by Jennifer Sue

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Lyle Bull, a former Marine JAG officer and now a Captain in the Marine reserves, now had his own law practice in Hickstown, and in fact was the only lawyer in the small town. Quite naturally, he was a devoted fan of the TV series JAG. As a fourth grader, Gabe Bull knew his dad had served in JAG and was now a lawyer, but didn't fully understand what a lawyer did. The characters on JAG were lawyers for the US Navy and Marines so Gabe usually watched the show with his dad in an effort to learn. The last two JAG episodes in April, 2003 snagged the youngster's attention like none had ever done before. These were the set-up shows for a JAG spinoff, NCIS. Even though her presence on the shows was brief, one character in particular seemed to reach out of the screen and grab Gabe Bull, just as she has enthralled countless thousands other fans of the show. Abby Sciuto was a perky, brilliant, computer geek, scientist with a quasi-Goth lifestyle all her own that Gabe Bull found irresistible.

Gabe knew he was different from most children and never quite fit in with his peers. He was inquisitive, intelligent, computer literate, and liked, as his mom often said, being 'quirky'. Gabe Bull immediately identified with Abby Sciuto, her character was a kindred spirit for the self-identity questing youth and she instantly became his role model. When NCIS debuted in September, Gabe recorded every show and almost religiously re-watched Abby's scenes. The free spirited Abby exuded self-confidence and intelligence. She was able to be true to her personality and yet function well in an exacting fast paced scientific environment.

As Halloween approached, the plucky fourth grader had little trouble talking his mother, Faye Bull, into helping him create an Abby tribute costume that was slightly tweaked to fit Gabe’s personality. Instead of being a typical Goth devoted to black and death, he wanted to be a Goth devoted to green, as in life and growth. Being stubborn and wanting to do it right, he refused to get cheap flimsy costume accessories, instead insisting on the real things. Faye agreed because Gabe seldom asked for anything and she felt sure he would be using everything after Halloween. A flowing knee length white lab coat wasn’t too outrageous. She did force a compromise on the studded black leather dog collar and wrist cuffs; she only allowed rounded silver studs, not the spiky kind that Abby sometimes wore. Gabe thought about asking for a red and green plaid mini-skirt because Abby looked super cute when she wore one and although he didn’t understand why, he felt a powerful urge to wear one just like it, but he reluctantly decided that would be pushing things too far. Dark green khaki styled pants with a looping silver chain belt was the acceptable choice since Abby sometimes wore them. Faye Bull reluctantly yielded and let him select a pair of girls’ black leather ankle boots with inch thick soles only after he proved he could walk in them without tripping. While they weren’t overtly feminine, they were unlike anything most boys would wear. For a top they decided upon a dark green long sleeved pullover shirt. Since his hair wasn’t long enough for pigtails ala Abby, or even a ponytail, he decided to go with a dark green beret. The intrepid lad even convinced his mom to get him dark green lipstick and nail polish to complete his Goth Abby-esque scientist effect.

With a bit of assistance from his dad and silver spray paint, they were able to spruce up a toy laptop computer to look like the real thing. The only thing he needed was the skull appliques Abby wore on her outfits. Unlike Abby, he didn’t want a bloody or gross looking skull, or one with cross-bones. With parental approval, Gabe Bull searched the internet for a suitable skull patch to adorn his costume, knowing it had to meet their approval too. When he found the perfect skull, he printed it out and ran to his mother.

Faye Bull was pleasantly surprised. The cut-out embroidered patch was 3 1/4 inches high and 2  ½ inches wide. The skull was a simple keyhole type with a pair of black eyes in the upper rounded portion and four vertical lines in the squared bottom portion representing five teeth. What really made it cute, and surprisingly yes, a skull can be cute, was that it sat atop a stem with two green leaves reaching skyward. The skull was the flower and the entire thing was edged in green. There was no way she could object to Gabe’s selection. Since she knew this was more than a passing fancy, she took advantage of the web-site’s discount and ordered a dozen patches. They arrived just in time so she could sew one on the front of the beret, one in the center of the chest of the shirt, and one on each of the back pockets of the khakis.

Even though Gabe Bull was definitely not part of any of the cliques in school, his costume was a hit with his classmates. The costume was so good and so appropriate for Gabe that Eddie Bull, his older brother, and his buddies didn’t complain about the younger boy accompanying them as their haul at the houses they visited for trick or treating was bigger because the adults loved Gabe’s costume. After Halloween, Gabe Bull continued to wear as much of the costume as he could whenever he could get away with it. Although Lyle Bull and Faye Bull were able to talk him out of wearing the dark green lipstick except on very special occasions, they were unsuccessful in trying to convince him to stop using the dark green nail polish. Even though he was an enlightened Marine, Lyle wasn’t happy that his youngest son was wearing nail polish all the time, but reasoned that since it was Goth dark green it wasn’t overtly sissy. Pink polish would have been verboten. The black ankle boots, dark green khaki plants, dark green t-shirt and dark green beret became Gabe’s normal attire. The dog collar and wrist cuffs went on as soon as he came home from school. Lyle and Faye were both concerned with the Goth aspect of Gabe’s obsession with Abby. Even though they were cute, the applique skulls did freak them out quite a bit. When it became evident that Gabe was going to continue his Abby-esque interests, they became concerned that he was becoming preoccupied by death. Finally they delicately asked him if he knew what a skull meant.

“Of course,” Gabe replied looking at them weirdly. “It’s the bones inside a person’s head after the flesh has decayed from the outside and the brain has rotted from the inside.”

“Gabe,” Faye asked gently. “Don’t you think having skulls sewed on your clothing is strange?”

“No,” Gabe replied bewildered by their questioning. “Why would it be strange?”

Lyle and Faye exchanged perplexed looks before the father tried to explain their concern. “Well, because they’re a part of someone who died.”

“Yeah,” Gabe replied obviously not getting their point.

“We should respect people’s bodies after they die,” Faye said. “Displaying someone’s skull is showing disrespect.”

“I can see that,” Gabe agreed with a smile as he realized what his parents were getting at. “You said when Grandpa Ralph died his soul, the part of us that makes us who we are, left his body and he went to heaven to be with Jesus. So any dead body is just an empty shell. The body is buried so all the soft tissue decays leaving bones and then they decay but it takes a lot longer. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. At the cemetery when Grandpa Ralph was put in the ground, Pastor Beech said "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Don’t you remember, Mom? I wasn’t sure what he meant so you helped me look it up in our NRSV Bible. He was talking about how God made Adam from dust and when we die our bodies decay back into dust.”

“I understand these patches aren’t real skulls,” Gabe added. “I didn’t like most of the skull patches I found on the net, and I don’t like most of the ones Abby uses. That’s why I picked the one I did. We compost the leaves and grass clippings to make fertile soil from their decay. This skull is a flower! I really like that it’s surrounded by green. It’s like new life growing out of the decay of death like Jesus promised us, you know, we’ll have a new everlasting life after we die! That’s why I like these patches so much!”

Lyle Bull and Faye Bull were blown away that their brilliant nine year old had more than connected all the diverse dots. Gabe Bull had synthesized composting yard waste to make fertile soil, his grandpa’s death with the Creation story and Jesus’ death and resurrection and the promise of eternal life. The skull flower patches made perfect sense! They were a more than a bit embarrassed by Gabe’s leaps of logic. One thing was certain, while he liked Abby, his green Goth outlook was temporized by his faith. That went a long way in their letting him continue experimenting with his Abby/Goth lifestyle.

Faye had to buy him extra T-shirts and pants as well as a back-up beret so she could launder the clothes as he wore them daily. Gabe easily adapted to his new identity as an intelligent geeky Goth and seemed to bask in the notoriety. Naturally, some of the macho guys at school thought Gabe was a prime target for teasing. However, the teasing of his classmates quickly eased because instead of getting a rise out of him, he smiled. Some of the older guys at school continued attempt to hassle the mini-Goth but Gabe’s big brother, Eddie Bull, kept things from getting out of hand.

Eddie and Gabe were quite different. Since both parents worked in the first floor law office, they had Eddie help with the outside chores which included taking out the garbage, mowing the small back lawn, raking leaves, and shoveling snow. Gabe helped his mom with the indoor chores. Gabe’s bedroom was neat and orderly at all times while Eddie's bedroom would make a pig blush. Gabe often made supper under mom's watchful eye and this past summer nearly every day he made a simple lunch for himself and Eddie. Unlike most kids, Gabe didn't mind vacuuming and helped with the laundry too. It was only on rare occasions that he had to be reminded to do a chore. Eddie had to be reminded to do each chore, often more than once. Physically the brothers were also different. Gabe was slender and just below average height for his age while Eddie was brawny and a bit over normal height range for his age.

As a big brother, Gabe thought Eddie was an okay guy. Eddie loved sports even more than their dad. Eddie played soccer and T-Ball before he began kindergarten. Football and wrestling were added when he was in first grade. Always on the first team, he played with all his heart and soul. Among Gabe’s first memories as a preschooler were playing quasi-soccer with Eddie and their dad. Their parents said Eddie would spend hours playing with Gabe when he was a toddler, rolling a ball to him so he could roll it back.

