Mr. Markham turned toward his students and addressed one specifically. “Miss Johansson, Doctor Van de Meer needs for you to go to her office right now,” he said extending a hall pass to her. Then speaking sotto voce, he added, “We have a new student whom she’s asking you to escort here. My guess is that the two of you may share one or more classes.”

Alice clipped the hall pass to her lanyard. “I’ll be on my way then,” she confirmed with a smile.

☆ ☆ ☆

“Here she is!” Dr. Lansing announced. “Come in, Alice. We have a new classmate for you to meet.”

“This is Ceri ferch Arwen and her mother Doctor Arwen Jones,” Dr. Van de Meer began introductions. “They’re from Swansea, Wales. Doctor Jones came here recently to join the Engineering Faculty at Lawrence and Behrens University.

“Ceri, Arwen, this is Alice Johansson. Arwen, Alice’s father recently became Chairman of the Mathematics Faculty there, so you might even know him already.”

“Is he Doctor Gunnar Johansson then?” Arwen asked Ceri’s new classmate.

“Yes,” Alice affirmed. “He’s my Dad.”

“Ceri, you and Alice share homeroom and at least—German, English, Geometry, History—at least four classes, so I’d like for Alice to escort you to those. Also, you share two other courses, Earth Science and Computer Science, with Brandon MacDonald, another classmate from your homeroom.

“Alice, I’d like you to introduce Ceri to Brandon since you’re both in Mister Markham’s homeroom and also in Frau Becker’s German One during first period, so he can escort her to Mister Danvers’ Earth Science for second. Then, you and Ceri can meet up again for third period in Freshman English. Since you’re all in American History with Ernie Markham sixth period, Brandon can then take her to Computer Science for seventh.”

☆ ☆ ☆

“Where go we now, Alice?” Ceri asked.

“Mister Markham’s classroom is on the third floor,” replied Alice. “Oh! Were you wearing that same uniform at Billings Square yesterday afternoon? My friends and I couldn’t figure out what nearby school might have that uniform.”

“Yes, was I,” confirmed Ceri. “Is the uniform from Swansea-Abertawe Secondary School.”

Alice noted the new student’s strong accent sounding neither English nor Scottish but having a rather unusual syntax. Ceri followed her new classmate up the staircase.

“So then, Ceri, do you speak with a Welsh accent?

“Mostly. Invert I my word order, too.”

“Mom’s from Germany and Dad’s from Sweden, so I hear their accents at home,” remarked Alice. “Also, my older sister Sophie and I often speak German with Mom. We can sometimes talk in Swedish with Dad, but not very often.”

“Speak Mum and I Welsh at home,” said Ceri, “but brought she me to America so hear I more English spoken. Spoke all my mates and neighbours mostly Welsh in Swansea.”

Alice noticed that Ceri’s inverted syntax was consistent and regular even though unusual. So long as Alice paid attention to what Ceri was saying, she could understand her easily enough.

“Does everyone there speak Welsh?”

“No. But prefer few neighbourhoods in Swansea always to speak Welsh. Speaks most everyone else English. Teach Swansea-Abertawe Secondary School most of our lessons in Welsh, though.”

“In Great Britain, I would think that most of your classes would be taught in English.”

“Are most lessons in English at most schools, even in Wales, although must study all Welsh students the Welsh language. Are taught most other lessons in English. But teach very few schools, like Swansea-Abertawe, almost all lessons in Welsh.”

“Let’s find your locker, Ceri. The four-digit number should be shown on your schedule below your name and after your class status.”

“Oh, I bet it’s that one!” Ceri said pointing down the corridor to a locker with balloons floating over it.

“That’s Marla Peterson’s work!” Alice informed her new classmate. “She tries to welcome new transfers and exchange students with a personal touch of sorts. I kinda forgot that she does that.”

They walked quickly along the corridor to the colorfully decorated locker. Red, white, blue, and green balloons were tied to the handle from which they floated above the locker. Small flags of Wales, the United Kingdom, the United States, and California were attached to the corners of a sign boldly printed with the greeting:

CROESO, CERI!

Tearfully, Ceri looked at Alice.

“What does it say?” Alice asked her.

“Croeso means ‘welcome’ in Welsh.”

“Then let me welcome you to West Grove High School!” Alice offered Ceri a firm hug and they embraced for a moment. “As of today, this school is as much yours as it is mine.”

☆ ☆ ☆

“Doctor Lansing, Doctor Van de Meer, you both just witnessed how Ceri’s idiosyncratic ‘dialect’ works,” said Doctor Jones. “She’s extremely anxious in unfamiliar social settings, like when meeting new people. Then her English lapses into her native Welsh syntax. But when you asked her a question about something in her native language, you led to her strong suit. She knows much about the Welsh language and is very proud of it. Her stress vanished when she explained that to you, so then she spoke in perfectly normal English syntax.”

“Remarkable!” commented Dr. Van de Meer. “Then I’m glad that I listened to my intuition. Placing your daughter in Mariko Nakamura’s third period English class is likely the right call. Although American-born, her mother tongue is Japanese and she described a similar difficulty with using English syntax as a child. So she may be especially sympathetic to Ceri in that regard. But I placed her in Miss Nakamura’s class mainly because your daughter’s academic files showed such a strong interest in poetry. Mariko’s published poetry in Japanese and English has received national acclaim in both Japan and the United States.”

“While Ceri was still known as a boy, his poetry won top awards at eisteddfodau [pron. ay-steth-VOD-aye] for his academic year three years running. Both he and his teachers received national recognition as a result.”

“What’s eistedd—?” Dr. Lansing asked.

“The eisteddfodau are traditional Welsh festivals of literature, music, and the performing arts held since the twelfth century.”

“That’s an honor of some antiquity, then,” Dr. Van de Meer acknowledged. “Very impressive!”

“I had long thought that Ceri’s issues over gender identity began the slow collapse of our marriage. But yesterday, as we were about to depart Billings Square, Ceri mentioned that while Gareth had custody of her before she left Wales, he spoke only Welsh to her and that he seems to hate her speaking English more than her being transgender. Nonetheless, here we are now.”

“I doubt Ceri will encounter any Welsh speakers here,” Dr. Lansing promised, “unless she teaches them herself.”

“Seph, don’t even joke about that,” Dr. Van de Meer cautioned her with a good-natured smirk. “I saw the glint in her eye when Ceri was explaining her name. That girl’s a natural teacher. She could have all her classmates conversant in Welsh by summer vacation!”

“She’ll have them composing poetry in Welsh not long after!” Arwen retorted in laughter.

☆ ☆ ☆

“Billie, come with me!” Kelly commanded him.

“But I have to go to the substance abuse workshop.”

“After what you’ve told me, I think that you need to talk with Doctor Cooper as soon as possible. He can write you a note for the workshop,” said Kelly. Then turning to another friend, she asked, “Teri, would you tell Mister Danvers like I’m taking someone to Doctor Cooper’s office? I’ll be just a little tardy to class today.”

“Sure!” consented Teri. “Know how long? We have to give our report this morning.”

“Doctor Cooper won’t keep me longer than necessary,” Kelly reassured her friend and classmate. Turning back to her crossdressed friend, she grabbed his arm with her own free hand and ordered, “Billie, let’s go!”

Kelly led him out the door and to the stairs. Billy found keeping pace with her a challenge. He thought that her stride seemed longer than it should be for a petite girl like Kelly. Then again, she was more accustomed to wearing stiletto heels than he.

They were descending the stairs already. “Billie, I’m really angry about someone throwing that brick through your window.”

“I am, too,” Billy concurred, “but I think like you’re even angrier about it than me!”

☆ ☆ ☆

Frau Becker laughed quietly to herself. Alice was followed through the doorway by Ceri wearing a British schoolgirl’s uniform, then by Brandon dressed as “Brandi” once again. The teacher noticed a look of surprise on Valerie’s face as she made eye contact with the new girl. Alice nodded to Valerie apparently to confirm something. Frau Becker then beckoned for Ceri to come to the front of the classroom.

“Hi! I’m Frau Jeanette Becker,” said the teacher. “You’re my new student?”

“Yes,” replied Ceri. “Am I from Wales and sounds not my name as in English or in German.”

Frau Becker immediately noticed Ceri’s strange syntax, but Dr. Van de Meer had remarked about this quirk of speech in her brief notes concerning the new student. But if that applied only to her English, it shouldn’t be a real difficulty in the German course.

“Then introduce yourself to the class now, and I will get your name from that,” said Frau Becker, who then addressed the class:

„Guten Morgen, alle zusammen! Heute haben wir eine neue Studentin. Bitte, wie heißt du?“

„Grüße, alle! Ich heiße Ceri ferch Arwen, und ich bin Waliserin. Ich komme aus der Stadt Swansea oder Abertawe in Großbritannien. Dort habe ich Deutsch schon zwei Jahre gelernt.“

„Ceri, bitte schreibe deinen Namen auf die Tafel!“

Ceri took a couple of steps to the whiteboard and picked up a marker to write:

Ceri ferch Arwen

„Bitte, zeig uns auch dein Land auf der Karte!“ said Frau Becker scrolling down a map of Europe affixed to the wall above the whiteboard. Ceri named the places as she pointed them out on the map.

„Danke, Ceri! Setz dich bitte neben Valerie! Du wirst ihre Studienpartnerin sein“, Frau Becker told her new student, pointing to the vacant seat next to Valerie.

With a big smile, Valerie waved Ceri over to her lab desk. “Was that you in Billings Square yesterday?” Valerie asked her new deskmate and lab partner. “We couldn’t figure out what school your uniform was for.”

„Ja. Gestern bin ich am Billings Square gewesen. Die Uniform ist für meine alte Schule, Swansea-Abertawe Secondary School“, replied Ceri.

“Would you repeat that?” Valerie asked.

„Die Uniform ist für meine alte Schule, Swansea-Abertawe Secondary School“, said Ceri again but more slowly.

“Thanks, Ceri. I’m so happy to have you as a lab partner. I’ve had a hard time in this class without one.”

“Are you welcome. Is what your name again?”

“Valerie,” she answered. “Valerie Schmidt.”

“Is it German name?”

“Yes, it is. My great-grandparents came from Leipzig.”

“How would you say it in German?”

„Meine Großeltern… haben… aus Leipzig… gekommen“? Valerie more guessed than stated.

“Almost,” Ceri allowed. “What kind of verb is to come?”

“A verb of motion?”

Ceri nodded with a smile, then continued to prod Valerie’s, “What’s another verb of motion in English?”

“Go?”

“What’s that in German?”

„Gehen“?

“That’s right! So what’s the perfect tense?”

„Sein gegangen“?

„Ja!“ Ceri confirmed. “Now, try the longer sentence again!”

„Meine Großeltern sind aus Leipzig gekommen“?

„Was bedeutet ‚Großeltern‘ “?

“Grandparents?”

“But is that what you want to say?”

“No! I want to say ‘great-grandparents,’ but I don’t know the word.”

“The word is ‚Urgroßeltern‘.”

„Meine Urgroßeltern sind aus Leipzig gekommen“?

“Say it like you know it’s true!”

„Meine Urgroßeltern sind aus Leipzig gekommen.“

“That’s it!” Ceri smiled to Valerie and relaxed a little. „Dein rotes Kleid ist sehr schön, Valerie.“ Ceri especially liked the bateau neckline and ruffled hemline of Valerie’s short red dress.

„Vielen Dank! Ich habe es gestern am Billings Square gekauft.“

„Ich trage gerne hübsche Kleider“, Ceri added to say that she likes wearing pretty dresses.

Neither Ceri nor Valerie knew that Frau Jeanette Becker had been watching and listening to their exchange. Jeanette sighed in relief as she realized that Ceri was indeed a natural teacher, just as Xee had noted in her remarks. Also, Frau Becker noticed that while Ceri was helping Valerie with her German, Ceri’s odd English syntax became normal.

☆ ☆ ☆

“Good morning, Doctor Cooper!” Kelly beamed to the vice-principal. “D’you recall meeting my friend Billie here?”

“Yes, I do,” replied Dr. Cooper. “What’s up?”

“Uh—I’m not sure what to say—,” Billy began.

“Someone threw a brick through Billie’s front window!” Kelly announced. “I’m sure it’s an act of bullying.”

“Do you agree with Kelly?” Dr. Cooper asked Billy. “That it’s bullying?”

“I think so. As I was leaving, Mom was calling the Sheriff’s Office. She said that we’d need a police report to file a homeowner’s insurance claim.”

“Kelly, thanks for bringing Billy to me,” the vice-principal assured her. “Here’s a hall pass for you. Get to class now. The rest of our talk needs to be private.”

“Billie, I’ll see you again in Geometry fourth period,” Kelly promised as she left, closing the office door behind her.

“Okay, Billy, who’s coming after you?” asked Dr. Cooper. “You don’t need to worry about having any proof just now.”

“The guy’s tall and thin with closely clipped white-blond hair. I’ve seen him talking with Barry Kingman between classes and especially during lunch.”

“That sounds like Chuck. You’re not the only one whom he and Barry Kingman have been harassing. They’re apparently going after Brandon MacDonald and a couple of his friends now that he’s substituting as a cheerleader for Abby Abernathy.”

Billy just shook his head.

“When I woke up today, I was actually excited to put on this dress and wear it to school. And I was feeling good about it until we found out that someone threw that brick through our window.”

“So you were excited about wearing a dress to school today?”

“Yes. When she told me that I’d have to do this, Doctor Lansing said like I needed a wake-up call more than punishment.”

“So now, you like dressing up as a girl?”

“I seem to be going that direction, don’t I,” Billy admitted.

Dr. Cooper grinned and snickered at the boy. But then the vice-principal changed his demeanor to signal a return to more serious matters.

“First, keep me in the loop about anything that even looks, sounds, feels, or otherwise seems in the slightest like bullying. Don’t worry about showing proof. I’m not a cop or a judge. As an educator I have more discretion to act when and how I see fit. I do bring in law enforcement when I need to. Like, I can call a deputy from the West Grove Sheriff’s Office right after we’re finished talking here. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to call your mom, too.”

Billy opened his purse and withdrew a small writing pad and a pen. He wrote something down and handed Dr. Cooper a note. “Here’s my cellphone number, Mom’s, and our home telephone.”

“Thanks, Billy!” Dr. Cooper offered as he scribbled a note, himself, and attached it to a hall pass. “This is for you to get into your substance abuse workshop.

“Also, you should talk to Brandon MacDonald and his friends. They may very likely know more than I do right now.”

“I’ll prob’ly see them at lunch,” said Billy.

“Oh! One more thing, Billy…”

“What?”

“Nice dress!”

“Thank you, sir!” he beamed.

☆ ☆ ☆

Brandon, Alice, Valerie, and Ceri huddled together outside Frau Becker’s classroom to exchange information quickly right after class.

“Ceri, when Frau Becker offers us assignments for extra credit, she gives the instructions in German at the end of one class and then again in English at the beginning of the next,” remarked Valerie.

“Next week, Frau Becker will be celebrating Oktoberfest in her classes,” Alice paraphrased the German-language text as she scanned it. “We get extra credit for wearing any Trachten—that’s any Dirndln or Lederhosen to school.”

“And where do we find Trachten in West Grove?” Brandon wondered aloud.

“You might come to Kaufmann and Kaufmann’s at the mall,” Valerie suggested. “Greta asked me and a couple of other models to wear Dirndln this weekend for the mall’s Oktoberfest promotion. She also keeps a few in inventory for sale. You’d look so cute in a Dirndl.”

“Sophie and I have a few Dirndln that you could borrow,” said Alice. “At least one should fit you, Brandi. And Ceri, you’re welcome to try one on, too. I think that your new house isn’t too far from ours.”

