“Cindy, go ahead. It is just us in here. I reserved the practice room for two hours. I told Mr. Elks that you and I wanted to work on a musical composition I am writing for his class,” Jessica said while trying to hand Cindy a dress.

It was a light green dress with flowers embroidered on the bodice and along the bottom hem. Cindy figured it would probably come down to about her knees. Cindy liked its simple design, and could easily see any of the kids her age wearing it. Although there were short puffy sleeves, they did not make it look like a preschooler’s dress, not that such a thing would stop her from wearing it anyways. So, why was she having such a hard time taking the dress?

They had been at camp for a week, and Cindy didn’t think she would get a chance to wear a dress again until she got home. Well, that might not be an option either. After the way mom reacted to seeing Cindy in a party dress at her friend’s Birthday Party, Cindy wasn’t completely sure her mom would ever let her wear a dress again.

“Where . . . where did you get it Jessica? Your twelve and way bigger than I am, so I know it’s not your dress.”

“Samantha was all too happy to lend it to me for a few candy bars. I always bring a few boxes of candy bars that are not sold here at camp. They are great to get things from other kids.”

“Samantha? That amazing little violin player?”

“Yup, that’s the one. She is the best strings instrument player at camp this year. Like you, she is a prodigy who just needs a little bit of time outside of her hick town to develop her talents. Now stop worrying about where I got the dress and just put it on.”

Cindy looked at the dress for a minute before taking it and going to the other side of the piano to change clothes.

“About time,” Jessica said as Cindy came back wearing the dress. “I have this composition mostly done, but I need your help to finish it.”

“Jessica, you’re a piano player and I play the flute. I can’t play the piano. How am I going to help you create a composition for the piano?”

“Don’t be silly Cindy. I don’t need you to play the piano. I can do that part. It is the other parts I can’t do. I wrote a part for you on the flute, Samantha on the violin, and George on the french horn. As I see it, we are all the best here at camp. Except for maybe Marcus with his electric guitar, but he only plays Rock ‘n Roll. My composition is for an orchestra, not a band. Anyways, I am in Mr. Elks’ song/composition writing class. He takes the best one and makes it the last performance of the concert at the end of camp. I have been in the group playing the winning musical composition before, but I have never composed a winning composition. This year, I am going to win that honor.”

The two of them worked together repeatedly playing what Jessica had in the composition and adding to it. Sometimes they only made a small tweak here or there, but with each change they needed to play that part or the whole song over again. They were getting close, but Jessica didn’t feel it was done yet. She thought the piano and flute parts sounded pretty good, but without the ability to hear the other parts she couldn’t pinpoint what wasn’t quite right. After forty-five minutes they finally took a break.

Looking at the clock, Jessica turned to Cindy, “The others will be here soon, and then we can see if this will work with their instruments.”

“What?”

“George and Samantha will be here in just a few minutes, then the four of us can work on it together.”

“You didn’t tell me they were coming. I better change clothes before they get here.”

“Why would you do something crazy like that. You play much better dressed up as Cindy than you do dressed as Frank. I need Cindy here playing.”

“What are you talking about? I am the same person. I don’t play different dressed as Frank.”

“Actually, you do. There is more feeling and emotions in your playing when you are dressed as Cindy. It has been very apparent over the last forty-five minutes. If I had known this, I would have gotten you a dress days ago. I had thought George was the best musician at camp this year, but you are way better than he is. He just doesn’t play with as much feeling as you do. If Samantha and you teamed up, he would look like such an amateur. He plays with precision like me, but the two of you, play with emotion. The four of us will be unbeatable.”

“I don’t know about that but I am not going to be labeled a freak by the best players here,” Cindy started towards Frank’s clothes on the other side of the piano.

“Stop!” yelled Jessica. Taking a deep breath she continued much more softly, “George and Samantha already know about Cindy and they are okay with you. Do you really think that Samantha would have lent you a dress her grandma made her if she didn’t know who was going to wear it?”

Cindy stopped, and looked down at the dress. Looking over at Jessica. “This was made by Samantha’s Grandma? Why would she let me borrow it?”

“Remember when I told you I needed to borrow that picture of you all dressed up in a little girl’s party dress for inspiration? Well, I got inspired. I showed it to Samantha and told her your story. After hearing the story and seeing your picture, she was willing to help you out. Before that, she wouldn’t lend you anything. George was a bit harder to bring into our team, but I know a secret about him from last year. He has a crush on a girl named Ellie. . .”

“Ewww, gross.”

Jessica laughed, “Oh you little kids are so cute. When you get older Cindy, you will not think that boys are Yucky.”

“Wait a minute. You told them about Cindy?”

“Yeah, it was sort of necessary. You have done so much to help me out over the last week, that I wanted to give you something. Time as Cindy seemed the best thing I could do. Private practice time on this song seemed like times you could be Cindy without others knowing. So, George and Samantha needed to know.”

“What did I need to know?” Samantha said as she entered the room.

“Oh, just that Frank was Cindy.”

“Hi Cindy. You look good in my dress. Your Mommy was so mean to you, I had to help you out. I couldn’t imagine anyone ever cutting my hair like that. Cutting your braids right off and then giving you a bowl cut. I don’t even like it on boys, but to give it to a pretty girl, that is just one crazy Mommy.”

“Samantha,” Jessica quickly changed the topic. “You thought that Frank was a good player, but Cindy is way better. Wait until you hear her play.”

“We’ll see about that,” Samantha stated as she got out her violin.

Cindy looked at Samantha’s violin and smiled. It had Sofia The First and My Little Pony stickers on it.

“Okay you two, I have sent you both the latest score through the Score++ App,” Jessica sat at the piano tapping away at her tablet. “Cindy let’s play our parts once through to let Samantha get familiar with the song.”

Jessica, Cindy, and Samantha played for about ten minutes before George showed up. The four of them worked on the song non-stop. Five minutes before the private practice time was up, an alarm went off on Jessica’s tablet.

“Cindy, quick, time to change back to Frank. We only have five minutes left. I don’t know if anyone has booked this space after us.”

Cindy went over to where Frank’s clothes were on the other side of the piano. With her back to everyone, she quickly changed back to Frank. He then took the dress over to Samantha and thanked her for letting him borrow it.

“Your welcome,” Samantha said as she folded it up and put it in her violin case with her violin. “I think Jessica is right, you do play better as Cindy than you do as Frank.”

“But . . .”

“No, they’re right Frank.” George interrupted. “You do play better as Cindy. You might even be competition for me. Good thing you are not Cindy all the time.”

“She’s better than you George and you know it,” Samantha said with pride. “I will make sure every time we play together that she is dressed as Cindy. Us little kids need to show you big kids that we are not babies who don’t know how to play our instruments.”

“Come on you two,” Jessica pleaded. “No fighting. We are the best at camp and we represent both the big and little kids. Together we will blow everyone away. Now that you have all worked together to finish this song, will you work with me to earn the top song in the concert? It was written for the four of us, by us.”

“I’m in,” Samantha replied.

“I guess I am in too,” George reluctantly added. “If I don’t join you guys, I am afraid you will win the spot without me. I can’t have that.”

“I will take that as a compliment, thanks George,” Jessica smiled.

Everyone turned to Frank, looking for an answer.

“I. . . I don‘t know. I like the song and like playing with all of you. Cindy can’t perform at the concert and I don’t have any clothes to be Cindy throughout the week for practice sessions. It sounds like you need Cindy not Frank for this song.”

“Like I said Frank, I will make sure Cindy is here for each practice. Leave that to me. You will have a different outfit every day,” Samantha declared.

“As for the concert,” Jessica smiled. “George and I will come up with something. Don’t worry about it.”

“We will?”

“Yes George, we will.”

“You know Jessica, I am older than you. You can not boss me around.”

“I am not bossing you around. I am just telling you what you are going to do whether you like it or not.”

George rolled his eyes.

“Okay,” Frank smiled at Jessica as he stifled a giggle. “I guess I am with you all. We did sound pretty good together. Anyways, how can I turn down a chance to be myself for two hours a day all week? It was so nice to be Cindy again, and it may be the last chance I ever get to be Cindy.”

“Great, we are all in. I have reserved this room for two hours at one o’clock each day this week. Once I hand in my finished song to Mr. Elks and tell him who is going to be playing the song with me, he will arrange for the littles to miss their one and two o’clock activities.”

“What if he can’t,” Samantha questioned? “Mrs. Star was very insistent that Junior Band was required by all the kids under ten. The only way that we could make it today was because of the special Sunday schedule.”

“Don’t worry Samantha,” George smiled at her. “Once Mr. Elks hears that Jessica has managed to get all four of us together to do a song, he will arrange it. The top talent at camp rarely get along well enough to do a song together. He wants it every year, but never gets it. This year he even has a special treat, in that we each play a different type of instrument. We are our own little orchestra with string, brass, percussion, and woodwind instruments. If he likes our composition, he will let us do anything. By Tuesday, we will have to give him a recording of how we are doing. He needs that to give us the final approval for Saturday’s concert. Wednesday is the day he gets together with all the Music Teachers to determine what is in the concert. Every year Jessica and I have been here, our groups have been in the final concert, with at least one of us playing in the group playing the winning song from his song writing class. With us both in the same group this year, there is no question that he will approve our band, and Jessica will win the song writing contest.”

“If I remember correctly,” Jessica thought outloud. “You have Junior Band at one o’clock and Swimming or Art at two o’clock. Sorry to take you away from Swimming or Art, but it is the only time all four of us can get away from the required activities.”

“It is okay,” Frank said. “I have never liked swimming in boy’s trunks. My best friend has this one piece Little Mermaid swim suit I would much prefer to swim in.”

“Weird kid. You are definitely one weird kid,” George commented as he packed up his french horn. “You play some pretty good music though, so it’s okay with me if you want to wear dresses and girls swim suits.”

“Come on Cindy,” Samantha said grabbing Cindy’s hand and heading for the door. “It is Free Time and Sofia The First is on Disney Junior. Let’s not miss it.”

As the two of them went running out of the room, Jessica smiled at the new friendship she helped form.

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 02 Clothes Make the Girl

Summary: Samantha and Jessica want Cindy at camp instead of Frank. A plan is hatched to pull that off, but first, a Makeover!!! Will she ever look like a girl again, or just a boy in a dress?

“Cindy,” Samantha asked? “Had you seen that Sofia the First episode before?”

“Samantha, stop calling me Cindy while I am dressed like this. People are going to make fun of me.”

“What if you were not dressed like that? What if you were dressed as Cindy all the time?”

“That is impossible. Look at me. My mom had a barber give me a bowl cut just before coming to camp and all I have to wear is jeans, shorts, and t-shirts. Mom made sure I would look like a boy no matter what.”

“Jeans and t-shirts? Do you have any problems with trading them?” Samantha asked?

“No?” Frank looked at her confused.

“Come on, let’s go get your clean clothes and see what we can trade to allow Cindy to be here the rest of camp.”

Samantha grabbed her violin and Frank’s hand. He barely had time to grab his flute before being dragged out of the living room. They were half way to the dorms before Frank processed enough to see some major flaws in Samantha’s plan.

“Stop,” yelled Frank as he pulled back on Samantha to get her to stop pulling him. “Cindy can’t be at camp. Frank is registered here. He lives on the boy’s floor of the dorms. I can’t just dress as Cindy to suddenly be her for the rest of camp. It takes more than clothes to make someone a girl.”

Samantha stared straight at Frank with a far off look. She contorted her mouth and just stood there. After a very long minute, Frank inquired if she was okay, but she didn’t answer. She just stood there staring off into nothingness. Eventually, Frank sat down in the grass next to her waiting for her to be animated again.

“Lizzy!” Samantha said as she started to hum and sit down next to Frank.

“Who is Lizzy?”

Samantha did not answer Frank, she just kept on humming. With nothing else to do, he got lost in his own thoughts about how wonderful it would have been if he could have been here at camp as Cindy. It was at least five minutes before Samantha came out of her train of thought.

“Mr. Elks has a daughter named Lizzy. She stopped by the second day of camp. I saw the two of them together when she was leaving. She is married to another girl. They kissed this long yicky kiss just before they got into their car. It was even bigger than the one Belle gave the Beast when he turned back into a man.”

“So, Mr. Elks has a daughter married to another girl. What’s the big deal? There is a kid in my class who has two Daddies.”

“If we introduce him to Cindy, he will let her be here at camp. If he is okay with two girls marrying, he will be okay with a boy really being a girl. All we have to do is dress Cindy up really cute and have him see her play in our little orchestra.”

“I don’t know Samantha. Being married to another girl is a lot different than a boy really being a girl. It is also going against what my mom wanted. Grown-ups do what other grown-ups want them to do. He is not going to let one of his boy campers be a girl for a week.”

“You don’t know that. Now come with me, we have to find George and Jessica.”

It took the two of them a while to find the bigger kids, but they finally found them together at the Band Shell where a jam session was going on. George and Jessica were in the audience watching.

“You two, come with us. We need to talk to you,” Samantha quietly said to the older kids.

“What do you want to talk to us about?”

“Not here. Let’s go over there away from the crowd.”

Reluctantly, George got up after being pulled by Jessica. They all went over away from the music where no other kids were. Samantha explained her plan to give Cindy a chance to stay all week. It was only stopped once when George expressed surprise by Mr. Elks’ daughter being married to another woman.

“Samantha, I would love for Cindy to join us for the rest of camp, but just because we want it that doesn’t mean the grown-ups will allow it,” Jessica explained. “Frank is right, his mom sent him to camp as a boy and Mr. Elks probably will not allow him to be Cindy. We can privately allow Cindy to practice with us, but that doesn’t mean we can get her to be outside of practice. As for the concert on Saturday, I haven’t come up with any way that Cindy can play with us yet, but you haven’t really given me much time to think about it either. Frank’s hair is going to be the biggest challenge.”

“I have to give it to you kid, for a little seven-year-old, you have a great brain in that head of yours,” George complimented. “I am twice your age and I rarely see things as full of as much possibility as you do. Jessica, let’s give the Littles a chance. The worst that can happen is Mr. Elks says no. The reality is that we have no idea what he will say. If he says no, we are exactly where we are right now. He might say yes, especially with his daughter being a lesbian.”

“What’s a liz-bee-an?” Frank asked?

“It is when a girl is in love with another girl,” George explained. “Samantha is right. Since Mr. Elks accepts his daughter, he will most likely accept Cindy. It doesn’t mean he will let her stay the week, but he shouldn’t be upset by her existence. If you girls can get Frank to look like a cute little girl, instead of a boy in a dress, then I will arrange for Mr. Elks to attend our next practice session.”

“Cindy, are you okay with us telling a few other people about you in order to get you ready for tomorrow?”

“I don’t know Jessica. I am worried about getting Mommy mad again. I want to be Cindy, not Frank, but . . .,” Frank was looking down at his shoes moving one around on its tippy toes. “I guess. If that is what it takes, then it has to happen. If Mr. Elks says yes, then everyone will know anyways.”

“Okay George, you can go. Us girls have some work to do. Frank and Samantha wait here I will be right back. Jillian is at the jam session. We need her help.”

Jessica and George went back to the jam session. A couple of minutes later Jessica returned with Jillian. She was sixteen and one of the oldest kids at camp. She also had amazing hair. Every day it was styled a little different, but always amazing. Jessica explained that Frank, really a girl named Cindy, was just pretending to be a boy so she wouldn’t be teased over the horrible haircut her mom gave her just before camp. Jessica asked Jillian if there was anything she could do to help fix Cindy’s hair so she wouldn’t look like a boy anymore.

“A makeover?” Jillian gleamed. “I love doing makeovers. A bowl cut, hmmm. It is going to be a tough job, but I am sure we can turn it into a cute pixie cut. We will need my emergency hair kit, Mary, and Elizabeth. Let’s see, it’s 3:50 now and dinner is at 5:30. Meet me in 30 minutes in the Livingroom. Cindy bring your favorite dress and some hair accessories. You littles always have a collection of cute ones.”

Jillian went running off, leaving Jessica, Frank, and Samantha looking at each other.

“Well, that went well,” Samantha broke the silence.

“I can’t be dressed as a girl for dinner or when I go back to my dorm tonight,” Frank looked at the other two. “What are the other kids going to think?”

“It is Sunday night,” Jessica explained. “There is no assigned seating. You sit with Samantha and the other little girls. She can explain you off just the same way we did to Jillian. Don’t worry about it Frank. As for going back to your dorm after dinner, that is easy. With a pixie haircut it will still look fairly boyish when the hair accessories are taken out. With most pixie haircuts, the only way you can tell the difference between boys and girls is from the clothes they are wearing or if they have any hair accessories in. Boys don’t put hair clips, bows, or hair bands in their hair.”

“Don’t you think the Grown-ups will notice if I go to dinner dressed as Cindy?”

“I usually sit at the table with Miss Greenburge. She still hasn’t remembered my name and I have sat at her table every day since camp started. We could dress a bear up in a dress and she wouldn’t notice. You will be fine sitting with us. Jessica, you have been here a few years. Do you know what Miss Greenburge does here at camp? The only time I see her is at dinner.”

“Old Grumpy Greenburge? Yeah, unfortunately I do know her. She is the piano instructor. She stays in her room all day working with one kid at a time on improving their piano skills. You can never get enough right with her to make her happy. She will always find something to complain about your playing. One of the reasons she can’t remember anyone’s names is that she can’t see you. She has very poor vision. She can’t read sheet music anymore, but she knows so many songs by heart it really doesn’t matter, I guess. Sitting at her table for dinner is a good one with her poor vision and only working with piano students. She will have no idea that there is no little kid camper named Cindy.”

The kids all headed off to the dorms. They decided that Frank would wear the dress he wore to practice today, but Samantha would bring some others, especially the one she brought for the concert on Saturday. She would also get some hair accessories. Frank would change in the single person bathroom in the hall between the library and the Living room.

While walking to the dorms, Samantha also talked about the clothes swap idea she had to get Cindy some girls clothes for the rest of the week. She was going to offer up one of Franks outfits for a dress or something much more girly. Samantha explained how the moms of the Littles always pack extra clothes, so all the girls have at least one outfit they can sacrifice to a good cause. Most of the girls prefer shorts and t-shirts for every day wear at camp, but moms always pack some dresses. This should make it easy to trade for some dresses.

“Brilliant idea Samantha,” Jessica smiled. “My mom this year packed only dresses for me to wear for the two weeks. Even if this clothes swap doesn’t work for Cindy, I bet I can use it to get rid of my dresses. I wish I had thought of that a week ago. I hate dresses, and would love to have something else to wear.”

Jessica went off to do something in her room, while Frank and Samantha darted off to the dorms to put away their instruments that they had been carrying around all this time. Then they headed for the living room. It had a TV with a few couches and chairs around it in one corner, big window looking out onto the campus, and some tables and chairs in another corner. A few of the six and seven-year-olds were at the TV watching Vampirina on the Disney Junior channel, and the rest of the large room was empty. Samantha and Frank went over to the tables and sat down.

Handing Frank a bag, “Go change into these Frank. The bathroom is in the hallway between the Library and the Living room. The Librarian is covering this floor, but she never leaves the Library to check on this room unless there is lots of loud noises in here. Go.”

Frank took the bag and headed for the bathroom. Locking the door behind him, he opened the bag and looked inside. There were Disney princess light up sneakers, socks with frills at the top, the dress, and lots of hair accessories. It didn’t take long for Frank to be changed. The sneakers were a little tight, but Cindy would put up with that to be wearing the girl shoes. Once dressed, he rejoined Samantha. They put the accessories on the table, and the extra dresses on the back of a few chairs. As they waited for the others, they talked about how and when they each started playing music.

Jessica was the first to arrive. She had with her three beach towels. Two of them she put under a chair, and the third was for a bib around Frank when he got his hair cut. Shortly after the towels were in place, Jillian, Mary and Elizabeth showed up. They were all fifteen or sixteen years old and towered above Samantha and Cindy. They had with them a collection of different things.

“Boy kid,” Mary stated. “Your Mom did this to you? She must have been really mad at you for giving a cute little girl like you a bowl cut. I understand why you would pretend to be a boy at camp. Yikes.”

“Mary,” Jillian expressed. “That is why I asked you hear. I am great at finishing touches, but I need a hair stylist to cut her hair. We need to turn that ugly bowl cut into a pretty pixie cut. Do you think you can do it?”

“hmmmmmmmm,” Mary said walking all around Cindy. “Stand up kid.”

“My name is Cindy.”

“Sorry Cindy,” Mary expressed. “I get a little withdrawn from the world when I am thinking of how to mold a new fashion.”

“She’s good,” Elizabeth said. “Last year I got gum stuck in my hair and she gave me a whole new fashion after cutting out the gum.”

Jillian looked around, “Elizabeth, can you stand watch, making sure the Librarian stays in the Library and doesn’t come in here while we cut Cindy’s hair.”

It took about 20 minutes for Mary to work her magic. When she was done, she took off the beach towel around Cindy’s neck and handed her a hand mirror. She also held a second mirror up behind Cindy’s head. “Take a look Cindy and tell me what you think.”

Cindy looked at her new hair. It was short, but now it didn’t look like a bowl had been put on her head and everything cut beneath it. It looked like a boy’s cut, but somehow it looked different. Regardless, Cindy’s smile grew the more she looked at it.

“Now the clothes will make all the difference here,” Mary said. “Although it is a girl’s pixie cut, when wearing boy clothes, you will look like a boy to most people. Make sure you either have girl clothes on or accessories in your hair until it has time to grow out. The trick for the difference between boy’s and girl’s short hair styles is the layers. Girls have layers and jagged parts. It gives it more depth and individuality. Yours came out pretty good. Whoever cut it left enough hair for me to do something with it.”

“That is great Mary,” said Jillian. “Now, go switch places with Elizabeth, we need her over here.”

“Wow,” Elizabeth expressed as she came back over to the table. “Mary did a great job with you. Now for my part. Let’s see what you brought to accessorize with.”

Elizabeth looked over the things on the table and looked into a bag she brought. “Cindy, what did you look like before the terrible haircut?”

Cindy got out the picture that had been in her pants pocket, and showed it to Elizabeth and Jillian. “This was taken the day of the haircut.”

“Oh,” Elizabeth melted. “You looked absolutely adorable. You’re what, six?”

“Nine actually, but I fit into Samantha’s clothes and she is seven.”

“Hmmmm,” pondered Elizabeth. “Do you want to look little or like a nine year old?”

“What do you mean?”

“With the right clothes and accessories you could look like a six year old or a nine year old. I have been watching you for the last twenty minutes. You are currently looking and acting more like a six year old than a nine year old. You are wearing Disney Princess sneakers and enjoying the shows on Disney Junior. That would suggest you enjoy little kid things.”

“Well I still am a little kid.”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth continued. “But most nine-year-olds have outgrown Disney Princess clothing and don’t enjoy Disney Junior shows as much as you appeared to be while getting your hair cut. So, do you want to be a big kid or a little kid while at camp. We are giving you a complete make-over. We can make you anything you want. No one here knows you, so it doesn’t matter. Camp is a great place to try out different elements of your personality or interests.”

“Little Kid,” Jessica interrupted. “For tomorrow when we play for Mr. Elks, I need her to look as cute and adorable as possible. How little can you make her look? Mr. Elks is a father and Dad’s give into the cute innocent little girl look. Cute and innocent, that is the look we want.”

“You know you can’t win the top performance on looks. You have to have some talent,” Jillian looked down on Jessica. “Some littles and a tween don’t have a lot of chance of winning against the teenagers. Some, like me, have been here for ten years. A seven, nine, and what eleven year old are not going to win against us teenagers.”

“Don’t worry,” Jessica said with a big smile. “We have the talent, and I’m almost thirteen, not eleven.”

“I know you are good Jessica,” Elizabeth said. “But you are making a big mistake bringing in these two Littles. They obviously haven’t been playing that long and they can’t be that good.”

Cindy looked at Jessica, then Samantha, and then Elizabeth. Interrupting the current battle, “Okay, Jessica is right, tomorrow I need to look like a cute innocent little girl, but I am not sure I want to look like a six year old every day here at camp.”

Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth turned back to Cindy, “Clothes and accessories define the look. Let me show you.”

For the next 15 minutes, Elizabeth and Jillian showed how different outfits and hair accessories could totally change the look of Cindy and Samantha. Cindy really could look nine or six. There was one thing Cindy was certain of, she definitely looked like a girl, not a boy.

“Okay, now for the finishing touches,” Jillian said. “Your too young for make-up, but let's do those nails.”

“Wait,” Jessica forcefully interrupted. “Jillian and Elizabeth, you two have been absolutely wonderful in helping Cindy here and showing how we can make her look different with a simple outfit change. Cindy would look great with nail polish, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I can’t explain now, but trust me on this. No fingernail polish until tomorrow.”

Jillian and Elizabeth were confused, but did not push the issue. There was another discussion of how different colors or polish can also give that little kid effect, especially little girl pink nail polish. Samantha looked at her pink nail polish when this was said. The three teenagers left, happy that they had passed on their knowledge to the younger kids. Jessica took the towels and dumped the hair outside behind a bush.

“They did it,” Samantha gleefully bounced up and down. “They really did it. You now look like a girl.”

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 03 Play For Power

Summary: Cindy spends some time with other Little girls. The Littles start plotting with Samantha over what to do next. Cindy starts to realize the magnitude of what she is about to do and questions her actions. Who is right? Samantha, Jessica, or Mom? Who will have the final say in Cindy's future at camp?

Dinner went without a hitch. With it free seating, everyone was sitting with their friends and Miss Greenburge didn’t even try to learn the names of the kids at the table. Cindy, being nine-almost ten, was the oldest at the table, but the other kids didn’t know that. They were all six to eight year old girls, and they accepted Cindy like she was one of them. She didn’t act or behave any different from the other girls. No one questioned where she had been the first week or why she wasn’t staying on the dorm floor with them.

After dinner Samantha took Cindy up to her room. With a few of the other girls Samantha introduced Cindy to at dinner, they talked about a clothes swap tomorrow after dinner. The four girls in the room, in addition to Cindy, thought the clothes swap could come up with five complete size seven outfits: socks, underwear, and dress (or pants and blouse). Socks and underwear would be the hardest, but most of the moms had sent extra clothes ‘just in case’. Samantha was willing to give Cindy the princess sneakers, but Cindy explained that they were too small for her. Two of the other girls in the room wore shoes a size bigger. One was willing to trade Crocks with Cindy. She had these bright pink Crocks and thought she would like the dark blue ones Cindy brought to camp. She wouldn’t commit until she saw the shoes tomorrow night.

The other girl was not willing to trade, but would lend Cindy an outfit for tomorrows performance for Mr. Elks. She wanted to make sure some of the little kids were in the final performance of the concert. Usually the only performance with kids under ten was the group Junior performance. The idea of two Littles in the final song of the concert, and three out of the four kids doing the song wouldn’t even be teenagers, that was worth almost anything. The big kids always looked so down on the Littles, repeatedly telling them that they were just babies learning how to play. Showing up the teenagers would be wonderful.

The girl’s mom packed two dress up outfits. She didn’t care which one she wore to the concert on Saturday, so Cindy could have her pick between the two outfits. Samantha felt the best would be a black sleeveless dress with a white belt. Wearing white tights and some black mary jane shoes, along with a white headband with a pink bow, it would be a perfect concert outfit, dressed up all prim and proper.

“Samantha,” Cindy inquired. “I thought I was supposed to look like a little girl. Puffy sleeves and frills would give me that look. This outfit does not even have sleeves.”

“Jessica did feel that having you look like a six year old would help us convince Mr. Elks, but we are trying to put on a proper orchestra concert for him, right? In this outfit you will look the part. Trust me on this, nothing says little girl like a dress with white tights. Yes, you would look like a little girl in a frilly puffy sleeved dress, but you would just be a little girl. This way you are a little girl and a professional flute player. We need to show Mr. Elks that even though we are little kids, we can still be the best players here at camp. You know the two of us are better than any of the teenagers.”

“Yeah, I know.” Cindy said grabbing Samantha’s dolly on her bed and cuddling up with it. “I am not sure I can do this. Yeah, I can play better than Jessica and George. You can too, but we are seven and nine years old. What can we do? I want to be me, but I am scared. Being good isn’t enough. Being cute isn’t enough. Mommy doesn’t want Cindy around, and Mr. Elks isn’t going to want me here either. What is the point. Thanks for your help, all of you. I can’t do this. I am not strong like you Samantha.”

Samantha went up to Cindy and hugged her. “Cindy, I am not going to let you back out of this. Your Mommy was mean by cutting your hair the way she did. Jessica told me that she wouldn’t even let Cindy out of your bedroom. She did all of this just because you went to your best friend’s birthday party. In school one of my friends got taken away from her Mommy because the Mommy would hurt her. My teacher says that is something called Child Abuse. Grown-ups can get into big trouble for hurting little kids. Your Mommy hurt you. We will not hurt you. I promise.”

All the other girls in the room all promised to help Cindy no matter what.

“You are holding Molly,” Samantha said looking at the dolly in Cindy’s embrace. “She helps me through tough times. I want you to have her. You need her more than me at the moment. She will make you feel stronger and better. She’s good at that.”

Cindy really looked at Molly for the first time. She looked familiar. She had brown braided hair, red glasses, blue sweater, plaid skirt, and red sneakers. It took Cindy a little bit to figure out where she had seen the doll before. Finally, she figured it out, it was on the cover of the American Girl book Molly. Her sister had several of the Molly books, and Cindy secretly read them all.

Samantha gave Cindy another big hug.

“That’s it,” Olivia practically shouted. “The solution to looking professional and little girl at the same time is simple, just carry Molly around with you.”

Cindy looked at Olivia like she had two heads, and Samantha looked at Cindy and Molly before turning to look at Olivia.

“That may work,” Samantha said while still in thought. “My music teacher back home complains all the time about the stickers on my violin, but when someone reminds him that I am only seven, he lets the stickers stay. Molly is dressed up nice, so even at a concert she would be dressed okay. The teenager girls don’t bring dollies to camp, but most still have at least one in their bedrooms back home. They never say anything about one of us Littles carrying around a dolly here at camp.

It was decided, tomorrow at rehearsal, Cindy would wear the black dress and carry Molly. She could even sit in Cindy’s lap while playing. The other girls left, leaving just Cindy and Samantha.

“I don’t think this is going to work.”

“George said it best Cindy. If we do not try, the only time you get to be Cindy is during practice all week, but Mr. Elks just might say yes. They only way to find out is to try.”

“I’m really scared.”

“I know, but together we can do this. All three of us together,” Samantha said looking at the Molly doll.

When Samantha saw that it was 7:15 pm and all little kids needed to be back on their dorm floors by 7:30pm, she quickly got the bag with Frank’s clothes and ran with Cindy to the Livingroom. Cindy went into the bathroom to change clothes. When she came back out, she handed the back with the dress back to Samantha.

“Thanks Samantha,” Cindy said giving Samantha a hug. “It is a lovely dress your grandma made you. I enjoyed wearing it.”

“I really like it too. When I heard you needed a special dress, I just knew that was the most special dress I owned. One thing before you go Frank. You will want to take out that hair clip before going back to your dorm.”

“Thanks Samantha, it would not have been good for me to go back to the boy’s dorm floor still wearing a Sofia the First hair clip.”

Before they could say anymore, the Librarian came through and told all the little kids that they needed to go back to their dorms.

Back at the dorm, kids commented about Frank’s new haircut, but none of them saw Cindy. They still viewed Frank as a boy.

At breakfast Jessica told George everything was set for the afternoon practice session. “I’ll get Mr. Elks to excuse the littles from the one and two o'clock activities. You get him to come sometime between one and three.”

“Okay,” George replied. “I wish we had one more day to practice before Mr. Elks heard us, but I understand why Cindy needs this to happen today. I hope you did something about that hair, it made her look like a boy in a dress.”

“Don’t worry. Mr. Elks will have a hard time seeing anyone other than Cindy,” Jessica tried to assure him. “See you at one o'clock.”

Morning lessons went as usual. Frank’s favorite time was his class with all the other woodwind instruments. Back home in his Elementary Band there was a sixth grader who played the clarinet, but he was just learning it. There were no other kids who played woodwind instruments. There were a lot of string and brass instruments. Having a class of 20 kids all playing different woodwind instruments was exciting and fun. Here at camp there were other kids that could challenge him and push him to do better. He found it strange though, that he appeared to be the best woodwind player when there were sixteen and seventeen year olds in the group.

As everyone was filing into the dining room for lunch, Samantha went up to Frank, “Jessica just told me she got us out of our one and two o'clock activities. Meet me in the livingroom after lunch. You can get changed in the private bathroom before we go to practice. I have everything for Cindy in my backpack which I hid in the livingroom under the TV.”

“Oh Melinda, wait up,” Samantha said as she ran off to catch up with Melinda.

Cindy wished she could go running off with Samantha, but Frank’s shoulders slumped as he slowly walked off to his table with a bunch of boys his age at it.

After lunch, Frank made his way to the Livingroom. He got there before Samantha and tried to find her backpack. There was no backpack in sight. First, he looked around the TV like she said, but then he looked around the whole room. He even picked up the bean bag chairs looking under them. There was nothing, just the furniture that was supposed to be there.

When Samantha walked into the room, he immediately ran up to her, “Samantha it was stolen. It’s not here. Cindy’s outfit has been stolen.”

“Stolen? What are you talking about?” Samantha walked over to the TV and opened up the bottom drawer under it. She pulled out a pink Disney Princess backpack. “It’s not stolen. It’s just where I left it.”

“I thought all those drawers had DVDs in them.”

“They do. All but that bottom drawer,” Samantha handed the backpack to Frank. “Go get changed. We are supposed to meet Jessica and George in ten minutes.”

Five minutes later, Cindy walked out of the bathroom carrying the backpack on her back, her flute case in one hand, and Molly hugged with the other arm.

“Okay, now you wait here,” Samantha said as she darted for the bathroom still carrying her violin case.

A few minutes later Samantha walked out wearing a black dress with white tights, looking a lot like Cindy. She had her previous outfit in her hands. Taking her backpack from Cindy, she put the outfit in it. “Okay. Let's go.”

When they arrived at the practice room, George was getting out his instrument. Jessica walked in just as Samantha and Cindy started warming up.

Jessica didn’t go to the piano, instead she walked over to Cindy and stood in front of her. “What in the world are you wearing. That is not what we agreed to have you wear. And the doll? Why do you have a doll on your lap? I did not say you should have a doll.”

“No, YOU didn’t,” blurted Samantha. “It was decided last night in my room with some other LITTLES. We felt a professional little girl look would be best to represent us today.”

“But I . . .”

“Yes Jessica,” Samantha interrupted. “You are trying to be in charge, but this isn’t about you. It is about Cindy. Did you even know that she is really scared about showing Cindy to Mr. Elks? What have you done to help her get through this fear? Molly will be with her when she is scared, worried, and just wants to be herself. Can you do all of that? NO! And come on Jessica, she still looks like a little girl with the dress, white tights, and Molly. Now stop complaining about what Cindy is wearing, and get over to the piano. We are ready to start practicing. Are you?”

George raised his eyebrows at Samantha’s declaration, “Jessica, she has a point. If Cindy having a doll with her makes her feel better, then let her. When I was her age, I slept with my teddy bear and carried him with me whenever we traveled anywhere. He made me feel better. Mr. Elks will be here at 2:30. We need to be working as a team by the time he shows up. At the moment we are still all learning our parts. Let's get to practicing.”

“But . . .” Jessica started and stopped as she looked around at the three others in the room. Cindy really caught her attention. Cindy was sitting in her chair, knees up to her chin with her arms wrapped around her legs. The Molly doll was held tight. The look on her face worried Jessica.

“Cindy?” Jessica said leaning down to eye level. “Cindy?”

In a soft voice Jessica could hear Cindy mumbling, “I can’t do this. I can’t do this. Not again.”

“Cindy?” Jessica said for the third time. She waved her hand in front of Cindy’s face. Cindy showed no reaction or awareness of Jessica.

“Great,” George came over to Cindy. “We broke her. Samantha, quickly, go get Mr. Elks.”

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 04 To Play or Not to Play

Summary: Cindy's Panic Attack changes all the plans, then Mr. Elks challenges things set in stone. Cindy's future is on the line.

Samantha looked at Cindy and then at George. She didn’t move.

“Go,” George said more forcefully. “I’ll take care of Cindy. I have experience with stuff like this. Go! Mr. Elks should be in Band Room 1.”

Samantha ran out of the room and Jessica stepped back as George took a position right in front of Cindy.

“W – What happened?” Jessica questioned.

“I suspect all your fighting put Cindy into a panic attack. My little sister gets them all the time. I know how to calm her down, but I am not sure I know Cindy enough to bring her out of it.”

“Cindy,” George said in this soft gentle voice. “It is okay. Samantha and Jessica aren’t going to fight anymore. Everything is okay now. You have your dolly and we are just going to play a little music.”

Turning to Jessica, “Get on the piano and play a soft gentle lullaby.”

Jessica quickly went over and started playing a classical piano lullaby.

“Hear the music Cindy?” George continued in his soft soothing voice. “Listen to the music and slowly take some deep breaths. In through the nose, and out through the mouth.”

“All the yelling, the screaming. Mommy scared all the kids at my best friend’s birthday party. Yelled at and about me all the way to the barber shop,” Cindy flatly commented.

“It’s okay Cindy. It’s okay. No more yelling. No one is mad at you here.”

“She had him cut my braids right off. He didn’t even undo them. Two snips, and they were down on the ground.”

“It’s okay now Cindy,” George said with his hands on her knees. “That mean barber isn’t here now. Your hair looks all pretty now. It even has a pretty bow in it. Listen to the music Cindy and breathe.”

“Bought all new clothes for camp with me in a party dress and a boy’s haircut, even bought boys underwear. Announced to everyone in Wal-Mart I was a freak.”

The door suddenly opened as Mr. Elks and Samantha came charging into the room. They were stopped by George holding up his hand.

“Your mom is not here Cindy. You are safe here. No one is going to be mean to you. You are dressed up all pretty Cindy. Your dolly is in your hands and Jessica is playing some nice music. Can you hear the nice music Cindy?”

“Yeah”

George signaled for Samantha to play with Jessica. She went over and picked up her violin, joining in when she could.

“Good,” George said. “Very Good. Listen to the music. Do you recognize it?”

“Yeah,” Cindy said staring straight ahead.

“Do you think you could play the song,” Mr. Elks softly asked as he knelt down and picked up the flute next to Cindy.

George smiled at Mr. Elks and continued, “I would love to hear you play it Cindy. Can you play it for me?”

Mr. Elks put the flute in Cindy's hand. It slowly went up to her mouth and she started to play. Mr. Elks signaled for Jessica and Samantha to keep playing.

“That is very pretty Cindy,” George said.

By the end of the song Cindy had snapped out of the trance and was interacting with the world again.

Samantha was the first to break the silence, “What happened to Cindy.”

George answered, “She had a panic attack when you and Jessica were fighting over what she should wear. My little sister gets them a lot after a dog attacked her last summer.”

“Your right George,” Mr. Elks affirmed. “Kids who have gone through a traumatic event can go into a state of shock when something triggers the memory. George you did a great job calming her down and bringing her out of it. Based on your skill bringing Cindy out of her attack, I assume you have a lot of experience calming your sister down.”

“Yeah,” George’s face turned to inner thought. “She’s eight, and Cindy reminded me so much of her. I didn’t know Cindy’s happy place, but I figured a girl who can play as good as her would find music a happy place. That is why I told Jessica to play a lullaby.”

“Good job George,” Mr. Elks replied. “Now, Cindy. Are you feeling good enough to answer a few questions?”

“Yeah,” Cindy looked around at the other three kids in the room. “What I don’t feel up to answering, I am sure one of them can answer for me.”

Mr. Elks looked around the room at a bunch of faces not willing to make eye contact with him. “Okay, I guess the first question should be, who are you? There are no little girls at camp this year named Cindy. I have not met you before, but you look familiar.”

“I can explain Mr. Elks,” Jessica started.

“No, Jessica,” Cindy interrupted. “I need to explain this part.”

Cindy bent down and pulled out of the flute case the picture of her in the party outfit, “This is me, just before camp started. . . .”

Cindy went on to explain about Frank, Cindy, and what happened right before camp. Jessica explained how the two of them met on the first day of camp, and how Frank had been miserable all during the first week. She explained how Frank made sure she wasn’t always depressed for having to wear dresses every day at camp, even though she hated wearing dresses. Jessica then explained to Mr. Elks how she had developed a piano composition for his class, but changed it to include Frank’s amazing flute playing. That way, he could have some Cindy time while the two of them practiced. Jessica just needed to figure out how to get a dress for Frank to wear. Not knowing any Littles that were Cindy’s size was a big problem. This led to Samantha, who Jessica had observed the last two years as one of the best violin players at camp. Meeting Samantha and getting her to lend a dress was easy, and just after that Jessica walked into Mr. Elks composition class. That caused her to think she might be able to get Samantha, Frank, and herself to do her composition, and with three out of the five best performers in the camp it might win the concerts last performance honor. Then, why not add George. Could she write something for a whole orchestra? Samantha explained how she wanted Cindy to be here all week, especially after she heard Cindy playing. Cindy played much better than Frank did. George agreed with this statement.

As the others told Mr. Elks their parts of the story, Cindy smiled more and more, hugging Molly the whole time. She loved what she was hearing. She had friends.

“Really,” Mr. Elks inquired? “Cindy plays better than Frank?”

“It is like the difference between Samantha and me,” George continued. “I have all the technical stuff and can play with precision, but she feels the music as she plays. That feeling makes her a better performer than me. Frank doesn’t play with feeling, but Cindy does.”

“Interesting,” Mr. Elks pondered. “I have heard Frank play and he certainly is a very talented performer, but you are telling me that Cindy is even better. Cindy, could you please play me your favorite piece?”

Cindy picked up her flute, leaving Molly in her lap, and started to play.

When she finished, “Ahh, one of Friedrich Kuhlau’s flute solos. How lovely. You do that with a lot of feeling and emotion. George might be right, you might actually play better as Cindy than Frank.”

“It doesn’t matter Mr. Elks. I know I’m not allowed to be Cindy, so I will go get changed now. You won’t see Cindy again. I promise,” Cindy put down her flute and started to stand up.

“Stop Cindy. I don’t know what to do with Cindy, but for now, I came to hear the four of you play a composition that Jessica is writing for my class. You all have until the end of the day tomorrow to polish it up, but let me hear what you have so far.”

“We have been working on it together,” Jessica admitted. “Is that okay?”

“Of course it is Jessica,” Mr. Elks smiled. “I assume you wrote the initial piece and have gotten input from the others.”

“Yes sir.”

“Then let’s hear what you have all composed so far.”

The kids all went to their instruments and pulled up the composition on their tablets.

“Okay everyone,” Jessica instructed. “I made some tweaks to it last night just before bed, so make sure you pull up the latest version on your app. George, ease into your part softly after Samantha’s solo. Cindy and Samantha, I expanded the duo you two have. Cindy, if any of the notes I have you playing are too long for your breaths, let me know. Just like yesterday everyone, play the notes, but if something doesn't feel right, play what works for you. I will make changes at the end. Okay everyone, on three. One . . . Two . . . Three.”

The music started and continued for almost ten minutes. At the end, Mr. Elks clapped and the kids all stood up, curtsied or bowed.

“Impressive,” Mr. Elks praised. “Very impressive. Yesterday was your first practice ever playing together, and you are already playing off each other. It was a beautiful composition Jessica, and I like how you integrated everyone into it so well. You need a conductor. Alfred might be a good match for that, or possibly you Jessica.”

“Me? I can’t direct the group and play at the same time.”

“No, you’re right,” Mr. Elks smiled. “What if you didn’t play this composition, but instead you conducted it? Let’s see, Mary-Jane would be able to play the piano at this level.”

“Mr. Elks,” Samantha interrupted. “I don’t have a problem with Mary-Jane, but Jessica is a tween and Mary-Jane is one of the older teenagers. Are there any kids who are not teenagers who can take Jessica’s place?”

Mr. Elks smiled at Samantha, “Littles, interesting view point Samantha. The oldest in this orchestra is George, and you are what this year, fourteen?”

“Yes sir,” George Smiled.

“And Jessica, you’re not even a teenager yet, are you?”

“No, Mr. Elks.”

“Samantha is seven. Are you seven too Cindy?”

“I’m nine. Just small for my age.”

“We have never had such a strong group of young performers. It would be nice to see this group have their chance with no one older than George. Let me think.”

“Sir,” Jessica interjected. “I think I would really like to play my song. Are there any young kids who could direct the song?”

“I might have to ask Mrs. Star that question. She is teaching the music conducting class this summer, and she has the Junior Performance in the concert too. I bet she could recommend someone George’s age or younger. Jessica, since it is mostly your composition, you will have the final say for conductor. In fact, I want you right now to conduct the song. I will take over on the piano.”

The group went through the song one more time.

“Wow,” Cindy exclaimed. “That sounded beautiful. Jessica, you need to direct us.”

“Am I that bad on the piano?”

“No,” George elaborated. “It is that you know how this composition should sound, and when you were conducting it, the feeling came out.”

“You said Cindy played better than Frank,” Samantha put her two cents in. “For this song, you are better conducting it than playing in it. We need to change a few things that you directed us to do but are not in the script. It sounded better the way you directed us.”

Mr. Elks came over to Jessica, “Composing and conducting go together. If you had only written a piano solo, it would make sense for you to play it on stage alone, but you didn’t. You wrote something for an orchestra. To be honest, I would love to hear what this sounds like with a much bigger orchestra, but I definitely do see the value of keeping this one with the younger children. You want to win the honor of the final performance, and pulling that off with Littles is hard. You currently have three out of the four of you not even teenagers. An impressive feat that this camp has not seen for many years.”

“I guess I could be the conductor. I took the class last year, but always liked playing more.”

“Jessica, I could ask Miss Greenburge for the best piano player after you,” Mr. Elks smiled. “But I suspect you already know who that is.”

“Ariel!” Jessica said twisting her face all up. “There is no way I am letting Ariel into this group. She is good on the piano but she is such a . . .”

“Okay,” Mr. Elks stopped her. “We have Littles here Jessica, watch your language. If Ariel is out, who do you recommend?”

Jessica and George both got looks on their faces where you could tell they were thinking. After several minutes George started to smile.

“What if we got the best piano player at camp,” George said as his smile got even bigger.

Jessica looked at him with confusion, “This year I am the best piano player at camp. Who are you thinking of?”

“Jessica, your very good, but you are not the best. Several years ago, there was a little prodigy who came to camp and blew everyone out of the water. He was amazing on the piano, but when he came back the next year, he was no longer playing the piano. He was playing another instrument and I have never heard him play the piano since.”

Mr. Elks started to smile, “George, what a wonderful idea. He is your age, isn’t he?”

“He turned fifteen two days before camp started,” George replied. “The orchestra would be two littles and two teenagers being directed by a tween. The older teenagers will be furious if we win that spot for final song.”

“Who are you talking about?” Jessica inquired.

Mr. Elks started rubbing his chin. Jessica knew this look. He was thinking. “The hard part will be to convince him to play the piano again. Occasionally, I hear him playing the electric piano, but your right, I haven’t heard him play a regular piano since that first year. Getting him to play this type of music again might also be a stretch.”

“Who in the world are the two of you talking about,” Jessica practically screamed.

“Marcus,” George and Mr. Elks said in unison.

“Marcus?” Jessica, Samantha, and Cindy questioned in unison.

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 05 Marcus and Cindy

Summary: Marcus? Mr. Elks wants a Rock'n Roll guitar player to be a classical music piano player? The other question is what will Mr. Elks decide to do about Cindy now that he knows. He didn't flip out, but that doesn't mean he will allow Cindy to stay.

“Marcus plays the electric guitar and only Rock’n Roll,” Jessica explained. “He doesn’t play the piano, and he certainly will not play this type of music. I have been here four years, and I have never heard him play anything close to the type of music in my composition.”

“It will be a tough sell, but I think I have a way that might convince him to join your group,” smiled Mr. Elks. “If Cindy here will help?”

“Me? I’m a worthless little nine year old, classical music flute player. What can I do to convince a fifteen year old Rock’n Roll guitar player, to play the piano in our little orchestra?”

“First things first. No one is worthless. You should never view yourself or anyone else as worthless. We all have something to contribute to this world, and based upon what I have heard this afternoon, you have an amazing future ahead of you playing the flute. Now Cindy,” Mr. Elks looked directly at Cindy. “Do you want to play your flute in this Orchestra as Cindy or Frank?”

“That’s easy, Cindy. That can’t happen though. Mommy sent me to camp as Frank and will be expecting to see Frank playing in the final performance. These guys all want Cindy there, but . . . she can’t be.”

“It is up to you,” Mr. Elks assured her. “I assume, I was scheduled to come here today in order to be introduced to Cindy, and then Jessica would try to convince me to let you be Cindy for the rest of Camp?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Jessica admitted.

Samantha added, “I figured you would accept Cindy after I saw your daughter Lizzy kissing that other girl.”

“Yeah,” George interjected. “If you accept your daughter being a lesbian, then we figured that you would at least listen to us about Cindy here.”

“I see. A true team effort to ambush me, and convince me to let Frank turn into Cindy for the rest of the week,” Mr. Elks looked around at all of them nodding their heads. “Well, our camp does have a Transgender policy. We will not discriminate against children who are Transgender. The problem comes with Frank not coming to camp as Cindy. This really complicates things.”

Mr. Elks considered his options, “Cindy, do you have any girl clothes to wear?”

“No, she doesn’t,” replied Samantha. “But if you let Cindy stay, she will have a full girl’s wardrobe by bedtime tonight.”

“How? No, don’t tell me,” Mr. Elks said shaking his head back and forth. “I am better off not knowing. Just like I don’t want to know how she managed to get a haircut yesterday before dinner. And yes, I did notice an unknown girl at dinner last night.”

Jessica, Samantha, and Cindy all looked at each other with guilty grins.

“As the director of this camp, I will not stop one of the students from dressing up in clothing that does not match the gender on their registration paperwork. It is up to each child to dress themselves each morning. My job is to teach you music. And yes Samantha, if it wasn’t for Lizzy, I probably would have a different view on all of this. If Cindy is going to be here, we can’t have her in the boy’s dorm. But, since we have Cindy registered as a boy at camp, we can’t have her in the girl’s dorm either. I guess she is going to have to stay with my wife and me. We have a spare bedroom where we occasionally have a camp member stay. Cindy, if I say yes, would you be okay staying at my house?”

Cindy wasn’t sure if she heard all of that correctly. She looked around at the other kids. Jessica and Samantha were both nodding their heads yes. George just held his hand out, putting the decision back onto Cindy. She could be Cindy? That is what it sounded like. Mr. Elks would let him dress however she wanted each day. Could Samantha get her clothes to wear this week? After the conversation in Samantha’s bedroom last night, it sounded like it would be easy to get enough clothes to get through the rest of the week. Mom may never let Frank turn into Cindy again. This might be his last chance to ever be Cindy.

“When my mom dropped me off at camp, she made it very clear that she was not done yelling at me and she would continue when I got home from camp. I am going to get yelled at again about being Cindy when I get home no matter what I decide to do here,” Cindy paused as she thought for a minute. “I am Cindy, even when I am dressed up pretending to be a boy named Frank. I want to do it, but what are you going to say to my mom?”

“Well Cindy,” Mr. Elks responded. “Parents pay me to get the best out of all the participants at camp. Kids come from five different states to attend this music camp. So many kids want to attend this camp that we have to screen kids through audition tapes. Only the best get to come here, and we promise parents that their children will leave better players than when they arrived, or their money back. Today, I heard Cindy playing significantly better than Frank ever could. If that is because you are wearing a dress, then all I will tell your mom is that you dressed that way on your own each day and you played better in a dress. I did my job, find a way to make you a better flute player. Parents don’t see kids before the concert, and if Cindy doesn’t play until the last song, your mom will not know you are Cindy until it is all over.”

“Now that we know Cindy is going to be part of this Orchestra, we now have to convince Marcus to join,” George brought everyone back to the biggest challenge in front of them.

“I haven’t said yes to Cindy, and I am not sure Cindy has said yes to being in your band. For the moment however, let’s go with that,” Mr. Elks said looking down at his watch. “Let's see. It is 2:15. Marcus should be in band practice. I will send his band teacher an e-mail and you George go get him. If the band teacher gives you any trouble, ask him to look at his e-mail.”

As George left the room, Mr. Elks typed an e-mail on his tablet. Then, with the help of the girls, he moved one of the dividers away from the wall. They put a chair behind the divider and Cindy was asked to stay behind the divider with her flute and Molly. She needed to stay hidden until asked to come out.

A little over five minutes later, George returned with Marcus.

“What’s going on Mr. Elks,” Marcus questioned as he looked around the room. “This is an interesting group of people you have collected here. Top Piano player, expert on the french horn, a Little that can out play anyone on the violin, and then me, Rock Star. Whadda you want?”

“Hmmm, impressive. Even playing Rock, you keep up on the top talent at camp.”

“Yeah well, they are competition, and you try to get us all to play together at least once during camp.”

“That I do,” Mr. Elks smiled. “There is one person missing though.”

“You mean that weird Little who can charm people with his flute playing, what’s his name Fred or Frank, or Fridder. I don’t know, but yes, with him you would have the best talent in the camp all in this room.”

“Up until today, I would have agreed with you on the top five performers at camp this summer. The group you see in front of you Marcus, have shown me that I was wrong. What if I told you that Frank wasn’t the best flute player and Jessica over here wasn’t the best piano player at camp.”

“Your nuts Mr. Elks. I make it a point to hear everyone play during the first week, even all the Littles. Jessica is definitely the best and so is that Frank kid.”

“Okay, maybe you are right, but Samantha, Jessica, and George think they have found someone who can play even better than Frank.”

“In fact,” Jessica added. “That player, who’s a Little, and Samantha over here might just be the best two players at camp. Period.”

“hmf, two Littles better than me, forget it.”

“Sounds like an interesting challenge. Let’s start with something simple. We will have our mystery person play and you tell me if it is better than Frank. Mystery player, please play us something you like.”

Cindy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Putting the flute up to her lips she started. She felt her way through her favorite flute solo. When the piece was done, she opened her eyes and put down her flute.

“Impressive,” Marcus stated. “I heard nothing that good last week. You are right, the kid is definitely way better than that Frank kid.”

Cindy smiled as Mr. Elks asked her to come out. She grabbed Molly and joined the others.

“Wow, a real little like the violin player there.”

“You like shocking your audience, don’t you Marcus?” Mr. Elks inquired with a smile on his face.

“Yeah, it’s no fun if I don’t shock or impress them at least once during a performance.”

“Well, Cindy here was shock number one and now for a few more,” Mr. Elks grinned. “Jessica here has written a composition for the piano, flute, french horn, and the violin. Jessica was going to play the piano part but the group found out the piece sounded better if she was conducting it. That caused them to need someone to replace Jessica on the piano. Let’s play the piece so you can hear what we are looking for.”

With Mr. Elks back on the piano, and Jessica conducting, the group played the piece for Marcus.

“Pretty good,” Marcus praised. “Sounds like Jessica will probably win the coveted last piece in the concert.”

“They probably will if they can find someone to play the Piano,” Mr. Elks pointed out. “I told you earlier that there was a better piano player at camp than Jessica. We want that person to play the piano part in this orchestra. Here, let me play a song this performer did for me.”

“Okay,” Marcus was puzzled.

Mr. Elks started tapping away on his tablet and then a lovely piano solo started playing. When it finished, he looked around at the group.

“Wow-wee,” Samantha exclaimed!

“Extremely impressive,” was George’s response.

“I am sad to admit,” Jessica sighed. “That was way better than I can play.”

“Sounds like you have your perfect replacement for Jessica on the piano,” Marcus commented. “So, why am I here?”

Cindy just smiled at Marcus while she hugged the Molly doll.

“You see Marcus,” Mr. Elks explained. “We need you to convince that individual to play this piece.”

“What is the problem? Who wouldn’t want to play in the final performance of the concert? It is coveted by almost everyone here at camp. Who is it that you want me to talk to?”

Samantha started to giggle, and shortly after Cindy and Jessica followed.

“What’s up with those weirdos?” Marcus looked down at the little kids.

“We want you to play the piece in the performance,” George said.

Marcus coughed, “You want what?”

“That recording you heard,” Mr. Elks explained. “Was your performance six years ago when you did a solo as the final performance in the concert.”

“But, I don’t play the piano anymore, and I definitely don’t play any classical type of music,” Marcus was wide eyed as he looked around the room.

“You told me that Frank was the best flute player, and we said he wasn’t. Well, we found out that Frank was really a little girl named Cindy, and playing as Cindy she was much better than Frank.”

Marcus looked at Cindy with a quizzical look.

“You told us that the person on that recording would be perfect for the piece. You also said that almost everyone wants to perform in the final performance of the concert. Well,” Mr. Elks looked at Marcus. “Do you?”

