their consciousness to see if they were aware of the intrusion while Heather tweaked their vocal cords to obtain perfect pitch and a three and a half octave controllable and sustainable vocal range. Once they’d finished with the four, they optimized their own voices then harmonized and synchronized the six. They also increased their lung capacity and functional tonality. If all went well by tomorrow's performance they'd have richer voices and by next week they'd have remarkable resonance and timbre.

Heather was almost stunned into speechlessness as Kylie opened her astral eyes to their auras. A brief astral explanation about what she was seeing helped her relax. As they rehearsed and blended, Heather could see the aura's of each turning green with happiness. It didn't take too long for their auras to begin to merge. With each merger, the intensity of the green grew as did it's vibrancy. By the time they were all blended, their hearts were soaring. The room quickly filled with the vibrant green light and overflowed into the adjoining rooms and even out the windows. Heather was more than a bit humbled when Kylie told her playing on Christmas Eve had the same effect on the congregation and that the entire church and everyone in it had been imbued with the vibrant green light.

"If the mini performance on Sunday goes well," Kylie enthused. "We might be able to convince our parents to get us the basic instruments tomorrow afternoon."

"I know Pastor Kline's father-in-law owns Meteor Music," DJ happily added. "I'm sure he'd call ahead for us to get us a deal on some inexpensive rental instruments. Then when we show how well we do by next Sunday, our parents will be willing to purchase better quality instruments."

Heather and Kylie smiled knowing they would give their proud parents a subtle astral push to help them decide to accept any too good to be true deals on instruments that might be offered. The adults would probably smile condescendingly as the kids promised that with their excitement and drive they'd each be able to learn enough to do some basic playing for the main concert. Once they had their fingers on the instruments, with astral downloads, it should be possible for the others to learn enough of their primary instruments to play at the main concert the following week!

The kids were excited at the prospect and when their parents arrived at three in the afternoon, the kids explained their ideas. The adults thought the idea of a relief concert was good but tempered their reaction with real world scepticism. They did agree to sit as the kids did the first three songs.

The hastily cobbled together performance blew the adults away. Naturally the parents were proud of and excited for their offspring. Kylie explained that if the mini-concert went well, they had the idea of going to Meteor Music with Pastor Kline calling ahead to get them deals on cheap rental instruments. Thanks to astral pushes, the parents agreed that if their performance tomorrow was well accepted by the congregation, they'd get the rental instruments.

Heather was quite intrigued by their astral pushes. Kylie explained that she didn't ever want to make someone do something they didn't want to do, unless it was a dire emergency. Meanwhile, they'd only astrally enhance and strengthen the ideas an individual already had.

As they headed home with the promise to get to church a half hour early, they still hadn't thought of a name for themselves. They agreed to keep thinking of a suitable moniker.

*****

That night Kylie joined Heather for an astral meeting. While they had enjoyed their exchanges, Kylie had begun to worry about their safety. So this night she introduced Heather to the ancient Druidic belief, best represented by the Celtic Five Fold Symbol. Consisting of five equal sized circles, four circles overlap with the outer edge of all four touching a single center point while the fifth circle is centered on that center point and overlaps the other four circles. The first fold represents the compass direction east, the element air, the season of spring, represents home and wealth, the tenet of vitality of life and the ritual of mobilizing. The second fold represents the compass direction south, the element fire, the season of summer, represents creativity & art, the tenet of clarity of light and the ritual of transforming. The third fold represents the compass direction west, the element water, the season of fall, represents learning & chronicling, the tenet of growth of love and the ritual of purifying. The fourth fold represents the compass direction north, the element earth, the season of winter, represents vindication & honor, the tenet of order in love and the ritual of stabilizing. The fifth fold represents the center of the compass, the element ether, between the seasons transition, represents ascension & spirituality, the tenet of balance in all and the ritual of transcending.

Heather could see how Kylie had used it to create astral armor. “If I create my own armor, do you think it might interfere with our communications?”

“It might,” Kylie answered obviously upset at the thought.

“Your armor is always here in the astral, and your astral self is inside, but the armor is not a part of you,” Heather declared as she examined the armor. “If you open it for a moment, maybe my astral self can slip inside.”

“That’s a great idea,” Kylie enthused as she opened a doorway in the armor.

Heather had no problem slipping inside, and with the two astral spirits inside, the armor grew stronger and seemed to develop it’s own existence in the astral realm. The armor shaped itself into a three dimensional representation of the Celtic Five Fold Symbol. Each circle became a ball with Kylie and Heather’s astral spirits safely inside the central fifth ball.

Heather could even feel her astral tendrils becoming surrounded by the warm, comforting green glow of the Druidic derived Celtic Five Fold Symbol. The green glow signified thriving life, which, she realized, was their unassailable astral armor that would keep any and all demons and evil well away from them.