Naturally Gabe Bull had been expected to follow Eddie Bull’s manly example. Before he started kindergarten he was signed up for soccer and T-ball. Gabe played better than most kids on the teams and as well as the best players on the teams. The difference was that he couldn't have cared less about sports and freely voiced his opinion. That pissed off the coaches and his teammates as he was easily the best player even though he was just going through the motions. His teammates couldn't outplay him, so they began to bully and tease him. Needless to say he finished his initial seasons and refused to sign up for any other sports. Despite his disdain for organized sports, he and Eddie got along well. Big bro was quite protective of his little bro.

Gabe's attitude towards sports regularly created problems in school. In phys-ed he was always the best guy in his class at every activity, not only within his age group but also among most kids older than him. Once he began developing his Abby-esque persona, it really pissed off the jocks who were jealous of his underutilized natural athletic abilities. Gabe felt great pride that he was a nerdy geeky Goth! It certainly set him apart from his more peer-conscious classmates. Gabe plainly didn't give a hoot about sports or what people thought of him. Professional sports, in his oft voiced opinion, was a sham of overpaid often dishonorable prima-donas. Gabe didn't HATE sports and didn't mind playing for fun or phys-ed; but as far as he was concerned, playing on teams when everyone was intent on winning took all the fun out of it.

Not only did he piss off the macho jocks by being better at sports than they were, he quite frankly told them their addiction to sports was a sign of their stupidity. As if that wasn't enough to earn their ire, he earned straight 'A's, his homework was always done and correct and he always knew the answers when he was called on in class. Being a nerdy geeky Goth, he also had no problems answering other questions if he knew the answer, such as who started a fight, or who pulled what prank. It wasn't that he was a tattle tale or rat fink, not once did he ever voluntarily go to a member of the school staff to squeal. But everyone at school knew he would not tell a lie. It wasn't that he didn't want to occasionally lie, but he'd learned early on he was incapable of doing so. Every time he tried to lie he looked so guilty it was obvious he was not telling the truth so he gave up trying. If he was asked a specific question to which he knew the answer, he gave that answer. By the standards of his peers he was a brown nosing sissy.

Gabe’s popularity amongst the tougher elements at school was quite low, and most of the others were too intimidated by the tougher elements to get too close. Knowing he was different, Gabe didn’t try to make friends since he figured no one would want to be ostracized like he was. During recess he spent his time jogging around the perimeter of the play ground. This not only kept him in tremendous shape, it helped his agility, speed, and stamina. When someone got on his case, he’d shrug his shoulders, smile and say, “What do you expect? I’m a Goth.”
 

*          *          *
 
Over the next two years, Gabe Bull settled into and perfected his Abby-esque Goth persona. Except for a pair of cheap sneakers for phys-ed class, thick soled girls black leather ankle boots became his main footwear, rotating through 3 pairs at a time. The newest pair, highly polished, were for dress occasions. The second pair was for general everyday use. The third and oldest pair was for activities that would mess them up. The same went for his dark green khaki pants, with a dark green khaki shorts for warm weather. The dark green pullover shirts were either short or long sleeves. The applique skull flower appliques were on each shirt, the back pockets of the pants, and on the ever-present dark green berets. Gabe’s nails, both toe and finger, were always rounded to 1/8 inch past the tip of the digit and immaculately manicured and painted dark green. When he could get away with it, he wore the dark green lipstick. He also refused to cut his hair, creating a fringe when it grew long enough, and in the summer after fourth grade, a short low slung male ponytail at the nape of his neck.

It took every bit of Lyle Bull’s will power not to go ballistic about Gabe’s continued obsession with Abby. His Marine training was a dual edged sword as it made him feel repulsed by his son’s sissyish antics and at the same time gave him the discipline to keep his conflicting emotions in check. Gabe’s behavior creeped him out for several reasons, one of which was that like many guys, he found Abby’s Goth scientist character extremely erotic. Of course, he was very careful not to let anyone know. Due to Gabe only being 9 when he adopted Abby as a role model, he knew his son’s interest in the cute girl was not prurient. Looking across the table during meals with his youngest son wearing dark green lipstick, with matching polished nails and the beret was almost too much for the manly father to bear. Yet despite his misgivings, Lyle had to admit that in many ways Abby and Gabe were a good fit. Both were intelligent, both were irrepressible, and both were more than a bit eccentric, but in a good way.

Eddie Bull accepted Gabe’s Abby/Goth schtick without blinking an eye. It was such a natural fit he even encouraged his little brother. It was easier to explain Gabe’s eccentricities to his buddies. It had always been difficult for Eddie to find a good gift for Gabe because their interests were so different. The Christmas after Gabe’s second Halloween as Abby, Eddie searched high and low until he found the perfect gift for his li’l bro, finally finding it on a British e-bay site. On Christmas morning when he opened the gift, Gabe squealed and jumped up and down, then hugged Eddie until Eddie pushed him off. Lyle and Faye laughed to see Gabe’s joy... until Bert the Hippo actually farted when Gabe hugged him.
 

*          *          *
 
Two guys from his sixth grade class stepped out of the bushes in front of Gabe Bull as he made the twelve block walk home from school. Not wanting to fight, he turned to head the other way only to find two more guys from the sixth grade class there. All four were smiling maliciously. If he didn't do something fast he knew he was about to get whooped.

Trying to control his panic Gabe realized to escape he somehow had to distract them. Since they were maliciously smiling at him, he decided to return the favor. Plastering a manic smile on his face, he side stepped to the bushes to shield his back. His bizarre grin confounded the stalkers and he saw a flicker of doubt cross their faces as they hurriedly exchanged wary glances. The guys that had stepped out in front of him appeared more intimidated than the other boys, so he feinted a charge towards the guys behind him, swiftly spun in the other direction and charged between his classmates. They managed to step towards his charge but their momentary hesitation was all he needed. Like a charging linebacker he managed to ram his head between their bodies so that his shoulders firmly nailed each in the gut. The impact caused him to stumble but the guys he'd hit were both doubled over gasping for air and in the process blocked the other two guys from getting directly to him. Before they could scramble around the disabled pair, Gabe regained his balance and sprinted off with his now six inch boy style pony tail bouncing furiously from side to side. Gabe had learned long before to keep his beret discreetly clipped to his hair. They chased for about a hundred yards before giving up as he was steadily increasing his distance from them. All the running he did during recess had it's advantages.

By the time Gabe made it to his home at 232 Main Street home he’d caught his breath but was hurting. Both shoulders were bruised. Heading to the kitchen he took two flexible ice-packs from the freezer. After wrapping them in paper towels, he draped one over each shoulder inside his T-shirt. Instead of heading to his bedroom to do his homework, he grabbed a Coke and sat at the table. That way he could pull the ice-packs and put them back in the freezer when he heard his mom coming up the stair case from the family law offices on the first floor of the row home in the Hickstown business district. His plan worked... almost.

“Good afternoon, Gabe,” his surprised Mom greeted him warmly as she came into the kitchen from the stairs “Why are you doing your homework at the table?”

Ruefully Gabe mused that maybe he wasn’t as smart as he thought he was. He hadn’t thought of a logical reason for doing his homework in the kitchen. “I was thirsty,” he answered indicating the Coke can. “I didn’t have much homework so I thought I’d just sit here to knock it out so I could greet you when you got home.” Okay, so maybe he did go a bit overboard in trying to butter her up, but he knew he was blushing which gave away his hurried fib.

“You’re up to something,” Faye declared using her momdar. The jig was up when he winced as she gave him an affectionate squeeze on one shoulder. “That hurt,” she said as she instantly relaxed her grip but kept her hand lightly on his shoulder. Then she softly put her other hand on his other shoulder. “Do you want to tell me why your shoulders are cold?”

“I’d rather not,” Gabe plaintively answered as his inability to lie once again did him in.

Even though she stood behind him with her hands lightly on his shoulders he could feel she was giving him that steely eyed 'MOM' look.

“Four guys tried to jump me on the way home,” he explained after a deep sigh. “I charged between two of them and got away but each managed to get in a solid hit on one of my shoulders with their stomachs.”

His mom leaned her head over to look in his face. “I thought only sumo wrestlers attacked with their stomachs.”

“It’s some kind of new kind of oriental martial arts,” Gabe answered struggling to suppress a grin. “I think it’s called Karatummy.”

That made his mom chuckle. Still, she was concerned and had a look at his bruises. They were a dark red from the ice-packs but promised to be purple by morning. After making sure he wasn't seriously hurt they set to work making supper.

As they ate supper, Faye had Gabe tell his dad and Eddie what had happened when on the way home from school.

"Who did it? I'll kick their butts," Eddie Bull angrily declared.

"Thanks but no thanks," Gabe Bull said. "It was okay for you to stick up for me when we were in the same school, but since we're in different schools, you could get in big trouble if you beat them up."

"Gabe's right," Lyle Bull, agreed. "Eddie, don't do anything to these guys. Gabe, we need their names to report the incident to the school and police.”