“That’s not fair Mr. Elks. You tricked me.”

“We may have done that, but we never lied to you. Cindy really is a better player when playing as Cindy instead of Frank. You really are a better piano player than Jessica, and, this composition will most likely be the final performance of the concert this year.”

Jessica jumped up and down holding in a scream.

“Now Marcus,” Mr. Elks continued. “You want to shock the audience? Just imagine their reaction when the camps Rock’n Roll guitar player gets out on stage and plays the most outstanding piano performance.”

“You have me there. That would definitely be something to shock the audience. Any chance I could do a Rock’n Roll performance right before the final song, so I don’t even leave the stage, just put my guitar on it’s stand and walk over to the piano while these guys are walking onto the stage?”

“You really do like shocking the audience don’t you. Well, I will have to think about that. We usually do not put a Rock’n Roll piece mixed in with the classical music. On top of that, you are asking me to give you a performance in the concert without me even hearing what you want to perform. Before we address that though, are you okay playing in an orchestra with a child who is transgender?”

“Mr. Elks, my favorite band of all time is KISS. An individual’s looks and behavior do not phase me. I don’t care if someone is an alien from Mars, just as long as they can play.”

“One last thing you need to know before you decide,” Cindy added. “My mom may get so mad when she sees me dressed as Cindy up on stage that she may stop the performance and drag me off the stage.”

“Really,” Marcus looked at Mr. Elks and then at the others who were all nodding their heads. “You mean a parent of a classical music camper could stop a performance and drag a kid off the stage at the final concert? It has almost happened a few times with the Rock’n Roll campers, but it hasn’t happened yet. I have pushed my performances away from camp at times, trying to get my mom to do it, but she has never gotten that angry at me. The possibility of being part of a group that may be stopped by a parent is tremendously tempting. I gather she does not approve of Cindy.”

“Nope, not one bit,” Cindy said as she hugged Molly tight.

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 06 The Decision

Summary: Both Marcus and Frank/Cindy have a decision to make. Jessica's dream is on the line. The youngest in the group, Samantha, pulls off a gutsy move, forcing Mr. Elks to make a hard decision himself.

“Cindy,” Mr. Elks knelt down to her level. “I want you to feel safe. I am not your parent. Like I said before, I have no say or control over what you choose to wear, within reason. I can however, try to set up an environment where you feel safe to be yourself. You and Marcus have the final say as to whether or not you each will play Jessica’s song up on stage. That decision has nothing however, to do with you choosing to dress as Cindy for the rest of Music Camp. If you want to be Cindy at camp, meet me after dinner. I will take you back to your dorm to get your stuff, and then over to my house. I live on campus in the music school’s teacher housing. After we drop your stuff off, you can go play with the other kids. If you don’t meet me, I will understand. The choice is yours.”

“Tough decision kid,” George said. “Think about it before answering.”

“Marcus,” Mr. Elks asked? “As I said to Cindy, no one can decide if you will play in this little orchestra but you. I hate to pressure you, but this group either needs to find a conductor or a piano player. They then only have 28 hours to work as a group and submit a recording to me for consideration. Cindy is in the group either as Cindy or Frank. You have a chance right now to be in or out. The composition needs a top level piano player. Whether you like it or not, you really are the best piano player at camp. I know you prefer your electric guitar, but this group needs your piano skills.”

Jessica turned to Marcus, “I would have preferred everyone dressed up as professional orchestra players like Cindy and Samantha here, but I will accept whatever crazy Rock’n Roll outfit you wear for your other performance.”

“Marcus,” George added. “We started at camp the same year. You were one of the reasons I have continued to come back year after year. When you, a Little, got the last performance of the concert that first year and showed up all those teenagers, I knew talent, not age, made a difference at this camp. If I worked hard on my french horn, I could be in that final performance too. I have been there, but this time it is different. It is the first time since your performance that more Littles have a chance of being on the stage than teenagers. You can again motivate the next generation. You switched instruments in a big way when you were young. I bet some of the Littles think about switching to something else but won’t because they are scared. Show them that they can do both. Keep playing what they are good at and try something new. Can you imagine how scared some of the parents at the concert are going to be that their little kid will now want to switch to an electric guitar?”

“Interesting point,” Marcus smiled.

“Well,” Jessica prodded. “What do you say? We have the five most talented performers at camp in this room right now. We have a composition written by four of us, and open to your input on changes. Mr. Elks has wanted, but has never gotten, all of the most talented performers up on stage at once. This is the closest we have ever been. We can put on a performance that this camp will talk about for years. A performance that everyone at camp will be jealous that they are not part of. To really pull this off though, we need you. Will you please do it?”

“I haven’t played the piano for years. There must be someone better than me that you could get?”

“No. The next best is Ariel.”

Marcus winced.

“I am NOT going to let her be part of this Orchestra,” Jessica firmly pronounced. “In fact, I will not let another teenager be in the group. The reason I am even considering you is because of how good you are. I never expected to hear you playing the piano better than me. If you do not accept the position, I either look for a kid who isn’t a teenager to take my place, or a kid who isn’t a teenager to conduct. Either way, we are going to do this performance and we will do a performance that will be talked about for years. People still talk about your performance, I just never knew it was you.”

“Okay, okay. I will do it. If, and only if, you get the coveted final spot, and I get to do a Rock’n Roll performance right before that.”

“It’s a deal,” George and Jessica said together.

“Wait a minute,” Mr. Elks said. “I believe, I am the only one that can promise him what he wants.”

George grinned, “Mr. Elks, you will do almost anything to get the five of us up on stage doing a performance together. You want this just as much as we want it.”

“Yeah, but . . .”

“Fine Mr. Elks,” Samantha interjected. “Say No. Then see what will happen.”

Everyone looked at Samantha who was standing right next to Cindy with the biggest smile on her face.

“Are you threatening me Samantha?”

“Who me? I am just a little seven year old,” Samantha tilted her head and blinked her eyes as she took Cindy’s hand and squeezed. “How could I threaten you? So what, if you have one less violin player performing in the final concert. No big deal.”

“And one less flute player,” Cindy added, squeezing Samantha’s hand back.

“If they aren’t playing, I certainly am not going to perform in the concert,” added Jessica as she walked over to Samantha and Cindy.

“Now wait a minute,” Mr. Elks complained.

“No, I agree with them Mr. Elks. Say No, and see what happens,” George added going over and standing next to Jessica, and behind Samantha and Cindy. “One less french horn player in the final concert wouldn’t mean anything. So, go ahead, and say no.”

“They have a lot of guts Mr. Elks,” Marcus added. “They are going to do what they want. You have the best talent at camp in this room, and it appears, as though, they are threatening you with a walk out if you say, No. All started by what, the second youngest here.”

“No, I am the youngest,” Samantha proudly proclaimed. “I am seven, and Cindy is nine.”

Marcus laughed, “Yup, a seven year old has just threatened to take the best talent at camp, out of your final concert. And, she has the power to do it too. I think, I will join this walk out. I might even be able to convince a few other top talent to not perform.”

“You all know I could just say, NO, and put on the concert without you.”

“You could,” Samantha replied. “But, what would all the mommies and daddies think when they find out the top talent at camp refused to play in the final concert. Especially, when we tell them that we wanted to play a small orchestra piece together, with no vocalist, but you wouldn’t let us play the piece.”

“Now wait a minute.”

“She has a point Mr. Elks,” Marcus grinned. “If my mom found out I was willing to play a classical music piece, but you wouldn’t let us, she would be complaining to every parent that would listen. She has been trying for years to get me back into classical music. She has made enough friends with other parents at this point, that one phone call home would cause the news to spread like wild fire.”

“Okay, I get the point. Either, I take Marcus’ conditions, or I . . .” Mr. Elks paused looking down at Samantha and Cindy.

“Am in big doo doo,” Samantha finished his sentence.

Samantha and Cindy looked very serious, but everyone else in the room just started laughing.

“I will go along with all of this, including a promise that the five of you will be the final performance of the concert, if all five of you are working together. Marcus, this is Jessica’s baby. She has control and will be in charge. I will accept minor changes to what she currently has composed, but only minor changes. As for your Rock’n Roll performance, it will need my approval just like any other person or group performing in the final concert. I guarantee you the position right before Jessica’s composition, if you can come up with something I approve of. Same rules as previous years. Whatever you do, has to be appropriate for six year olds. No inappropriate language, gestures, or wardrobe malfunctions allowed. Understood?”

“Yes sir,” Marcus said with a smile.

“Oh, thank you Samantha,” Jessica hugged Samantha tight. “My composition is going to be the final performance of the concert. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“It is three o’clock. The Littles are to take the next two hours off. No playing music or being in a music room. Jessica, I suggest you do the same, but I am not going to force you. Everyone, Marcus being part of this group is to stay a secret. In fact, no one is to give any indication of what type of music you are going to be performing. If anyone sees Marcus coming in here to practice with all of you, I don’t want them knowing what you are going to perform. Marcus, I recommend you practice on the piano for at least an hour before dinner. I will set up a two-hour slot in the morning, and this, one to three, slot in the afternoon for the five of you to work together tomorrow. I still need your recorded entry tomorrow before bed. Then for the rest of the week, you will all have just this slot to practice during. You all still have classes to take, and I will not tolerate any of you missing a class. The littles are never allowed to practice for more than an hour without a break, and after two hours they must have at least two hours off.”

The kids all looked at each other and nodded. To make sure at least part of his directions were followed, he left the room with Cindy and Samantha. Mr. Elks went off to his office, and the little kids went back to the living room for a quick change.

With Frank back, Samantha and Cindy went to their rooms to drop off their instruments. Frank, alone in his room, started to pack up all of his stuff. He didn’t think he was really up to doing this. He looked around at the other kids’ stuff. Three kids to each room. He really hated sharing a room with boys, but everyone shared rooms. Frank came to camp, so he had boy roommates.

Frank and/or Cindy viewed boys as gross. He hated being in the boy’s dorm. It was a constant reminder that a stupid thing hidden in his underwear made everyone believe he was a boy, even though they never saw the ridiculous thing. At times he considered cutting the terrible thing off and then no one would ever call him Frank again. The painful memories of getting shots always convinced him that he would not withstand the pain of cutting it off. Frank was, unfortunately, around for a while. He thought about how, here at camp, he was switching back and forth between Cindy and Frank, but no one saw the other. Was it really that simple? Could wearing the right clothes, really be all that was needed for people to see Cindy all the time?

Once everything was packed, his laundry bag and his suitcase sat on his bed, “I am Cindy, not Frank.” Grabbing the suitcase and leaving the laundry bag, Cindy dressed as Frank, returned to the living room. Taking the backpack Samantha had brought, Frank went to change back into Cindy. He found the dress Samantha’s Grandma had made. With a quick change back to Cindy, she sat down next to Samantha to finish watching the Vampirina episode that was on Disney Junior. At the end of the episode, the two of them headed off to Samantha’s room.

“Cindy, let’s see what you have to trade with,” Samantha said as Cindy put her suitcase down on Samantha’s bed.

Sorting everything out on the bed, Samantha put all the non-tradable items back in the suitcase which was eventually stashed under the bed. Samantha then went through the dorm letting anyone there know that a trading session was starting in her room. A few of the girls followed her back to her room.

“Okay everyone,” Samantha announced once they were in. “Cindy here needs to trade a bunch of stuff for more girl clothes. Dresses, skorts, pink shorts, t-shirts, and even shoes. She even needs socks and underwear. She’s a size two shoe, and size seven/eight in clothes. She needs this stuff, and I know we all have “extra stuff” our moms packed for us. Some of you have more dresses than you want, and others feel some of their clothes are too babyish. Cindy here will consider anything you have.”

“That’s a cool t-shirt.”

“You mean I could get rid of those awful pink shorts?”

“Ooooo, a Star Wars t-shirt. My mom wouldn’t buy that one for me because it was in the boys department.”

The girls were considering options, and a few ran off to their rooms to get stuff to trade. Samantha was amazing. With every girl she traded with, she tried to include something extra. A hair accessory was automatically included with every deal. She also tried to include in each trade a pair of panties and/or a pair of socks. By dinner, Cindy had two dresses, two skorts, two girly t-shirts, three panties, two pairs of socks, and one pair of leggins. Her blue crocks were traded for pink ones. Just before leaving for dinner, Samantha went into her own suitcase and pulled out a nighty with Vampirina on it. She added it to Cindy’s new clothes. Cindy gave Samantha a hug and then put the new clothes into her suitcase. Samantha assured Cindy that they would get more after dinner.

Cindy was petrified as she walked into the cafeteria for dinner. There were assigned tables that kids had to sit at. There was no hiding now. She would need to explain why she was now Cindy. Holding tight onto the Molly doll, Cindy parted with Samantha as they headed to their designated tables. Cindy slowly went over to her table and sat down next to the teacher.

“Hi there,” Mrs. Sterling said looking down at the little girl who had just sat down next to her. “I haven’t seen you before. What’s your name?”

“My name is Cindy Mrs. Sterling. I have been sitting at this table since camp started,” taking a deep breath and hugging Molly tight, she moved her finger signaling for Mrs. Sterling to come down to her level. Then, very softly Cindy said into her ear, “You have been calling me Frank.”

Mrs. Sterling quickly sat straight up and looked down at Cindy. She looked around at the boys that were at the table, and those just about to sit down. Then, she looked back at Cindy. She looked around the room, and seeing Mr. Elks walking by, she called him over.

Seeing Cindy, Mr. Elks addressed her first, “Hi, Cindy. Glad to see that you made it to dinner tonight. Meet me after the meal at my table.”

“You know Cindy,” Mrs. Sterling asked, very confused?

“Yeah, she is going to be staying at my house for the rest of camp. Look after her, she is an upcoming star. She is one of the top three performers here at camp this summer, maybe even the best. Just wait until you hear her play the flute.”

“O-Okay,” Mrs. Sterling stuttered.

All the other kids at the table, and a few at the table next to them were looking back and forth between Mr. Elks and Cindy. When Mr. Elks left, Cindy heard some teenagers at the next table say, “Did you hear that, Mr. Elks thinks that Little may be the best performer at camp this summer. Who is she? Have you seen her before? How could a kid so young be the best performer? Have you heard her play?”

Before everyone was quieted for announcements, Jessica arranged for a distraction that she thought would help Cindy get through the meal.

Samantha approached Cindy's table, “Cindy, after meeting with Mr. Elks meet me in my room.”

George was next, “Cindy, practice tomorrow will start at one. It will be in the same room as today.”

When George left, the teens at the other table were all in a buzz about the Little that was practicing with George. They were all questioning if it really could be true that Cindy was one of the top three performers at camp. No matter who was making the list, everyone knew Samantha and George were definitely in the top ten. Most put the two of them in the top five. When Jessica showed up next, people around the cafeteria were now all whispering to each other and looking over at Cindy.

“Cindy,” Jessica commented. “That was an amazing performance this afternoon. Thanks for your help.”

Three of the top performers had just interacted with a little girl none of them recognized. When Marcus was spotted heading towards this part of the cafeteria, all eyes were on the Rock’n Roll star. Some wondered if he also knew this Little, but most believed that there was no way he knew this little kid. Some of the teenagers were betting candy bars on whether he would stop or not.

“Cindy, the others are right. The three of us are the best at camp this summer. I still think I am better than the two of you, but I look forward over the next week figuring out which of us is the top performer at camp. See you tomorrow,” Marcus walked off without waiting for a response.

“You know Marcus,” the other Littles at the table asked?

“Marcus, Samantha, George, and Jessica,” Evan questioned? “They are the top performers. And . . . And you might be better than all of them? That’s like really Cool!”

Just then, Mr. Elks rang the bell to get everyone’s attention for the day’s announcements.

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 07 Goodbye Frank

Summary: It is time to say Goodbye to Frank. Samantha sets out to make sure Cindy is dressed appropriately for the rest of camp.

The Littles at Cindy’s table were full of questions about the top performers that came to their table and talked to Cindy. No one even appeared to notice that Frank wasn’t there, or that a girl was now sitting at a table that previously only had boys at it. Around the rest of the cafeteria, speculation, disbelief, and wild rumors were spreading like crazy. Marcus, George, Jessica, and Samantha, who all sat at different tables, were being asked a ton of questions about the new girl. Of those that knew the truth, none of them said a thing about Frank. Even the girls that cut Cindy’s hair had a ton of questions. They kept it a secret that Cindy had been pretending to be a boy, but they had no idea the kid they helped was such a talented player.

The teenagers were not going to just accept what Marcus and Mr. Elks said. To them, Cindy looked like she was six or seven years old, and there was no way they were going to accept that a six year old was the best performer at camp this summer. It just couldn’t be. As they figured, they had been playing their instrument longer than Cindy had been alive, and for some, twice as long as she had been alive. This Little, who still carried around a dolly, could not be better than they were. Many felt better saying this, but in the back of their heads they could still hear Mr. Elks and Marcus believing that she might be the best. If they believed it, could it actually be true?

Dinner went quickly, but not fast enough for Cindy. She was the center of attention for the whole cafeteria. The only good thing was that no one saw Frank, they only saw the little girl Cindy. She heard what the teenagers at the next table were saying. They desperately wanted to hear her play, so they could prove that they were better than her. She also felt really good when the kids at her table were all excited that a Little might be a better player than the teenagers. They didn’t want to prove that they were better than her, they just wanted her to be better than the teenagers.

When the table had finally been cleared, many kids tried to come over and talk with Cindy. They bombarded her with a ton of questions. Seeing that Cindy didn't want to answer the questions, Mrs. Sterling decided that it would probably be best if she escorted Cindy over to Mr. Elks table. Mr. Elks had Cindy sit down next to him, and told everyone else to go to their after dinner activities. Everyone had signed up for something at breakfast, so slowly they turned and headed for the door. Some were finding excuses to hang around, like needing to tie their shoes or helping tables that still had some clean up to do. Mr. Elks finally left with Cindy and headed for the dorms.

“It really is okay that I stay at your house Mr. Elks?”

“Oh yes Cindy. My wife is all excited to have a little girl in the house again. She even pulled out some of Lizzy’s old toys.”

“Does she know I am not a real girl?”

“A real girl,” Mr. Elks chuckled as he looked down at the little girl next to him holding a dolly tight in her arms. “What is a real girl? You like dresses and dollies. You probably want to play with the girls at recess instead of the boys.”

“Yeah, but . . .”

“A real girl is one who views themselves as a girl instead of a boy,” Mr. Elks said smiling. “In your heart and brain, who are you? Frank or Cindy?”

“Cindy,” she said without a second to think about it.

“Then Cindy, you are a real girl,” Mr. Elks squeezed her hand as they walked on in silence.

Just before reaching the dorms, Mr. Elks looked down at Cindy, “There should be no one in the dorms with everyone at their evening activities. Are you all packed up and ready to go?”

“Well, sort of Mr. Elks.”

“Sort of?”

“Yeah, everything in my boy room is packed up. In fact, the only thing left in there are my dirty clothes.”

“Where are the rest of your things?”

“There in Samantha's bedroom,” Cindy said as they entered her boy dorm room. Cindy grabbed the laundry bag, but Mr. Elks took it from her.

“I will get that,” he said as he headed out of the room. “Let's go up to Samantha’s room and get your other stuff.”

“But we are not done yet!”

“Ahhhh, Let’s go up there anyways.”

When they got to Samantha’s room, Mr. Elks saw a few of Franks clothes on Samantha's bed, “Are these yours?”

“Yeah, all I have left to trade with. I hope it will be enough to get girl clothes for the rest of camp.”

“I will let you in on a little secret,” Mr. Elks smiled down at Cindy. “There is a washer and dryer at my house, and if you asked my wife nicely, I am sure she would wash some clothes for you.”

“Really?”

“Yup. Now do you have a backpack in the suitcase? It was a required item for camp.”

“Yeah, a plain black one.”

“Go ahead and get it out and leave it here on the bed. That way whatever you trade for tonight after evening activities, you can bring that stuff back to my house in your backpack.”

Cindy quickly got out her backpack and zipped back up the suitcase. As they left the room, Mr. Elks was carrying the suitcase and laundry bag. Cindy was holding tight onto the Molly doll.

It was a short walk and they were at Mr. Elks’ house. It was just on the other side of the Library.

“My oh my, aren’t you just the cutest little thing,” a lady said as Cindy walked into the house.

“Cindy, this is my wife Barbra.”

“Hello Mrs. Elks. Thank You for letting me stay here this week.”

“Oh, and so polite too. Cindy it is my pleasure to have you as company. We haven’t had a little girl in the house for years.”

Cindy was shown the guest room. It had a queen size bed in it, a dresser, a closet, and some toys in the corner, including a doll house. There was another door, which looked like it went to a bathroom. The bed had a pink pillow, and a white bedspread with a unicorn on it.

“I hope you like it dear,” Barbra said. “I dug out Lizzy's old Unicorn bedspread. I thought you might enjoy it. Much better than the plain brown one that had been on the bed.”

“It is fabulous. Thank you Mrs. Elks.”

“Oh, don’t call me that dear. Please just call me Barbra.”

Cindy wasn’t sure about that, but she just smiled and nodded.

After putting the suitcase on the bed and the laundry bag in a laundry basket on the other side of the dresser that Cindy had missed, Barbra took Cindy on a tour of the house. Cindy especially liked Lizzy's room. Even though she didn’t live there anymore, the room had many things from her youth, including a bunch of Precious Moments Figurines, two china dolls, and some My Little Pony figures.

Barbra then brought Cindy back to the guest room, “Sweetie why don’t you help me put away some of your clothes into the dresser. You are going to be here all week, no reason to live out of a suitcase.”

The flute was the first thing unpacked, and it went on the top of the dresser. Next was Cindy’s stuffed panda bear, which was put on the bed’s pillow, along with Molly. The toiletries went in the bathroom. The panties, socks, and tights went in the top drawer. T-shirts, skorts, and leggings went in the second drawer. The nightie went under the pillow. Barbra went to hang up the dresses, but when Cindy pointed out that she wouldn’t be able to get them down, they went in the bottom drawer of the dresser. Some things Cindy left in the bag, like her coats, and sweaters. Cindy stuffed her boy swim trunks, pajamas, and underwear under the coats, hoping Barbra didn’t see them. It had been too warm for coats and sweaters anyways during the last week, so Cindy hoped they could hide the boy stuff for this next week.

“Sweetie, these are not enough clothes to get you through the rest of the week. It looks like I will need to do some laundry for you. Why don’t I take your laundry bag and go wash the clothes in there?”

“No, that is okay Mrs. Elks, I mean Barbra,” Cindy quickly replied, rushing over to the clothes hamper to block her. “The clothes in there are not mine, they are Frank’s.”

Barbra looked at Cindy with a very confused face, “Why do you have Frank’s clothes? Where are your clothes from last week?”

“Oh, Mr. Elks didn’t tell you,” Cindy said looking across the room at Molly and her panda. “I am Cindy, but I was pretending to be Frank last week. I am really a girl, but everyone thinks I’m a boy, all because I was born with a wee wee."

“Oh my,” Barbra said going over and giving Cindy a hug. “That must be really hard for you.”

“Yeah, but my friends are helping me here at camp. Samantha traded some of my Frank clothes for girl clothes, and after activities she will try to trade some more. She is trying really hard to get me enough clothes for the rest of the week.”

“That sounds like a really good friend you have there, Cindy,” Barbra said as she let go of the hug and looked at Cindy in the eyes as she kneeled on the floor. “If you don’t have enough, just let me know and I will do a load of clothes for you before you run out.”

“Okay Mrs. Elks.”

“Whatever you need sweetie, just let me know,” Barbra said giving Cindy another hug.

There wasn’t much time left to play, but Cindy did spend a little bit of time exploring the doll house while Barbra sat on the bed watching her.

“You’re what, six years old Cindy,” Barbara inquired as she watched Cindy play.

“No Mrs. Elks, I mean Barbra. I’m not six. I’m nine,” Cindy turned away from the doll house for a moment to look at Mrs. Elks. “Yeah, I know. I don’t look it. I have always been small for my age. Samantha is seven and I fit in her clothes.”

“Nine? Oh my, you are a big girl. Bob just said one of the little girls were coming to stay, he didn’t say how old you were. I just assumed you were six based upon your size. I am sorry for making that mistake.”

“That is okay. Sometimes, I wish I was even smaller than my current size. I really like some of the dresses that are size 6x and smaller. At least, there are a few things in size 7-8 that are still cute.”

“You like the frills and lace, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Cindy said with a dreamy look on her face.

“Lizzy was the same way when she grew out of size 6x. I ended up ordering a lot of stuff off of Amazon.com when she first grew out of 6x clothes. It was easier to find the cute dresses on there in 7’s and 8’s than in the stores.”

Cindy continued to play with the doll house. At seven o’clock Barbra let Cindy go join Samantha. She was told to come back at 7:30 when all the Little’s needed to return to their dorms. Cindy ran out of the house and over to the dorms. She found Samantha and a few other girls in the bedroom already trading clothes.

“Can I try on those bright blue sneakers?”

“Yeah Elizabeth,” Samantha said as she waved at Cindy entering the room. “What do you have to trade?”

“I have some Frozen sneakers that light up. Mom got my sister and I matching sneakers. I don’t want to be wearing the same sneakers as my baby sister.”

Samantha looked at me and quietly asked, “Frozen light up sneakers?”

I nodded my head with a big smile on my face.

“They fit. I’ll take them,” Elizabeth declared.

“Not so fast Elizabeth. Cindy has to try on your shoes first, and you must include at least some hair accessories. Have any Frozen hair clips? She also needs more socks and underwear. Can Cindy have one of the ‘just in case’ pairs that your mom packed you.”

Elizabeth looked down at her feet, “I . . . I . . . I am not sure about that. Can’t we just swap the shoes?”

“How often does your Mom dress you and your baby sister up to look exactly like each other?” Samantha inquired with a devilish grin on her face.

“Okay, okay. I want to trade the sneakers. But I can’t,” Elizabeth hesitated. “Wait, I have a Frozen t shirt I want to get rid of.”

“We only have one t-shirt left to trade, are you okay with a plain green one?”

“I’ll take anything. I just want the Frozen t-shirt to disappear. My sister always wants me to wear it every time she wears hers, and it is one of her most favorite shirts.”

Samantha smiled, “Okay, shoes, t-shirt, a hair accessory, a pair of panties, and either socks or tights. Do we have a deal?”

“Shoes and t-shirt are a straight swap. I can do that. I will even throw in my Frozen head band. Panties and socks? I have to go home with all the panties I came to camp with. I just have to. If I don’t, Mommy will think I wet or pooped some and threw them away to hide the accident. I just have to show Mom I am a big girl, and I don’t do that anymore.”

“hmmmm, need to go home with the same number of panties,” Samantha thought for a minute and then smiled. “If she is afraid that you might have ‘accidents’ at camp, did she send several extra pairs?”

“Yeah, lots of extras. I don’t know why. I haven’t had an ‘accident’ since my birthday, except at night, but I have Pull-Ups for that. Mom said she would send me to camp with only Pull-ups, no panties, if I didn’t stop having daytime ‘accidents’. She sent me to Kindergarten a few times in Pull-Ups. That was so unfair, I am a big girl in school, not a baby. I have to show Mommy I’m not a baby anymore who needs Pull-Ups in the daytime like my sister. I am so happy she sent panties to camp. They all have to come home with no poop or pee in them.”

“Since you have lots of extra panties,” Samantha smiled. “What if I traded you four clean panties for some of my used pairs? That way, you will go home with the same amount. If your mom asks why so many are used, tell her you changed a few extra times because it was so hot out.”

Elizabeth thought for a minute and then nodded yes. She ran out of the room, still wearing Franks blue sneakers.

“Little kids are so easy to get stuff from,” Samantha said once Elizabeth was out of ear shot. “She is tall for her age, which confuses everyone, but she is the youngest kid here at camp this summer. She only turned six, a month ago.”

“You know you are only a year older than her Samantha,” Cindy pointed out.

“Actually, almost two years older. I turn eight, three weeks after camp. She is entering first grade, and I am starting third grade when school starts.”

Cindy looked around the room at Samantha and the three other girls in the room, “I didn’t come to camp last summer because I still occasionally wet when I slept, and my mom said that kids who still need pull-ups can’t go to camp. Only big kids who can keep the bed dry get to go to camp. She was wrong, but I didn’t know that until the first night at camp.”

“A lot of the six year olds wear Pull-ups to bed, and some of the seven year olds,” Samantha said.

“Even some of the eight and nine year olds wear Goodnites to bed,” one of the other girls in the room said. “But, they try to hide it from the other kids.”

The other girls in the room nodded their agreement.

“Were there kids on your floor that wore Pull-Ups or Goodnites to bed,” asked Samantha?

“Yeah, a few,” Cindy said after thinking for a moment. “I don’t know how many. The six and seven year olds don’t try to hide it, so it was easy to see them wearing them under their pajamas. They were way down at the other end of the hall, which made it hard to tell how many. Larry got in trouble the other night for teasing one of the kids in a Goodnite. Our Dorm counselor said that no one was ever to get teased over something like that. If the body can’t control it yet, the body can’t control it. A kid can only control what their body lets them control. I had never thought of it that way before.”

“I was lucky,” Samantha said. “I stopped needing them when I was three. When I got to camp this year, I was surprised how many kids still wore Pull-Ups to bed. There is even one girl who wears them during the day. I guess if you still have ‘accidents’ then Pull-Ups would be better than panties.”

“I wonder at what age they’re not needed anymore,” Cindy pondered?

“Some people must wet the bed forever,” Samantha declared. “When I asked Mommy about Goodnites, she told me they came in two different sizes. One for kids my age and one for teenagers. I have seen commercials on TV that show Pull-Ups for grown-ups. At the store where mommy gets my medicine, I have seen across from the Goodnites, bags that had real diapers for grown-ups, not Pull-Ups. That must be terrible to never get out of baby diapers.”

Just then, Elizabeth came running back into the room with a bunch of stuff in her hands, “Here, try these on.”

Cindy grabbed the sneakers and tried them on. They fit perfectly. She left them on, since she needed to return the Mary-Jane shoes she was wearing. Cindy then started to put the things Elizabeth brought in her backpack.

“Will you trade that,” Elizabeth questioned?

“The Backpack,” Cindy asked?

“Yeah, I have a Frozen one I could trade with you.”

“Go get it. Let’s see what it looks like.”

Elizabeth was out the door and back in a jiffy.

“Here, Mommy bought one for sissy and a matching one for me. I like Frozen, but I wanted a Brave backpack. Mommy said we had to have the same backpacks. Frozen is her favorite movie, so everything has to be Frozen.”

Cindy made the backpack trade. A few more girls came in and Samantha was trading right up until 7:30 when Cindy had to leave. Samantha did it though. She got enough clothes for the rest of the week. There were no more Frank clothes. Cindy now only had clothes that made her look like the girl she was. As she ran back to Mr. Elks’ house, there was a huge smile on her face. With Molly hugged tight and the new Frozen backpack on her shoulder full of girl clothes, Cindy was here to stay. At least until the end of the concert on Saturday.

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 08 Ariel Says Hi

“What do we have here?” a bunch of teenagers said as they came down the path toward Cindy on her way to Mr. Elks’ house. “One of the Littles is out after 7:30, and headed in the opposite direction from the dorms.”

“Look Ariel,” one exclaimed. “Isn't this little kid the one everyone is saying could be the best performer at camp this summer?”

“So, this is the little twit that thinks she is better than me? She doesn’t even look old enough to be out of diapers. Probably still wears them.”

All the other teenagers laughed.

“I don't wear diapers,” Cindy stomped her foot. “I’m a big girl. I don’t wet my pants anymore.”

“Oh, the little baby is being potty trained. Now she thinks she’s a big girl.”

“Get this straight you little baby,” Ariel said. “It is bad enough that I have to deal with that stupid Jessica and fame seeking Marcus. There is no way a little baby is going to be competition for me. I have worked too hard to be the best. No Little, especially not one of the baby diaper wearing Littles, is going to take the title away from me. Not . . . going . . . to . . . happen.”

“You tell her Ariel,” one of the teenagers said.

“You got that Cindy,” Ariel said waving her finger at Cindy.

“I . . . I,” Cindy started to cry.

“Awwwww, the baby is crying. Do you need you diaper changed little baby Cindy,” one of the teenagers asked?

“I’m no one sp . . . special. I ne . . . never said I was the b . . . best.”

“That’s right, you little baby. You are not the best. I am,” Ariel retorted. “And you are not worthy to compete in the Best Performer Contest this year. Don’t even try, or I will make sure you regret that decision.”

“What’s going on here Ariel,” Marcus said as he approached the group.

“Stay out of this Marcus,” Ariel responded. “This is between baby Cindy here, and me.”

“Cindy,” Marcus inquired as he looked down for the first time at the kid being harassed? Cindy was hugging her dolly tight. Tears were streaking down her face, as she was shaking. With the doll, Frozen backpack, and light-up sneakers, Cindy looked even younger now than she did earlier today.

“Come on Ariel, you’re what, eighteen? This Little looks like she is six. Are you seriously going to tell me that picking on a six year old makes you feel better? The poor little kid is in tears. For God’s sake, she still carries around a dolly. What threat is this kid to you?”

“She is just as much a threat to me, as she is to you Marcus. Rumor is going around camp that this kid could be the best performer here,” Ariel said in disgust. “Do you really want to be upstaged by a little diaper wearing baby who still carries around a dolly?”

Marcus looked at Cindy and smiled. Turning back to Ariel, “To be honest, I would much rather lose the top position to her, than I would to you Ariel. Have you even heard this Little play?”

Ariel shook her head.

“Well, I have, and let me tell you, she is good. I mean, really good. Maybe even better than me, but if she is, I certainly am not going to threaten her out of the top performer competition. She has as much right to compete as a loser like you does.”

“Oh, give it a break Marcus. Your only interest in music is to be popular. Some of us actually care about the music we play. We work hard to be the best at the instrument we play. You, well you just get up on stage and make a bunch of noise. No one can even hear one note that you play. As long as you have a bunch of girls screaming your name, you are happy.”

“Believe what you want Ariel. Nothing I say will ever convince you that my music is just as important as yours.” Marcus went up to Cindy and knelt down in front of her, “Cindy are you okay? Did Ariel do anything to you?”

“I am NOT a baby!” Cindy said through her tears. “I’m not!”

“No, you certainly are not. A little kid, yes, but definitely not a baby,” Marcus reassured her.

“Listen Ariel,” Marcus took a position between Cindy and Ariel. In a much more forceful voice, “Leave Cindy here alone. No teasing, threatening, or harassing her. Do you understand? Oh, and that goes for the rest of your posse too.”

“Ooooooo, is big Marcus going to protect all the little babies,” Ariel asked?

Turning back to Cindy, Marcus said, “It is past 7:30, let’s get you to your room before you get into trouble for being late.”

“Now wait a minute Marcus,” Ariel objected. “I am not done with the little twit yet.”

“Yes, you are, Ariel. For now, and forever. If I hear that you, or your crony’s, have done anything to this little kid, I will personally see that you regret it.”

“Come on girls,” Ariel said as she turned and started walking away. “This garbage isn’t worth our time or effort. Let Marcus deal with the crying baby. I bet she needs a diaper change by now.”

“I don’t wear diapers. I’m a big girl,” Cindy stomped her foot as tears poured down her face.

The teenage girls walked away, with many of them holding their heads high and flinging their hair back, as they turned away from Cindy and Marcus.

“Everything’s okay Cindy. Let’s get you to Mr. Elks’ house.” Marcus hugged Cindy and then took her bag from her. “His wife will know how to help you.”

Taking Cindy’s hand, he continued her on the path to Mr. Elks house. He did notice however, a small wet spot on the walkway where Cindy had been standing.

Opening the door, Barbra immediately noticed Cindy’s tear stained face. She knelt down in front of Cindy, “Oh my. What’s wrong Cindy?”

Marcus responded, “Ariel and her gang threatened her. I am not sure what all they said, or did, but from what I did hear, they were threatening her into not competing in the Best Performer Competition. She has tried to get that spot for eight years now, but never gets higher than fourth place. I guess this year, she is trying to win the position by getting her competition to not compete. There was a lot of teasing and name calling. Cindy got so scared, she had a little accident.”

“I don’t pee my pants anymore,” Cindy got out through the tears. “I’m not a baby. I’m not.”

“No, you are not a baby Cindy,” Barbra reassured her. “Everything’s okay now. The mean girls are all gone.”

Marcus put down the Frozen backpack and smiled at Barbra.

“Thank you, Marcus,” Barbra replied. “If you see my husband, can you please tell him what happened and that I want him to call me?”

“No problem. I’ll go find him. He is usually at the Jam session with the teenagers this time of night. I was headed there when I saw Ariel harassing a Little.”

“You are a good boy Marcus, Thanks”

Marcus leaned down to Cindy’s height and said, “I gat your back little one. You’re safe now, and I will make sure you stay safe all week.”

Marcus stood up and left. Barbra grabbed the backpack and directed Cindy down to the guest room’s bathroom. With Barbra‘s help, Cindy got cleaned up and changed into her nighty. With the skill of an experienced mother, finding out what happened and calming Cindy down was accomplished in the same process. Afterwards, Barbra stayed close as Cindy played with the doll house.

Mr. Elks called about fifteen minutes after Marcus had left. He wanted to know how Cindy was, and if Barbra had managed to get Cindy’s interpretation of the event. He then wished them both a good night, telling his wife he may be back late tonight due to his need to deal with things.

Cindy was put to bed at 8pm. She was asleep shortly after she cuddled down with her stuffed panda and Molly.

The next morning, Cindy woke to some violin music playing down the hall. Remembering last night’s events, she got up and checked to make sure she didn’t wet the bed. With the bed and her panties dry, she got dressed. She picked a yellow waistless dress, with patches of pink roses, and white three-fourth length sleeves with black stripes. She put on some yellow socks and her Frozen sneakers. For the hair, she put in a hair clip with a yellow bow. Looking in the mirror, Cindy smiled and a little girl was smiling back at her.

Dumping the contents of her backpack onto her bed, Cindy put her tablet and flute case into the backpack. Grabbing Molly off the bed, she skipped down the hall, finding Mr. and Mrs. Elks sitting in the living room talking.

“Those all sounded pretty good Hunter, you are going to have a tough task this year.”

“I know. It seems like it gets harder every year. We have so many good performers. It is hard to narrow down the concert to a reasonable length. I am tempted to do two concerts this year, but then some parents would be tempted to leave after the first one.”

“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Elks,” Cindy said as she entered the room.

“Cindy,” Barbra cheerfully replied. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, it’s a real comfy bed.”

“Cindy,” Mr. Elks smiled. “Good morning. Before we head off to breakfast, we need to talk.”

Cindy sat down on a chair, looking at Mr. and Mrs. Elks cuddled up next to each other on the couch.

“I talked with Ariel last night,” Mr. Elks calmly stated. “I am sorry you had to face anything like that. We work hard here at camp to discourage any bullying behaviors. By threatening you to stay out of the Best Performer Competition, she has lost her ability to be in it. Her parents were called, and if there is another incident with her, or any of the other girls that were there last night, all of them will be thrown out of camp and not allowed to return ever again. They have all been told to stay away from you, and all have promised not to do anything like that again to you or any other kid.”

Cindy continued to hug the Molly doll tight.

“If any of them come near you,” Mr. Elks continued. “I want you to tell one of the teachers or camp staff. I have sent an e-mail out to all the teachers and staff, so they know any incidents with those girls are to be immediately reported to me. We want you to feel safe Cindy. I have told all the staff that you are not to go from place to place without somebody with you. If there isn’t an older kid who can go with you to your next location, then one of the camp staff or teachers will take you.”

“Okay Mr. Elks,” Cindy took a deep breath and hugged Molly even tighter.

Barbra went over and hugged Cindy, “I am always here if you need me. Hunter has told me what a wonderful flute player you are Cindy. I would love to hear you play at some point.”

“Okay,” responded Cindy.

“Hunter,” Barbra said looking at her husband. “Do we have time for Cindy to play me a song?”

Mr. Elks looked at his watch and with a smile nodded yes.

“Cindy dear, would you please play me a pretty song before you head off to Breakfast?”

Cindy got out her flute and after a minute of warming up, she started in on a lovely little song. When it was over, both grown-ups clapped.

“She certainly is a powerful player Hunter,” Barbra said. Looking back at Cindy, “Tonight Cindy, I want to hear about how great your day was.”

“Okay Mrs. Elks,” Cindy hugged Barbra. “I will try.”

“That is all any of us can ask of you Cindy,” Mr. Elks said as he stood up and held out his hand. “Now, let’s go spread music around the world.”

After a quick good-bye, Mr. Elks and Cindy headed off to the cafeteria for breakfast. On the way, Cindy asked about changing her table assignment to be with Samantha. After a little discussion, and thought on the matter, Mr. Elks said he had a solution. When they reached the cafeteria, they went over to Samantha’s table.

“Mrs. Greenburge,” Mr. Elks said. “This is Cindy. The little girl I talked about in my e-mail. I want her to stay here with Samantha. I know your table is full, but what I have to say during announcements today will address that problem. Just let her stand behind Samantha until after announcements.”

“No problem Mr. Elks.”

With that, Cindy ran over to Samantha and Mr. Elks headed to the front of the cafeteria.

“What’s going on,” Samantha asked?

“I met Ariel last night after leaving your room. She stopped me on the way to Mr. Elks’ house.”

“What did she want?”

“She called me a cry baby and said I was still in diapers. She said a Little was not better than her, and was not going to be the Best Performer at camp this summer.”

“Oh Cindy.”

“Marcus came to the rescue. He told Ariel to leave me and all the Littles alone this summer.”

“I knew he was a good kid,” Samantha smiled. “But now she is going to be after you even more.”

“No,” Cindy started but then Mr. Elks was getting everyone’s attention for morning announcements.

“Good Morning Everyone,” Mr. Elks started, waiting for the ones that replied back. “Today is the last day to get me any proposals for the final concert. I have already received a few, and they all sound very good. For those who are still preparing a submission, remember, your performance must be appropriate for six year olds to watch. Videos are preferred, but an audio only recording will be accepted. I have thumb drives up here at my table if you want one, or you can e-mail it to the camp e-mail address Final Concert, with no space between the words.”

There were a few murmurs around the cafeteria before Mr. Elks continued, “We had an incident on campus last night that I need to talk about. A group of older teenagers confronted a Little, and tried to get them to drop out of the race for top performer. Let me get this out there right now, bullying behavior will not be allowed. That individual almost got kicked out last night. Because the consequences for bully behavior was not outlined in the camp rules, the Camp Leaders decided to lay down some consequences and give one more chance. Here is everyone’s notification that as of last night there is now a new camp rule. Anyone, and I mean anyone, bullying another student for any reason, will be kicked out, and never allowed to come back to this music camp. This new rule has been e-mailed to all the parents. We will not tolerate bullies, intimidation, or threatening other campers. We want everyone to enjoy their time here at camp, and that can only happen if everyone is nice to each other.”

Mr. Elks paused a moment to let that sink in, “We have kids from six to eighteen here at camp. The talent here is a representation of the best from many states. The camp leaders do not want a few bad seeds to ruin what we have set up here. We accept people with talents in music. Those individuals are from different ethnic backgrounds, religious groups, and economic levels. Some have disabilities and other have issues making them be different than the typical individual. Everyone is welcome here. We are here for the music. It does not matter what gender a person is, or even if they are transgender. We do not discriminate here at this music camp. If you have a problem with that, I will let you call home and have your parents come pick you up. Same goes for anyone who is not willing to accept someone else being better than them.”

Again Mr. Elks paused a moment, “Now, on a more positive note. I have decided to shake things up a little. I want everyone to stand up and go stand next to your best friend.”

After a bunch of commotion with everyone going to different places in the cafeteria, Mr. Elks quieted down the room. Okay, now everyone line up in the middle of the cafeteria with your best friend next to you. Two people next to each other, not three or four.”

This took a little bit, but eventually everyone complied to an extent that Mr. Elks was satisfied. Then he started at the point closest to him, and started directing people in groups of two off to different tables. Groups of friends that were all together, found that they were sent off to different tables, except for the person right next to them. In this effort, Mr. Elks and the other staff helping him, were trying to get each table to have kids of different ages and genders. Cindy and Samantha ended up at the same table because they were next to each other. Cindy thought it was strange that once the process was done, George, Jessica, and Marcus were also at the table. Marcus told her that after the events last night, Mr. Elks probably arranged it to be that way.

While Marcus started to tell the story of what happened last night, Cindy looked around at the tables around them, trying to see if Ariel or any of the other girls that confronted her last night were within sight. When Marcus finished, everyone at the table, the orchestra members, their best friends, and the others put there, agreed that they would help the two Littles, Cindy and Samantha, get from place to place for the rest of the week. They figured that if Ariel was open to doing something to Cindy, she would just as easily do something to Samantha. Jessica was in some of Cindy’s assigned activities, so she volunteered to help either before or after the activities. Between everyone at the table, they all figured out how to make sure both Cindy and Samantha were never alone going from place to place.

“Now you two,” George said. “Don’t ever go anywhere without one of us or a grown-up. Do you understand.”

“Yeah,” Samantha said with a sigh.

“Samantha, we mean it,” Marcus reinforced. “Ariel is someone to stay away from on a normal day. Now that Cindy has taken away her chance to compete in the best performer competition, she has become even more dangerous. She will have her friends all looking out for a chance to get Cindy alone. Having just you and Cindy together isn’t safe either. She views all Littles as a target to harass. When she realizes Cindy, you, and I are the top three performers this year, she will have it out for all of us.”

“I get it, but it just isn’t fair.”

“That may be, but we are just trying to keep you safe. Have fun, just do it safely with a big kid or grown-up around.”

“She’s mean Samantha,” Cindy explained. “I’m scared. I don’t want to be anywhere at camp without someone who can stand up to her.”

Samantha took Cindy’s hand and squeezed it tight.

“Jessica,” Marcus added. “You be careful too. You’re not even a teenager yet. Your smaller than her and there is no way to predict what she might do.”

“I understand. Oh boy do I understand. I have been dealing with Ariel for years. We both play piano, and she has hated me every since I did better than her my first year here.”

Marcus laughed, “You know, it was the same for me my first year here. She was actually part of the reason I switched instruments. I was little, and thought that if people who play piano are that mean, I don’t want to be around them anymore.”

The first activity of the day had everyone going to lessons with similar types of instruments. Cindy went off to the woodwind instruments with Eleanor, one of the teenagers at the table who plays an Oboe. Samantha was off to the string instruments with a boy who plays the cello. By slowly packing up their instruments at the end of a class, their escort was able to join them for the walk to their next activity. This process continued with the two of them never needing to wait long for a chaperon. Several times throughout the day, both of them noticed a girl teenager looking at them with an angry face. By one o’clock, they were both happy to have two hours where they didn’t have to worry about anything.

When they stopped for a break, Cindy had to go to the bathroom. She had found herself going to the bathroom more today than usual. She was scared that she would wet her panties again. She hadn’t wet her pants during the day for two years, and had stopped needing Pull-ups at night last summer. She didn’t know why she wet when dealing with Ariel, but she wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. Even though she now knew that kids her age still wore Pull-Ups to bed, she didn't want to go back to needing them. She also didn’t know anyone her age that ever wet during the day.

Practice went well, and by three o’clock the group was working well together and rarely making changes to the composition. A recording was made and e-mailed off to Mr. Elks. They knew they already had the final position in the concert, but they still needed to make the submission. Marcus rushed out of the practice to get together with his band, so they could make their submission.

“What do you mean we can’t go to the living room and watch Disney Junior?” Samantha questioned George. “Now that’s not fair.”

“There are no grown-ups in that room, and only Littles want to watch Disney Junior. You have to go where there is a grown-up,” George explained.

“What if we went to a TV where there is a grown-up to look after us,” Cindy questioned?

“That would be okay Cindy,” George replied. “But there isn’t a TV staffed by a grown-up at this time of day.”

“Maybe there is,” said Cindy. “Will you go with us to find out?”

“I guess, I was just going to go to the Jam session,” George looked at Cindy questioningly. “Where do you want to go?”

“Let’s go to Mr. Elks place and see if Mrs. Elks, I mean Barbra, is home and willing to let us watch TV.”

“That would certainly be a safe spot for the two of you. Okay, pack up and I will take you over.”

The three of them said bye to Jessica and headed for the house. Barbra was home and willing to watch the kids until dinner, when she would walk them to the cafeteria. The two girls settled into the Tuesday afternoon Disney Junior movie. Today it was Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Neither Cindy or Samantha had seen it before, but Barbra promised them that they would like it.

When the movie was over, the two girls went to play with the doll house and toys in the guest room. They were having so much fun, they hated to stop for dinner. Barbra said they could come back tomorrow afternoon to play. At dinner the table group discussed how the coverage of the Littles went today and tried to address difficulties. By the end of dinner, they had a plan for after dinner and how to cover tomorrow.

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 09 Best Performer Competition

The next morning at breakfast, Mr. Elks announced the Best Performer Competition sign up would be open until after lunch. Knowing that only twenty-five percent of the campers will put their names in, Cindy was surprised that everyone at the table was going to sign up. Most of the kids had been in it before. Cindy and Samantha got the details from the table members. First, and most importantly, anyone was able to sign up. After putting your name in for consideration, each specialist music teacher would recommend three kids from the list. Every kid recommended, would be in the competition. The judges would be Mr. Elks, a conductor from the local symphony orchestra, a Rock’n Roll professional, and a music talent scout. On Thursday and Friday, they go around listening to all the kids in the competition, giving each one points in different musical categories. The five kids with the highest number of points are asked to perform their favorite song for the judges Friday evening. The winner gets a big trophy at the end of the concert on Saturday.

Last year, Jessica, George, Marcus, and another kid at the table were in the top five. Jessica was the winner. Marcus and George had won in other years. Marcus had upped his game this year and figured he could win again this year. That was at least, until he heard Samantha and Cindy playing. Now he wasn’t sure if he could win or not. The other teenagers at the table that had not heard the two of them play yet were surprised by Marcus’ admission. They had heard of Mr. Elks comments about Cindy, and had listened when people at the table had listed Samantha as also someone who could be in the top three. To hear Marcus say that however, really made them look at the two little kids they were protecting in a new light.

The day’s schedule for Cindy and Samantha was the same as the day before. For Jessica however, there was a big change. She now had a thirty-minute solo lesson added to her day in conducting. Mr. Elks set it up for her, knowing one class last year probably did not prepare Jessica for conducting in front of a big audience. Back then, she wanted to play, not conduct. He also knew her orchestra was full of strong willed prodigies in music. Mr. Elks wanted her to be fully prepared for the job in front of her. So, after her 30 minute piano lesson with Mrs. Greenburge, she went off to a conductor lesson with Mrs. Star.

Walking out of her lesson with Mrs. Star, Jessica ran into one of Ariel’s friends.

“So twirp,” the teenager started in on Jessica. “The only way you could win this year was to get Ariel thrown out of the Best Performer Competition. Nasty trick, sending around a rumor that a Little was the best performer at camp. If that lie hadn’t been spread all over camp, Ariel would have been in the competition and won. Imagine a little baby like Cindy winning. Impossible. Diaper wearing babies can’t win anything but baby beauty contests.”

“Really,” Jessica said with a smile on her face. “Have you heard her play yet? She is way better than you, Ariel, or me. I agree with you though, the reason Ariel has never won the Best Performer Competition must be because she is a diaper wearing baby.”

With that, Jessica turned and walked away. Leaving behind her, a confused and angry teenager.

At lunch, Jessica told the table about her encounter with Ariel’s friend. Everyone except the teacher was laughing at Jessica’s response. After the meal, the teacher went up and relayed to Mr. Elks what they had heard.

At about 2:30, Mr. Elks walked into the little orchestra’s practice session.

“Mr. Elks,” Jessica said. “We weren’t expecting you.”

“It’s okay Jessica, I am not hear to judge your composition. I wanted to talk to the group of you.”

“Oh,” Marcus said.

“Marcus and George, I am pleased with how you and the other teenagers at your table have provided companions for Samantha and Cindy throughout the day. I know this can be difficult at times, but it is very nice of you to do it. I am however, worried about something I heard today from two different staff members.”

The group looked at each other before looking back at Mr. Elks.

“Jessica, you had a run in today with one of Ariel’s friends?”

“Yes sir,” Jessica acknowledged.

“Who was it?”

“Robin sir. She didn’t threaten me sir. She just falsely accused me of spreading a rumor about Cindy being the best performer at camp.”

“That was relayed to me,” Mr. Elks responded. “I want you all, and I mean all of you, to be careful though. Mrs. Star overheard the interaction and if you had threatened Robin, I would have to kick you out of camp just as fast as I would kick Robin out for threatening you. Oh, and that baby comment is teasing and harassment. I know Robin said it first, but don’t do it back. Remember, teasing and harassing others can also get you kicked out.”

Again, all the kids looked at each other before looking back at Mr. Elks.

“Ariel may be scared enough to stay away from all of you, but I don’t think her friends are. At dinner the Best Performer Competition list will be posted. All five of you are on the list. I expected this, but I don’t think Ariel and her friends will have. Jessica, George, and Marcus, you have won before, so they will expect you to be on the list. Samantha is the youngest kid we have had on the list since Marcus got on the list his first year here. Since Cindy is never seen without her dolly, they probably think she is even younger. Ariel and her friends are not going to be happy to see two kids so young on the list, especially Cindy.”

Jessica, George, and Marcus all nodded their heads at that.

“Any Littles on the list always catch campers’ attention. This year, there are three. Cindy, Samantha, and a nine year old named Elvis.”

The group laughed.

“Laugh all you want,” Mr. Elks responded. “But he is a good guitar player. Yes, I know, but to add to the similarities of his name sake, he also sings pretty good too.”

“I have heard the kid play,” Marcus added. “He is good, but he won’t end up in the top ten this year. Maybe in years to come, but not yet. Do we need to set up the Protection Squad to watch this little kid too?”

“If possible, sure. If not, let me know. Also let me know any places you are having trouble providing coverage. I will arrange for some staff to fill in where needed. Now, I need everyone to not talk about who is on the list until it is posted after dinner. If you need to tell your table mates at dinner about Elvis being on the list, that is okay, but if you can do it without telling them, even better.”

“We won’t tell anyone Mr. Elks,” Marcus responded, while looking around at the others nodding in agreement.

“Jessica, are you feeling safe,” Mr. Elks asked. “I know you have dealt with Ariel for years, but you have never had to deal with any grief from her friends individually.”

“Don’t worry Mr. Elks. I’m fine. They all know, without Ariel, I am the best piano player at camp,” Jessica looks at Marcus with a smile. “Well, as far as everyone at camp, except for all of us, believe. What they don’t know, is that I have always been better than Ariel.”

“Marcus,” Mr. Elks walked over to the piano. “How do you want to be judged this year, as a piano player or a Rock'n Roll electric guitar player?”

“Interesting question,” Marcus pondered. “I’ve won for my guitar playing, so let me be judged this year on the piano.”

“Great,” Samantha rolled her eyes. “Now, I have no chance of winning.”

Everyone laughed, including Samantha.

Jessica tapped her baton on the lectern, “Okay everyone. Okay, let’s get back to practice. We don’t have much time to get this perfect, and we have to get Mr. Elks out of here before he realizes what influence Marcus has had on my composition.”

“What?”

“Calm down Mr. Elks,” Jessica proclaimed. “We have kept about ten percent of the original composition.”

“Very funny Jessica,” Mr. Elks headed for the door. “I know when I am not wanted.”

As the door closed behind him, Mr. Elks heard the room fill with laughter before the fully closed door blocked the noise.

It was about ten after three when Mr. Elks stuck his head into the room for the second time, “I believe I told you all that the Littles were to stop after two hours.”

Samantha and Cindy quickly started packing up their instruments, “We were just leaving Mr. Elks.”

George and Marcus laughed.

“Sorry Mr. Elks,” Marcus said as he stood up grabbing his tablet. “We just lost track of time. I’ll take the Littles over to your house to play for the afternoon.”

“Okay,” Mr. Elks smiled. “Thanks for making sure they get their safely.”

Samantha and Cindy played with the toys and the doll house up until dinner, with only a small stop to put on a singing and dancing performance amidst a bunch of giggles.

After dinner, Jessica, Cindy, and Samantha went off to Jewelry making. They made matching friendship bracelets and necklaces covered with glitter. Cindy made sure everything had extra glitter on it, for who doesn’t love things with glitter.

After evening activities, Jessica convinced Cindy and Samantha to join her in the auditorium. They were having open microphone time. After a quick detour to get Cindy and Samantha’s instruments, they all went together to the auditorium. Upon arriving, they signed up to play a song together.

“They’re pretty good,” Jessica said to Cindy as they sat down to listen to others perform. “Did you know Lori up there plays three instruments? The saxophone is only her latest one.”

“Wow, three instruments.”