As they surveyed their astral armor they knew they were prepared for nearly anything. the verse of a song came unbidden to their minds:

I can see clearly now the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way,
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.

*****

Meeting at the church they showed their song selections to the pastor, president of the board, and the organist. Once accepted, the adults decided it would be best to conduct a second offering after the main offering with the kids singing during the second offering. They also approved Heather's suggestion they sing from the rear balcony. After Bobby set up a snare drum and top hat cymbals the kids took their seat in the otherwise empty balcony before the service began.

"I think I've come up with the perfect name for us," Billy smiled. "N...Gen...Der. It stands for Neutralize Gender Derision. While most people have accepted Kylie, quite a few still think she's weird. I've been getting snide gay oriented comments from several guys for being Kylie's boyfriend. I'm sure when Heather reveals she's transgendered, the complainers will become even more vocal. Having one changeling in the school is pushing the acceptance level of some people. Having two will make it worse and I'm afraid we'll have some bigoted people getting nasty."

"I've heard some of the comments about Kylie," DJ agreed. "I think you're right about it getting worse with two changelings. Don't worry Heather, we'll have your back."

"Thank's DJ," Heather blushed. "I like 'N Gen Der' but think we should just use 'NGender' as a single word. The word engender means to foster changes, to cause something to exist or to develop. We'll be doing that by raising money for Tsunami relief. We'll still be able to use 'NGender' once I come out since we'll be fostering acceptance of transsexuals."

"Actually, everything we do should be enabling positive changes," Kylie added. "So 'NGender' will be appropriate name for anything we do."

With that they all agreed to call themselves 'NGender', and if anyone asked where they'd come up with the name, they'd simply tell them the dictionary definition of engender.

“I’ve been thinking,” Heather spoke up. “I think it’d be better if Kathy and I swapped instruments. We’ll need a fiddle more than a banjo, so she should take the fiddle as primary and I’ll take the banjo as a secondary.”

Everyone agreed the change made sense so it was a done deal.

At that point, the pre-service announcements were made, including the special collection for tsunami relief. The kids were excited and a bit nervous as for all but Heather and Bobby, this would be their first public performance.

After the regular collection and prayer was completed, the pastor turned toward the congregation. "Yesterday I took a call from one of our youth. He and several friends asked if they could sing during the service to help motivate the congregation to give freely for tsunami relief. I gave them a preliminary okay, and met with those youth this morning before the service to get approval of the board. Ralph Johnson, our president, agreed to allow the kids to perform for us. DJ, would you like to say something before you begin?"

"Yes sir," DJ stated as he stood by the balcony rail. He waited until everyone had turned to look at them. "On Christmas Eve, Heath blew us away with his playing. We've been getting together this week to hang out and Heath brought his flute. We began to sing with him and we liked the results. Yesterday we came up with the idea of performing for you for this special collection. If you approve of our effort today, we'd like to put on a special tsunami relief concert next Sunday evening. We've decided to call ourselves NGENDER... N.G.e.n.d.e.r."

With that they stood as DJ called their names. "Making up the group is my sister, Kylie, Heath and his sister Kathy, and Bobby and Billy Dawson. We'd like to sing two songs first, and take the collection during the third. Heath..."

Heather, understanding the need to remain male to most people, raised her flute and began playing the first line of 'We Are The World', After a three count pause he began to play the melody while the rest began to sing. DJ sang bass, Billy sang baritone, Bobby sang tenor, Kylie sang alto, and Kathy sang soprano. Their voices seamlessly united and flawlessly blended with the flute. Astrally, Heather and Kylie watched as the green aura surrounding the kids quickly merged and brightened. Around the congregation, the auras of the people shifted to green. As the green aura filled the balcony, it began to cascade down into the main pews. Before it reached the floor, individual auras of the congregation leapt up to merge. By the end of the song, the church was filled with a vibrant green aura.

The congregation spontaneously exploded into applause. After smiling and bowing, once the clapping dwindled, Heather began the intro to 'It's A Small World'. The smiles on the people were beaming and green was pulsing through the windows. Again the sanctuary filled with enthusiastic applause when the song ended.

"The last song we'd like to do acappella while the collection is taken," DJ announced once the clapping had once more dwindled. "Ready? 1...2...3..."

Heather's rich countertenor voice seamlessly melded with the others. Except for the blended six voices, every sound in the church stopped.

"Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
We have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine."

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found
Was blind, but now I see."