"Dad, that'll just make it worse," Gabe explained. This time he got the 'DAD' and the 'MOM' stare so he quickly gave in.

“It was the same guys that tried to jump me on Monday,” he said instantly realizing his gaff.

Faye Bull became quite upset. “They tried to beat you up on Monday?”

“I guess so,” Gabe glumly replied. “They waited for me and stepped out from behind some trees on Elm Street. When I saw it was them I knew they wanted to beat me so I took off and out ran them.”

“Gabe, you should have told us about that on Monday,” Lyle scolded. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was afraid you’d make me report it to the school and then they’d be out to get me even more,” Gabe answered.

“You’re damn right we would, and now we’ll call the police to report the two attempts too,” Lyle declared. “Who are the boys?”

"Moe Lester and Mike Rotch from my class and Dick Swett and Stu Piddity from the other two sixth grade classes," Gabe meekly confessed knowing it would do no good to attempt to lie.

As soon as they finished eating his dad called the police to ask a patrolman to stop by their house to take a report.

An hour later a policeman arrived. After introductions, they sat in the living room while Gabe repeated the details of the two attempted assaults including the names of the guys responsible. It was at that point the Sargent Marshal Law asked the questions his parents had failed to ask. “Do you have any idea why they’re targeting you?”

“Sure,” Gabe answered. “The third day of school they tripped Freddy Bangs in the school cafeteria. They timed it for when the monitor was sorting out a couple of guys trying to cheat in line. Freddy knocked a tooth loose and split his lip. When they asked if anyone saw what happened, no one said anything. Then Principal Jass came over to me and asked me if I’d seen what happened. Everyone was watching us and the four guys that did it were giving me the EYE. But everyone knows I don’t lie, that’s why the principal specifically asked me, I had no choice but to tell him what had happened. Once I broke the ice, others came forward. The four guys got a five day in and after school detention starting the next day and since Monday was Labor Day, all four school days of that week. That’s why they made the first try on Monday. It was the first school day after their detention ended.”

A synopsis of both incidents and the reason for Gabe being their target was placed in an official police report. Unfortunately since he wasn't actually assaulted, Sargent Marshal Law could only file the reports but did promise to talk to the boys and their families. As he left he suggested that Gabe might look into taking some self-defense lessons.

“Taking a martial art’s class would be a good idea,” Lyle said. “It’d probably do you good to get involved in some type of physical activity.”

“I guess I should,” Gabe conceded as he tried his best to conceal his excitement. “But I pick the school. I don’t want to go anywhere the nasty guys from my school are going. If the bullies find out I’m taking self-defense they'd really pour on the heat. Also, I’ve heard kids talking about trying to take self-defense at some schools where they were paired with tougher kids who took great joy in being free to beat up on kids. Furthermore I want the self-defense class to be well rounded, teaching not only the physical but the mental aspects of self-defense”

As Gabe hoped, his parents agreed to letting him select a school although they reserved the right to make the final choice. While this wasn’t the way he wanted to be able to chose the school, he was going to take advantage of the situation. While his dad and Eddie watched whatever sport was in season on the big screen TV in the rec-room, his mom and he would watch musicals on the TV in the livingroom. He’d idly thought about taking dancing lessons ever since he’d watched ‘West Side Story’ with his mom. The well choreographed dancing fight scenes blew his mind. When his mom got the DVD of Michael Flatley’s ‘Lord of the Dance’, he knew he had to figure out a way to take dance lessons. However, he’d felt his dad would never approve. It was one thing for his dad to accept Gabe not being interested in sports, it was an entire different matter to have him allow Gabe to take dancing lessons. Gabe thought his dad already felt he was not manly enough.

Gabe felt that his being targeted by the bullies was simply a bizarre way for fortune to smile upon him. Without Eddie to keep the rough kids off his back, he’d become a viable target. He knew he needed to take self-defense lessons, and now he’d be able to twist it to his advantage to get to take dance lessons too.

Faye was Lyle’s office manager, the couple went over their morning agenda since she’d be bit late getting downstairs to the office in the morning so she could take Gabe to school. She would talk to the principal about the attempted assaults and let them know they'd filed a police report. While his parents talked, Gabe faked doing a computer search for the martial arts school.

There was no way Gabe was going to tell his parents he’d already found a place that met his requirements and was local. The Metamorphosis School of the Arts just down the street met ALL his requirements. Later, when he showed his mom the website, she promised to call them tomorrow once she got to work.
 

*          *          *
 
Thursday morning Gabe and Faye sat in the Hickstown Elementary School office waiting for the principal. The anxious lad had been allowed to drop off his backpack and tell his teacher he'd be in the office. The kids walking past snickered to see him sitting in the office with his mom. Yet another reason to be hassled.

The bell rang to start school, and a few minutes later Principal Hugh Jass came into the school office. Once they were inside his office, Faye had Gabe relate the two attempted assaults.

“Mr. Jass,” Faye said firmly when Gabe had finished telling him what had happened. “My husband and I are taking this quite seriously. We have filed a police report.”

“I’m truly sorry for the attempted assaults,” Hugh Jass apologized a bit too smugly. “Unfortunately, since the attempted assaults didn’t happen on school property, there isn’t much I can do. However, I will have a talk with the boys.”

“Great,” Gabe sighed. “Between the police talking to them and you talking to them, my life will be sheer hell.”

Faye and Principal Jass just looked at him, obviously surprised by the normally subdued words.

“Oh,” Gabe blushed. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

They both nodded.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“As Gabe said, this all began when YOU asked Gabe about the incident in the cafeteria. You were obviously aware of Gabe’s inability to lie. Your actions in the cafeteria set this entire scenario in motion. We expect there will no be no assaults, attempted or otherwise, on school property,” Faye replied cooly. “Nor any bullying. My husband is a lawyer and is preparing registered letters to the parents of the boys involved notifying them we will pursue every possible legal action if their sons in any way attempt to inflict any further physical or mental harm on Gabe. The Hickstown School District solicitor, Grant Juree, will also be receiving notification that we will hold the school district and staff responsible for Gabe’s well-being.”

“I understand,” Hugh Jass again assured us with an obviously forced nervous smile. “I’ll explain the situation to the staff and have them keep watch on those boys and Gabe. We’ll do absolutely everything possible to keep Gabe safe. But it’s possible the boys may do something we can’t anticipate...”

“Then I strongly suggest you anticipate better,” Faye sharply cut him off. “A man in your position should have exercised better discretion than to question Gabe in public.”

“Of course, Mrs. Bull,” Hugh Jass soothed as beads of perspiration began to form on his forehead. “We’ll see that no harm comes to Gabe.”

“We’ll be holding you to that,” Faye stated as she stood signaling the end of the meeting.

This time Gabe managed to keep his mouth disengaged from his thoughts. It certainly helped that he was stunned by mom’s revelation that his dad was putting everyone on notice that no one hassle him. Having a lawyer for a father was okay. Through it all, Principal Jass was once more living up to his well deserved nickname. It’s not often a man’s name expresses his essence, but Principal Hugh Jass certainly did!

As they left, Principal Jass gave Gabe a hastily written note for his teacher. Gabe thought nothing of it, assuming it was merely an excuse note. Gabe was glad everyone was in class as his mom gave him a hug before she left the school. It was bad enough they’d been seen sitting in the office, getting hugged by your mom in school would earn weeks of hassles.

Everyone looked up from their class work as Gabe entered the classroom. Mike Rotch and Moe Lester glared daggers at him as he gave the note to his teacher before taking his seat. He was surprised when she called Moe Lester and Mike Rotch front and sent them to see the principal. Both gave him dirty looks as they headed out. Now he knew what was in the note.

By the end of the morning recess, everyone knew Gabe’s mom had been with him to see the principal and that Moe Lester, Mike Rotch, Dick Swett, and Stu Piddity had been called to the office for a lecture section. The four guys, with their compatriots, were shooting dirty looks at Gabe as he ran his usual laps around the playground area.

Not having any close friends to hang with, Gabe again spent his recess time running. The constant practice was one of the reasons he was able to outrun everyone. Gabe restrained a smug grin, while he wasn’t too worried about getting jumped again, he wisely didn’t want to rub his new immunity in their faces.
 

*          *          *
 
The ‘confrontation’ Gabe so carefully plotted happened before supper. "I don't care what you say, I don't want to take dancing lessons," Gabe told his parents. "I have enough problems in school without that!"

"Gabe, the school insists all students take dance lessons as it enhances a student's abilities in every class they offer. In order to take the self defense class, you must take a dance class too," Faye explained obviously exasperated.

"No, I'm not doing it," Gabe reasserted. "If the kids at school find out I'm taking any kind of lessons at a place that teaches dance, I'm dead meat!"

"You're the one who picked the Metamorphosis School of the Arts and asked me to enroll you," Faye added.

Gabe was well aware about their dance class requirement but had been playing dumb. He’d planned this confrontation hoping to negotiate a settlement. Having a father who was a lawyer had many advantages. "If I do it, you'll owe me big time," he offered an olive branch after what he felt was enough protestation.

The parents exchanged victorious looks, then Lyle asked, "What would you like?"