“Really,” Samantha interjected. “I wish I could play more than one instrument. Mommy says I can’t until I’m ten. My music teacher says I am never allowed to switch, because I am too good at the violin.”

Mrs. Star came out onto the stage, “What a wonderful performance by Lori and Melissa. Now, we have Mike and Jan.”

Everyone clapped as they came out onto the stage. Mike immediately started to play on his guitar as Jan headed for the microphone. The audience fell silent as a lovely voice echoed through the auditorium. Everyone was mesmerized until the end of the song, when Mrs. Star came out to introduce the next performers.

“Jessica,” Samantha asked? “Can we do anything?”

“Yeah, that is the point of this. This is practice for performing in front of an audience, not in playing your particular instrument.”

“Cindy,” Samantha leaned down to smile at Cindy sitting on the other side of Jessica. “Let’s do what we did this afternoon?”

“Really?”

“Sure, Jessica can play it on the piano.”

“Play what?”

“Unless she wants to join us singing and dancing,” Samantha added.

Jessica grabbed the two younger girls and dragged them out of the auditorium, “Okay you two, speak up. What are you talking about? What do you want me to play or even more ridiculous, what do you want me to sing and dance?”

“Let It Go, from Frozen,” Cindy and Samantha said in unison.

“And what makes you think that I even know the song,” Jessica asked?

“Well,” Samantha said with all honesty. “Everyone knows that song.”

“You know it. Don’t you Jessica?” Cindy looked at Jessica with a questioning look.

“Of course I do,” Jessica replied. “My best friend and I use to sing it together.”

“Oh, that’s great,” Samantha said jumping up to give Jessica a hug.

“Now wait a minute,” Jessica leaned over, putting Samantha back down on the ground. “I didn’t say I would get up on stage and do it with the two of you.”

“Oh, come on Jessica,” Cindy said. “You said we can get up there and do anything.”

“Anything, yes, but Let It Go?”

Samantha smiled, “Well, if you want the first time Cindy performs in front of an audience to be when she plays your composition, then say no. I will go tell Mrs. Star that we have decided not to perform tonight.”

“Ha, Ha, Samantha. I know that Cindy has performed on a stage before.”

“No, SHE hasn’t,” Samantha said still smiling.

“Samantha, I have known Cindy longer than you have. I heard all about this spring when she got up on stage at her elementary music performance.”

“Cindy? Cindy got up on stage and did that?” Samantha asked.

Jessica looked at Samantha and then over at Cindy.

“Samantha does have a point Jessica,” Cindy admitted. “Cindy has never been up on stage performing before.”

“But you told me . . . oooooooooh, Cindy, never has. Now I get it.”

“She’s a little slow, but we love her anyways,” Samantha said.

Cindy giggled.

Just then the girls heard someone scream out, “Ariel, he is over here.”

Cindy, Samantha, and Jessica turned to see one of Ariel’s friends by the corner of the building waving her hands above her head.

“Ariel wouldn’t dare do anything,” Jessica said. “She would be kicked out if she did anything, and never allowed to come back.”

“What’s the big deal to a kid who is too old to come back next year anyways?” Cindy hugged the Molly doll that was in her arm, “I don’t want to see Ariel. Let’s run.”

“All of us running will do no good,” Jessica said. “Ariel and her friends will just catch us. Anyways, she may not be coming for us. She said, ‘he’ is over here.”

As they all slowly started heading for the auditorium doors, they heard Ariel’s friend yell at them, “STOP! You three pip-squeaks stay right there. Ariel is looking for you.”

“Cindy and Samantha,” Jessica said quietly. “Quickly run inside and get Mrs. Star.”

They both ran to the door and were inside before Ariel’s friend managed to reach Jessica.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have done that Jessica. Ariel will not be happy.”

“I don’t care what Ariel feels about it. She is not going to hurt those two Littles,” Jessica declared.

Just then Ariel turned the corner of the building, “Are you talking about the imposter, Cindy?”

“You stay away from Cindy. Mr. Elks . . .”

“I don’t care about Mr. Elks anymore, or my parent’s consequences,” Ariel interrupted. “That Cindy creature is going to pay for what he has done to me. You should be just as mad as me Jessica. You were also tricked by that little imposter.”

“What are you talking about Ariel?”

“Only the biggest camp secret. Cindy is really a boy named Frank.”

“Cindy a boy, now that really is funny Ariel,” Jessica tried to laugh, but all that came out was something that sounded fake. “I never knew you had a sense of humor.”

“This is no joke Jessica,” Ariel pounded her fist into her other hand. “I am going to pulverize that sissy Frank kid.”

“You will do nothing of the kind Ariel,” Mrs. Star said coming out of the auditorium. “You were warned that any more incidents would mean expulsion forever. Now go pack your bags Ariel. You will be going home tonight.”

“Not before I pound that little sissy Frank kid into the ground. It will be worth losing my license during my senior year in High School,” Ariel snarled looking for Frank. “Ahhhh, there he is right behind you. All dressed up as a little diaper wearing baby girl. So Frank, thought you could pretend to be a girl and get away with it? Is that what you thought, Frank? Well, you were wrong, you little freak. Then you get me kicked out of the Top Performer Competition. You will pay for that you little Tranny. No trans kid is welcome at this camp, no matter what Mr. Elks says. Once the other campers know that Mr. Elks admits transgender freaks into this camp, parents will be demanding their money back and pulling their kids out.”

“Really,” someone asked loudly from the crowd behind Mrs. Star? A big teenager named Mike made his way up to Mrs. Star. “Who is this transgender kid you talk about Ariel?”

With an evil smile, Ariel replied, “That freak behind Mrs. Star holding the dolly. What a sissy.”

Mike looked at the two kids behind Mrs. Star, “Isn’t that the kid everyone is talking about named, Cindy?”

“Yeah,” Ariel responded. “And don’t believe for a second that IT is actually the best performer at camp. That was just a lie made up by Jessica over there to get me out of the Best Performer Competition.”

“Really,” Mike smiled and looked down at Cindy. “I never would have guessed that Cindy here was Transgender. She looks so girly. Seems like such a tough thing to be born in the wrong body. No wonder she always carries around a dolly with her. It is hard enough at her age being away from home, but to do it as a transgender little girl. Cindy, you have some guts. Can I shake your hand?”

“No,” Ariel wailed. “That is a boy named Frank. He is a freak. A bizarre freak of nature. We should be beating it up, not shaking it’s hand.”

Mike knelt down next to Cindy and Samantha. He smiled and held out his hand.

“You know, Mike is right,” a teenage girl from the crowd said. “It is impressive such a little girl has so much guts to do that. I also want to meet this amazing kid.”

“Sounds much scarier than standing on stage and preforming,” another voice from the crowd added.

Suddenly lots of kids were lining up behind Mike to shake Cindy’s hand.

“No, you don’t understand,” Ariel screamed. “Let me at the weirdo.”

Before Ariel could even take two steps, a group of kids moved to stand between Cindy and Ariel.

“It looks to me Ariel,” Mrs. Star pushed her way through the crowd. “Like you do not have a lot of supporters here. Now, are you and your friends going to come with me, or are we going to stand here until Mr. Elks comes.”

“Too late for that Mrs. Star,” Jessica said pointing at Mr. Elks, Mr. Gibson, and Mr. Lamar turning the corner with a large group of kids following behind them.

“So,” Mr. Elks said coming up behind Ariel and the four other kids standing with her. “What do we have going on here?”

“Ariel decided she didn’t want to be at camp anymore, so she threatened to beat up Cindy,” Mrs. Star calmly commented.

“What a shame,” Mr. Elks said. “I hate to see kids leave camp early, but to have five leave in one night. I am not sure we have ever had so many choose to leave at once. Mrs. Star, could you please escort Jessica, Cindy, and Samantha to my house. They are going to have a sleepover party at my house tonight. Mr. Gibson and Mr. Lamar will help me escort these five ladies to the Administration offices.”

“Wait,” Ariel interjected. “You can’t do this. That freak is the one that should be leaving, not me. We have to teach him a lesson. Weirdos like him shouldn’t be allowed to be around the rest of us.”

Ariel lunged towards Cindy. Mr. Elks reached out his arm to stop her, but it was only enough to slow her down. The crowd between Cindy and Ariel however, moved closer together and towards Ariel. A group of them moved in to stop her in her tracks.

Under protest, Ariel and her friends were led off, with a group of teenage boys helping the teachers. A problem aroused however, when Mrs. Star tried to lead Jessica, Samantha, and Cindy off to Mr. Elks’ house.

“Cindy,” Mike asked getting back down to Cindy’s level. “Were you going to perform at open mic?”

“Yeah,” Cindy replied. “Samantha and I were going to sing the song Let It Go from Frozen.”

“Mike you can talk with Cindy another time. I need to get her to Mr. Elks’ house,” Mrs. Star tried to interrupt.

“Who here would like to hear Cindy and Samantha sing?”

The crowd indicated that they wanted to hear Samantha and Cindy sing.

“Not tonight everyone,” Mrs. Star tried to take control of the situation. “The girls need to get over to Mr. Elks’ house.”

“But Mrs. Star. . .”

“Mike,” Mrs. Star said. “This is not the time.”

Looking up at Mrs. Star and then back to Cindy, “Okay, but tomorrow I want to hear you sing. I’ll play the music for you on my guitar.”

“Thanks,” Cindy responded with a slight smile.

“As I said earlier, I would like to shake your hand. I am impressed that someone your age would have the guts to come to camp as your true gender,” Mike again reached out his hand.

With some hesitation, Cindy took his hand and shook it.

“Okay, now we need to go,” Mrs. Star tried to physically maneuver the three girls towards Mr. Elks’ house.

Several of the kids said they wanted to shake Cindy’s hand too, but Mrs. Star wouldn’t let them. Instead the kids lined the edge of the walkway, giving Cindy complements as they went. Cindy tried to thank the crowd for stopping Ariel.

By the time they reached the house, it was just the three girls and Mike.

“Thank You Mike for helping protect the girls, but you should go now,” Mrs. Star directed.

“Cindy, Samantha, Jessica,” Mike commented. “I meant it when I said I want to hear your performance. I hope to hear you tomorrow night. I also saw that all three of you are on the Best Performer Competition list. I am also on the list, but I know I have no chance against some of the others on the list. If I lose to one of you, I am okay with that. It is for the best performer, not the best teenager. I wish you all luck. I look forward to hearing you all perform. And Cindy, I really am impressed with your guts to be yourself at your age. There is another transgender individual here at camp that I know of. They wanted to be themselves at your age, but were too scared. Now they regret missing those years. Be who you are Cindy, and never be ashamed of it, no matter what someone else might say. Bye for now.”

“Barbra,” Mrs. Star started to explain the intrusion when the door was opened. “Hunter asked me . . .”

“Cindy and Samantha,” Barbra immediately got down and hugged the girls. “Are you alright? What happened?”

“Ariel tried to beat Cindy up. She found out about Frank,” Jessica replied. “Do you know about Frank, Mrs. Elks?”

“Let’s go inside and talk,” Barbra said.

After Cindy did a quick trip to the bathroom, the girls gave Barbra a very confusing account of the evening, but she got the gist of everything. After the explanation, Mrs. Star left to go collect some things the girls would need for a sleepover. Location and list of necessities for Jessica and Samantha were written down. Everything from stuffed companions to clothes for tomorrow were included.

Furniture was rearranged in the guest room, and the girls set up on the floor to sleep. Pillows, blankets, and anything soft was gathered from throughout the house for the girl’s unexpected sleepover. The girls even arranged things in the room and grabbed a few chairs, so a fort could be set up. Sheets were used to cover the fort, or as Samantha called it, the Princess Castle.

When the room setup was complete, Samantha and Cindy convinced Jessica to practice a singing and dancing routine for Let It Go. After practicing it twice, the girls found Barbra and put on a show for her. Afterwards, Barbra got the girls to get ready for bed. Getting the girls to sleep was a challenge, but when giggles filled the house, it helped reassure Barbra that Cindy would be okay.

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 10 Who Is Cindy?

The morning calm was shattered when the house was assaulted by a little girl’s screaming, “Barbra, Barbra, Barbra! Something’s wrong with Cindy.”

Barbra and Hunter ran into the guest room and tore the top off the Princess Castle. Samantha stopped and looked up at the two of them.

“She’s crying. She won’t tell me what’s wrong. She won’t stop crying,” Samantha quickly explained.

Barbra went down on the floor next to Cindy, “What’s wrong dear?”

“I . . . I . . . I wet,” Cindy finally got out through the tears.

“Oh Cindy,” Samantha went in for a hug. “It’s okay. Lots of kids wet the bed. Tonight, just wear a Pull-up, no big deal.”

Cindy started to cry louder.

Hunter and Barbra looked at each other, then Hunter focused his attention on the other two girls. “Jessica and Samantha, let’s go out into the living room and let Barbra deal with this.”

“I want to stay with Cindy,” Samantha complained.

Mr. Elks quietly got Jessica’s attention, and with an eye motion, asked for help.

“Come on Samantha,” Jessica got up still holding her stuffed tiger, and put her hand on Samantha’s shoulder. “Let’s go see what’s on Disney Junior.”

Reluctantly, and with a few objections, Samantha finally went with Mr. Elks and Jessica, dragging her blankie behind her as they went down the hall.

“Cindy, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

“No,” Cindy started crying more. “I don’t want to be a baby again. I’m not a baby! . . . Am I?”

“Oh Cindy, you’re not a baby. You’re a big girl sweetie. Even big girls wet the bed sometimes. You have been going through some tough things the last few days. Sometimes the body does things you don’t like when you are dealing with hard things.”

“I am a baby. My panties and now the bed. It’s not fair. It’s not fair.”

“No, it is not fair Cindy, but you are not a baby just because you had a few ‘accidents’.”

“Mommy will be mad, real mad,” Cindy quietly got out. “She . . . she will . . . will.”

“It's okay Cindy. She will understand.”

“No! She won’t. She will . . .” Cindy broke down in tears again.

“She will what Cindy?”

In a barely audible voice, “She spanks me when I wet. Then, . . . she turns me into a baby. Diapers at night and pull-ups in the day.”

“Diapers and Pull-ups dear, are tools. They are for people who have trouble, or can’t get all their pee-pee and poopy in the potty. Much better to have an ‘accident’ in one of them, than in your panties.”

“Yeah, I guess, but . . . but, I’m nine.”

“I know,” Barbra rubbed Cindy’s back. “It is hard to be a big girl who still has potty ‘accidents’. It’s okay. There are other big girls who still have potty accidents.”

“No there aren’t.”

“Way more than you would ever believe. Lots of kids your age wear Goodnites at night and some need to wear them during the day too. There are even a few that just wear them when they perform on stage. I am sorry your mom spanks you when you wet. That shouldn’t happen. Kids should never be spanked for wetting. They don’t wet their pants on purpose.”

“I didn’t want to wet, honest.”

“I know Cindy, but you did. It happened because you were under so much stress. Your body was struggling to deal with Ariel, and that made it harder for your body to give you control of when your pee-pee comes out. Today, I will buy you some Goodnites, but it will be up to you if you wear them or not. I see no reason for you to wear them during the day, unless you want to. At night, you can wear one like Samantha suggested, but I’m not going to make you after only one accident. Sometimes, people just have potty ‘accidents’ and then it never happens again.”

“It happened again.”

“When bad things happen to you, sometimes the body loses control. It’s okay. The two times Ariel threatened you, your body was scared and lost control.”

“You knew about yesterday?”

“Yes Cindy. I knew about your ‘accident’ yesterday. You tried to hide it when you ran off to the bathroom as soon as you got into the house. You changed your panties then. Don’t worry, I did some laundry after you went to sleep last night so the other girls will not find out.”

“See, I am a baby. Wet panties day and night. Only baby’s wet day and night. Mommy will put me in diapers day and night. I deserve to be a baby again.”

“You’re not a baby Cindy, just a scared little girl,” Barbara rubbed Cindy’s back. “Ariel and her friends are gone. No one will threaten you again here at camp. You’re safe now, so you will probably not have any more daytime ‘accidents’.”

“She’s really gone?”

“Oh Cindy, yes she is gone. Her Mommy and Daddy came and picked her up last night. Same with the other girls that were helping her. They are all gone. Twelve kids left camp for good last night. You are safe now.”

Cindy hugged Barbra.

Barbra picked up Cindy and carried her to the bathroom. While Cindy took a shower, Barbara collected all the wet things that could be washed to the washing machine. When she got back to the room, she looked down at the wet spot on the floor where Cindy had been sleeping. She thought about how she would address that issue once the girls left for breakfast. With a quick look at the closed bathroom door, Barbara went to get Jessica and Samantha. She had them get their things and change for the day in Lizzy’s room.

Once showered and dried off, Cindy put on the Frozen t-shirt, a blue skirt, and some white leggins. The look was finished off with the Frozen sneakers and the Frozen head band with a Blue bow. Grabbing the Molly doll and her backpack with her flute in it, she headed for the living room.

As Cindy entered the living room Jessica asked, “Are you feeling better Cindy?”

“You’re wearing everything Frozen. Does this mean we’re going to sing and dance Let It Go?” Samantha ran up to Cindy bouncing up and down.

“Sure,” Cindy said with a smile. “Let’s show the other campers how it’s done.”

“Are you really going to let Mike play his guitar while we sing?” Jessica inquired.

“Why not,” Samantha replied?

“It will be more fun with live music to go along with our singing and dancing,” Cindy added.

Jessica looked up and shook her head, “What have I gotten myself into here?”

With that, the three girls giggled and headed out the door with Mr. Elks for breakfast.

As they entered the cafeteria, kids that none of them knew started saying hi or good morning. A little strange, but none of them thought anything about it until someone said, “Gutsy move Cindy. Really gutsy move.”

“Everyone knows,” Jessica whispered to Cindy and Samantha. “After last night, it would have spread like crazy to the rest of the campers. They all know about Frank.”

“So,” said Samantha, with her eyebrows scrunched down?

“We’ll talk about it at the table,” Jessica replied.

When they reached the table, Mr. Elks told Marcus and George to keep up the Protection Squad for at least today. Frank may cause some problems with Cindy’s presence today. The two of them said they would, and Mr. Elks headed for the front of the room.

“That little girl beat up Ariel? Wow!” everyone at the table heard a kid say as they walked by.

“Rumors,” Mike sat down next to Marcus and looked around. “There are wild rumors spreading all over camp. I think we need to tell everyone the truth.”

“Mike, are you crazy,” George replied. “Anyone who doesn’t like Transgender kids would beat her up.”

“I don’t want to be beaten up,” Cindy meekly interjected.

“Don’t worry Cindy,” Marcus added. “No one is going to beat you up. Mike though, might have the right idea about things. We would have to present it just right.”

“Get them all to be an advocate for her,” Mike responded.

“That might be hard,” Marcus replied. “There are still some kids at camp that dislike transgender kids.”

“Present her as the brave little girl who was the victim for being a very good flute player,” George added.

Marcus turned to Cindy with a smile on his face, “Cindy, everyone at camp knows about you and Frank. They know Mr. Elks and I have said you might be the best performer, and they know you are on the Best Performer Competition list. They all know Ariel and a bunch of other kids got kicked out last night. With all of that they are going to fill in the blanks that they don’t know. We need to come out and tell the truth to everyone. Stop the rumors and wild stories that could put another target on you. Will you please let us tell everyone the truth?”

Cindy thought for a moment, looking at the various people at the table who were all nodding their heads yes, even the teacher. Taking a deep breath and hugging the Molly doll tight, “Okay, let’s do it.”

Marcus and Mike quickly got up and headed over to Mr. Elks. Initially he was shaking his head, no. With a bit more discussion, Mr. Elks looked over to Cindy, who nodded yes. After a bit more discussion, the boys returned to the table.

“He said he would think about it. If he agrees, he will call us up during announcements,” Mike explained before leaving for his table.

“If we go up,” Marcus said as he sat down. “I want George and Jessica up there with us. Most of the kids know at least one of us, so if all three of us are supporting you, they will more likely listen.”

“I want Samantha up there too,” Cindy said reaching out to grab Samantha’s hand.

“Of course I will go up with you Cindy,” Samantha smiled.

Shortly afterwards, Mr. Elks rung the bell for morning announcements.

“Good morning everyone. We have a busy day ahead of us. The order of the Final Concert will be decided today, and be posted when you get up in the morning. Most of the people or groups already know if you are going to be in the concert, but there are a few more that will be decided upon today. Everyone will be in the Final Concert for at least one performance. You are all amazing artists and we want the parents to hear you play.”

Mr. Elks looked over to Cindy and took a deep breath, “The judges for the Best Performer Competition will be going around today to hear everyone on the list. If they come into your room or class today, please keep going as usual. They may not be judging you at the time they are in the room, they may be judging someone else on the list. We have already seen or heard a recording of you playing.”

A murmur erupted in the room.

“Your camp application submission video was sent to each judge, so the voting has already started.”

The talk in the room was louder now. Mr. Elks had to ring the bell again to quiet everyone down.

“Now, we need to talk about a very serious issue. Twelve kids left camp last night. One of them threatened to beat up another camper, and tried to do so. That same student, threatened the same camper two days earlier to keep them out of the Best Performer Competition. Many of you saw the incident last night. An eighteen year old tried to beat up a Little. Cindy could you come up here please?”

Cindy looked at Jessica and Samantha. They were both nodding their heads in agreement. Squeezing Samantha’s hand, Cindy stood up and went to the front of the Cafeteria.

“Cindy here was the target,” Mr. Elks said looking down at Cindy who was holding the Molly doll. “Let me restate that, eighteen year old Ariel tried to beat up Cindy here. Cindy never did or said anything to Ariel to cause the attacks. Mike and Marcus, could you please come up here.”

The two boys headed for the front of the cafeteria, as small chatter occurred throughout the room. They went up and stood behind Cindy.

“These two individuals both went out of their way to help a Little who was under attack by a bully,” Mr. Elks said. “After Marcus stopped the first attack, he set up a group of kids to help protect Cindy in case of future attacks. That Protection Force is the reason that Cindy did not get beat up last night.”

Marcus signaled for the others to come up.

“I will now give Marcus a chance to say a few things.”

“Thank you Mr. Elks. Cindy was first attacked because she was good at playing the flute. We are a music camp full of amazing artists. We have singers and instrument players, all with various levels of skill. Cindy is very talented, and has qualified for the Best Performer Competition. There are only 3 Littles that are in the competition; Cindy, Samantha here, and Elvis. Elvis, will you please come up here.”

Elvis stood up and joined the group up front, to a bunch of kids clapping.

“Everyone up here is competing in the competition. Three of us have won in the past. If I lose to any of these three Littles, I have no problem with that. If they are that good, I would be honored to know them, for in the future they will most likely be world known performers in their field, and I got to know them when they were little kids. That is something I would be proud to tell my kids when I am an adult. Think about it everyone. In twenty years, you are in an orchestra or your band is part of a multi-band concert and one of these three Littles is playing as the special guest performer. Now imagine everyone’s shock when you go up and treat them like an old friend,” Marcus let that sink in for a moment.

“Which would you rather have, the world famous artist meet you as a friend, or have them refuse to perform with you because you teased and bullied them when they were little kids.”

The room erupted in chatter.

“Some of you believe that Cindy has just as much of a chance to win this competition as I would if, I don’t know, If I was playing the piano.”

Several kids started to laugh, and one shouted out, “Yeah, not a chance in a million years.”

“It does sound pretty funny doesn’t it, but anything is possible. Anyone in the competition has a chance to win. It doesn’t matter if they are a Little like these three, or a teenager like Mike, George, or me. That is one of the things I love about this camp, and why I come back year after year. Judging is based on skill, not age or favoritism.”

“My first year here at Camp, at age seven, I was a solo performer in the coveted position of the final concert. I want that position again, but if I lose that position to any of these three Littles, I will be okay with that. The best submitted performance wins that spot, just as the best performer wins the Best Performer Competition. Do you want to be friend’s or enemies of the winners of these two competitions?”

Marcus could see that the last comment got a lot of the kids thinking. He looked over to Mr. Elks who was smiling and nodding yes.

“Last night Ariel tried to beat up Cindy. Jessica here,” Marcus went and stood behind Jessica. “Got Cindy to safety and then stood in the way of Ariel and her friends to allow enough time for Cindy and Samantha here to get help. That took a lot of guts for a tween to stand up to a bunch of 17 and 18 year old teenagers.”

The room filled with clapping.

“Mike also came to Cindy’s rescue last night. Not by stopping Ariel, but by accepting Cindy in front of everyone. Ariel learned that Cindy was Transgender and started at camp as a kid named Frank. Mike stood up from a crowd and said that he was okay with that. You don’t have to like Cindy or individuals who are transgender, but if they are not harming you, then just let them live their lives. We are in the music field and there are a lot of unique individuals out there in this field.”

“Cindy is the victim of everything that has happened over the last few days. Twelve kids left last night when only five were involved in the attack on Cindy. The others believed Cindy was to blame for everything, or that they could not be in the same camp as an individual who is transgender. Mr. Elks is happy to call any of your parents if you believe the same thing,” Marcus looked over to Mr. Elks who was nodding his head in agreement.

“Poor little Cindy has not had a good time over the last few days. We,” Marcus gestured to the whole cafeteria. “Need to be responsible to show Cindy that musicians are good people. I stopped playing a particular instrument when I was a little kid because of a bully. That same bully was kicked out of camp last night. I would hate for Cindy to stop playing the flute just because of a bad time at camp. We need to make sure Cindy knows that she is welcome to be herself here at camp and that she can enjoy camp just like the rest of us.”

Mike took the microphone at this point, “Last night Cindy was about to get up on stage at Open Mic and do a singing and dancing routine with Samantha and Jessica. It would have just been something fun to do. Three friends getting up on stage and singing Let It Go from the movie Frozen. Probably every girl under the age of 15 knows that song by heart. Most of you, girls and boys, have played it on your instrument in your school’s band or music class. Getting up on stage and singing with your friends is the type of thing you will always remember about camp. Cindy was robbed of that experience because of a bully who tried to beat her up. Instead, she is always going to remember the kid who tried to beat her up because she was a good flute player.”

Mike let that sink in for a moment before continuing, “I want Cindy to have that positive memory she was robbed of last night. At the end of the song the girls will probably get off the stage in a bunch of giggles. I have a little sister and I have heard her sing the song many times with her friends. Trust me, they usually end with a bunch of giggles.”

Giggles and laughs were heard throughout the room.

“Tonight’s open mic was scheduled to start at 8pm. Unfortunately, that is Samantha and Cindy’s bed time. I told Cindy that I want to hear her singing and dancing today. I also said that I would play the song on my guitar for her. There was a discussion last night at the Jam Session long after Cindy had gone to bed. Several of us are going to let Cindy and her friends do a singing and dancing routine for Let It Go during either the afternoon or early evening jam sessions. Several have also offered to play the music for the girls.”

Mike turned to Cindy, “Cindy, when do you want to sing your song?”

“After dinner,” Cindy quietly said to Mike. “I want to watch Sofia the First and Vampirina on Disney Junior in the afternoon.”

Mike laughed, “Okay everyone, Cindy said she wants to do it in the early evening, so she could watch some girl Disney Junior shows in the afternoon. That is so cute. She carries around a dolly and watches Sofia the First and Vampirina on Disney Junior. Yet, 18 year old Ariel thought she was so dangerous that she had to beat Cindy up. Tell me, does Cindy here look like a threat?”

It sounded like everyone in the room said, No, all at the same time.

Mike continued, “So, right after evening activities…”

Mr. Elks interrupted, “Well, it sounds like we have a group effort to put on a Let It Go performance. This I have to see. I will open the Concert Hall for Open Mic just after evening activities. This way if we have a piano player there will be a piano available. This will also give us as much room as needed for as many people who want to play the music for the girls. I will keep it open until 7:30pm, and we are going to have a Disney theme. Everyone at camp knows at least one Disney song on their instrument or just for singing and dancing. It is Open Mic people, I expect to see teenagers as well as Littles there. Remember the main purpose of this time is for stage performance experience, and to have a little fun with your friends. I would love to see more matches like Mike and Cindy, where we have teenagers and Littles on stage together. Oh, and by the way everyone, Disney owns Star Wars and Marvel Comics.”

The room erupted in a discussion among friends.

“Okay,” Mr. Elks said to the group up front. “Thanks, why don’t you go back to your table now.”

In a much louder voice he said, “Let’s Eat!”

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 11 The Judges

Now everybody knew Cindy. There was no getting away from people saying hi to her as she had it to her first class. By the time Cindy and Eleanor reached the woodwind class, Cindy was glad to be around people that already knew her. What she was not ready for, was their reaction.

Entering the room, Cindy was presented with a standing ovation.

“OK everybody. OK everybody. Settle down now. Settle down,” Mrs. Johnson tried to get everyone quiet for class to begin. “Let’s get back to practicing.”

“Mrs. Johnson is it true? Is it,” asked Wes? “Is Cindy really one of the top five performers at camp?”

“Now, now, Wes. You all here have amazing abilities and talents. Cindy is just another one of you trying to learn her instrument. The top performer competition will decide who is in the top five.”

“But, she is a real little kid in that competition. She’s what seven? How can a kid that young be in the competition? Yeah, we all know she is in the flute 1st chair and I fully accept that she earned that. Frank was 2nd chair, but when Cindy came, she was put in as 1st chair. Is Cindy a better player than Frank? Aren’t they the same person? How can one be a better player than the other? Can we hear her play just by herself please,” asked Abigail?

“Please Mrs. Johnson,” several children in the room said at once.

“Now, now,” Mrs. Johnson attempted to calm the troops. “Every year a few Littles make it in the competition. Rarely do any make it in the top five.”

“But, I heard that Mr. Elks and Marcus think she is in the top three,” Timmy said. “When is the last time a woodwind instrument was in the top three? In fact, has a Little playing a woodwind instrument ever been in the competition?”

“I’ve been going here for ten years, and I have never seen a woodwind instrument in the top three,” Eleanor said.

“I’ve been here almost as long, and I’ve never seen a Little woodwind player in the competition,” stated Larry.

“Okay,” Mrs. Johnson said exasperated. “Yes, it is very unusual for a Little woodwind player to be in the competition. In fact, Cindy may be the first in the camp’s fifty-year history.”

“Ariel threatened Cindy to stay out of the competition because she thought Cindy could win,” Jacob added. “Then when the list for the competition came out, Ariel went to beat her up. We all know Cindy is good, but we have never heard how good she is because we are all playing together. One of our fellow woodwind instrument players was threatened and almost beaten up, just because she might be in the top five or even in the top three. Mike and Marcus are right. It is not fair that Cindy had to face that. None of us stood up against Ariel to defend Cindy. We need to stand together behind everyone in this room in the competition, especially the only Little woodwind player to ever achieve that feat. Cindy, I personally apologize for everything you have been through this summer. I heard Ariel make negative comments about you, but I never said anything.”

“It’s okay,” Cindy said.

“No, it isn’t,” Sally interjected. “It is never okay to put up with teasing and bullying behaviors. I also said nothing to Ariel when I heard her say things. My lack of action made her believe that her views were appropriate. I don’t even want to think about how my silence may have led to your attacks. I am very sorry Cindy.”

“Mrs. Johnson,” Jacob asked? “We just want to hear her play something for us, then we will get to work.”

“It’s okay Mrs. Johnson,” Cindy said as she was unpacking her flute. “I’ll play so you can get back to teaching.”

“Are you sure Cindy,” asked Mrs. Johnson?

“Yeah. It will help me calm down after all that has happened.”

“Okay,” Mrs. Johnson relented. “Quiet down everyone. Cindy, do you know any Flute Solos?”

“I know a few Mrs. Johnson. Would Friedrich Kuhlau’s Fantasy in D Major for Flute Solo be okay?” YouTube link to it being played

Mrs. Johnson raised an eyebrow, “Whatever you know and are comfortable playing dear.”

Cindy positioned the Molly doll on her lap, closed her eyes, and took some deep breaths. Then, Cindy started to play. For eleven minutes, the room was silent, except for the amazing music coming from Cindy’s flute. When she finished, she opened her eyes, and looked around at the standing ovation that she was getting. She blushed. Grabbing the Molly doll, Cindy noticed a group of grown-ups with tablets in their hands, that she did not see in the room before she started to play.

“Impressive,” one of the strange new grown-ups said as he approached. “I am not sure I have ever heard that piece played that well. You, young lady, are quite an impressive player, and you did that without any sheet music. Oh, how I would love to have you in my Symphony Orchestra. Unfortunately, with that talent, I suspect that you will be a solo flute player instead of playing in a Symphony Orchestra in some city. Mr. Elks, you certainly do have some amazing talent at camp this summer. I am sorry Mrs. Johnson, I didn’t mean to interrupt your class, but after hearing that, I just had to compliment the artist. So, Mr. Elks, please tell me that this little cherub is in the competition this summer.”

“Yes, indeed Mr. Frances. This is Cindy. She is one of our contestants this summer. We were not planning on listening to her now but after that solo performance, I am sure you all want to put down your impressions. She is number,” Mr. Elks looked down at his tablet and hit a few buttons. “Fifteen. She is number fifteen on your list.”

With that, the group of unknown grown-ups tapped away at their tablets and then left the room.

“Class, those were the judges for the Best Performer Competition. Mr. Frances is the lead conductor for the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra. I have never heard him give a student such high praise before. I have been on the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra for ten years and rarely have I heard him give anyone such high praise. You all wanted to know if Cindy was capable of being in the top three. Well, you just got your answer. Cindy, thank you for sharing with us. That was an amazing performance. Now everyone, your parents will be here in a few days to hear you play. Let’s get back to work, so we can show them what amazing performers you all are.”

At the end of class, Cindy couldn’t have left even if she tried. Everyone wanted to compliment her on her performance. A group of kids escorted her to her next class, as they asked her everything from her age, to her favorite composer. Some kids even ask the name of her Dolly and the name of her favorite TV shows on Disney Junior.

In every class that morning, the group of judges came into the class quietly, observed a little bit, tapped away on their tablets for a few minutes, and then quietly left.

Cindy however, did not have a quiet morning. It seemed like everyone was greeting her or asking her questions. Although it was all done openly and with real appreciation or curiosity, for a nine year old the instant fame was overwhelming at times.

“Thanks Erin,” Cindy said as they reached the lunch table. “You were tons of help.”

“No problem Cindy,” Erin replied as she sat down in her regular spot. “I sort of felt like a body guard trying to get you through some of those crowds.”

“It has been like that all morning.”

“The speech Mike and Marcus gave really did the job. It appears that everyone wants you to feel welcome and know what it is like to have friends at camp.”

“But I already have friends.”

“You sure do,” Jessica said as she sat down next to Cindy. “And don’t forget it.”

“Hi Jessica,” Cindy gave her a big hug.

“My, oh my,” Jessica hugged back. “That is quite a hug considering it has only been four hours since we last saw each other. Did something happen this morning?”

“Everyone!”

“It appears that everyone wants to be Cindy’s friend,” Erin explained. “She can’t go anywhere without a crowd of people wanting to talk to her or just say hi to her.”

Jessica smiled, “This is a good thing Cindy. Enjoy it.”

“I am real glad I had body guards this morning.”

Erin smiled.

“I needed some body guards this morning too,” Samantha said as she sat down on the other side of Cindy. “Everyone wants to know what I play, how long I have been playing, or just congratulate me on getting into the competition.”

Marcus at that moment sat down in his spot, “That is great Samantha. Sounds like the speech this morning worked then. How about you Cindy?”

“They want to know everything about me,” Cindy took a deep breath and hugged the Molly doll. “What I like, how old I am, even what my favorite color is. Molly here even got a few questions.”

Samantha giggled, “Did she answer them?”

“Of course she did,” Cindy smiled and stood Molly up and made her talk. “I answered all the questions myself. I’m an American Girl. We are famous, so we have lots of loving fans. I am used to that, but Cindy isn’t.”

Samantha giggled again, “Good job Molly, and keep up the good job of helping Cindy.”

“I a great helper,” Cindy made Molly say. “Thanks for letting me help Cindy.”

“No problem, knew you would be good at it.”

With Mr. Elks getting everyone’s attention for announcements, both girls giggled.

When one o’clock came around, the small orchestra collected in their practice room. George was the last to arrive, but he wasn’t the last to enter the room. The competition judges entered right behind him.

“Cindy,” Mr. Frances said. “It is nice to see you again. This is the time we originally had scheduled to observe you and the rest of this little orchestra.”

“Judges, everyone in this room is in the competition. Three out of the five children have won in previous years. That does not disqualify them from winning this year, but I do ask that you look for growth from the last time you judged that individual,” Mr. Elks said. “You have already judged Jessica and Cindy. We are here now to judge George, Samantha, and Marcus. I ask that you keep Marcus’ piano playing a secret for now. He is usually judged on his Rock’n Roll electric guitar playing, and he has chosen this year to be judged on his piano skills. His skills on the piano will be revealed when this group play the final song of Saturday’s concert. Directly after that, we will award the winner of the Best Performer Competition. This group is performing a composition written by Jessica here. She has chosen to conduct the piece, even though she wrote the piano piece for her to play.”

“Actually sir,” Jessica interjected. “This composition was my idea and original draft was written by me, but from there, each member of the group has given input and changes were made.”

“Very honorable of you to say that Jessica,” Mrs. Dulles said. “As an agent, I often see people try to claim other people’s work as their own.”

“Okay everyone,” Mr. Elks stated. “Get your instruments out, and play it through once for the judges. Since we are judging three of you, we may need to be here for a while. This is your time to prepare for the concert. Do what you would normally do. This is a small room, so it is going to be hard to ignore the judges, but try the best you can. Everyone in the top ten will have another chance to individually perform for the judges. Let us hear now, what you can do.”

“Now,” Jessica addressed her orchestra. “We have two days to get this perfect. Yesterday we made minor changes to the composition, and based upon yesterday’s final performance I made some slight changes. Log in to the app and pull up the latest version of the script. Marcus, listen for the pace of Samantha as she finishes her solo, if it is not at the speed of the next section, start at her speed and progress up slowly. An abrupt change of pace, is a negative to the overall composition. George, remember how you did in that final practice yesterday. Tap into those feelings again, you were starting to really move from a technical player to one tapping into their emotions. Let the music flow through you and listen to those around you. You know your part by heart, but remember, our strength is combining all of our abilities to make one amazing performance. Ready, one, two, three. . .”

The music began, with Jessica leading the orchestra through the ebb and flow of the composition. Upon the last note, Jessica directs everyone to take a deep breath, put down their instruments and then stand for the audience. After bows and curtsies, she directs them to sit down and provide feedback. Then after a short discussion, they go through it again. This process is done three times before the judges leave. Once the door was completely closed, Marcus joined Jessica on the conductor’s podium.

“We have now all been judged twice by the judges,” Marcus explained. “There is nothing to do now but wait for results. Jessica, you did a great job bringing us through the last three songs. You are technically not being judged on your conducting skills, but they will take into account what they saw now, when judging you on your overall understanding of music. I see the five of us at the top five, and we go forward with that assumption. The three oldest of us have won before, but if we face reality, one of the two youngest will most likely win. Samantha and Cindy, I want you to know right now, I am okay with any of the five of us winning. None of us older kids will be mad or upset if you win. We make an amazing team, and no matter what happens, we shall always be friends.”

“Cindy,” George asked? “Do you know Mr. Frances from outside of camp?”

“No,” Cindy replied. “The first time I met him was this morning during the woodwind class.”

“I have never heard him talk to anybody,” George stated. “Did he talk to you this morning?”

“Yeah, he said he had never heard anyone play the piece as good as I did.”

Everyone looked at Cindy.

“He said what,” asked Marcus?

“He said he never heard the piece played as good as I did.”

“Well,” Jessica commented. “That means that Cindy has Mr. Frances’ vote. Everyone after they saw you this morning Cindy, will be compared against your performance. I probably don’t have a chance against that comparison.”

“You are all being silly,” Cindy responded. “I am no one special.”

“Cindy!” the group slammed her.

“You are special Cindy,” Marcus commented as he went back to the piano. “Never view yourself in the negative. You have strengths and weaknesses like everyone else. You have a talent, and you are good at it. Everyone in this room is special in their own way.”

“Anyways Cindy,” Samantha said. “I am going to win, so don’t worry.”

With that, the room filled with laughter, after which, Jessica managed to get everyone back to practicing.

After practice, Samantha and Cindy were being escorted to Mr. Elks’ house by George, when they passed a group of kids having a conversation about Marcus.

“Honest, Marcus was a prodigy on the piano when he was little. He could play better than that Jessica kid everyone says is so good on the piano.”

“Eric, stop making up stories. Marcus plays the electric guitar. He is not a classical piano player and he never has been. If you could play the guitar like he can, you would never play another instrument. I have been coming here for years, and I have never heard him play anything but his guitar. He never even talks about an interest or time with other instruments. There is no way he plays the piano.”

“Ellie is older than Marcus, and she says,” Eric started.

“Oh, don’t believe an older teenager like Ellie. She is probably laughing her head off over the tween she tricked into believing such a bazar tale.”

Cindy, Samantha, and George stifled their giggles and ran ahead of the group. When out of ear shot, the three collapsed on the grass in a heap of giggles.

“They won’t believe the truth,” Samantha barely got out through her giggling.

“Not even with Ellie telling them,” George got out. “This is great. Our performance will shock them all.”

“Wonder what they will say when Marcus puts down his guitar and heads for the piano,” Cindy asked?

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 12 Open Mic

“Jessica,” Cindy got out while being dragged behind Jessica.

“Jessica!” Cindy screamed.

Coming to an immediate, and complete stop, Jessica turned to face Cindy. Not prepared for the change in momentum, Cindy slammed straight into Jessica, bringing them both to the ground.

“Jessica!”

“What?”

“Jessica!”

“Okay! Okay! I get it. But Cindy . . .”

“No BUT Jessica. You promised!”

Jessica looked away from Cindy. “I did promise, didn’t I.”

“Yes, you did.”

“I’m working on it. Honest Cindy.”

“I know. It has been a week since you last dragged me off on some wild adventure. Now is not the time. You are scared. It is okay to be scared. Getting angry and running away is not how you should deal with it.”

“I’m not scared.”

“Yeah you are.”

“No, I’m not,” Jessica stood up.

“You are.”

“Am not.”

“Then prove it. Get up on stage with Samantha and me. Sing and dance with us,” Cindy said finally getting up off the ground.

“I would, but I need to practice for the solo performance in front of the judges tomorrow.”

“Pony Poop.”

“Oooooooo, strong words. Someone should wash that potty mouth of yours out with soap.”

“Well if the glass slipper fits,” Cindy retorted back.

“I’m NOT scared!”

“Then let’s go.”

“FINE!”

“Then stop pulling me in the opposite direction,” Cindy yanked at the arm grasped by Jessica.

“FINE!”

When they finally arrived at the Concert Hall, it looked like the whole camp was there. The stage was full of kids warming up their instruments. A complete orchestra was in assembly, and it even had Alfred up getting ready to conduct. The audience was chatting with each other about what they wanted to perform.

Mr. Elks borrowed Alfred’s baton and tapped on the lectern, “Okay everyone. Thank You for coming and supporting the girls. Before they get here, I think you should all practice as a group. Some of you have never played together before and many of you have never been in an orchestra this big. Good Luck.”

Alfred continued from there, “I have conducted the song, Let It Go, a couple of times before, but never with such a big orchestra. Remember, the girls are going to be singing and dancing, so we don’t want the music to drown them out. Keep it soft and gentle. They are just young Littles, probably singing for the first time with an orchestra. This is Open Mic, it doesn’t have to be perfect, but let’s try to give the girls a positive experience to remember.”

With a gesture of his baton, the orchestra started playing.

“I’m not a Little,” Jessica declared! “And I am definitely not a young Little.”

“He was talking about Samantha and me. She’s seven and everyone thinks I am younger than her.”

“Their expecting Littles, not a Tween. You two do it without me.”

“Nope,” Cindy smiled, dragging Jessica towards the stage. “We are going to do it all together, just like we did for Mrs. Elks.”

As the music played, the two of them were silently mouthing the words. When the song was done, Alfred complimented everyone and gave some pointers for improving the next time they played.

“Okay girls,” Alfred said looking over at Jessica, Samantha, and Cindy. “Are you ready?”

“No,” replied Jessica, as Cindy and Samantha, on each side of her, dragged her out onto the stage.

Mike stood up and walked up to the girls.

“Jessica,” Mike said. “You know the rules about Open Mic. These Littles, however, may not fully understand. Cindy and Samantha, Open Mic is a time to just have fun with friends and get used to being up on stage in front of an audience. Nothing has to be perfect, and the first rule is just to have fun. You didn’t get to do this yesterday, so now is your chance to be three giggling girls up on stage together having fun.”

Samantha and Cindy giggled, while Jessica rolled her eyes with a slight smile forming on her face.

“So, Let It Go girls and just have fun,” Mike returned to his seat in the orchestra.

“Okay girls,” Alfred said to the three of them. “Like Mike said, just have fun and let it go. I will try to keep the orchestra at your speed, but since we have never heard you sing, I make no guarantees. Things might be a little bumpy, but don’t worry about it.”

“We won’t Alfred,” Samantha said. “We know that this is Open Mic, and mistakes are okay.”

Alfred smiles, “You got it little one. Let’s do this.”

Alfred turns back to the orchestra and taps on the lectern with his baton.

Looking out at the audience Cindy, Samantha, and Jessica squeeze each other’s hands and smile to the audience. Cindy put the Molly doll sitting down in front of them. She stood up just as the music started.

When the music ends five minutes later, the girls hug each other, jumping up and down in a burst of giggles.

“Impressive everyone,” Mr. Elks said as he joined Alfred at the front of the stage. Looking at the orchestra, “Second time playing together, and it was almost flawless. I have just added this group to the final concert, unless anyone objects.”

Everyone on stage shook their heads back and forth. This was unheard of. Open Mic performances don’t get immediately turned into final concert performances. There was usually only one super large orchestra performance, and it was always classical music. A Disney movie song never got such an honor.

Turning back toward the girls and the audience, Mr. Elks smiled, “Now, we can just have the orchestra playing, but I am willing to have a singer go with the performance. I will not make that decision, we will have auditions for anyone interested. Our voice teacher, Mr. Lamar, will hold auditions tomorrow morning after Breakfast. I will put a sign up sheet by the entrance to the Concert Hall. To be considered, you must have taken a singing class from Mr. Lamar either this summer or a previous summer.”

A murmur erupted throughout the Concert Hall.

Turning back to the orchestra, “Before any of you leave the stage, please make sure I have your name down if you want to perform this song in the final performance. We will do one more practice session tonight after five Open Mic performances, so don’t leave the Concert Hall until after that. I will also have some practice sessions set up once we have a singer chosen.”

Looking at Jessica, Cindy, and Samantha, Mr. Elks got down to eye level with Samantha and Cindy, “You all did a wonderful job, and look at everyone who showed up to support you. I am proud of you for getting up on stage and doing that. I would like to congratulate the three of you for making it into the top ten best performer competition. Samantha and Jessica, tomorrow morning you will be doing individual performances for the judges. Cindy, the judges decided that they didn’t need to hear you play again. Your performance this morning met what they were looking for in a solo performance.”

As Mr. Elks went to get the names of the kids in the orchestra, the girls headed for a spot in the audience.

“Cindy,” Jessica asked? “What did the judges hear you do this morning? I have never heard of anyone not needing to do a solo performance on Friday.”

They came during the Woodwind Class. The rest of the kids in class had convinced Mrs. Johnson to hear me play a solo piece, wondering if I really was as good as others were saying. The judges came in while I was playing my favorite composition.”

The girls stayed until the Littles were told it was time to go back to their dorms. Jessica and Cindy escorted Samantha to her dorm. While saying good-night to each other, Samantha gave Cindy a big hug.

Whispering in Cindy’s ear, “Don’t worry about wetting the bed tonight, just wear a Pull-Up.”

Cindy stood back and looked at Samantha.

“Lots of kids do,” Samantha said in a regular voice before heading inside.

“What do lots of kids do,” Jessica asked?

“Uhhhh, nothing.”

Jessica walked with Cindy to Mr. Elks’ house, “Cindy, thanks for getting me up on stage tonight. It was scary, but fun.”

“Thanks for doing it with us,” Cindy responded. After a moment of silence, Cindy looked away from Jessica and asked, “Do you know who the other transgender kid is here at camp?”

“What?”

“Mike said there was another transgender kid at camp. I was wondering if you knew who it was?”

“Sorry, No.”

“Well, it was worth a try. It would have been nice to meet someone else who was transgender. I may never get another chance in my life.”

The girls continued in silence.

When they reached Mr. Elks house, Jessica wished Cindy a good night’s sleep, and then headed off in thought.

When Cindy picked up her nighty, she found a girl’s Goodnite underneath. It had been just under a year since she last wore a Goodnite to bed. Back then she wore boy ones, but just like the one in front of her, she knew a Goodnite, boy or girl, was just a baby Pull-Up with a different name so big kids didn’t feel like they were wearing baby training pants. She wasn’t a baby. Was she? Cindy knew that once Mom found out she was wetting during the day and at night, she would be back in actual baby diapers at night, and wearing either baby diapers or Goodnites during the day, or as Mommy called them, “baby Pull-Ups Training Pants.”

Looking down at Ariel looking back at her from the Goodnite, Cindy wasn’t sure if she should put it on or not. She figured she would never have another chance to wear a girl’s Goodnite, even if Mom put her back in Goodnites at home, they would be yucky boy’s Goodnites with some boy superhero on them. Samantha was right, lots of kids at camp wear Goodnites to bed. Not many my age, but even some her age wore Goodnites to bed every night.

“What should I do?” Cindy looked over to her bed where the Molly Doll and her stuffed Panda lay on the pillow. “Mrs. Elks said I don’t have to wear it, but . . .”

Cindy picks up the Goodnite with Ariel on it and puts it on. After getting her nighty on, she went over to play with the doll house.

“Time for bed Cindy,” Barbara said as she entered the room at 8pm.

Cindy put the doll in her hand in the doll house bed, “Nighty Night Mary Sue.”

Climbing into bed, Barbara came over and tucked under the covers Cindy, Molly, and the stuffed Panda bear.

“I noticed you chose to wear a Goodnite tonight. If you wake up wet in the middle of the night, there are more in your top dresser drawer. There are baby wipes to clean yourself up with in the top drawer in the bathroom, and just put the Goodnite in the trash under the sink in the bathroom.”

“Okay Mrs. Elks, I mean Barbara.”

“Good Night, sleep tight, and don’t let the,” Barbara put a big smile on her face as she approached Cindy with wiggling fingers. “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

Cindy giggled as she was tickled right under her chin.

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 13 Winning Awards

Cindy was glad that the bed was dry in the morning, but disappointed that the Goodnite was not. After cleaning herself up with a baby wipe, she looked at the panties and Goodnites in the drawer. She considered putting on a Goodnite but chose panties instead.

“No Molly, wearing a Goodnite during the day will not make me a baby, but I am a big girl. I made it through the day yesterday without an accident. I will try to do it again today. If I can stay dry in the day the rest of camp, maybe Mommy will not make me wear them during the day when I get home. Yeah, I know Panda Bear, no matter what she will put me in “Baby Pull-Up Training Pants” during the day, and diapers at night. Don’t worry. I will not make either of you wear diapers or training pants.”

Cindy put a dress on and finished getting ready for the day. Before heading out of the room, she gave her Panda Bear a big hug.

“Cindy,” Barbara said as Cindy entered the living room. “The top five Best Performers will be here during the time you have been watching shows on Disney Junior. If you are not in the top five, you can not be here at that time in the afternoon.”

“Okay,” Cindy said as she headed straight for the front door without stopping or looking at anyone. “Ready to go Mr. Elks?”

As they walked out the front door, Mr. Elks looked down at Cindy holding the Molly doll in one hand and the backpack over her shoulder. “Are you okay Cindy?”

“Yeah, No, I don’t know.”

“What’s the matter?”

“I . . . I’m scared.”

Mr. Elks stopped and knelt down to Cindy’s level. He took her two hands and looked her right in the eyes. “What are you scared of Cindy?”

“Saturday.”

“Are you worried about the concert?”

“No, that would be silly. When I play, I can block out everything and just enjoy playing. Audiences don’t worry me when I play my flute, especially when I am Cindy. The woodwind group has it’s piece down perfectly, and Jessica’s small orchestra piece is really fun to perform.”

“Sounds like the concert will be the easy part of the day for you, so what has you worried about Saturday?”

Cindy looked down at her Frozen sneakers. In a voice barely above a whisper she says, “Mommy.”

“Oh,” Mr. Elks smiled at Cindy. “You don’t think she is going to be happy that you have been Cindy at camp?”

“Not happy? She will be mad. Then the bed and pant wetting, she will be furious. After what she did last time, I am scared of what she will do when she finds out about camp.”

“Those are some really scary things to be worried about,” Mr. Elks said squeezing Cindy’s hands. “As I told you on Monday, you can be Cindy at the concert, but if you want to be Frank, I will understand. Your friends will understand too.”

“I don’t want to be Frank. I never want to be Frank. No matter what I do, I will be in trouble, so I might as well be Cindy for as long as possible.”

“That makes a lot of sense.”

“It doesn’t matter anyways. Mommy will see me before the concert, and she will not let me play in the concert. I just haven’t figured out how to tell Jessica and the others in the group that. My Mom will wreck everything. Jessica was really excited about getting her piece picked for the last performance of the concert. The others in the group also view it as a great honor to play in that position. I will wreck everything, causing them not to be able to do dat.”

“Cindy, they all know that your Mom is not going to be happy about seeing you as Cindy. Remember that we all worked together to make sure Marcus understood this before he joined Jessica’s orchestra. They all helped convince Marcus that your Mom might stop the performance and pull you off the stage. They know it can happen, and they will not be mad at you if it does. I will do whatever I can to make sure you get to perform Saturday. I want your little orchestra to perform their song just as much as you do. I have never had such a talented group of performers up on stage working together. Now, the first thing I can do is to make sure your parents don’t see you before the concert. Parents are told to come for the concert and then they can take the kids home. A lot of parents never see their kids before the concert, and this year I will make sure your parents don’t see you.”

“Really? They won’t see me until I am on stage?”

“Yup,” Mr. Elks said smiling at Cindy. “Does that make you feel a little better?”

“A little.”

“That is great,” Mr. Elks said standing back up. “I hear they have pancakes for breakfast with warm maple syrup. Will that help a little too?”

With a smile Cindy replied, “Yeah, a little.”

The two of them walked to the cafeteria, talking about Open Mic last night.

“Quiet everyone,” Mr. Elks said trying to quiet the cafeteria down for announcements. “We have our top ten in the Best Performer Competition. The Judges will hear them play individually this morning, and at lunch we will post the top five. Those individuals will have dinner tonight at my house with the judges and my wife’s amazing cooking. The Top Performer will be announced at the end of the concert tomorrow. They get a trophy to go home with, their name on this decade’s Performer’s Cup, free tuition for camp next year, and a special gift.”

The room erupted into chatter as most looked over at the Performer’s Cup at the entrance to the Cafeteria.

Once everyone was quieted down again, “I have posted the order of tomorrow’s concert. Some of you have already noticed that the location of the Orchestra and Singing performance of, Let It Go, is listed as TBA. For those that do not know, TBA stands for ‘To Be Announced.’ Until the singing is picked, we could not determine when to do the performance. Mr. Lamar has looked over the audition list for the singing of the song and will pull people this morning to audition. Any questions about the singing or rehearsals once the singer is picked, should be directed to Mr. Lamar.”

Mr. Elks stood and smiled at everyone as he waited for everyone to calm down again, “The winner of the coveted Final Performance Position goes to Jessica. She has created an original piece of music and put together a group to perform it. Let’s give her a round of applause for winning the competition.”

The room erupted into clapping and whistling. Jessica’s face was a bright red.

When the room was quiet again, Mr. Elks continued, “Jessica please come up here. We are going to be doing something different this year. In the past, the few trophies awarded were given between performances at the concert. To allow for more groups to perform, we are changing things this year. Jessica is only the first to receive a trophy today. Others will be awarded to individuals in the various specialty classes. It is not easy to get a trophy at camp, and you need to congratulate everyone who does earn one. Only the best has an opportunity to attend this camp, so only the best of the best get trophies. If you have earned one in the past, it is even harder to get one again. As I have stated before, age is not important at this camp, it is all on skill. From our youngest camper Elizabeth, to our oldest Jacob, you are all amazing artists. You come here to improve your music skills. Not to earn trophies. Everyone here can now play better than when they arrived. Congratulations. That means you worked hard to improve your skills. Jessica, with this trophy, I award you for amazing growth as a composition writer. And with that, I say, Let’s Eat!”

As someone from each table went in to get the food, the conversation level in the room flared up. Jessica returned to the table holding a trophy with a music note on top.