“Thank I you for that,” Ceri offered in her idiosyncratic syntax.

“We need to get to our next class,” Valerie warned Alice, since they needed to go downstairs three floors.

“Ceri, you’re scheduled in the same Earth Science class as Brandi, so you should go with her,” said Alice. “Val and I have to get to the Music Room now, but we all take Freshman English from Miss Nakamura third period. We’ll meet again there.”

So Valerie and Alice began to hurry down the corridor while Brandon led Ceri to the nearest stairway.

“Earth Science is on the top floor where the freshman lockers are,” Brandon explained as they began their ascent. “Fortunately, mine is close to Mister Danvers’ classroom.”

“What’s in the instrument case?” Ceri asked.

“I play violin.”

“Is it too big for your locker?”

“No, but I feel safer keeping it with me.”

“Wore you never shoes like those until now, Brandi, have you?” Ceri observed as her new classmate was wobbling in stiletto heels.

“No, you’re right. I haven’t.”

As they emerged from the staircase, Brandon saw Jenny waiting next to his locker. “Let me introduce you to my girlfriend,” he said doubling his pace. He set his violin case on the floor as he shed his backpack in almost a single motion. Brandon and Jenny kissed briefly but passionately.

“Jenny, I’d like you to meet Ceri ferch Arwen. She’s our new classmate from Wales,” Brandon announced. “Ceri, this is Jenny Chang, my girlfriend.”

“Pleased to meet you, Ceri!” Jenny greeted her with a warm hug. “Welcome to West Grove High School!”

“Pleased to meet you as well, Jenny,” Ceri returned her greeting, although feeling overwhelmed by such an unexpectedly strong embrace.

“Jenny, Ceri may be at a disadvantage since she doesn’t quite know my real identity,” said Brandon. “She did notice me wobbling in my shoes, though.”

“Ceri, the reason that Brandi was wobbling in her shoes is that she’s actually my boyfriend Brandon and this is only his second day dressed as a girl.”

This was something that the new transfer student had not even imagined might happen at a new school in America. Is Brandi—Brandon—like I am? wondered Ceri. I must tell Mum! I’m not the only one like me here!

“Thought I said Doctor Van de Meer that show Brandon me to the next class.”

“I go by ‘Brandi’ when dressed as a girl. I’m guessing that Doctor Van de Meer forgot that detail.”

“Believe me, Ceri,” Jenny laughingly told her new classmate, “this is new to everyone—especially Brandi!”

☆ ☆ ☆

“Tomorrow’s the last day of your workshop, Billie,” Holly Lloyd reminded him.

“Too bad!” Billy replied as he submitted a machine-scoreable answer sheet and a blue test booklet in which he’d written a brief essay. “I’d rather be in here than in Mister Torkelson’s study hall.”

“Skipping your study hall got you into so much trouble. So why didn’t you take another class instead?”

“I had only planned for seven classes. I didn’t find out like I’d need an eighth until I came in to enroll.”

“You weren’t the only student with that problem. The school board didn’t decide on the new eight-period schedule until August. And then, the district office sent out the enrollment package for the seven-period schedule by mistake.”

“So that’s what happened! And I end up with a boring study hall that I skip to smoke weed.”

“Still, you could’ve found something else to do, Billie.”

“I guess so,” he conceded, “but I had no idea what.”

“How do you like dressing up as a girl every day?” Mrs. Lloyd said, switching subjects.

“I was really scared at first,” Billy admitted. “And I thought like Doctor Lansing was trying to humiliate me for the entire semester. But honestly, it’s not so bad, now. Not at all! Mom and my friends are all helping me learn to dress up and it’s starting to be fun. When Mom and me went shopping for this dress yesterday, the store owner hired me to model dresses for the weekend.”

“Hmm? Billie, you look like you could model as a girl,” the teacher assured him.

Billy grinned as he felt himself blushing. “Thanks, Mis’ess Lloyd,” he said. “But it does seem kinda crazy that my first job is to model girls’ clothing!”

“That brick-throwing incident doesn’t seem to have bothered you too much?”

“No, not really,” the crossdressed boy replied. “If anything, it’s made me even more determined to get through this on my own terms.”

Mrs. Lloyd smiled at him. “Why would you ever think that you needed marijuana?”

“That’s explained in my test essay,” Billy answered. “Briefly put, I was imitating the wrong guys.”

The bell rang to signal the end of first period.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Billie?” Mrs. Lloyd asked.

“You can count on it!”

☆ ☆ ☆

After talking to Dr. Cooper about the brick incident and taking Mrs. Lloyd’s test about substance abuse, Billy was especially happy to get to his Electronics 1 class for second period. However, when Billy went into the classroom, the stool was missing from his lab station. Doug Barlow, his lab partner, was sitting atop his own, giving him a cold stare. “I don’t want no queer sittin’ next to me,” Doug told him.

Billy suddenly felt an angry disappointment at Doug. He’d tried to help out his lab partner as much as possible since the school year began. Doug had seemed a decent guy, or so Billy had thought, but apparently, he was uncomfortable with a crossdressed lab partner.

Mr. Kelsoe approached their lab desk and addressed Billy, “Would you come with me, Mister Danziger—?”

“Don’t-cha mean ‘Miss’ Danziger?” Doug rudely interrupted with a smirk.

“Watch it, Mister Barlow!” the teacher called him out. “You’ve already caused sufficient trouble this morning. You might try leaving well enough alone!” Again, he addressed Billy, “I’m sorry about that. David Hamill has offered to be your new lab partner, if that’s okay with you?”

“Me and Dave have always been a good team,” Billy informed his teacher. “I look forward to working with him again.”

“Then go join Mister Hamill at his lab desk,” Mr. Kelsoe directed Billy. “You can help him setting up circuits for today’s lesson.”

Billy walked to his new lab station to the left of Dave Hamill’s at the back right lab desk, where he put down his backpack and silver lamé purse.

“Welcome aboard, Billy!” Dave greeted his friend. “I’m happy to have you as a lab partner. I’ve seen what you’ve done in here. You do good work. Doug’s too stupid to know how much you were helping him.”

“I had no idea that he was so bigoted.”

“He prob’ly doesn’t, either,” remarked Dave. “I think we all have prejudices that we aren’t even aware of. I need to apologize to you for what I said in homeroom Monday morning.”

“Why? What did you say?”

“I said that you were ‘the girl of my dreams.’ ”

“Oh, that? If I’m the girl of your dreams, then you need help worse than I do!” Billy dismissed Dave’s remark with a chuckle. “So, are you and Val still a couple?” Billy asked as he took his textbook and trifolio from his backpack.

“Where did you hear that we’re a couple?”

“Dave, everyone in middle school knew like you and Val were dating,” Billy told his friend.

“We weren’t dating!” Dave denied. “We just like going places and doing things together.”

“Sorry to tell you this, but everyone else calls that ‘dating.’ ”

“But Val and me agreed it wasn’t dating, no matter what anyone else says,” objected Dave.

Billy thought it better not to press the issue with his new lab partner. Everyone at West Grove Middle School had known the truth anyway. Valerie was taller than Dave and both were sensitive about it, thinking their “backwards” relative heights to be socially unacceptable. Yet their classmates thought it perfectly alright, even regarding Dave and Valerie as a “cute couple.” Maybe they were a little behind the times. After all, in a community where same-sex couples were coming out and interracial couples were almost commonplace, a girl taller than her boyfriend was no longer even interesting. Yet as Dave and Valerie were so sensitive about it, seldom did anyone raise it with them.

“So you really hafta dress like that all semester now?” Dave asked as he began retrieving electronic components from drawers in their lab desk. Although he’d heard the gossip, he hadn’t actually talked to Billy about it himself.

“Yeah, although now that I’ve been wearing skirts and dresses for a few days, I’m getting used to them,” admitted Billy. “Honestly, they’re more comfortable than pants, but these heels can begin hurting after only an hour or two.”

“Well, let me go on record as saying I think like you’re cool to go through with it.”

Billy sighed with a satisfied grin. Yet another person had called him “cool” since he began dressing like a girl.

“Thanks, Dave!”

Mr. Kelsoe walked back to their table and addressed Billy, “Mister Danziger, you may not know that lamé fabrics can build up quite a static charge, so you should wear an anti-static line and use a rubber mat as a ground. You should recall that both are in your bottom drawer. In the future, you should avoid wearing lamé on days when we do lab. It’s okay to wear for lectures, discussions, and tests, although for lab, I’d recommend something like the denim skirt that you wore Monday.”

Billy crouched down to get the safety items from the bottom drawer as mentioned by his teacher.

“Billie, you’re such a pretty hazard!” Dave teased. Billy and even Mr. Kelsoe chuckled at his remark.

“I’m sorry, Mister Kelsoe!” Billy apologized. “I hadn’t even thought about that.”

“You might find it practical to study the electrical properties of various fabrics,” their teacher suggested. “By the way, that’s a very nice dress and my older daughter would prob’ly be jealous of you wearing it.”

“Thanks, Mister Kelsoe!” Billy offered as he stood up and looped the anti-static line around his left wrist. “And I will look into fabric properties. It does sound like an interesting topic.”

“Yes, it does!” Dave agreed. “Every material has some kind of relation to electricity. And many are prob’ly useful. We just don’t usually think of fabrics like for their electrical properties.”

“Right you are, Mister Hamill!” said Mr. Kelsoe. “Right you are!”

☆ ☆ ☆

“Miss Nakamura, this is Ceri ferch Arwen, our new transfer student from Wales,” Alice introduced her newest classmate to their teacher.

“I’m pleased to meet you Miss Nakamura,” Ceri said as she presented a card to her teacher and pointed out that this class of Freshman English was listed on her own course schedule.

“Welcome, Miss Ferch Arwen! I’m happy to meet you as well,” the teacher said returning the greeting as she accepted the enrollment card from her. “I see that you have your textbook already. Miss Johansson, I’m assigning Miss Ferch Arwen the seat between you and Miss Schmidt.”

Another pair of students walked up to Mariko’s desk. “Good morning, Miss Chang and Mister—uh—Miss MacDonald?”

“That’s right, Miss Nakamura,” replied Brandon. “I’m presenting as ‘Brandi’ on Thursdays and Fridays for the remainder of football season, at least.”

“I got the memo about what you’re doing and why,” Miss Nakamura told him. “So I expect no less than an essay or two about your experiences en femme.”

“No good deed goes unpunished,” remarked Jenny.

“Now Jenny, this is an opportunity for Brandi to have interesting and unique experiences. I’m hoping that she’ll share them with us by writing thoughtful essays,” Miss Nakamura reminded them. “And for what it’s worth, I think it’s lovely that Brandon would volunteer to substitute for Miss Abernathy when the cheerleaders needed help. You’re showing both compassion and courage by doing this.”

“You think so?” Brandon asked.

Yes, I do,” Miss Nakamura affirmed. “And I also think that most boys would benefit from such an exercise as you’re doing.”

“I didn’t know that you’d get brownie points in our English class for dressing en femme,” Jenny quietly remarked to Brandi as they went to their seats.”

“Well, they’re not exactly brownie points,” replied Brandon. “After all, any points are contingent on my writing the essays.”

☆ ☆ ☆

After Alice had introduced Ceri to Dr. Lang in their Geometry & Mathematical Reasoning class, the teacher stopped her for a moment.

“Alice, this is for you,” said Dr. Lang presenting the girl with a brief document bound in a transparent report cover. “It took longer to find the kind of problems that I think you’d enjoy working on, but you should like these.”

“Thanks, Doctor Lang!” Alice offered as she began walking back to her seat.

“What be that?” Ceri asked.

“Doctor Lang has assigned problems to Brandi and me to solve and submit the solutions to publish in a math journal. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill homework problems.”

☆ ☆ ☆

Having completed the quiz for his geometry class, Brandon took his answer sheet to Dr. Lang’s desk and placed it on the front left-hand corner (with respect to his own seat). As usual, he was the first to complete his quiz.

Savannah smiled when she made eye contact with Brandon. Still, she’d noticed that he was wobbling some in his shoes. Seeing a boy being so feminine was the most charming thing that she’d seen a student do since she began her teaching career. Opening the door, she stepped into the corridor and he followed her out.

“Brandon, you’re so pretty!”

“Actually, I prefer to go by ‘Brandi’ whenever I’m approximating a girl, Doctor Lang.”

The smile on Savannah’s face broadened when her star pupil mentioned “approximating a girl.” More than anything the young crossdresser deserved a warm, strong embrace, but no teacher dared do that nowadays. Nonetheless, she could encourage him by more acceptable means.

“I do like your turn of phrase, Brandi,” Dr. Lang praised her student. “ Approximating a girl? How did you think that up?”

“Well, I can’t ever really be a girl, but each time I dress like one, I hope to do so a little better than before,” Brandon explained. “So I’m thinking in terms of successive approximations.”

“Brandon—Brandi, you’re as smart and sweet as you are cute and clever. And don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise!”

The boy-become-girl blushed yet again. His favorite teacher had just said the most affirming things about him. Suddenly, he felt more than just four inches taller. The feminine garments he wore suddenly seemed to caress him. He stood firmly in his shoes, not a hint of wobbling.

☆ ☆ ☆

Brandon was on his way from Dr. Lang’s classroom to the school cafeteria when his smartphone rang.

“Hello! This is Brandon…”

“Brandon MacDonald?…”

“The very same!…”

“I’m Gloria Holt calling from Blaise Devereaux’s office. I’m letting you know that he’s scheduled you for an intake at four-thirty this afternoon…”

“Sorry, I can’t come this afternoon,” said Brandon continuing towards the school cafeteria. “Could you reschedule it?…”

“Doctor Devereaux doesn’t allow the intake to be rescheduled,…” Miss Holt answered him.

“That’s too bad because I’m not coming…”

“But you must! Doctor Devereaux said to stress how important the intake appointment is…”

“Then he should’ve called before scheduling it without asking me,” the boy remonstrated. “I thought that he were arrogant enough already!…”

Entering the cafeteria, Brandon sat down at the first long, rectangular table available, slightly stumbling to it as he wasn’t quite comfortable in his four-inch (10 cm) ankle-strap stiletto heels. He laid his violin case in front of him on the table.

“So why can’t you come at four-thirty today?…”

“Because I have a previous commitment. That’s why!…” Brandon replied while Jenny, Alice, and their new classmate Ceri all sat down to his right. He reached his right hand out to hold Jenny’s left. Seeing the look of consternation on his face, she grasped his hand in her own and held it firmly.

“And what would that be?…” Gloria inquired.

“Orchestra rehearsal,” replied Brandon. “I play violin in the West Grove Youth Orchestra. We rehearse every Thursday afternoon at four-thirty…”

“Oh! Doctor Devereaux must not have known that,” the secretary-receptionist remarked. “He’s given you a standing appointment at four-thirty every Thursday…”

“He did what?…” Brandon exclaimed incredulously. He slowly began the breathing exercises that Doctor Windham had taught him to use when he felt anxiety building.

“He’s scheduled all your sessions with him at four-thirty every Thursday afternoon….”