Gabe made it seem as if he was in deep thought for a few moments. What he really wanted was his own laptop computer but he knew if he asked for that outright they'd say no. What he planned to ask for was far out enough to be so much worse the computer would seem a fair comprise. "I want a new dirt-bike with at least a 90cc motor, but bigger would be great." It was something he wanted but knew he'd never get.

"No motorcycle," Faye declared firmly.

"But other guys in my class have them," Gabe wheedled.

"Are these the same guys that hassle you in school? I Thought you didn't like them," Faye challenged. "Why would you want to be like them?"

"So they stop hassling me," Gabe replied playing it up as if he was exasperated.

"NO," his mom replied firmly.

Lyle just looked at Gabe sadly thinking his macho-deficient son was starting to turn around. "What else do you want?"

His response surprised Gabe. If it had been his dad’s choice he might have gotten the bike! Gabe filed this for future use. "Well, I'd like my own computer," he sighed heavily. "Then I wouldn't be fighting Eddie over it all the time."

"That would be an improvement," Lyle said with a chuckle.

"I like the idea, but not the cost," Faye, ever the pragmatist, said.

"We can pick up a reconditioned unit," Lyle suggested.

"As long as it works," Gabe said barely controlling his excitement.

"If we do get you a computer, we'll expect you to take self defense and dance lessons," Faye said. "With no arguments or moaning from you and no slacking off in the classes."

"For my own computer, you've got a deal," Gabe happily declared.

"Hey, how come the squirt gets his own computer? If he gets one, I want my own computer too," Eddie declared as he lumbered into the room having just arrived home from JV football practice.

It took all Gabe had not to laugh at him. Eddie was big, strong, coordinated, athletic, determined, and at times, dumb. Gabe was in sixth grade while Eddie was in seventh, but the younger boy helped his big brother with his homework. When Eddie couldn't figure out his Algebra during the first week of school, Gabe read the textbook and had it nailed.

"We'll get Gabe a reconditioned computer," their dad explained. "You'll get the computer you've been sharing."

"I'm older," Eddie declared. "Why can't I get the new one?"

"It doesn't matter to me," Gabe said. "I already know how our old computer works. If you get the new one, I won't have to figure out the new programs."

They could almost see the wheels turning in Eddie's head. "Maybe I'll stick with the one we got," he finally decided. "Gabe likes figuring stuff out. He'll figure out how the new computer works."

"Okay," Faye agreed winking a Gabe. "You'll get the computer you now share and Gabe will get a reconditioned one."

"Kewl," he said as he headed up to his third floor bedroom.

His parents looked at Gabe and smiled. They both knew he had pulled a fast one on Eddie, yet it hadn't been entirely selfish because what he'd said had been the truth. It had taken Gabe almost three months to teach Eddie what he knew about their shared computer and even then most of the features were beyond him. Teaching him a new system would be horrible because he'd want to keep doing things the old way.

“I’d like to ask for one more thing,” Gabe stated after Eddie was safely upstairs. “If it’s possible, can you get me laptop?”

“I don’t see why not,” Lyle said before his mom could say anything.

“If you get a laptop and lose or break it, don’t expect us to replace it,” Faye added firmly while shooting a glare at his quickly chagrined dad.

“I’ll be careful with it,” Gabe assured her. “I promise not to pest you if something happens to it.”

The discussion was over. Faye and Gabe went into the kitchen to finish preparing supper.

That night Gabe went to bed smiling. He’d successfully scammed his parents! While he couldn’t lie, he could act. As long as they didn’t ask the right questions, he could fool them! His dad’s words rang sweetly in his memory. “Gabe, the school insists all students take dance lessons as it enhances a student's abilities in every class they offer. In order to take the self defense class, you must take a dance class too."
 

*          *          *
 
Friday at school was a bit awkward. The venomous glares the four guys shot Gabe told him they must have been visited by the police and gotten the registered letters his dad sent. It was plain to all the students the school staff was keeping a close eye on Gabe. The four bullies and friends were quite impotent in regards to getting back at him and were not going to try anything for quite a while. At the instigation of the four bullies, most of the kids at school ignored Gabe more than normal too. This hurt since he’d thought many had been casual friends and now due to the peer pressure from the brutes they'd abandoned him. His hurt turned to controlled anger as he realized their supposed friendship had been a sham.

Only three kids in his class, Rocky Beech, Freddy Bangs, and Buffy Summers spoke to him. Freddy was the boy who the bullies tripped. The three classmates had never been part of the in-crowd and in fact were downright social outcasts who easily befriended each other. The trio knew they were social outcasts of their class and even the school and really didn’t care. Everyone usually avoided the trio and now the lemmings were studiously avoiding Gabe. At lunch Buffy, Rocky, and Freddy waved Gabe to join them at their table so Gabe gladly joined them flaunting his former so called casual friends. As the four outcasts began to talk, they were mildly surprised to discover that while their level of interest varied they liked or disliked the same things. Gabe found they were somewhat kindred spirits and actually enjoyed their company.
 

*          *          *
 
Unlike many small American towns, businesses in Hickstown managed to emerge from the slow steady decline that befell most towns beginning in the mid 1960's as big national corporations squeezed the independent family businesses out of existence. Part of the reason was because of Hickstown’s location. Twenty miles from the nearest city and eight miles from the nearest four lane highway, Hickstown was definitely outside the modern hectic lifestyle. Being relatively out of the way with a strong rural economy and tax base, even the Hickstown School District managed to avoid the pressure to merge with neighboring school districts. The political turmoil of the sixties didn’t miss Hickstown. Many youths embraced the rock and folk music inspired protests and rebelled against the status quo to leave small town life. What made Hickstown different was that many of those who left returned after becoming disillusioned as the anti-establishment rebellion collapsed.
 
*          *          *
 
When Gabe Bull arrived home after school he and his mother, Faye Bull, walked up Main Street. The Metamorphosis School of Arts was located at 350 Main Street. Although he was excited, he did his best to conceal his glee. The building anchored one end of the reinvigorated three block long Hickstown business district. It was a massive two and a half story brick schoolhouse 120 feet wide and 90 feet deep built in 1925. They crossed the town’s spacious public parking lot that had been created from the old school’s playground and walked into the main entrance. The first floor was six feet above ground level allowing ample room for windows in the basement. After they identified ourselves at the reception desk, a smiling woman in her early thirties emerged from an office.

“Hello Mrs. Bull, Gabe,” she greeted them. “My name is Lynne Swann. I’m the manager and one of the instructors. I’ll be taking you on a tour of the facilities and answer any questions you may have.”

After the tour they were shown a power point presentation explaining all about the Metamorphosis School of the Arts. They taught ballet, tap, jazz ballroom, country, and Irish dancing as well as drawing, painting, sculpting, acting, mime, vocal and instrumental music, yoga, tai chi, martial arts, gymnastics, cheerleading, and physical fitness. The Metamorphosis School of the Arts was unlike any other studio in the entire state and very possibly, the nation. They had something for everyone. Students of all ages were welcomed.

“I’m quite impressed,” Faye said. “But I’m curious about why the school requires dancing lessons to be taken in conjunction with the martial arts?”

“That’s an excellent question,” Lynne smiled. “Let me explain a bit more about our school since it is a major part of the answer to your question. Both dance and martial arts are classical forms, in which the shape of bodies in motion can be meaningful, even spiritual. Both disciplines are really about internal work and internal strength. The whole point of Asian monks learning the yoga-derived exercises that became the foundation of oriental martial arts was to strengthen their ability to meditate and hold the meditation poses. The monks’ emphasis on simple, thoughtful living, rather than prohibitions or hierarchies, meshes well with a holistic world view.”

“Our martial arts is a derivative of Karate and Taekwondo and is notable for extreme simplicity and directness, being strictly utilitarian in nature,” Lynne said. “Classes tend to be rather physically demanding as befits any activity which has the potential to be used in life or death situations. But the martial arts we teach is a defensive art. Students are cautioned never to use the techniques they learn to attack or terrify classmates or others. Any student who does so is subject to instant dismissal. Central to training are the KATA. These exercises teach the student to flow from one technique to the next with correct posture, balance, timing and breathing while executing the techniques using great speed, power, and focus. With incessant practice of KATA, the movements and techniques will become reflexive and instinctive and as such extremely effective.”

“The goal of our martial arts program is to make the individual aware of natural strengths and how to apply them to the greatest advantage,” Lynne explained. “The many powerful and graceful movements will enable persons to defend themselves by using any part of the body, but mostly the brain. A person, therefore, will develop self-confidence because of the power and ability that has been mastered. This self-confidence can be carried to all aspects of life. The mind rules the body, so student must learn to control the mind. Self-respect and parental respect are natural outgrowths of training. The study of martial arts is so beneficial because is involves structure, rules, rituals, a stop-and-think attitude, and absolute obedience. No techniques are taught until the students have learned to stop, listen, and think. Classes are small, so the instructor’s attention can be appropriately focused on each student. The techniques are monitored carefully, emphasizing over and over that these are sports and are not to be used for any aggressive play.