Everyone was admiring Jessica’s trophy when Marcus caught the attention of the table, “I earned that trophy my first year hear. I have tried to earn it every year since but have failed. I think it is one of the hardest trophies to earn at camp. Congratulations Jessica. Good Job.”

“Thanks Marcus,” Jessica said blushing. “That means a lot coming from you.”

As Eleanor returned with the food, Mr. Elks approached the table. “Since most of the people in the top ten Best Performer Competition are sitting at this table, here is the order that the judges will be calling people to do their solo performances. We will be in the Concert Hall. George, you are first, so right after breakfast report to the Concert Hall.”

Erin stopped Mr. Elks as he was starting to walk away, “Sir, why are there only nine names on this list? Aren’t all of the top ten getting to perform solo performances for the judges?”

“The tenth person has already performed for the judges,” and with that Mr. Elks turned and walked away.

Erin turned to the table with a questioning look. She examined the list again, “Cindy! Cindy, your name is not on the list. Did you make it into the top 10?”

“Yeah.”

“When did you do a solo performance for the judges?”

Eleanor responded, “Oh she did one alright. It was amazing. You should have heard her play the piece. It was a long one too, at least ten minutes long. The judges came in just as she started playing the composition. The room was silent the whole time, and then she got a standing ovation. Just amazing for such a little girl to do. Us older kids in the woodwind class didn’t really believe someone so young could be as good as Marcus and Mr. Elks had said Cindy was, but no one questioned it after her performance. Then, the most amazing thing happened. Mr. Frances, you know the silent judge, actually went up and complimented Cindy. He never says anything during judging. The only time I have ever heard him talk is at the top five dinner Mr. Elks gives. From what some of the instructors say, he rarely talks to them and they are in the Tri-City Orchestra he conducts. Not only did he talk to Cindy, but he said that she played the piece better than anyone he had ever heard play the piece. Cindy is an amazing flute player. I knew my chances of winning the Best Performer competition were gone as soon as I heard Cindy play. But to be honest, if she can play that good, she deserves to win.”

“Mr. Frances complimented Cindy?” Erin gasped. “Oh boy! You must really be good Cindy.”

“She is good, and Samantha is also outstanding,” Marcus added. “For the first time in the camp’s history, there could be two Littles in the top three and possibly in the top two. A little hasn’t won the Best Performer competition since I did years ago, but I bet either Cindy or Samantha win this year.”

“You guys are all crazy,” Cindy responded. “Some of you have been playing twice as long as I have. There is no way I can beat you teenagers.”

“Cindy!” Jessica, Marcus, George, and Samantha said together.

Jessica glared at Cindy, “We have talked about this Cindy. No cutting yourself down. You are a good flute player Cindy and accept the fact that you can be better than people older than you.”

“And Cindy, don’t worry about winning,” Samantha stated. “As I said before, I am going to win this year.”

“That would be funny,” George commented, “If it wasn’t coming from you Samantha.”

Samantha smiled before putting a syrup drenched piece of pancake into her mouth.

“Amazing,” Axel said to Marcus. “As rock stars we get all the screaming fans, yet we never manage to win the Best Performer Competition. Now you are telling me that two Littles, barely out of diapers, are going to blow away everyone at camp. They are what, six-year-olds?”

Marcus shrugged his shoulders, “Sorry Dude.”

Axel then turned to Samantha and Cindy, “I have worked very hard to be as good as I am on the electric guitar. You two, however, have real talent. A gift that you were born with. Amazing. We have been protecting the two of you for the last week, but I never knew how talented you really were. Yeah, Marcus told me, but it just seemed so unbelievable. I thought I was just making sure two cute little girls didn’t get hurt. Now I know. I know that I was a body guard for a famous musician. Thanks for giving me that honor.”

“We’re not famous,” Samantha declared.

“No little Princess, you’re not famous yet, but you will be known all over the world someday. You may even go down in history like Beethoven or Elvis,” Axel stated. “And to think, I knew you when you put Sophia the First stickers on your violin.”

“Well, she is a Disney Princess,” Samantha stated.

“Yes, a Princess just like you,” Axel said smiling at Samantha.

Samantha blushed.

At camp, few knew about Frank’s life, but that is all that Cindy could think of as she headed off to the Woodwind Class. She would soon be home and have to be Frank again. Probably never getting to be Cindy again ever in her life. She enjoyed this week as Cindy. She was just one of the girls. She could not recall any time in Franks life that he had as much fun as she was having with Samantha and Jessica. Even playing with his best friend at home, he was always a boy in a girl’s world. Here she was just a girl out in the world. The flute playing was even more fun. She didn’t understand it, but she really did play better as Cindy. Would she be able to go back to being Frank? Could she ever enjoy playing the flute as Frank after experiencing the exhilaration of flute playing as Cindy? With only one day left as Cindy, one day left to exist, she took a deep breath and walked into class.

Cindy walked over to her chair and started to unpack her flute. With the Molly doll on her lap, she prepared for class.

“Class,” Mrs. Johnson said with a raised voice. “Can I please have everyone’s attention.”

The room quieted down as everyone looked up at Mrs. Johnson.

“I give two awards every year,” Mrs. Johnson continued. “One for the best Woodwind player and one for the most improved.”

“That is not fair,” Timmy said. “Cindy earns both of those.”

“Well, she deserves them both,” Wes said.

“Think about it Timmy,” Sally added. “Cindy played that flute solo better than adults could. Mr. Frances said so after hearing her. I bet none of us could have impressed Mr. Frances the way she did. Eleanor may be in the top ten with her, but we all know that Cindy is even better than Eleanor. Sorry to say that Eleanor, you are very good, but Cindy is better.”

“Don’t worry about it Sally,” Eleanor responded. “I agree with you. Cindy is special. We all know she is the best Woodwind player here.”

Cindy grabbed the Molly doll and held tight.

JoAnne was the next to add her view, “There is no question that Cindy is the best here, and there really is no question that she is also the most improved. Frank was good last week, but never played like Cindy does. He was technically perfect, but no emotions. He was no where near the best Woodwind player in the room. Now, however, Cindy is. That means, she is the best and the most improved.”

There was agreement throughout the room.

“Well,” Mrs. Johnson interjected. “Cindy it appears that the class feels that you deserve both awards.”

“Uh,” Cindy looked around at the other students. “I can’t get both awards. One or the other, but not both. Timmy is right, it isn’t fair.”

“That is very mature of you Cindy,” Mrs. Johnson stated. “I have never given one student both awards, and I really had not planned on starting this year.”

“Good,” Cindy responded.

“I will agree with the kids though,” Mrs. Johnson continued. “You do deserve both awards. I struggled with which one to give you and which to give someone else. I decided to give you the Best Woodwind Player trophy. Please come up here and get it.”

Cindy, with Molly in her hands, went up to get the trophy. It had a Flute on top. The kids all clapped as she got it.

“For the Most Improved,” Mrs. Johnson said. “I had a lot to choose from. You all have improved. Frank is not the same person as Cindy, so I couldn’t give Cindy the Most Improved. This year I decided to give it to our youngest player.”

“So, Cindy gets it,” John said.

“No,” Cindy declared. “I am definitely not the youngest here. Believe it or not, I am nine years old.”

“Nine?” several of the kids asked at once.

“Yes, nine years old. I am just small for my age,” Cindy said with a smile.

“Potty, Potty, Potty,” Suzy said as she jumped up and ran for the bathroom.

“She is the youngest here,” Cindy announced as Suzy ran out the door. “She is six, going into 1st grade when school begins.”

“That is quite correct Cindy,” Mrs. Johnson said. “She is also the one that has earned the most improved. She could play when she arrived at camp, but she didn’t know how to play her instrument with others. Now she is part of the group, and no one would know that last week was the first time she played as part of a group. That makes her the most improved.”

When Suzy came back into the room everyone started clapping.

“It’s not that big of a deal that I made it to the potty in time,” Suzy said. “I almost always do.”

“No Suzy,” Cindy said through her giggles. “You are the winner of the Most Improved Award.”

“Oh, that makes more sense. Wow, I won a trophy?”

Suzy went up to Mrs. Johnson and got her trophy. Like mine, it had her instrument on top, a bassoon.

After practicing their piece for the concert, Mrs. Johnson had a special treat. She had a collection of various Woodwind Instruments that were actually made of wood. No one had ever seen a Saxophone made out of wood before. Among the other campers we did have a wide variety of unique instruments. Suzy played a Mini-Bassoon. Before seeing her Bassoon, most of the kids in the class had never seen a mini-bassoon. Wes had a purple Clarinet and Eleanor’s Oboe was pink. Timmy’s Piccolo was florescent orange. Sally played something called a Cor Anglais, which somehow was see-through. Mrs. Johnson also brought a stone flute, a ney, a double bassoon, a pan flute, a Native American Drone Flute, and bag pipes. There was even a saxophone played by a former United States President named Bill Clinton.

No one was paying that much attention to the adults who were sporadically entering the room. That is, no one until Cindy loudly blurted out, “Oh my God, it is Candie Cramer!”

The room fell silent as everyone looked over towards the collection of adults.

“What?” Eleanor declared. “That’s Matthew Dine, principal oboist at the American Ballet Theater orchestra.”

“Jess Gillam!” Abigail shrieked.

“No way!” proclaimed Jacob. “That’s Milan Turkovic.”

“Isn’t that Richard Stoltzman from Sesame Street,” asked Suzy?

“Richard Stoltzman! He isn’t on Sesame Street,” Wes corrected. “He is a world famous clarinet player, and yes, that is him.”

“Actually,” Mr. Stoltzman interjected. “I have played on Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers. That was a long time ago though, I am surprised someone so young knows about it. Did you guys know, Mr. Rogers played the clarinet?

“See, I told you so,” Suzy rebutted.

“World famous clarinet player and the first kid to recognize me, knows me from Sesame Street. I wonder what that says about my career,” Mr. Stoltzman stated.

“Probably that the rest of us should get on Sesame Street,” Miss Gillam replied.

“That’s Gareth Davies,” Larry Stated. “I’ve watched some of his Master Classes on YouTube.”

“And that’s Martin Frost,” Oscar said in aww. “The Martin Frost.”

“Well,” Mrs. Johnson said in a fashion to quiet the room down and get everyone’s attention. “It is nice to know that my students know their celebrities. I see the group of you are good at searching YouTube, and apparently watching Sesame Street. This year, I wanted to give you all a special treat. Celebrity woodwind players all in one place doesn’t happen very often. They all have offered to be on a panel to answer any questions you have. As a special reward, our two trophy winners, can ask one of our guests to play a song for us.”

“All of these individuals are known throughout the world as experts with their instruments. Our youngest guest is only in her early 20’s, Jess Gillam. She is from the United Kingdom and known for her classical Saxophone playing.” Link to Jess Gillam's web page

“Candie Cramer is a flutist from Baltimore, Maryland. Like Cindy, she is transgender.”

“Which one is Cindy,” Miss Cramer asked?

Cindy raised her hand, and Miss Cramer smiled back.

“Next to her we have Gareth Davies, from England. He plays the flute and the piccolo, is Principal Flutist with the London Symphony Orchestra, and teaches woodwind classes around the world,” Mrs. Johnson gestures towards Mr. Davies. “Yes, he can also be found on YouTube, like most of our guests. Mr. Davies was also part of the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony.” Link to Gareth Davies web page

“Then we have Matthew Dine, Principal Oboist at the American Ballet Theater orchestra, Co-Principal Oboist of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. After some nerve damage, he started a second career as a Freelance Culture Photographer for the New York Times. He takes impressive pictures of musicians. As an Oboist, he has played on Broadway, as well as various Symphony and Ballet Orchestras around the United States. Now, during performances, he will play the Oboe and take pictures. Yes, take pictures in-between his times playing the Oboe during a concert. On a strange note, he decided to play the oboe after seeing a picture of it in the dictionary at age 15, before this he had never heard an oboe played.” Link to Matt Dine's web page

“Richard Stoltzman is a Clarinet player and Cordon Blue trained pastry chef. He was born in Nebraska, but grew up in San Francisco, California and Cincinnati, Ohio. He currently lives in Massachusetts. He is a two-time Grammy Award winner and known for playing across many different genres. He plays classical, jazz, and contemporary music. I especially like his Jazz playing. I didn’t know this, but Suzy apparently did, he has been a world-famous actor on Sesame Street.”

The room burst into laughter.

“No, I am serious,” Mrs. Johnson said. “Sesame Street is seen around the world. They invite professionals on the show all the time and have since they started in 1969. All types of professional musicians have been on the show. It is a great way to expose the younger generation to music and different instruments. They not only hear the music, but they get to see the instruments. Never look down on someone for appearing on Sesame Street. In fact, I would view it as a great honor. You have to be pretty good to be asked to appear on the show.”

Both Suzy and Mr. Stoltzman smiled at Mrs. Johnson. Link to Richard Stoltzman's web page

“We have Milan Turkovic,” Mrs. Johnson continued. “Migrated from Croatia, in the former Yugoslavia to Austria. He currently resides in Vienna, Austria. He is a world renown Bassoon Soloist and Conductor in Orchestras around the world. He was one of the first, if not the first, to take the bassoon from just a Symphony Orchestra instrument, to one that a musician could also be a soloist on.” Link to Milan Turkovic's web page

“Last, but not least, we have word renowned Swedish Clarinetist and Conductor Martin Frost,” Mrs. Johnson introduced the final adult standing on the side of the room. “He is known for his worldwide collaborations. In 2014, he received the Léonie Sonning Music Prize, one of the world’s highest musical honors. He was the first clarinetist to get the award. He also has a long-term association with Buffet Crampon. For those of you who do not know the company Buffet Crampon, they make high end woodwind instruments. He has been playing the clarinet since age eight. He started on the violin at age five. Link to Martin Frost's web site

“Now I turn to our two award winners. Who would you like to hear play? Cindy I will give you the first choice,” Mrs. Johnson smiled in anticipation of her answer.

Holding onto the Molly doll tightly, Cindy smiles and examines the Woodwind celebrities in the room. “I would love some of Mr. Stoltzman’s pastries and hear Mr. Davies on the Flute. I don’t know however how I can turn down a chance to hear Candie Cramer play in person. After hearing her play that Star Wars song for Oprah on YouTube, I have wanted to meet her.”

“Oh sweetie,” Miss Cramer responded. “Since I heard about you earlier this week, I have wanted to meet you. Mrs. Johnson has promised me some time with just the two of us. Let’s hear Mr. Davies play, and I will play a personal song for you later.”

“For such a cute little girl, I am sorry I don’t have some pastries to share,” Mr. Stoltzman said.

“Now, I haven’t heard this Star Wars performance,” Mr. Davies said. “What did you play?”

“I did the Carina band from first Star Wars in the 1970’s.”

“Now that I have to hear,” Mr. Davies said. “The first orchestra I heard was in that movie when I was about eight years old, and I actually got to perform for some of the more recent Star Wars movies. Sorry Mrs. Johnson, I think two of us will have to play for this little darling. First, let’s hear Miss Cramer play this Star Wars song.”

Candie Cramer played the piece, followed by a standing ovation from the students. Link to Miss Cramer playing Star Wars Carina band song

Mr. Davies then turned to Cindy, “So little darling, what instrument do you play?”

“I play the flute sir,” Cindy responded.

“She just won the Best Woodwind Performer at camp this summer,” Eleanor said. “And she has a excellent chance of winning the Best Performer competition for the whole camp this summer. She is really good at the flute.”

“My, oh, my,” Mr. Davies got down on his knees in front of Cindy.

Mrs. Johnson added, “Yesterday she played the best performance of Friedrich Kuhlau’s Fantasy for Flute Solo that I have ever heard, and that our Tri-City Orchestra conductor Mr. Frances had ever heard. To top it all off, she did it all from memory with no sheet music. She really is quite a gifted flutist.”

“I would love to hear that, but first, let’s do something a little more fun. There are a few Disney songs that are good for a Flute Duet. Hmmmmm,” Mr. Davies looked at Cindy from head with Frozen hair clip, to toe, or better put, Frozen sneakers. “I see you like Frozen. How would you like to do a Let It Go duet with me?”

“Sure,” Cindy said with a big smile. “You mean I get to play a song with you?”

“Yes Cindy,” Mr. Davies chuckled. “I would be honored to play a song with you.”

Mr. Davies went over to his bag. He pulled out a tablet, where he tapped on a few things and then handed it to Cindy where she saw the sheet music for Let It Go for Duo. While she looked it over, Mr. Davies put together his flute and started to warm up. Cindy went and got her flute. She put the Molly doll sitting down on her chair and joined Mr. Davies up front to play for the class.

The two of them played, Let It Go, together. Link to Let It Go flute duet

“You play very nicely Cindy,” Mr. Davies said. “I would love to hear you play Friedrich Kuhlau’s Fantasy for Flute Solo, but while we were playing, I noticed that you play an Eastar Beginner’s Flute. It is a rather cheap flute and one that children often learn on. How would you like to play the piece with my flute?”

“What?” Cindy looked at Mr. Davies in shock.

“Why don’t we go out in the hall and give you some time to get used to the flute before you play. The other award winner can have her choice to hear someone play.”

“My turn,” Suzy announced. “I play the Bassoon so I want to hear Mr. Turvic.”

Mr. Turkovic laughed, “That would be Turk-o-vic. I would love to play for you. Did I hear correctly that you earned the most improved award this summer.”

“Yeah! See,” Suzy said holding up the trophy.

At this point, Cindy and Mr. Davies left the room and entered the hallway.

“Cindy,” Mr. Davies started. “You have been playing on a flute that costs less than a hundred dollars.”

“I’ve asked for a better one from Santa, but I didn’t get it.”

“That is okay. His elves don’t always make the best flutes anyways. Sometimes we need to go to professional flute makers.”

“I hear the professional flutes are made of gold or silver.”

“That is right. I don’t like the all gold flutes, but some people do. The all silver flutes in my opinion are not always the best when playing in an orchestra. Currently I use one that is a combination of Gold and Silver. It has ‘Stealth Gold’ inside the tube, but is Silver on the outside. It also has a gold lip. It is something that works for me. In time, you will find what works for you. Now, this is going to be a bit heavier than the flute you have been playing.”

Cindy holds out her hands palms up and Mr. Davies puts it in her hands. She examines the flute and gets a feel for the added weight. She fingers a few of the keys, trying to get used to it. Her flute has closed holes, but this one didn’t. Slowly she brings it up to her mouth and plays a few notes.

“Have you ever played on an Open Hole flute before Cindy?”

“A few times,” Cindy said trying to reposition her fingers on the holes. “My music teacher back home says they will become easier as I grow up and get bigger hands.”

“That is why most student flutes are Closed Hole. For such a little girl, you have pretty good fingering. Here, bend your wrist a little this way,” Mr. Davies says guiding Cindy’s wrist. “It will make it easier to reach that key.”

Cindy practiced a little with her wrist in the new position. Then she closed her eyes and played a lullaby she enjoyed.

“That was lovely Cindy,” Mr. Davies admired. “You have that fingering almost perfect. I agree with your teacher, once your hands grow a little, it will be a lot easier to get the fingering just right. If you ever do get a professional flute, they come with a cork on the six open hole keys. You can leave in the cork on the ones you struggle with due to your smaller hands.”

“Oh no Mr. Davies,” Cindy declared. “I would not do that. With effort I can properly cover up all the keys, so I would want to play that way.”

“For a seven-year-old, you certainly have a determined view on this.”

“Actually, I’m nine,” Cindy proudly stated. “I am just small for my age.”

“I am corrected,” Mr. Davies bowed his head. “Sorry for the mistake.”

Just then Mrs. Johnson stuck her head out the door, “We’re ready for you whenever you’re ready.”

Cindy headed for the door, followed by Mr. Davies.

“Okay class,” Mrs. Johnson said. “You have all heard Cindy play this on her flute, a flute that probably costs about one hundred dollars. This is a professional flute she will be playing on now that probably costs over $25,000.”

Cindy looked up at Mr. Davies who was nodding to confirm that statement.

“This flute also has holes on six of the keys, requiring fingering to be perfect. Cindy is used to playing on a flute with closed holes. She is about to attempt a very difficult piece of music on an instrument she has never played on before. No one expects her to do it perfectly but let’s be quiet for her.”

Cindy stood in front of the group. She looked over to the Molly doll sitting on her chair, smiling at her. Cindy smiled back. She took some deep breaths and closed her eyes. Slowly, with her eyes still closed, she brought the flute up to her mouth and started to play. Other than a few squeaks due to her fingers not always being perfectly placed over those holes, it was beautifully played. The students noticed the richer and smoother music that came out on the professional flute over the student one she had played yesterday. When she finished, she was given a standing ovation.

“Impressive indeed,” Mr. Davies said.

“I agree,” the two conductors Martin Frost and Milan Turkovic said in unison. They then looked at each other with a knowing look.

“I know that look,” Mr. Davies said. “They each want you to play for them in a concert. They are figuring out how they can get you before the other one snatches you up. Conductors can be very possessive. When they want you this bad, make sure you get something good out of it, like maybe that professional flute that Santa didn’t bring you.”

Just then the door opened, and Marcus entered the room, “Mrs. Johnson, the judges want to see Eleanor.”

“Eleanor, go see the judges in the Concert Hall for your solo performance,” Mrs. Johnson stated. “And please tell Mrs. Dulles that Cindy will need a professional agent and ask her to come here when she is done judging the top ten competition.”

“And you two,” Mr. Davies said looking at the two conductors. “She will need time on that flute before she plays it for you in a concert, so she will need it before she actually performs for you.”

“Well,” Mrs. Johnson interrupted. “Let’s get this panel started. I am sure the students have lots of questions for you.”

The questions were varied from finding out about the different individuals experiences, to the different types of instruments each of them has played in addition to the one they are most famous for performing on. Mrs. Johnson expected the few questions about photography and pastry making, but she didn’t expect Timmy to ask what Mister Rogers was like, or for Suzy to ask who was more fun to be with; Tully or Oscar the Grouch.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Are you Tanya,” Miss Cramer asked?

“Yes, and you are?”

“I am Candie Cramer, a transgender flutist.”

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

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

Cindy hugged the Molly Doll tight, “No.”

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

Tanya nodded her head

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You need a what,” Tanya questioned?

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

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

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

“But I am just nine.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Why Cindy?” inquired Mrs. Dulles.

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

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

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

“Yes, Cindy?”

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

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

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

Candie gave Cindy a hug.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Okay,” Cindy reluctantly agreed.

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

“Thank you, Mrs. Dulles.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yup, as expected.”

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

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

“Everyone but Marcus,” Eleanor said.

Jessica looked at Marcus and just smiled.

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

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

“Marcus?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Conductors?” George inquired.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Marcus,” Cindy inquired. “You too?”

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

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

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

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

Cindy looked at Mr. Elks in complete confusion.

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

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

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 15 The Gifts

Mr. Elks house was full of adults. Upon seeing them all, Cindy grabbed Samantha’s hand and dragged her back to her bedroom. Jessica followed behind.

“What’s wrong Cindy,” Jessica asked when they reached the bedroom?

“Can’t do this,” Cindy said in panic. “I . . . I’m sorry for taking sissy’s dress. I know I wasn’t supposed to have it on outside of my bedroom.”

“Samantha, go get Mrs. Elks,” Jessica directed. “Quick! She’s having another panic attack.”

As soon as Samantha was out the door, “Listen Cindy. Everything is okay. It is just you and me in your bedroom at Mr. Elks’ house. No one is going to make you do anything you don’t want to do. It is okay that you are wearing a dress. I may not like them, but you do. You have worn girl clothes all week. You have four friends here that will make sure you never have to do anything you don’t want to. We are here for you; however, you need us.”

Cindy hugged the Molly doll tight. Her eyes suddenly went wide and she went running off to the bathroom.

After going potty, Cindy just sat there. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Cindy? Are you okay in there?” Barbara said through the closed door. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, but only you.”

After telling Samantha, George, and Jessica to go out with the others, Barbara cautiously entered the bathroom. Cindy quickly noticed that Barbara had a Goodnite in her hand.

“Why is this happening to me,” Cindy asked?

“Your body has trouble when it is under stress. It apparently lets your pee out without your permission. That isn’t nice of your body is it.”

“No, it sure isn’t,” Cindy responded.

“Some people have that problem. Most kids outgrow it eventually, but until then you can wear a Goodnite if you want to have a little bit of extra protection in case of an ‘accident’,” Barbara was down at eye level with Cindy. “Did you make it this time?”

Cindy put her head down and quietly said, “No.”

“It is okay honey,” Barbara said. “Let’s get you cleaned up and then we can talk about what got your body so stressed that it couldn’t hold its pee anymore.”

Changed and in the bedroom wearing a Goodnite under a pretty dress, Cindy tried to explain that she felt panic when she saw all the adults in such a small space. She described some of the flash backs that hit her, from being at her friends Birthday party when Mom found her in the party dress, to the time in Wal-Mart dressed like that with the bowl haircut and Mom loudly telling everyone she was a boy and needed boy underwear for camp. Cindy said that no one in the Elk’s house had ever done anything bad to her, so she couldn’t understand the panic. Seeing all the people in the house, Cindy couldn’t get out of her head being surrounded by all the kids when Ariel tried to beat her up.

“I just got really really scared Mrs. Elks,” Cindy explained. “When I saw all those big people, I felt all the same feelings I did during the events flashing through my head. It doesn’t make any sense. Some of those things happened more than two weeks ago.”

“You poor dear,” Barbara rubbed Cindy’s back. “None of us realized how much you were impacted by the events over the last three weeks.”

Raising her voice a little, Barbara called out, “George, Samantha, and Jessica, come in here please.”

“Were not in the hallway, we are out in the living room with everyone else,” Samantha tried to claim.

“Don’t be silly Samantha,” Jessica reprimanded. “She already knows we are out here, and you saying that proved it.”

The three of them sheepishly walked into the room.

“Now, could one of you please help out by going and getting my husband?”

Since Samantha and George were heading straight for Cindy, Jessica turned and left the room.

“Cindy,” Samantha cautiously started. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Cindy said bringing Samantha into a hug. “I’m fine.”

“Mrs. Elks,” Samantha asked. “What did Cindy do now? Why is she in trouble with all those grown-ups?”

“What do you mean,” Mrs. Elks asked in confusion.

Samantha and George explained how Mr. Elks was acting when he showed up to bring the group to the house.

When Mr. Elks entered the room, the look on Barbara’s face told him that he was in trouble, “Okay, what did I do now?”

“What you said to Cindy was completely unfair. It is not her fault your life has been turned upside down. You should ask for more kids with her talent turning your life upside down. You triggered her PTSD, and you probably had no clue that you did it.”

“I am sorry Cindy,” Mr. Elks said getting down in front of her.

“The last three weeks have put Cindy into a bit more of a traumatic stress state than we figured. She is going to need a counselor and based upon how she responded to a room full of people, I worry about tomorrow,” Barbara went into Mr. Elks. “Now, you are going to tell Cindy the news. Get all the adults in the other room to sit down. We will come in and the adults will tell Cindy their news. Then all the extra adults will leave. We will have our regular top five dinner, and then the top five will decide what happens next. Do you understand Hunter?”

“Yes Barbara,” Mr. Elks said. Turning back to Cindy, “Cindy, I have been convinced by all the adults out there to reveal the winner of the Best Performer competition tonight. You are that winner Cindy.”

Jessica and Samantha started screaming and jumping up and down congratulating Cindy.

“One of the prizes for winning the competition is a gift. The adults out there all decided your gift should be something way more expensive than the camp can afford, so they got it for you. They would really like to give it to you tonight, instead of you getting it tomorrow at the end of the concert. Since they got your gift, the money the camp sets aside for the Best Performer gift was available. Barbara came up with a good way to spend the money, but it requires Samantha to agree to the idea.”

“Me?”

“Yes, Samantha,” Barbara interjected. “You and Jessica have been Cindy’s best friend through all of the issues over the last two weeks. You made a huge sacrifice a week ago that gave Cindy the strength to make it through the last week.”

“What did I do?”

Cindy smiled and hugged the Molly doll really tight.

“You let Cindy borrow your dolly all week,” Barbara said with a huge smile. “Without Molly by her side throughout this week, I am not sure Cindy would have been able to stay all week.”

“Molly is great like that,” Samantha said with pride. “She got to come to camp with me, to help me be away from Mommy for so long.”

“And when you saw that Cindy needed more help than you, Molly got lent to Cindy,” Barbara said with a smile. “That is such an amazing thing for a little girl to do. Molly has been with Cindy for every moment since you lent her to Cindy. We were going to have Cindy’s gift be a Molly doll of her own, but then we discovered they retired the doll. We thought about getting her a different American Girl doll, but we knew how attached Cindy had gotten to the Molly doll. This is where you come in Samantha. If you got a brand-new American Girl doll, could Cindy have your Molly doll? We talked to your mom and she said it was up to you.”

“Okay,” Samantha said with some hesitation.

“No,” Cindy interjected. “Molly is Samantha’s dolly. I can’t take it.”

“No, I want you to have her Cindy,” Samantha said with some hesitation. “I would still have an American Girl doll, just a new one. This way you would always have something to remember me by, and I would always remember you with my new American Girl Doll because I get her because of you.”

“Mr. Elks can I make a phone call really quick,” Jessica interrupted. “I think I have something to sweeten the deal, but I need my mom’s permission first.”

“I don’t see why not,” Mr. Elks said standing up. “If you know your phone number, we can call from my daughter’s room. It should be quiet in there.”

Well Jessica was off making the call home, Cindy got out the Unicorn picture and gave it to Samantha. Then Samantha started to explain to Molly what was about to happen and why. When Mr. Elks and Jessica came back, Samantha was controlling Molly and Cindy was controlling her panda bear while they had a conversation with each other about what their new life together was going to be like.

“Okay, Mom agreed and said she would bring them tomorrow,” Jessica declared.

“Agreed to what?” asked Samantha.

“Bring what?” asked Cindy.

“I have three American Girl dolls. Mom is going to bring all three and their books. One will go home with each of us.”

“Really,” Samantha questioned?

“This way, each of you will be going home with two American Girl Dolls and one of them will always remind you of your time with me.”

Samantha and Cindy both jumped up and gave Jessica at big hug.

“Well, I think we have the American girl doll settled. Now, let's address all the adults in the other room,” Mr. Elks said. “Jessica, George, and I will go out and settle the adults down. They will all be sitting down when you come out Cindy. When we are ready, I will have Jessica come back and get the rest of you.”

Five minutes later Jessica was back, “Okay, they're already for us. Let's go.”

Holding hands, the three girls walked out into the living room. Jessica brought the two younger girls over to the empty love seat which George Anne Marcus were standing behind. Sitting there, Cindy looked out at the group of adults all sitting at various places in the room.

Mr. Davies was the first to talk, “Cindy, your music has impressed all of the adults in this room. Three of the people here tonight are conductors and would like you to perform during one of their concerts. But Cindy, you are not the only impressive player we had the honor of listening to. The judges of the best performer competition told us about the five very talented musicians they had chosen to be in the top five positions. When I heard that tomorrow all five of you were performing an original composition written by Jessica and then edited by the group, I wanted to hear it. Mr. Elks was gracious enough to let me hear the recording that you had made at the beginning of the week. Since some of us are not scheduled to be here tomorrow, and the only recording we have heard of this performance is a week old, we are asking if the five of you would be willing to put on a performance for us this afternoon?”

George, Marcus, Jessica, Samantha and Cindy all Looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

“Okay,” Jessica spoke for the group.

The kids got their instruments out and gathered around the piano in the room. They played the piece for the collected audience. At the end, there was a standing ovation.

The adults looked at each other and appeared to be communicating without saying a word.

“Mrs. Dulles,” Mr. Frost broke the silence. “I need you to start negotiations with all of these children’s parents. We are not sure where and when, but we want to put them in a concert.”

With the kids all still in shock and looking at each other, Mr. Stoltzman got their attention, “We have all listened to your individual performances and even one of your Rock’n Roll performances Marcus. Individually, you are all quite impressive and together you rival any orchestra. Some of us got the privilege of hearing Cindy play on a professional flute and the difference such an instrument makes when in the right hands is absolutely amazing. Cindy, we wanted you to have a professional flute. With your talent, you shouldn’t be playing on a student flute. Miss Cramer, Mr. Davies, Mr. Frost, Mr. Frances, and I have all chipped in to buy you this silver flute. It is probably a bit fancier than what Santa would bring you. It is a $10,000 flute, so take good care of it.”

Candie Cramer gave Cindy a flute case.

“The rest of you could also benefit from instrument upgrades before you start performing on the professional stage,” Mr. Dine said. “We couldn’t afford you all getting $10,000 instruments, so we have come up with some creative ways to give you upgrades. Jessica, we have arranged for you to get a used professional grade electric keyboard with all 88 keys and the feel of a real piano. George Winston was upgrading his and will give you his old one.”

Jessica’s jaw dropped, “The George Winston?”

“The one and only,” Mr. Elks said. “He was very impressed by the performance you put on for the Judges and that you won the original composition contest this year.”

“Marcus,” said a man that the kids only knew as one of the judges. “You presented us with the biggest challenge. We couldn’t figure out which instrument to upgrade. In past years you were an Electric Guitar player but this year you are competing on the piano. We finally gave up. Although we figured you would prefer a new electric guitar, they are so personal we couldn’t just go out and buy you one. So, as the Rock’n Roll music journalist for the New York Times, I proposed giving you a gift card to a music store that sells both high-end electric guitars and electric keyboards. Tomorrow after the concert, your Mom and I are taking you to buy a new guitar or keyboard with a $2,000 gift card. Strangely, when I talked to your Mom, she said she would chip in another $2,000 if you really are going to perform a classical style piece on the piano at the concert.”

Marcus laughed, “She would say something like that. I told you Mr. Elks, she would do almost anything to hear me play classical music on a piano again.”

“George,” Jess Gillam continued. “I got my first real professional instrument when I was your age. After making a few phone calls, we found out that the lead French Horn player on the New York Philharmonic was buying a new French Horn. He is willing to give you his old one. New it cost over $15,000. It should be here by noon tomorrow. That should give you some time to practice on it before the concert.”

“Wow,” George responded. “I am honored. To just have someone I have never met give me such an expensive French Horn.”

“George,” Jess said. “Helping the next generation of talent can be quite rewarding. You are good, very good. We all at some point upgrade our instruments. The question is what we do with our old one. You provided a French Horn player the chance to pass on a cherished instrument to someone with real talent and the potential to take that same instrument farther than they had.”

“Samantha,” Mrs. Dulles said. “It was my job to find you an instrument, since I am the only one of the group that has ever played the violin. You currently have a 1/4 sized violin and I was trying to find you a 1/2 sized violin that will work for you as you grow over the next few years. Finding a violin in your size was easy, finding one that was not for beginners was harder. I think I found one you will like. Your Mom said your favorite color was purple, so I made sure your new violin had a purple case.”

Mrs. Dulles handed Samantha a purple violin case. When Samantha opened the violin case, the first things she noticed sitting on top of a PURPLE violin, were three packages stickers: Vampirina, Sofia the First, and My Little Pony stickers.

“Oh, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You,” Samantha hollered out as she jumped up and down. “A purple violin, and you even got me new stickers to put on it.”

“Of course, sweetie,” Mrs. Dulles said. “I have a daughter myself, and she taught me the accessories are often more important than the thing being accessorized. We couldn’t upgrade your violin without giving you stickers to put on it. I hear you have been watching Sofia the First and Vampirina this summer and I saw that your old violin also had My Little Pony stickers on it. I hope those three will meet your needs for accessorizing.”

“Cindy,” Mr. Davies said. “I am going to stay around to hear you tomorrow at your concert. I want you to play your new flute, but please keep the plugs on the keys you still struggle to reach due to your age. Take the plugs out of the keys you have no trouble reaching. After the concert, practice without the plugs if you want, but for tomorrow, let the audience hear you at your best. If you want, later I can help you decide which plugs to leave in and which to take out.”

“I did struggle a little with yours today, it is only on two or three of the keys that I would still need the plugs tomorrow. Okay,” Cindy reluctantly gave in. “But then they come off and are not going back on.”

“You are one determined little girl, but that is one of the reasons you are so good at playing the flute. You know how it should be and work to make it that way,” Mr. Davies smiled at Cindy.

“Okay,” Mrs. Elks announced to the room. “All of this is a little overwhelming for Cindy and the others. Thank You all for coming over, but it is now time to go unless you are one of the judges.”

As the adults said their goodbyes, Cindy, Samantha, and Jessica went to Cindy’s room. Cindy was on one side of the bed, and Samantha on the other. They were both examining the contents of their instrument case. Samantha stood at the end of the bed watching the two of them. She wanted one of them to just start playing, but neither one was even close to playing a note. Every little detail was examined. Jessica figured she was finally about to hear some music when Samantha got out the bow and was playing an imaginary violin with it. But alas, this was only to try out the bow. When Cindy finally got the flute all put together, Jessica was sure she would hear some music, or at least a note or two. It was not going to happen though, for Cindy’s attention switched to the key plugs. Samantha finally got the violin up to her chin, with the bow in her other hand, but before a note could be played, she put the violin down and started putting on stickers. They had to be placed just right, so they could be seen while playing.

“Will one of you play something already?” Jessica blurted out.

Cindy and Samantha looked at Jessica in confusion.

“Fine, fine, fine,” Jessica stated. “They are new instruments and you want to take in the experience, but their instruments. How do they sound?”

Samantha picks up the violin and bow and looks at Jessica. Then she starts to play.

“Are you serious?” Jessica asks. “First time playing and the song you chose was Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star? You’re such a little kid at time Samantha.”

“Thanks,” Samantha smiled. “Much better than being a grouchy old lady.”

Cindy laughed.

“I am not!”

Cindy saw where this was going and picked up her flute. Before the next comment could be made, she sat down on the floor, crossing her legs under her and started to play. The action had the desired effect, both Samantha and Jessica stopped and looked at Cindy.

“Wow Cindy,” Jessica said when the music stopped. “Flight of the Bumblebee. You know that makes an amazing Flute and Piano duet. We should do it sometime.” Link to YouTube: Flight of the Bumblebee

“I would like to hear that,” Mr. Frances said as he stood in the doorway. “I was wondering what the first song would be for each of you. Twinkle, Twinkle is more like what I would have done. To start with Flight of the Bumblebee, now that is ambitious.”

“Thank you, Mr. Frances,” Cindy said. “My biggest challenge with that one is maintaining enough air flow to get me all the way to the end without stopping for a breath.”

“I understand,” Mr. Frances stated. “Most kids your age will take deep breaths in several times throughout the song. I didn’t hear one from you.”

“My music teacher at school gave it to me as a breathing exercise once, to teach me not to stop the music just to breathe. I have been practicing it ever since. It is easier doing it as a duet with the piano, for then I have some parts and the piano has some parts where the other doesn’t play. Perfect breathing points. If it wasn’t for those two fighting. . .”

“We weren’t fighting,” Jessica and Samantha said in unison. Then looking at each other, “Jinx!”

The room erupted into a fit of giggles.

Cindy pulled out her tablet and started tapping away. She then handed it over to Samantha. Perching her lips together with a few nods of her head, she looked at Cindy and smiled, “Let’s do it. Jessica wants to hear us really try out our new instruments.”

Mr. Frances looked at the two of them and knew by the looks on their faces that this would be good.

After some tapping on her own tablet, the two of them prepped for playing. Then with a nod to each other, they started. Link to YouTube: Mozart's Duet for Flute and Violin

When they finished playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Duet for flute and violin, the remaining people from the other room had made their way to the bedroom and were now clapping at the performance.

“First time for either of you on that song, wasn’t it,” asked Mr. Frances? “Not one mistake either. So impressive.”

“Oooo . . . Oooo . . . Oooo,” Samantha said as she started tapping on her tablet to find the sheet music. “Let’s do this one next.”

She showed Cindy and they smiled at each other.

“This song expresses how we feel at the moment,” Samantha said as she got her violin in position and waited for Cindy to get the music on her tablet. With a nod to Cindy they started.

From Aladdin, they played, A Whole New World. Link for YouTube: A Whole New World

“Hunter,” Mr. Frances stated. “They are doing this with brand new instruments and with songs they have probably never played before. And they are playing the songs like they have been practicing for months.”

“Child prodigies are quite amazing, aren’t they?”

“Beyond amazing, and you have had two so young with you for two weeks.”

“There was a reason you put those two in the one and two positions in the Best Performer Competition. Just amazing.”

“We got first and second place. Little’s got first and second place,” Samantha shouted with glee as she bounced up and down.

The group was moved out into the living room and the five kids played various songs together. Some they did all as a group, while others were done in small groups or as solo performances.

At dinner Samantha found a booster seat at the table to help her be up tall like everyone else, and at Cindy’s seat she found that she was sitting on two thick books called ‘phone books’. She had never seen anything like them before. They were just full of people’s telephone numbers. It was a strange thing, but she didn’t complain. She liked the added height, so she didn’t have to sit on her knees to eat.

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 16 The Calls Home

“Then it is settled,” George said to the group. “We, as a group, will do whatever we can to make sure Cindy is protected tomorrow. Yes, Mr. Elks, we will still follow all school rules. Cindy, are you okay with us doing this?”

Cindy sat in thought for a minute, then she suddenly looked down at her lap and slumped her shoulders, “Yeah, I hate that we have to do this, but . . . we have to.”

“I guess I am up first,” Jessica declared. “If we have any chance to make this work, we will need Mommy’s help.”

Marcus handed Jessica his cell phone. After dialing her home number, she put the phone down on the table and pressed the speaker button.

“Hello?”

“Mommy,” Jessica said. “We need your help. Please listen to us before you say anything. We have been trying to figure out how to protect my friend Cindy.”

“One of the girls you are going to give your precious American Girl dolls to?”

“Yeah,” Jessica responded.

“Hi, Jessica’s Mommy,” Cindy shouted out.

“Talk in a normal voice Cindy,” Marcus said. “The person on the other end should be able to hear you fine if you talk in a normal voice. If not, they will let us know.”

“I gather we are on a speaker phone,” Jessica’s Mom inquired.

“Sorry Mom,” Jessica sheepishly replied. “I know you always tell me I need to let people know when I do that.”

“Mr. Elks here. I want you to know who is part of this phone call. There is Jessica, Cindy, Samantha, George, and Marcus. They are all campers here, and part of the little orchestra that Jessica has put together. Then we have myself and my wife Barbara. The kids are attempting to influence the adult world in a way that may be out of their capabilities. They chose to call you first, since you are a judge.”

“I see,” Jessica’s mom said changing her tone a little. “This is a professional call. How can I help?”

“Mommy, you have told me that when a person hurts a kid it is bad, and a person can get in big trouble for that. Can the hurt be something other than hitting? Can their words and action be the bad way they hurt a child?”

“Child Abuse is very serious Jessica. It can be physically hurting a child, but it can also be from neglecting a child, psychological abuse, or even emotional abuse. Has someone hurt Cindy?”

“Mr. Elks again, Cindy is the child that was being bullied here at camp and led to the change of bullying rules. We lost a total of twenty-two campers over incidents and issues connected with Cindy. From what I have managed to piece together, Cindy’s problems started before she got to camp.”

Mr. Elks looked over to Cindy. He had made it very clear that she was the one that would have to tell people she was Transgender, not him.

“Jessica’s Mom,” Cindy said. “Jessica has been calling me Cindy all week, but my real name is Frank. I am a nine-year-old transgender girl. Well, I think I am. No doctor has said it, and Mr. Elks says it is important that no doctor has said that.”

“Cindy,” Jessica’s Mom replied. “Mr. Elks is correct that it is important whether or not a doctor has said you are transgender or not, but more importantly is if a doctor would say it.”

“Hi, Barbara Elks here. Cindy has been staying at our house for the last five days. Once Jessica and Samantha figured out a way to give Cindy access to girl clothes, she started dressing as a girl at camp and we could no longer have her in the boy’s dorm. I am no psychologist, but from what I have seen, she is just one of the girls from likes to emotional reactions.”

“Okay,” Jessica’s Mom said. “So why am I on the phone with the group of you at the moment.”

“Mommy, Cindy needs help. Her Mommy is going to be really mad when she finds out that Cindy has been dressing as a girl for the last week of camp. We have figured out how to delay Cindy’s Mom from finding out, but as soon as Cindy gets on stage to perform my composition, Cindy’s Mom will freak out. Last time Cindy’s Mom freaked out over Cindy wearing girl clothes, Cindy’s braided pigtails were cut off by a barber giving her a bowl cut, and then still wearing a little girl party dress, Cindy was taken to Wal-Mart where her Mom brought her to the boys department and loudly told everyone the kid in the dress next to her was a boy and she needed to buy some boy underwear for the two weeks at Music Camp.”

“Now I understand the initial questions about child abuse,” responded Jessica’s Mom. “I don’t get involved though until someone is actually arrested for a crime.”

“Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,” Jessica said. “In-o-sent until proven guilty. We get all that, but if needed can you tell them the law?”

“For you princess, I will refresh myself on the state laws about child abuse. I can, tell the law if needed.”

“Thanks Mom,” Jessica said with a smile. “That is what we needed from you. We have a few other calls to make. I will see you after the concert tomorrow. My little orchestra is performing last, so don’t panic when you don’t see me at the beginning of the concert. I am in one of the other performances, but that is just a big group and nothing special. Bye.”

“Bye Jessica, see you tomorrow.”

Jessica pressed the button to hang up the phone.

“My turn, my turn, my turn,” Samantha said before running out of the room to her old violin case. Returning with a piece of paper flapping around in her hand, “Here is Daddy’s phone number.”

Marcus took the paper and dialed the number.

“Hello,” a guy answered.

“Daddy, Daddy, its Samantha and my friends. We need your help Daddy. Can you help Daddy? Can you?”

“Sammie Pooh,” Samantha’s dad said. “Slow down and explain to me what is going on.”

“Mr. Elks here, we have you on a speaker phone. At the table here we have Samantha, Cindy, Jessica, George, and Marcus who are all campers this summer. Also, we have myself and my wife Barbara. The kids are trying to help one of the kids in this group from some potential abuse by their parents. It is highly felt by the kids that these parents are going to disrupt the concert, pull a kid off the stage, and use verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse in front of the whole camp. From what I have been able to put together, their fears might be valid. The little girl in question is Samantha’s best friend here at camp this summer. They are together every moment they can be. The girl is the one that Samantha has lent her American Girl doll to for the last week.”

“Hi Mr. Samantha Daddy,” Cindy said. “Mr. Elks is talking about me, Cindy. You see, I am a girl on the inside, but my body does not say that on the outside. Samantha helped me trade my clothes this week so I could have girl clothes to wear during the last week of camp.”

“Samantha Jean Ellsworth, you did what?”

“I just set up a clothes swap with the other girls. We traded clothes. Some of the other girls wanted some of Cindy’s boy clothes and Cindy wanted their girl clothes. So, we did some trading. No big deal daddy. Everyone got what they wanted.”

“Okay Samantha Jean, we will talk more about this tomorrow. Putting that aside, I am sorry Cindy. What were you saying?”

“Well my Mommy was Super Duper mad when she found me at a friend’s birthday party in one of my sister’s old party dresses. She brought me straight to the barber shop where she had the mean man cut off my braids. Then still wearing the party dress, she took me to Wal-Mart where she told everyone that I was a boy and she needed to buy me some boy underwear for camp. I was allowed to wear the dress in my bedroom, but never out of my bedroom. When she saw me in the dress next door at my friend’s party, she let me know that I had most definitely left my bedroom when I wasn’t allowed to. When she finds out that I have spent the last week at camp in girl clothes, she will be MAD. Really, really really mad. She dragged me right out of the birthday party not caring what the other Mommies were saying or that kids were crying.”

“Daddy,” Samantha butted in. “You need to make sure Cindy’s Mommy doesn’t mess up our performance or hurt Cindy. You can do that Daddy, can’t you?”

“Mr. Elks,” Samantha’s dad asked? “What are your concerns here? As a State Police Officer, I could talk to my chief about coming in uniform and being their more as an official than as a parent.”

“That is what the kids want you to do,” Mr. Elks stated. “I have already contacted the local police, letting them know that there might be a problem needing their assistance at the concert tomorrow. They will have a plain clothes officer there, with an extra patrol car in the vicinity if needed. I have no right asking you to work on a day I know you had off to watch your daughter’s concert.”

“Yeah, but if I understand this situation, my daughter is going to be in the line of fire if this gets physical.”

“Unfortunately, I believe you are right there. That is one of the reasons I have allowed the kids to bring this issue to your attention. As a State Police Officer, you know very well how fast a domestic dispute can go ugly. I will do everything in my power to keep the kids safe from physical assault, and extra steps have been taken to make sure the parents cannot reach the stage. This little orchestra group your daughter is in will be isolated from the time the first parent shows up until they have to perform on stage. There have been older kids at camp keeping Samantha and Cindy safe all week, but even with that, Samantha has been exposed to the threats of violence. Cindy is showing PTSD effects over everything that has happened to her over the last three weeks. You and I have talked about how it might have impacted Samantha. If Cindy’s parents decide to make a scene, I want to make sure it impacts the kids as little as possible. Samantha views her Daddy as the one person that can protect her from anything. I want you to know what you are walking into. To help control the situation even more, I have decided to have the parents of the top five Best Performers Competitors have assigned seats, putting Cindy’s parents in a position where they can be easily removed from the concert with minimal disruption.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Samantha’s Dad said. “Can I come early tomorrow to get a feel of the layout and maybe make some suggestions.”

“Thank You Daddy.”

“I would appreciate any help you are willing to provide,” Mr. Elks stated.

“I can’t believe I am about to say this, but Sammie Pooh, stay with Cindy. It sounds like everything is going to be in place to keep Cindy safe, so you will be safe if you are with her. Mr. Elks what I really want to do is get up there and take Samantha home, but she would never forgive me for doing that. She also needs to learn to stand with her friends when they are faced with challenges, not run from them. The more people that stand against a bully, the less power they have. Samantha has stood with Cindy for a week now, and she needs to see this through to the end.”

“Now as Samantha’s father, it is my job to make sure she has the support and safety during this process. Sammie Pooh, you do what the grown-ups you trust tell you to do. Even when you do not understand, follow their directions.”

“Yes Daddy.”

“Cindy,” Samantha’s Dad says. “I will be there to help keep you safe if your Mommy and Daddy decide to make some bad choices. I hope they don’t, but no matter what, we will keep you safe during the concert. Remember, your parents do love you, even if they may struggle to show that tomorrow. You have the same directions as Samantha. Listen to the adults you trust and do what they tell you to do, even when it doesn’t make sense.”

“As for the rest of you in this little orchestra,” Samantha’s Dad continued. “From what I have heard, you have worked hard this last week to keep Cindy and Samantha safe. Thank You. Your focus tomorrow needs to be on your performances. You have had to deal with some very big issues over the last week, but tomorrow I want you to be the kids you are. We adults will do everything in our power to give you that chance.”

“Samantha’s Dad,” George said. “I view Samantha and Cindy like a little sister, and I know Marcus does too. Part of being a kid is protecting and standing up for our siblings. I will follow your advice of doing what the adults I trust tell me to do, no matter how strange it might be. I have been through enough A.L.I.C.E. drills to know that I might not have all the knowledge when someone in authority tells me to do something. But sir, understand this, I will do whatever is necessary to make sure Cindy and Samantha are not hurt tomorrow, even if that means putting myself between them and a threat.”
(A.L.I.C.E. = Alert, Lock Down, Inform, Counter, Evacuate - - - - This is the training that children across the United States of America go through as a reaction to the school shootings. A.L.I.C.E. drills are now done in schools, just like fire drills are done. Link to ALICE website )

“That is the same for me sir,” Marcus said.

“You two are the teenagers of the group,” Samantha’s Dad said. “I feel honored that you view my little Samantha as a little sister. Remember though, the A.L.I.C.E. training teaches to avoid contact with the threat. Evacuate the situation when at all possible to do it safely. Tomorrow morning, I will make sure you always have a path away from Cindy’s parents. If you have to leave the stage to keep the girls safe, then do it. The adults can bring you back when things are safe.”

“Okay sir,” Marcus and George said together.

“Mr. Ellsworth,” Mr. Elks said. “The kids have a few more phone calls they want to make. I will call you back once the kids go to bed.”

“Okay Mr. Elks. Samantha, be good now. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Bye Daddy.”

“Nighty Night Sammie Pooh.”

Samantha pressed the hang up button, “See, I told you my Daddy would help.”

“I didn’t realize he was a State Trooper,” Marcus said. “I thought he was just a small-town Police Officer.”

“Nope, he work all over the state,” Samantha said with pride.

“Okay,” Marcus said. “I guess it is my turn.”

Marcus took his phone and pressed two buttons.

“Hello Marcus,” a lady said.

“Hi Mom,” Marcus replied. “I have you on speaker phone with the little orchestra group I am part of, and Mr. and Mrs. Elks are here too. We need Dad, is he home yet?”

“You mean it really is true you are performing in an orchestra group this summer?”

“Yes, Mom,” Marcus rolled his eyes. “Is Dad home?”

“He got home about thirty minutes ago. Hold on a second,” the line went silent.

A minute later, “What’s up Marcus?”

“Dad,” Marcus took a deep breath. “I need bodyguard protection for my performance tomorrow.”

“I thought your mom said you were doing a classical music performance in a small orchestra. Why do you need bodyguard protection for that?”

“I am Dad, but I also have a Rock’n Roll performance. Don’t tell Mom that please, I want to surprise her.”

“Oh great, you mean you want to give her a heart attack.”

“Okay, Okay,” Marcus said scrunching up his shoulders with a huge smile on his face. “I love seeing her reaction.”

“Marcus, what am I going to do with you?”

“Well, I need bodyguard protection for two little girls; a nine and a seven-year-old. They have become like little sisters for me this week. We have had a protection force in place this last week keeping them safe, but tomorrow the real threat will come. Any chance you and the gang could come and provide some protection for our little orchestra group?”

“Gang, Marcus,” Mr. Elks inquired, raising an eyebrow? “You didn’t say anything about Gang members.”

“Is that you Hunter?” Marcus’ Dad asked.

“Yes John,” Mr. Elks said. “I don’t know if your wife told you, but you are on speaker phone here. At the table we have all five members of the mini orchestra that Marcus is in. Cindy and Samantha are the two Littles in the group. Jessica is a tween, and then we have Marcus and George our teenagers. Marcus is the oldest one in the group. We also have at the table here, my wife Barbara. I hate to admit it, but we could use some bodyguard protection during this year’s concert. Cindy’s parents may do what Marcus has tried to get his Mom to do.”

“The parents of a Little might drag them off the stage and make a big scene?”

“My Mommy will be really really mad when she finds out that I am wearing a dress during the performance.”

“Why would a Mom complain about their little girl wearing a dress during an orchestra performance?” Marcus’ Dad asked.

“You see Marcus Daddy, inside I am a girl, but outside I am a boy. My Mommy doesn’t want others to see me dressed as a girl. Too late for that since I have been wearing girl clothes for the last week at camp.”

“So, a transgender little girl needs protection from her own parents? You really do make some interesting friends Marcus.”

“Yes, John,” Mr. Elks rejoined the conversation. “But first let’s get one thing very clear. We cannot have Gang Members doing security at the concert.”

“No Hunter,” Marcus’ Dad responded. “Marcus’ group of bodyguards are not Gang Members. We just call them the gang. They are a group, all over six feet tall, with the tallest almost seven feet. They can be quite intimidating.”

“Okay then,” Mr. Elks said letting out a breath and sitting back in his chair.

“Marcus, I hadn’t asked any of the gang to come tomorrow, but I know Phillip and Evan are free. That would give us at least three bodyguards for you. Would that be enough?”

“At pure minimum, we were hoping for two. Any we have above that would be a bonus. We have a State Police Officer who will be helping with security, he is the father of Samantha, the seven-year-old of the group. Mr. Elks has also arranged for a plain-clothes local Police Officer to be on the premises. Jessica, our twelve-year-old conductor, has her Mom coming. She is a judge.”

“Marcus and Hunter, this sounds serious.”

“John,” Mr. Elks said. “Honestly, we are expecting a disruption to the concert. I am doing what I can to keep everyone safe, but the kids wanted to tap their own resources to feel more secure.”

“I understand Hunter. We started the Bodyguard Protection Gang when we realized we had a Pre-Teen Rock’n Roll star on our hands, and we needed to make sure he stayed safe. Marcus may be a teenager now, but his popularity has increased. I am constantly worried about his safety when he performs. If we can help you out in pulling off another great end of camp concert, just let me know what I can do. You have been so great to Marcus over the years.”

“Thanks John,” Mr. Elks said. “We have enjoyed having Marcus over the years, even if he generates his own fan group every summer. I know you have a long drive to get here, but if you could get here early, it would help in planning the best security for the kids.”

“We will be there by 10 am. Marcus, don’t do anything stupid. If you view these girls as little sisters, it is your responsibility to keep yourself and them safe. Understand?”