“So then I can simplify the problem. Cancel the appointments,” Brandon told Miss Holt. “Cancel them all! He’s fired!…”

“But he’s—…”

“He’s no longer my psychotherapist!” Brandon summarized his decision. “Perhaps I’m not the most knowledgeable about medical protocol and professional courtesy, but I think that he could do better than to schedule a standing appointment without even asking whether the patient be available…”

“If you could come today, then we could try to reschedule your standing appointment…”

“No, it’s not so simple for me to miss rehearsal. Since I’m the assistant concertmaster, I have responsibilities to the orchestra beyond just playing my own instrument. Besides, the orchestra is my favorite activity outside school. I schedule everything else around it…

“No, Miss Holt, I don’t believe that « monsieur le docteur » cares about what’s important to me. I don’t trust Doctor Devereaux. I won’t have my therapy sessions with him…

“Again, he’s fired,” Brandon reiterated. “Cancel any and all appointments scheduled for me. Goodbye, Miss Holt!…”

“Goodbye, Brandon,…” sighed the office administrator and set the telephone handset on its desk cradle. Now, Gloria had to tell her boss that his newest patient had canceled in no uncertain terms.

☆ ☆ ☆

„Hast du jemanden jetzt gerade entlassen, Brandi?“ Alice asked, having heard only the closing words of the call.

„Ja! Ich hab’ meinen Therapeuten Herr Professor Doktor Devereaux entlassen!“

“What did she say?” Jenny asked Alice.

“Brandi fired her therapist Doctor Devereaux!”

“Yes!” Jenny squealed loudly, pumping her fist vertically as punctuation. “Fuck you, 死鬼佬 [sei gwei-lo]!”

“Now, Jenny, did you say something naughty?” Alice teased.

“I’m sorry! It’s kinda racist. Really, the epithet 死鬼佬 [sei gwei-lo] is the worst racial slur we have for Europeans in Cantonese. It translates as ‘nasty white devil.’ I shouldn’t’ve said it. Please, forgive me?”

Alice smiled as she patted Jenny’s hand softly. Even Ceri nodded in sympathy although she had little understanding of the circumstances.

“So why’d you fire ’im, Brandi?” Alice probed.

“Two reasons: first, when Doctor Windham introduced us, Doctor Devereaux was very rude to Jenny,” recounted Brandon, “hence, her most joyful outburst just now.

“Next, his secretary called just before you came in to say like « monsieur le docteur » had scheduled my therapy sessions at four-thirty every Thursday afternoon.”

“But that’s orchestra rehearsal!” objected Alice.

“Exactly!” Brandon continued, “So when Devereaux’s secretary said that he wouldn’t let me reschedule, I told her to cancel all of my appointments and that he was fired. Besides, he never even asked if I were available at that day and time.”

“I would’ve expected better from a professional,” Jenny remarked, then turned to ask Alice, “Do you play in the orchestra, too?”

“Yes,” Alice affirmed. “I play viola.”

“She’s our assistant principal violist,” Brandon added.

“So, did you fire him in English or French?” Jenny asked Brandi.

“I only talked with his secretary,” Brandon answered. “But if monsieur le docteur were on the telephone himself, I think like I know enough French to have fired him in his native language.”

Billie and Kelly entering through the back door, arrived from the other side of the cafeteria. They sat down to Brandi’s left.

“What’s up?” Kelly asked.

“Brandi just fired her therapist,” Jenny reported.

“Doctor Windham?” Kelly exclaimed in surprise.

“Oh, no! Not her,” Brandon assured her. “It was Doctor Devereaux.”

“The French dude?”

“That’s him,” confirmed Brandon. “He didn’t think that he should ask before he scheduled all my therapy sessions during orchestra rehearsals. So I’ll ask Doctor Windham to find me a new therapist.”

About that time, Valerie and Debbi entered and took their accustomed seats at the table.

“Who here hasn’t met Ceri?” Valerie asked.

“Holly and Teri aren’t here yet,” Alice noted, “but I think like they both met her in our English class.”

Ceri nodded to confirm what Alice said.

“Then Sheila, Melinda, Mark, and Jeff still need to meet her,” reckoned Brandon.

“We need to add like another table at one end, Val,” Debbi advised her friend.

“You’re right,” Valerie conceded. She pointed to an empty table near the opposite end of their long, main one. “Like, could a couple of you guys put that one down at the end?”

Brandon and Billy heard that request as if it were addressed to themselves, so they complied and moved the shorter table end-to-end with the longer one. Then each dragged a pair of chairs over as well. Both found the operation somewhat more challenging than expected while wearing short dresses and stiletto heels.

“Thanks for doing that,” Valerie offered.

“Not a problem!” Billy replied.

“Maybe not for you,” Brandon remarked sotto voce, “since you’ve had two or three days more than I have to get used to wearing heels.”

“Being a girl is not for the timid!”

“Now you tell me!”

Billy and Brandon returned to their seats. Kelly whispered quietly to Billie, “I’m proud of you,” and kissed her gently on the cheek.

Jenny noticed Brandi wobbling on her heels. “You’re still unsteady on those,” she told her boy-become-girlfriend. “Now, you said earlier that you brought a pair of flats with you.”

“Yeah. Sheila reminded me to bring those.”

“Then let’s change your shoes before you go for the lunch queue.”

“That’s not necessary. I brought a bag lunch today. Anyway, I do like being a little taller, so I don’t want to change shoes right now. I can rest my feet during lunchtime.”

“Brandi, let’s change your shoes!” Jenny insisted. “If you sprain an ankle, you won’t be able to cheer tomorrow night. The longer you wear the stilettos today, the greater your risk of injury. Honestly, helping Billie move that table while wearing those heels was really pushing your luck.”

Brandon found Jenny’s reasoning perfectly sound and his feet were rather tired. So he nodded to her in agreement and opened his backpack to get the ballet flats. Jenny patted her lap and her boyfriend extended his feet to rest them there. She gently unbuckled the ankle straps and took off his shoes. She gestured that he should hand her the flats, which she slid over his nylon-clad feet. Jenny easily buckled the ankle straps on his flats. He put his feet down on the floor and stood up.

“Jenny, these make my feet look big.”

The girls around the table giggled, snickered, or simply laughed.

“Brandi, more than anything you’re wearing, that remark tells us like you’re really thinking as a girl does,” said Debbi. “Every girl feels vulnerable about her appearance somehow. For you, it’s your feet; for me, it’s my hips and butt; for another girl, it’s her boobs, her nose, whatever.”

“Your feet look big, Brandi, ’cause they are, just like mine!” Valerie reminded her. “Remember? We wear the same shoe size. And I kinda like that about you.” She flashed a comforting smile at Brandi. Then Valerie thought about the pair of cheer shoes in her locker, still in their box. She’d worn them just once.

“There’s an unexpected lesson in girlhood for you,” Jenny remarked as she took the containers with her lunch from her backpack. “Most girls do feel vulnerable in some way.”

“I never thought about it that way before,” Brandon admitted as he sat back down next to Jenny. But to him, Jenny seemed perfect, the cutest girl in the world. Yet she’d hidden her musical talent. Did she feel vulnerable in her music rather than her appearance somehow?

“Society doesn’t judge men’s appearance quite so harshly as it does women’s,” Alice remarked. “We worry about more of our physical traits looking wrong. Brandi, Billie, you both look nice enough that more than a few girls at this school are jealous of you already.”

“Really?” Billy asked.

“Oh, yeah!” Debbi confirmed. “Someone’s doing a good job teaching you how to use makeup. Your face looks beautifully feminine as you’ve done it.”

“That would be my mom, mostly, although my sister and her roommate got me started.”

Brandon zipped open a larger pocket on his backpack and withdrew a small, plain brown lunch bag and a can of cola. “Usually, I’ve brought my own lunch since kindergarten, but from time to time, a hot lunch is nice,” he told Jenny. “Besides, last week was kind of hectic, so it was easier just to get lunch here. Still, I prefer to bring my own choices.”

“I can understand that,” agreed Jenny. “That’s why I bring mine, too.”

“I liked dinner at your uncle’s restaurant yesterday. I didn’t realize that the dining rooms in the back were so elegant.”

“It took a lot of time, effort, and money to get it exactly the way Uncle Li wanted it, but he and Mei-Ling are justifiably proud of it now.”

“I’m guessing that Mei-Ling does the art?”

“Yes, she’s the art director. Many of the paintings displayed there are her own works, although even more are on consignment from her students and colleagues. The Western and European artwork is almost all on consignment from her colleagues’ students.”

Brandon became aware of the Goth artist Melinda approaching them.

“Jenny, you wore it!” Melinda remarked as she walked up to the table. “I just knew you’d look great wearing Steampunk!”

“I really like how it looks on me. I just wish that I weren’t the only one wearing it, though.”

“You need to go with me to the boutique again,” Melinda suggested. “By the way, I overheard you and Brandi as I came over. So who’s an art director?”

“My Aunt Mei-Ling,” replied Jenny. “Do you remember all the artwork in my Uncle Li’s restaurant? My aunt’s responsible for either creating or collecting it.”

“Wow! We’ll hafta go—,” Melinda began but her attention was interrupted. “Hey! Is she the girl we saw at Billings Square yesterday?”

“Yes, she is,” replied Valerie as Mark, Jeff, and Sheila arrived at their table. “Everyone who just got here, I’d like you to meet our newest classmate, Ceri ferch Arwen. She transferred here from Wales just this morning. Her mom teaches engineering at Larry and Barry.

“Ceri, the group who just came in are Melinda Baxter, the Goth girl, and Mark Albertson, her boyfriend, Sheila MacDonald, who’s Brandi’s older sister, and Jeff Padgett, who’s their next-door neighbor.”

“What school is your uniform from?” Sheila asked.

“ ’S it from my old school, Swansea-Abertawe Secondary School,” said Ceri. “Wear almost all students school uniforms in Great Britain. Thought I that wear I new uniform here.

“Flew I from London to Los Angeles wearing my school uniform. Took I the train from there to Paso Robles. Collected Mum me there and drove us straight to Billings Square for afternoon tea. But told she me then that wear not most Americans school uniforms. Felt I sad because hoped I for new one.”

“Oh no! Don’t be sad for that!” Kelly pled. “Your uniform is very close to our own school colors. Wear that again to school tomorrow and to the game. You look like you’re a West Grove High schoolgirl already!”

“So think you?”

“You’re one of us now!” Kelly then led a quick, quiet round of applause for their new classmate.

“Yes, Ceri, you’re one of us,” affirmed Valerie. “I hope like you’re not too overwhelmed by all this, though. We do have a tendency to come on too strong.”

“Oh, do they ever!” Brandon confirmed while Alice, Jenny, and Kelly broke into giggles and laughter.

“Ceri, please, come and join me and Billie in the lunch line,” Kelly offered. “We’ll show you what’s safe to eat here.”

☆ ☆ ☆

Ceri, Billy, and Kelly had taken their places at the end of the lunch line when Kelly heard the ringtone of her smartphone. She had tucked her purse inside the sling holding her left arm and took the ’phone out with her right hand. She noted “Union Charities Mission” in the display.

“Hello! Kelly speaking…”

“Kelly Riley-Harrigan?…”

“Well, I go by ‘Kelly Harrigan’ but Mom still uses her maiden name professionally. And to whom am I speaking?…”

“I’m Sylvia Brennan with Union Charities Mission…”

“Oh good! I’ve been expecting your call…”

“I apologize that it’s taken a couple of days to get back to you…”

“That’s okay! I need to arrange a schedule with you for community service…”

“That’s great! We’re understaffed for the weekend. Would you be available Friday at dinnertime?…”

“Sorry! I’m a cheerleader and we have a game Friday evening. I’m available all day Saturday, though…”

“Would you prefer a shift beginning at noon or at four? They’re both four hours…”

“I think noon would be better…”

“Could you also do noon Sunday?…”

“Not this weekend,” Kelly declined. “Sunday’s kinda booked for me this time. But I will be available most Sundays. Could I do two shifts Saturday? I kept the whole day open until you called back…”

“I don’t think that doubling a shift your first day would be a good idea,” Ms. Brennan cautioned her new volunteer. “There’s a lot going on. Would you be available after school one day next week instead?…”

“I’m free Monday afternoon, if that works?…”

“That’s great!” Sylvia replied in obvious relief. “I didn’t have anyone else available to work Monday at dinnertime. What time can you be here?…”

“About four forty-five, if that’s okay?…”

“Your shift would be four forty-five until eight forty-five. Can you handle that?…”

“I should be able to,” surmised Kelly. “That still leaves enough time for my homework…”

”Then we have a schedule for Saturday and Monday,” Sylvia noted. “Your experience with those will help determine your longer-term schedule…”

“I’m coming up to the lunch counter, so I’d better go,” said Kelly. “Thank you for returning my call, Miss Brennan. G’bye!…”

“Goodbye!…”

“Who was that?” Billy asked.

“That was the director at Union Charities Mission,” replied Kelly. “I have my hours now for Saturday and Monday.”

“Union Charities Mission?” Ceri inquired.

“I got in trouble for underage drinking, so Mom’s making me do eighty hours of community service by New Year’s Eve,” Kelly explained. “Union Charities Mission is a local soup kitchen and shelter that tries to help folks recover from alcohol and drug abuse.”

“Kelly’s mom is a federal judge,” Billy added. “She’s given Kelly the same kinda punishment that she’d give another teenager in court.”

“You need to tell Ceri about your punishment here,” Kelly reminded Billie. “Our advice on the school cuisine is like the Italian food is okay and like the vegetarian meals are both safe and tasty. Anything else is at your own risk!” Kelly took a protein bar, an energy bar, and a banana from the counter to drop on her tray.

“Like I’m going for a protein bar, an energy bar, an apple, and a diet cola,” Billy said as he placed the protein bars and apple on his tray. Then he continued, “You prob’ly won’t believe this, but I’m a boy! I got in trouble a few days ago and Doctor Lansing offered me a choice of getting expelled or dressing like a girl for the rest of the semester.”

“You’re a boy?” Ceri asked in amazement, taking a protein bar, an energy bar, and an apple from a fruit basket on a lunch tray, just as Billie had done. “Would I never guess that. And like I your dress.”

Ceri had noticed that her classmates paid with smartcards. Then she read the sign over the cashier’s station:

NO BILLS OVER $20 ACCEPTED

Ceri took a thin travel wallet from her purse. Mum had given her a $50-banknote this morning, but she couldn’t use it here. She still had a $5-banknote remaining from yesterday morning when she had a small snack aboard the Coast Starlight. All her coins, American, British, and European, were mixed together in one pocket of her travel wallet.

“Am I sorry,” Ceri apologized. “Have I five-dollar banknote and fifty-dollar banknote. Is my other money either quid or euro.”

“You have a fifty-dollar bill?” Mrs. Brown asked as she looked in the cash drawer. “I have so many fives right now that my drawer keeps jamming. Your fifty is good here today.”

Mrs. Brown and Ceri exchanged smiles as they concluded the transaction. Ceri placed her change on the lunch tray and stepped off the queue as the next person behind her moved forward.

“Your first day here and grumpy Mis’ess Brown smiles at you and accepts your fifty-dollar bill?” Kelly exclaimed in surprise and admiration. “That’s gotta be a favorable sign for you coming to school here!”

“I don’t think Mis’ess Brown is grumpy,” Billy dissented.

“Well, I bet you will after you’ve had two or three more weeks of a fun, girlish lifestyle, Billie!” Kelly retorted. “You’re already adjusting to girlhood faster than you realize. That was clear to us at West Grove Mall yesterday. I think like you underestimate your own resolve.”

I can’t believe it! Ceri thought listening to Billie and Kelly. Two of my new classmates are like me. Mum told me that West Grove would accept me as transgender more easily than Swansea, but I never expected this!