“Dance will define an individual’s style and refine their martial arts technique,” Lynne informed us. “Our students get that extra edge in life including confidence, coordination in movement and music listening skills. Studies show that dance training leads to teens with higher self-esteem. Requiring dance lessons also serves to weed out those super macho types who try to sneak into our martial arts classes.”

“Mrs. Bull, if you or your husband are looking for an up-scale, clean, and relaxing place to workout, we have it,” Lynne added. “Our fitness center doesn't require contracts. You can enjoy peace and quiet while working out in a fitness center that is careful to foster a woman and family friendly atmosphere.”

Faye’s and Gabe’s heads were spinning by the time she completed her spiel, but she had more than explained why they insisted dancing be a part of martial arts. Faye signed Gabe up for a general dance class and a martial arts class. The boy left very happy.

As they walked back across the town parking lot, Faye and Gabe headed next door to the community's favorite store. Locally owned and operated, The Crateful Bread began as a bakery in 1980 when the Prodigal son of Werner and Kathryn Winters, respected local teachers, returned home with a girlfriend and another couple after spending several years wandering the country as hippies. Werner and Kathryn Winters purchased the closed small town bakery for their son an three friends to get them started. Like most small businesses in town, the first floor was for business and the second and third floors for living quarters. Naturally, the four friends lived over the bakery. Initial misgivings by the locals about the four hippy entrepreneurs quickly vanished as the taste and quality of their baked goods was unsurpassed. Over the years their success allowed them to purchase adjoining buildings and expand the bakery into nutritional supplements, herbal medicines and supplements and a natural and organic food store with a butcher, deli and small restaurant. In their first ten years they were able to by the entire block of row houses with first floor businesses. As they expanded the business downstairs, each couple moved into their own upper floor living quarters, then rented out the rest. From their start at 201 Main Street they now stretched to 291 Main Street.. The 10 former businesses were joined into one by tearing out adjoining walls and eventually making the ten previously individual stores into one. The flowing space in the unified store was clean and the atmosphere relaxed and homey. In place of normal Muzak, the tunes played over the PA system were from the late 60's and early 70s featuring groups like the Mommas and Papas, Jefferson Airplane, Frank Zappa, and the owner's obvious favorite group, The Grateful Dead. At least one of the four gracefully aging not quite ex-hippie owners were always on hand. The mother and son left with fresh bread and veggies while humming TRUCKIN'.

---

To Be Continued...
 

Gabe looked at the floor. His inability to lie smacked him in the face again! "Part of me is curious what it'd be like to wear cute skirts like yours," he replied softly. "But I don't want to be a girl."

"You won't have to become a girl," Buffy answered as she put a comforting hand on his trembling arm. "But you could pretend to be a girl to round out the Scooby Gang. We'll call you Gabi, and I know the guys won't hassle you about it. Neither will the grups, they're cool with just about anything.

by Jennifer Sue

---

 

During breakfast on Saturday, Faye Bull announced they were going to Church. Knowing there was no way out, Lyle Bull and Gabe Bull just sighed, but Eddie Bull blundered.

"I don't want to go," Eddie complained. "I got plans to meet the guys."

"Then you'd better change your plans," Faye declared in a voice that would accept no further excuses."

Eddie was smart enough to not argue although he did grumble.

It wasn't unusual that Faye insisted her family go to Church. She went almost every week and made the boys attend Sunday School but they usually left before Church started. Lyle went to Church at least once a month. After breakfast Eddie headed out on his bike to join his buddies. Lyle headed to the golf course and Gabe decided he'd go for a bike ride. Faye took advantage of the quiet house to sit and read.

Gabe dressed in his ubiquitous Goth outfit including the beret and studded collar and wrist cuffs as well as his ever present dark green painted fingernails. Inspired to be adventuresome, he even used his dark green lipstick. Packing a few bottles of water into a back pack, Gabe jumped on his bike and pedaled off with no particular destination in mind. After about 10 minutes of aimless riding around town he headed off down one of the country roads leading out of town. He'd only gone about half a mile when he saw Buffy, Rocky, and Freddy with two older people in the well landscaped front yard of a nice 2  ½ story old stone farm house. A sign by the drive way said it was ‘The Hundred Acre Farm’ owned by Werner and Kathryn Summers. Gabe stopped and watched his classmates working on the flower beds with the older couple. Gabe smiled to see Buffy wearing a tiered denim skirt.

Rocky Beech had always been the biggest guy in their class, and since last year he was the biggest kid in the school. Only eleven years old he already stood 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed in at 180 pounds, all solid muscle. Despite his strength and size, Rocky was uncoordinated and it wasn't uncommon for him to stumble. Most people thought he was a real dork. Unfortunately he was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Not that he was dumb, just slow on the uptake. Once he finally grasped a matter, he had it and could use it, but learning something new or unfamiliar never came easily. Rocky’s dad, Rev. Palmer Beech, was the pastor at Trinity UCC church and his mom, Virginia, was a teacher in the church run preschool... and when the church bells rang... ding-dong! This led to a nickname Rocky hated, Ding Dong. The guys knew ding-dong irritated Rocky so they called him Ding Dong... but always from a safe distance. Another nickname he'd been saddled with was troglodyte, because he was slow on the uptake and had a bit of a caveman mentality. Intimidated by his size, Rocky had never been in a fight, and no one wanted to be the first to face the behemoth. Just a glare from him was enough to stop his antagonists. From their interactions Gabe knew he was a gentle giant.

Freddy Bangs was almost the exact opposite of Rocky. Wearing thick, Coke-bottle lensed glasses he looked and behaved like a stereotypical nerd. He was the skinniest and shortest kid in their class. Freddy was smart but a quite timid and easily intimidated and did his best to be invisible. Naturally the bullies in school always tried to pick on him, but since he and Rocky were best buddies, the teasing was usually verbal. The incident in the cafeteria the first week of school had been an exception. This is not to say he did nothing, he'd developed a great talent for stealth. One of Freddy's favorite pastimes was learning magic. His fingers were so nimble and quick no one ever saw how he managed to pull off his tricks. He'd even managed to pick up a set of lock-pick tools on e-bay and had become quite adept at opening locks. Freddy's mother, Brenda Bangs, never married his father, Martin Lewis, because he was killed in a car crash before they realized she was pregnant. Seventeen year old Brenda’s parents were strict fundamentalists who threw her out of their home and disowned her when they learned of her pregnancy. Brenda found shelter with the family of a school friend and had Freddy just before graduating from high school. Geraldine Lewis, a high profile business woman, only found out that she was a grandmother after Freddy was born. Because of her business dealings, she felt she could not afford to reveal how she became a grandmom, but she did meet with Brenda and set her up in an apartment and paid for her schooling at a beauty academy. Gerri Lewis later bought a 1950s era beauty parlor in the Hickstown business district and paid to remodel the building. Brenda and Freddy lived above the salon, 'Styles with Bangs', located across the street from The Crateful Bread at 260 Main Street. While Freddy’s contact with his grandmom was restricted, she had a tendency to indulge his whims, thus he had the latest in tech systems.

Buffy Summers was a strange girl and reveled in it, but then her entire family was a bit eccentric. Everyone in town knew the family. Her maternal great-grandparents, Werner and Kathryn Summers were 75. Werner was an ex-Marine Lieutenant and had fought in Korea, earning the silver star and 3 purple hearts at the Chosin Reservoir. He and Kathryn had taught most of the long time residents as shop and home-ec teachers had been retired for ten years. Both sets of Buffy's grandparents dropped out of college in the early 70s and hit the road in almost stereotypical hippie mode where they linked up. Dave and Kathy Winters along with Mike and Susan Summers were 53 and still devoted Deadheads who owned and operated 'The Crateful Bread', named in honor of the iconic band 'The Grateful Dead'. Buffy's parents, Sonny Summers and Autumn Winters, were 29. Best friends from birth, they’d married right of high school and now worked with their parents at 'The Crateful Bread'. They were also tremendous fans of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' which was why they named their daughter after the lead character, Buffy Anne Summers. Like his grandfather, Sonny had joined the Marines right out of high school and was now a Gunnery Sargent in the reserves.

Between her still hippie grandparents and being named after the Vampire Slayer, Buffy never had a chance to be normal. Blessed with fire red hair and freckles, as a preschooler she became enamored with Pippi Longstockings to whom she bore a striking resemblance. She usually wore her long hair in twin beribboned braids and had a decided penchant for dresses or skirts and only recently gave up wearing stripped kneesocks. Like Pippi in many ways, Buffy was very intelligent in a common-sense fashion, had a well-honed sense of justice and fair play, and had learned from a wide variety of experiences.

The trio had been the odd guys out in their class since kindergarten. The dork, the nerd, and Pippi. Yet they strangely complimented each other. Freddy always academically helped Rocky while Buffy added pizzaz to their lives. They developed a great rapport and between Buffy and Freddy, they developed a seemingly innate ability to help Rocky learn the concepts being taught which made the teacher's job easier. By third grade, the teachers let Rocky, Freddy and Buffy sit side by side in a back corner of the classroom so Freddy and Buffy could help Rocky in class as the lessons were going on. Freddy always sat in the corner with Rocky in the middle while Buffy took the other seat. They were even allowed to push their desks together and talk quietly.