Heather and Kylie had to put astral sunglasses on their astral eyes as they sang because the intensity of the green threatened to blind them. One by one, without any prompting, the members of the congregation rose to their feet to watch the kids sing. As the last note resounded through the sanctuary, the entire congregation stood mesmerized by the absolute serenity of the song. Pastor Kline and many of the women were openly crying. The rest of the women and over half the men had tears of joy and love running down their cheeks. The ushers had been so enthralled they stood rooted to where they stood, all thoughts of collecting the donations had been banished from their minds. It took thirty seconds until the applause and even a few cheers exploded. The green aura surrounding everyone and everything simply pulsed with life. The applause lasted five minutes.

"Amazing Grace is always a moving song," Pastor Kline finally spoke with awe clearly evident in his voice. "But it’s never so moved me as what we just heard. Ngender, thank you for blessing us with your singing."

Again the applause resounded through the sanctuary.

The kids couldn't smile any bigger as they soaked up the praise. As it began to quiet down, DJ spoke. "We all thank you. But it seems our singing was so interesting the ushers didn't get around for the collection. Please, reach into your pockets as we've reached into your hearts and give to those tsunami victims."

Virtually every head was nodding as the congregation began digging a bit deeper into their pockets than they had initially intended to do. The smiling but red-faced ushers moved down the aisles collecting the donations.

"I think the name you've selected for yourselves is quite appropriate," Pastor Kline intoned as the collection was being taken. "We're all blessed to acknowledge NGender made their public debut today. I don't think there will be any objections to allowing NGender to hold a benefit concert for tsunami relief next Sunday Evening where they'll sing the songs we heard today plus ten other tunes. It'll be a free will offering so invite your friends, neighbors and relatives to join us."

The rest of the service seemed anti-climatic. The green aura dimmed slightly but still filled the sanctuary. After completing the service, the six friends stood in the back and humbly accepted the platitudes of the green auraed congregation. Pastor and Mrs Kline along with Edward and Betty Meteor, were the last to congratulate NGender and their proud parents.

"I'd like to ask a big favor, Mr. Meteor," Heather began. "I've gotten my flute and recorders through your store and Bobby got his drums there. We're wondering if we can rent some inexpensive instruments so we can be more of a band."

"If the rest of you can play half as well as you sing, I'd be delighted to assist you," Mr. Meteor smiled.

"Well, that's part of our concern," Bobby spoke up. "Heath plays flute and I play the drums, but none of the others has ever played an instrument. We can all read music and have a lot of drive and determination. If we can get the instruments today, we think we can learn how to play some basic rhythms until next week."

"That's a mighty tall goal," Mr. Meteor replied. "I've never seen anyone able to play an instrument within a week. But you guys are obviously exceptional. What instruments are you looking for?"

"I'd like an electric bass guitar," DJ said. "Billy wants an electric lead guitar, Kylie wants a multi-function keyboard, Kathy wants a fiddle and Heather would like to add a saxophone. We'd also need starter how-to-play books."

"I'll tell you what," Mr. Meteor declared. "Go over to the store. I'll call ahead and tell Bob Simmons to set you up with decent instruments for a one week free trial. We'll need to hold a credit card from your parents to do this. If you have not begun to learn the basics by next week, then we'll set you up with cheaper rentals. If you can play them by next week, I'll sell them to you at cost plus ten percent for handling and set each up as a no interest loan with payments at what I'd charge for the cheaper rentals. The only thing I ask is free advertizing. Tell your audience and anyone who asks where you got your instruments."

The kids were obviously excited by the offered deal. Their parents knew they couldn't ask for a better arrangements. A silent exchange of looks indicated everyone was in favor of the deal.

After a brief stop at Mickey D's for lunch, they all headed over to Meteor Music. Bob Simmons eagerly greeted them. He knew Heath and Bobby as well as their parents and was quickly introduced to the others.

"You guys obviously impressed the boss today," Bob smiled. "I've never heard him so excited. If you'll step over here, I have the instruments Mr. Meteor ordered to be readied as well as starter books. Per Mr. Meteor’s instructions I called in our instructors for the instruments you requested. Dave Evans is our instructor for lead guitar. Harry Gift is our instructor for bass guitar. Kathy James is our instructor for keyboards. Ellen Moore is our instructor for the fiddle. Miles Davidson is our saxophone instructor. Now, if each of you will go with your teacher, they’ll show you the basics.”

Once the kids went to their instructor, Bob headed over to a sales counter to complete the paperwork with the parents.

After a quick run-through of the basic on-off and electrical hook-ups of each instrument with the appropriate player, the instructors began showing how to handle their chosen instrument. Astrally, Kylie and Heather easily augmented the instructor’s instructions by simultaneously downloading the appropriate musical abilities and creating a mini feedback loop between the instructor and each new musician. The feedback worked to perfection as what the instructor was showing and explaining to the neophyte was instantly picked up.