☆ ☆ ☆

Brandon retrieved his psychiatrist’s number from his smartphone’s database and dialed the call. He heard her ’phone ring twice then the voicemail answered:

“This is the voicemail for Doctor Teri Windham. If this is an emergency, hang up and call nine-one-one. Otherwise, you can leave a message for me after the tone…”

Beep!…

“Doctor Windham, this is Brandon MacDonald calling…

“First, today is ‘Fashion Day’ so I came to school wearing a new dress and stiletto heels and I feel great, although the shoes did hurt just a little, so I swapped them out with a pair of flats…

“Next, I need a new therapist. Devereaux never bothered to ask when I’d be available for intake and therapy. So he scheduled all my sessions with him at four-thirty every Thursday. This is when I have orchestra rehearsal. Devereaux’s secretary said that he won’t reschedule the intake, so I fired him!…

“That’s why I need a new therapist…

“Thanks, Doctor Windham! I hope to talk to you soon. G’bye!…”

Brandon ended the call and smiled to Jenny and others who overheard him leave the message.

☆ ☆ ☆

Billy, Kelly, and Ceri were returning to their table when three of Kelly’s teammates waved them down.

“Hi there, Colleen, Isabel, Anabel!” Kelly addressed them. «¿Qué tal?»

“We just wanted to see Billie wearing his—her new dress,” said Colleen.

Billy put his lunch on the table and quickly twirled to show off the dress. He was glad that Greta Kaufmann had shown him the correct way to do the move. Both Kelly and Valerie noticed that he’d done it properly.

“Oh, Billie!” Colleen addressed him. “Anyone who looks as glamorous as you should never be allowed to dress as a boy again!”

“That’s for sure!” Kelly agreed.

“Whaddya think, Sis?” Isabel asked Anabel.

“Billie, why would anyone blessed with gifts like yours ever want to dress like a boy?” Anabel followed up.

“Maybe ’cause I am a boy!” Billy asserted.

“Doesn’t mean you have to dress like one,” said Isabel giggling. “I couldn’t wear that dress, but you look great in it!”

“Thanks!—I think?” Billy replied.

“Anabel, Isabel,” Kelly addressed the twins. “Have you met our new jayvee cheerleader Brandi yet?”

“Coach Brenda has mentioned her—him,” Anabel said turning to face Brandon. “Do you prefer Brandon or Brandi?”

“I prefer to be called as however I’m dressed. It’s easier that way.”

“I like your dress, Brandi,” said Isabel. “That’s a real pretty blue.”

“Thanks, Isabel! I like both your dresses, too. Are they new?”

“Yes, they are,” replied Anabel. “We got them at West Grove Mall yesterday.”

☆ ☆ ☆

Penney and Tillie met their classmates Debbie Armstrong and Tiffany Wheeler, both fellow sophomores and majorettes, at a circular table near a corner of the cafeteria.

“I can’t believe like Billy Danziger wore that silver dress to school today!” Tillie fumed.

“Yeah!” Tiffany concurred. “It’s supposed to be a punishment. He’s not supposed to like it.”

“And he certainly shouldn’t look so good doing it,” added Debbie. “It’s bad enough like Brandon looks altogether too pretty.”

“I’ll never forgive Kelly for suggesting Brandon sub for Abby on the cheer squad,” promised Tillie. “A boy cheerleader? Whatever was Coach Brenda thinking?”

Penney disagreed with her friends. She thought that Billy and Brandon were both cool to be dressing like girls. She and most of the jayvee squad were grateful to “Brandi” for taking Abby’s place while the injured cheerleader recovered. Only Tillie was really upset by it among her teammates. Even the varsity squad supported the crossdressed boy on the team. Penney had always gone along with her best friend’s opinions before, but this time, Tillie was ungrateful and just wrong.

“Oh, I dunno,” Penney almost sang out. “I kinda wish like more boys would dress up as girls. Getting them to participate in Gender-Bender Day was just so frustrating!”

“Ew! You gotta be kidding!” Tillie retorted. “Even the idea of boys wearing panties, bras, and dresses creeps me out.”

“The reason that it’s hard to get boys to participate in Gender-Bender Day is like they know better,” Tiffany added.

“But maybe Penney’s right,” Debbie remarked. “I’d hope like if boys wore dresses, it might reduce the odor of testosterone in the air around here.”

Penney laughed as she and Debbie exchanged high-fives. Tillie and Tiffany just frowned.

Tiffany then looked briefly at Tillie with a nasty grin before speaking to her. “If Brandi wants to be a cheerleader, she should be dating a football player, shouldn’t she?” the majorette suggested.

“Yes, she should!” Tillie agreed. “Thanks for bringing that up, Tiff! Now, I hear like three of the football players are gay. I think like Brandi should get a personal invitation to our party Saturday evening, everyone.”

Penney and Debbie exchanged anxious glances as they knew what the other two had in mind. Tillie would press the personal invitation with Brandi while Tiffany enticed the gays on the football team to come to the party. But Penney knew for a fact that Brandi—Brandon, really—was very much in love with Jenny. Neither Penney nor Debbie felt like eating her lunch after that.

☆ ☆ ☆

“Have you seen Brandon’s—er, Brandi’s new dress?” Savannah asked Brenda. “She’s so pretty in it.”

“No, I haven’t,” the cheerleading coach replied. “But I told my jayvee girls not to push him to participate in ‘Fashion Day.’ He still needs time to get used to wearing the uniform.”

“I doubt anyone needed to push him, Brenda,” said Savannah. “He looks more than pleased with himself to be wearing that new dress. And so was Billy Danziger. I don’t know if I could pull off wearing that silver dress, but he—or she—looks great in it.”

“I’m happy to hear how Billy’s dealing with the discipline that I’ve assigned him,” said Dr. Lansing. “I told him that he needed a wake-up call more than a punishment, anyway.”

“And apparently, Seph, you got through to him,” said Dr. Cooper, “After talking to him this morning, I think that’s how he understands it.”

“That might be a breakthrough at West Grove,” remarked Xenia laughing gently. “Imagine a student perceiving discipline to be for his or her benefit! That’s unprecedented!”

Xenia’s colleagues chuckled or snickered at her observation.

“Savannah, you have both Brandon and Billy in your classes?” Seph queried.

“They’re both in my Geometry class fourth period,” Dr. Lang confirmed. “Why?”

“I was wondering if they might have any classes together,” replied the principal.

“They’re in the same homeroom,” Dr. Van de Meer observed.

“Ernie Markham’s?” Seph asked.

“That’s right,” said Xenia.

☆ ☆ ☆

“Billy wadn’t talkin’ about the brick in homeroom today,” Barry complained. “It was like he didn’t even notice it.”

“I ain’t heard nobody else mention it, myself,” concurred Chuck. “So wha’ we gonna do now?”

“Don’t know just yet,” said Barry and drained the remaining cola from his can. “Any idea you can think up’ll be ’preciated.”

Chuck emptied his own can of caffeinated citrus-flavored soda. “Gotta put my mind to it for a while.”

They got up from their table, leaving their lunch trays and empty soda cans behind.

☆ ☆ ☆

Dr. Cooper noticed that Barry and Chuck had left their beverage cans on the table. “Anyone have a pencil?”

“I do,” said Dr. Lang as she took a simple wooden one with sharpened point from her purse and gave it to her colleague.

“Thank you, Doctor!” James offered. “Excuse me, everyone. I need to collect some evidence right now.” Taking the pencil, the vice-principal immediately stood up and went to a counter used for napkins, straws, drink-lids, and similar items. From there, he took a couple of paper bags and went to the table just vacated by Barry Kingman and Chuck. He wrote each name on one of the paper bags then inserted the pencil into the opening of the empty cola can and upended it into the bag with Barry’s name. Dr. Cooper repeated the procedure for Chuck’s caffeinated citrus soda.

The vice-principal took his newly bagged evidence to the lunch table where his colleagues were sitting.

“Forensic evidence, Jim?” inquired Seph.

“Something like that,” said James as he flashed a quick grin. “Someone threw a brick through the front window of Billy Danziger’s home overnight. I got a hunch that fingerprints from at least one of these beverage cans will match those on a message attached to that brick.”

“So I've heard. But Billy seems apparently unphased by it,” Xee remarked. “Now what’s next?”

“One of my contacts in law enforcement can take these to a forensics lab,” Dr. Cooper explained. “Oh! Savannah, thanks for the use of your pencil,” he offered as he returned it to her.

“You're most welcome, Jim,” Savannah grinned as she stowed the pencil in her purse.”

☆ ☆ ☆

“Kelly, can you help me at the bookstore before next period?”

“Sure! What’s up?”

“I don’t know what I need to wear for a ‘pep squad.’ ”

“If we go right now, we can take care of it before class,” Kelly said rising from her seat. She and Billy scampered out of the cafeteria on their way to the campus bookstore, leaving Brandon and Jenny alone at their table.

“Finally!” Brandon exclaimed and Jenny giggled in agreement. He unzipped the large pocket on the outside of his violin case and took out two quarto-sized scores. “Here’s the music that I brought for us today. Beethoven’s Sonatas for Violin, Opus Twelve, was his first set. The three sonatas are in ‘D’ major, ‘A’ major, and ‘E-flat’ major, respectively.” He handed the piano scores to his girlfriend, keeping the violin parts for himself. He returned these pages to the music pocket on his case.

“Connie said that I should be able to start on these now.”

“Connie? Who’s she?”

“Actually, ‘Connie’ is Connor Harrigan, Kelly’s older brother. He was my teacher for three years, until two months ago when he left for college in Philadelphia.”

“So you took lessons from Kelly’s older brother?”

“Uh-huh,” Brandon affirmed. “We both started with the same teacher, David Lennox. But when Doctor Lennox retired, he couldn’t find anyone locally to continue teaching us beyond what we had learned already. So he suggested that since we were just across the street from each other, Connie should take me on as a student. Doctor Lennox was right, though. Connie’s been a really good teacher.”

“So is he studying music now?”

“Oh, yeah! He won a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music.”

“Omigosh! He’s at Curtis?”

“Yep!”

“That’s the best music school in the country! Maybe in the whole world!” Jenny paused to take in the news about her boyfriend’s teacher.

“I do kinda miss ’im,” said Brandon somewhat wistfully. “I learned so much from Connie. He’s such a good teacher! Still, I’ll never play as well as he does.”

“Don’t think that way, Brandi! He’s older than you, so he’s been learning longer and has more experience. So don’t give up on yourself!” Then Jenny thought that asking his advice about the new music might encourage him. “As for the Beethoven, anything technical that I should know about these pieces?”

“First, if you haven’t run across it before, the smaller single staff above the grand staff is the violin part. It’s there so you’ll know what I’m supposed to be playing.

“Next, Beethoven does a few strange things with ornaments. In the “Theme and Variations” of the first sonata, he writes turns directly over bar lines. Have you run across that before?”

“No. What’s it mean?”

“I think it means to start the turn on the note before the bar line but to finish before the next downbeat.”

“Seems straightforward enough to me.”

“But still, we have to listen for how it sounds. If we have time, we could ask Maestro about it at rehearsal today. And then In the “Rondo,” Beethoven writes a trill over a turn. I think it means to play the trill followed by the turn, but I'm not certain.

“Although Beethoven only wrote Sonatas for Violin in the title, the pianist is often as much a soloist as the violinist, not just an accompanist. So expect your part to be no less demanding than mine.”

“It's always good to know what to expect. What’s the other piece you got there?”

“Dvořák’s Romance in ‘F’ Minor for Violin and Piano, Opus Eleven-‘a’. He had composed it for violin and orchestra, then reduced the orchestral score for the piano. It’s prob’ly more demanding than Beethoven’s Opus Twelve, but I really don’t know piano well enough to be sure about that.”

Jenny accepted the Dvořák quarto from Brandon and began to look at it but noticed the time. “We’d better get going to class,” she said.

“You’re right,” Brandon concurred as he stood up and returned the violin part of Dvořák’s Romance to the music pocket of his case.

Ever the gentleman, even when dressed en femme, Brandon stood first to assist Jenny as she arose from her seat.

☆ ☆ ☆

Kelly led Billy very quickly to the campus bookstore, pulling him by her right hand.

“Not so fast, Kelly! I’m still new to these heels.”

“I know, but I hafta get to Spanish and you?”

“Freshman English from Miss Nakamura.”

“Here we are! All the official school spiritwear and accessories are in front of the dressing rooms at the back,” said Kelly pointing to a sign over that end of the store bearing the word SPIRITWEAR. The two continued to walk as quickly as they could without knocking over any displays.

“How do I know what to get?”

“You will look best in a royal blue top… it’s actually a polo shirt. What bra size have you been wearing?”

“Uh—‘B’?”

“That looks about right,” Kelly remarked as she took a royal blue polo shirt with the school logo trimmed in crimson and white from the girls’ rack. She then took a pleated crimson skirt and held it against Billie’s dress. “This waistline looks a little too small for you.” She put the skirt back and took the next larger size off the rack.

“What kinda shoes do I wear with this?”

“Congratulations, Billie! You’re thinking like a girl now!” Kelly gently kissed Billie on the cheek. “Plain white canvas tennis shoes with white ankle socks are traditional if you have them, but don’t worry about it if you don’t.”

“How about accessories?”

“The most basic are a pennant and a small megaphone.”

Billy took a pennant and a small blue megaphone to put in the shopping basket with the other items for the cashier to ring up.

“The total for all this is seventy -five dollars and twenty-five cents,” the cashier announced. “Cash, check, or charge?”

“If you can’t cover it all right now, I can loan you whatever you need,” Kelly offered. “I trust you.”

“Thanks, but Mom gave me a credit card for just such an occasion. So far, this silver dress, shoes, and purse are all that I’ve used it for until now,” said Billy as he presented the credit card to the cashier. “Please, charge it to this card, ma’am.

“I didn’t know that girls could go shopping as fast as we just did,” Billy remarked to Kelly.

“Oh, when we girls go shopping, we like to take hours and try on everything we can. This was more like an emergency clothing run right now.”

“Emergency clothing run?” Billy asked as the cashier returned the card and proffered him a receipt for the transaction.

“That’s what I call it,” said Kelly. “Sometimes you just gotta have something!”

☆ ☆ ☆

« Bonjour, Brandi ! »

« Bon après-midi, Rhonda ! »

“You look so pretty in that blue dress,” whispered Rhonda to her lab partner, “but you changed your shoes. You were wearing stilettos in homeroom. Did you have trouble with those?”

“Yeah,” Brandon answered in a whisper. “I was wobbling on them all morning. Jenny suggested that I should switch them for my flats. She was afraid that I might sprain an ankle and not be able to cheer at the game tomorrow. She suggested that I should learn slowly how to walk in them and let my ankles get stronger.”

“Well, I do like your flats,” Rhonda giggled. “They’re really cute!”

“Thanks! I think that Jenny wants a pair like these, too.”

“Those have ankle straps just like your stilettos.”

“I like ankle straps. They look more girlish, at least to me.” Still, Brandon thought that the flats made his feet look big, but he chose not to mention it to Rhonda. After all, she was being supportive of him and genuinely liked his dressing en femme.

Meanwhile, Madame Wiszniewski looked sternly at Rhonda who grimaced in embarrassment as the two students put on their headsets.

☆ ☆ ☆

When Billy looked up from the textbook that he was reading, Mariko Nakamura smiled and beckoned him with a gesture to come to her desk. Carefully, he turned, stood up, and walked to the side of her desk in as feminine a manner as he could. She pointed to the chair and Billy sat down and daintily crossed his legs.

“Billie,” the teacher addressed him sotto voce, I think that the best word to describe your appearance today is stunning.”

“Thank you, Miss Nakamura,” he responded, also sotto voce.

“You know, most of the girls in my fourth period class this morning seemed jealous of Brandi and now most of the girls in here look obviously jealous of you,” the teacher informed Billie. “And I’ll admit that I covet your dress! Whence did you get it, anyway?”

Billy was glad that he had checked the footnote for the word whence in the assigned reading for today. Miss Nakamura was subtly testing him. Even when asking him for a fashion tip, she was still an English teacher.