Buffy was the one who saw Gabe watching them and waved him over. A bit reluctantly, Gabe got off his bike pushed it over to the group who all stood up to greet him.

"These are my great-grandparents, Werner and Kathy Summers," Buffy introduced. "Moms and Pops, this is Gabe Bull. He's in our class at school."

The couple took in Gabe's Goth appearance and momentarily raised their eyebrows, but quickly accepted the newcomer's personal statement.

"We're pleased to meet you, Gabe," Kathy smiled. "Please call us Moms and Pops, all Buffy’s friends do.”

"Bull, I taught a young man named Bull," Werner said while his forehead wrinkled in thought. "He was always a hard working boy and he joined the Marines after graduating. Are you related to him?"

"Yes sir," Gabe replied being taught to be respectful of adults. "He's my father."

"Don't go getting formal on us," Werner chuckled. "I had enough of being called SIR when I was in the marines and teaching. What's your father doing these days?"

"He's in the marine Reserves and a lawyer," Gabe responded.

"Since he’s a Marine, I know he’s one of the few good men, I hope he's one of the few good lawyers," Werner laughed. "Did he ever marry that Wray girl?"

"I guess so, my mom's maiden name was Wray," Gabe replied.

"Faye Wray was a good student," Kathy smiled. "Did she finally decide on a career?"

"I guess so," Gabe answered. "She's dad's office manager."

"I knew they'd be good together," Werner chuckled. "It takes a lot of love and friendship to allow a couple to successfully work together" With that he leaned over and kissed Kathy.

The kids all made yucky faces at the obvious display of romance between the elderly couple.

"It looks like you're planting flowers," Gabe stated as he looked at what they'd been doing. "Mom only plants flowers in the spring."

"Most flowers are planted in the spring," Werner replied. "But some need to be planted in the fall. If you come around with the Scooby Gang, I'll teach you everything I know about gardening."

"The Scooby Gang," Gabe frowned. "What's the Scooby Gang?"

"Freddy, Rocky, and me are the Scooby gang," Buffy giggled. "The friends of Buffy the Vampire slayer called themselves the Scooby Gang. You do know I was named after the Slayer, don't you?"

"Yeah, I remember some of the kids used to tease you about that," Gabe nodded. "That is until they realized you didn't mind being nicknamed Slayer."

"I'm cool with it," Buffy chuckled.

Gabe still looked a bit confused. "So what does killing vampires and demons have to do with the Scooby Gang?"

"The Slayer and her friends fought the supernatural," Buffy explained. "In Scooby Doo, Freddy, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy teamed together to investigate supernatural occurrences. So the Slayer's friends dubbed themselves the Scooby Gang. Since we like Scooby Doo and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, plus the fact I'm named Buffy Anne Summers like the Slayer, and we've got our own Freddy, we thought we'd call ourselves the Scooby Gang. The only problem has been the Scooby Gang should have four members... say... now that you've become a total outcast at school you can join our gang! You could be our fourth member of our Scooby Gang! How about it?"

"Buffy, it's not nice to say someone is an outcast," Moms scolded.

"Well it's true," Buffy brightly answered. "We're all outcasts. He’s the one who told Principal Jass who tripped Freddy. Gabe was never really with the in group, but now he's totally out. In one way or another we're all social misfits. So Gabe, want to join us?"

“Okay,” Gabe smiled enjoying Buffy’s reasoning. "So what does the Scooby Gang do?"

"We hang out together and help others and each other out," Buffy answered. "We also spend a lot of time here with my great grandparents. They show us a lot and even let us use the top of the barn as a clubhouse." Then she turned to her great-grandparents. "Is it all right if we show him?"

"Go ahead," Moms chuckled. "We're almost done here anyway."

As the four kids headed around the side of the house on the driveway, Gabe spoke. "I don't mean to pry, but why do you call your great-grandparents Moms and Pops? That's an unusual nickname."

"That's what my grandparents called them when they returned home after a couple years on the roads," Buffy answered. "They were hippies and met while traveling around."

"Your grandparents, the ones who run The Crateful Bread," Gabe said. "They were real hippies?"

"You'd better tell him the whole story, Buffy," Freddy chuckled.

"I guess so," Buffy laughed. "It does get complicated. You know everyone calls them Walt, Val, Arie, and ChooChoo. But those are their hippie names. Walt is really David Winters. His hippie friends named him Walt because Disney World had just opened and his initials are DW, so someone tagged him with Walt for Walt Disney. Val is his wife, her name was Kathleen Parker, since a person who parks cars is a valet, she became Val. Their best friends are Arie and ChooChoo. Arie's real name is Mike Summers, Moms' & Pops' son. Val says they must have been smoking pot when they came up with his nickname. A person who adds sums is a summer, adding sums is arithmetic, so they tagged him Arie. ChooChoo's real name is Susan Clark. In the 60s the Monkees had a hit song titled The Last Train to Clarksville, so she became ChooChoo."

"That's really weird," Gabe chuckled. "Some of those nicknames are quite a stretch."

"I really think they smoked a lot of pot," Buffy nodded in agreement. "So anyway, when my parents were born, they named my dad Sonny Summers and my mom Autumn Winters, when they married she became Autumn Winters Summers. I didn't stand much chance with that background and they all thought naming me after Buffy the Vampire Slayer was cool, so here I am." She performed a quirky mock curtsey.

By that time they'd walked the length of the driveway and they'd crossed the large back yard to a 36 feet deep and 72 feet wide barn. The kids entered a man-door in the center of the northern wall facing the rear house. The ceiling throughout was 12 feet high and the walls were well insulated. To the west of the door, were twin 36 feet deep parking bays with insulated overhead doors 12 feet wide and 10 feet high on the southern wall. The first overhead door started 3 feet from the western wall with a support wall 3 feet wide between them. Three feet past the second overhead door, directly opposite the door they'd entered, was another man-door. Another 12 feet wide by 10 feet high overhead door 3 feet beyond that man-door. The area beyond that, about 17 feet deep and 36 feet long, was a large fully equipped work shop with an industrial lathe, drill press, planer, table saw, band saw, an arc welder and acetylene torch and dozens of hand help power tools. Starting 3 feet from the man-door they'd entered, a staircase 4 feet wide went up to the second floor loft in front of the twin parking bays.

Gabe noted there was a battered green 1956 Ford F-100 pickup truck in the nearest of the twin bays and a 1967 VW Microbus. Even through the dust the vibrant psychedelic colors and flowers were plainly evident.

"That would make a wild Mystery Machine," Gabe laughed as he looked at the old VW. "Where'd that come from?

"That was the Hippie Bus my grandparents used when they were on the road," Buffy smiled. "That's how they got into that all natural stuff."

"Kewl," Gabe nodded his head.

In the parking bay by the shop area was a beat up 1963 blue Ford Tractor. A hydraulic front end loader scoop was mounted on the front of the tractor, and a back-hoe attachment sat to one side. "There's a long attached shed out behind the shop that has all sorts of lumber and various plows, cultivators, and other equipment for the tractor," Freddy explained.

"Do you get to drive any of this stuff," Gabe asked excitedly.

"Rocky does," Buffy smiled. "He's the only one big enough to reach the pedals."

Rocky smiled obviously happy with his ability.

"Our area is upstairs," Buffy smiled as she headed up the steps.

Gabe followed but stopped quickly and blushed bright red as he could see right up Buffy's saucily swinging skirt. Entranced, he watched as she stepped to the side after reaching the top.

"Get used to it," Freddy laughed as he pushed Gabe to continue up the steps. She gets a kick out of teasing us like that."

"Tell me, Gabe," Buffy perkily smiled as she peered over the rail beside the top of the stairwell. "Did you like the view?"

Gabe's mouth opened and closed like a fish as he could once more see right up her skirt.

"Come on, Gabe," Rocky spoke for the first time as he pushed Freddy and Gabe up the steps. "I wanna see too!"

Propelled by the push, Gabe tore his gaze away from Buffy's undies as he stumbled up the steps. Freddy and Rocky stopped halfway up the steps grinning like fools as Buffy smiled down on them. Even though Freddy stood two steps higher, his head was at the same level as Rocky's. Smiling impishly, Buffy waited until Gabe reached the top of the stairs before stepping from the railing.

“This is our clubhouse,” Buffy smiled as she held her hands out to show off the space while she twirled about. “So Gabe, what do you think?”

Gabe looked about the room in wonder as Freddy and Rocky joined them.

The second floor was a large mostly open space. The insulated first floor walls extended 4 feet up into the second floor, then in an east-west orientation arched over the top in an insulated free standing gambrel roof that soared to a center height of 18 feet. Ceiling fans were located every 10 feet down the center of the space. Four dormer windows 4 feet wide started 10 feet from the side walls with 12 feet between the inner sets. Two equal sized rooms each 6 feet deep and 10 feet high took up 20 feet in the center of the west wall. Entry doors for the rooms were 4 feet from the corners on the long sides. The room further away from the stairs was a utility room for the furnace and hot water heater. The closer room was a 3/4 bath room. A kitchenette with a refrigerator, small range, microwave wrapped around the side of the bathroom. A ladder ran up to the top of the rooms to a spacious loft sleeping area and a telephone hung on the wall near the ladder.