“Yes Dad,” Marcus said sitting up straight in his chair.

“Good. See you tomorrow morning, and Please Marcus, don’t flip your Mom out too much tomorrow.”

The line went dead, and Marcus grabbed his phone to send his Mom a text to let her know that he will be performing a Rock’n Roll and an Orchestra performance tomorrow.

“I guess that leaves the last phone call to me,” George said taking a deep breath. “Cindy, I don’t think you should be here for this phone call.”

“No George,” Cindy said. “I understand and I want to stay.”

“Let’s take a break everyone,” Mrs. Elks stated. “I want to talk to Cindy alone. Hunter, there are brownies in the kitchen. Can you please bring them and some milk out for the kids? Cindy, let’s go talk in the guest room.”

Reality was not always something little nine-year-old Cindy wanted to face, but Mrs. Elks got straight to the reality of the situation, “Time to get changed. You shouldn’t go around too long in a wet Goodnite.”

“How did you know?”

“Cindy, I raised a daughter and have helped with the music camp for many years. I may not know when you wet them, but I could tell when you figured out that you were wet. Your shoulders slumped, and your happy demeanor went away.”

“It is not easy to stay happy when at nine I am wearing and wetting diapers just like a baby. Goodnites are just fancy baby diapers you know. I am not sure which I fear more, Mom finding out that I have been Cindy all week or Mom learning about the accidents. By this time tomorrow, I will be wearing diapers. Not Pull-Ups or Goodnites, she will probably be so mad that she puts me in regular baby diapers full time. If I am wetting the Goodnites without knowing, I guess I belong in diapers, but I am not a baby. I’m not. I will be back in diapers and treated like a baby. A baby boy, never to be a girl again.”

“Oh Cindy,” Barbara said rubbing Cindy’s back. “Such big issues for a little girl to deal with. I am so sorry. The potty problems should go away once the stress in your life does, so hopefully they will stop once you get through tomorrow.

After getting changed, Mrs. Elks again got straight down to business, “Cindy, I really think you should stay in here playing with Samantha while George calls home. There is no reason you need to be there for it.”

“Yes, there is,” Cindy firmly said. “The only reason George has to make the phone call is because of me. George accepted me from the beginning and was there for me all week. It is my turn to be there for him.”

“Cindy,” Barbara got down in front of Cindy and down to her level. She took Cindy’s hand in hers. “George will understand if you stayed in here while he called home.”

“Your right Mrs. Elks. He would. Marcus referred to me as a little sister. Well, him and George are like big brothers to me. We are family and friends. We are going to stand together, and together we are going to get through this. It is all my fault, and I AM going to be involved in trying to fix it.”

“I’m not going to change your mind, am I?”

“Nope,” Cindy determinedly stated.

“Okay then, let’s go rejoin the others and make this phone call.”

Cindy and Barbara walked back to the dining room where the others were still eating the brownies. At Cindy’s seat, there was a plate with two brownies and a glass of milk. Climbing up onto the phone books at her seat, Cindy grabbed a brownie and took a big bite.

“Well,” George started. “Since Cindy came back, I assume Barbara you were unable to convince her to stay in her room and play.”

“Unfortunately,” Barbara said.

“Although I agree with you Barbara,” George responded. “I understand this from Cindy’s point of view and respect her wishes.”

George got out his cell phone and looked at the screen. Taking a deep breath, he typed in his passcode and then his fast dial code for home. Unlike the other calls, he was not starting it out on speaker phone.

“Hi Mom,” George said as he looked around at everyone at the table. “Everything is fine. I need to talk to you and Dad. Can I talk to the two of you so Lucy can’t hear what you are saying? Yeah, it’s important and can’t wait until tomorrow.”

George moved the phone away from his mouth but left it on his ear, “She is going to get Dad and then the two of them will be on the speaker phone in Dad’s office.”

“Yeah, Mom, I’m still here. Hi Dad. I need to talk to the two of you about something very important, but first I am going to put you on speaker phone here. On this end we have Mr. and Mrs. Elks . . .”

“Hi Hunter and Barbara,” George’s Dad said.

“We also have Marcus, Jessica, Cindy, and Samantha. They are the others in the little orchestra group I am part of.”

“Hi everyone,” George’s Mom said. “So, what is so important that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow to tell us. You said everything was okay, but this is quite a collection of people to be on one phone call for everything to be okay.”

“Mom, you remember how I told you there was a little girl here at camp that reminds me a lot about Lucy.”

“Uh-huh, she gets panic attacks like Lucy does. You are so nice to help her with those.”

“Yes, he is,” Cindy said. “He the bestest.”

“That was Cindy,” George said. “She is the nine-year-old who gets the panic attacks. She is also the reason that I am calling you. She is my friend, a prodigy musician like me, and always making me smile. Before we go any further, I need you to remember that she is here in the room listening to this. We also have Samantha who is seven.”

“Almost eight,” Samantha piped in.

“Okay,” George’s Dad said with hesitation.

“I told you that we set up a Protection Squad to make sure Samantha and Cindy were safe this summer. Cindy was being bullied, and we feared Samantha would be too.”

“I remember you telling me about that. You poor little things,” George’s Mom said with compassion.

“We are okay George’s Mommy. Thanks to George, Marcus, and the others on the Protection Squad,” Cindy responded.

“Mom, there is something I didn’t tell you about the bullying. As a group we decided you needed to know before tomorrow. Cindy’s bully initially targeted her because she was so talented. Ariel tried to get Cindy not to compete in the Best Performer Competition. Which, by the way, Cindy won.”

“Congratulation Cindy,” George’s Mom said. “Wait a minute, how do you know she won the competition. That isn’t announced until the end of the concert.”

“This year I was kind of forced to change things. The top five winners of the competition are sitting at this table,” Mr. Elks said. “Well, they impressed some professional musicians so much that the professionals wanted to give each of them a gift. As you know, George is going to get a professional French Horn. Hopefully it will be here before noon, so George can have some practice on it before his performance in the concert tomorrow. The only way to explain these gifts, was to reveal who won the competition.”

“I see,” George’s Mom said.

“Well Mom,” George continued. “Cindy won the competition and has world renowned conductors from around the world trying to get her to perform for them. There is only one problem. Cindy’s parents are going to go ballistic when they find out she has been here at camp. You see . . .”

“I’ll explain George,” Cindy said. “As Mr. Elks said, this is my secret to tell. Mr. and Mrs. George’s Mom and Dad, my Mommy and Daddy sent a kid named Frank to camp, not one named Cindy.”

An audible gasp was heard on the other end of the phone.

“They know about Cindy, but Mommy has always said I can only be a girl in my bedroom at home. I got in big trouble just before camp for going to my best friend’s birthday party all dressed up in a pretty party dress. Mommy is not going to be happy that I have spent half of camp dressed as Cindy. She will be Super Duper Mad. We think she will try to stop the concert and drag me off the stage when she finds out tomorrow.”

“Well it is obvious Cindy,” George’s Mom said. “You just need to do what your Mommy wants and go back to being Frank.”

“Mom,” George declared. “That is not going to happen, and I don’t want to hear any of your religious garbage about how wrong all of this is. Cindy won the Best Performer Competition, not Frank. She is the reason our Little Orchestra is even together. Without her, I definitely wouldn’t be in the coveted final performance of the concert. Before you say it Mom, I have heard you repeatedly say how God does not approve of individuals who are LGBT. But doesn’t the bible also say that we are not to judge others, that is for God to do, not us. We are to love thy neighbor. Even Jesus cared for the lepers, who were shunned in his time. Cindy is just as much of a girl as Lucy is. She watches Sofia the First and Vampirina just like Lucy. She plays with girl toys, and constantly carries around her dolly. He is not a boy in a dress Mom, she is a girl with a birth defect.”

“Bullies, Super Duper mad parents, constantly carrying around a dolly at nine, and panic attacks,” George’s Dad interrupted. “Hunter, what is Cindy’s mental state?”

“I will be honest with you Dr. Dillinger, not great,” Mr. Elks said.

“Okay,” George’s Dad said. “This line of discussion is over. Doctor’s orders! Cindy is Transgender, and we are going to accept that fact with no judgement. George has accepted Cindy as a girl, so I will too. From what George has said, I suspect Lucy would too. If the kids do, I see no reason us adults can’t. And, George is right, God made it very clear that we are to love each other, he is the one to judge. Putting that all aside, I suspect there is more to this call, otherwise Cindy wouldn’t be part of this conversation.”

“We want your help,” George said. “We want both of you in your professional rolls. Mom, the camp has a set up to record the performance, but we also want anything that happens with Cindy’s parents to be recorded. Our little group would like to see the concert too, but we will be in isolation. Is there any way to beam us the live show?”

“I don’t see a problem with either of those requests,” George’s mom said. “They are standard requests by guest celebrities to the morning show. I am always shocked how many of them want to later go back and see how the crowd responded to what they said or did. I’ll pack up what will be needed as soon as I get off the phone.”

“Thanks Mom,” George commented. “I never thought having a mom run the camera crew at a local morning show would come in handy.”

“I am good for more than just making you dinner and doing your laundry.”

“I know Mom,” George said rolling his eyes. “Dad, I have practice bringing Lucy through panic attacks, but Cindy’s attacks are harder to get her through. Is there any way you could be with us to help Cindy get through the day?”

“The camp is willing to pay you Mr. Dillinger, since you would be serving a child who isn’t your own,” Mr. Elks stated.

“I’d do it for free,” George’s Dad said. “But, I suspect to keep you legally covered the camp needs to hire me.”

“That had entered my mind too,” Mr. Elks said. “I have had several talks with the camp lawyer this summer, and plan on calling him again later tonight to make sure I have everything covered for what we are doing tomorrow and what we expect might happen.”

“How bad do you think things will get?” George’s Dad asked.

“The kids are fairly certain that Cindy’s parents are going to flip out. The camp has arranged local police coverage at the concert. Samantha’s Dad is a State Police Officer, and he might be coming in uniform and possibly on duty due to this issue. Marcus’ family will be providing some bodyguards to protect the kids. Several alterations to the concert have already been implemented and I am sure we will make more once our security experts show up tomorrow and give their input.”

“I am glad to hear the camp is doing so much to keep the kids safe physically. I would be happy to help out with the psychological element of the extra coverage and supports put in place. Without parent consent I can’t provide individual counselling, but I can be on hand to provide situational help based upon the release forms you had all us parents sign at the beginning of camp.”

“Thanks Dr. Dillinger,” Mrs. Elks said.

“Why don’t you come over to my house when you get here tomorrow,” Mr. Elks said. “Most of the group will be spending the day here. Bring Lucy along, I am sure Samantha and Cindy will enjoy playing with her.”

“I am not sure abo. . .” George’s Mom started.

“Claire,” George’s Dad interrupted her. “Lucy will go play with Cindy and Samantha while we play our rolls tomorrow.”

“I guess it will be okay,” George’s Mom said.

“It will be fine Mom,” George said. “She will fit right in as one of the girls.”

“Well,” George’s Dad said. “We need to get a little girl to bed, and I suspect it is bedtime for two other little girls. Good Night Samantha and Cindy. Sleep Tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

“Wait a minute Dad,” George said. “There is one more thing.”

“What’s that?”

“We were wondering if Cindy could borrow Lucy’s black Mary-Jane shoes. You know, the ones she wears to church.”

“Definitely N. . .” George’s Mom said before being interrupted mid word.

“Claire!” George’s dad blurted out. “Cindy, yes, you can borrow Lucy’s shoes for the concert tomorrow. She wears a size 1 shoe, will that fit you?”

“Yes sir. Thank You sir,” Cindy said.

“Okay, night everyone,” George’s dad said before hanging up.

The phone went dead and George looked at Samantha and Cindy, “Sorry about Dad, he says quirky stuff like that.”

Samantha smiled, “My Daddy says that too.”

Cindy Smiled, “So does Mrs. Elks.”

“Mr. Dillinger was right girls,” Mrs. Elks said. “It is time to get ready for bed.”

“Can I have a sleep over?” Samantha pleaded.

“Not tonight Samantha,” Mrs. Elks said. “You need to be in your own room tonight, so you can be in your room tomorrow morning when everyone starts getting ready to go home.”

“Okay,” Samantha reluctantly said. She jumped down out of her booster seat and went to get her two violin cases.

“I’ll take her back,” George said as he went to get his instrument.

“Samantha,” Mr. Elks said. “Leave your new instrument here. We don’t want the rest of camp to know about your new instrument until the concert tomorrow. And Remember, don’t tell anyone Cindy won the Best Performer Competition and you got second place. No one can know until tomorrow at the end of the concert.”

“Not even my roommates,” Samantha inquired?

“Not even little Elizabeth,” Cindy said smiling at Samantha.

“She’s not the best at putting on the cute little girl act,” Samantha explained. “Size means everything with the cuteness manipulators. Ellen is the smallest kid at camp, and she is really good at pulling off the cute little girl, do what I want, act.”

“She is a cute little kid with those pigtails and dimples,” Marcus said. “She is so small she looks like a little baby walking around camp. I can understand how she gets what she wants.”

“She is so small she still wears baby clothes,” Samantha explained. “All her clothes are size 3T. She couldn’t trade clothes with anyone this summer. No one else can wear clothes that small.”

“Well,” Mr. Elks said. “Samantha, Marcus, and George no giving in to cute girls. You need to keep the secret.”

“Okay,” the three said together.

After getting ready for bed, Cindy practiced some more on her new flute. It amazed her how much it was the same as her old, but different too. It was easy to hear the difference in the sound. The music sounded so much better on this one. She couldn’t believe she was playing on a $10,000 flute. Her own professional flute. She played song after song. She took out three of the plugs, on keys she knew she had enough control and reach to manage. Finally, she had to stop, when Mrs. Elks told her it was time for bed.

When Mrs. Elks was tucking Cindy into bed, “Cindy, everything will be okay. You’ll see.”

“I guess,” Cindy glumly said as she gathered Molly and her stuffed panda bear. “I’ll get used to being in baby diapers again. I just don’t know how I will get used to being Frank again. Everyone is worried about the concert tomorrow, but I have to go home with my mom and dad after the concert. That is what I am worried about."

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 17 New Day, New Challenges

“Time to get up Cindy,” Mrs. Elks stuck her head in the room.

“Okay,” Cindy stretched, while still holding on tight to her panda bear.

Mrs. Elks left Cindy to get up and dressed. Cindy was disappointed, but not surprised, that her Goodnite was wet. She got cleaned up and dressed for the day. On the top of her dresser was the outfit that Samantha had borrowed from Ciara. It was the same outfit that Cindy had worn on Monday when they were introducing Cindy to Mr. Elks. The only thing she couldn’t borrow were the shoes. If George’s Dad was correct, he would bring a pair of Lucy’s shoes for her to borrow. Mrs. Elks would need to help her with the bow. Cindy just couldn’t get it right this morning. It always looked wrong when she looked in the mirror.

Cindy thought about the phone call with George’s parents. His Mom had problems with her being a girl, but George’s Dad stopped her. Before the call, George said his Dad was probably a stronger believer in the God stuff and hating transgender people, so why did George’s Dad stop his Mom from attacking? Cindy tried to figure out why George’s Mom wouldn’t even allow borrowing Lucy’s shoes. Even harder for Cindy to figure out was why Lucy couldn’t play with Samantha and her. Well, Lucy could now, but only because George’s Dad made George’s Mom accept that. It was all very confusing to Cindy.

Cindy knew she was a freak. Her Mom made that very clear in Wal-Mart to the whole store before camp. The way she was yelling and explaining things, everyone in that store knew Cindy was a freak. So, what if she was a freak, why wouldn’t Lucy be allowed to play with her? Why was that George’s Mom’s decision, not Lucy’s?

Another strange thing kept coming back into Cindy’s mind. Mr. Elks said twenty-two kids had gone home because of Cindy. This didn’t make sense. Thursday morning after Ariel got sent home, it was only twelve kids. When and why did the other ten kids go home? Either Marcus or Mike had told everyone that they could leave if they didn’t like having a transgender kid at camp. Did that mean that ten more kids left because they didn’t like Cindy. With a big hug to Molly and her panda bear, she put the panda on the pillow.

“Good Morning Cindy,” Mrs. Elks said as Cindy walked into the living room. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“The Goodnite was wet,” Cindy glumly replied.

“I am sorry dear. When you took it off, did you remember to wipe with the baby wipes?”

“Yeah, don’t want to smell like pee. Just wish I didn’t crinkle when I walked. Everyone is going to know I am wearing diapers.”

“That was a very big girl decision of you to wear a Goodnite today. I know you won’t believe this, but other people rarely hear a diaper or Goodnite. Even when they do, on a kid your age they don’t think of those things causing the noise.”

Cindy squeezing Molly tight, “Mrs. Elks, can you please fix my bow, I just can’t get it on right.”

“No problem Cindy, but you might want to change clothes for the morning. Most kids don’t put on their concert clothes until just before the concert.”

“Oh,” Cindy blushed. “I didn’t think about that.”

“Go find something fun to wear for playing with Samantha and Lucy. I washed all your clothes last night and put them in your suitcase.”

“Suitcase, uggg. I have to go home today.”

The next time Cindy came out, she was wearing the yellow waistless dress, with patches of pink roses, and white three-fourth length sleeves with black stripes. She had on yellow socks and her Frozen sneakers. For the hair, she put in a hair clip with a yellow bow.

“Very nice outfit Cindy,” Mrs. Elks commented.

“Thanks,” Cindy said trying to smile.

“Hunter has already left for his office. I’ll take you over to breakfast this morning. We have some time so let’s talk some before the day gets too hectic. At Breakfast, you will get your copy of the camp group photo that was taken the third day of camp. It will be in a book with a bunch of blank pages, so you can get it signed by kids if you want. There will be an hour after Breakfast for just play and socializing. A lot of the Littles usually hang out at the Playground during that hour. After that, all kids are sent back to their rooms to finish packing. I don’t know about the other kids, but Samantha was planning on being over here with you as soon as she could. If you wanted, you could go help her finish packing and then the two of you can come over here to play. The current plan is that you will stay over here until you have to perform at the concert. Hunter said that he took you out of the Woodwind performance, so your first time on stage will be with Jessica’s mini orchestra group.”

“Probably a good idea,” Cindy had to admit.

“Hunter also wanted me to tell you that you will be performing three songs at the concert. First will be doing Jessica’s composition. Then during the Best Performer Prize Presentation, he is going to have you and Samantha perform something together. He is leaving it up to the two of you. Then, the last performance will be a solo performance by the Best Performer Winner, which is you.”

“Oh,” Cindy was trying to process that she was now going to be playing two more pieces at the concert. For the solo performance she was flipping through songs in her head. There were so many possibilities. It would be easy for her to go with her favorite Friedrich Kuhlau flute solo, or one of the famous composers. Mozart, Bach, and many others had good flute solos. Part of her wanted to do something fun, maybe a Disney song. She could think of a few songs from different movies; Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, Tangled, Moana, and even one from Mulan. One of her favorite Flute players on YouTube was Emma He. She does an amazing performance of Scarborough Fair which is some old English ballad, made popular by some old guys great grandpa’s age called Simon and Garfunkle. Cindy couldn’t get the performance by Emma He out of her head. It was a piano and flute duet, but it was lovely. Emma He was nine-years-old when she did it, just the same age Cindy is. Would Mr. Elks let Jessica and her do a duet or maybe Marcus since he came in third place? Marcus might do a duet with her with the song, Yesterday. It is some old Rock’n Roll song by a group called the Beatles. How in the world could she decide?

Breakfast was full of emotion. Between the mini-orchestra and the Protection Squad, Cindy knew everyone at the table very well. Cindy knew what was coming. As others were talking about returning next summer, Cindy was quite sure she would never be allowed to return to Music Camp. Her Mom would never risk the chance for Frank to dress as Cindy again. This was good-bye for good. She would never see these people again.

Cindy bangs her fork on the table until everyone at the table starts looking at her, “I want to say thank you to everyone at this table. You all made it possible for me to be Cindy this week and have the best week of my life. I will never forget any of you. Although I would love to come back next summer, I know it will not be allowed. As some of you know, my Mom is going to be super-duper mad once she finds out I have been Cindy this week. She will never let me be Cindy again. She will never let me come back to a place where I could possibly be Cindy. This is the last day I will ever have in my life to be Cindy.”

Tears started to roll down Cindy’s face, “Thank You everyone, and I am very, very, very sorry for what my Mommy is going to do at the concert. If you want me to be Frank today, so Mommy doesn’t mess up the concert, I will.”

Eleanor was the first to respond, “Cindy you are the amazing flutist. Frank was good, but you are outstanding. All those professionals were stunned by you. If today is your last day to be Cindy, then be Cindy. We are all here to support you, just like we have been all week.”

“Frank left camp for good on Monday,” Jessica said. “He may be forced back by his Mom, but until she does that, Cindy is here to stay.”

“Listen Cindy,” George said. “No matter what anyone says or does, inside you are a little girl named Cindy. I know that, and everyone at this table knows that. Don’t let anyone tell you who you are or who you should be. You have to decide that yourself. At the moment, you know you are a girl named Cindy. So, today you are a girl named Cindy and we are not going to make you be somebody else. We have no right to do that.”

“Listen to George Cindy,” Axel says. “Be yourself and never hide away who you are on the inside. My mom insists I put on a costume and act like a ‘normal’ person when around her. I never forget however, who I am on the inside. I am a Rock’n Roll drummer, and ready for adventure. You Cindy, are a little girl. You’re more girly than my little sister, and she is way to girly for me to handle. If wearing a dress and carrying around a dolly is who you are on the inside, then be that on the outside for as long as you can.”

Cindy was in tears. Samantha was next to her and whispered in her ear, “Don’t even think about being Frank.”

While Cindy tried to get herself together, those at the table that didn’t know about Cindy’s Mom, got a crash course in what she had done. Then some of the plans to protect Cindy today were explained.

“So, we can expect the Woodwind performance to be disrupted,” Eleanor stated.

“No,” Cindy said. “Mr. Elks took me out of the Woodwind performance.”

“What? But we need you. Well I guess I see why, but . . . but . . . Okay.”

“I am sure the Little’s orchestra is not happy to not have Samantha or Cindy, but they are managing,” Marcus said. “Not having Cindy show up until the last piece of the concert makes the most sense.”

“I know,” Eleanor said. “We will just miss her.”

“Thanks,” Cindy said. “I didn’t know until this morning that I had been pulled out of that performance. That reminds me, after breakfast, Samantha, Marcus, George, and Jessica I need to talk to you.”

The meal continued until the food was gone, and then the camp pictures were handed out. Everyone at the table sent their picture around the table to get signed by each other. Cindy wrote little personalized notes for each person. She really was going to miss them all. On the first one she almost signed it Frank, but then for the first time in her life, she wrote her name. The second time she wrote it, she put a little heart in place of the dot on the ‘ i ‘ in her name. From then on that is how she signed her name. With each writing of ‘Cindy’ her smile got bigger and bigger.

Slowly the people at the table dwindled down until it was just the mini-orchestra.

“So, what’s up Cindy,” Jessica asked.

Cindy looked around. There were not many people left in the room and no one close enough to hear them talk. Taking a deep breath, “Mr. Elks took me out of the woodwind performance, but now, instead of two pieces, I will have to do three pieces in the concert.”

“What do you mean Cindy,” Jessica asked? “You were going to perform with the Woodwind class and in our orchestra. Occasionally, the winner of the Best Performer Competition plays a piece, but that would only have you doing two pieces.”

“Yup, our orchestra, Best Performer Winner, and a duet with the second place winner,” Cindy said looking at Samantha.

“Hay, that is me,” Samantha said. “We are playing a duet?”

“That is what Mrs. Elks told me this morning,” Cindy explained. “I think Samantha and I should do a piece from one of the Disney movies, something all the Littles would enjoy.”

“Awwwww, great idea Cindy,” Samantha said. “We play a piece for the Littles, by Littles.”

“I bet Mr. Elks would like something more classical,” George added. “But knowing him, he will fully accept his two Little winners to play a little kid piece. It is probably why he is having the two of you do a duet. Two Littles in the top three has never happened in the history of the camp.“

“I keep running possible pieces to play as the winner of the Best Performer Competition,” Cindy explained. “Would Mr. Elks let me do a Duet with either Marcus or Jessica on the Piano?”

“Don’t think so Cindy,” Marcus explained. “The reason the Best Performer Winner gets to play a piece is to show everyone why they won. I won for my Rock’n Roll guitar playing one year, and I couldn’t do a piece with the band. Just me and my guitar. It is annoying, but a good way to show off your talent when it is just you on the stage.”

“Too bad,” Cindy sighed. “I thought with you on the piano, we could do Yesterday, by the Beatles. That way the 1st and 2nd get to play together and the 1st and 3rd get to play together.”

“Yesterday?” Marcus replied. “I would love to do a Rock’n Roll song with you Cindy. Too bad we don’t have another Open Mic.”

Cindy smiled, “Thought you would like that one. Part of me really wants to do Scarborough Fair, but that is also a piano/flute Duet.”

“Wonder what that sounds like as a piano/flute duet,” Jessica inquired.

Cindy asked to borrow Marcus’ phone and she pulled up the Emma He’s performance on YouTube.
Link to Scarborough Fair on YouTube

“Oh, you two should do it,” Jessica said after watching the video.

While they discussed somehow getting Cindy to play Scarborough Fair, Cindy pulled up Yesterday and started playing it to get everyone to stop discussing the impossible.
Link to Yesterday on YouTube

“That would also be a good one,” George said. “I can see why you thought of those two, but honestly Cindy, you need to play the piece that one you 1st place.”

There was general agreement over George’s statement. If Cindy could play it so good that Mr. Frances, the silent judge, talked to her, then she should play it at the concert. Cindy could see the logic in this, but part of her still wanted to play either Yesterday or Scarborough Fair.

The group parted ways, with Cindy and Samantha heading to the playground. When they got there, they were immediately mobbed by almost everyone asking them to sign their camp memory book.

“Two Littles in the top five,” Suzy said. “You two are famous. You show all those big kids that Littles can be good too.”

“It doesn’t matter what size we are,” Little Ellen said. “I am a good violin player. Not as good as you Samantha, but I am good. You two showed those big teenagers that Littles can be better than them. Thank You!”

Ellen went up and gave Samantha a big hug and then gave Cindy one too. With her being so small, Her hands hit Cindy’s bottom.

After the hug, Ellen made Cindy get down to her height and then she said, “I think it is cool you are wearing a pull-up, I have to wear one for the concert too.”

“What . . . I . . . I,” Cindy looked at Ellen. She looked so cute and still looked so much like a little baby. She may have been six, but Cindy could easily picture Ellen running around in a diaper and sucking on a pacifier. No matter how much Cindy wanted to, she just couldn’t lie to Ellen. “I started having accidents after Ariel attacked me.”

“I have accidents when I laugh too hard,” Sarah said. “So, there is a strict no tickling rule in my house.”

“I have them when I get scared,” Patrick said.

“I still have to wear a big girl pull-up at night,” Elizabeth said.

“Cindy,” Oliver said. “I want you to sign my book, even if you do wear Pull-ups.”

Cindy wanted this line of discussion to stop. She quickly grabbed Oliver’s book and signed her name, “Thank You Oliver.”

Oliver smiled and went off to the slides.

“Looks like we have a lot of books to sign,” Samantha said. “Let’s go over to the picnic table.”

The crowd of kids followed Cindy and Samantha to the table. The two of them signed a lot of books, and a lot of kids signed their books. When done, they went over to the see-saw.

“I can’t believe you are two years older than me, but we are the same size and weight,” Samantha said as they tried to balance the see-saw.

“Strange, isn’t it.”

“So, what piece do you want to play,” Samantha asked?

“I don’t know,” Cindy said pushing off the ground. The two were silent as they went up and down for a while.

“Let It Go, is out,” Samantha said.

“Definitely,” Cindy agreed.

“Probably not one of the old princess ones either,” Samantha said. “The boys may not know it.”

“The Lion King has some good pieces of music,” Cindy commented. “Moana has some good ones too.”

“We could do Moana, How Far I’ll Go,” Samantha suggested.

“No, I’ve got it,” Cindy said getting up and flinging Samantha to the ground. “The Lion King, Can You Feel the Love Tonight. We may need Marcus or Jessica on the Piano. Come on, let’s go find Mr. Elks.”

“Cindy,” Samantha screamed standing up and running after Cindy. “Cindy, slow down.”

Cindy was half-way to the Administrative Offices before Samantha caught up with her, “Cindy! Why are you running off like that? I didn’t even say yes to the piece yet?”

Without stopping, Cindy looked at Samantha, “Well, after the outburst by my parents, there will be a lot a people there supporting us, and we need to let them all know that we understand that and appreciate it. The piece is perfect for that.”

“Yes, but How Far I’ll Go from ‘Moana’ better represents the two of us and the future in front of us.”

Cindy walked into the administrative offices with Samantha right behind. They went up to Mrs. Stillman. Cindy smiled as she remembered her first day here at camp, when Jessica dragged her through this office telling Mrs. Stillman to call her mom.

“Mrs. Stillman,” Cindy said. “Is Mr. Elks here?”

“Yes sweetheart, but he is in a meeting,” Mrs. Stillman smiled at the two young girls standing at her desk.

“It is important Mrs. Stillman. We need to talk to him about the concert. It has to be now. If he says yes, we need to practice before the concert. Please Mrs. Stillman, please,” Cindy slightly tilts her head, smiles, and blinks a few times.

Mrs. Stillman smiles back, “Nice try little one, but that cute little girl trick doesn’t work on me. You do it pretty good though. You look familiar, and you seem to know me, but I can’t recall your name.”

“We met on the first day Mrs. Stillman when Jessica wanted you to call her mom. I’m Cindy and this is my best friend Samantha.”

Mrs. Stillman looked at Cindy with confusion and then a realization of recognition, “Oh you are Cindy. The little girl who has made my job a lot more fun this summer. Usually being a secretary at summer camp is boring, but you have kept me very busy writing up new policies, calling parents, and several rewrites of the concert schedule. Nice to finally meet you. Are you about to make me redo the agenda of the concert again?”

“Please Mrs. Stillman, it really is important for us to talk with Mr. Elks.”

“Okay,” Mrs. Stillman said picking up her phone. “I’ll let him know you want to talk to him.”

Cindy and Samantha stood there listening as Mrs. Stillman talked to Mr. Elks. When she hung up, she smiled at the two of them, “He said you could go right in.”

“Thanks Mrs. Stillman,” Cindy and Samantha said together.

When they entered Mr. Elks’ office, there were two guys in there talking with Mr. Elks. One of them had a Police Officer uniform on.

“Daddy!!!!!” Samantha screamed and ran up to her dad who was wearing his uniform.

“Hello, Sammie Pooh,” Samantha’s Dad said giving her a big hug. “So good to see you. Mom will be happy to know that sending you to camp for two weeks didn’t cause you to forget us.”

“Oh Daddy,” Samantha giggled.

“So, this I assume is Cindy,” Samantha’s dad said while looking over to Cindy.

“Yes sir,” Cindy shyly said.

“Nice to finally meet you Cindy,” Samantha’s Dad said.

“Girls,” Mr. Elks said gesturing towards the unknown man in the room. “I want you to meet Officer Miller. He will be helping keep our concert a safe place for everyone.”

“Hi Officer Miller sir,” Cindy said. “I am sorry you have to be here.”

Officer Miller got down on his knees in front of Cindy, “I am honored to help out Cindy. Don’t ever apologize for needing the police. We always love protecting cute little girls. Makes us feel like a knight saving a princess.”

Samantha and Cindy smiled.

“Cindy,” Officer Miller said. “A lady named Mrs. Stone and I have a few questions for you before your parents get here. Mr. Elks thought a good place to ask them would be at his house, so we will be over later to talk to you.”

Cindy looked at Mr. Elks and Samantha’s Dad. It was very clear to everyone in the room that Cindy wasn’t sure what to think about this.

“Cindy,” Mr. Elks said. “It is okay. I will be there, and Barbara can be there too if you want.”

“Cindy,” Samantha’s Dad added. “My partner and I will also be there. There is . . .”

“Patty is here?” Samantha interrupted.

“Yes, Sammie Pooh,” Samantha’s Dad smiled. “She is over at the Concert Hall trying to figure out everything we need to do to keep the two of you safe. The two of us will be over to Mr. Elks house once Mrs. Stone gets here.”

Cindy looked straight into Officer Miller’s eyes. He seemed nice, but could she trust him? She wasn’t sure. He was a Police Officer. She was supposed to trust Police Officers.

“What’s wrong Cindy,” Mr. Elks inquired while he looked at her closely.

“I,” Cindy started but hesitated. “I . . . I’m scared.”

“We understand Cindy,” Samantha’s Dad said. “It is okay to be scared. There are scary things going on in your life. We want you to focus on your performances in the concert and your friends. Mr. Elks told me that you find the concert the easy part of today. He says that playing music calms you down.”

Cindy weakly smiles, “Yes sir.”

“Then Cindy, I want you to play as much music as you want today. Find toys and games to play with Samantha and play music on your flute. Do what you can to take your mind off the other things happening today.”

“Okay sir.”

“Mr. Elks,” Samantha said. “Cindy said that Mrs. Elks told her that me and Cindy would be doing a duet at the concert.”

“Yes,” Mr. Elks smiled at the girls. “I was hoping you would do something like that Mozart piece you did yesterday, but you can do something different if you want.”

“We are Littles Mr. Elks,” Cindy said. “We are in First and Second Place. We want to do a piece for the Littles by Littles.”

“I see,” Mr. Elks put his hand up to his chin.

“We came up with two different pieces that we think will be good. From the Lion King, Can You Feel the Love Tonight, or from Moana, How Far I’ll Go,” Samantha explained.

“I see,” Mr. Elks considered. “They are both good pieces and I see you are trying to send a message. Both send strong messages for two little girls.”

“But we have a problem sir,” Cindy said. “Both would be better if we had a piano playing with us. Can we have Jessica or Marcus play the piece with us?”

Mr. Elks pondered the proposal, “I was really hoping to have something with just the two of you. If someone is needed on the piano, I can see why you might want Jessica since she is not a teenager, but Marcus won 3rd place in the competition. I can see the top three putting on a performance. I will let you do a piece with three of you, but use Marcus, not Jessica. Okay?”

“Thank you, Mr. Elks,” Samantha and Cindy said in unison.

“Just remember girls,” Mr. Elks said. “With the two of you performing, it is two Littles on stage showing they are the best at camp. If you bring in Marcus, there will be a teenager on stage, not just two Littles.”

The girls contemplated that until they were interrupted by Mr. Elks, “It is about Packing to Go Home time. Everyone is going to be sent to the dorms to pack in a few minutes. Why don’t the two of you go over to Samantha’s room and pack her stuff up and bring it over to my house.”

“We will Mr. Elks,” Samantha said. Before leaving, she gave her Daddy a big hug.

“Sammie Pooh,” Samantha’s Dad said. “I’ll see you in a little bit. Make sure you pack everything up. I don’t want to drive all the way back to camp like last summer, because you forgot your blankie.”

“Don’t worry Daddy,” Samantha said as she grabbed Cindy’s hand. “We will check everything two times.”

With that, the girls skipped out of the office on their way to Samantha’s room.

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 18 The Concert

“Two Littles in the top five,” Elizabeth stated as they walked up the stairs to the girl’s dorm. “That is amaaaaaazing. Wish you two could do a piece together in the final concert to show those teenagers what good music actually is.”

Cindy and Samantha looked at each other, wanting to respond.

“What if we could,” Samantha asked? “What would we play?”

“Something to blow those teenagers out of the water,” Suzy insisted. “I am sick of them calling us babies and beginners. Do something that they would find hard to do, and do it way better than they could ever do.”

“Hadn’t thought of that,” Cindy thought out loud.

“Disney music,” Samantha questioned?

“Definitely no Disney music,” Emmah insisted. “If Littles got up there and played Disney music, they would all say a baby song played by a baby. You would need to play a piece that was hard, a classic, and do in such a way that they would have their eyes popping out of their heads. You two could do it, too bad you won’t have the chance.”

“Guess a trio is out then,” Samantha said.

“There are no other Little’s in the top five,” Anna pointed out. “You wouldn’t want someone who wasn’t a Little on the stage. Emmah’s right, it really is too bad you two can’t do a duet at the concert.”

“Yeah,” Cindy glumly said as she realized the truth; all of her ideas for music were out, and whatever they chose, Samantha and she would need to practice it until it was flawless. They would need some way to make it eye popping. Her solo performance would also need to have the eye popping effect. These are not pieces played by Littles, for Littles. They will need to be pieces played by Littles to prove that Littles belong on that stage. They will need to squish the teenagers like little bugs.

Mr. Elks was giving Samantha and her a chance to show the camp that they actually deserved to win the positions. They couldn’t just do any piece, they needed to do an amazing performance to show that they really are the best at camp this summer.

After packing up, and a bunch of tearful goodbyes, Samantha and Cindy headed for Mr. Elks’ house.

“What are we going to do?” Cindy asked as they headed out of the dorms.

“I don’t know,” Samantha admitted. “The girls were right though. We can’t do a Disney piece, and we definitely can’t get Jessica or Marcus to join us. This has to be the two of us and something amazing. When we get to Mr. Elks, let’s start searching YouTube for ideas.”

“No stress,” Cindy said. “Just all the Littles at camp looking to us for revenge against all the baby and ‘just a beginner’ comments this summer.”

When the girls reached Mr. Elks’ house they immediately went to the bedroom. Mrs. Elks, correctly assuming the Goodnite would need changing, told Cindy to change before they started playing. Afterwards, the girls searched YouTube in hopes of finding some eye popping violin and flute duet. Video after video, but nothing seemed just right. Finally, they found something that would definitely get everyone’s attention. They didn’t think there would be any other type of music like it during the concert. It wasn’t completely a classical piece from one of the masters, but it also was. They would each have a solo part in it, but there were also points where they were playing together. They immediately started to practice. They had to have this perfect, and they had so little time.

The girls had no idea how long they had been practicing when Mr. Elks and Samantha’s Dad entered the room.

“Wow girls,” Mr. Elks said. “Is that what you two are planning to do for your duet? It certainly is different from what we discussed earlier.”

“Sorry it’s not perfect,” Cindy apologized. “You didn’t give us much time to find something and practice it.”

“Perfect? No one is expecting perfection, but that was amazing,” Mr. Elks said. “It was also so unexpected. I’ve never heard the two of you play anything like that before.”

“Yeah, well,” Samantha added. “The other Littles convinced us that we needed to do something eye popping that the teenagers would find challenging.”

“You two told the other Littles that you had the top two positions and were going to play a piece together?”

“No, Mr. Elks,” Samantha said. “They came up with the idea of us playing a piece together. We got them to talk about it, even though they all believed that it would never happen. You know it’s not easy keeping a secret, specially if you are not allowed to lie either.”

“That is a challenge when it comes to secrets Sammie Pooh,” Samantha’s Dad went over and hugged her.

“What you have there will certainly be eye popping and very unexpected,” Mr. Elks said. “I can’t wait to see you perform it on stage.”

“Hard to believe my little Sammie Pooh just did that,” Samantha’s Dad just kept shaking his head back and forth. The concert is going to be recorded, right?”

“Yes,” Mr. Elks said. “All individual or group performances will be posted on the camp web site, and parents can buy a DVD of the whole concert for $20.”

“I will have to buy several copies,” Samantha’s Dad said. “For no one is going to believe me when I tell them what you did. Just imagine the reaction your Music Teacher will have when he sees it.”

Samantha starts giggling.

“Girls,” Mr. Elks calmly says. “That really was amazing, and I am sorry to interrupt your practice. Right now, though, Cindy is needed in the living room.”

“Sammie Pooh,” Samantha’s Dad got down in front of his daughter. “I need you to stay in here and play either on your violin or with the toys.”

“But I want to be with Cindy,” Samantha pleaded.

“Not this time Sammie. This is official Police business, and it doesn’t involve you. That means you need to stay in here. Cindy will be back shortly.”

Leaving her flute behind but taking the Molly Doll, Cindy followed the adults into the living room where she was introduced to Mrs. Stone, a Social Worker from Child Protective Services. Samantha’s Dad also introduced his partner, Officer Patty Granlin. Officer Miller explained that Mrs. Stone’s job was to protect kids and when she heard about how Cindy had been treated, she wanted to hear Cindy’s description of events. He then explained that normally there would only be one police officer with Mrs. Stone, but with the State Police involved, there are more today.

Mrs. Stone said that she would prefer to do this without Mr. and Mrs. Elks, but if Cindy wanted them there, she was willing to allow it due to the history of panic attacks. Cindy grabbed tight on to both of their hands as she sat down on the couch. With Mrs. Elks on one side, and Mr. Elks on the other, Cindy hugged the Molly doll, positioning it on her lap.

“Cindy,” Mrs. Stone said. “I have a few questions for you. I need you to tell me the truth. Do you understand the difference between the truth and make believe?”

“Yes Mam,” Cindy said.

“Good,” Mrs. Stone smiled. “Can you please tell me about the day your mom caught you at your friend’s birthday party?”

Cindy told Mrs. Stone everything that happened that day. Further questions had her telling about times she was allowed to dress as a girl at home and when she did it secretly at her friend’s house. Cindy also told all about the events at camp that led to her being Cindy, and the problems with Ariel. The discussion ended with Cindy telling what she thought her parents will do at the concert and after they leave camp.

When the questioning was done, Mrs. Elks brought Cindy back to the guest room and made sure Cindy got changed out of the wet Goodnite she was wearing. This concerned Cindy. She hadn’t used the bathroom once today and so far, needed to change twice. Mrs. Elks also seemed to know when it was wet, but Cindy didn’t. After getting changed, Cindy picked up her flute and got lost in her favorite flute solo.

When she finished playing, Samantha joined Cindy for another practice of their duet. Then they decided to take a break and play with the doll house. They had been having a lot of fun when George came in with a little girl their size.

“Samantha and Cindy,” George said. “This is my sister Lucy. Lucy, this is Cindy and Samantha. Why don’t the three of you play in here a bit while the grown-ups talk in the other room.”

“Georgie, will you stay,” Lucy pleaded.

George sat down on the bed, while Lucy was introduced to Molly and the dolls in the doll house. It didn’t take long before the three were playing together like they had been friends for years.

At one point a woman came into the room, but she was quickly escorted out by George, “Mom, leave them alone. They are playing together just fine and don’t need you ruining anything.”

“Mommy seems to think there is something very wrong with you Cindy,” Lucy said once her mom had left. “But I don’t see it. She has to be wrong anyways. She said you were just a boy pretending to like girl things. Anyone can see you are a girl, and no boy would ever wear something so pretty.”

Cindy just looked at Lucy for a minute, before Samantha got the attention of both of them by making one of the dolls do a double summersault off the second floor of the doll house. Immediately, Lucy picked up another one of the dolls and had it reprimand the first one for doing something so dangerous. Cindy picked up another doll and congratulated the first one for doing such a nice summersault. The girls giggled and were back to playing.

After a while, Lucy noticed something that confused her, “Why are you wearing a diaper Cindy?”

“It’s not a diaper,” Cindy quickly defended. “It’s a Goodnite.”

“Oh,” Lucy replied. “My friend Hellen wears those at night, so she doesn’t wet the bed. Why are you wearing one during the day?”

“I um. I . . .”

“She gets panic attacks and has accidents because of them,” Samantha blurted out.

“I hate my panic attacks,” Lucy said. “I am sorry. It would be terrible to have potty accidents with them. That must be horrible to be back in diapers because of panic attacks.”

Cindy hugged the Molly doll tight and nodded her head. Then the girls were back to playing like nothing had been said at all. Cindy, however, kept pulling at her dress to make sure her Goodnites didn’t show again.

Since parents were starting to show up at camp, the girls had lunch at Mr. Elks’ house. After lunch, Samantha and Cindy got dressed for the concert, with Cindy borrowing the shoes that Lucy brought. Shortly after lunch Jessica, George, and Marcus showed up. George’s Mom set up the TV in the living room to show the concert. The plan was for the kids to stay at Mr. Elks’ house until the piece before they had to perform. After they performed, they would be in a practice room on the second floor of the concert hall, which also had a TV set up in it. Since Cindy’s first performance was going to be the mini-orchestra’s piece, she would be the last one leaving Mr. Elks house.

Marcus had with him a few Giants, or at least that is what they looked like to Samantha, Cindy, and Lucy. They were introduced to the group as ‘The Gang’. They were bodyguard protection for the group. Five of these Giants were there, so each kid in the mini-orchestra had their own bodyguard. Cindy’s was a nice lady named Penelope. She said she had a four-year-old daughter, and she would protect Cindy like she would protect her own daughter.

Cindy was exactly four feet tall and weighed forty-seven pounds. Penelope was six-feet six-inches tall and weighed 215 pounds. Even more amazing was that she wasn’t the tallest of the bodyguards. Samantha had the tallest one, Luke, at six-foot ten-inches tall.

The discussion about the bodyguards was interrupted by a package delivery. It was George’s French Horn. He quickly got to practicing on it, for he really wanted to use it in the concert.

When the concert started, all the kids except for Lucy were in the living room watching. Lucy was in the audience with her mom.

One by one, members of the mini-orchestra left with their bodyguards to perform in the concert. They all had at least one other performance in the concert in addition to Jessica’s piece. The Woodwind group performed just before Marcus’ Rock’n Roll performance. When they finished, Cindy left with Penelope and Mrs. Elks to go to the Concert Hall. She met backstage with the others in the mini-orchestra, watching the end of Marcus’ band perform.

“He is really good,” Samantha said as she watched him play his guitar and sing the song.

“He’s the best,” George said. “Has been ever since he switched to Rock’n Roll.”

When the band finished, there was a standing ovation, along with a group of girls repeatedly yelling out Marcus’ name.

“He always has girls yelling out his name after he performs,” Penelope rolled her eyes and shook her head back and forth.

Penelope was the last bodyguard with the group. The others had spread to the exits of the stage area, and two were down where the audience was, standing just inside the exit doors by the stage.

“With that,” Mr. Elks said walking out onto the stage with a microphone in hand. “We have gotten to the coveted last performance of the concert, or at least the last one anyone could earn. This year twelve-year-old Jessica created an original piece of music and put together a mini-orchestra to perform it. Then she did something many of you will have a hard time understanding, she chose to conduct the piece, instead of performing it. I want you all to listen carefully to this. Jessica is considered by most to be the best piano player we have at camp this summer, but she has chosen to be the conductor instead of the piano player. I heard her piece done with her playing the piano and with her being the conductor. It sounded better with her conducting. When you write a piece of music for an orchestra, it can sound better if you are conducting it. Just like an author reading their own book, a conductor can put in more of the intended emotions of a piece than they ever could just being one of the members of the orchestra. I am very proud of Jessica for being mature enough to know it would sound better with her conducting. She is just a Tween, and she was able to make this decision, even though she wrote the piece with the intention of herself performing the piano section. Let’s give a round of applause to Jessica.”

While Mr. Elks was talking, the drum set disappeared below the stage and the rest of Marcus’ band left the stage. Marcus, however, just put his guitar into a stand and walked over to the piano where he stood waiting.

When Jessica reached Mr. Elks, she was handed the microphone, “Thank You Mr. Elks. To take my place on the piano will be Marcus.”

Even from backstage, the audible gasps could be heard, along with one kid saying, “See, I told you he played the piano.”

“Next we have George on the French Horn,” Jessica continued as George came out to applause. “We have Samantha on the violin.”

Samantha came out to applause and curtsied, getting a few ‘awwws’, before going over to her seat.

“Finally, the last member of our group is Cindy,” Jessica said as Cindy started out on stage. “She was my inspiration for the piece you are going to hear. She was also the one that allowed me to get this group of talented individuals together to perform for you today. Without her, none of this would have happened.”

The cheering and applause were significantly more for Cindy than it had been for George or Samantha. Cindy came out holding both her flute and the Molly doll, did a curtsy, and then went over to her seat. She saw her parents and older sister in the front row, but she tried not to look at them. Cindy sat down in her chair, put Molly on her lap, and waited for Jessica.

Going up to the lectern, Jessica tapped 3 times and nodded her head once. A second before the first note was played, someone in the audience screamed out, “FRANK!”

Everyone turned to look straight at Cindy’s Mom who was standing up and pointing at Cindy.

“Grace,” Cindy’s Dad stood and tried to get his wife to sit down.

“No Herbert,” Cindy’s Mom shouted. “That is Frank up there with a girl’s doll on his lap. Frank you freak, get that stupid doll off your lap and get your butt down here this instant.”

“Mam,” Marcus’ Dad said as he approached. “Would you please sit down so my son can perform.”

“There is no way I am sitting down until my son gets down off that stage. I am not having my freak of a son be up there in a dress on display for everyone to see.”

Samantha’s Dad stood up, “Mam, you have been asked nicely to sit down, so the kids can perform.”

“You’re a police officer,” Cindy’s Mom stated. “You should be arresting the camp leaders for letting a boy go around camp dressed as a girl. What kind of camp is this anyways?”

“I am sorry Mam, but there is nothing illegal in letting a child dress in the clothes they want to wear,” Samantha’s Dad stated. “You, however, are disrupting a performance, and if you do not calm down, and sit down, I will have to remove you from the Concert Hall.”

“You can’t do that,” Cindy’s Mom announced. “That is my son up there, and I am going to get him off the stage right now, if I have to go up there myself and get him. He is going to get one severe whippin for this. Get down here now Frank. The longer you take the harder I’ll whip ya.”

“Grace!” Cindy’s Dad shouted. “That is enough. I came here to watch my son . . um . . child perform and I plan on doing that. Now you sit down and shut up.”

As Penelope was getting all the kids off the stage, Cindy’s Mom started to move towards the stage. The last thing Cindy saw before leaving the stage was the bodyguards blocking her path, while two uniformed police officers and Officer Miller were attempting to drag her mom out of the room. It was not however the last thing she heard.

“Get back here Frank! You thought your punishment before camp was bad, just wait until you get home. You won’t be able to sit for a week.”

“Grace! That is enough!” Cindy’s Dad said. “I put up with you giving our child a bowl cut and parading him around Wal-Mart telling everyone he was a freak. I tolerated you punishing him for going to his best friend’s birthday party wearing a little girls party dress. But, enough is enough. Frank has been wearing his sister’s clothes and telling us he is a girl since he could talk and dress himself. All those kids were cheering for a little girl named Cindy. Our little girl. Now shut up so we can hear why they were all cheering for her. You refused to do anything when the camp called and said our son was being bullied . . .”

That was the last Cindy heard as the door to the staircase closed behind her and Penelope continued to push her along to the designated room on the second floor.

When they reached the room, everyone was silent.

Penelope quickly turned when someone tried to open the door. It was only Mrs. Elks. Penelope let her in, locked the door, and then stood guard at the door.

“Are you all okay,” Mrs. Elks asked as she looked around at everyone on her way over to Cindy.

“We’re fine,” Marcus said. “Thanks Penelope.”

“No problem kid-o,” Penelope responded with a smile.

Then there was a knock at the door, “It’s Mr. Dillinger. Please let me in.”

“That’s my dad,” George said. “Look at Cindy, he’s here to help.”

Penelope looked over at Cindy. She was on the ground, legs up to chest with arm around them, and was rocking forward and backwards. Penelope opened the door to let in Mr. Dillinger and then locked it again.

“Jessica and Samantha,” George directed. “Same as before. Start playing a gentle lullaby.”

Mrs. Elks was rubbing Cindy’s back, and Mr. Dillinger was directly in front of her trying to talk her down. It took several minutes before they could get Cindy to join in on the lullaby. When it was done playing, Cindy was directed to play another piece. She played her favorite flute solo. About halfway through, Mr. Elks, using his own key, came into the room.

“Mr. Dillinger,” Mr. Elks inquired? “Do you think she could come down and perform now.”

“Are you nuts,” Mr. Dillinger glared at Mr. Elks.

“Yes, Mr. Elks,” Cindy meekly got out. “I can do it. It will help me calm down.”

“Dad, it really will help Cindy to be playing. She can block out the world when she is playing.”

“I do not approve,” Mr. Dillinger said, but you all know Cindy better than I do.

“Is Cindy’s Mommy still there,” Samantha asked?

“No Samantha,” Mr. Elks explained. “The police have gotten her out of the concert hall.”

The group returned to the stage. As they walked out, the room went silent. The kids took their positions and with three taps on the lectern, and a nod of her head, Jessica started the piece.

When Cindy came back to reality, in front of her was a standing ovation. She looked over to where her Mom, Dad, and Sister had been. She saw a smiling Dad and Sister standing and clapping away.

“That truly was an outstanding performance,” Mr. Elks said as the room quieted down. “At this time, I usually clear the stage and bring up the top five winners of the Best Performer Competition. This year, however, they are all on the stage already. It is the first time in the camp’s history that we have had the best at camp performing together. Not only is this group impressive enough to contain the top five Best Performers at camp this summer, it has also caught the attention of three Symphony Orchestra Conductors from around the world. This group has been asked to perform that piece in concerts around the world. Never before have any of our students earned positions in professional performances, based upon what they did here at camp.”

The room erupted into applause.

When the applause started to lessen, Mr. Elks continued, “In 5th Place we have George on the French Horn.”

George got up from his seat in the mini-orchestra, collected his trophy and then left the stage.

“In 4th Place, we have Jessica with her piano playing.”

Jessica did the same as George.

“In 3rd Place, we have Marcus based upon his Piano playing.”

Mr. Elks paused as the room was cheering for Marcus. As Marcus left the stage, Mr. Elks gestured for Samantha and Cindy to join him, “In the camps history, we have never had two Littles in the top three. This summer, the top two positions are both Littles. Samantha is only seven, and Cindy is nine. Quite an impressive feat for two little girls. Over the last week, I have heard the two of them playing everything from Disney Movie pieces, to Lullabies, to stuff from Bach and Mozart. I even heard one performance of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. All of it was simply astounding. For this special occasion, I have asked the two of them if they would do a duet for you all. They found out about this request this morning. I have given them no guidance on what to play. Cindy and Samantha, are you still willing to do this?”

They both nod yes.

“Well then,” Mr. Elks stated. “With that, I will turn the stage over to the two of them.”

Mr. Elks left the stage while microphones were set up for the two girls. Cindy and Samantha were standing in the center of the stage with their instruments. Cindy put the Molly doll down on the floor in front of them and then stood up. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Samantha tapped one of the Vampirina stickers on her violin before bringing it into position. Cindy opened her eyes, looked straight at Samantha and nodded her head three times. Suddenly the room erupted in music.
YouTube Link to the Music Cindy and Samantha played for everyone

The girls played a Celtic/Classical blend of music while dancing on stage. When they finished the room exploded with cheers, applause, and calls of ‘Go Littles’. Mr. Elks rejoined the girls with a huge smile on his face.

“These two little girls have never stopped amazing me for the last week. Today is no exception. They are both quite talented prodigies. Before this morning they had never played that music before. Neither had ever done any Celtic music. To Blend Bach and Irish tunes in a few hours and put on a performance like that is unheard of. They wanted to do something eye popping to show the teenagers they deserved to be up here, well they just did. Let’s give another round of applause for Samantha and Cindy,” Mr. Elks gestured to the girls.

“Now it was not a tie for first-place,” Mr. Elks continued. “One of these girls impressed celebrities from around the world and is in contract negotiations with world renowned conductors to be a guest solo performer with their orchestras. The first-place winner this year gets a big trophy, paid tuition for next summer’s Music Camp, and an American Girl doll. This year’s winner is, . . . Cindy.”

“Cin-dy, Cin-dy, Cin-dy,” was being repeated over and over again from the campers.

Eventually Mr. Elks got everyone to quiet down, “I have asked Cindy to perform a solo piece for you. She has chosen to play the piece that wowed the judges in the competition: Friedrich Kuhlau’s Fantasy for Flute Solo. And please note everyone, Cindy has played everything for you today by memory. She can read music and learns from sheet music, but then quickly memorizes it. She feels her way through the performance. Cindy, the stage is yours.”

Cindy escaped reality as she played the piece on her new flute.
YouTube Link to the music Cindy performed

When she finished, she came back to reality and looked out at the standing ovation she was getting. She curtsied for the audience. She looked over at her sister and father. They both had huge smiles on their faces and were clapping away with everyone else. Next to Dad was an empty chair. Cindy wondered what happened to Mom. She didn’t have long to contemplate that however, for Mr. Elks was quickly back at her side.

As soon as he got the room quieted down, he had the trophy brought out to Cindy. It was huge, she had to use two hands to hold it. Mr. Elks took her flute so she could hold the trophy.

The cheering and clapping were slowly becoming a background noise to something else. The other campers were calling for an encore. Although Mr. Elks had herd this request in previous years and he had never honored it. It was different this time, they were asking her to play a specific piece of music. They were shouting ‘encore’ and then ‘Scarborough Fair’. Marcus came out onto the stage to join Mr. Elks and Cindy.