“From Kaufmann and Kaufmann’s at the mall. I got the matching shoes and purse thence as well,” he said, demonstrating that he had also checked the other footnotes. Miss Nakamura smiled yet again at Billie.

“I might’ve known!” the teacher exclaimed, still keeping her voice low. “Would they have it or something similar in my size?”

“Oh! I really don’t know,” Billy admitted. Miss Nakamura was quite small. He guessed that she must have difficulty finding clothes to fit. “When I go back I’ll check on it for you. I’m starting my new job there this weekend.”

“What kind of job?”

Billy really hadn’t thought about telling his teachers what he’d be doing at Kauffman and Kaufmann’s, but since he had told Mrs. Lloyd, he might as well tell Miss Nakamura.

“Modeling.”

“Modeling what?”

“Girls’ fashions.”

“Guess what your essay assignment will be next week!”

“Oh, no!”

“Oh, yes!”

Maybe he shouldn’t’ve told Miss Nakamura, after all? Billy wondered.

☆ ☆ ☆

“Hey there, Brandi, Jenny!” Holly called out to her friends before they entered the stairwell. “D’you remember when I asked if you were a couple? That was like a week ago.”

“Yeah,” answered Brandon with Jenny nodding in agreement. “It was at this same time on Thursday.”

“I kinda heard this morning like you two are a couple now. That true?”

Brandon and Jenny both smiled at Holly. “My parents formally approved us dating at dinner yesterday,” Jenny confirmed for their friend. “So yes, we’re officially a couple now.”

“That’s great!” Holly replied. “I was pretty sure like the two of you would hook up. Even the first day of school, it was clear to me that you two belong together. Here, take a look at this…!”

Holly had withdrawn a moleskin notebook from her purse and opened it to the page labeled “September 2013” at the top. On the line “Tu 3rd,” Holly had notated “Brandon & Jenny ♡.”

“I don’t write down a couple’s names like until I’m certain that they’ll stay together. Oh gosh! We can talk more about it another time. Gotta go! My next class is over at the Lab Annex!”

“Ours is upstairs,” Jenny reminded them. “Thanks, Holly! C’mon, Brandi! Let’s go!”

“G’bye!” Brandon offered Holly as he and Jenny dashed up the staircase.

☆ ☆ ☆

On their way to the Lab Annex, Kelly waved Holly over to a slightly secluded spot in the shade of a tree. Both girls were somewhat apprehensive about what was to come next. Since Holly was the taller of the two, Kelly stood on tiptoe, reaching up behind Holly's neck to deliver a kiss.

Their lips met and both girls let the kiss linger for a moment, before breaking it off. A tingle of passion surged through Kelly, just as intense as she had felt with Billie at the campus gate. Holly? Not so much, really. Yet Holly replied with another kiss right away and Kelly pulled her even closer. Kelly's passionate tingle flowed through her body again and Holly stepped back from her kiss, smiling with a contented sigh. Yet as good Kelly's kisses were, Holly didn't quite experience the passion that she'd hoped to feel from her longtime friend.

☆ ☆ ☆

Brandon and Jenny sat at desks near the middle of the front row in Ernie Markham’s American History class. Rhonda Davies and her new boyfriend, Jimmy Pickering, also sat near the middle of the front row but to the right of Brandon and Jenny.

“I can’t believe how nice Brandi and Billie look in their dresses today,” Rhonda told Jenny. “I’m trying to get Jimmy to wear one for Halloween, but he’s kinda tall.”

“Don’t you like me being tall, dark, and handsome?” Jimmy asked his girlfriend.

“Well, you’re not too dark,” retorted Rhonda. “And you’re still not quite six feet tall.”

“I hope like I’m still handsome enough for you?”

“Oh, definitely!” Rhonda conceded. “Like you’ve even maxed out on the good looks scale.”

Teri was sitting behind Jimmy. “Exactly how tall are you?”

“I’m five feet, eleven inches,” said Jimmy clarifying his height (5 ft 11 in ≈ 180 cm).

Addressing Rhonda, Teri then remarked, “Val’s five-eleven, too. So she should have something to fit Jimmy.”

“Would you wear it, Jimmy?”

“Like I told you before, if you can find a girl’s costume that fits me I will wear it for Halloween,” Jimmy confirmed. “I made you that promise and I will keep it.” He flashed a grin and winked at Rhonda as Mr. Markham entered the classroom.

☆ ☆ ☆

“You girls, come here!” Coach Brenda ordered, indicating the co-captain Penney Bennett, then Rachel Blackwell, Kelly Harrigan, Esther Shapiro, and Sabrina Tanaka. She also needed Tillie James, but the other junior varsity co-captain was absent. The coach pointed to the area in front of herself for the aforementioned cheerleaders to assemble.

“I thought I told you not to press Brandi over ‘Fashion Day’?” Miss San-Giacomo reminded them. “I wanted to ease her into the tradition.”

“I didn’t, Coach Brenda,” Kelly denied. “I was with Astrid at Saint Luke’s to help Double Abby with her assignments, went home to do mine, then went shopping at the mall with Colleen Wright. We met up with the Montera twins there and Billie Danziger and his mom were about to leave when we arrived.”

“I don’t believe any of us talked to Brandon about it,” Penney added. “I don’t think that anyone here knows him outside of class.”

Another voice spoke up behind Coach Brenda. “They’re right, Miss San-Giacomo,” said Brandon. “Kelly is the only one here whom I know outside of cheerleading. I intend to deepen my acquaintance with everyone else, but that takes time, and this is only my third day as a cheerleader.”

“Then who did you go shopping with?” Coach Brenda asked.

“Jenny moved our dinner with her family to her own Uncle Li’s Restaurant downtown near Billings Square. Sheila helped arrange our shopping trip and the others who were with us included Valerie, Debbi, Alice, and Melinda. Also, Jenny’s parents sent her sister Suzanne as a kind of chaperone.”

“Suzanne Chang?”

“Yes, she’s Jenny’s sister,” Brandon reiterated.

“She was an excellent cheerleader for us,” Coach Brenda recalled, “but that was quite a few years ago.”

“She mentioned over dinner that she’d been a cheerleader at West Grove High School.”

“Anyway, I’m sorry that I jumped to a false conclusion,” Miss San-Giacomo apologized. “I should have given each of you a chance to speak first.”

“Coach Brenda?”

“Yes, Kelly?”

“What’s the uniform of the day for tomorrow?”

“Thanks for reminding me,” Coach Brenda offered. “I should’ve begun with that as usual.

“Everyone, wear your sweaters tomorrow!” Coach Brenda announced. “The sweater is easier for Kelly to put on and take off with her wrist in a cast and sling right now. Also, wearing Sheila’s shell and bodyliner would overemphasize Brandi’s smaller chest but the sweater looks fine on her.”

Almost unconsciously, Brandon’s right hand and arm covered his chest.

“Brandi, don’t worry about your chest size,” Rachel Blackwell encouraged her teammate. “Believe it or not, it makes you more like a girl than you may know. After all, every girl starts out flat!”

Brandon suddenly began giggling and the other cheerleaders joined in with giggles and laughter as well.

“Seriously, Brandi,” Rachel continued. “Didn’t you wonder like why they already had bras off-the-rack that fit you as a boy?”

Brandon paused for a moment. The training bra that Sheila had given for Gender-Bender Day had fit him comfortably. And the new bras that he got at Billings Square, one of which he wore now, also fit perfectly.

“Omigosh!” exclaimed Brandon. “Am I really a girl, after all?”

“You do kinda seem like a girl to me,” Penney affirmed smiling.

“Just enough girlishness will always emerge as Brandi needs it,” Rachel predicted. “It’s kinda like a superpower for you.”

Brandon couldn’t stop himself from beginning a new round of giggling.

Kelly was surprised to hear Brandi giggling. Coach Brenda spoke to Kelly sotto voce, “I thought you said that Brandon couldn’t giggle?”

“I’ve known him since we were just three years old and I don’t recall him ever giggling before. Chuckling, snickering, and laughing? All the time! But giggling? No!”

“Everyone, listen up!” Coach Brenda continued. “Hair in twin braids tomorrow, please! Secure with white hair ribbons tied in large bows at the tails. Also, wear your royal blue knee socks. But since the weather forecast for the game is cool and windy, bring a pair of thirty denier pantyhose or sheer tights in case it gets too cold.”

The bell rang to signal the close of the period and the school day.

“Class dismissed!” announced Miss San-Giacomo, but beckoning to Brandi, said, “Come here!”

“Yes, Coach Brenda?”

“Here, Brandi! Someone brought you a gift.”

The coach offered Brandi a shoebox, which she accepted and opened the lid to reveal a pair of black and white saddle Oxfords with Cuban heels and reddish soles.

“These are lovely!” Brandon beamed.

“Valerie Schmidt brought these to Aerobic and Modern Dance today. She said that they should fit you.”

“At lunch I complained that these flats made my feet look big. Valerie reminded me that we wear the same shoe size and that she kinda likes that about me. Anyway, thanks for getting them to me. They look new.”

“I think Valerie wore them only once. Like Sheila, she decided to join the dance team instead,” Coach Brenda recalled. “Your sister should be able to show you how to take care of these.”

Next, looking Brandi’s dress over and noting her genuinely cheerful demeanor, the coach continued, “You really do like dressing up as a girl, don’t you?”

“Oh, yeah!” Brandon answered, looking down as he blushed. “It’s getting to be a lotta fun.”

“I think that I did promise you fun when you signed on.”

“And a real adventure, as I recall.”

“Your cheerleading adventure starts tomorrow,” Coach Brenda apprised Brandi. “I can’t wait to see you in uniform.”

“I can’t wait to wear it!” Brandon admitted. Then waving a decidedly girlish finger wave to Miss San-Giacamo, he offered: „Tschüss!“

Smiling, Coach Brenda returned the finger wave with a giggle. She wondered, was Rachel indeed correct to think of Brandi's newly displayed girlishness as a superpower?

☆ ☆ ☆

Billy, Kelly, Brandon, Jenny and Ceri met just outside the doors of a stairwell on the third floor to go to their lockers.

“Brandi, what did Coach San-Giacamo want with you after class?” Kelly asked.

“Just to give me these,” said Brandon holding the shoebox out to his teammate. “She said that Valerie brought them for me.”

Kelly opened the lid of the shoebox and looked at the saddle Oxfords. “Val gave you her cheer shoes? Those are so pretty!”

“Valerie has been nice to me since Gender-Bender Day,” conceded Brandon. “She loaned me her heels and a matching handbag for that occasion. Now she’s giving me these.”

“Valerie and her friends must want to contribute to your new wardrobe,” Jenny suggested. “After all, they came shopping with us. By the way, how did it feel wearing that blue dress all day?”

“Y’know, I really like it!” Brandon confessed. “I feel kinda silly, but very relaxed. I need to go shopping again for a few more dresses and another skirt or two.”

“Did I hear that right, Brandi?” Kelly inquired. “You want more dresses and skirts?”

“Brandi needs a complete wardrobe for a teenage girl,” Jenny declared. “We’ll be shopping together frequently.”

“And Kelly, you and Billie can join us,” Brandon invited them. “And Ceri, you should come along, too, for our shopping trips. You’re one of us now.”

“I would like that,” Ceri answered. “And could someone walk to the coffee shop with me today? Mum wants to meet with me there for afternoon tea.”

“I could walk with you,” said Billy. “My mom is supposed to meet an insurance adjustor there.”

☆ ☆ ☆

Dr. Lansing banged the gavel a couple of times and everyone quieted down after a somewhat heated discussion of the poor quality of the food service. “I’ve addressed the problem with Nora Brown at the cafeteria. She’s required to purchase all foods from a list of vendors approved by the School District Office. So she and I will go together to the next school board meeting and try raising the issue. I’ve heard similar complaints from colleagues at Pine Forest High School and West Grove Middle School. Until this school year, the food service has always been better than it is now.”

Many of the teachers and administrators nodded in agreement with Dr. Lansing. She herself was frustrated by the lack of palatable meals served in the cafeteria. While no one expected gourmet quality from a high school food service, the meals still ought to be both nutritious and at least somewhat tasty. Only the cafeteria’s Italian cuisine and vegetarian entrées seemed acceptable to students, faculty, and staff. But the food service had always offered more variety as well as better quality. So something was wrong. Was it because orders for the food service were limited to a pre-approved list?

“Any other questions?” Dr. Lansing asked.

“I have one, Seph,” said Dr. Van de Meer. “And it’s an interesting question about Gender-Bender Day.”

“Let’s hear it, Xee,” the principal prompted her.

“Is a boy supposed to learn something specific from dressing like a girl? A student asked me this and I couldn’t think of an answer for him.”

Almost immediately, both murmurs and quiet laughter arose from the faculty. The principal banged her gavel again. “Well, any takers?” Seph asked. “Anyone?”

“Xee, since you brought it up, you’re the first one on the committee,” Dr. Lansing announced. “Anyone else?”

“German language texts from the Renaissance discuss the androgynous ideal of the Rosicrucians,” Frau Becker informed everyone. “I can certainly contribute about that viewpoint. But much of the literature is in Latin rather than German.”

“So I interpret Jeanette’s remarks as volunteering,” said Seph. “Would you be interested in helping out, Siggy?”

“Surely! I certainly don’t get many chances to apply my unique skills very often.”

“Thank you, Siggy!” Seph offered as she added his name to the list. “That’s three, which may be enough, but I’d like maybe another who can add a more modern perspective.”

No one else volunteered.

“I can try to find someone else next week. Any other business?” Dr. Lansing paused but no one spoke up. “Meeting adjourned!” she announced pounding the gavel.

☆ ☆ ☆

“Jenny, why not come and sit in on the orchestra’s rehearsal today?” Brandon asked. “We can finish our homework at On Firm Grounds afterwards.”

“You’re sure it’s okay with your conductor?”

“He might even try to talk you into playing with us!”

Alice entered the music room for the second time today. But she had a different seat, of course, as she was the assistant principal violist instead of an anonymous soprano. She approached Brandon’s desk while he was tuning his violin. Today seemed strange, though. Alice had liked interacting with Brandi all day, but at orchestra rehearsal, she had expected Brandon himself, somehow.

“Hi, Jenny!” Alice greeted.

“Hi, Alice!” Jenny returned the greeting.

“So Brandon—Brandi talked you into coming?”

“He wants me to meet Doctor Carmichael. Do you think it’s okay for me to warm up on this piano?”

“I haven’t heard Maestro stop anyone unless rehearsal was underway.”

Jenny looked to Brandi for confirmation.

“That’s right,” Brandon added. “But if you’re sitting at the piano, students tuning up may keep asking you to sound concert ‘A’ for them.”

Jenny smiled back at Brandon as she stepped slowly to a baby grand of dark cherrywood finish. She checked the lid and noted the stick propping it open at the correct angle. She took off her jacket and the lace gloves and laid them on an empty chair. Then she sat down at the keyboard.

“I was just going to warm up in case your conductor might ask me to play something for him. This is Chopin’s ‘Waterfall’ étude and it’s about two minutes long.”

“It’s okay, Jenny,” Brandon assured her. “So warm up already!”

For two minutes, the attention of every eye and ear in the music room was turned toward the baby grand piano. So no one even noticed when Maestro David Carmichael, D.Mus., stepped out of the adjacent office, as Jenny was commanding his attention, too, until the closing flurry of arpeggios in C major. Then the small audience of early-arrived student musicians and their conductor offered a round of stunned applause.

“Wow, Jenny!” exclaimed Brandon. “That’s your warm-up piece?”