There were chairs, tables and sofas scattered across a fifteen feet wide area beside the two rooms. The area on the west wall before the rooms between the kitchenette and the stairs held a big screen TV and stereo system. The area on the west wall beyond the rooms, wrapping to the first dormer held book cases and a desk with a computer. Storage shelves and boxes lined the rest of the walls between the dormers leaving a huge uncluttered open area 50 feet long and 25 feet wide. A sturdy trap door rested flush in the floor above the single parking bay. Looking out the south dormers a massive vegetable garden with numerous rows of corn, tomatoes, peppers, and all sorts of vegetable and herbs was visible. The 10 acre field was a prime source of the organic foods and herbs for The Crateful Bread. A huge greenhouse off to one side of the field provided year round goodies for the store.

"This is a great set-up," Gabe enthused. "Is this whole floor your clubhouse?"

"Yep," Buffy answered. "Of course Moms and Pops and my grandparents can come up anytime they want. Our parents can come up if they ask. If you join the Scooby gang, you can bring your parents over to meet ours and see the set-up. So, do you want to become the fourth member of the Scooby Gang?"

"Sure," Gabe smiled.

"All right," Freddy exclaimed as Rocky enthusiastically nodded his head.

Then Freddy added with a chuckle, "Of course, you get to be the second girl in the group."

Even though he knew Freddy was joking, Gabe blushed and his mouth dropped open in surprise. While he didn't seriously think he wanted to be a girl, he was still enraptured by Abby and her cute little skirts. Buffy's show just moments earlier kindled his often thought curiosity about what it would feel like to wear a cute skirt. Plus he'd been misidentified as a girl with increasing frequency with his long hair, polished nails, and lipstick. The beret sure didn't help project a macho image either.

"Yeah," Rocky smiled as the wheels in his head turned. "The rest of our names end with the ‘E’ sound, so as a girl you'd be Gabi! Buffy, Freddy, Gabi and Rocky, the Scooby Gang!"

Buffy noted Gabe's face as he blushed ever deeper. "Ease up guys," Buffy chided. "You'll scare Gabi away before she has a chance to really join the Scooby gang."

"We're only joking," Rocky apologized afraid he'd insulted his friend.

Freddy saw the mixed emotions running across Gabe's face. "Gabe knows that, Rocky. Why don't we go get Gabe's bike and bring it back to the barn."

"Okay," Rocky agreed as he followed Freddy down the stairs.

"I think part of you would like to be Gabi," Buffy declared once the guys had left. "Wouldn't you?"

Gabe looked at the floor. His inability to lie smacked him in the face again! "Part of me is curious what it'd be like to wear cute skirts like yours," he replied softly. "But I don't want to be a girl."

"You won't have to become a girl," Buffy answered as she put a comforting hand on his trembling arm. "But you could pretend to be a girl to round out the Scooby Gang. We'll call you Gabi, and I know the guys won't hassle you about it. Neither will the grups, they're cool with just about anything. You saw Moms and Pops accepted you as you are."

"I do like to act," Gabe sighed. "So I guess pretending to be Gabi would be okay. I'm just afraid the kids at school will really get on my case if you guys start calling me Gabi."

"Get off it, Gabi," Buffy chuckled. "Since when did you start worrying about what the kids at school think?"

"I don't," Gabe answered. "But they'll hassle you guys about it too."

"To paraphrase Rhett Butler," Buffy smiled. "Frankly, my dear, we don't give a damn!"

Gabe smiled. "I kinda like being called Gabi."

"I thought you might," Buffy smiled. "Besides, being Gabi will get you closer to being like your hero, Abby. You can even start wearing your hair in pigtails!"

Gabe looked surprised. "You know I like Abby?"

"Duh," Buffy laughed. "Ever since Halloween two years ago plus the way you've been dressing since, everyone with half a brain has known you idolize Abby. Personally, I think Abby's the kewlest character on TV! In fact, if you hadn't adapted her image to you, I'd probably have done it! Mimicking Pippi was nice when we were younger, but now she's just too childish."

"Yeah, I noticed you'd quit wearing the striped socks," Gabe chuckled.

"Let's go into the bathroom before the guys get back," Buffy laughed. "I'll teach you to put your hair up in pigtails like Abby. That'll let them know you're kewl with being Gabi." Buffy could immediately tell by Gabi’s smile he was anxious to try pigtails.

"Okay," Gabe smiled with barely controlled excitement. The main reason he'd let his hair grow was so he could be more like Abby. Many times when he was sure no one was around he tried to put his hair into pigtails but the awkward results were always less than he'd anticipated.

In moments the pair were standing before the mirror above the sink. Gabe removed his beret and pulled his ponytail out of the rubberband.

"I wondered how you kept this on while you ran," Buffy said as she examined the hair combs carefully glued to the inside band of the beret. "That's a smart set-up. The combs are hidden from view when you remove it and are easy to push in when you put it on. They don't even interfere when you fold it up."

"It took me a while to get it right," Gabe replied. "But it's been worth it."

"You already have bangs," Buffy said. "You need to grow them a bit longer then keep them trimmed at the level of your eyebrows. The rest of your hair needs to be parted right down the center line of your head. Just put the comb in the middle, pull it straight back a bit, then pull to one side. Put the comb back in the same spot and keep repeating that switching sides every time. It'll be tough until you get your hair trained."

It was a struggle but Gabe finally managed to part his hair down the middle. After that, gathering the sides together to form pigtails was easy. The only issue was getting them to sprout from his head from matching locations. Then he began to re-attached his beret, but decided the Ponytails would look cuter without the beret. "That's what I was doing wrong," Gabe enthused once he'd achieved a straight part and had his hair in high pigtails. Any reservations he'd harbored about appearing like a sissy vanished with the delightful results.

You look absolutely perfect" Buffy gushed. "You'll have to get dark green ribbons to match your nails and lipstick."

"Yeah," Gabe agreed with a broad grin as he surveyed his reflection in the mirror.

"Let's show the guys," Buffy urged. "Rocky is probably making popcorn in the microwave by now." With that she tugged on Gabe's arm and pulled him out of the bathroom. Sure enough, as soon as they's stepped out they smelled and heard the popcorn being made.

"Wow, Gabi, you look great," Freddy exclaimed as he checked out the new hair style.

Hearing that, Rocky stuck his head around the corner of the kitchenette and did a classic double take. "Gabi... like... zoinks!"

"Zoinks," Gabe laughed as he looked at Rocky's wide-eyed expression. "You've been watching too much Scooby Doo! Although if you'd let your hair grow out you could look a bit like Shaggy."

Rocky smiled self-depreciatingly. "I'm about as smart as Shaggy, but I'm not a scaredycat like him."

"You're a lot smarter than Shaggy," Buffy chided. "You learn from your experiences and friends, and you know you can trust us to stick with you."

Rocky smiled as Freddy and Gabi nodded their agreement. Soon the four friends were seated enjoying the popcorn and Cokes. Talking and joking, they easily bonded, and the Scooby Gang was complete. For Gabe, this was a new experience. He'd never had close friends before, and as he relaxed, he seamlessly slipped into being the second girl of the group.

The ringing of the phone interrupted their animated conversation. Buffy answered the phone, and after a few moments covered the mouth-piece and turned to the group. "Moms and Pops want to know if all our parents can come over tonight for a cook-out. They said they can all get to know each other and see the clubhouse so they'll feel safer letting us hang out here."

"My mom should be able to make it," Freddy said. "But I'll have to call her to make sure."

"I don't think my parents have anything planned," Rocky added. "I'll have to call them."

"My parents didn't say anything about tonight," Gabe said. "And I didn't realize it was so late. I'll have to call my mom and tell her I'm okay and will be late for lunch. I'll ask her about tonight."

"They all said it sounds great but they'll have to ask their parents," Buffy spoke into the phone. "Could you call them to ask? It'll probably go easier if you call. ~ That's great, thanks. Gabi, can you give Pops your phone number?"

Gabe went over and took the proffered phone from Buffy. After giving his home phone number, he asked if Pops could also tell his mom he'd be late for lunch.

"I'll tell her you're staying here for lunch," Pops replied with a chuckle. "I'll tell your mother I'm holding you hostage and the ransom is to join us for the cookout."

"Don't forget my dad's a lawyer," Gabe laughed. "He might sue you for false imprisonment."

"I doubt it," Pops declared. "We both served in the Marines."

After hanging up, the Scooby Gang cleaned up their snacks and trooped to the house for a light lunch.

"Gabi, I really like your hair that way," Moms said as they entered the kitchen. "The style really fits you. I think you’d be happier if you stopped trying to be a boy and let yourself be the girl you are inside."

Gabe blushed deeply but realized she wasn’t teasing, she was being absolutely serious. Before he could ponder her words the conversation moved on.

Pops joined them with a smile on his face. "Gabi, you look good with pigtails."