Holding his own microphone, Marcus started to talk to Mr. Elks, “We want to hear Cindy play one last piece for us. For her solo performance she wanted to play Scarborough Fair, but she needed someone on the piano. Since you would not have allowed that, she played what you just heard instead. I agree with you Mr. Elks, it was well worth hearing her play a solo performance. Now, however, we campers believe she should have a chance to play Scarborough Fair like she wanted to.”

“But . . .” Mr. Elks started.

“No Mr. Elks,” Marcus said. “There was a decision by the campers that we were going to hear Cindy play Scarborough Fair. After her Mom almost prevented Cindy from even performing, Cindy isn’t sure if she will ever get to play again as Cindy. You have noted that Frank is a very different musician than Cindy is. Please Mr. Elks, for what may be Cindy’s last performance, please let the two of us play Scarborough Fair, up here on stage. Be aware however, the campers have already decided that we ARE going to hear her play the piece. She is either going to play it now up here on stage, or at the amphitheater after you dismiss us all.”

Looking down at Cindy Mr. Elks smiled, “Okay Marcus, I guess we have one more performance. Are the two of you ready?”

“Oh Yes,” Cindy quickly puts down the trophy, grabs her flute and gets the Molly Doll. Sitting on the conductor's platform, with her legs under her, she positioned the Molly doll leaning up against her. While getting in position, the stage hands clear the stage and position a microphone. With a smile over to Marcus, Cindy nods three times, and they started.
YouTube Link to Scarborough Fair Flute performance

At the end, and after the applause had died down, Mr. Elks addressed the room, “Thank you everyone for coming. It has been a great camp this year. I look forward to seeing you next summer.”

With that, the curtains closed, and the Concert Hall became chaos as kids and parents tried to connect with each other. As Penelope led Cindy off stage and back to Mr. Elks house, Marcus’ Dad informed Cindy’s Dad that he would take him to her.

Cindy at Music Camp By Teek © 2019 Chapter 19 Mom, Dad, and Who Cindy Goes Home With

Before Cindy’s Dad arrived, Mrs. Elks got Cindy to change into a dry Goodnite and out of her concert outfit.

Cindy was scared to come out of the bedroom, but when she entered the living room her older sister came running up to her and gave her the biggest hug she had ever received.

“That was incredible little sis. I didn’t know you could play that good.”

“Thanks Holly,” Cindy blushed.

“It truly was,” Cindy’s Dad said as he slowly approached. “So, you have spent the last week as a girl. Cindy it is, huh? I could get used to having two beautiful daughters.”

Tears started to flow down Cindy’s face. She ran up and gave her dad a huge hug, “Really, Daddy?”

“After what Mom put you through, you still chose to dress as a girl here at camp. From what I have been told, you have been Cindy for a week. Even after facing a bully, you still chose to continue dressing as a girl. We will have to get a counselor involved, but from what I have heard over the last hour, Cindy is the flute player of the family. She is way better than Frank ever was. I suspect the last condition of those contracts Mrs. Dulles wants us to sign is that Cindy performs, not Frank.”

“Yup,” Cindy confirmed. “The conductors want Cindy. They have never heard Frank play, and I don’t want them to.”

“You had five famous musicians give you a $10,000 flute. They gave Cindy that flute. People don’t just give a nine-year-old an expensive flute like that. They see something special in you. It is time I stopped and tried to see it too.”

“But I can’t be Cindy. Mommy is going to make me be Frank and put me back in baby diapers.”

“Diapers? Why would Mommy put you back in diapers,” Holly asked?

“Been having panic attacks and potty accidents.”

Holly went in for a hug. Dad looked at Cindy and Mrs. Elks who was nodding her head.

“I am sorry,” Dad hugged Cindy tight. “I’m really sorry.”

Cindy looked straight at Dad, “She is mean Daddy. She hates Cindy. She is going to make me a baby again. I sort of need the diapers, so I guess that is okay. But, I . . . I don’t want to go back to being Frank. I like being Cindy.”

“We need to talk to a counselor about this,” Dad said. “I’ll make you a deal though. You can dress however you want until we see a counselor and get their advice. Now tell me about these panic attacks and potty accidents.”

“When she started to get bullied, the potty accidents started,” Mrs. Elks said. “The panic attacks come when something reminds her of incidents with her Mom or incidents with the bully. She started to wet the bed, so I got her some Goodnites. She’s gone to wearing them during the day too, because of the daytime accidents. She is afraid that her Mom will put her back in real baby diapers, instead of the pull-on style of diapers like Goodnites. She also wants the girl ones, not the boy ones.”

“Sounds like we will be buying some GIRL Goodnites on the way home.”

“Not baby diapers?”

“Definitely not,” Dad said. “You’re a big nine-year-old, not a baby.”

“What about Mommy?”

“Once she gets out of jail, we will talk.”

“What? Jail?”

“Threatening to beat you was bad enough but doing it in front of several Police Officers and a Judge was a very bad thing to do,” Cindy’s Dad explained. “Then, while trying to prevent you from leaving the stage, she hit a police officer, so they arrested her. It is a big no, no girls to hit a police officer.”

“Who did she hit?” Cindy inquired. “Are they okay? Was it Samantha’s Daddy?”

“It was Officer Granlin,” Mr. Elks said. “She will be fine.”

“In the audience, I also saw this lady named Mrs. Stone from Child Protective Services. She questioned us a few days ago. I bet she is going to make sure your Mom never follows through with her threats.”

“Daddy,” Cindy broke down into tears.

Dad got down on his knees and hugged Cindy until she stopped crying, “You okay now?”

“Cindy, we did it! We Did It!” Samantha said as she barged into the house. “We Did It Cindy. Did you see the look on their faces when we played that Celtic music? You should have seen the looks when you played your piece. Even the teenagers were amazed. We did it Cindy!”

Cindy, with her tear stained face, turned to look at Samantha.

“Cindy,” Samantha ran up to Cindy and hugged her tight. “It’s okay Cindy. It’s okay. Don’t cry.”

After about two minutes of hugging each other, Samantha turned to Cindy’s Dad, “What did you do to make Cindy cry?”

“Samantha Jean Ellsworth!” Samantha’s dad reprimanded. “You don’t talk to adults like that. Apologize!”

Samantha looked down at her shoes and said, “Sorry Cindy’s Daddy.”

“You’re a good friend Samantha,” Cindy’s Dad said. “Thank you for being concerned. We were just talking about Cindy’s Mommy.”

“Oh her,” Samantha huffed.

There was a knock on the door. Mrs. Elks answered it and let Jessica and her Mom in.

“Good, the two of you are here,” Jessica said. “Mom brought my American Doll Girls. You both go home with two dolls.”

“Samantha,” Mrs. Elks added. “Your new doll is on Lizzy’s bed.”

Samantha, Cindy, and Jessica went running off to Lizzy’s bedroom, with the adults following slowly behind.

There were four packages on the bed. Samantha went right up to the one that was obviously a doll box.

“Oh, cool Samantha,” Jessica said. “You have a Blaire doll.”

While Samantha was looking over her new doll, Mrs. Elks went up to the bed and started looking at the other packages, “This one is for Cindy.”

“What,” Cindy said looking at Mrs. Elks. “For me?”

Cindy was handed a package, while Mrs. Elks picked up another package, “This one is for Jessica, and the last one is for Samantha.”

“Jessica, when I heard what you were doing for Samantha and Cindy,” Jessica’s Mom said. “I decided to get each of you a gift for your dolls.”

“Mom?”

“You are still my little girl, and I get to buy you stuff for your dolls. Open it up silly girl,” Jessica’s Mom directed. “All three of you, open your presents.”

Jessica tore right into the wrapping paper, with bits flying everywhere. Inside was an American Girl Doll Piano set. Samantha and Cindy were more methodical opening up their presents. Soon everyone could see that Cindy had an American Girl Flute set, and Samantha had an American Girl Violin set.

Jessica’s Mom opened a bag she was carrying and pulled out three American Girl Dolls, putting them on the bed.

“We have Samantha, Kit, and Rebecca,” Jessica introduced each of the dolls. “I want you each to pick one doll. I like them all, so I know you will like whichever one you pick.”

Jessica turned her attention to the piano she got. Samantha and Cindy were looking over the dolls and commenting on their outfits. Cindy’s Dad just looked on as he watched his child be more bubbily and alive than he had seen in years. His son was definitely not acting like a boy. He had seen very similar reactions out of Holly when she was nine and got a new doll. Was he looking at a daughter named Cindy or a son named Frank? This child in front of him was happy, and definitely acting like a little girl. No boy would respond this way over a doll and doll accessories.

“Look Cindy,” Holly said. “If you got Kit, we would both have a Kit to play with.”

“Maybe, but that is also a reason not to get Kit,” Cindy said. “I really like the Samantha Doll’s Dress, but maybe Samantha wants the Samantha doll?”

“No,” Samantha said. “I have the Kit Kittredge movie at home. I think I want Kit.”

“I’ll take the Samantha Doll,” Cindy said, putting the Samantha doll next to the Molly doll. She then got the Molly doll to play the toy flute.

As Cindy, Samantha, Jessica, and Holly played with the dolls, the adults went to talk in the living room.

The girls were interrupted a while later by Ciara, “Oh cool, an American Girl party.”

“Hi Ciara,” Samantha said. “You come to get your dress?”

“Yes and no,” Ciara said. “Mommy said Cindy should keep the outfit. Something about wanting to keep it for future memories of her first concert as Cindy.”

“Thank You, Ciara,” Cindy said. “It certainly is a lovely dress.”

“See you next summer Cindy and Samantha,” Ciara said as she turned and left the room.

“Bye,” Cindy and Samantha said together.

“Will we see each other next summer,” Samantha asked Cindy?

“I don’t think so,” Cindy replied.

Samantha hugged Cindy.

“What do you mean,” Holly questioned? “Of course you will be back next summer. Money isn’t even an issue for Mom and Dad anymore, you won full tuition for next summer.”

“Holly,” Cindy glumly said. “Mommy will never let me be Cindy ever again. She will definitely not let me go back to a place I pulled off being Cindy for a whole week without her knowing it.”

“Dad!” shouted Holly. “Dad! Dad!”

“What is it princess,” Cindy’s Dad asked as he came into the room?

“Cindy says she isn’t coming back next summer because you and Mommy won’t let her. Tell her that isn’t true. Tell her she is coming back and will see Samantha and Jessica next summer.”

“Well,” Cindy’s Dad hesitated.

“What do you mean Dad?” Holly protested. “It can’t be the money. She won full tuition for next summer.”

“I know but,” Dad said.

“See,” Cindy said. “I told you Holly. Mommy and Daddy will not let me be Cindy and they definitely will not let me come back to a place where I managed to be Cindy for a whole week without them knowing.”

“It’s not that simple Frank, I mean Cindy,” Dad tried to explain.

“It is simple. You tell her right now that she can come back next summer as Cindy,” Holly demanded.

“Holly.”

“No Dad. You told Cindy that she could be Cindy. You told her that you will look at things differently. Were you lying to her? She is my little sister. She has been my little sister since she was two. You forced her to be Frank when she kept telling you she was Cindy. Now you see Cindy, but you are not letting her be Cindy. Are you going to hide her away in her bedroom again? If so, tell her now. Go ahead, tell her the truth!”

“It’s not that simple Holly,” Dad tried to explain.

“Bull,” Holly bellowed. “Cindy is my sister. She is coming home with us, and she is staying. I have looked up Transgender on the Internet. I know what it is, and so does that Mrs. Stone lady. The more you restricted Frank from being Cindy, the sadder she was. Look at her Daddy. Look at her. She is happy now. Are you going to take that happiness away?”

Holly and her dad looked over to Cindy. What they saw however, wasn’t a happy little girl or boy. They saw her in the middle of a panic attack.

“Cindy!” Holly shouted. “Cindy!”

Jessica and Samantha were already at Cindy’s side trying to calm her down. With Holly shouting Cindy’s name, the other adults immediately came running.

“What’s going on,” Cindy’s Dad said as he darted over to his child?

“You did this,” Samantha yelled at Cindy’s Dad. “You did this with all your fighting. She is having a panic attack because of you. Get away from us. Get away.”

Mrs. Elks was quickly to Cindy’s side and trying to talk her through the attack. Cindy’s Dad backed away and bumped into Samantha’s Dad.

“Scary, isn’t it?” Samantha’s Dad said to Cindy’s Dad. “Samantha’s right though. You did this to your child. Take a good look. Your child is suffering because of you. You may have stood up to your wife, but are you truly ready to accept your child. She has some serious psychological issues due to what you and your wife have put her through. Mrs. Stone will be here shortly. It is now up to her to decide what happens with Cindy and Holly.”

Cindy’s Dad looked on as Samantha got her violin and started to play a lullaby. Jessica got Cindy’s flute and tried to get her to play along with Samantha.

“What are they doing,” Cindy’s Dad asked?

“It is my understanding,” Samantha’s Dad explained. “That Cindy will usually pop out of the panic attacks once she starts playing.”

Before anyone could get Cindy to start playing, Mr. Dillinger showed up. He directed everyone except Samantha, Jessica, and Mrs. Elks to vacate the room, while he worked to bring Cindy down.

Samantha’s Dad got everyone else out of the room and into the living room.

“I did that?” Cindy’s Dad asked no one in particular.

“Yes, you did!” Jessica’s Mom said. “Emotional and Psychological Abuse is a crime, and from what I have heard today, Cindy is a long-term victim of Child Abuse. You told her she could be Cindy, but your actions showed her that you didn’t mean it. What is more important to you; raising your child to be everything they are capable of being, or maintaining a false image that you have a son? No, don’t answer that. Holly got us all to see that image is more important to you at the moment.”

Cindy’s Dad collapsed into one of the chairs in the room.

“Is she going to be alright,” Holly asked?

“Patty,” Samantha’s Dad asked his partner? “Are you alright looking after him. I am going to bring Holly in to see her sister. We already have one traumatized child in the family, maybe we don’t have to have two.”

“We are fine in here,” Officer Granlin replied. “I don’t think Cindy’s father is going to do anything stupid.”

Holly was brought to the doorway to watch the process to bring Cindy out of her panic attack. She wasn’t allowed in the room, but as long as she remained silent, Officer Ellsworth let her watch. Cindy was now holding her flute but not yet playing. Dr. Dillinger was softly and gently reassuring her the arguing was over and everything was okay now. When Samantha reached the end of the piece, Mr. Dillinger got her to continue playing.

Jessica came to the doorway, “It’s never been this bad before, but it should be over soon. She has her flute in hand and you can see she is about to join Samantha in the Lullaby.”

Moments after stating that, Cindy started to play her flute. Holly was amazed at how Cindy’s whole demeanor changed moments after she started to play. When they were done with the Lullaby, Samantha started to play Let It Go. Cindy, still not completely brought down, played along with Samantha. At the end of that, Dr. Dillinger asked Cindy to play her favorite flute solo.

Holly had heard Cindy play this during the concert and at home, but this time it was different. It sounded sad.

Once Cindy was back and aware of her surroundings, Dr. Dillinger asked everyone to leave. He wanted to talk privately with Cindy.

Everyone went to the living room and just sat there. When Mrs. Stone arrived, she was informed of the events and that Cindy was in with a counselor. She took Holly into the Dining Room with Officer Patty Granlin to question Holly some more about life at home. Mrs. Elks brought Jessica, Lucy, and Samantha into the Guest Room to let them play. Everyone else sat quietly in the living room. When Mrs. Stone was done talking to Holly, she interviewed a few of the adults in the house.

Dr. Dillinger talked with Cindy for close to an hour before coming out.

“Cindy is better now,” Dr. Dillinger explained to the group. “I sent her off to play with the other girls while I talk to all of you. She needs help. Both for her transgender issues and her family life. Suicide hasn’t entered her head yet, but if this keeps up, she will get to that idea quickly. She already believes she has to sacrifice her personality just to make her parents love her. If she does that, you are on a very short road to suicide.”

“But Frank is only nine,” Cindy’s Dad stated.

“I have seen children younger than her attempt suicide,” Officer Granlin said.

“You keep referring to your child as Frank,” Mrs. Stone pointed out. “I do not see a little boy when I look at your child. I see a girl. Emotional and Psychological abuse is hard to prove in court, but I think I have enough to support an argument down those lines.”

“From what I have seen today,” Judge Thompson added. “I would have to agree with Mrs. Stone. Before I leave today, I will be giving Mrs. Stone a statement to that effect.”

“Herbert,” Mrs. Stone continued talking to Cindy’s Dad. “In my professional opinion it is not safe for Cindy to go home with you. I have been in contact with your parents and they are on their way up here to take both Cindy and Holly home with them. You will need to be in court on Monday, where the family court judge will decide custody of the children.”

“But . . .”

“Herbert,” Samantha’s Dad stopped him. “Mrs. Stone has the authority to do that and I have the authority to enforce it. Please do not make this worse for the kids.”

Judge Thompson looked at Herbert, “Most likely, counselling will be ordered for all family members. A full Psychological Evaluation will be ordered for Cindy, which should confirm or deny the Transgender personality. I suspect the kids will be with their grandparents until that evaluation is done and reported back to the judge. You are close to accepting your child for who they are on the inside. You and your wife will have some serious decisions to make in the next few days. Your words and actions have gotten you to this point. You have control over how you choose to go forward from here.”

Herbert sat looking at his hands in his lap.

“Are you going to tell me that you are going to force this man to accept his son dressing as a girl,” George’s Mom asked. “The bible says . . .”

“Claire,” Dr. Dillinger interrupted. “The bible has nothing to do with any of this. You and I may not agree with LGBTQ individuals’ lifestyles, but there is no denying that they exist. Professionals will determine if the kid in there is Transgender or not. The courts will decide what to do with that knowledge. That kid in there is on the verge of a full mental breakdown. Lucy recovering from one dog attack has been extremely hard. That kid has had years of attacks on what she believes to be reality. George stated it best, the bible tells us that we are to love thy neighbor and God will judge the individual. So, Claire, stop judging and start loving.”

Claire looked around the room and stayed silent.

“I do love my child,” Herbert said softly to himself.

They only had to wait five more minutes before the Grandparents arrived. Mrs. Elks let them in and brought them to the living room where introductions were made.

“As I have explained on the phone,” Mrs. Stone said. “I am removing both children from the home due to child abuse. Until the court makes a decision on Monday, neither of the parents are to have contact with the children without me there.”

“Fine mess you got yourself into this time Herbert,” Grandpa said. “I didn’t raise you to be a child abuser.”

“Sorry Dad,” Herbert said.

“Sorry? Sorry?” Grandma reprimanded. “I have been telling you for years to get that poor child into counselling. Now, I hear that you have been punishing the child for dressing as a girl, publicly embarrassing the kid, assaulting the child with an inappropriate haircut, and whipping the kid for being themselves. And you never once took the kid to a counselor. Sorry, huh? Doesn’t look like it to me. The first chance the kid gets out from under your thumb and they find a way to dress as they feel, a girl! Doesn’t sound like some phase a little kid is going through. That kid faced bullies; his parents and other kids. Yet, the kid still chose to be a girl. Not a girl away from everyone, but a girl in front of everyone.”

“I know Mom,” Herbert responded.

“I don’t think you do young man,” Grandma continued. “Your nine-year-old child is back in diapers because of the abuse you inflicted on them. One of these nice people here is a Psychiatrist and they have to teach me how to deal with a severe psychological issue in YOUR child, because of the abuse you inflicted on them. I will see you and your wife in court on Monday, and I will have some choice words to say to that judge. And believe me, it is not going to be in your defense. I cannot believe Child Protective Services had to call me to help clean up a mess my son created.”

“Sorry Mom.”

“Sorry?” Grandma glared at her son. “Is that all you have to say. Well I do not accept your apology. Anyways, it is directed at the wrong person. You need to apologize to your two children. Your two daughters apparently. Nine years and I have never officially met this second granddaughter of mine. Does she even have a name?”

“Her name is Cindy,” Mrs. Stone said with a smile. “Apparently Holly gave her the name Cindy as a gift on Cindy’s 3rd birthday.”

“At least one person in your family Herbert has a brain and could see the truth,” Grandpa stated. “Six years with the name Cindy and this is the first we have heard it. Sad, very sad.”

“Before we bring the kids out, do either of you have any questions?” Mrs. Stone asked.

“Can someone tell me about my Granddaughter Cindy?” Grandma asked.

Mrs. Elks, Mr. Elks, and George told the grandparents about the last week. They told about Cindy’s love for Disney Junior TV shows like Vampirina and Sophia the First. They told about the way she wowed the music professionals, and the contract offers currently on the table. The $10,000 gift of a flute had the grandparents astonished. The group told about the clothes swap and the haircut. They even told about the three girls singing and dancing the Frozen song Let It Go in front of almost the whole camp. Then they got into the negatives of the panic attacks, toileting struggles, and about Cindy’s fears of what she thought would happen today and over the next few days. Mr. Dillinger explained some about panic attacks and what he had learned about Cindy’s attacks. Then George innocently mentioned that Cindy believes her parents won’t let her come back next summer because she pulled off being Cindy at camp this summer. He also went on to say that Holly confirmed this concept in a discussion with Cindy’s Dad.

“What the . . .” Grandpa said. His eyes were wide, and you could almost see steam coming out the top of his head. “Herbert. Cindy wins the Best Performer Competition at camp. She has world renowned conductors from around the world trying to get her to perform for them. She is so good they GIVE her a $10,000 flute just out of the kindness of their hearts. Yet, you refuse to let her come back next summer? Are you nuts? No, obviously you are. This camp is the best thing that has ever happened to that child and that child is coming back next summer. As Cindy or Frank, that will be up to her, but the kid is returning. No one in our hick town can teach her what she needs to grow as a musician, but here they can. Mr. Elks, go ahead and put Cindy down for next summer. I will pay for it myself if I have to.”

“Actually,” Mr. Elks said. “As part of the 1st place prizes in the Best Performer Competition, tuition for next summer is free.”

“Are you telling me Herbert,” Grandma questioned? “She has a free ticket to return, and you still were not going to let her come? In my opinion, that right there is child abuse. Now I am going to go back and get my granddaughters. We are going to come out here and you, Herbert, are going to apologize to both of your DAUGHTERS. Then we are leaving. Do you understand Herbert?”

“Yes Mam,” Herbert said looking straight at his mother before putting his head back down.

“So, where are my grandchildren?”

Mrs. Elks, Judge Thompson, and Mrs. Stone took the grandparents back to the kids. They walked in on Cindy, Jessica, Samantha, Lucy, and Holly playing with the American Girl Dolls and the new musical accessories.

Holly was the first to notice the adults, “Grandma and Grandpa!”

Holly went running over to Grandma for a hug, while Cindy got down on the floor behind the bed.

“Great to see you Holly,” Grandma said. “I have heard that you named my other granddaughter. I want to meet her. Do you know where I could find her?”

“Cindy’s right there Grandma,” Holly turned to point out Cindy, but there was one less girl with the dolls. “Well, she was a minute ago.”

Mrs. Elks walked around the bed and pointed down at Cindy, without Cindy noticing.

“Well this is terrible,” Grandma said with a huge smile on her face. “I wanted to give my Granddaughter a huge big hug before she has to get in my car for the long ride to my house.”

“Your house,” Cindy asked without getting up?

“Did that bed just ask if it is coming to my house? I’m not sure I have room in the car for a bed.”

Cindy peeked up over the bed.

Grandma turned Holly towards the bed, making sure Holly was between her and the bed, “Holly? Does that bed have eyes? First it talks and now it’s looking at me.”

“Silly Grandma,” Holly giggled. “That’s Cindy.”

“My Granddaughter is a bed?”

All the girls in the room giggled at that.

“I thought Cindy was a little girl, not a bed,” Grandma stated.

“I am a girl Grandma,” Cindy said standing up.

“Oh my, and quite a beautiful little girl you are,” Grandma said opening her arms in hopes of a hug.

Cindy hesitantly approached.

“I don’t bite Cindy,” Grandma said. “Just ask Holly. No matter how sweet she has been over the years, I have resisted eating her all up. And that is saying a lot, since like all little girls, she is made of 100% Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice. That just sounds so delicious, but I still haven’t eaten her.”

“Your silly Grandma,” Cindy said as she reached Grandma and embraced her with a hug.

“You two are coming home with Grandpa and me,” Grandma said. “And you will be staying with us for a while.”

Holly looked over at Mrs. Stone with a questioning look.

“Yes Holly. This is my doing,” Mrs. Stone said. “On Monday a judge will decide what happens.”

“Mommy,” Jessica said. “You’re going to decide what happens with Cindy’s Mommy and Daddy?”

“No Jessica,” Judge Thompson explained. “Because Cindy’s your friend, I can’t be the judge. Another judge will be deciding cases involving Cindy and her family members.”

“Holly and Cindy,” Grandpa said. “Let’s get your stuff together and get going.”

“Cindy,” Mrs. Elks added. “Go put on a dry Goodnite before the trip. Then put the rest of the Goodnites and the wipes in your bag to go home.”

When Cindy came back from the bathroom, she went to work packing everything up. Both of her flutes were packed, the outfit she wore at the concert was packed, and she put Molly’s new flute in the suitcase. Looking at the Molly doll, Samantha doll, and her panda bear, she put the bear in the suitcase, deciding the other two would be in the back seat with her.

“Bye Jessica,” Cindy said with a tear coming down her face. “Bye Samantha.”

“It’s not fair that she isn’t coming back next summer,” Holly grumbled.

“She will be back next summer,” Grandpa said. “Cindy, this is not Good-bye forever. It is just until next summer. You are going to come back to camp next summer.”

The girls all looked at him in confusion.

“We have already informed your Dad that Cindy, or Frank if he wants to come instead, is coming back next summer,” Grandpa explained. “I will drive you here myself Cindy, if I have to.”

Samantha ran up to Cindy and gave her a big hug, “See you next summer.”

Jessica looked at her mom.

“Based upon what they told Cindy’s Dad in the other room,” Jessica’s Mom stated. “I am fairly certain that Cindy will be back next summer.”

Jessica went up and embraced the Samantha and Cindy hug, “See you two next summer.”

Good-byes were said, addresses exchanged with promises to write each other, and lots of tears were released by all.

When they left the guest room, Cindy walked right through the living room without stopping or looking at her father. Holly did stop to listen to her father’s apology and then she turned away from him stating, “Prove it Daddy. Prove it.”

Out in the car, Cindy waved at Jessica, Samantha, and George as she left camp as Cindy. As they turned the corner, headed towards the exit, she saw Marcus waving good-bye to her. Cindy reached over and grabbed her sister’s hand. Squeezing it tight, Cindy smiled.

“Marcus,” Jessica said into the phone. “It’s just one night. You can do this for just one night.”

“Jessica,” Marcus complained. “I’m a Rock & Roll performer, not classical music. I went along with it during the summer for the shock and awe Cindy was bringing to the performance. Been there, done that, and now it’s time to move on. I have no intention of being known on a national stage as a classical piano player. Since there is no way the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra is going to let me do a Rock & Roll performance, that means there is no way I am going to do this.”

“Come on Marcus. They want all of us to perform the piece I wrote during the summer. That means we need you.”

“Sorry Jessica, a Symphony Orchestra performance just isn’t my thing. It’s bad for my rep.”

“Marcus, you’re better than me on the piano, and that is saying something. You can do things other than hard rock. Elvis did gospel music, Little Richard did a lot of Christian music, and Boy George was all over the place with the type of music he played. You can be a Rock & Roll performer and still play the classical music in a symphony orchestra. Come on Marcus. Do it for Cindy and Sammie. They’re little kids who won’t understand you saying no, just so you can maintain an image. During the summer you said they were like your little sisters. Do it for your little sisters, Marcus.”

“Jessica! You know I will be there to support the two of them, but that does not mean I have to be playing the piano in a symphony orchestra,” Marcus stated. “I’ve gotta go Jessica. I have a date to get ready for. I don’t know what to tell you, but . . . I also don’t want to hurt Sammie and Cindy. I just don’t know. Tell you what, I’ll make a deal with you. If I can do a song or two with my electric guitar, then I’ll agree to do one piece on the piano.”

Jessica looked at her phone after Marcus hung up. This was a problem. Marcus was right, they wanted a symphony orchestra Christmas performance, not some rock & roll performance. Putting her phone down on her desk, she headed for the kitchen for a snack to eat.

“Chocolate Chip cookies?” Jessica’s mom asked. “It couldn’t have gone that bad.”

“Marcus does not want to play on the piano,” Jessica said as she put the cookie package on the counter and got out some milk. “I got him to finally agree to play my piece in the performance, but he put a condition on it that he knew would never be met. He wants to perform a piece on his electric guitar. They’re a symphony orchestra, they’ll never agree to that.”

Jessica’s mom smiled at that, “Have you ever heard of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra?”

Jessica scrunched her eyebrows together, and slowly shook her head back and forth, “No.”

After eating a few cookies, the two of them headed to the living room to watch some Trans-Siberian Orchestra performances on YouTube.

“I bet Cindy and Sammie would love to do that,” Jessica commented. “It reminds me of a rock version of that Celtic thing they played at camp. Some of those Trans-Siberian Orchestra performances were Christmas songs. Do you think the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra would let Marcus do something like that? I could easily see Marcus, Sammie, and me all rocking out doing one of those Christmas songs.”

“Let’s call them to find out,” Jessica’s Mom gave her daughter a hug before getting up to find her phone. “What was the name of that conductor that called us?”

“Mr. Frances,” Jessica said. “At camp, they called him the silent judge.”

“Oh, you’re not getting out of this Marcus,” Jessica practically yelled into the phone. “You said you would join us if they let you play your electric guitar. Well, Mr. Frances agreed to let you do a performance or two. Watch the Trans-Siberian Orchestra videos. We have a verbal contract, Marcus. My mom’s taught me about them, and I’m not going to let you out of the one you made with me. If I have to get your gang to drag you up on stage, I will.”

Jessica hung up the phone and calmed down before making the next call, “George, hi it’s Jessica.”

“Hey Jessica,” George responded. “Sorry, my parents still haven’t made up their minds. They would love to see me perform with the Tri-City Symphany Orchestra, but you know.”

Jessica sighed, “Yeah, I know, but we have to do this, for Cindy. She’s been having a hard time since camp. Did you know her mom has refused to see her since then, and her parents are getting a divorce.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard. I’ve had some chats with her sister Holly,” George stated. “But my mom agrees with Cindy’s Mom. She was not happy about me doing all that stuff with Cindy this summer, and even less thrilled about my little sister playing with Cindy. She let it go once because Dad pulled the mental health card, but Jessica, neither of them want me being around Cindy.”

Jessica rolled her eyes, “Cindy is an innocent little kid who is nice to everyone. I don’t understand why so many people view her as some evil villain.”

“You’re in middle school Jessica. Grown-ups are just like the kids in middle school. They tease, harass, and exclude people who are different. Kids who are transgender are an easy target. To many people, there is nothing stranger and more bazar than a kid wanting to be the opposite gender. Our parents were raised to believe boys were boys and girls were girls. When they were little, there was no crossing that line.”

“I know,” Jessica shook her head back and forth. “But times have changed.”

“They’ve changed for us Jessica, but not for my parents. The church they are part of repeatedly tells them that kids like Cindy are evil. Nothing I say seems to have any impact on their views.”

Jessica didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Jessica, I’ll keep trying. I think I am making headway with dad, but mom is a lot harder. There are a few more days before Mr. Frances needs an answer. I’ll try my best, Jessica.”

“Do better than your best George. This is an amazing opportunity for all of us, and you know as well as I do that we owe it all to Cindy. If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have gotten those instruments this summer and definitely wouldn’t be invited to perform with the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra. She’s opened these doors for us. The least we can do is be there to support her when she has to get up on that big stage.”

“I know Jessica. I know. I’ll text you tomorrow and give you an update. I’ve got to go now. My little sister wants me to take her to the park.”

“Bye George.”

Jessica put her phone down on her desk and collapsed onto her bed. Looking over at the American Girl doll sitting on her dresser, “I don’t know if I can pull this off, but for Cindy I’m trying.”

>From: Jessica
>Okay, Marcus will join us, and George’s parents finally agreed. That means the concert is on. Mr. Frances wants us each to email him a list of our 3 favorite Christmas songs by December 1st. He’ll call us on December 4th to arrange rehearsals. I can’t believe we’re going to do this. This is sooooooo cool.

***

>From: George
>Calm down Jessica. That was the easy part. Now we need to get up there and show all those professionals that we belong there. That’s going to be the hard part. The second Sammie walks out there in her cute dress and sticker covered, purple violin they are all going to be certain that we don’t belong there. That means we all need to practice a lot and be perfect out there.

***

>From: Sammie’s Mom
>Should I have Sammie take the stickers off her violin for the performance.

***

>From: Jessica
>NO!!!!

***

>From: George
>NO

***

>From: Marcus
>Definitely NOT. Those stickers are part of the special charm of Sammie.

***

>From: Holly
>Cindy loved those stickers. She was actually envious that there was no real way to put stickers on a flute. Let Sammie have the stickers on her violin.

***

>From: George
>Holly, is Cindy up to this?

***

>From: Holly
>Cindy can block out everything in her life when playing and just melt into the music. I think the concert will be good for her. We haven’t decided when to tell her about this concert though. When the London Christmas Concert fell through because we couldn’t get passports in time, it hit her hard. Until we absolutely know this one is going to happen, we’re not telling her about it. I’ll get the song list from her without her knowing why and send it off to that Mr. Frances guy. We’ve decided not to tell Cindy until he calls us to confirm this is all going to happen.

***

>From: Sammie’s Mom
>Sammie doesn’t know about this either. I’m not sure I’m going to tell her until just before the first rehearsal. Like Cindy, the concert won’t be a problem for Sammie. The challenge will be keeping her calm and focused on things like school up until the concert.

“Hello?”

“Hi Holly.”

“Hi George,” Holly said as she sat down on the couch. “So, your parents finally agreed to let you perform?”

“Yeah, Mom still thinks Cindy is some evil creature from hell, but I finally figured out a way to convince her to let me go.”

“How in the world did you do that?”

“We were driving home from church and Mom was frustrated by one of the other Mom’s bragging about her daughter winning some competition. My mom was going on and on about how this other mom always thought her kids were so much superior to everyone else. I threw out there that me playing in the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra would be just as impressive, if not more so. The other mom’s kids were competing against other kids, where I would be on stage performing with adults.”

Holly chuckled, “You played your mom.”

“I just had to find something she took more personal than religion. I’ve gone to church almost every Sunday since I was born. I’ve repeatedly listened to moms and dads brag and compare their children against other families. Sometimes I feel the only reason adults go to church is to prove their better than others by boasting about their job or children.”

“Grown-ups are so weird.”

“Can’t disagree with you there,” George stated. “How are you doing Holly?”

“I’m doing fine I guess. It’s hard without Mom around, but Grandma and Grandpa come by several times a week to check up on us all,” Holly said, while listening to Cindy and Anna playing in the other room, “Cindy, however, is taking it all real hard. She blames herself for Mom’s stupidity. She keeps asking me if she went back to being Frank, would Mom come back?”

“Poor kid,” George said. “After all that your mom put Cindy through, it’s kind of surprising that she would want her mom still.”

“She’s a little kid who used to turn to mom for everything. Now her Mommy’s not here, just because Frank decided to be Cindy full time. Cindy’s therapist says she’s getting better, but it will be a slow process.”

“I guess,” George thought about his little sister. “I can’t imagine what like would be like around here if Mom suddenly wasn’t here.”

“Right now, I’m babysitting Cindy and her best friend Anna. They’re back in Anna’s bedroom laughing and giggling like ten-year-old little girls should be. When they’re together, Cindy is fine, but at our house, Cindy mopes around. You should hear her music, George. Most of the time it sounds sad, even when it’s a happy song.”

“Yeah, emotions of the person playing a piece can really impact how it sounds. At home Cindy has to face the realities of her life, but I’m glad to hear she at least has some time to just be a kid.”

“I think this concert is going to be real good for her. She still talks about the five of you that last week at camp. It is kinda cute. She pretends her two American Girl dolls are Jessica and Sammie. The three of them go on adventures together.”

George smiled, “My little sister is always trying to drag me into her make-believe play with her dolls. It’s cute to watch her, but annoying when she wants me to participate.”

“From what Cindy has told me, you were great with Cindy and Sammie at camp. I bet you are wonderful with your little sister.”

“I was seven when she was born. We’ve always had a special relationship. She always turned to me to help her with things when Mom or Dad weren’t in the room. It can be a little annoying at times, but to be honest, I’d do anything for that little pip-squeak.”

“I understand,” Holly smiled. “My connection with Cindy is special too. Lots of my friends view their little brothers or sisters as pests, always bugging or fighting them. Cindy and I mostly only fight when we are in the car for long road trips.”

“I’ve gotta go,” Holly said, as she got up and headed for the bedroom. “Sounds like the rugrats just knocked something over.”

“Catch you later Holly,” George said before ending the call.

“I can watch her all weekend if you want,” Sammie’s mom said. “It’s not like we will be able to keep them apart. While in the city, I was thinking about taking Sammie to the Children’s Museum one day and the Science Museum another day. I also hear there is this big fancy playground somewhere in the city that I bet both Sammie and Cindy would love.”

“Are you sure, Joyce,” Cindy’s dad asked?

“Honest, Herbert, in some ways it becomes a little easier with a second kid. They’ll entertain each other at least some of the time. No sense in both of us going to the same places, when the two of them will be together the whole time. ”

“I could send Holly to help if you want a babysitter.”

“That’s not necessary. No need to have another kid missing school days for this rehearsal.”

“Thanks Joyce. This will help a lot. It’s tough as a single parent managing all of this. Then taking time off work to deal with the courts, means I have no sick or personal days left for stuff like concert rehearsals.”

“It really is no problem. Glad to help. It will be interesting to see how a professional level orchestra prepares for a performance.”

“Do you think they are going to hold to the time restrictions for the little kids?” Cindy’s dad inquired.

“The state and federal child labor laws require the restrictions, so yeah, they will probably work hard to follow the restrictions.”

“Hadn’t thought about that.”

Sammie’s Mom thought for a moment, “Have you told Cindy yet?”

“I almost did last night, but I’m trying to hold off as long as possible.”

“Yeah, I haven’t told Sammie either. I’m going to hold off as long as possible. Otherwise, she will be all hyped up and not get anything done at school or home.”

“Not sure how Cindy is going to respond. She was all excited about going to London for a Christmas Concert. When that fell through, it hit her hard.”

“Poor thing.”

“She can’t take another disappointment. We’re very careful to make sure that we only tell her about things which we are certain will happen.”

“Makes sense,” Sammie’s Mom commented. “How are you getting her to practice the songs without her knowing about the upcoming concert?”

“Holly came up with a brilliant idea. She convinced Cindy to put on a special performance at Christmas for the Grandparents. Holly will read poems, and between them, Cindy will play songs on her flute.”

“Smart daughter you have there.”

“Holly has been amazing since my wife left. She’s really stepped up as the big sister and will do anything for Cindy.”

“That’s so sweet,” Sammie’s mom said. “If I’m going to have Cindy for four days, is there anything I should know?”

The two parents talked about Cindy’s anxiety issues, and how best to deal with it. Before hanging up, they arranged for a place and time for Sammie’s Mom to pick up Cindy, at a location that will be on her route into the city.

“Sammie,” Joyce said, entering her eight-year-old’s bedroom. “Cindy’s on the phone.”

The Polly Pockets and My Little Pony’s surrounding Sammie were flying as she sprung up and sprinted for her mom.

“Slow down Sammie Pooh. Here you go,” Mom said as she handed her cell phone over.

Sammie took the phone and headed for her bean bag, “Cindy! Cindy, it’s been like forever since you’ve called.”

Cindy smiled at the enthusiasm, “Hi Sammie. How you doing?”

“I’m doing great,” Sammie replied as her mom left the room. “My 3rd grade class is putting on a play for the Christmas program and I get to be an elf.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“It is. Just wish we practiced during reading instead of Music class.”

“Are you playing your violin in the Christmas program, or just putting on the play?”

“Oh, Mr. Evans has me playing a solo song in the middle of the program. He is having me practice four different songs. Then just before the program, he will pick which ever one I do best.”

“Four songs,” Cindy asked? “I have to practice four Christmas songs too. One for my Christmas program and three for a special thing my sister and I are doing for my Grandparents.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“It is,” Cindy admitted. “But Holly is always bugging me to practice the songs. I have them memorized, but she says it has to be perfect for Grandma and Grandpa.”

“Well, they did watch you after camp, and get your dad to let you be Cindy full time.”

“I know, but the way she is pushing me for it to be perfect,” Cindy paused in thought for a moment. “It’s worse than the teachers at camp pushing us for the concert at the end of music camp.”

“Seems a little extreme just for your grandparents. They’ll love it even if you make a mistake. I totally messed up a note on a song I played for my Grandpa at Thanksgiving, and he still gave me all this praise.”

“I know. My sister is great, but sometimes she is just a little bossy,” Cindy paused for a minute before continuing. “Sammie . . . is your mom in the room or are you alone?”

Sammie looked around, “No, she left. I’m in my bedroom alone.”

“Have you talked with Jessica, George, or Marcus lately?”

“No, they don’t call me like you do.”

“Do you know of anything that’s coming up where we all might get together?"

“No, but that would be really cool.”

“Yeah,” Cindy admitted. “It would be great to see you all again.”

“Why you ask?”

“I don’t know. I just feel like something is going on that people aren’t telling me about. I’ll walk into a room and people will suddenly stop talking.”

“They’re probably just talking about whatever they’re getting you for Christmas.”

“Maybe,” Cindy contemplated. “I called Jessica yesterday, and she also seemed to be hiding something.”

“Well, it can’t be about the same thing,” Sammie pointed out. “Jessica doesn’t even live in the same state as you.”

“I know, but then yesterday I heard Holly on the phone, and she said both Marcus and George’s name. I think the bigs are up to something. They’re just not telling me.”

Sammie thought for a moment, “It can’t be our George and Marcus. Holly doesn’t know them. It must be some of her friends, not ours.”

“I guess,” Cindy contemplated. “I just wanted to check in with you and see if you knew anything.”

Sammie looked over at her American Girl doll on her bed, “It would be great if we could all see each other, but that’s not gonna happen until Music Camp next summer.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Cindy sighed. “So, tell me about this play you are in.”

The two girls chatted about their school’s Christmas concerts, what they asked Santa for, and what their favorite Christmas shows were. The conversation only ended because Sammie’s mom wanted her phone back.

Herbert sat on Cindy’s bed and shook her awake, “Morning, Princess.”

Stretching and cuddling her stuffed rabbit, “Morning, Daddy.”

“No turning over and going back to sleep silly,” Dad said peeling back the blankets. “I have a special Christmas surprise for you today.”

Cindy immediately sat up, “I get to open presents early?”

Dad chuckled and tapped Cindy on the nose, “No silly, you have to wait for Christmas to open up the Christmas presents. But, we’re going on a mystery surprise trip into the city. Come on, up and at 'em. Put on something comfortable to wear for the long car ride.”

“After school?” Cindy inquired.

“No Princess, you’re not going to school today.”

As Dad got up and headed for the door, Cindy started to get out of bed, but stopped when she saw her unicorn suitcase and Frozen backpack next to the door. Sticking out of the backpack was her flute case.

“Daddy?”

“What Princess?” Dad picked up the suitcase and turned back towards Cindy.

“Suitcase?”

Dad smiled at Cindy, “You’ll be in the city for several days. Put your stuffed rabbit in your backpack, so you have her on the trip.”

Dad walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Confused, Cindy went over and looked in her Frozen backpack. Inside was her flute, her music tablet and her regular tablet, some activity books, a chapter book, and some toys. Same type of stuff she would have in her backpack for a trip to Grandma’s house. No clue in there as to where they were going. Dad said she would be missing school, which was strange, since Dad usually says the only reason to miss school is if you are sick. Cindy felt her forehead, nope, not sick, just confused.

After a quick trip to the bathroom, Cindy put her stuffed bunny in the backpack and got dressed. Putting in a hair clip with a Christmas bow, Cindy headed to the kitchen for breakfast. As she got close, she could hear her sister and Dad talking.

“You get everything packed,” Holly asked Dad.

“Yup, only thing left to put in the car is her backpack and us.”

“Wish I was going.”

“Not this time, Holly. You have your end of term exams.”

“Daaaaaddddd . . . . This is more important than those.”

Cindy walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table, “You’re not coming?”

“Nope, Dad thinks teachers torturing me is more important,” Holly rolled her eyes. “But, Cindy, I want you to be a brave big girl. Oh, and have lots of fun.”

“Where are we going,” Cindy asked?

“No, no, no,” Dad interrupted. “That is a surprise. You used to love surprises, and I know you will think this is a fabulous Christmas surprise.”

Cindy looked at her older sister with pleading eyes and puffed out lower lip, “No go little one. I agree with Dad. This is something you will love, and it will be even better as a surprise.”

“Eat up Cindy,” Dad said putting a bowl of cereal on the table. “We have a long drive ahead of us.”

Before Holly left for school, she painted Cindy’s fingernails with red nail polish containing silver glitter. After watching her sister go off to school, Cindy plopped down on the living room couch and turned on Disney Junior.

About an hour later, Herbert entered the living room, “Cindy, time to go potty and then into the car.”

With Cindy’s backpack in hand, Herbert waited for Cindy to return and put on her coat. Then the two headed out to the car. Climbing in, Cindy stopped upon seeing her American Girl Molly doll buckled into the seat next to Cindy’s booster seat. There was even the doll’s flute on her lap.

“Come on, in you go Princess,” Dad came up behind Cindy.

“What’s Molly doing here? She never leaves the house. It’s my other American Girl doll that goes with me when we go to Grandma’s house.”

Dad smiled, “Holly and I thought Molly would like this trip as much as you.”

Cindy looked at Dad and then over at her Molly doll before looking back at Dad, “Where are we going?”

“Nope, not time to tell you yet.”

Cindy got into her booster seat and buckled up. Dad handed Cindy her backpack before shutting her door.

“Daddy?” Cindy asked as he got in the driver’s seat. “Molly really wants to know where we are going.”

“Nice try. If I tell her, she will tell you. Nope, I’m not going to fall for that one.”

Cindy looked over at Molly, “Sorry, I tried.”

After two hours on the road, Herbert looked into his rear view mirror at Cindy looking out the window. “There is a McDonalds at the next exit. Let’s stop for potty, a stretch, and maybe a snack.”

They pulled into the parking lot and headed into the restaurant. First stop was the bathroom, then they got a chicken nugget Happy Meal for Cindy. As they entered the play area of McDonalds, Cindy noticed a lady at one of the tables, and heard a kid up in the play structure.

“Cindy!!!” a scream came from the top of the play structure.

Turning to look up, Cindy couldn’t tell who it was behind all the netting.

“Hi Joyce,” Herbert said as he approached the lady sitting down. “Hope you haven’t been waiting long.”

“No, we have only been here about ten minutes.“

Cindy looked around at the lady. She looked familiar, but Cindy had no idea who she was.

“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,” the kid coming down the slide screamed out.

Cindy just stood there holding her Happy Meal box, trying to figure out what was going on.

Suddenly, a girl about Cindy’s size, wearing braided pigtails and a Vampirina t-shirt popped out of the end of the slide.

“Cindy! What are you doing here?”

“Sammie?” Cindy said in shock, looking between her grinning dad and Sammie.

Within seconds, Cindy was tackle hugged by Sammie.

“I’m missed you soooooooooo much,” Sammie said, before letting go of the hug and leading Cindy over to the table with the two adults. “Look Mommy! Look, it’s Cindy. It’s Cindy Mommy, Cindy! Wow, what are the chances that we would run into Cindy on our way into the city?”

Cindy looked at the two adults who had the biggest grins on their faces, “Sammie, they knew.”

Sammie looked at Cindy and then at her Mom.

“Sammie Pooh,” her mom stated. “This is just one of the surprises for this trip. Have a seat and let Cindy eat her Happy Meal while we explain the second surprise.”

Sammie, dragging Cindy by the hand, went over to her spot at the table. Grabbing a French fry, she sat down. Cindy, however, stood still and just looked at her dad.

“Come on Princess,” Cindy’s Dad pointed at the empty seat next to Sammie.

Hesitantly, Cindy sat down while eyeing her dad the whole time, “What’s going on Daddy?”

“Well,” he smiled. “You are spending the next few days with Sammie and her Mom in the City.”

Cindy thought back to all the times that Cindy was told that she couldn’t miss school unless she was sick. She wasn’t sick, and this was just a . . . playdate? No, there had to be more to this.

Slowly Cindy opened up her Happy Meal and got the food out.

“Owww,” Sammie said when Cindy pulled out her toy. “You got the same one I did.”

Cindy looked at the girl toy in her hand and then over to Sammie holding up one exactly like it in her hand.

“Isn’t this cool Cindy,” Sammie blurted out. “We get to go to the Children’s Museum together.”

When Cindy processed that, she looked at Sammie, “We’re going to the Children's Museum?”

“Yeah, didn’t your Daddy tell you? My Mommy told me last night when she was tucking me into bed, but she didn’t tell me you were going to be there.”

Cindy looked at her dad, “What else didn’t you tell me?”

Dad looked at Sammie’s Mom and then back at Cindy, “Start eating, and we’ll explain.”

Sammie’s Mom got a paper out of her purse and unfolded it before putting it down on the table, “We’re going to a rehearsal for this.”

Cindy and Sammie looked at the paper:

“What’s a Su-mp-hany,” asked Sammie as she started to read the paper.

“What’s an Or-chest-ra,” Cindy asked.

Joyce read the flier to the two girls.

“Who’s this Cynthia kid getting to play with Sammie, Jessica, George, and Marcus,” Cindy looked at the two adults. “Why don’t I get to be in the concert?”

Herbert laughed, “Princess, Cindy is a shortened version of Cynthia. That is your name.”

“Oh,” Cindy looked between the paper and the adults.

“Cindy,” Sammie said with pure joy. “We’re going to be in a grown-up Christmas Concert.”

Cindy just looked between Sammie, the paper, and the adults. Sammie was bouncing around in excitement, but Cindy wasn’t sure what to think. The last concert she was in, was the last day she saw her mom. It was the last happy day of her life. Yeah, she had happy times since then, but at the end of every day the reality of her life came down upon her. Once since then, she had allowed herself to get excited about something. She had been invited to perform in London, but the government wouldn’t allow her to go without a passport. But this time . . . could it really happen?

Cindy wanted to be excited like Sammie, but deep in her heart she knew this concert would never happen. Everything went bad because of her; Mom, London, and now this will too. Cindy just sat there, showing neither joy or sadness.

“Isn’t this great Cindy,” her dad asked?

“Yeah, great.”

The two adults looked at each other. After about five minutes, with Sammie rambling on about getting together with the others and getting to perform in a grown-up concert, Cindy was just starting on her second chicken nugget.

Herbert was looking at Cindy’s behavior before turning to Joyce, “I think maybe I should go with you into the city.”

“No,” Joyce said. “You’re supposed to be at work in two hours. Let’s get Cindy’s stuff transferred into my car so you can get back on the road. I’ll take care of this.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Come on Girls,” Joyce stood up. “Time to go. Let’s throw the trash away.”

When they got out to the car, Cindy found out that Dad had parked right next to Sammie’s car. They quickly had everything transferred over, including the car seat. The last thing out of the car was the American Girl doll, Molly.

“Hi Molly,” Sammie waved at the doll in Cindy’s arms. “Hope you have been doing a good job protecting Cindy.”

Cindy held the doll just below her shoulders, “I’m a great protector. Thanks for letting me protect Cindy.”

The two girls giggled, as they got in Sammie’s car. Cindy put Molly between the two booster seats, next to the American Girl doll that Jessica had given Sammie. As the two girls had their dolls interact with each other, the adults were talking outside the car.

“Thanks Joyce. If you need a break, just give me a call. My mom has said she can come up and watch Cindy.”

“We’ll be fine Herbert,” Joyce looked in the car windows. “Listen to her, she is fooling around and laughing. This will be good for her.”

“My Mom heard what you had planned for this weekend, and sent some money to help,” Herbert said giving Joyce an envelope. That should cover Cindy’s expenses, and have enough for a concert dress.”

Joyce smiled, “Concert dress shopping is going to be fun.”

“I wouldn’t have the slightest idea what to get. Thanks for the help.”

The two said their good-byes and then both got in their cars and drove off in opposite directions.

“I think we should go from that, into the rock Christmas song. Larry and I have been coming up with a light show to go along with it. It won’t be as impressive as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but I’m hoping Marcus will like it. Do you think the other kids will want to join Marcus and the orchestra in that song?”

“Cindy and Sammie did an amazing duet at their summer camp concert. It was a fast-paced piece blending Celtic and Classical music, so if given the chance, I bet they would join in. I wouldn’t be surprised if the other two would also want to participate,” Mr. Frances commented.

Hannah made a few notes on her pad, “Okay, I’ll figure out how to get them all in positions where they will easily be seen once we start playing with the lights.”

The two were distracted by the pitter patter of little feet running across the stage.

“Looks like someone brought their little kids to practice today,” Hannah smiled at the two girls crossing the stage to look at the big Christmas Tree.

Mr. Frances smiled as he watched Sammie and Cindy, “They look so little up there. If you’re not careful they’re just going to disappear on stage in the middle of the performance. Glad that’s your challenge to prevent, not mine.”

Hannah looked at Mr. Francess, “They’re in the performance? Did you plan something you didn’t tell me about?”

Mr. Francess chuckled, “Just one thing. I told you we had five child musical prodigies, and we talked about fifteen-year-old Marcus. I didn’t, however, tell you how old the youngest two were. Hannah, up on stage there we have Sammie and Cindy. They are the true stars of the show. Their talent will blow you away.”

“What? But they’re just little kids. They look about seven. You’re telling me, they’re the true talent of the five kids?”

“All five of the kids are extremely talented and already have musical skills at or above anyone in our symphony orchestra, but those two . . . those two have talent above anything I have seen in a very long time. Sorry I didn’t tell you they were so young, but I wanted to see your reaction. It’s why I asked for this meeting down here, instead of in my office. Wait till you hear them play.”

The two adults sat in the front row just watching Cindy and Sammie take in the magic of a big Christmas tree.

“Look at them,” Hannah commented. “That little kid joy and fascination in Christmas decorations and lights always makes my heart melt. Hmmm, what if we put that heart melting into the performance?”

Hannah pulled out her cell phone and made a call, “Larry, are you in the control room? . . . Good, can you dim the lights on the stage and give a spotlight on each of the kids. I want the lights on the tree to really stand out, but I don’t want the tree in complete darkness. So, maybe a soft spotlight on it. Then throw in snowflakes, bells, or just a star pattern across the whole stage. Look at the scene and go with whatever inspires you.”

A few moments later, the stage lights changed to how Hannah had directed, with what appeared to be twinkling white stars shining on the whole stage. Cindy and Sammies mouth dropped as their smiles widened. After taking in the tree a little bit more, they slowly turned around looking at the light pattern on the darkened part of the stage.

“Snow,” Sammie screeched out.

The two girls moved into the twinkling lights. Larry, suspecting what they wanted to do, dimmed the spotlights on the kids to let them dance around in the ‘snow’ fall.

“That,” Hannah smiled. “Is the opening to our Christmas Concert. Those two coming out in pretty little girl Christmas dresses, showing that same little kid joy in lighted trees. Then we have them open presents containing their instruments. They can immediately start to play a Christmas song . . . I don’t know, something like White Christmas or Rocking Around the Christmas Tree?”

Mr. Frances kept his eyes on the two girls, “That could work. White Christmas would be a perfect way to start the concert. We’ll have to figure out if we use all five of the kids or just those two, but it would be a good shock for the audience. Stuff like that is why you are the best Stage Director in the area. Figure it all out, Hannah. We can integrate it into tomorrow’s rehearsal. For now, though, let’s go meet our little musicians.”

The two quickly found their way up onto the stage and went over to the girls who were twirling around.

“Hi Cindy and Sammie,” Mr. Frances said. “Nice to see you again.”

“Hi,” the two girls replied as they stopped twirling.

“Girls, this is Hannah. She’s our Stage Director.”

“What’s a Stage Director,” Sammie asked?

Hannah got down on her knees to look at Sammie, “I turn the music performance into a show, instead of people just playing music. I’m going to turn the two of you into musical princesses.”

Both Sammie and Cindy smiled at this.

Sammie’s Mom came up behind her daughter, wrapping her in a hug from the back, “Hello.”

Greetings were made all around, after which Cindy and Sammie were shown a room backstage where they could put their coats and backpacks. They were told that this would be their breakroom, so tomorrow they could bring some toys to play with during breaks if they wanted to. Before leaving, Mr. Frances gave Joyce instructions on what app to download onto the girls’ tablets and what the login code was for the girls to have access to all the sheet music for the performance. Once all that was set up, Joyce sent the girls to the bathroom and had them both drink some water. Then the girls were given parent lecture #42: be good and listen to the grown-ups.