“Brandon—I guess you’re still Brandon?—would you introduce your friend at the piano to me?” a man asked in a British accent. He was about forty, maybe forty-five years and held a baton in his right hand.

“Jenny, this is Doctor David Carmichael, our conductor, our ‘Maestro.’ And Maestro, this is Jenny Chang, my new girlfriend.”

Dr. Carmichael noticed that more of the musicians were arriving and he walked over to the piano and offered Jenny his hand.

“I’m glad to meet you, Jenny,” the Maestro greeted her as they shook hands.

“I’m happy to meet you as well, Doctor Carmichael.”

“Have you ever played with an orchestra before?”

“No.”

“I’d like to talk with you after rehearsal, if you could stay that long.”

Jenny nodded to him. “Brandi brought some music for us to read through after rehearsal,” she told him.

“We’ll begin rehearsal in ten to fifteen minutes,” Dr. Carmichael noted. “Would you remain at the piano until then and help us tune up. Most students who need a pitch will just ask for ‘concert A.’ Hold the note for as long as the musician wants it. Sustain it with the pedal if needed.

“Oh! What grade are you in, Jenny?”

“I’m a freshman this year.”

“Where did you go for the eighth grade?”

“I went to James Earl Carter Middle School.”

“Would you consider an audition with us?”

“Doctor Carmichael, I’ve never played with an orchestra before.”

“Still, I’d like you to try it,” he insisted. “I have a few works that I’d like you to play for an audition. Let me get them for you.” With that, the Maestro scampered back to the Music Room Office and Brandon followed him.

☆ ☆ ☆

Gloria Holt heard the distinctive cadence of Dr. Blaise Devereaux’s footsteps approaching in the corridor. The time was almost half past four but no patient was sitting in the waiting area. Gloria had been unable to convince Dr. Devereaux’s young patient to come in this afternoon, so she expected that he would fire her immediately. Fearing such an outcome, she had printed out copies of her résumé and stashed them in her large purse.

When Dr. Devereaux entered the outer office, he found no one in the waiting area.

“Miss Holt, did you call Brandon MacDonald?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Zen where is ’e?”

“He’s not coming, Doctor.”

“So why is ’e not coming?”

“Because he fired you, sir!”

“What?” exclaimed the Frenchman

“When I called Brandon, he fired you. He attends orchestra rehearsal every Thursday afternoon at four-thirty. It’s a favorite activity for him. He’s very angry that you scheduled his sessions for that time.”

“Get ’im on ze ’phone!”

☆ ☆ ☆

Brian Harrigan drove his Mercedes into a waiting lane of the parking lot just inside the campus gate of West Grove High School. His wasn’t the only car waiting, nor was it even the only Mercedes; two others, both newer models of Mercedes-Benz, as well as an Audi, awaited teenagers. But it hadn’t been so long ago when mostly pre-owned Fords and Chevrolets were the most common vehicles there. Brian could still recall Maureen’s eyes twinkling when he drove up in a new Audi for the very first time.

Cat had told Brian that Kelly was wearing a beautiful dark green chiffon dress but “not her usual style.” He’d wondered just what she’d meant by that, until Kelly and two girlfriends strolled into view. Kelly wore a beautiful, flowing, dark-green tea-length dress and burgundy stiletto-heeled pumps with matching handbag, while one of her friends wore a silver lamé halter-style minidress with matching pumps and clutch purse, and the other, a colorful schoolgirl uniform complete with tartan skirt and blue blazer with white trim, knee-socks, and flat maryjanes. Kelly kissed each girlfriend on a cheek and both returned her kisses likewise.

“Hi, Daddy!” Kelly greeted her father as she dropped her backpack in the footwell behind the passenger seat. “How’s your day been?”

“It’s been productive, thank you,” replied Brian. “I took calls from a couple of my bigger clients, but mostly caught up reading law journals. And I read an interesting article that your mom wrote for The Lawrence and Behrens Journal of Law and Economics. It was about the case at Saint Mary’s Academy.”

“The one when Maureen had to testify?”

“Yes, that’s the one. It’s the only time your mom ever recused herself from a case. And it’s also why your big sister chose to go to law school.”

“When do I get to find out what happened?”

Brian realized that mentioning Cat’s article to Kelly was likely a mistake.

“Not tonight,” he said, knowing that she’d be disappointed. “After all, it’s Maureen’s story to tell and she’s coming home for Thanksgiving.

“But I asked you to dinner so we can talk about you instead. For starters, you look gorgeous! Where did you ever find that dress?”

“Kaufmann and Kaufmann’s. I wore it at a fashion show for Greta a season or two ago. When I went there yesterday evening, it was still on the rack. Since I had really enjoyed modeling it, I went for it. Got a three-chain discount, too!”

Brian smiled at his daughter. “That’s my girl!” he said. “Knowing that you got the price so far down makes you look all the prettier.”

“Thanks, Daddy!”

“Now, I was thinking La Trattoria Nuova de Michelangelo,” said Brian. “Does that work for you?”

“Not tonight, I’m afraid,” replied Kelly. “As much as I like the food there, it’s gonna be too heavy and too spicy for me tonight. We have a pep rally and a game tomorrow, but a dinner there could keep me awake all night. Risking that wouldn’t be fair to my teammates.”

“I guess that rules out The Peloponnesian, too?”

“Greek cuisine would feel just as heavy and spicy as Italian tonight.”

“It sounds like you may want something like Chinese?”

“Actually, that would probably be a good call.”

“Except that we’re both too dressed up for Chinese.”

“No, we’re not!” Kelly beamed. “I heard that Uncle Li’s Chinese Restaurant has an elegant space for fine dining. We should check it out.”

“How did you hear about that?”

“Brandon’s dating Jenny Chang now. She moved in across the Terrace and three houses up the street from us. Anyway, that’s Jenny’s Uncle Li.”

Hmm? Interesting! Maybe she’s beginning to let go of Brandon? thought Brian. “Alright, sweetheart, it’s Uncle Li’s for dinner.”

☆ ☆ ☆

“Hey, Abby! Why so glum?” Colleen asked her fellow cheerleader. “This isn’t like you!”

“I’ve never missed orchestra rehearsal before,” admitted Abby. “Today’s the first time for me. I feel like I’ve let the team down.”

“You play—clarinet, is it?”

“I’m principal clarinetist.”

“How long have you played in the orchestra?”

“Since the fifth grade,” replied Abby. “Isn’t Tillie here yet?

“No, but she should’ve been here by now.”

☆ ☆ ☆

“I’m sorry Doctor, but Brandon MacDonald does not answer,” said Gloria Holt. “It immediately rolls over to voicemail. Given the time, he’s likely in rehearsal already.”

“Alright, Miss Holt,” Dr. Devereaux conceded. “Nothing more can be done today.” The therapist was angry with himself. He seriously underestimated his young patient’s reaction. He figured that the boy would balk at the scheduled intake, but he never expected that Brandon would “fire” him. No, his patient had not hired him, but Dr. Windham had and she might fire him for starting out so poorly with Brandon.

Then Dr. Devereaux recalled what Brandon had told the girls in his hospital room: “My game, my rules!”

☆ ☆ ☆

Brandon followed Dr. Carmichael into the Music Room Office and closed the door behind them.

“Maestro, I have some news that you need to know about, but you probably won’t like it,” said Brandon.

“Would it be about why you’re wearing a dress?”

“In fact, it is! My dressing like a girl is just one consequence of what happened. Abby Abernathy was seriously injured while cheerleading at the Homecoming game on Friday.”

Maestro Carmichael was shocked to hear the news about one of his musicians. “How bad were her injuries?” he asked.

“Really serious,” said Brandon. “Two football players went out of bounds and collided with her. If I can recall everything, she suffered a concussion, a broken arm, a broken leg in two places, three cracked ribs, and a ruptured spleen. She was in a coma for most of the weekend.”

Dr. Carmichael wondered how he might help Abby. “Where is she now?” the maestro asked.

“She’s in the Adolescent Ward at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Hospital.”

Dr. Carmichael needed to turn his attention to other things. “So how is your wearing a dress a consequence of Abby’s injuries?”

“The cheerleading coach learned about my gymnastics background and asked me to take Abby’s place on the squad while she’s unable to cheer. Today is ‘Fashion Day,’ so I’m dressing like the other cheerleaders. Tomorrow, I’m wearing a cheer uniform.”

“How do you feel about doing it?”

“This is the best way that I can help while Abby’s still injured. But it’s still fun for me, too. So I'm more than happy to help the cheerleaders out until she's ready to return.”

“I'm not at all surprised that you'd do that, Brandon,” said the maestro. “Or do you prefer ‘Brandi' now?”

“Call me ‘Brandi' when I'm dressed like a girl,” Brandon answered. “That'll prob'ly be easier for us both.”

Brandon watched Maestro Carmichael take some music from a tall file cabinet next to the orchestra’s desk. He put three pieces of music on top of the desk and the same number in a desk drawer which he then locked.

“I have here solo piano parts for a few works which I think that Jenny should be able to play. How much do you know about her musical ability?”

“She hadn’t said anything to me about it,” said Brandon. “Jenny became very upset when her sister disclosed it to me at dinner yesterday. The first time that I heard her play was the same time that you did.”

☆ ☆ ☆

“Where did you learn to play like that?” Brandon asked Jenny after the other musicians had gone.

“My sister taught me.”

“Wow!” He thought of the local awards that Suzanne had won, yet she freely admitted that Jenny was the better pianist between them. But what he most wanted to know was why she hadn’t told him about her musical talent. For some reason, Jenny seemed almost afraid of it.

“Would you like to try one of the Beethoven sonatas or the Dvořák Romance first?” Brandon asked.

“I’ve played a few of Beethoven’s works before but none of Dvořák’s. So at least I have an idea how to approach the Beethoven sonatas.”

“Alright, then,” Brandon conceded. “Let’s read through Opus Twelve, Number One.”

☆ ☆ ☆

Sitting at the desk in the Music Room Office, Dr. Carmichael turned his attention to the inbox for the orchestra. (There were also distinct inboxes for the band and chorus.) About the middle of the stack was a memorandum from Dr. Van de Meer to a number of faculty and to himself, regarding the accident involving Abigail Abernathy, confirming most of what Brandon had told him as well as providing administrative details not known to students. Dr. Carmichael was quite upset over Abby’s injuries and hoped that her musical talent as a clarinetist had not also been damaged. The maestro had marveled to hear her auditions, firstly as a fifth grade student for a seat in the orchestra, and again the next year to become principal clarinetist.

Yes, Dr. Carmichael regarded himself as lucky to have had a recent succession of brilliant young musicians play for his orchestra: Abby Abernathy on clarinet; Sophie Johansson as principal cellist and her younger sister Alice on viola—but Sophie graduated early and matriculated at Princeton already; and then the two violinists, Connor Harrigan and Brandon MacDonald, residing across the street from one another. Connor had been concertmaster all through high school and Brandon would likely claim that honor when Darla Smythe would go away for college next year. And Connor was now at Curtis in Philadelphia.

But today, Brandon had introduced him to Jenny Chang, whose technical skill at the piano proved dazzling, and her artistic interpretation, passionate. The musical director’s instincts told him that she would be able to perform as a soloist with the West Grove Youth Orchestra, if he could talk her into it.

The maestro had to change his plans. Instead of leaving West Grove before New Year’s Eve, he would stay through the current academic year and return to England for a summer holiday before setting up at Innsbruck. But he had to see and hear how Brandon and Jenny would perform together.

☆ ☆ ☆

Dr. Carmichael finished clearing the desk in the Music Room Office. After all, he shared it with the high school’s band and choral directors. He put a few scores and papers in his briefcase, but picked up a standard letter-sized envelope and put it in an inner breast pocket of his tweed jacket.

Stepping out of the office, the maestro listened to Brandon and Jenny reading through Dvořák’s Romance in F-Minor. He had noticed that they had taken more time in verbal discussion for it than for the Beethoven sonata. Both likely had more experience with Beethoven’s music than Dvořák’s.

“Alright, you two!” Dr. Carmichael addressed his young musicians. “I must go now but cannot leave you unsupervised. Who knows? You might steal the piano!”

Brandon and Jenny just giggled at that.

“Thanks, Maestro, for helping us with interpreting those ornaments in the Beethoven,” Brandon offered.

“That was important for us,” Jenny added. “My music dictionary failed me for the first time.”

“No dictionary can contain everything and one small enough to fit your purse must contain even less,” the conductor joked. “Then for us guys, they publish these small vest pocket editions.” Maestro held up a small, thin volume that he produced from inside his jacket.

“But always keep in mind,” the maestro continued, “that even today, much of what musicians call ‘performance practice’ is an oral tradition, handed down from teacher to student and between musicians. Jenny, that’s an important reason for you to begin playing with other musicians. This can be especially a problem for piano students who mostly practice and play by themselves.”

“So that’s a reason for me to play in the orchestra, then.”

“Yes, it is,” Maestro Carmichael affirmed. “And here are three works for piano and orchestra to look over. I’d like you to consider performing one of them as a soloist for us.” The maestro handed Jenny the piano parts for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, No. 21 in C Major, K. 467; George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue; and Richard Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto.

“Do I get to pick one?” Jenny asked as she accepted the music from Dr. Carmichael.

“Of course,” the maestro clarified for her. “You may request advice from Brandon, from me, or from anyone else. Avoid recordings, though, until you’ve tried the piano parts yourself. But in time, you will wish to listen to a few recordings and hear the pianist playing together with the orchestra.”

Jenny smiled at Maestro Carmichael and put the music in her backpack. Brandon had already put away his violin and sheet music.

“Make certain that you have everything that you brought with you,” the maestro advised from the main door, poised by the light switches. Jenny and Brandon left the room first, then Dr. Carmichael turned off the lights and followed them out.

☆ ☆ ☆

“So Brandi, should we go directly home or to the coffee shop?” Jenny asked.

“Home first,” replied Brandon. “I called a cab for us, because I don’t like to walk around too far with my violin after sundown. It’s not exactly cheap!”

They exited the main doors of the school and a cab was already stopped for them in the waiting lane.

“Number Fifteen Beechwood Terrace, please!” Brandon addressed the driver as he and Jenny entered the taxi. Of course, the driver saw two girls.

“Okay, right away!” the driver replied. “You must live across the street from the redhead?”

“The redhead?” Brandon teased a little. “Which one? All six of that family have red hair. They’re all Irish!”

“I mean the girl about your age,” the driver clarified.

“That’s Kelly,” said Jenny.

“She’s called for me a few times, usually to go downtown, but for a couple of rides from the school, too.”

“Jenny, I need to take my violin up to my room. I’m leaving my backpack and just bringing my trifolio to the coffee shop with me.”

“I can just stash my backpack inside the door and bring just my purse and trifolio. And don’t forget your purse, either!”

“Thanks, Jenny!” Brandon offered, as he knew that he would have forgotten it without her reminding him. “Sir, we need for you to wait for us to take a few things inside and then continue to On Firm Grounds,” Brandon told the driver. “Can you do that?”

“Sure,” the driver answered, “but just remember the meter is still running while I wait, Miss.”

“Of course,” Brandon affirmed.

So the driver drove on to their neighborhood, not too far away.

☆ ☆ ☆

Valerie looked up when she heard the bell tinkling over the shop door. Brandi and Jenny had just entered On Firm Grounds, so Valerie waved and beckoned them over to the large round table where they were sitting. Alice and Holly were there as was Ceri, whom Valerie had invited to join them as soon as she walked in the door.

“Brandi, how was orchestra rehearsal?” Holly asked.

“Jenny wowed me, Alice, Maestro Carmichael, and everyone else there with her warm-up piece,” recounted Brandon. “Oh, can she play!” He looked into her eyes before initiating a kiss, which she was more than happy to accept.