Once each had their hands on their instruments and had learned the basic finger positions and how to run a scale, the implanted performance abilities kicked in. The instructors were amazed by how rapidly the kids picked up the basics. With growing excitement and their natural inquisitiveness, each member of NGender began toying with their instrument. Their experimentation was at first tentative and naturally awkward as they touched, felt and explored their instrument. Yet with each playful touch and fingering, the astrally implanted pirated musical knowledge and abilities almost instantly blended with what they were physically feeling and hearing as the appropriate knowledge was rapidly metered into their minds. Their tentative fingering was unconsciously guided by the implanted muscle memory copied from the pros. In moments their muscles learned how to move to achieve the notes they wanted. A few seconds later they unconsciously used their implanted abilities to mesh their playing with each other into a seamless coordination.

A bit after the paperwork was completed, Kylie started playing the familiar beginning chords of 'The Walk of Life' by Dire Straits. DJ jumped in laying down the bass guitar line. Kathy and Billy quickly jumped in playing the melody on the fiddle and lead guitar. Bobby easily added appropriate percussion. Heather played the sax with ease as Kylie began to sing. Their initial amateurish neophyte stumbling quickly disappeared and by the end of the first verse, they started to sound like a typical teenage garage band. Astrally Kylie and Heather realized they were picking up the instruments to rapidly so they pulled back some of the downloaded abilities.

"Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies
Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say
Here comes Johnny singing I Gotta Woman
Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay
He got the action, he got the motion
Oh Yeah the boy can play
Dedication devotion
Turning all the night time into the day

He do the song about the sweet lovin' woman
He do the song about the knife
He do the walk, he do the walk of life, yeah he do the walk of life

Here comes Johnny and he'll tell you the story
Hand me down my walkin' shoes
Here comes Johnny with the power and the glory
Backbeat the talkin' blues
He got the action, he got the motion
Oh Yeah the boy can play
Dedication devotion
Turning all the night time into the day

He do the song about the sweet lovin' woman
He do the song about the knife
He do the walk, he do the walk of life, yeah he do the walk of life

Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies
Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say
Here comes Johnny singing I Gotta Woman
Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay
He got the action, he got the motion
Oh Yeah the boy can play
Dedication devotion
Turning all the night time into the day

And after all the violence and double talk
There's just a song in all the trouble and the strife
You do the walk, you do the walk of life, yeah he do the walk of life."

As their playing came together everyone in the store stopped what they were doing and stared at the kids, amazed by their quality performance. They went all out playing the riffs between the verses. No one was more surprised than the parents. When the song finished, everyone began to applaud.

DJ, Billy, Bobby, and Kathy were stunned by what they’d done and basked in the appreciative applause. Heather and Kylie smiled on the surface while barely controlling their fear. They never suspected their downloads would be incorporated so quickly and effectively. How were they going to handle this? They sent out astral probes to see if anyone was troubled by what they’d done.

"Now I can understand why the boss was so impressed," Bob Simmons stated as he looked at the parents. "They are really good. I must have misunderstood when you said they'd never played the instruments."

"Other than Heath and Bobby, the only instrument they've ever played was the flutophone in elementary school music," Linda Davis softly stated, her amazement was evident in her voice. "Kathy never even touched a fiddle before today."

"DJ never picked up guitar and Kylie never played keyboards," Laura added equally awed by the impromptu performance.

“Billy never touched a guitar before," Margie said with clear incredulity.

"I don't mean any disrespect," Bob said not wanting to upset the parents because the even at the sharp discount Mr. Meteor offered he was still due a decent commission. "But I've never seen anyone pick-up an instrument for the first time playing as well as they did. Perhaps one musical prodigy I could believe, but four at the same time... I just can't believe it's possible.”

In their Astral bodies, Kylie and Heather exchanged looks of near panic while keeping their physical bodies with their friends as they all basked in the praise of those present. Kylie planted an astral suggestion in her mom while Heather utilized Bob's avarice to encourage his receptiveness.

"Well they all can read music and sing extremely well," Laura replied to Bob. "They're certainly driven to do well as they want to be able to play for a Tsunami relief concert they're putting on next week."

"Well, I must say they are quite impressive," Bob replied with a smile. "With practice they could become quite a band."

With the crisis averted, they astrally dropped back to monitoring mode.

As they wrapped up, arrangements were made for practice sessions with the instructors every evening after supper. The kids were all smiles as they packed up their instruments. Their joy was short lived because their parents reminded them school resumed the next day.

*****

As Heather prepared for bed she played back the recording she’d made of their singing in church. While it sounded fantastic, something seemed off. It took her a few moments until she realized what it was. The recording had no aura, and although the recording was true to life, without the aura it seemed incomplete. At once she contacted Kylie.