With instruments and music tablets in hand, Joyce, Cindy, and Sammie went back out to the stage. It was now alive with activity, as the orchestra members were setting up to perform. Some were still getting their instruments out, but most were warming up. Joyce stopped the girls before going out on the stage. She kissed Sammie and left to go sit in the audience. Cindy and Sammie looked out at all the grown-ups.

“Ellen,” Lisa said to her friend after noticing two kids slowly come out from backstage. “Did you bring your kid’s today?”

“Not me,” Ellen looked over at the two little ones. “Those kids look to be the same age, so definitely not mine. Isn’t that cute though, they brought toy instruments, so they can pretend to be part of the orchestra when their mom or dad rehearse.”

“Don’t worry Ellen,” Lisa chuckled. “I’m sure they’re not here to take your job. They’ve gotta be what, six or seven. I think your position in the orchestra is safe for at least a few more years.”

Ellen glared at her friend. “No doubt there. They’re just little babies with their toy instruments. Look at that violin. It’s purple and has stickers all over it. Little kids and their stickers.”

The girls looked around at all the adults. It was obvious some were looking and talking about them. They both recognized a few of the adults as teachers during the summer at Music Camp. Cindy smiled when she saw Mrs. Johnson, the Woodwind Class teacher.

Sammie turned to her friend, “Cindy, we need to do something to show them all that we belong here.”

“Hmmm,” Cindy looked at the stage full of professional musicians. “What should we play?”

Sammie thought for a moment, “We’re here to put on a Christmas concert, right? Do you know Silent Night?”

“Sure, that’s an easy one.”

“Let’s go right out there to the center of the stage, turn and face them, and play Silent Night.”

“Sure,” Cindy said. “I was afraid you were going to suggest that Celtic piece we did this summer. I would need to practice that one at least once before we did it again. Silent Night will be easy.”

The girls put down their music tablets and went out to the center of the stage. Looking at each other and smiling, they turned to face the Symphony Orchestra members. Quietly Cindy counted down from three, so only Sammie could hear her, then the two of them started playing.

The stage quickly went silent and listened to the two little girls play. When they finished, there was clapping from both the audience and the stage.

“Sorry,” Lisa said to Ellen. “Looks like they are here to take our jobs.”

Mr. Frances came out onto the stage, “Thank you girls. Okay everyone, you all saw the posting about this year’s Christmas Concert, where we will be debuting some talented young musicians. These are the two youngest, Cindy and Sammie. I wasn’t expecting them to start us off, but it was a good introduction.”

Mr. Frances smiled down at the two girls before looking to the side of the stage, “And over here we have . . .”

“Jessica! George!” Sammie and Cindy screamed together and ran off to give both of them hugs.

“Yes, Jessica and George,” Mr. Frances chuckled at the little kid enthusiasm. “There will be a fifth member joining us in an hour or two. He had an important exam today that he couldn’t miss. Don’t let the size of these kids fool you. They all have the talent to perform at a professional level. The only thing they are missing is experience.”

Mr. Frances got the kids to quiet down and showed them where to sit on the stage. Jessica had a discussion with Brad, the orchestra pianist. It was decided that at least initially, Jessica would start out on the regular piano, and Brad would be on the electric piano.

“Some of you got to hear these kids play this summer, but most have not. To help speed up the process of integrating them into our Symphony Orchestra for this concert, I am going to ask each kid to play their favorite song for us,” Mr. Frances made eye contact with Sammie, Cindy, George, and Jessica before continuing. “Cindy, do you want to go first or last?”

Cindy knew that playing the flute would calm her nerves, “I’ll go first.”

To the shock of those that had never heard her play before today, Cindy played every note perfectly of the very difficult piece. It was full of emotion and flowed seamlessly from start to finish. Sammie went next, followed by Jessica and then George. After all the kids had played their individual pieces, Mr. Francess went right into integrating the kids into the orchestra. He had the whole orchestra, including the kids, play two Christmas songs together.

Hannah came up onto stage at this point and stopped Mr. Francess from starting another piece, “These kids could be hired today into any orchestra, but they are still kids in school. Child labor laws restrict how long they can work before requiring a break. Our governing board puts even more restrictions on the state’s regulations. So, twenty-minute break for the kids. Since I need to talk with Jim, everyone else can take a fifteen-minute break.”

Nods were seen around the stage.

“Sammie and Cindy,” Mr. Frances stated. “Can you please show Jessica and George where the break room is,” Mr. Frances gestured towards backstage. “You can leave your instruments here. I’ll send someone back to get you in twenty minutes.”

The kids all got up and followed Sammie backstage. They noticed that the parents in the audience were also moving toward the backstage door. In the break room, the kids spent some time catching up with each other before Joyce sent Sammie and Cindy off to use the bathroom. When they left, Jessica and George figured they probably should go too. In what seemed like no time at all, the kids were back on stage.

The kids had to re-evaluate Mr. Frances’ camp name as the silent judge. As Musical Director and Principal Conductor, he was much more vocal, stating what he wanted and how he expected the different sections of the orchestra to play parts of each musical piece. During this hour, the orchestra played through some of the music chosen for the concert.

Marcus showed up about half way through the hour. Although the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra does not have anyone playing the electric guitar, most of the musicians had heard of other orchestras which included them. What they weren’t ready for, was Mr. Frances stating that they would be performing a Trans-Siberian Orchestra style piece during the concert.

At the hour mark, Hannah came up on stage and took Jessica, Cindy, and Sammie off stage and to their break room. The parents joined them.

“Tomorrow we will change things,” Hannah said to the parents. “We will keep the kids on stage for one or two songs and then send them back here while everyone else practices one or two songs. Sometimes the kids will be doing the same song, but a lot of the time they will not be. George and Marcus are fifteen, so they are allowed to practice longer between breaks. This also means they will be doing more songs than the others.”

“That’s not fair,” Jessica complained.

“You’re right,” Hannah responded. “Unfortunately, the law is very clear. There are different standards for kids under fourteen. That is completely out of my control.”

“Then who do I make my argument to?”

“Jessica,” her dad piped in. “This is not your mom’s courtroom. Mrs. Evans is following the law, and it is your job to also follow the law. Without argument, young lady.”

“Yes, Dad,” Jessica’s head slumped down.

Hannah turned to Joyce, “I did notice that after 30 minutes Sammie was more fidgety and not as focused. I will keep an eye on this tomorrow and make adjustments if needed.”

“Thank You,” Joyce responded.

“Part of rehearsal for the kids is to learn the songs and be prepared for the performance, but another part is figuring them out. We need them to be their best while on stage during the Christmas Concert, and that will include some backstage time to get the wiggles out. We just need to figure out a good balance between the two.”

“I’m a big girl. I can last the whole concert,” Sammie declared.

“I can too,” Cindy added.

Hannah got down to the girl’s height, “Oh I know you two can last the whole concert, but as Stage Director, it is my job to make sure my princesses are seen for their cuteness, not their fidgeting. It is okay to have you two backstage during parts of the concert. Even some grown-ups will have backstage time during some performances.”

Looking over at Jessica for a moment before continuing, “Now, I have a very special idea for the two of you and Jessica, if she wants to join in. Remember how you reacted when you saw the big tree on stage for the first time?”

Sammie and Cindy nodded their heads in agreement.

“I want the two of you to start the Christmas concert by doing that again in pretty Christmas Dresses. Then we will have you open boxes under the tree containing your instruments, like you got them for Christmas. You pretend you are all excited about getting the instruments and start playing the song White Christmas. Conductor Frances will decide how much of the song you play before more of the orchestra joins in, but I thought it would be a good way to start the concert.”

Standing up, Hannah looked at Jessica, “What do you think? Would you be interested in joining Sammie and Cindy in this?”

“I’m not a little kid,” Jessica stated. “And I don’t wear cutesy little girl Christmas dresses. I don’t wear dresses at all.”

Jessica’s dad cleared his throat, “You will be wearing a dress for the Christmas Concert young lady.”

“But Dad.”

“Listen Jessica,” her dad glared at her. “You will be wearing a dress for this concert and that is the end of that discussion. I won’t force you into a cutesy little girl dress like I am sure Cindy and Sammie will be wearing, but you will be wearing a dress. Consider yourself lucky that I was the one that brought you to this rehearsal. If your mother had heard this offer, she would insist you be in a cutesy little girl dress to match what Cindy and Sammie will be wearing. She would also insist you open the Concert just like the other girls.”

Cindy nodded her head in agreement, “She probably would Jessica. Remember what she did at Summer Camp.”

Memories of discovering only dresses in her summer camp suitcase flooded Jessica’s thoughts, “Yeah, she probably would. Okay, I’ll wear a dress, but only for the performance. No cutesy little girl dress.”

“I want a cutesy little girl Christmas dress,” Cindy interjected.

“Me too, me too, me too,” Sammie added.

Joyce chuckled, “I was planning on taking you two Christmas Concert dress shopping later this weekend, but we could do it earlier. You two want to do it this afternoon?”

Sammie and Cindy were jumping up and down while nodding their heads in agreement, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”

“Can we join you,” Jessica’s dad asked. “You can probably help Jessica find a nice dress for the concert better than I could. It would also help to not have her mom dress shopping for Jessica.”

Jessica’s eyes went wide, “We definitely don’t want Mommy dress shopping for me. She won’t stop at one dress.”

The adults all laughed.

“Sure,” Joyce stated. “Another girl along for dress shopping will be no problem.”

“Well, then, I will see you all tomorrow morning,” Hannah stated. “Remember to bring stuff for the kids to do in this room during breaks.”

George’s Dad looked at his son, “I think we should probably go shopping too for a nice outfit for the concert. You’ve probably already outgrown the suit you wore this summer for the camp concert.”

“Good point,” Marcus’ Mom looked at her son. “We probably don’t have good Symphony Orchestra clothes for you either. You definitely can’t wear any of your Rock Concert outfits. You will need something much more respectable.”

Marcus rolled his eyes. Glaring at Jessica, he pointed at her and then at the adults talking with Hannah about what the kids should be wearing the night of the Christmas Concert.

Jessica went up to Marcus, “Sorry. You’re not going to be the only one in uncomfortable clothes. Can’t believe my dad is insisting I wear a dress for the concert.”

George and Marcus went off together to get new outfits for the performance. All the girls went with Joyce and Jessica’s Dad.

“Turn into this parking garage,” Jessica’s dad told Joyce.

The girls had not stopped talking since leaving Symphony Hall. Jessica only figured out where they were going when they walked over the bridge from the parking garage into the mall.

Jessica turned to her Dad, “Not there.”

“It is the best girl dress shop in the tri-city area,” her dad commented.

Jessica rolled her eyes and turned to the other girls, “Come on, the shop is this way.”

Jessica’s dad turned to Joyce, “She used to love to come to this shop when she was Sammie’s age.”

Joyce looked at the girls walking far enough ahead that they probably couldn’t hear the adults, “What changed?”

“She is going through a phase where she doesn’t like dresses.”

“Maybe she isn’t very girly, or maybe transgender like Cindy,” Joyce looked at the girls and then at Jessica’s dad.

“Oh, she is 100% girl. She is just going through a phase. If things go the way I think they will in this shop, you will see her girly side come out.”

They turned a corner, and the girls were stopped in the middle of the walkway. They were looking at one of the shops. When Joyce turned to see what they were looking at, she smiled at the windows full of lavish girl dresses.

“I’m not going to be able to afford anything in this shop,” Joyce quietly commented to Jessica’s dad. “We can’t take the girls in there.”

“I suspected you would say that, and I know there is no way Cindy’s family could afford anything here either. Don’t worry, this is Jessica’s Christmas present to the two girls.”

“What,” Joyce asked?

“I’ll explain in a minute,” Jessica’s Dad turned away from Joyce and raised his voice a little so the girls could hear him. “Jessica, this is the shop where you can get their presents.”

Jessica turned to her dad with a big smile and wide eyes, “Really?”

“As long as you each walk out of there with a dress for the performance, then yes. Go find the perfect gift for each of them.”

Jessica shrieked. She ran up and hugged her dad before going back and taking Cindy and Sammie’s hands and dragging them into the store, “Come on. I’m going to get you each the perfect dress for the performance.”

Jessica’s dad smiled as his baby girl came alive at the joy of giving.

“We can’t accept a gift this expensive,” Joyce stated as the adults followed the girls into the shop. “Dresses in here have to cost over a $100 each.”

“Actually, there probably isn’t anything in here costing less than $400. They are all very high-quality handmade dresses.”

“Then there is no way we can take a gift like that. Jessica can’t afford to buy two dresses costing that much.”

“Actually, she can,” Jessica’s dad stated. “My wife’s a judge and I work at a fancy advertising agency. Jessica’s grandpa on my wife’s side is also a judge and my parents are also wealthy. From gifts over the years, Jessica has a lot of money in her bank account. We usually don’t give her access to that account, but when she started to talk about getting Sammie and Cindy something special for Christmas, we agreed to let her get the girls whatever she wanted. The only condition was that either her mom or I had to pick the store. My wife knew that Cindy’s family could never afford a good dress for the performance and gave me strict instructions to make sure Cindy had a good outfit. You were also in those instructions. She has a rough idea what state police officers make in a year.”

“But . . .”

“Joyce, look at my daughter. I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time. Your daughter and Cindy changed her at Camp. Before going to camp, Jessica wasn’t sure if she wanted to keep playing the piano and only reluctantly agreed to go to camp this last summer. She came back from camp talking constantly about Cindy and Sammie. She is all excited about going back to camp this coming summer, to be with Cindy and Sammie. Jessica was talking about how she had made friends with some of the nicest and best musicians at the camp. Not just the kids in her mini-orchestra, but others too. And, as I understand it, that is all because of Cindy and Sammie. If she wants to spend hundreds of dollars getting them each a special gift they will love, I am going to support her in that effort.”

Joyce looked over at the three girls going through the various dresses. They were all excited and having fun. Jessica was telling the two younger ones positives and negatives of different dresses they looked at. She was even pointing out when it would be hard to play their instrument in a particular dress. Some dresses were being ruled out, because they would be hard to sit in, while others because they might be a tripping hazard as they moved around the stage.

“Are you sure? It looks like Jessica is picking from some of the more expensive dresses in here.”

“I am very certain about this,” Jessica’s dad stated as he smiled at his daughter. “We may have money, but we have tried to raise our children to not feel entitled or spoiled. We have always tried to emphasize the importance of doing one’s best and giving to others. For Christmas this year Jessica wanted to cheer Cindy up. When the concert possibility was offered, Jessica set out on a mission to get the whole summer camp mini-orchestra back together as a way to do something to make Cindy happy. It took her quite a lot of phone calls to convince that Marcus kid to join this concert. There was also something with George’s family that put things into question on whether he would be able to come. Jessica worked hard to make sure everyone came. I’m so proud of her, putting others before herself.”

“Here you two, go try those on,” Jessica said handing dresses to Cindy and Sammie.

“What about you,” Sammie asked without moving.

“Yeah, we all need to try on a dress,” Cindy turned to a rack next to her and pulled out a red dress with frills on the shoulders and a bow around the waist.

“No, not that one,” Jessica quickly took the dress and put it back on the rack. “Mine has to be black to match the dress code of the rest of the orchestra. Only you two get to wear something different. It’s one of the special treats you two get for being so cute.”

Sammie and Cindy blushed.

“Let’s see,” Jessica said going over to the part of the store with dresses in her size. “Black and white dress code. Hmmm, not this one. Not that one, this isn’t a party. I need something formal but not too formal.”

“She really does know her stuff,” Joyce said to Jessica’s dad.

“Oh yeah, it is the only reason my wife will allow me to take Jessica clothes shopping. She knows Jessica will be picking out the clothes not me.”

Joyce laughed.

“No serious, I’m hopeless picking out an outfit for the kids that will work for the situation.”

“Do you have other children?” Joyce turned to Jessica’s dad.

“Jessica has a brother who is seven years older than her. He’s in college working on a degree in Biomedical Engineering. He’ll be back for Christmas just in time to see Jessica perform.”

“This one,” Jessica said pulling a dress off the rack and holding it up to her.

“But I thought you said we don’t want one that is down to our feet, so we can easily move around the stage,” Sammie inquired?

“You two will be moving around,” Jessica stated. “I’m a piano player. I will be sitting at the piano the whole time. And if I put some heels on, it will raise me up just enough that it isn’t so close to the floor.”

Joyce turned to Jessica’s dad, “I see what you mean about her girly side coming out. She will look stunning in that dress if it fits her.”

“Yes, she will,” the proud dad smiled.

Jessica, Cindy, and Sammie all headed for the changing rooms to try on their dresses. Joyce handed Sammie’s violin case to Jessica’s dad and followed the girls in to help them.

Sammie, being the first to get Joyce’s help, emerged wearing a dress with a dark blue bodice and white skirt. Her smile was huge as she looked in the three floor length mirrors. With a little spin, she remarkably got an even bigger smile.

One of the store employees was quickly by her side checking the fit. Before the process was done, Jessica came out and stood in front of the other three floor length mirrors outside the changing rooms. Just like most thirteen-year-old girls trying on a fancy dress. Jessica tried to take in how she looks from all angles and did a small spin.

“You look beautiful,” her dad said. “You are going to outshine all the adults up there on that stage.”

Jessica smiled, “Thanks Dad. If I have to wear a dress, at least this one makes me look like a teenager, not a little girl.”

Keeping his thoughts to himself, Jessica’s dad thought back to a very similar looking dress they got Jessica at this store when she was six years old. They were going to a formal party at the Art Gallery, and they wanted Jessica to look elegant but not stand out. Little six year old Jessica, however, believed that the dress made her a princess, requiring her to wear a tiara to the party. Jessica’s dad knew to keep this memory to himself. After that last comment, this was not the time to point out that the dress was almost identical to one she wore when she was six. The shop assistant finished with Sammie and came over to Jessica, “Sammie over there said she was going to be in a Christmas concert. Are you also in it?”

The lady used clips to grab the dress in some areas. Jessica had been here before, so she knew what was going on. It was all in an effort to figure out what alterations needed to be done to the dress.

“Yeah, the three of us are performing in the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra Christmas Concert. Will you be able to make the alterations before the concert.”

“Really,” the lady said while clipping another area of the dress. “I heard they were having some child prodigies this year perform. Are you three some of those musicians?”

“Yeah, Sammie plays the violin, Cindy the flute, and I play the piano,” Jessica said while the lady made another adjustment.

“That’s impressive. I was never good with any musical instruments.

While this was going on, Cindy came out of the changing room, not wearing the dress. Joyce got Sammie’s violin and asked her to play a song or two in order to make sure the dress didn’t restrict any of her movements while playing.

Just as the assistant was about to finish up with Jessica, Sammie started to play Silent Night. This caused everyone in the store to stop and look over at Sammie.

The owner of the shop had come over while Sammie was playing. She noticed a few of the clips the assistant had put in had come out while Sammie played her violin.

“My oh my. You are quite good at that. Are you getting a dress to wear while performing?”

“Yeah,” Sammie responded with glee. “We’re playing with the Symphony Orchestra.”

“Rose,” the store assistant said. “These girls are some of the musical prodigies playing at the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra Christmas concert.”

“I see,” Rose said kneeling down to Sammie’s level. “Penny, when doing alterations for performers, it is important to not have the dress so form fitting. They will need more movement than for a wedding, dance, or party.”

Rose took out all the clips Penny had put in and started over. When she was done, she asked Sammie to play again. This time Sammie played Frosty the Snowman.

“Was that better,” Rose asked?

“Yeah,” Sammie responded. “The dress didn’t feel as tight.”

“Good. I’ll make the final marks if your parents decide to buy the dress for you,” Rose stated. “But now I need to go help Penny out with your sister.”

Cindy, Sammie, and Jessica laughed.

“She’s not my sister,” Sammie said. “Jessica’s just my friend.”

Rose went over and made some adjustments to how Penny had done the clips on Jessica’s dress, “This fits you pretty good. We won’t have to do many adjustments for you.”

Finishing up Jessica quickly, Rose’s attention focused on Cindy, “Did the dress not fit you dear?”

Joyce spoke up, “It was too big both in size and length. I examined it some, and it looks like it would need more than just slight alterations. I think we need to find her another dress.”

Rose looked at Sammie and Jessica before looking back at Cindy, “The other two have dark blue and black as the primary color theme. I noticed this little one’s dress was all red. Much more Christmassy. Do you want a dress to go along with the color theme of the others or one to stand out.”

Jessica spoke up, “Cindy is the special guest artist at the show. People from around the world want her to come and perform for them. Cindy needs to stand out.”

“She even plays better than me,” Sammie said. “Yeah, she needs to be seen by everyone.”

“All three of you are outstanding musicians,” Joyce stated.

“Yeah Mommy,” Sammie went over and gave Cindy a hug. “But Cindy is better. She won first place this summer for the best musician at camp, and I hate to say it, she really did play better than me. Next summer though, next summer I am going to get first place.”

“Well,” Jessica interrupted. “I am buying Cindy and Sammie’s dresses. They both need to be extra special to help the two stand out from the rest of the orchestra. The director lady Hannah said Cindy and Sammie needed cutesy little girl Christmas dresses. But, like Sammie said this summer, we are performing and need to look professional.”

“Hmmm,” Rose said going over to a rack of dresses. “Cutesy, Christmassy, and professional.”

Rose grabbed three different dresses and brought them back for the others to evaluate. Cindy ended up trying on two of them.

“I like this one better than the last one,” Jessica said as Cindy came out of the dressing room. “But it’s too long.”

Rose smiled, “That is easy to fix for that dress. How long would you like it?”

“It looks good long, so maybe just up a little,” Jessica examined Cindy. “Maybe just enough that we can see her shoes. We have to make sure they don’t trip on the skirt. She will be using both hands for the flute, so she can’t hold the skirt up.”

Rose got a container of pins and went down to pin up the skirt about two inches. Stepping back she looked at Cindy and then put a clip in the back before looking again, “Okay, what do you think Cindy?”

Cindy turned and looked at herself in the three floor length mirrors, “I wish my hair had grown back more. This would look great with pigtails.” Rose stepped away for a moment. When she returned, she put a tiara on Cindy’s head. “Ooooooo,” Sammie said. “Cindy’s a princess.” “I like it,” Jessica smiled. “We’ll take it.”

“Don’t you think the tiara is a little over the top for an orchestra performance,” Jessica’s dad asked?

“Dad, you don’t know anything. Little girls can always wear a tiara when in a fancy dress, and it will not be too much. It just makes them cuter.”

Joyce laughed, “She does have a point.”

After the dresses were paid for, and alteration marks were made, the group left the dress shop.

“Daddy,” Jessica tilted her head and smiled.

“This isn’t good,” Jessica’s dad looked at his daughter. “Daddy? What do you want Jessica?”

Sammie’s mom laughed, “Protect your wallet with your life. She’s doing the full head tilt and eye flutter.”

“It’s not going to cost you anything,” Jessica responded. “Honest, I just want to go play on the piano, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease.”

Jessica’s dad looked at his watch and then at the three girls, “Five minutes. That’s it.”

Spinning around, Jessica grabbed Sammie and Cindy’s hands before heading off into the mall.

“Where are we going,” Cindy asked?

“To the piano. You’ll see. This will be fun.”

Jessica weaved her way through the mall to a point close to where they were taking Santa pictures. Just past Lloyd’s Music Emporium, in the center of an intersection, there stood a baby grand piano.

“This, is THE piano. Anyone can sit down and play on it. We can play whatever we want,” Jessica said with the biggest grin on her face.

“So,” Sammie asked? “Cindy and I don’t play the piano, and you can play on lots of different piano’s. What’s special about this one?”

Jessica sat down at the piano and tickled the keys, “But Sammie, you and Cindy have your instruments here. Daddy’s carrying them. Come on, let’s play a song.”

Cindy looked around the crowded mall and then at Sammie, “I guess, we can play a song. What should we play?”

As the girls got their instruments out, there was a discussion on what song to play. They settled on Jingle Bell Rock, as something that might get people’s attention in the noisy mall corridor.

As they started to play, a few people looked over at them, but most just went on their way doing their holiday shopping. But, by the end of the song, a crowd had formed. Everyone clapped when the girls finished playing.

Cindy and Sammie immediately understood why Jessica liked this piano. There was nothing like getting a bunch of strangers to give praise to your playing.

“Let’s do another song,” Sammie said as she looked around at the crowd.

The girls ended up playing songs for forty-five minutes. They probably could have played more, if Sammie’s Mom hadn’t insisted the girls take a break and get something to drink. Jessica was going to protest, until her dad pointed out that it had been much longer than five minutes.

“That was soooooooooo much fun,” Cindy said sitting down with her Strawberry and Banana Orange Julius drink.

While the girls talked about the crowds’ reactions, including those of kids their age and younger, the adults discussed their next move.

“It’s dinner time,” Sammie’s Mom said as she looked over at the girls sitting at the next table. “Any suggestions on where to eat? Or should we just get something here at the food court?”

Jessica’s dad looked around at the noisy and crowded food court, “Let’s go to a real restaurant. One that’s a little quieter than this. There is a nice family restaurant on the other side of the mall from where we parked. A little inconvenient being so far from the car, but it’s probably better than driving to a different place and trying to find parking.”

“That might also allow us to find some of the other things we need for their concert outfits.”

“Other things?”

Sammie’s mom just shook her head, “Tights, shoes, and hair accessories. There is always more than just the dress. I probably have some white tights and black Mary Jane shoes for Sammie’s dress, but for the special occasion it would probably be best if I just get Sammie new tights. There is probably no way Cindy has any shoes to match that dress, so we need to find something. Jessica said she would need heels to go with her dress, does she have any at home that would go with it?”

“You’re asking me? I don’t know. Here, let me send the picture of Jessica in that dress to my wife and ask her.”

Sammie’s mom kept looking at the girls and over to Santa. Although Sammie already did a trip to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas, Joyce felt that a picture with Santa would help the three remember this day for many years. Pulling out her phone, Joyce texted Cindy’s Dad, asking him if it would be okay to bring Cindy to visit Santa.

“My wife says Jessica might have some shoes to go with the dress, but she isn’t sure if they will still fit or not. If we find anything good, we should get them.”

“They outgrow shoes so fast at these ages,” Sammie’s mom said as she heard her phone ping. “Okay, Cindy’s Dad says we can take her to see Santa.”

“What? Jessica’s not going to go for that. She has told me point blank that she’s too old for Santa pictures.”

Joyce smiled at the naïve father, “It is different if you are going to do it with friends. Watch and learn.”

“Girls, do you three want to go get a group picture with Santa?”

“Really? Can we Mommy?”

“Yes, Sammie Pooh. If the other two are okay with it.”

Sammie looked at the other two who were smiling and nodding their heads.

“Finish up your drinks and then we will go see Santa.”

Cindy took a big suck on her straw and then declared that she was done. It took Sammie and Jessica a little bit longer, but they all quickly finished their drinks. Standing in line to see Santa, the age difference between the girls was very noticeable. Sammie was bouncing around in excitement, repeating that they were going to get a picture with Santa. Cindy was telling about her visit to Santa last year. Jessica was smiling, clearly happy about the upcoming experience, but also silent.

Going over to her dad, “Did I behave like that when I was Sammie’s age?”

“At eight,” Jessica’s dad thought for a moment. “No, that was the year you were convinced that you were on the naughty list. You kept blowing your temper at school and were certain that Santa was going to bring you coal for Christmas. You were petrified to see Santa that year. At age seven though, yes, you behaved much like Sammie is now.”

Jessica gave her dad a slight hug and then rejoined Sammie and Cindy.

“They grow up way too fast,” Jessica’s dad said to Joyce.

“Tell me about it,” Joyce said. “Seems like it was just yesterday that Sammie was running around the house in diapers and little baby pigtails. Now she’s in third grade and reading chapter books.”

The two parents smiled at their children, soaking in the Christmas energy as they got closer to Santa.

After Santa, the group weaved their way through the crowds towards the restaurant. By the time they sat down to eat, all three girls had new tights to go with their dresses. Jessica and Cindy had new shoes, and they had even made a stop at Claire’s to get hair accessories and matching earrings for the three girls.

“We wrap up our six o’clock news with a heart-warming story. Shoppers today at the Tri-City Mall were treated to a 45-minute-long Christmas Concert today by three little angels. The videos of their performance are going viral. No one knows who these three little girls are, but they certainly cheered up several shoppers’ today. Stacey Stillman is on location at the Tri-City Mall.”

“Thank You Karen,” Stacey said. “I am standing here with Mike Lloyd, owner of Lloyd’s Music Emporium in the Mall. Mike, it is my understanding that your music shop donated a piano to the mall and help maintain it so anyone can go up and play it.”

“Yes, Stacey. Here at Lloyd’s Music Emporium, we want to spread the joy of music to everyone. Lots of people over the years have sat down at that piano and played a few songs as a break from the craziness of shopping.”

“The Tri-City mall does bring in a local musician each month to play on the piano. Is that what happened today?”

“The first Saturday of every month, the Mall and the Music Emporium do co-sponsor an artist to come in and play for a few hours. Today’s performance by those three little girls was not scheduled. It was just three people who chose to sit down and play some Christmas music for the shoppers.”

“But Mike,” Stacey objected. “The two youngest were maybe 6 or 7 years old and they brought instruments. Are you telling me this was not planned?”

“That is right Stacey. Neither the Mall nor Lloyd’s Music Emporium had invited anyone to play today. For those two little kids to show up with a violin and a flute, those girls must have planned this on their own. I’ve checked my store video cameras. They did not buy the instruments today in my store. I don’t know who they are, but they certainly were amazing musicians.”

“That they were. Three little Christmas Angels sent from heaven to share their amazing talents with the shoppers today. Back to you Karen.”

“Thank You Stacey. I guess we have a little mystery on our hands. Who were these talented young musicians, and why did they put on a concert today at the mall. As we sign off, we will play some of their music.”

Dinner was as uneventful as it could be with three girls ranging in age from eight to thirteen. Just as the waitress was taking the credit card to pay the bill, the two adults suddenly had their phones go crazy with ping after ping indicating a new text message had come in.

“What is it Dad,” Jessica asked?

“Lots of people are sending me messages about you being on the six o’clock news.”

“Same here,” Joyce said. “Message after message about Sammie being on the six o’clock news.”

“Really,” Cindy looked at her two friends. “What did you two do to get on the news?”

Joyce spoke up, “You’re probably on the news too Cindy. They were probably doing some promo about the upcoming concert. Since the five of you are the stars of the show, they probably included you in the news announcement about the concert.”

“Yeah, that must be it,” Jessica’s dad said as he muted his phone. “It’s seven o’clock. I think we need to get the three of you back to the hotel and ready for bed. You all have a long day tomorrow. And if I remember anything about having an eight-year-old little girl, by the time we get to the hotel and through a pre-bed routine, it will be close to someone’s bedtime.”

Jessica was about to argue but stopped when she saw Cindy yawning.

Weaving their way back through the mall, the girls tried to get the adults to make detours into things like the Disney Store, Build-A-Bear, and the American Girl Store. The parents were sticking to the plan of going straight to the car.

“Look Dad. A Channel 2 TV crew. Let’s go see what they’re doing here.”

“Not now Jessica, it’s time to go to the hotel and settle down for the night,” Jessica’s dad said as he guided his daughter past Lloyd’s Music Emporium.

Cindy and Sammy both fell asleep on the car ride to the hotel. Waking them up at the hotel was easy, but they were both groggy. The rooms were on different floors, so the kids had to say good-bye to each other when Cindy, Sammie, and Joyce got off the elevator on the third floor.

After teeth brushing, hair sorted, and PJs on, Joyce tucked the girls into bed together along with their stuffed animals. Both Cindy and Sammie fell asleep after a discussion about the day and what the plans were for the next few days.

Jessica, up on the tenth floor, also had to get ready for bed after entering her hotel room. Once ready, she got her blanket out of the suitcase and curled up on the couch to read the next chapter in The Secret Garden. At nine o'clock, her dad told her to put the book away and go to bed.

Joyce and Jessica’s dad had both planned on staying up until the eleven o’clock news, in hopes that they might re-run the promotion for the Christmas Concert. Both fell asleep, however, reading a book.

“Good evening. I am Erin Ross, bringing you your local and national news at eleven. Tonight’s top story is a local one about three young girls who conducted a forty-five-minute impromptu concert this afternoon for Christmas Shoppers at the Tri-City Mall. The mystery surrounding who these girls are, has gripped the tri-city area and the internet. A video of their performance is going viral, in just the last six hours, it has gotten over 1.5 million views.”

“Social Media has coined them the Christmas Angels. I am happy to report that we now know who these girls are. They are the three youngest of five musical prodigies that will be performing on December 23rd with the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra. Our Christmas Angels are eight-year-old Sammie on the violin, ten-year old Cindy on the flute, and thirteen-year-old Jessica playing the piano.”

“Many had questioned the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra bringing five children in for the Christmas Concert this year. No one is questioning that now. If the last two children are anything like our Christmas Angels, then this year’s concert will be the event to be at this holiday season.”

Sammie, Cindy, and Jessica entered their break room backstage and put their backpacks down. Getting out their music tablets, the three headed for the door.

“Drink of water and trip to the bathroom first,” Joyce said.

When the three were finally ready to go out on stage, Marcus and George had arrived.

Hannah stopped the five kids and their parents before they could leave the break room, “Okay, there are the Christmas Angels. I can’t believe you three. I sent you out to get new dresses for the performance and you end up in a viral video that currently has over three million views. That’s impressive for just sixteen hours. The Christmas Concert was completely sold out before the eleven o’clock news was finished. Next time the three of you go to pull a publicity stunt like that, give us some warning please.”

“Oh my,” Marcus said looking down at his phone. “You three really are being called the Christmas Angels all across social media, and the views on that video are now over four million. I’ve gotta see this.”

“See what?” Jessica asked.

“What are you talking about Hannah,” Sammie’s mom inquired?

Hannah looked at the expressions on the girls faces and the parents, “You mean you don’t know?”

“Know what,” Jessica’s dad asked?

Hannah laughed, “Their viral sensations and don’t even know. You three this morning were even on one of the national morning talk shows. Okay, umm, Sammie, Cindy, and Jessica were recorded playing Christmas music at the mall yesterday afternoon. A video of their performance was posted online. The six o’clock Channel 2 news reported about it and were the first to call you Christmas Angels. At the time though, no one knew who the angels were. For the next few hours, all over social media, the question being asked was, Who are the Christmas Angels?”

“All we did was play a few Christmas songs for kids at the mall,” Sammie said.

“George, look at this,” Marcus brought his phone over to George. “Does that look like just playing a few Christmas songs for kids at the mall?”

“Way more adults in that crowd than kids,” George stated. “This was at a mall? Jessica, how’d you get a baby grand piano into the mall to put on this concert?”

“It’s there for anyone to play. I always try to get my mom or dad to let me play on it whenever we go to that mall.”

“Whoa,” Marcus exclaimed. “You have the kids and adults singing along to Santa Clause is Coming to Town. That crowd loves you. No wonder this went viral. Sammie, how are you pulling that sound off on a violin? What? You go straight into silent night, with the crowd going silent. You have that crowd in the palm of your hands. I knew the three of you were good, but to have control of a crowd like that. This is the middle of a mall, and it is silent.”

“Yeah,” Hannah said. “Extremely impressive. It is causing Jim and I to rewrite how we are going to do the Christmas concert. Jim told me you five kids were prodigies, but I didn’t understand. Let’s go out and have a talk with the rest of the orchestra.”

Hannah didn’t lead everyone to the stage, but instead, to the seats where the audience would be. The rest of the orchestra members were there chatting with each other and looking at Mr. Francess sitting on one side of the stage.

“Morning everybody,” Mr. Francess said as soon as the kids and their parents were seated. “Hannah and I have decided that you all should watch a video that is going viral and has been reported on at the local and national levels. Based on this video and the response to it, Symphony Hall management has asked us to add more performances of our Christmas Concert.”

Looking at Sammie, Cindy, and Jessica, “When I invited the five children to perform with us, I knew what we were getting, and I thought our concert would be their introduction to the world. They apparently had other ideas.”

“Actually Jim,” Hannah interrupted. “They had no idea of their fame until I told them a few minutes ago.”

“Let’s watch the video and we will talk afterwards,” Mr. Frances said before looking up at the control room and nodding his head.

The lights dimmed and a thirty-minute video of the girls’ performance at the mall was shown. Then there was the six o’clock news report followed by the one at eleven.

“Symphony Hall management would like us to take advantage of their instant fame,” Mr. Frances said after quieting everyone down. “Hannah and I have already started discussions on how we want to modify the concert to make the kids more of a focal point.”

In the middle of a discussion on adding two more performances, Sammie raised her hand and waited patiently for Mr. Frances to call on her, “Can one of them be for kids instead of grown-ups?”

Many of the orchestra members, especially those with young kids or grandchildren, thought this was a great idea.

By lunchtime, they had settled several issues and rehearsed a variety of music pieces. At three o’clock, the girls were told that they were done for the day. With George and Marcus practicing one more music piece with the orchestra, there was a discussion in the break room as to what the girls would do for the rest of the afternoon.

“Come on Jessica, it will be fun.”

“Sammie,” Jessica got down to Sammie’s height. “I’m too old for the Children’s Museum. I loved it when I was your age, but it just isn’t for me anymore. You two go and have fun. It is a fabulous Children’s Museum.”

“What are you going to do?” Cindy asked.

Jessica looked over at her dad talking with Sammie’s mom, “I am going to try and talk Dad into bringing me home to get my cell phone. We don’t live that far out of town, but Dad hates driving in the rush hour traffic, so we’re staying at the hotel during these rehearsals. I really need my phone though. Dad insisted I leave it at home, but I want to stay up to date with our fame. I can’t do that without my phone.”

Everything was packed up and the group went in Joyce’s car back to the hotel. After dropping Jessica and her Dad off, it was a quick trip to the Children’s Museum.

“There is no way I am running a story on one of the Christmas Angels being transgender. Even if it is true . . .”

“It is,” Stacey interrupted her news director. “I’ve got some girl named Ariel willing to go on record about how the boy started at camp this last summer as a kid named Frank. Apparently, this Frank kid wanted to win some competition, so he got all the kids who had more talent than him kicked out of summer camp. When the kid manipulated everyone into treating him like a girl, Ariel felt scared the kid would come into the bathrooms and rape her.”

“How old is this, Ariel? We can’t interview a minor.”

“Oh, Ariel is eighteen. She’s not a minor anymore.”

“So, this eighteen-year-old Ariel was afraid of the little ten-year-old Christmas Angel who looks like they’re seven? That sweet little thing that plays the flute?”

“Yeah, the freak is evil. Even his mother has stories about how manipulative and evil he is. She explained to me how he was a sweet young boy until he was brain washed by Woke teachers who convinced her son that he was a girl. This turned him evil and manipulative. The mother has told me about how the freak destroyed her marriage and even got her arrested for no reason at all.”

“Stacey, boy or girl, it doesn’t matter. The kid is ten-years-old and their video currently has over ten million views in just 24 hours. Whether you want to believe it or not, this is a free country. If the kid wants to go around wearing a dress, they have the right to do that. This news agency is not going to destroy a young child’s life over a culture war issue.”

“But transgender individuals should not . . .”

“Stop right there. This conversation is over. We are going to report on the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra doing two more performances and the Christmas Angel’s video hitting over ten million views. This is a feel good story for the area, not a culture war battle with an innocent ten year old in the middle.”

“Innocent? That freak could be in the girl’s bathroom doing who knows what . . .”

“It’s a bathroom. They will be using it for the intended purpose. Come on now. The kid is ten and probably being seen by a doctor to help them deal with some very tough medical issues.”

“Good point, we should interview the doctors and expose this plot to feminize our boys against their will.”

“No Stacey, we are not going to report lies on this news channel. Although you have a right to believe whatever you want, we have no right to spread lies and conspiracy theories. The community expects us to tell the truth, and that is what we are going to do.”

“We have to warn our community members to stay away from this kid. Other kids are in danger just being around him.”

“Stacey, we do not report on fake news, conspiracy theories, or political motivated culture wars. Drop the topic. There is nothing along this line that I will allow talked about on air, so drop it and get back to real news stories.”

Cindy and Sammie had fun for three hours exploring everything from bubble making, to a huge Lego room. For dinner, they returned to the hotel and walked to a pizza place just one block away. Two pizza’s were delivered to the table. Sammie and Cindy looked at each other before turning to Sammie’s Mom.

“Mommy,” Sammie asked? “Why so much? We can’t eat all this.”

Joyce looked down at her phone, before looking over at the door, “We are expecting someone to join us.”

“Who,” Cindy looked over to where Joyce was looking.

A moment later in walked two police officers.

“Daddy!!!!” Sammie jumped up and went running off to hug her dad.

Carrying his daughter back to the table, Mr. Ellsworth sat down next to his wife, “Hi Joyce. I hope Sammie Pooh isn’t giving you too much trouble.”

Joyce leaned over and kissed her husband and daughter, “She’s a little Christmas Angel. She would never give me any trouble.”

“Yeah, I’m anjelly,” Sammie stated as she cuddled into her dad. “Hi Patty, thanks for bringing Daddy to me.”

Mr. Ellsworth chuckled, “Sammie Pooh, did you mean angelic?”

“Yeah, that’s what I said.”

Joyce and Patty held back a chuckle.

“Hi Officer Ellsworth and Officer Granlin,” Cindy said as she took a piece of pepperoni pizza and put it on her plate.

The five had a nice dinner together, but it was over way too early for Sammie. Her dad, and his partner, had to get back to patrolling the interstate highway.

That night, the girls got to watch some Christmas specials on TV. Joyce wondered if there were any other kids in the world that watched these shows like Cindy and Sammie. The two girls had their instruments out, and played along whenever there was any type of music in the show. It was how Sammie had learned many of the Christmas songs back when she was five, and she has done it each year since.

George was spending the night at Marcus’ house. Instead of watching Christmas specials, the two of them were having a jam session on their instruments with two of Marcus’ friends.

Jessica was at her house, watching the Christmas specials. She wasn’t, however, playing along to the music in the shows. After the shows were over, Jessica said bye to her mom and headed back into the city with her dad. She was always amazed that it took only about thirty minutes when there was no traffic but could take several hours at other times of the day.

When the five kids went to bed that night, their thoughts were all on the same thing. The upcoming Christmas concerts.

After a morning of rehearsal, the five kids went to lunch together. The kids were at one table and the adults at another. Most were leisurely eating until Sammie spoke up.

“Rehearsal is sooooo boring. I wish we could just play the music without all the stop and go.”

Marcus looked at Sammie and then at George, “We could. They gave us an hour for lunch. Let’s just finish quick, go back and have some fun before the rehearsals start up again.”

There was agreement around the table, so everyone started eating faster. George leaned over and told his Dad what they had in mind. By the time the kids were ready to go, the only adult ready was Marcus’ mom. She agreed to take the kids back so the others could finish their lunches.

Up on stage in the concert hall, Marcus turned to Sammie and Cindy, “Let’s go youngest to oldest, so Sammie you’re first. Start playing your favorite Christmas music and we will join in. A Christmas Jam session everyone.”

Sammie smiled, as she started to play Frosty the Snowman. The others joined in when they felt the groove.

“Now that was fun,” Sammie said when they finished. “Cindy, tag, you’re it.”

Cindy played Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Jessica played Linus And Lucy.

“That’s not exactly Christmas music,” Marcus commented after finishing Jessica’s piece.

“Yes, it is! Where do you know that piece from Marcus?” Jessica asked.

“She has a point Marcus,” George interjected. “It’s the main music connected with A Charlie Brown Christmas. That does, sort of, make it Christmas music. Okay, my turn.”

At this point, a few of the other Orchestra members had returned from lunch and asked if they could join in. When it was Marcus’ turn, there was about half the orchestra. He chose Jingle Bell Rock and set a fast pace for the piece.

Between the smiles and discussion when they finished, it was apparent that everyone was having fun. This was interrupted by a voice coming through some speakers, “Do that again, and I’ll join in this time.”

“Who was that,” Jessica asked?

“That was Larry up in the control booth,” said Mrs. Johnson, the summer camp woodwind instructor. “Let’s do as he says and see what he comes up with.”

So, Marcus started everyone off, with another round of Jingle Bell Rock. The main lights on the stage dimmed, and a light show went wild with Larry trying to synch a light show to the music. Up on the screen above the musicians, was Marcus rocking away to the musical piece. Occasionally, the scene on the screen would change to one of the other five kids.

“I guess someone is trying to take my job,” Mr. Frances chuckled as he came out on stage with a smile. “Let’s do it one more time. The kids do it just like they were, but I’ll conduct the rest of the orchestra.”

Mr. Francess looked over to Hannah on the side of the stage talking into a walkie talkie. When she stopped talking and nodded to Mr. Francess, he directed Marcus to begin. The rest of the afternoon went like that. Two to five of the kids would jam session a Christmas song, and Mr. Frances would conduct the orchestra to support.

It was a much faster and enjoyable afternoon for the two youngest. At three o’clock, Jessica, Cindy, and Sammie were told to head backstage, because they were done for the day. As they entered the break room, they could hear George and the brass section of the orchestra playing.

“You were right Hannah,” Mr. Frances said as they sat down and discussed the day and tomorrow’s rehearsal. “Jessica and George were giving their best how we’ve been practicing, but Marcus, Cindy, and Sammie did much better when we switched to what we did this afternoon. It’s more work for the orchestra and me if we go with this approach, but the music is better.”

“It makes sense,” Hannah said. “Playing with a group is still work for them. Since it’s easier for the orchestra to adapt to the kids than the kids to adapt to the orchestra, having them take the lead should produce better music. I am still amazed at that viral video. Those girls were feeding off each other and the crowd. They were even taking recommendations from the kids in the audience. If one of them didn’t know the music, they would still figure out a point where they could join in.”

“I have been a judge at that music camp for years, but when I saw Cindy play for the first time, it was so much better than anything I had ever heard adult flutists play. She wasn’t just playing a piece of music. She was expressing feelings and emotions through the music. If we have to alter how we traditionally do the Christmas Concert, it will be worth it to get Cindy and Sammie to share their emotions with the audience.”

Hannah thought for a moment, “Larry had fun today when the kids were doing that Jingle Bell Rock piece. Tomorrow, we need to get the lights set up for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra style piece you promised Marcus.”

“Okay, let’s start out with that one tomorrow after we do the bit with the girls opening presents and playing White Christmas,” Mr. Frances wrote some stuff on his tablet. “Have you talked with all the parents about extending rehearsals now that we are doing three shows?”

“That’s all coordinated. A few of the parents are going to take shifts babysitting, so last minute Christmas shopping can be done while the kids are rehearsing.”

The two discussed a new order for the concert, and possible ways to introduce the individual kids to the audience.

After about an hour at the Science Museum, Jessica’s Dad and Sammie’s Mom directed the three girls down to the Planetarium. Just before entering, they saw George and Marcus waiting for them.

The five kids watched the show and then explored parts of the museum. George was attached to Cindy and Marcus to Sammie, acting like big brothers helping them understand the different exhibits.

Mr. Dillinger tried to object when his son was spending so much time with Cindy, but the other parents shut him down quickly before the kids knew anything about it.

“Be careful of what you do and say. Preventing your son from being with Cindy could have some serious consequences,” Jessica’s Dad said. “Your son has God in his heart, and spreads that to those in his life. You raised him that way. You taught him that God will guide him through life. George has taken the principals that Jesus and the Lord brought to our world, and he applies them to his daily life. Are you going to now tell him that those lessons are wrong? If you stop him from supporting those that others tear down, then you risk him forever turning away from the Lord.”

Mr. Dillinger looked over at his son. George was treating Cindy just the same as he does his little sister.

“Cindy is not going to magically make your son transgender,” Jessica’s dad explained. “Jesus did not turn away from shunned individuals, and George doesn’t either. Matt, as a psychologist you understand better than anyone else here how fragile Cindy’s mental health is at the moment. George got Cindy through some tough times during summer camp, and he is now continuing that process. You and the Lord taught him James 4:12 ‘There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?’ George understands that passage of the bible very well. So well in fact, my Jessica came back from camp asking me about that passage. She heard George talking about it and wanted to know more.”

Mr. Dillinger took his eyes off his son and looked at Jessica’s Dad, “What?”

“My daughter came back from music camp asking me about bible verses. Because your son was spreading the word of God through his actions. We’re not exactly religious, but we’re not against religion either. We do go to church for Christmas and Easter. If you stop George from being kind and nice to Cindy because of your interpretation of a few passages in the Bible, I’m afraid my daughter will interpret that as God not wanting someone to be kind and nice to others. She will turn her back on God. So Matt, be careful what you say and do around these children. Your son is currently spreading God’s message through is actions and words. Don’t send the wrong message through your actions.”

“I . . . I . . .” Mr. Dillinger made eye contact with all the other parents.

Sammie’s Mom spoke up, “Have you watched the kids up on stage? Jessica may be the leader of the group, but George is who the three girls look to for guidance when things get rough. Don’t wreck this moment for the other kids. They need George and his abilities as a leader. You’ve raised a good son.”

Mr. Dillinger just watched the kids for a bit without saying a word.

When the girls were being tucked in that night, Sammie’s mom turned to Cindy, “Tomorrow is Saturday, your dad and sister will be coming up.”

Cindy grabbed her stuffed rabbit and turned away from Sammie and Joyce.

“What’s wrong Cindy,” Sammie asked. “Isn’t that great that Holly is coming?”

“Don’t you get it Sammie,” Cindy blurted out as a tear started down her face. “They’re coming to take me home. I’d don’t get to be in the concert.”

Joyce immediately grabbed Cindy into a hug, “Oh Cindy, that’s not true. They’re just coming up because it is the weekend. With the new rehearsal schedule, no one is going home this weekend. We’ll practice part of the day on Saturday and have Sunday off. On Monday we will be back to our regular schedule. You will be here for that. Then Monday after rehearsals, we get to go pick up the dresses for the concert.”

Cindy did not believe anything Joyce was saying. The past had taught her that bad things aways come after good times. The last few days had been absolutely wonderful, now it was time for the bad things to happen.

As they walked onto the stage Saturday morning, Sammie and Cindy were called over to the Christmas tree.

“These wrapped boxes are made up to look like Christmas presents,” Hannah pointed to two wrapped boxes with the lids off. “They should be just the right size to fit your open instrument cases. You two will be starting the Christmas Concert by opening these presents and taking your instruments out.”

Hannah got Cindy and Sammie to put their instruments cases in the boxes. Before the lids were put on, it was decided that Cindy should already have her flute assembled. Looking at the end product, both girls smiled at the big bows adorning the presents.

“Now, when it’s time to start, go over to the other side, just off stage so you cannot see any seats in the audience,” Hannah explained. “Mr. Frances will bow to the audience and then turn around toward the orchestra. That is when I want the two of you to come over to the tree. Do you remember that first day you saw it?”

The two girls nodded.

“You were enjoying the big tree and all the lights. I want you to act like that again. Pretend this is your first time seeing the tree. Ignore any sounds from the audience and the orchestra, just focus on the tree and the presents. Once you reach the tree, slowly count in your head to ten and then open up the present with your instrument in it. Do you understand the directions?”

Hannah had each girl individually repeat the directions.

“Once the presents are open, pretend like you just got the best present in the world. Take the instruments out and admire them for a moment before you start to play White Christmas.”

“Easy,” Sammie responded.

Hannah smiled down at the two little girls, “Larry is going to do the star lights again to make it look like it is snowing on the stage. You can move around in the snow a little bit but work your way to your designated platforms. Before the end of the piece, I want both of you on your platforms.”

Sammie and Cindy were once again asked to repeat the directions from start to finish. After each girl had done this, Hannah went over to Jessica at the piano.

“Sammie, Cindy,” a scream came from just off stage.

Turning, Cindy and Sammie found Ciara from summer music camp running towards them.

“What are you two doing here,” Ciara asked after giving them both a hug?

“We’re doing a Christmas Concert with the Symphony Orchestra,” Cindy replied. “What are you doing here Ciara?”

“I’m going to the Children’s Museum with my Mommy and cousins.”

Both Cindy and Sammie looked at her in confusion.

“Oh,” Ciara turned and looked at the orchestra. “That’s them over there with Aunt Lisa.”

Cindy and Sammie looked over at one of the Oboe players who had two young girls around her.

“Your Aunt is in the Orchestra,” Sammie asked?

“Yeah, but I didn’t know you were,” Ciara smiled. “It is soooo cool that my aunt gets to play with you two.”

The three girls chatted for a bit as more of the Orchestra members arrived and set up.

When Ciara’s Mom came over to get her, Ciara asked to have her picture taken with Cindy and Sammie, “I need proof that I know you two. I saw your video. They’re calling you the Christmas Angels. That was a really cool performance you put on at that mall, but when I told my friends that I knew you, they didn’t believe me. I want a picture to show that I really do know the famous Christmas Angels.”

“Can’t have people not believing you,” Sammie commented. “Jessica, come over here a minute.”

Once Jessica joined the group and the situation was explained, the Christmas Angels and Ciara all posed together for a picture.

As the girls were looking at the pictures taken, Ciara’s cousins came over.

“Hi Stephie and Izzie,” Ciara said.

The five and seven year old were introduced to the Christmas Angels and then Ciara’s Mom said it was time to go. She looked over at her sister before taking Ciara, Stephie, and Izzie off to the Children’s Museum.

Mr. Frances tapped his baton on his music stand, causing the many different people warming up to go silent, “Today will be a little different. This will be more for the kids and Larry than the orchestra members. We are going to run through the whole performance, while Hannah tries to get the kids all in the right places and figuring out the best way to transition between pieces. Sammie and Cindy, get in position please.”

That is how the morning went. Hannah was on stage the whole time, directing the five kids. Even in the middle of a musical piece, she would ask one of the kids to move or adjust their position on the stage. They got through the whole performance twice before it was time for lunch. Since it was a Saturday, that was all they were scheduled to practice today.

As Cindy was putting away her flute, she was suddenly hugged from behind. Turning around, Cindy found her big sister, “Holly! Oh, I’ve missed you.”

“Yeah right, Munchkin,” Holly ruffled Cindy’s hair. “I bet you have been too busy to miss me.”

After a brief exchange, Cindy and Holly joined the mini-orchestra kids and their parents who were deciding what they were all going to be doing for the next day and a half when they didn’t have rehearsal. George’s Dad immediately stated, while looking at Cindy, that George and he were going home to see the family. Marcus said he was off to do stuff with his friends. Jessica’s Mom invited the two younger girls and their families over to their house for the afternoon.

As final details were worked out for some things at the beginning of next week, Jessica looked around at the group. She saw the smiles on Cindy and Sammie’s faces, but she also noticed something unexpected and interesting. George and Holly were holding hands. She so wanted to say something, but worried about what Mr. Dillinger would say if he found out his son was . . . dating? . . . Cindy’s older sister.

Everyone going to Jessica’s house was split up between two cars. Since the two little one’s booster seats were in Joyce’s car, the three girls and Holly rode with Sammie’s mom. When they arrived at the house, the kids were immediately off to Jessica’s room.

Saturday afternoon was full of games, chatting, and even some art activities. After dinner, the three youngest girls were chatting in Jessica’s room. When they decided to watch some Christmas specials, Jessica was confused when Sammie headed to her mom’s car to get her violin.

“Why do you need your violin to watch Christmas specials,” Jessica asked?

“It’s more fun that way,” Sammie said with no further explanation as she was putting on her shoes.

Jessica looked at Cindy, who just smiled at her and shrugged her shoulders as she also started to put on her shoes so she could get her flute.

With Sammie’s violin and Cindy’s flute out of the car, Sammie turned to Jessica, “So, what room has a TV and piano?”

Jessica looked at the two little ones putting their instrument cases on the dining room table and getting their instruments out, “What are you two doing?”

“We’re getting ready to watch Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Clause is Coming to Town. Come on Jessica,” Sammie declared. “Keep up. What room has a TV and piano?”

Utterly confused, Jessica responded, “The living room, but all the adults are in there.”

Sammie headed for the living room with Jessica and Cindy in tow.

“Can we have the living room to watch Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Clause is Coming to Town?” Sammie blurted out as she approached Jessica’s mom.

“Why don’t you girls go down to the playroom and watch the shows down there?”

“No,” Sammie responded, standing tall with a big eight-year-old little girl smile on her face. “We need a room with a piano and TV in it. The Playroom doesn’t have a piano, so we need this room to watch the shows.”

“What,” Jessica’s mom questioned? “You don’t need a piano to watch Christmas Specials.”

“Actually, they might,” Sammie’s mom stated. “This is kinda cute to watch, so let’s give them the room. We can go somewhere else. Or if you want, we can stay here and watch the performances.”

Jessica’s mom turned to Sammie’s mom before turning back to Jessica, “Go ahead, I guess.”