“Maestro’s face hasn’t looked so amazed since Double Abby’s audition for principal clarinet,” said Alice. “I’m surprised that he didn’t ask for an encore then and there.”

“Wait until you hear what he did ask me to play!” Jenny replied. “Is On Firm Grounds your new hangout, too, Ceri?”

“Said Mum that should wait I here for afternoon tea. Came we here yesterday evening after toured we West Grove. Said she that be this popular establishment for students and neighborhood residents. And likes she how mash they tea here.”

“Mash?” Holly wondered aloud. She had noticed Ceri’s unusual speech at lunchtime, although it wasn’t too difficult to understand if she listened carefully.

“Uh, to brew,” Ceri clarified.

“They really do make good tea here,” Holly agreed with her new Welsh classmate.

“Speaking of which…,” Jenny remarked.

“It’s time for some,” concurred Brandon. “What would you like?”

“Oolong tea.”

“Shortbread?”

“Please,” Jenny confirmed.

Brandon walked over to the coffee bar. He recognized the barista, Lisa, who usually worked only the shift for morning and midday.

“This isn’t your normal shift,” said Brandon, not hiding his usual boyish voice.

“That isn’t your normal attire,” Lisa retorted with a mischievous grin. “Still, I gotta say you look really cute.”

“Thanks!”

“Let me guess—you’re dressing as your own twin sister for Halloween?”

“Oh, no! It’s Fashion Day, so I wanted to dress up with the other cheerleaders.”

“So you’re a cheerleader now?”

“Just until Double Abby comes back.”

“You’re subbing for her then?

“Yeah, but it’s also a chance to get in touch with my feminine side.”

“Oh, I think you’ve achieved that already!

“Already?”

“Already! So what’ll you and Jenny have?”

“Earl Grey tea for me, Oolong tea for Jenny and a plate of shortbread cookies to share between us.”

Brandon took the wallet from his purse and took out a ten-dollar bill which he gave to Lisa and she rang up the transaction.

“Here’s your change and I’ll bring the tea and shortbread to your table directly.”

Merely glancing at the change that Lisa returned was enough for Brandon to verify the accuracy of the transaction. He’d been able to do that almost since he’d learned to count. He put it in the tip jar and went back to the table and sat down.

“Brandi, did Coach Brenda give you my cheer shoes?” Valerie asked.

“Yes, she did, and I thank you for them.”

“I’m glad that I can share those with you. After all, I only wore them once. But I think like you’ll get a lot of use out them.”

“Only until Double Abby comes back, really.”

“Oh, don’t underestimate yourself, Brandi!” Holly addressed their new longtime friend. “Kelly thinks like you’ll stay on the cheer team until you graduate. I think like she’s right!”

“Hear that, Jenny?” Alice teased mildly. “You’re dating a cheerleader long-term. The football players will be so jealous!”

“What?” Ceri asked.

“At many American high schools, cheerleaders are often expected to date football or basketball players,” Jenny explained. “Many regard it as a tradition, but other cheerleaders frequently object to being paired with athletes just because they’re cheerleaders.”

“Seems that strange,” Ceri observed.

“Welcome to America!” Alice remarked to her new friend.

☆ ☆ ☆

“Abby, can I use your ‘widdle girls woom’?” Tillie James giggled.

“Sure!”

“Whee…!” exclaimed Tillie as she skipped into the restroom, closing the door behind her.

Colleen and Abby exchanged incredulous and somewhat worried glances with each other. “Colleen, did you see Tillie’s eyes?”

“So you noticed them, too?”

“They’d be hard to miss,” Abby confirmed sotto voce. “She’s on some kinda drug for sure.”

From the restroom, Abby and Colleen heard a loud, “Whee…!” followed by a thud and giggling.

“Yep, she’s really spaced out on something,” agreed Colleen.

“Should we tell Coach Brenda?”

“I wouldn’t say anything, Abby,” Colleen warned her. “Tillie has a reputation for being quite a vindictive bitch.”

☆ ☆ ☆

Dr. David Carmichael knew his way around the high school, since the West Grove Youth Orchestra had met there during most of the fifteen years that he had been music director and principal conductor. Still, most of the time, he had met with the orchestra in the Music Room, which the band and choral groups also used for similar purposes.

The doors to the main office were still open and a light still glowed inside. So Dr. Lansing was working after hours today. David had intended just to place his letter in her mailbox, but after fifteen years, he believed that it might be easier for both of them if he was there to discuss it in person.

Seph looked up when she heard knocking on her door jamb.

“Maestro?” she asked in surprise.

“May I come in?”

“Yes, of course! Please, take a seat.”

“Thank you, Seph,” David replied, sitting down in the chair that she’d indicated.

“So what brings you to my office after both our hours?” Seph hoped that it might be a social visit. She’d like nothing more than to listen to his accent all evening.

Dr. Carmichael withdrew an envelope from a pocket inside his tweed jacket and reached across Dr. Lansing’s desk to hand it to her. It was addressed to:

Dr. Janice P. Lansing, Chairman
West Grove Youth Orchestra

With some apprehension, she opened the letter and read it. The text was brief and to the point. Dr. Lansing read it, both disappointment and surprise showing on her face.

“Resigning?” Seph exclaimed. “Austria?”

“Yes,” David nodded, showing an expression both happy and sad. “I’ve accepted a position as principal conductor and music director of another academic orchestra just outside Innsbruck.”

“Can I do anything to get you to stay?”

“No, but a couple of your students did convince me to delay leaving until after the school year. I had planned initially to leave after the current semester.”

“So who got you to stay on for another semester?”

“Brandon MacDonald—or should I say ‘Brandi’ MacDonald?—and his girlfriend Jenny Chang.”

“I’m not surprised that you’d mention Brandon, but I don’t recall Jenny’s name on the roster for the orchestra.”

“After Brandon introduced us, she played what she called her ‘warm-up’ piece, Chopin’s ‘Waterfall’ étude. Most pianists who play Chopin’s music agree that it’s his most difficult. Well, Jenny Chang performed it flawlessly!

“Now, I have shelves of awards that I’ve won at the piano, but I can’t play Chopin’s ‘Waterfall’ étude—not like Jenny did, anyway. The great concert pianist Vladimir Horowitz refused to perform it publicly. I’ve heard only one other pianist play it so well as Jenny did today. But to Jenny, it’s a warm-up piece? If that’s just for warming up, then she’s on her way to becoming a world class musician, much like Connie Harrigan is.

“I gave Jenny three piano concerti to look at. Then after she decides which solo she’d like to perform, the really difficult part of my job begins.”

“And what’s that, David?”

“I must convince Brandon to conduct it!”

Seph just stared at David for a moment.

“Brandon a conductor?” Seph exclaimed. “When did you first get that idea?”

“I think that he was in the sixth grade when first I knew that he could. But it wasn’t until he asked Jenny to come with him today that things began to fall into place.”

“How’s that?”

“First, I hadn’t heard Brandon ever play so beautifully as he did today,” David recounted. “It was really quite extraordinary. He’s easily the best violinist in the orchestra now that Connie Harrigan is graduated, but today he played well above how he had two weeks ago. He and Jenny stayed after rehearsal to sight read a Beethoven violin sonata and the Romance in F Minor for Violin and Piano by Dvořák. Now, they were sight reading, mind you! I’ve heard rehearsed performances by professional musicians not up to the level that those kids were playing.”

“You were impressed?”

“Those kids are brilliant!”

“Yes, they are,” concurred Dr. Lansing, “and I’m not even talking about their musical abilities.”

“Well, it gets even better! Now, Jenny is the better musician between them, but she had never played with another musician before. Brandon was teaching her how, because piano students often learn and study isolated from other musicians. Still, she quickly learned what he had to teach her. Then, he apparently realized that she was playing the Beethoven at a higher level than himself, so he stepped up his own performance to match hers. By the time they finished sight reading the Beethoven, he was on par with her. And they were giggling over it!”

“So, they were learning from each other in real time and enjoying it, then.”

Dr. Carmichael nodded.

“I can understand why you’ve decided to stay awhile,” said Dr. Lansing. “I don’t think that I’ve ever witnessed such a phenomenon, myself.”

“I can’t imagine how this all changed in the two weeks that I was in Europe.”

“I can. Brandon and Jenny weren’t yet dating two weeks ago. If rumor holds, they shared their first kisses a week ago today on the roof of the building, next to the weather station. That’s kind of a school tradition.”

Had Seph given him a cue? He wouldn’t have too many more opportunities to ask her. Besides, now that he had tendered his resignation, he might relax the usual concern for ethics that had kept him from acting on his own interests for years.

“Seph, do you like Greek food?”

“Why, yes!” replied Seph, slightly cocking her head and grinning.

“Then would you like to join me at the Peloponnesian this evening?”

Her grin had grown into a smile. “I think that would be lovely, David. My desk isn’t quite ship-shape, so could you allow me a moment to tidy up?”

“Of course! I can wait outside.”

Dr. Lansing surprised herself with how quickly she put away the day’s paperwork. Growing up with a father and brothers all being naval officers had taught her efficiency. Still, she was was amazed and delighted by the trajectory that her evening was taking. Then she uttered a sound that she hadn’t in years. She giggled like she would when she was sixteen years old.

Seph opened the closet in her office, first to check her appearance in the full-length mirror. She looked fine. Then she took her raincoat since it was cooling off a little and went to meet David Carmichael just outside the office.

☆ ☆ ☆

A waitress had brought rice and tea for Brian and Kelly then taken their orders. Brian couldn’t help but glance at the artwork around them. Kelly was right. The banquet room was indeed elegant, but their private alcove was absolutely perfect for a father-daughter dinner.

“Well, I have some important news for you, Daddy.”

“And what would that be?”

“Sylvia Brennan called from Union Charities Mission,” said Kelly. “I begin at noon Saturday. Also, I’ll be working dinnertime Monday. Then we’ll look at longer-term hours.”

“I’m glad that you’re getting started with that.”

“It was easy enough once she returned my call.”

“Your mom tells me that Sylvia is overworked and really needs the help.”

“I kinda got that vibe when she called. In fact, she seemed happier that I could come in for dinnertime Monday than for lunchtime Saturday. But I told her like I’d usually be available Sunday afternoons, although not this coming Sunday. After all, I promised Caitie-Cat that I’d take her to the mall. Making up with her is so important to me. I can’t believe like how insensitive I’ve been to her. I was too caught up in my own worries. When Mom and I talked at the hospital Saturday morning, she reminded me that Caitie-Cat looks up to me just like I look up to Maureen.”

Brian paused just to sip some tea. He noticed how deftly his daughter handled a pair of chopsticks, as if she were even unaware of using them. Kelly often didn't even realize how easily she did things that others found more challenging.

“Your mom and I are so glad that you made up with Caitie-Cat yesterday evening.”

“I feel good about that, too. When I woke up this morning, she had crawled into bed with me during the night.”

“She did what?”

“She crawled into bed with me.”

“Are you alright with her doing that?”

“Actually, I kinda liked it,” Kelly remarked with a relaxed, contented smile. “But in the interest of full disclosure, I warned her that I wake up an hour earlier than she does on school days. She giggled at that.”

Brian chuckled at the thought himself.

“Do you and Caitlin have any specific plans for your visit to the mall yet?”

“Yes, Daddy,” replied Kelly. “Since her piano recital is the following Saturday, we need to go dress shopping. I’ve heard her practice what she’ll be playing. It’s one of the piano suites by Debussy. She’s like the ‘principal recitalist’ for the evening, so she needs to wear something more formal than before. There’s also a fashion show at Kaufmann and Kaufmann’s and we’re thinking about a movie as well.”

“How good do you think your sister is getting at the piano?”

“That’s kinda hard for me to judge. After all, I’m not really a pianist, myself. Still, there’s something very different about how she plays now compared to back in the summer.”

“Your mom and I are wondering if she might be getting as good on piano as Connie is on violin.”

“When I’m reading or maybe doing homework, sometimes I find like I’ve paused just to listen to her play. I would find myself listening to him in much the same way, so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Caitie-Cat has that same special something that Connie does.”

“Speaking of Connie,” Brian began, “I was able to hear him and his new girlfriend perform together in Manhattan when I was there on business last week.”

“What?”

“Connie had left a voicemail for me saying that he and his new girlfriend would be performing Vivaldi at the Ninety-Second Street ‘Y’ at eight o’clock ”Friday evening. After their rehearsal, Connie and Connie—”

“Huh? Connie and Connie?”

“That’s right! You don’t know yet,” Brian laughed quietly. “Connor is dating Constance Kim, a young ’cello student at Curtis, where they’re known as Connie and Connie.”

“Leave it to my brother to date a girl with the same nickname!” Kelly said, giggling in affirmation that indeed, Connor would do something like that.

“Anyway, they met me at a nearby restaurant, so Connie Kim and I got acquainted over an early dinner.”

“So what kind of girl is she?”

“She’s from upstate New York, from a Korean family, and like you, of petite but athletic build. She’s highly intelligent and very much interested in politics, economics, and world affairs. I’m so relieved that Connie’s interested in someone like her. Your mom and I worried about quite a few of the high school girlfriends that he brought home. But I think that Miss Kim is a real winner!”

“I really miss Connie,” Kelly admitted to her father.

“But that’s the way of things, sweetheart,” Brian reminded his daughter. “Your mom and I hope that each of you will find your own purpose and place in the world and settle there. Maureen was drawn to where your mom and I met for law school. And as good a violinist as your brother is, he never imagined that he might get into a school like Curtis. When he was fourteen, playing violin was something he enjoyed doing, but he hadn’t thought of making it a career. Not until he was seventeen did a violinist from the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra happen to hear him practicing and called up one of his own professors at Curtis and helped arrange Connie’s audition. And even after beating out competitors for his seat in the class and the scholarship, he still wasn’t sure if he wanted it.”

“I didn’t know that! But how could anyone as gifted as Connie be so uncertain about it?”

“That’s a good question, Kelly. Your brother was very unsure of himself as a musician for a long time, but when he performed with his girlfriend in Manhattan last week, he clearly had settled the issue. It was like he and Connie were talking with each other through their instruments.”

“That’s gotta be weird!”

“Maybe, but they were thoroughly enjoying it.”

Using chopsticks, Kelly popped a water chestnut from her plate, through the air, and into her mouth. Her father was amazed that she avoided splashing any sauce on her new dress.

“Speaking of weird, Brandon is a cheerleader now. He’s on the junior varsity squad with me.”

“What?” Brian exclaimed, chuckling. “How did that happen?”

“After Double Abby was injured at Homecoming, Coach Brenda asked me to help find a sub for her while she recovers. Well, we couldn’t find any girls who were both qualified and available. But one computer search returned Brandon’s name. So I told Coach Brenda that he’d been in gymnastics with me and was really good at it. Then Monday, she asked him and he agreed to sub for Double Abby. His first game cheering is tomorrow. He’s wearing Sheila’s uniform.”

“Then he’s doing this as a girl?”

“Oh, yeah! And he’s so cute when he’s dressed as ‘Brandi’!”

“I’m not surprised that he’d step up in such a circumstance, though,” Brian observed. “He’s really a thoughtful and responsible kid.”

“He showed us that today in Cheerleading class.”

“How?”

“Miss San-Giacomo had told us not to press Brandon about dressing up for Fashion Day, but he came dressed completely as a girl. Well, Coach Brenda assumed that one of us had made him go shopping for Fashion Day.

“But then Brandon spoke up to say that Jenny had moved their dinner here to her uncle’s restaurant and that Sheila had planned for their shopping at Billings Square. So Coach Brenda apologized to us. Brandon wouldn’t let the false accusation go unchallenged.”