Kylie at once understood their powerful music was incomplete without the aura, but how could they duplicate an aura on a recording or even a broadcast? The girls set their astral minds to the dilemma.

*****

Heath felt almost ill as he prepared to return to school. During the holiday he'd been able to behave girlishly even when dressed as a boy, but that was impossible in school. The necessity of presenting as a boy ate at him. Being teased for being a sissy had always been a part of his school life. But now that he knew he was intersexed, he so wanted to shed his sissy boyhood.

When Heath arrived at school, he took a deep breath to steel himself for running the gauntlet of toughs who always hung around the entrance.

At that point, Kylie astrally spoke. "DJ, Billy, and I are waiting for you about ten feet inside. If you haven't already, activate your aura scan. You'll be able to tell the difference between someone who dislikes you and someone who wants to hurt you."

Heather wasn't sure if she wanted to see who disliked her and she certainly didn't want to know there were actually students who might want to hurt her. But deciding to take Kylie's advice, she activated her aura scan.

While the bullies were in their usual positions lining the walls to intimidate those who entered, Kylie, DJ, and Billy were also waiting. Kylie made a show of hugging Heath, then walked side by side toward their lockers. Billy and DJ, scowling at anyone who might even be thinking about saying or doing something, followed their girlfriends.

Heather was shocked by the auras she saw. Most were a shade of dark blueish-gray that Kylie said indicated a lack of hope and depression, their lives were already jaded by despair. Some were black, reflecting a hatred for everything. Some were shades of dark red, these represented anger that with little provocation could erupt in violence. Most of the kids passing through the gauntlet projected a shade of yellow that indicated fear.

By lunch the school was rife with rumors. Everyone had known Kylie and Billy were a couple, but because of Kylie's male past, the sexual innuendoes flew. But now added to that already swirling brew was the assumption that DJ and Heath had paired up in an openly gay relationship. The rumors were not helped when Kylie, Billy, and DJ politely asked the band geekettes if they could join Heath at their table.

The girls were surprised but willing to allow them to sit with them. Having DJ and Billy present would ensure none of the school clowns would hassle them as they ate. Quite naturally, the topic of conversation quickly focused on music. The geekettes were surprised to learn about NGender, but thrilled for their new friends. By the time lunch was finished, the band geekettes were sure Heath and DJ were a couple. They thought they made a cute pair.

DJ began to take a bit of heat after lunch. No one dared to say anything to his face but nasty comments were intentionally made so he could hear them. It took a great deal of will-power not to react to the slurs.

As soon as they arrived home, all set to dug right into their homework. It had been made clear to all six that their homework had to be done before they went for their instrumental music lessons. Meeting at Meteor Music, they exchanged hugs before going to the separate sound proofed practice rooms with their instructor. The instructors were blown away by the kid's enthusiasm and seemingly innate abilities.

*****

The next day at school things were not good. Because of her tough guy male past, Kylie's emergence as a girl was only begrudgingly accepted by a vocal minority. Billy took a lot of heat for dating a former boy, but there were still many who thought Kylie was still male. Since DJ was Kylie's brother, he was thought to be the cover-up about her real gender. Now that it seemed DJ and sissy Heath were a couple, the simmering homophobia began to raise it's angry head.

The foursome met inside the school entrance like they had the day before, the homophobic bigots were ready. Fortunately, Kylie and Heather had their astral early warning system primed. Kylie and Heath stopped about ten feet inside the door to scan the waiting thugs. They could see red auras merging between sixteen guys who were divided eight to a side just down the entrance hall. The red revealed the anticipation of those waiting to pounce. Thanks to their astral communication they prepared themselves to start walking down the hall with DJ and Billy dutifully following as body guards.

As the foursome began to pass between the junior mafiosos, a small scuffle between two girls began by the entrance door. The school resource officer immediately stepped in to separate the girls. With the guard distracted, the plotters all stepped away from the wall. DJ and Billy went on high alert but the gangbangers were moving too rapidly. Seemingly out of no where sixteen water balloons appeared, eight on each side of the hall bracketing Heather, Kylie, DJ, and Billy. As the wanna-be gangstas raised their balloons to throw and began the pitch, all but one balloon mysteriously burst right above their heads. The guy with the lone balloon was a bit late in joining the others, and he flinched away from the watery deluge as he threw. Unfortunately, when he released his balloon it was in a direct line to the school resource officer. Patrolman Stevens had just turned towards the commotion just in time to see the kid throw the balloon that burst on his chest. For the next few seconds chaos reigned amongst the junior felons as an angry Officer Stevens collared the miscreants. Kylie and Heather used the distraction to innocently scurry ahead while DJ and Billy prevented the malefactors from escaping.