“I don’t know what is going on either Mom,” Jessica said as she went over to turn on the TV and start the DVD player. “But the two of them seem to think we all need our instruments to watch the shows. Sometimes it is just best to go along with Sammie, whether you understand or not.”

A few of the adults chuckled.

Soon the shows were starting, and immediately Sammie and Cindy started to play along to the opening music to Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer. That is when Jessica finally got it and sat down to the piano with a big smile. The adults stayed and watched the kids perform during the first show but left when Santa Clause is Coming to Town started.

After the shows, Cindy’s and Sammie’s families left for the night. Before they reached the hotel, the two girls were sleeping in the back of the car.

“She may like pretending to be such a big kid, but she’s still my baby girl,” Sammie’s mom said to Cindy’s Dad. “Car rides have always caused her to fall asleep. When she was a baby, sometimes a car ride was the only way we could get her to take a nap.”

“Yeah,” Cindy’s Dad commented looking back at the two girls. “We have to keep a Squishmallow in our car as a pillow. It is so easy for Cindy to fall asleep on a car ride. Unfortunately, she also uses the Squishmallow to hit her older sister.”

“She definitely does that too much,” Holly piped in.

Sammie’s mom giggled, “I used to do the same thing with my sister. It’s how little sisters show love for their older sibling.”

The adults all laughed, but Holly just rolled her eyes.

After parking at the hotel, the sleeping princesses were woken up for the short trip to their rooms. They were back asleep before the parents had managed to get them undressed and into pajamas.

Sunday, they all met again at Jessica’s house. At two in the afternoon, there was a call from the dress shop to let them know that the dresses were done and ready to be picked up. Jessica and Sammie’s moms both felt they should go that afternoon to get the dresses, so the kids were packed into the car. The moms made sure that each girl had their shoes and tights that they would be wearing with the dresses. The girls also insisted on wearing the matching jewelry they had bought for the occasion. This required a detour to the hotel to get Cindy and Sammie’s supplies.

The final fitting for the dresses went without a hitch. Before the girls were allowed to take the dresses off, Cindy and Sammie both played a piece of music to make sure the dresses had no problems while they performed. The girls wanted to wear the dresses out of the shop and do another concert in the mall, but that was immediately vetoed by all parents. Besides not wanting to get the Dresses damaged before the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra Christmas Concert, the parents felt one viral video of the girls playing was enough for this holiday season. To stifle the objections, Jessica’s Mom let Jessica pick where they were eating dinner.

Jessica’s eyes widened, looking right at Cindy and Sammie, “Mommy, can I pick anywhere?”

Hesitantly, Jessica’s Mom asked, “Where do you want to go?”

“Just Chinese Mommy.”

“She has used Mommy twice,” Jessica’s Mom looked at the other adults. “This isn’t just Chinese. Jessica, what do you want?”

“Peking Duck!”

Jessica’s Mom rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath, “Figures. I can call the restaurant to see if they have any available for tonight. We usually have to call a day ahead to get one of the few they make for each night.”

No one in Sammie’s or Cindy’s family had ever had Peking Duck before, so when it arrived at the table, Jessica became the teacher, explaining how to put it all together.

“You take one of these thin pancake things,” Jessica started. “Then you take one of these paint brushes.”

“Scallions,” Jessica’s mom explained.

“You dip the paint brush, sorry mom, scallions into the sauce and paint the pancake. You can paint pictures, I often start with a smiley face, but I’ve drawn other things too. My boring parents just scribble on the pancake. When done painting, you put the paint brush,” Jessica looked at her mom. “Scallion, onto the pancake. Then you take some crispy duck skin and a few pieces of duck meat and put them on the pancake. You finish by rolling it up, like you are swaddling a baby.”

Jessica’s mom put her hand to her forehead and shook her head back and forth.

“Make sure it’s tight, so everything stays in when you pick it up,” Jessica continued. “Don’t forget to fold the bottom over, so you don’t lose the baby when you pick it up.”

Sammie, Cindy, and Holly were all cautious before taking the first bite, but they all quickly found it the best part of the meal.

As the table switched to more conversation than eating, Cindy’s dad looked at his watch, “I think we need to get on the road. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us and I have to work in the morning.”

Cindy’s demeanor instantly changed from bright and cheerful to sullen, “Bye Sammie and Jessica. It was great spending time with you both. Hopefully I’ll see you this summer at Music Camp.”

As Cindy went to hug Jessica, who was sitting next to her, Dad spoke up, “What are you talking about? You’re staying. It is just Holly and I that have to leave.”

Cindy looked at her dad skeptically, “I’m not going home with you?”

“I guess you could, but I don’t know how we would get you back for rehearsal tomorrow morning.”

Pushing her chair back, Cindy got up and ran over and gave her Dad a hug, “Thank You Daddy. You mean I can perform in the Symphony Orchestra Christmas Concert?”

“Of course you can Princess,” Herbert said to his daughter. “That’s why you have been up here rehearsing and why Jessica bought you that fancy dress.”

“Oh Daddy, thank you, thank you, tank ooo.”

“Can I stay too,” Holly asked? “I can help babysit the girls.”

Herbert raised an eyebrow at his fourteen-year-old, “I don’t think so Holly.”

“But I don’t have school this week, and it would give Sammie’s Mom a break.”

Shaking his head back and forth, “And you some time to spend with George.”

“Yeah,” Holly said without thinking, and then turned beat red.

“No Holly, you’re coming home with me. George doesn’t need a distraction, and Mrs. Ellsworth doesn’t need a wild teenager to keep tabs on. She has enough to deal with looking after Sammie and Cindy.”

“Okay,” Holly slumped her shoulders. “But honest, I would have helped babysit.”

Several of the adults smiled as they remembered their teenage years. Goodbyes were said and soon Herbert and Holly were gone. There was a discussion about where everyone would sleep tonight, and it was decided that Sammie and Cindy should go back to the hotel with Sammie’s Mom. The girls all pleaded for a sleep-over, but the adults were not listening. Jessica’s Dad paid the bill, and everyone went their different ways.

Monday was the first rehearsal with an attempt at a complete beginning to end performance. Conductor Frances and Stage Director Evans would make slight adjustments after each run through, to make sure everything was perfect. After rehearsal, Cindy and Sammie went to the Tri-City Children's Museum.

Tuesday was different. It was a full dress rehearsal, with everyone wearing their concert outfits. Just before they started, the girls changed into their pretty new dresses. After the performance they had to change back into their regular clothes before going to lunch. The process was repeated after lunch, but this time, there was an audience. Each member of the Orchestra was allowed to have up to four family or friends come watch. Hannah didn’t usually allow that many at a dress rehearsal, but she thought it would be good for the kids to practice in front of an audience.

“Okay girls,” stagehand Laura said as Sammie and Cindy stood just off stage. “This is the first time with the audience being more than just your parents. I know it is going to be hard not to look out and wave at the audience, but you need to focus on your roles in the performance. You’ve practiced this and you know what to do. Both of you are amazing musicians, so go out there and show everyone.”

Sammie stood up tall with a big smile on her little eight-year-old face, “We’ve got this. No problem.”

Cindy, being two years older than Sammie, knew she should not be scared or worried if Sammie wasn’t, but she was. She peaked out at the audience, seeing lots of adults and kids out there. She looked for her dad and Holly, even though she knew neither would be there. To her surprise, she did see Holly, but it wasn’t Dad with her. It was Grandma and Grandpa.

Cindy was disappointed Dad wasn’t there, but excited her grandparents were. Before she could figure out these confusing and contradictory emotions, Laura directed Cindy to a location where the audience couldn’t see her. The three of them looked out onto the stage where conductor Frances was. He looked at the audience, bowed, and then turned back to the Orchestra. Suddenly, the lights on the stage dimmed.

Laura softly said, “Wait for the audience to go completely silent . . . and . . . now, go.”

Cindy and Sammie made their way across the stage with eyes focused on the lit-up Christmas tree. There was a spotlight on each girl as they walked slowly across the stage in awe at the big tree.

About halfway across the stage, they heard a kid’s voice call out, “It’s the Christmas Angels.”

A lot of clapping and hollering came from the audience.

Sammie instantly looked, but quickly returned her gaze to the tree when Cindy softly said, “Don’t look. Don’t look.”

But, not looking became harder for both girls as the audience started clapping. Smiles spread across each of the girls’ faces as they worked hard to do as they had been trained; ignore the audience and focus on your job.

Rolling around in both girl’s heads were the instructions, “Stop in front of tree, slowly count to ten, then open the presents. Show love for a new present and then start playing.”

As they started to play White Christmas on their instruments, Sammie and Cindy could hear several parents telling their kids to be quiet.

The two girls played and twirled around in the lights giving the image of falling snow on their dresses. Mr. Frances had the orchestra start softly and slowly built up the volume as the music piece progressed. By the end, the girls were just part of the whole symphony orchestra. When the last note played, the girls looked down to make sure they were in position, before looking at each other on opposite sides of the conductor’s podium and smiling.

The Tri-City Symphony Hall Christmas Concert dress rehearsal went almost perfectly. At least, until the end. Once the concert was over, the audience full of family and friends of the performers threw a twist into things. There was the traditional standing and clapping, but then everybody in the audience that was less than 20 years old started chanting: Christmas Angels, Christmas Angels.

Conductor Frances directed Cindy, Sammie, and Jessica to get up and take a bow. But that wasn’t enough for the audience, there were scream outs for Marcus and George too. Once all five kids were front and center on the stage, the whole place filled with kids screaming ‘Christmas Angels’, whistling, and lots of clapping.

“How in the world did we become a Christmas Angel,” Marcus asked George. “I thought that was only the girls from the viral video. Angels are girls. Being known as a Christmas Angel is not going to look good for my rep as a rock ‘n’ roll star.”

George chuckled, “In the Bible there are male angels. Stop worrying about image Marcus, and just enjoy an audience loving our performance.”

After a few minutes, the lights flickered on and off and the audience quieted down.

Over the speakers came Stage Director Hannah Evan’s voice from the control room, “Okay, Christmas Angels, the audience apparently liked what you did. Let’s give them one last piece with just the five of you. All adults leave the stage. Jessica, you’re conducting the piece you wrote this summer for the group. Positions everyone.”

The Christmas Angels all looked at each other. They had played the piece a few times during rehearsal, but it had been cut from the concert when Hannah offered them a choice between that or another Trans-Siberian type of piece. All the kids had decided to stick with all Christmas Music for the concert.

George looked at the others, “You heard her, let’s get into positions. Jessica, you’re the conductor now. Let’s show this audience what we can do without the adult Symphony Orchestra backing us up.”

“Just one thing though,” Marcus said before heading for the piano. “We’re doing more than one song. Cindy, it’s because of you we are all here. When we finish Jessica’s piece, walk out to the center of the stage and start playing anything you want. The four of us will back you up like it is a jam session.”

The group smiled at each other, looked at the audience, and then up at the control room.

“Larry,” Hannah said as she saw the five kids look up. “They’re up to something. I don’t know what they are planning, but did you see the look on their faces? Be prepared for anything and roll with it.”

Larry sat at the controls and adjusted the lights to draw attention to the five musicians on stage. Cindy with her flute and Sammie with her violin went to their designated spots. Marcus went to the piano, and George grabbed his French Horn. Jessica at the conductor podium, tapped the baton and started the piece she wrote for the five of them.

Jessica’s piece was played, and the audience started clapping, but they quickly quieted down when Cindy stepped off her mini-stage and walked to the front center of the large Symphony Hall stage. While she was doing that, Jessica went to the piano, while Marcus left the piano and grabbed his electric guitar.

Cindy put her lips up to her flute, and suddenly her brain went blank. She couldn’t think of any Christmas music to play. Looking out at the audience she was frozen. She found her older sister in the audience and her advice over the last few months rang in her head. Whenever Cindy was having a hard day or in an emotional mess, Holly would tell her to play her favorite piece on the flute. So that is what Cindy did. Her mind cleared as she worked her way through one of Friedrich Kuhlau’s flute solos.

Sammie was going to join in, but Jessica stopped her and indicated for the others not to join either. She quietly said, “Not with that piece. That’s a solo piece to calm herself down. Let her play alone. When she’s done, we’ll jam to a piece Sammie picks. Sammie, while Cindy’s playing, think of something to play.”

When Cindy finished her piece, the audience started to clap, but Sammie started playing almost immediately, so they sat back down.

“Larry,” Hannah said looking down at the stage. “Let them play this last piece and when they are done, cut the lights to the stage and bring up the lights on the audience.”

Hannah tapped the controls to limit her words to the earpieces of the stagehands and Jim Frances, the conductor, “I am shutting off the kids' microphones after this piece and cutting lights to the stage. Bring the rest of the orchestra onto the stage for final bows. Jim, I want you center front stage, standing behind Cindy and Sammie with the rest of the angels around the three of you.”

Hannah’s display screen suddenly had three lights flashing two times. That was Jim and her two primary stagehands sending acknowledgement.

After the applause and the audience had sat back down, Hannah had Larry slowly bring up the lights on the stage. A few people were still getting into position, but not too bad for an unplanned and unrehearsed step done in the dark. Thanks were given, bows were done and then everyone left the stage. Hannah helped Larry reset a few controls before heading down to the stage to talk with everyone.

“. . . Marcus, you did a great job transitioning into that section, but we need to be careful that you don’t drain out the other instruments too much. I’ll talk with Hannah to see if they can control that with the mics or if you need to adjust your intensity during that section. We could also move you to a different location. I’ll put that piece first for practice tomorrow morning,” Mr. Frances was saying as Hannah joined everyone backstage.

“I’ll also check the videos and recordings from our test locations in the audience,” Hannah said, coming up to the group. “First impressions though, from the control room everything looked and sounded fine.”

“Good,” Mr. Frances stated as he turned back to the musicians. “Now, let’s talk about . . .”

“Ummm, not yet Jim,” Hannah interrupted while listening to Larry in her earpiece try to explain something. “Miranda’s having a problem.”

Everyone looked at Hannah in confusion. She tapped her earpiece, “Larry, connect me directly with Miranda . . . I’m here Miranda, what is going on? What do you need the Angels for?”

The kids all looked at each other.

“Whose Miranda,” Sammie asked?

Lisa, who was standing right behind Sammie, bent down and quietly said, “She’s one of the people who runs everything here. Hannah and Jim handle the Orchestra, but Miranda deals with everything else.”

“There is no way I am sending the three girls out there without each having a handler,” Hannah said into her mic. “And the two older boys should have handlers too. We don’t have the people in place today. This was a dress rehearsal for the adult concerts, not the children’s concert. I could maybe come up with two handlers, but not five.”

“Hannah,” Marcus interjected. “We might be able to provide protection for the three girls.”

“Hold on a minute Miranda,” Hannah looked at Marcus approaching her. “What do you have in mind?”

“My dad was in the audience with two of the people who are my bodyguards during my rock concerts. If this Miranda person stops them before they leave, they could protect the girls. They should be easy to spot. All three are over six feet tall, with the tallest being six feet, ten inches tall. The two with my dad today are the ones who protected Cindy and Sammie during the summer concert at camp. I’m sure they’d be willing to do the same today if needed.”

“Luke and Penelope are here,” Cindy and Sammie said together as they went up and looked at Marcus.

Marcus smiled down at the girls, “They wouldn’t have missed a chance to see the two of you perform. When they heard I had four tickets to a dress rehearsal of your performance, they insisted on coming to see the two of you.”

Mr. Frances came up to Hannah, “The summer camp hired them this summer to protect the kids. They passed the background checks back then the camp did before hiring them. If the parents of the kids agree, I don’t see why we can’t hire them today to help.”

“Miranda,” Hannah said into her mic. “There should be someone six foot-ten leaving Symphony Hall with two other large individuals. One of them is Marcus’ dad. Stop them. They work as bodyguards at Marcus’ rock concerts. See if you can hire them for the next few hours to protect the girls. If they will, have them meet us at door F. I’ll get Philip and Laura to be the last two handlers.”

Hannah then turned to the five Christmas Angels, “Okay, I need you all to go get your phones and tell whoever brought you today to meet Miranda in the Lobby at door F.”

As the kids went to the room where they had their backpacks, Mr. Frances got the attention of the other Orchestra performers, “If I am piecing this together right. Something is going on in the lobby, and Miranda needs the Angels to address the issue. We have talked about Children’s Performances and the efforts we put in after the performance for the kids to meet some Orchestra members and their instruments. This is done to promote and encourage music to the next generation. I know the kids out there are either your own kids or relatives of yours, but the mission is still the same. They may know your instruments but not the others. And if the Angels are sparking an interest in them, it is our job to encourage it. View it as rehearsal for the Children’s performance in a few days.”

Hannah gave a few more directions into her mic before turning to the Orchestra, “Quick version, there is a little seven- or eight-year-old girl named Ciara out there who has rallied a bunch of other kids to refuse to leave until they get to meet the Angels.”

“My niece,” Lisa questioned?

Sammie started to giggle as she returned with her phone, “Way to go Ciara.”

“No, not way to go,” Lisa interjected. “My sister taught her better than to start a public protest.”

“Is this the Ciara that lent Cindy the dress for the concert at the end of camp,” Jessica asked?

“Yup, that’s the one,” Sammie said before turning to look at the Oboe player behind her. “Lisa here is her aunt.”

Jessica looked right at Lisa, “Ciara most definitely is a good kid. She stood up to support Cindy this summer when others wouldn’t.”

Hannah interrupted, “Regardless of whether she is a good kid or not, her actions have led to an issue that we now need to deal with. Although Miranda could easily just get the guardians out there to get the kids to leave, she feels that, this time, it might be best to bend to the demands. I agree with her, for it will be good practice for you Angels in preparation for the Children’s Concert.”

“So, what do we have to do,” Cindy asked?

Hannah looked at Conductor Frances before looking at the Angels, “Just go out and greet some of the people. Answer a few questions while being the nice and friendly kids you are. I saw the videos of you three girls interacting with the crowds at the mall. This should be easier because you won’t be playing any instruments, and all the kids out there are friends or relatives of the Orchestra members. There should be no issues, but if you are uncomfortable, or want to stop, just tell the adult with you. They will get you away from the crowds. The Angels won’t carry any instruments, but we will have a few Orchestra members with instruments out in the lobby for the kids to see.”

“And based on past experiences,” Mr. Frances added. “We need to have the Angels and Orchestra members with instruments spread throughout the lobby. Musicians, if you are not displaying an instrument, and you had kids in the audience, please go out and help with those kids. We’ll plan for thirty minutes but expect it to last forty-five. After which, we will all meet back here.”

It was sixty minutes before everyone was backstage. At which time, the day was over for the kids. Once everyone had changed back into their regular clothes, the three girls headed off to the big fancy playground in the city.

The five kids sat down in the audience chairs with the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra musicians. Conductor Frances and Stage Director Hannah were sitting on the stage looking at them all. There was a discussion of yesterday’s dress rehearsal, with the kids and adults both expressing the positives and their concerns. Hannah also talked about how things might be different with the next two concerts. With an idea of what was to come, and a plan for minor changes to this next dress rehearsal, everyone went to their positions on the stage.

The morning dress rehearsal went on without a glitch and Hannah was happy with the results. Everyone was sent off and told when to return for that night’s performance.

“I can’t believe we are really going to be playing with the Tri-City Orchestra,” Jessica said as the five kids and their parents headed to the parking lot.

“We have been practicing with them for a week, Jessica. Hasn’t it sunk in yet,” George asked?

“Nope,” Jessica smiled and skipped ahead of the boys and up to Cindy and Sammie. “So, you two, my mom has insisted that you two come back to my house for the next few hours and we all do something together. She suggested a board game, but I was thinking we could make friendship bracelets and bake cookies.”

“Cookies?” Sammie and Cindy said in unison.

Jessica smiled, “We have all the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies, and I snuck a bag of M&Ms in the cart so we can also make a batch of M&M cookies.”

Jessica didn’t think the smiles on the two younger girls could get any bigger as they reached Sammie’s car. The three girls got in the back seat as Joyce and Jessica’s Dad got in the front seats.

“Dad? Aren’t you driving in your car,” Jessica inquired?

Mr. Thompson turned around and looked at his daughter, “No sense in taking two cars when we are just turning around and coming back in a few hours. Since the girl’s booster seats were in Joyce’s car, we decided it would be best just to have her drive. And you know how much I hate driving in city traffic, this way we can go home without me having to deal with it. Unless you want to stay in the city for the next few hours?”

“No!” the three girls said in unison.

“Cindy, Sammie, and I are going to make cookies,” Jessica added. “We have to go home to do that.”

“Cookies it is then,” Joyce said as she started the car.

By the time they got in the car to return to the Tri-City Symphony Hall, the girls each had a friendship bracelet, and they had enough cookies to share with the whole Orchestra.

After delivering cookies to all the Orchestra members, the girls went to their ready room to get changed and ready. Joyce was working on her daughter, Sammie. Jessica’s Mom met them backstage and helped Jessica get ready. The Oboe player Lisa had volunteered to help Cindy get ready.

“My girls were all excited to see you and Sammie play yesterday,” Lisa said as she was trying to get Cindy’s hair just right. “I’ve never seen them so excited about an Orchestra performance before. Yeah, they like seeing Mommy play, but they're just happy to see me play on the big stage. Yesterday, however, they were more interested in you and Sammie than me.”

“Sorry Mrs. Lisa,” Cindy said as she watched Lisa in the mirror.

“Oh, don’t apologize Cindy. This is a good thing. They actually went home and played with all the toy instruments in their playroom. My oldest, Izzie, expressed interest in learning an instrument like me and her cousin Ciara. Whenever Ciara and I brought up the idea in the past, she showed no interest. Close your eyes Cindy, I’m going to put in some hairspray.”

Lisa gave one last look at Cindy and declared, “You certainly do look like a Christmas Angel. You ready?”

“I don’t know,” Cindy looked over at Sammie and Jessica. “Everyone’s so much better than me. . .”

“Cindy! ! !” Sammie and Jessica said in unison.

“Okay, okay,” Cindy held up her hands in defeat.

“Who won the Best Performer at Camp during the summer,” Sammie asked? “It wasn’t any of the other kids at camp, it was you. You’re even better than most of the adults in the Orchestra.”

“She’s right Cindy,” Lisa interjected. “You may be a better performer than all the adults in the Tri-City Orchestra. The way you did that flute solo yesterday was outstanding. Not one mistake, and you played with such feelings and emotions. It was so touching. To pull that off at such a young age is absolutely amazing. It is no wonder my girls love you so much.”

Cindy blushed.

With Sammie, Cindy, and Jessica all done up and ready for the performance, the adults had the girls stand and slowly twirl to make sure they were perfect. Then the girls were escorted out to their starting positions. Joyce and Jessica’s Mom had designated spots backstage to help if needed when the girls were not on stage.

“Now girls,” stagehand Laura said to Sammie and Cindy. “We have practiced this over and over. You two have this down. In this first part, don’t look at the audience. Your focus is on the Christmas tree and pretending like it is the first time you have seen the pretty tree. The audience is almost exclusively adults, so it should be a bit more formal than the last performance with an audience. You just need to go out there and be cute while you melt into the music you are playing.”

Both Cindy and Sammie smiled at that. This time it was little eight-year-old Sammie that was more nervous than Cindy, but both stood waiting for the directions to go out on stage.

“Okay, lights are dimmed . . . audience is quiet . . . go,” Laura squeezed the two girls’ hands and released them.

Just like the first time they had seen that tree, the two of them went out on stage in complete awe of the big Christmas Tree on stage, all lit up and sparkling. They opened their presents and took out their instruments. After a minute of admiring their new instruments and even hugging them, the two started to play, White Christmas.

The performance went off without a hitch. There was no trouble with the transitions on and off stage and every note was played perfectly. As the final bows were taken, all five kids had the biggest smiles on their faces. Backstage congratulations were given all around before the three youngest performers were directed to their backstage room. Cindy and Sammie collapsed on the couch, grabbing their American Girl dolls in the process.

“We did it,” Sammie let out a huge sigh. “We really did it. We performed on stage with the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra as their special guest performers.”

“We sure did,” Cindy responded. “That was even more amazing than the concert at the end of Music Camp this summer.”

Jessica looked at the two younger girls and smiled, “And they loved us.”

“They sure did, Cindy’s grandma said as she entered the room.”

“Grandma!” Cindy jumped up and ran over to her for a hug. “You made it.”

“Of course I did princess. Sorry I wasn’t here before the show, but traffic was worse than I expected.”

“I’m just so glad you made it,” Cindy said, still hugging Grandma.

“Okay girls,” Joyce interjected. “It is late and past Sammie and Cindy’s bedtimes.”

“Past yours too Jessica,” her mom added.

“But Mom . . .” Jessica started but then stopped when she saw the expression on Mom’s face. “Okay, time to go. We’ll all be back here in the morning.”

“That’s right,” Jessica’s Mom stated. “But for the moment, let’s get to the hotel.”

Both Cindy and Sammie were asleep, hugging their dollies, before the car pulled into the hotel parking lot.

When Sammie and Cindy showed up for rehearsal in the morning, they found Jessica, George, and Marcus already in the kid’s break room. The three older kids were on their phones scrolling through stuff.

“Here’s another,” George said. “Marcus, this one talks about the Trans-Siberian style piece we did.”

“Let me see,” Marcus immediately went over to George and looked at his phone.

“The local news did a nice review of the concert,” Jessica commented. “Most of their review was about us five kids and how we were the highlight of the night.”

“What are you three doing,” Cindy asked as she went up to look at Jessica’s phone?

“We’re reading the reviews online about our performance. Everything so far has been positive, even the review from this guy who was against kids performing this year. He felt we only enhanced the Tri-City Orchestra and questioned why the adults were not better than the Christmas Angels.”

“That is soooooooo, cool,” Jessica said, bouncing up and down while hugging her American Girl doll.

The kids were looking through the reviews for about five minutes when Marcus called George over to his phone.

“I can’t believe she is still hung up on Cindy,” Marcus said as George read through the posting he had found.

“Who,” Cindy, Jessica, and Sammie asked together?

“Ariel,” Marcus replied.

“What did she do now,” Jessica asked with hatred in her voice?

George looked at the three younger girls and focused on Cindy, “Oh nothing, just a post about how she dislikes Cindy.”

“Well, I dislike her too,” Cindy replied.

“Okay kids,” Sammie’s Mom stated. “You are expected to be dressed and on stage in 5 minutes. Stop looking through the internet and time to get ready for another dress rehearsal.”

As the girls went to get ready, Marcus went over to the parents and showed them his phone. What they read on the screen was a shock. It was pictures and comments about protesting outside Symphony Hall last night with a few other people. They were objecting to Symphony Hall allowing a transgender kid to perform for the public. It specifically identified 10-year-old Cindy as the Christmas Angel who was transgender. The phone was passed around to all the parents, each parent’s eyes bulged as they read the post.

Once the parents had gotten all the kids in position for the performance, they went as a group to go find Miranda.

After reading the post, Miranda looked at the parents, “Yeah, it was just a small protest group. We explained to them when they first arrived that they cannot protest on Symphony Hall property. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do to stop them from protesting on the city sidewalk. I hadn’t seen these posts, though. This one from Channel 2 News reporter Stacey Stillman is the most concerning. She has influence in the area. I’ll make a few calls to figure out what is going on. We have some connections that might be able to help, if needed.”

“Stacey, have a seat,” Channel 2 News Director Karen Tinslin said gesturing towards a seat on the other side of her desk. “Do you care to explain to me why I just got off the phone with the CEO of the company over an online post one of his news reporters have posted?”

Stacey Stillman just looked at Karen with a confused expression.

“Okay, play it that way, Stacey. You have posted a story online about one of the Christmas Angels, a ten-year-old named Cindy. Is that accurate?”

“Yes, Mrs. Tinslin, but I didn’t post it on the TV 2’s web site.”

“No, you didn’t,” Karen glared at Stacey. “You couldn’t. That would have to go through me, as you very well know since you asked the tech department to post that same exact story, but when they said they would forward it to me for approval, you took back the article. Is that accurate?”

“Yes.”

“So, after finding out you couldn’t post the article at Channel 2 News, you created an account online and posted the story on there. You didn’t post it anonymously. You didn’t even take off your official title here at Channel 2 News. No, you just posted it exactly how you intended to post it on our website.”

Stacey nodded her head.

“Well, that is a violation of your contract. As of this moment, you are on administrative leave with no pay pending an investigation. Security will be here shortly to escort you out.”

“But I didn’t do anything. I just . . .”

“Oh, Stacey, don’t even start to go there. Let me tell you what your little stunt has done. This morning, the CEO of the company got calls from two governors, the three mayors of the Tri-City area, and several of the sponsors of our News shows. They all wanted to know why Channel 2 was running a smear campaign against one of the angels. Several of them were also at the concert last night and saw you with the protesters outside the concert.”

“I was off duty. I had every right to be there.”

“Maybe, personnel and legal will determine that, but combined with the article you posted, everyone is feeling that Channel 2 is now against the best thing that has happened to the Tri-City area in decades, the Christmas Angels. I told you to drop the story about a transgender kid being one of the Christmas Angels. You didn’t. You wrote about one side of the story, not even looking at both sides. The people you have to support your version of things are all people who tried to harm an innocent ten-year-old transgender girl. The kids mother, she’s been in jail for child abuse to that kid and is under court orders to stay away from her. Yet, you make her comments in your article as the most important elements. The teenager who you reference was kicked out of a Music Camp for trying to beat the kid up. Not the reasons you give. Now, if that isn’t enough, this Channel has a strict policy to only state the facts. Your article is full of opinions and feelings, with almost no facts.”

“Sorry.”

“It is too late for that. The company is under investigation for violating a few laws regarding reporting on children. That little ten-year-old transgender girl has a lot of power behind her, and that is before the millions of fans and supporters she has. Everyone who called the CEO this morning was firmly behind that little girl. Did you know that the parent of one of the Angels is a local state Judge, one that is on the Governor’s list of possible new State Supreme Court Judges? The father of another Angel is a State Police Officer, and a third parent is a producer at one of our competitor’s stations. Did you do any research on that little kid? Did you know they were supposed to be in London this Christmas, performing for a Symphony Orchestra there? According to reports some real reporters have given me, the royal family was going to be in attendance. That little kid has a following around the world, and you decided to pick a battle with her.”

News Director Karen sat back in her chair, shaking her head back and forth, “Because of your actions, I need to jump into this hot potato. As ordered from the CEO of the company that owns our little station, we will be running positive stories about transgender, the Christmas Angels, and one on the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra.”

The look on Stacey’s face expressed her disgust at this.

“You forced us to do it. If you don’t like it, then complain to the person you see when you look in the mirror. You are the only reason we will be running those three stories. Now, get out of my office. I have a lot of work to do in order to save my job after the ridiculous stunt one of my, former, News Reporters pulled.”

“It is out, and we can’t do anything about it,” Marcus’ dad said. “This will impact every one of our kids.”

“Cindy can’t find out,” Herbert stated through the phone. “My daughter is too fragile at the moment. If she discovers her mother is telling lies to reporters, it will devastate her.”

“We have to keep it from both Cindy and Sammie at least until the end of the third performance,” Sammie’s mom added. “Sammie and Cindy are already nervous enough about these performances. I’m not sure what adding another issue to the mix will do. They’re only little eight- and ten-year-olds.”

Miranda looked at the group of parents, “I completely understand. We have two more performances to get through, and I am doing everything I can to make sure they go off smoothly. Here is what I have done and will be doing . . .”

Downstairs, the Symphony Hall dress rehearsal was progressing. Sammie sat down on the stage before the musical piece was even finished. This caught the attention of Conductor Frances and the Stage Director, Hannah. When the piece was over, a break was called, and Hannah had the five kids go to their break room.

When Cindy and Sammie immediately plopped down on the couch, grabbing their American Girl dolls just hugging them and vegging out, Hannah knew this would need to be more than just a ten-minute break. She informed the two youngest that they could play for a bit, then called the three older kids over to her.

“Okay, I want the three of you to stay off your phones and no discussing what is going on,” Hannah said before looking over at Cindy and Sammie. “Those two are just little kids in elementary school and we are pushing them. They don’t need to know what is going on. For now, though, they need a break, a real break. I’d recommend time on a playground, but we don’t have one here on Symphony Hall grounds. I need you three to help by thinking of something to get their minds off of tonight’s concert and the Children’s Concert tomorrow. No watching TV or getting on the internet, they need a real mind and body break. In thirty minutes, I’ll reevaluate if we continue this morning or just call rehearsal over and send you all off until tonight’s performance.”

Jessica looked over at Sammie and Cindy, “Can we play some music?”

Hannah looked at Jessica, “The idea of this is to stay away from your instruments, maybe get them moving or actively playing in make-believe play. I understand they have some toys in their backpacks. I assume stuff like Polly Pockets or stuff like that.”

Jessica giggled, “Yeah, they have Polly Pockets in their backpacks along with a few My Little Ponys, but what if we did some singing and dancing to music? Not us playing, just music we play on our phones.”

Hannah thought for a few moments and started to give her approval and then stopped, “What do you have in mind?”

Hannah, Jessica, George, and Marcus discussed some songs for the little ones to dance to. Hannah let them go out onto the stage to use the open space for dancing. She got Larry to play some music over the speakers and do some fun stuff with the lights. Jessica took control and tried to get the little ones to coordinate some dance steps.

At the end of the thirty minutes, the orchestra was all back in their spots while the girls did one last singing and dancing performance. George went up to Conductor Frances and Stage Director Hannah. He quietly had a conversation with them. Afterwards, Conductor Frances quickly pulled up a musical piece on his tablet and silently got the orchestra members to look at the piece he just pulled up for them to play. When the music the girls were dancing to ended, they headed over to their instruments.

“Girls,” Hannah stopped them. “I want you to do one more, please. During Children’s Concerts we always have a movement activity in the middle of the performance, to get the kids up and moving around. George has proposed that you three do one of your choreographed dance routines while the orchestra plays. I bet the audience will love having the Christmas Angels teach them all a dance performance.”

Jessica glared at George and then turned to Hannah, “Ummm, you want me to stand up in front of a packed Tri-City Symphony Hall to sing and dance to music? Are you nuts?”

“From what George has said, you did it at Summer Camp this last summer. So, you don’t have to learn anything new, just do what you did last summer,” Hannah smiled and nodded at Conductor Frances to start the music.

As soon as the first few notes of, Let It Go, started, both Cindy and Sammie jumped up and down with glee and dragged thirteen-year-old Jessica out to center stage.

“Come on Jessica,” little eight-year-old Sammie exclaimed as she got into position and started dancing how they had done it at camp.

At ten, Cindy had no concerns about joining right in, but she did notice something Sammie didn’t. Jessica was shaking her head and rolling her eyes as she joined the two younger ones.

When the music stopped, Hannah came back out on stage and knelt down on her knees in front of the three girls who were all giggling, “That was fabulous. Now, Sammie and Cindy, I know we haven’t practiced this, but do you think you could do that during intermission for the Children’s Concert. I think the audience would love to join you.”

As both Sammie and Cindy expressed no concerns over doing that, Hannah stood up and looked at Jessica, “Little ones always need a leader to help them. I will be looking for you to help these two and get the audience to join in. I’m not going to make you do it, but you three going viral with that performance at the mall has made the Children’s Concert possible. The kids coming would really want the three of you doing this, not just the two youngest.”

Jessica wanted to say there was no way she was going to stand up in front of an audience to sing and dance, but looking down at Cindy and Sammie’s faces caused her to cave, “Okay, I’ll do it.”

Conductor Frances had the orchestra practice Let It Go one more time, and of course, both Cindy and Sammie insisted that they practice the dance routine again. Afterwards, they finished the regular concert rehearsal.

The two little ones were not happy after lunch. They were ushered back to the hotel room and told to take a nap. The curtains were drawn, blocking all the light from outside. The room lights were turned off, except for the one in the bathroom, and Sammie’s mom started reading from a chapter book. Before she finished the first chapter, the two girls were asleep hugging their stuffed animals.

Cindy was the first to wake up, three hours after she fell asleep. Sitting up in bed, caused Sammie to wake up too. Neither one could believe they actually slept. Even more surprising to them, was how long they slept. To help them wake up, and have a restful afternoon, they watched Disney Junior episodes. At dinner time, they went to a restaurant around the corner from the hotel where the kids were thrilled to get hot dogs and chips.

Arriving back at Symphony Hall, they were met by Cindy’s dad and sister. Holly got to work on doing Cindy’s hair while Joyce did her daughter’s hair. The girls watched more Disney Junior on their tablets during the process. Jessica arrived about half-way through, and her mom was immediately on hair duty. By the time the boys arrived, the girls had their hair done and were playing with their American Girl dolls.

Jessica felt proud of herself for keeping the little ones busy and distracted until they were needed on stage. She expressed this concept to her Mom during one of the adult check in points.

Turning to Sammie’s mom on the other side of the room, “I’m not going to point out to her that she isn’t being a big kid watching the little ones. Jessica is acting just like she did when she was eight playing with her dolls. It’s so adorable. She tries to act like such a big kid now that she is a teenager, but she is very definitely still at times my little girl.”

“Yeah,” Joyce smiled at the three girls playing. “They want to grow up and be big kids. If they only knew there is nothing wrong with being little.”

When the concert began, all three girls were excited for another performance. The show went off without any problems. Back at the hotel afterwards, Cindy was offered a chance to sleep with Sammie as she had been doing or in the other room with her dad and sister. This was the last night the two would have a chance to have a sleepover, so she chose Sammie.

“Can I have everyone’s attention please,” Hannah said as she waited for the orchestra members to quiet down. “You have all done great, and the last two performances have been met by overwhelming positive reviews by those that attended. This afternoon’s performance will be different. Most of you have done one of our Children’s Concerts before, but for those that haven’t, let me explain.”

Hannah went into an explanation of the changes and shocked the five kids when she stated that Conductor Frances would be introducing them throughout the performance and asking them a few questions. She ended the discussion by stating that last night's performance would be airing on Channel 2 on Christmas day. There was also an offer to show the Children’s Concert during times programming is designed for kids, but no decisions would be made on that until after the performance.

George quietly said to the other Christmas Angels, “Yeah, several networks are trying to get the rights to air it. My mom’s station asked first, so who knows what will happen.”

Sammie turned to Cindy, “Cool, we’re going to be on TV.”

There was no real rehearsal that morning, just a run through of things without actually playing the music. The girls were then sent off and told to return after lunch.

When they reached the hotel, Holly took control. She set up a girls get together while the adults went to one of the other rooms. There were snacks and drinks. Jessica, Sammie, and Cindy’s American Girl dolls joined the get together. They were all sitting on blankets and pillows on the floor. All sorts of things were talked about. When Holly and Jessica started talking about boys, Cindy and Sammie voiced their negative opinions on the topic, so the older girls dropped the subject.

The children’s concert was an early afternoon performance, so after lunch they were off to the Tri-City Symphony Hall. Hair, nail touch up, and dresses were done before Marcus and George joined the girls in the break room.

As Cindy and Sammie got into position to go out onto the stage at the start of the Children’s Concert, it was obvious things were different this time. The noise from the audience was much louder than it had been for the last two performances. The two of them could hear comments coming from the audience about the Christmas Angels and people spotting Jessica, George, and Marcus.

“Okay, girls,” Stage Director Hannah said, coming up to the two little ones. “You have both done a great job on the last two performances but this one as you can already tell is a little different. When you go out there at the beginning, and during the performance, expect kids to shout stuff out. Try, try, try, hard to just ignore them. Focus on what your job is for the concert. No matter what is said, focus on playing your instrument, not the audience. If you have any questions or concerns, look at Conductor Frances for guidance. If it is too much, try to hold on to the end of whatever piece you are playing and then just leave the stage and go to your break room. Your parents are back there to help. No one can get up onto the stage from the audience, and only approved people can get backstage. Are you ready?”

Cindy reached out and squeezed Sammie’s hand while looking her right in the eyes, “Ready?”

“No,” Sammie admitted. “But, I guess this is no different from concerts at school with the whole elementary school with all the kids in the bleachers watching us.”

“This will be much better,” Cindy grinned. “Those kids are always grouchy because they have to sit on those uncomfortable bleachers. These kids have the comfy Symphony Hall seats.”

Sammie giggled.

“Now the hard part,” Hannah commented looking out on the stage. “Let’s see if the audience will quiet down when we dim the lights.”

The lights went dark with just a spotlight on the lit up Christmas tree. Hannah waited as the noise in the audience started to calm down. After a few minutes she squeezed the two girls shoulders and whispered, “Go.”

It was simple all they had to do was walk out onto the stage in their pretty little girl Christmas dresses and be in awe of the tree as they approached it. Then they would open up their two presents and take out their instruments. They had done it during every practice and the two previous performances. This was the easiest part of the concert. All they had to do was go out there, look at just the tree, and look cute and adorable.

As soon as they got on stage and the spotlights highlighted them, however, things changed. Suddenly, the whole audience started shouting and clapping. Both Sammie and Cindy jumped by the onslaught. They were frozen in place. They looked at each other and then out at the audience.

“Keep going girls. The show must go on,” Hannah stated loud enough that the girls could hear her. “Focus on the tree and your instruments.”

The two little girls looked at each other and then got back to the task at hand. Sammie said, “We need to ignore them. Time to just be cute little girls. Come on Cindy.”

The two girls got back into their role and headed for the tree. The noise in the audience didn’t start to calm down until the two little Christmas Angels had gotten their instruments and started playing. Throughout all of the first piece, comments from parents could be heard, telling kids to be quiet.

After the second musical piece, Conductor Frances, came over to Sammie and got down on his knees to be at her level, “Samantha, you are the youngest of the Christmas Angels.”

There was a lot of hooting and hollering from the audience, with a few people calling out, “Sam-mie, Sam-mie!”

“Well, Sammie,” Conductor Frances said with a quick look out at the audience. “You are playing wonderfully tonight. What is going through your mind.”

“Which cookies I’m going to put out for Santa tomorrow night,” Sammie said with a smile.

Suddenly there were several suggestions shouted out from the audience of different cookie types, along with a lot of laughter.

“Samantha,” Conductor Frances stated, looking down at her violin. “You are here today playing with a whole symphony orchestra full of adults. You can play at or above the level of any adult here. The only thing that sets you apart from them is your size and the stickers all over your violin. Those are where the Sammie side of you really shines through, even here up on stage playing with the orchestra. Tell us a little about your stickers.”

“I love stickers,” Sammie said with pride. “I have Vampirina, Sofia the First, and My Little Pony stickers on my violin. There is one other sticker though, and it is my favorite. This one right here of a little girl in pigtails playing a flute. Cindy gave it to me. I put it on my violin to remind me to keep practicing so someday I will be as good as she is.”

“You are already an amazing violinist.”

“Yeah, but Cindy plays her flute way better than I can play my violin,” Sammie looked over at Cindy. “Someday, I will play my violin as well as she can play her flute.”

“Thank You Sammie. Although I know you are already a top performer, I am sure you will get even better as you get older and practice more,” Conductor Frances moved away from Sammie and back to his podium. “Each one of the five Christmas Angels are extremely talented, but they all continue to strive to do better. Now, let’s hear more of their musical prowess.”

Two more musical pieces were played before the next of the child prodigies was approached by Conductor Frances. Cindy figured it would be her, with him going from youngest to oldest, but instead he went over to Jessica.

“Well, Jessica,” Conductor Frances said, coming up to the piano she was sitting at. “You are certainly a talented musician on the piano. The other four members of the Christmas Angels were collected by you. Can you please tell us about where you found them and why you brought them all together to perform?”

Jessica blushed, “We were not called the Christmas Angels until that video of three of us performing at the local mall went viral. We all met at Music Camp this last summer. I was taking a composing class and had to create an original piece of music. Originally, I figured one for just me to play on the piano, but Cindy needed help to . . . to shine, so I expanded it to be the two of us. Then I thought, well, since I was the best on piano at camp and Cindy was the best at woodwinds at camp, why not try to get the rest of the best players together to perform a piece.”

“And you did just that,” Conductor Frances stated as he smiled at the audience. “You got the five best performers together to perform. Your musical piece won first place, but you didn’t actually perform that piece on the piano. You chose to be the conductor of the piece when you performed it in front of everyone at camp.”

“Yes, sir. George, Cindy, and Sammie all decided that it sounded better when I was conducting it. So, we needed to find someone to play the piano. George suggested Marcus. I had never heard him play the piano, but he is amazing, even better than me.”

Conductor Frances and Jessica looked over at Marcus who was holding his electric guitar, then Jessica continued, “But, he was a Rock ‘n Roll performer and didn’t want to play the piano anymore. We sort of tricked him . . . well, Cindy did, and then he hesitantly agreed. But the only way he would join us for the Christmas Concerts here was if he got to play on his guitar instead of the piano.”

“Ah, yes, we will get to Marcus later in the performance,” Conductor Frances stated. “We all just heard him in that last piece. He really is quite talented on the electric guitar, and as the audience saw, not all music has to be the traditional style. I am impressed, Jessica. You got all these talented young musicians together and my understanding is you did it for Cindy and not yourself.”

Jessica beamed at Cindy, “She may be little, but she is absolutely amazing on that flute of hers. She was feeling so sad and depressed at the beginning of camp and I needed to do something to cheer her up and bring out the joy she spreads when she plays her music with emotions.”

“Thank You Jessica,” Conductor Frances made his way back to his podium. “This next piece will show some of Cindy’s amazing talent, as well as the other four Christmas Angels.”

The next musical piece started and the kids in the audience were fully captivated. After two more pieces, there was the intermission with Jessica, Cindy, and Sammie leading the audience in a singing and dancing performance of, Let It Go, with the full symphony orchestra playing the music for them. It was a hit. Then bathroom breaks for the audience and musicians. When they got back together, they started with another one of the fast and fancy pieces with music and lights showing off Marcus on his electric guitar and little dynamo Sammie on her violin.

The next time Conductor Frances approached one of the Christmas Angels it was George, “You are one of the oldest Christmas Angels, George. I know the three girls all look to you like a supportive big brother. That all being said, you are a very talented musician on the French Horn.”

“I love to play and have worked hard over the years to try and be the best that I can be. Cindy and Jessica both got me to be better though. I was an excellent technical player, but those two got me to tap into my emotions while playing. There is a big difference between just playing the music and feeling the music while playing. That is one of the things that makes Cindy such an amazing musician. She plays that flute of hers with such emotion. She taps into however she is feeling, sad or happy, and plays her music with those emotions. As you listen to her playing, you feel those emotions too. With her help, and prodding from Jessica as conductor, I finally figured out how to tap into my emotions while playing. It really increased my abilities.”

“Yes,” Conductor Frances looked out at the audience. “When we first learn to play, we all focus on the task itself: reading the piece, playing the music, and then figuring out how to play in a group. The truly talented musicians, though, learn to play with emotions. The experts in the field figure out how to play in such a way that the audience can feel those feelings from the music. Tell me George, the three kids younger than you are girls and they all look up to you. Do any others look up to you?”

“I have a little sister. I am very close to her and very protective of her. It is great being a big brother.”

“Big brothers are the best,” was heard from several young girls in the audience.

After two more musical pieces, Conductor Frances went up to the heart throb teenager on the electric guitar, “Well, Marcus, you are the oldest of the Christmas Angels. As I understand things, you were reluctant to join the group during the summer and even more so this Christmas. Your interest in playing louder and more fast paced music certainly isn't typical for a Symphony Orchestra, but have you enjoyed playing the music done in the style of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra?”

“Most definitely. I had never heard of Symphony Orchestra music done like that before until Jessica introduced me to it as a way to get all five of us back together for these Christmas concerts. It’s also given me a few ideas of what I can do when I am putting on rock concerts.”

Conductor Frances smiled at Marcus and then out at the audience, “Many musicians can play more than one instrument. Marcus here can play both the electric guitar and the piano. At age fifteen, he can do both at an expert level. In fact, I personally believe he plays the piano better than the guitar, but that is not where his passion is. Earlier we heard how George learned to put more feeling into his playing of instruments. Marcus feels he does that better with the guitar, so that is his focus at the moment.”

Turning back to Marcus, “Even though you are the oldest, you are not the leader of the Christmas Angels. Is that hard for you?”

Marcus laughed, “One of the things we learn at Music Camp each summer is that age doesn’t make you better at something. Once you figure that out, it is much easier to be part of a group, instead of feeling like you need to shine on top. Out of the five Christmas Angels, Jessica is officially our leader, but she isn’t the best player of the group. Actually the best would have to be our shyest player, Cindy, is probably the best musician of the five of us, and she is only ten. One of the most amazing things about her is that she doesn’t try to be better than others, she just tries to be the best she can be.”

“Cin-deee! Cin-deee!” was heard from the audience.

“Cindy is certainly good, and I will get to her after some more music,” Conductor Frances went back to center stage and started the music for the next piece.

When they finished the concert, Conductor Frances went up to Cindy, “Well, young lady. When I talked with all the other Christmas Angels, they mentioned you. Now, I know you are shy and probably don’t want to answer my questions, so instead I am going to ask you to show everyone why the others think you are so good of a player. Whenever you are stressed, overwhelmed, or just asked to play your favorite piece of music, you always play the same solo piece. Could you please play that for us right now?”

Cindy closed her eyes and brought her flute up to her mouth as the lights dimmed, except for a soft spotlight on Cindy. Suddenly, Symphony Hall was full of the sound of one of Friedrich Kuhlau’s flute solos. The audience went silent, until about two seconds after the last note, when the whole place erupted in applause.

“Cindy,” Conductor Frances stated as the lights came back up on the stage. “That was absolutely lovely. It was full of joy and happiness. You have such a positive impact on all the members of the Christmas Angels and the musicians here at Symphony Hall. It is impressive and shows us all something important. You don’t need to be loud and assertive to impact others. You can be quiet and shy like you, but still leave big marks on the world.”

“Thank You,” Cindy quietly said with a huge smile.

The five Christmas Angels were brought out together to the center of the stage, thanked for joining the Symphony Orchestra, and then were asked to play one more piece for the audience as an encore. When the concert was finally over, the five Christmas Angels met back-stage where they received hugs and congratulations from the parents.

Miranda was backstage with the parents, “Well, kids, that was absolutely amazing. Now, we were going to have you go out and meet people in the lobby, but we’ve decided to do things a little differently this time. During intermission, and right now, there are tables set up in the lobby to take questions from the kids in the audience. If you open up your tablets you can find the questions we have accepted. I’d like you all to pick a few questions to answer. We will meet out on the stage in ten minutes. So bathroom breaks and try to pick a few questions.”

After bathroom breaks and drinking some water, the five Christmas Angels opened up their tablets and looked at the questions. They were divided into ones for the general group, and specific questions for certain different Musicians. When Cindy opened up her folder, she found a sub folder labeled Transgender.

Holly sat on one side of Cindy and her dad on the other. Holly broke the silence, “Cindy, you don’t have to answer any question you don’t want to. You don’t even have to go out there to answer any questions. Honestly, Dad and I both feel you should avoid any of the Transgender questions, that is why they are in a separate folder. Since you have answered a lot of those types of questions from your classmates at school, Grandma thought you should be given the choice to answer some if you wanted to.”

Cindy opened the Transgender folder, “How do they know I’m transgender?”

Holly and Dad looked at each other before Dad reached around Cindy’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze, “A news reporter was looking into the Christmas Angels and discovered the truth. They weren’t supposed to connect the issue to your name when reporting on a child your age, but they did. They got in trouble for it too. It doesn’t matter now, most of the kids in the audience tonight know the truth. We can ignore the issue, or face it head on with family and friends there to support you.”

Cindy looked over to Sammie, Jessica, George, and Marcus all with their parents looking at the questions.

“Two minutes,” Miranda said, sticking her head into the break room.

Cindy quickly looked at the questions in the Transgender folder and highlighted three of them. Then she looked at the other questions in the main Cindy folder and highlighted three of them. When she went to look at the ones in the whole group folder, she didn’t have time. The five Christmas Angels were directed out to the stage where chairs were set up for them to sit in. Expecting to see just a few returning for this part, they were all surprised to see that a large amount of the audience was returning to their seats.

Conductor Frances was on stage looking at his tablet. He quieted down the audience and then started going from one kid to another asking questions they had highlighted. He would state who the question was for, the name and age of the person who asked the question, and then the question. He even answered a few questions that were about symphony orchestras or being a musician. There were a few questions the kids had not approved, since they were added after the concert. Cindy found one very interesting.

“This question is for Cindy, from eight year old Stella: Cindy, I am a transgender girl. My parents and a few friends know, but the other kids at school don’t know yet. Do your classmates know you are transgender and do they know you play the flute like a real angel?”

Cindy looked over at Sammie and then Jessica, before looking back stage at her Dad and sister Holly. Turning back to the audience, “When I was eight, like you, only my best friend Anna and my family knew about the true me. I was only supposed to be Cindy in my bedroom. Anna, and my big sister Holly, knew I was really Cindy all the time, only pretending to be a boy when I left the bedroom. That all changed this summer. I went against my parents orders and went to Anna’s birthday party in one of Holly’s old party dresses. At Music Camp the week after the birthday party, Jessica found out I played better wearing a dress than I did in boy clothes.”

Jessica got up and went behind Cindy and hugged her from behind.

Cindy continued, “When Sammie got involved, she helped me be Cindy full time at camp by making sure I had the right clothes to wear and lending me Molly.”

Sammie got up and joined Jessica behind Cindy hugging her. Then, Holly came out onto the stage and handed Cindy the Molly doll.

“That’s my big sister Holly, and this,” Cindy hugged the American Girl Molly doll before showing her to the audience. “This is the doll Sammie lent me the last week of summer camp. She then gave the doll to me as a gift. I had carried her around everywhere during that last week at camp. I was never without her. That is why Molly will always have a special place in my heart and in my room.”

Many of the girls in the audience could be heard saying, “Awe.”

“When I started fourth grade full time as Cindy this school year, I so wanted to bring Molly, but my therapist said it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to carry a doll around school full time in the fourth grade. She did have a point. If Kindergarteners can go to school without their favorite doll or stuffed animal, I could go to fourth grade without Molly here.”

There were several chuckles in the audience.

“Getting up and playing music in front of a large audience isn’t scary to me, but going to fourth grade as myself sure was. Everyone at school has seen me perform at Christmas programs and other events since I was in 1st grade. If the music teacher had known I played the flute when I was in Kindergarten, I’m sure he would have made me perform then too. It was only this year though that I let the school know I was really a girl named Cindy. Stella, I wish you the best of luck on your journey. It will not be easy. I made a mistake going against the orders of my parents, so my recommendation is to listen to your parents and your therapist. If you don’t have a therapist yet, get one. Surround yourself with people who know the true you and love you.”

Cindy stood up and hugged Jessica, Sammie, and Holly. She then looked over at the two boys, “Oh, Stella, that doesn’t always mean surround yourself with girls. George and Marcus are like two big brothers to me. George was amazing this last summer getting me through some panic attacks I had, just like he helps his real little sister. Marcus pretends to be all cool and macho, but he is just a big softy around girls. But, you might need some ear plugs if you listen to his music. He plays it real loud. It’s good, but loud.”

Many of the teenagers in the audience laughed or shouted, “Rock on, Marcus.”

Conductor Frances then closed out the Question and Answer section and the Christmas Angels left the stage for the last time.

As the kids gathered backstage, the realization hit them. This was goodbye time. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and everyone was heading to their own homes for Christmas. They wouldn’t see each other again until Music Camp in July, seven months away. George and Marcus were the first to say their farewells and head out.

“I can’t believe I agreed to wear a dress to this thing,” Jessica said as she went to get changed. A few minutes later she rejoined the group wearing a blouse and pants.

“Never again,” Jessica commented as she sat down on a chair. “I don’t care if it is what girls are supposed to wear to stuff like this. Never again.”

Cindy looked at Jessica and smiled, before turning to Sammie, “She may not like them, but I love getting all dressed up in a pretty dress.”

Sammie and Cindy twirled around the room in their fancy dresses.

After some discussion, Jessica gave both Sammie and Cindy hugs before leaving. She promised to stay in touch, but both of the younger girls knew they probably wouldn’t hear from the teenager again until summer.

Cindy and Sammie were playing together with their toys and dolls, not wanting to say goodbye to each other. Holly and the parents let them play together until Miranda came in and quietly told the parents that the protesters had left. That is when the girls finally had to say goodbye to each other. They made their way to the cars holding hands. After their American Girl dolls said goodbye to each other, Sammie and Cindy said goodbye. Sitting in their own cars, the girls waved to each other as they departed.

Holly reached over and took Cindy’s hand, “You did great sis. You really did. I am so proud of you. Dad set up with Sammie’s Mom a sleepover between Christmas and New Years at Sammie’s house, and another during Spring Break at our house. You’re not losing a friend Cindy, honest. The bond you two made during summer camp and this last week will keep you close forever.”

“Thanks Sis. Thanks.”