“I must say that Brandon’s always had a strong moral compass.”

“And I’ve benefited from it once again today.”

“So how do you feel about Brandon dating someone else now?”

“I don’t know,” replied Kelly wistfully, looking a little sad. “From the first moment we played together in that sandbox, I always thought like Brandon and me would grow up and get married someday. But Mom doesn’t think that we’d be compatible. She says like I’m a very free spirit while he’s kinda brooding. Besides, now that he and Jenny are a couple, it seems like they really do belong together. And not only that, Jenny and I are fast becoming friends. She’s just so likable. I mean like I thought I’d be jealous of her, but I’m not!”

“Your mom suggests that you might have another boy in mind now—or perhaps a girl?”

Kelly showed a startled look on her face when her father mentioned that. Was she exploring a straight relationship with Billy or a lesbian relationship with Billie or perhaps with Holly?

“Yes, your mother told me,” Brian confirmed as he held Kelly’s hands in his own. “And if you are bisexual, or even lesbian, nothing changes. You’re still my daughter, my Princess, and I’m still your father and I love you. That doesn’t change. Don’t ever forget that!”

Brian had almost wrecked his relationship with Maureen when she came out as lesbian to him and Cat. He was still working through the pain he had caused for both his wife and their eldest daughter. But he had learned from that. Fortunately, Kelly hadn’t known about it. He’d resolved never to risk his relationships with his children over sexual orientation—or anything else—ever again!

Kelly squeezed her father’s hands to feel, to draw from his strength. He gently squeezed hers to affirm what he told her as she fought to hold back tears. That helped her to win the skirmish with her own anxieties for the evening, which she demonstrated by sipping some tea and sighing in relaxation.

“I can’t be certain that either Billie or Holly would want that kinda relationship with me,” Kelly admitted. “I’ve known them both since kindergarten but my attraction toward each of them now is as strong as what I’ve felt for Brandon.”

So maybe Kelly really is starting to get over Brandon. But if he’s on the cheerleading squad with her, how will that affect things? Brian thought. Then he asked her, “Do you know if you’re attracted more to boys or girls?”

“That’s a good question, but I don’t really know,” she replied. “Maybe I’m attracted more to the person than to the gender? All this is new to me, too.”

Oh, Kelly! You’re so like your mother! She really needs to talk to you about her sexuality and yours, Brian thought. He nodded to acknowledge how unsure she felt about everything. He thought it might be time to change topics. “So how are your classes going?”

“They’re going okay, I think. This may sound crazy coming from your cheerleading daughter, but now I’m looking forward to assignments from my English teacher!”

“That’s the most interesting news I’ve heard all day! So what kind of English teacher gets my daughter excited about homework?”

“Miss Nakamura is our English teacher. She’s published poetry in both English and Japanese. I think like she’s even won awards for it in both languages. She has me writing poetry and she assigns us like the most interesting topics for essays.”

“How are your grades in her class?”

“I think like I’m getting all A’s and A-pluses. And I know like I’m doing better than I did in eighth grade English.”

“How are you doing in math?”

“Geometry is turning out to be a lot of fun.”

“How’s that?”

“First of all, I think like the subject itself is more interesting and easier to understand than other math. Doctor Lang emphasizes drawing pictures of problems and anything else we work on.”

“So your teacher has a doctorate?”

“Uh-huh! She has a P-h-D in math. But she’s also certified in physical education and coaches the pompom girls and dance team, too. She was a cheerleader in high school and college.”

Doctor Lang sounds like a good role model for Kelly, thought Brian. I like the idea of a cheerleader-mathematician—oh, wait! Maybe she’s a better role model for Brandon? “So she has both a serious academic-type career as well as another aimed at physical fitness and also at having fun, maybe?”

“I hadn’t really thought of it like that, but yeah! Like she and Coach San-Giacomo must be close friends, I think.” Are they lovers, too, perhaps? wondered Kelly. But if they are, that’s okay. After all, I kinda swing that way, myself.

“How’s your science class going?” Brian asked. “Which course is it this year?”

“Earth Science,” replied Kelly. “Teri and I presented our joint project this morning. We both got an A-plus on it!”

“How did that happen?”

“We each played from our strong suit. Teri’s better at numbers and doing calculations. I’m better at mapping, drawing diagrams, and putting timelines in order. But Mister Danvers said like it fit together so well that he couldn’t quite tell where Teri’s work ended and mine began.”

“That’s good teamwork.”

“That’s what Mister Danvers said.”

“Y’know, Kelly, you were telling your mom and me Monday evening that you had been afraid of starting high school and getting low grades. But it sounds to me like you’re finding your groove. Anything else occur today that might boost your self-confidence?”

“Well, Miss Schreiber asked Val and me to sing a duet for the school’s Winter Holiday Pageant. I could hardly believe that she wants to pair me with Val, but she likes how our voices sound together.”

“So Miss Schreiber hears your voice as comparable to Val’s? And that girl can sing! It’s really a shame she’s not Catholic! Could you imagine what our choir would be like if we could get her to come to Saint Mary’s?”

“Daddy, I’ve tried and Teri’s tried, too, but Val’s firmly and devoutly Lutheran. There ain’t no way Val’s ever becoming Roman Catholic!”

“Too bad!” Kelly’s father lamented. “To hear you and Val sing together would be so remarkable. You both have such powerful voices.”

“Oh, don’t we?”

☆ ☆ ☆

“What’s up, Brandi?” Jenny asked.

“I just realized something,” he replied, still looking just a little spaced-out. “I didn’t need any alprazolam today!”

“No, you didn’t!” remarked Jenny. “So then what was the most stressful thing that you dealt with today?”

“It was probably when Miss Holt called to say that Doctor Devereaux had scheduled me at the same time as orchestra rehearsal. I did a controlled breathing exercise and that helped some. But firing Doctor Devereaux seemed to take care of the stress.”

“Sacked you your doctor, Brandi?” Ceri asked, more than a little surprised. “Can you do that?”

“Well, I did!”

Jenny and Alice nodded in support of Brandon.

“Our health care system in America is completely different than yours in Great Britain,” said Brandon. “We don’t have anything even close to your National Health Service.”

Valerie noticed that Teri Hamilton had entered the coffee shop and was getting a caffè mocha from the bar. Not even facial expressions were necessary to know what happened. The evening had hardly begun. So for Teri to return from a date so early could only mean that it was a failure.

“Are you okay, Teri?” Valerie asked as her friend sat down to her right.

“I could be better.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really. Well, not tonight, anyway.”

Holly reached over and gently placed her left hand on Teri’s right. Teri relaxed just a little and sipped from her mocha.

“Remember, Teri,” said Holly,” that dating is a long and sometimes tedious process. It’s better when it fails quickly. Would you want to date this boy for two years and then break up with him?”

Teri managed to smile weakly but sincerely at Holly. “You really do know what to say at times like this. No, we aren’t each other’s type and we both knew that as soon as we sat down for coffee and began talking. We apologized and thanked each other for our time and he brought me back here. He really is a perfect gentleman—just not mine!”

“Where did you meet this guy?” Valerie asked.

“We met at a Labor Day picnic. Our dads know each other from business. We each thought like the other was cute, so we agreed to go out tonight. But dating really is about more than just looks.”

“Hey! Don’t worry so much!” Valerie advised her friend. “We’re only fourteen, after all.”

“Besides, availability is hardly limited to West Grove High School,” Holly remarked. “I think like getting a date through one of your dad’s business contacts was a good idea even if the first time didn’t work out. It’s something that you might try again.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Maybe Teri’s still after the prince from that story we read in second grade,” Valerie teased.

“Val! I was only seven!”

“We all had dreams like that when we were only seven years old,” Valerie recalled. “I think like we were supposed to?”

“I guess so,” Teri conceded. “They really must’ve wanted us girls to start thinking about marriage as soon as possible.”

“But they also got us thinking about unavailable guys in distant lands and in the distant past,” Holly observed, “so like we don’t get married too soon.”

“Still, a prince would be nice, wouldn’t he?” Teri wondered to her friends. “But where do you find a real prince in California? And I don’t mean the Hollywood type.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Valerie admitted.

Just then, the bell over the door rang again and a professional-looking woman in her mid-thirties, wearing a navy blue skirt suit entered.

“Mum! Over here!” Ceri called out, springing from her seat. “Come and meet my new friends.”

Dr. Jones was surprised that Ceri had already surrounded herself by a group of fellow students after school. Maybe it bode well for Ceri starting out. Then Arwen recognized one girl whom she and Ceri had met earlier in the morning.

“Hello! I believe we met this morning?” Arwen began.

“Yes, Mum! She’s Alice, Doctor Johansson’s daughter.”

“That’s right, Doctor Jones. We did meet in Doctor Van de Meer’s office,” Alice affirmed. “I introduced Ceri to most of her classes today.”

“And Mum, next to Alice are Jenny Chang and Brandi MacDonald, then Holly Thompson, and my tall friend here is Valerie Schmidt, my lab partner for our German class.”

“Hi, Doctor Jones!” Valerie greeted her. “I’m very happy that Ceri and I are lab partners now. I’d been going it alone so far this semester.”

About that moment, Patricia Danziger, Billy, and a man wearing a business suit with a briefcase emerged from a back room at On Firm Grounds. After a round of handshakes, the man went his way and Billy took his mug and Mom’s to the bar for refills. They turned toward the big table, surprised to see another adult there.

“Ceri, this is Patricia Danziger, my mom,” Billy introduced his mother to his newest classmate. “Mom, this is Ceri ferch Arwen, our new classmate from Wales. Did I say that right, Ceri?”

“Yes, did you.”

“Has everyone else met my mom already?” Billy inquired.

“I haven’t,” Jenny replied.

“That’s right! You were in a different grade school and middle school than most of us.” He turned to face his mom again. “Mom, I’d like you to meet my friend and classmate, Jenny Chang.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mis’ess Danziger.”

“You, too, Jenny.”

“Ceri, it’s your turn again,” said Valerie.

“Billie, this is Doctor Arwen Jones, my mum,” Ceri introduced him.

“That’s a beautiful dress that you’re wearing,” Dr. Jones offered.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Billy replied. “I got it just for today.”

“Might I ask, what was the occasion?”

“Fashion Day,” Brandon answered.

“It’s a tradition at West Grove High School, ma’am,” Valerie explained. “The day before a game, the cheerleaders, the pompom girls, and the majorettes all dress up really nice because we’re required to wear our uniforms on game day. I’m on the pompom squad, so I dressed up for the occasion. But this is the first time that Billie, Brandi, and Jenny have dressed up for Fashion Day. Brandi only joined the jayvee cheer squad this week, so that’s why it’s her first time participating in Fashion Day. A few of us here helped choose her dress at Billings Square after dinner yesterday. And many of our other classmates also like to dress up for the occasion as well.”

☆ ☆ ☆

“How was your first day at West Grove High School?” Arwen asked her son-become-daughter while she continued driving towards their new neighborhood.

“Everything went well, Mum,” Ceri reported. “Everyone whom I was with in the coffee shop are my classmates and they all welcomed me into their group. And there's something unexpected, too.”

“Oh! What’s that?”

“Do you recall Billie wearing the silver dress and Brandi wearing the bright blue one?”

“Why, yes!” Arwen replied. “To forget them would require some effort.”

“Well, they’re rather like me,” Ceri continued excitedly. “They began as boys!”

So that’s why Ceri’s syntax has been normal since leaving On Firm Grounds, thought Arwen.

☆ ☆ ☆

Billy came into the family room wearing an indigo denim miniskirt, a light blue turtleneck, and black maryjanes of soft leather. He had already completed his assignments from school while Mom discussed their insurance claim with an adjustor at On Firm Grounds.

Patricia noticed that Billy had changed his silver lamé dress and stiletto heels for more casual girl’s attire. Until now, he had been donning his boy’s clothing after school. His mom patted the seat next to her on the sofa, inviting him to sit beside her. So Billy did and Mom put an arm around her son-become-daughter’s shoulders.

“So you’re not switching back to boy-mode for the evening?” Patricia asked.

“No, I like what I’m wearing now,” Billy confirmed. “It’s really comfortable and I may as well stay with the program.”

“Oh, I was wondering, doesn’t Kelly belong to the same group of friends that were in the coffee shop tonight?”

“She does, but her dad took her out for a father-daughter dinner,” Billy explained. “Actually, she was kind of excited about it. She even bought a new dress for the occasion.”

Patricia thought for a moment. “How would you like to come with me for a mother-daughter dinner like I’ve had with Nancy?”

“So this wouldn’t be exactly like the mother-son dinners we’ve had before?”

“Not if we do it right.”

☆ ☆ ☆

Once again, Brandon sat at Sheila’s vanity, brushing out his hair, wearing the light blue babydoll and navy blue slippers that Jenny had given him.

“Now tomorrow, Coach Brenda has asked us to wear the team sweater instead of the shell and bodyliner and to braid our hair in pigtails.”

“I’m not surprised,” Sheila remarked. “Actually, that may be a concession to you.”

“Oh?”

“If you’re wearing my bodyliner and shell top, you’ll look obviously flat-chested. But you’ve already worn my sweater and it does look good on you. Besides, since it’s a little bulky, no one can really tell for sure that you’re flat.”

“Well, Rachel Blackwell told me not to worry about it because every girl starts out flat, anyway.”

Sheila tried to restrain herself but broke into a fit of laughter. “That girl is such a riot!”

“Now getting back to Coach Brenda’s instructions, I expect like you’ll look adorably cute in pigtails as do most of the junior varsity squad.”

“By the way, Coach Brenda said to secure with white ribbons.”

Sheila smiled at her brother-become-sister.

“Also, you need to let your hair grow out more so that you can wear a longer, fuller ponytail. The most popular hairstyle for a cheerleader is a ponytail with an oversized bow at the crown.”

“Do the cheerleaders change their look every week?”

“Not necessarily,” Sheila told her brother. “Coach Brenda does like for each squad to have a consistent appearance. But she also likes to try new things now and then.”

“Like having a boy dressed as a girl on the junior varsity squad?”

“Yeah, Brandi! That’s quite an innovation!” Sheila giggled. “But now that you’re a cheerleader, Coach Brenda will need to figure out how best to fit you into the squad. Not just your gymnastic skills, but your appearance, too.”

“I appreciate Valerie letting me have her cheer shoes.”

“Val tried out for cheerleading, but went with the pompom squad and dance team instead. So she’d only worn those once.”

“Why did she go with the pompom squad?”

“Told me pretty much the same reason that I’ve given Kelly and Coach Brenda,” said Sheila. “I like to dance but I’m not comfortable doing pyramids and aerials. Sophie felt that way, too.”

Brandon tried to cover a yawn, but Sheila heard it and smiled. “Sounds like you’re getting sleepy, Brandi.”

“I guess so,” agreed Brandon as he began to plait his hair into a sleep braid. “And sleep somehow feels better to me as a girl. Or maybe I just like wearing a babydoll to bed?”

“I think it’s just because you look so cute when you go to sleep,” said Sheila. “Or maybe you’re dreaming like Jenny will awaken you with a kiss?”

“Yeah! That would be awesome!” exclaimed Brandon as he tied a big blue bow to his sleep braid. He and his sister hugged, then they padded to his room.

“May I tuck you in, Brandi?”

“Yes, you may, Sis,” Brandon answered as he got in bed.

So Sheila tucked her little brother-become-sister in bed, kissing her on the forehead. He smiled back to her. “I’m glad you’re my sister,” he told Sheila. “You’re really good at it.”

“Thanks for being my little sister, Brandi!” Sheila offered kissing her younger sibling on the forehead once again. “You’re getting better at it every day.”