It took all of Heather's and Kylie's will power to keep from bursting out in guffaws. They had successfully primed their astral tentacles with sharp points that popped the balloons. Kylie had even tweaked the kid's mind to slow his timing and have him flinch as he threw to hit officer Stevens. Heather now fully understood the need for monitoring the auras of those around them.

The sixteen soggy angry kids who had tried to water bomb Heather and Kylie were taken to the office for discipline by Officer Stevens. All were formally charged with disorderly conduct while the school suspended them for the rest of the week. The three ringleaders of the group had prior records. This incident would see them wind up in juvenile detention for parole violations. The head had been chopped off one beast.

The rest of the day went fairly smoothly. The rumor mill had plenty of fodder as a few people knew who were the actual targets. The suspension of the worst gang in school cooled off most of the remaining hot-heads.

That evening, the homework was completed and all six went to Meteor Music for their continued lessons. Again they blew away their instructors with their ballooning skills.

When Heather arrived home. Linda and Keith sat down with her to discuss the next day. They hadn't told her all that had to be done as they knew how she worried and didn't want to give her time to brood. What they told her surprised and scared her. Even so Heather insisted to her parents she begin to transition as soon as possible as she hated pretending to be a boy. She didn't tell them she wanted to be able to hold DJ's hand in public. Once in bed, she called Kylie on their astral connection.

Kylie was glad to be told in advance that Heather wouldn't be in school and she promised to let the rest of their group know so they wouldn't worry. She also reassured Heather that the tests were not painful and they would probably discover her intersexed condition.

*****

Heather stayed home the next day so she and her mother could go to the Hospital for a battery of tests that Dr. Alterson had arranged. She dressed to look androgynous so she could feel in a comfort zone as Heather yet appear to be a boy for those who might be homophobic. The trip to the out patient testing center at St. Mary's Hospital seemed to take forever, that is until Heather had to sit in the waiting room. The number of butterflies in her tummy seemed to grow with each passing minute. Looking at her own aura she saw it was shimmering pink, grey and green revealing her excitement, anxiety and vigor.

Once they were called back, it became a matter of hurry up, sit down and wait cycles. First they drew blood samples, Heather almost passed out as the nurse filled the eighth and final tube. It took a bit of smelling salts to get her back to functionality. Next was a series of full body x-rays. Then came a sonogram of her abdomen and torso.

By the time all the tests were completed it was 11:15 am. Linda and Heather were told to take a lunch break and to return at 1:30 pm for a thorough physical.

Heather's anxiety grew as they ate.

"Heather, the physical isn't anything to worry about," Linda reassured.

"I know, but I feel uncomfortable letting a man see me naked," Heather replied with a bit of a whine.

"You won't be completely naked, they give you gowns to wear," Linda smiled.

"Some gowns," Heather snorted. "They just barely cover your front and are open in the back."

"If it will make you feel better, I'll stay n the room while the give you the exam," Linda soothed.

Heather nodded her head.

It seemed to take forever for 1:30 to roll around. The arrived in the waiting room fifteen minutes before their appointment Five minutes before their appointed time a nurse came out.

"Heath Davis," she announced as she scanned the room.

Heath and Linda stood and followed her through the door into a hall lined with doors. Her Aura was a deep rose which meant she had a great deal of compassion for the patients.

"I'm Martha Wagner," she greeted them as she ushered them to an exam room. Martha sensed Heather's anxiety and smiled reassuringly as she told her to disrobe and put on the gown.

Linda couldn't help but giggle as Heather fumbled with the ties. Heather shot her mom a dirty look which only made Linda chuckle more. Linda took over and tied the strings to hold the gown in place. Nurse Wagner weighed and measured Heather's height, then had him hop onto the examination table to check her blood pressure. Just as she finished there was knock on the door and a man in a lab coat entered.

"I'm Dr. Reichard," Dr. Reichard announced. "I spoke with Dr. Alterson so I'm aware that you've been preliminarily diagnosed as transgendered. I have the preliminary results of the tests you took and by examining you I'll be able to check out some of the results."

Heather scanned the doctor's aura and it was rose colored just like Nurse Wagner. That knowledge helped calm her nerves.

Dr. Reichard smiled as he began listening to Heather's heart and lungs. As he moved the stethoscope across her chest he bumped into a erect nipple. Although not the bump was light, he saw Heather wince. After he finished, he had Heather lie back and placed a small towel over her groin then lifted the gown to reveal her tummy. Heather blushed a deep red as he began palpitating her abdomen. After five minutes, he raised the gown to expose her nipples.

Linda gasped at what she saw. Heather blushed even deeper. Gently the doctor probed the slight swelling around the nipples and carefully touched her nipples. The reaction was fast. Both nipples swelled and erected. Heather closed her eyes and bit her lip in embarrassment.

"All right, Heather," Dr. Reichard said. "How long have your nipples been sensitive?"

Astrally, Heather had tagged and astral monitor in the doctors brain as soon as he had entered the room. Now she probed deeper in an effort to determine what time frame he had in mind. When she'd located his expectations, Heather whispered in a timid voice. "I first noticed they were sensitive around Thanksgiving. I thought it would go away but it's gotten worse. Do I have an infection in them?"

"No, there is no infection," Dr Reichard smiled. "You appear to be developing breasts. I'd hazard a guess that you're about a 'AA' cup size."

"But that's impossible," Heather gasped in feigned shock as inwardly she was delighted. "I'm a boy, boys don't just grow breasts, do they?"

"Some do," Dr, Reichard replied trying to keep Heather's worry in check. "There is a condition called gynecomastia where boys develop breasts. It's rare but not unusual and there is nothing to worry about." At that point he pulled the gown back into place as he told the nurse to attach the stirrups.

Heather had no idea what he meant but was soon to find out. If she thought she was through the embarrassing part of the exam she was sorely mistaken.

Soon Heather's feet were mounted on the stirrups and held in place by velcro ties. Once securely strapped into the contraption, the doctor spread her knees as wide as possible, Seated on a stool with wheels, he rolled between her legs. Gently he prodded her groin, carefully lifting her penis to probe the area immediately underneath.

Heather began to whimper due to the utter humiliation. Even with her eyes squeezed shut and biting her lips, tears still trickled from her eyes.

"It's okay, Heath," Dr. Reichard soothed. "I'm almost done. Then you can get dressed."

After a few minutes, Dr. Reichard stood and smiled. "You can get dressed now. When your ready, step out into the hall. Nurse Wagner will be waiting to bring you to my office so we can go over the results."

Heather eagerly removed the nasty gown and hurriedly donned her own clothes. While the exam was embarrassing, thanks to her ability to read auras, she knew the nurse and doctor were primarily concerned with her well being.

In a few moments nurse Wagner lead Heather and Linda to Dr. Reichard's office. As they were seated, Dr. Reichard smiled.

"First off, Heather, all the tests and my exam show that you are quite healthy." Dr. Reichard began. "However, there are several areas of interest that effect your transsexualism. First off, you are developing breasts. The blood work revealed your testosterone levels are quite low while your estrogen levels are quite high. Any doctor looking at your levels would assume you are a 12 year old girl who has recently entered puberty."

"Oh wow," Heather enthused. "So I really am a girl!"

Linda was more than a bit startled. "How can that be?"

"The rest of the tests will explain that," Dr. Reichard nodded. "The x-rays reveal that in bone structure, while not like a girl, is more female than male. In addition, the sonogram showed evidence of ovaries and a womb. The palpitations I performed are consistent with the sonogram results. Heath, I know this is a bit embarrassing but I need to ask. Have you ever had an erection?"

Heather blushed deeply and took a deep breath. "No," she hesitantly replied.

"I didn't think so," Dr. Reichard nodded. "Your penis is smaller than normal, but even more telling is there is no evidence of testicles. But the most telling is the gender sequencing done on your blood. Normal female is XX while normal male is XY. Your gender chromosome read as XXY which means you are intersexed."

Linda was stunned. Heather was beaming. "So that means that I really am a girl, right?"

"Yes and no," Dr. Reichard said. "Actually, you are both male and female, but without testicles, the female portion has become dominant."

"I'll take that," Heather giggled with glee. "So that means I can start living as a girl, right?"

"That's not my call," Dr. Reichard cautioned. "Dr. Alterson is the one to make that decision. While I'm confident that you are intersexed leading to the feminine side, we still need to do more tests. I'd like to have a full body MRI and CT scans to determine how feminine you are. If it looks like your ovaries and womb are functional, we'll need to schedule surgery as soon as possible."

"NO! Never, I won't let you cut out my girl parts," Heather exploded in near panic as she stood facing the doctor with fists clenched.

"Heavens no," Dr. Reichard soothed. "I'd never remove them unless you agreed to it, which I don't see happening. "Your hormone balance has you in puberty. Girls about your level of development usually begin menstruating. If that happens to you it could be fatal."

"So I'll die if I don't agree to have them cut out," Heather flopped back in her seat as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"No, Heather," Dr. Reichard chuckled. "What needs to be done is to operate to open your womb to the outside. If you menstruate without having an exit for the discharge, you'll develop blood poisoning. After the scans, I'll have a gynecologist check the results and then you. If everything shows functional ovaries, we need to create an opening for the discharge."

"Oh," Heather nodded as she dabbed at her eyes. "You mean you'll turn my weiner inside out to create a vagina?"

"Possibly, but we can't be sure how to proceed until we get the scans and you're checked by a gynecologist," Dr. Reichard answered. "I'll send the results I have to Dr. Alterson. I've already asked Nurse Wagner to set it up for the MRI and CT scans for tomorrow and an appointment with Dr. Julie Grayson
on Friday. Dr. Grayson is the best gynecological surgeons in the area. If all everything checks out, we'll set the corrective surgery up for next week."

"Isn't that a bit fast?" Linda asked as she was still trying to wrap her mind around Heather being intersexed.

"Under the circumstances, no," Dr. Reichard replied. "If Heather's ovaries are functional she could be in the midst of her first period now."

Heather smiled dreamily at the prospect while Linda sat there gobsmacked.

Linda was still in a daze as they headed home to pick up Kathy from school.

As she climbed into the back seat, Kathy knew something was up by Linda's semi-vacant appearance and Heather's grin. "What's going on?"

"I'm a girl," Heather exclaimed. "We're sisters! The tests show I'm intersexed which means I've got girl parts and boy parts. Only the girl parts seem to be in control."

All right," Kathy squealed. "I got a big sister!"

"Mom, after we're done with Dr. Alterson, I'd like to go out for a nice dinner to celebrate my girl birthday," Heather enthused. "Can we call dad to come home early?"

As soon as they arrived home the girls ran to their rooms to change into nice skirt and sweater sets. Linda called Keith and gave him the results of the tests. He too was flabbergasted although the results did make him feel less guilty for failing to properly raise his son.

Dr. Alterson greeted the Davis family and led them to her office. First she verbally reviewed the results of the tests and exams Heather had taken that day and answered any questions. Kathy seemed distraught that Heather's life could be in danger but Dr. Alterson was able to reassure her the danger was not yet immediate and the most likely had one to two months. But having the surgery as soon as possible would mean she'd be healed before she had to deal with flow. Keith sat there gripping the arms of his chair so tightly his knuckles were white.

"It's obvious you're pleased with results," Dr. Alterson smiled at Heather. "Kathy, how do you feel about having a big sister?"

"Great," she enthused with a big grin on her face.

"I'm going to love and support Heather in this," Linda smiled tightly. "It's just a lot to assimilate in one day."

"I'll say," Keith agreed. "I'll support and love my child, whether male or female."

"Thanks," Heather beamed. "So can I stop being a pretend boy now?"

"Soon," Dr. Alterson cautioned. "We need to get the results of the tests scheduled for tomorrow and the exam with Dr. Grayson on Friday. After that it would be best to wait until after the corrective surgery. Dr Grayson has reviewed the results of all your tests and exams as well as my report on you. She's convinced you need the surgery and has reserved a surgical suite for 10:00 am on Monday. Since you'll only have half days at school for Thursday and Friday, I think it would be best to go as Heath. Of course you'll miss school on Monday due to the surgery and at least through Wednesday but possible all next week to allow you to heal. When you return to school after the surgery, you can return as Heather. That will give us time to get the legalities taken care of. You'll have to have a lawyer get your name and gender changed and we'll need to contact the school so they are aware and change your records and attendance as well as notify all the teachers. I don't think it will be necessary to hold an assembly like we did for Kylie, but I'm sure Principal Forrest will do something to remind the students to treat you with respect."

Although a bit disappointed, Heather understood it would be better if she waited until after the surgery to reveal herself. "My friends and I are doing in a Tsunami Relief concert Sunday at our Church. Will it be okay if I do it as Heather?"

Dr. ALterson looked at Linda and Keith to get their take on the request.

"I think it will be okay," Keith said. "But I'd like to let Pastor Kline know ahead of time. Dr. Alterson, can you e-mail a synopsis of Heather's condition to the pastor?"

"Of course," Dr. Alterson smiled. "Send me the pastor's e-mail address. Who are your friends?"

"Kathy and I as well as Kylie and DJ along with Kylie's boyfriend Billy and his brother Bobby," Heather smiled. "We call ourselves NGender. We've been taking music lessons and it will also be the debut of our band."

"It sounds like you're putting a lot of effort into this," Dr. Alterson said.

"They are phenomenal," Keith added. "Their voices just blend together in a way that is absolutely wonderful."

"It sounds like something I'd enjoy," Dr. Alterson replied. "Where and what time is the concert?"

"It's at St. Michael's Church at 7:00 pm," Kathy replied. "If you want a good seat, come early."

"Okay, it sounds like you expect a lot of people," Dr. Alterson smiled.

"I played my flute for Christmas Eve and everyone loved it," Heather smiled. Then our group, we call ourselves NGender, gave them a preview of what we can do last Sunday. Everyone raved about us."

"That's putting it mildly," Linda agreed. "I'm sure word of mouth will fill the place."

*****