Gabe blushed with embarrassment. He'd already become so accustomed to the gentle bouncing of his new pigtails he'd forgotten he was wearing them.

"Everyone can make it," Pops went on. "Gabi, your mom was a bit flustered when I spoke to her. She promised she and your dad would pay your ransom, but only this time. She asked if we'd have enough food so she could bring your brother, I told her we always have plenty of food."

"He eats as much as my mom, dad, and I combined," Gabe laughed as he realized no one seemed to care if he wore his hair like a girl.

"He sounds like Rocky," Freddy joked.

"I can't help it," Rocky defended himself. "I like to eat."

Everyone laughed.

After they'd finished, Pops stood up. "Well, Rocky and Freddy, come with me out to the barn. We need to pull out and set up the trestle tables. There will be 19 of us eating and we don't want to crowd each other. We’ll use the regular picnic table for a service table and by putting 3 trestle tables together, we can get everyone comfortably seated."

Gabe looked a bit disappointed not to be asked to help with the heavy work. Mom's saw his distress and spoke up. "Gabi, do you think you can wash and dice potatoes for potato salad?"

"Yeah," Gabe smiled. "I've been helping my mom in the kitchen for years. Where should I work?"

Moms showed him to an old porcelain sink with a heavy wooden cutting board attached to one side in an alcove. "The potatoes are in that storage bin in the corner. Wash about 30 potatoes. Wrap 19 of the best looking ones in foil for baked potatoes, dice the rest and put them in this bowl."

Gabe smiled and set to work while Moms and Buffy prepared the sauces for the potato salad as well as macaroni salad. When he'd finished washing the potatoes, he dried the best 19 and wrapped them in aluminum foil and set them aside. Then he turned to the remaining 11 potatoes. "Mom's, do you have a peeler?"

"We don't peel our potatoes," Moms answered. "A lot of nutrition is in the peels and we don't want to lose it. Just dice them up with the skin on."

"We don't even peel them for mashed potatoes," Buffy added. "I think they taste better that way.

That made sense to Gabe so he nodded and set to work. Soon he had the bowl of diced potatoes ready. In a few moments they were in a large pot on the stove cooking away beside the macaronis. While they cooked, Buffy, Gabe and Moms cut up fresh fruit for fruit salad.

"This looks delicious," Gabe said. "We usually start with a big can of fruit salad and add some apples and oranges."

"That's the way most people make it now-a-days," Moms replied. "But once you taste fresh fruit salad, you'll never be satisfied with anything else."

By the time the big bowl of fruit salad was filled, covered with plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator, the potatoes and macaronis were cooked. They drained them and put them in big bowls before adding the similar but slightly different sauces. Once stirred in, these too were covered and placed in the refrigerator.

Going to a linen closet, Moms pulled out several table cloths and a bag of large clips. "The boys should have the tables set up by now so why don't you girls go out and cover them?"

Buffy took the table cloths and Gabi took the bag of clips before heading out the door. They were almost to the tables set up under some huge maple trees when Gabe stopped. Moms words seemed to slap him in the face as they finally registered in his consciousness. She’d lumped him with Buffy as a girl! With his long hair and pigtails and make-up he’d taken significant steps towards girlishness... is that what he really wanted?

“Gabi... Gabi...,” Buffy called as she looked back from the tables to see Gabi standing in a daze. Hurriedly she put the table cloths on the tables and went back to her friend. “Gabi, what’s wrong?”

Buffy’s words finally snapped Gabe out of his shock. “M... moms called me a... a g... girl!”

“Yeah...,” Buffy answered not understanding his problem. “What about it?”

Gabe looked at her with an expression of consternation on his face. “But I’m a boy! I thought you guys were just joking when you said I was going to be the second girl!”

“Gabi, look at yourself,” Buffy chided. “No one’s putting you down. You’ve never been Mr. Macho. You’ve been slowly turning yourself into a girl for almost two years. Your Halloween costume was simply a butch Abby. Since then you’ve been dressing and behaving more and more like her. You’ve let your hair grow long, you wear dark green nail polish all the time and matching lipstick when you can get away with it. Then there’s your beret. I mean, it really looks good on you, but even with the skull patch there is no way it’s even remotely masculine. Then there’s your attitude towards sports. All the jocks loathe you for telling them sports are juvenile. Moms wasn’t teasing you, she was just calling things as she saw them. You do look like a girl, a cute girl!”

Gabe was hurt. He’d thought Buffy was his friend. Yet he had to admit everything she said was true. He was intentionally Abby-izing himself. How much of a guy could he be to use a Goth/scientist girl as his idol and role model! With increasing frequency strangers had been mistaking him for a girl. Why had he allowed Buffy to put his hair into pigtails? Why did he feel jealous of Buffy for wearing a shot skirt and teasing the guys? Why did he long to be able to wear a sassy pleated schoolgirl skirt? The staggering answer unnerved him... he wanted to look more like Abby! Everyone who saw him thought he looked like a cute girl... like Abby. That's what he wanted. So why was he so upset? The answers to his questions weren’t as simple as it seemed. Because guys were not supposed to want to look like cute girls even if the were Goth just didn’t cut it!

Just then a squeaking sound could be heard approaching from behind the barn. As it grew louder Rocky emerged pulling an old but sturdy Radio Flyer wagon. The 40 inch by 19 inch wagon had heavy duty 10 inch balloon tires and 18 inch wooden slat sides. The wagon was as full as could be with firewood.

Gabe was amazed by Rocky’s strength as the boy seemed to effortlessly pull the overfilled wagon. Gabe doubted if he could even pull it ten feet. Maybe being thought of as a girl wasn't so bad after all, he wouldn't have to do all those yucky jobs that got boys so dirty and sweaty.

Following behind the wagon were Pops and Freddie with their arms full of firewood. Rocky led the way to the big brick outdoor fireplace. The firebox was a cube 36 inches to the side. The back half of the top was a iron sheet 3/4 of an inch thick. The front half was stainless steel grilling bars. There were shutter like folding doors across the front which opened to feed the fire and closed to deflect the heat away from the person grilling. To the left of the firebox was an outdoor oven. A 12 inch high by 30 inch wide door opened down to give access to the oven. Several open channels ran from the firebox around the oven to channel heat into the brick mass. To the right of the firebox was a stone slab for staging. Behind the fireplace were a series of masonry cradles to hold firewood. From the looks of it, the guys had already made several trips. A soapstone counter with a deep sink served by an old hand water pump sat nearby.

As the guys stacked the firewood behind the fireplace Buffy and Gabe placed the tablecloths over the trestle table and clipped them in place. Gabe watched the guys sweating while they worked and was again glad he had easier girls’ tasks. He blushed as he realized that once again he was slipping into girlishness. Maybe he really was a girl and just didn’t know it. While his mom would probably like having her youngest son become her daughter, he was sure his Marine Reserve dad would flip out.

"Pops, please light the fire to warm the oven," Moms called from the back door. "Girls, please come back inside."

Buffy and Gabe obediently headed for the house as Pops organized the boys to place logs in the fire box, stuff newspaper around them, and light the fire. From the back door, Gabe looked back to see if the guys were giving him dirty look for being a GIRL but apparently it hadn't phased them a bit. The were busy with Pops.

"Put on aprons, was your hands thoroughly and come to the table," Moms smiled. "We'll make some dough for some good old fashioned home made bread." Soon the duo were almost elbow deep in the dough and all three were giggling. Gabe never realized how much fun it could be to make dough. In 45 minutes they had five large loaves rising in loaf pans and a cup cake baking pan filled with rolled buttered, sweetened, cinnamon dough to make fresh home made cinnamon rolls as dessert.

"Let's carry them out to the oven," Moms smiled once they'd cleaned up the mess. "The oven should be warm enough by now to give us a wonderful bake."

Buffy carried a tray with three loves and Gabe carried a tray with 2 loves. Moms carried the cup cake pan. There was an 18 inch masonry side ledge by the oven to put the goodies. While Moms checked the oven temperature, Buffy and Gabe took the large wooden pizzeria style shovel which hung beside the oven to the sink to wash off the dust and spider webs. As they walked past the firebox Gabe noted the shutter-like doors were closed trapping the heat inside and giving a longer, slower burn at a steady temperature. The shovel was made from a single piece of oak. The 1  ½ inch thick squared handle was five feet long and the 14 inch rounded paddle tapered from 1  ½ inches at the handle to about 1/4 inch at the tip Buffy took a wash cloth and Gabe pumped the handle to make the water flow. It only took a few moments to wash. The big Radio Flyer wagon was standing on end by the sink as the guys had washed the wood debris from it.

Moms sent Buffy and Gabe back inside to bring out the baking pans with the foil wrapped potatoes. After opening the oven door she had Gabe put about four inches of the pizza shovel on the door. He could feel the heat radiating from the massive brick oven. Then she placed a tray with the baking potatoes on the shovel and had him slide it to the back corner, explaining how to slip the pan off the shovel without disturbing the potato distribution. The second pan Gabe did with instruction. After he placed the five loaf pans inside, there wasn't room for the cinnamon rolls.

"Since they're smaller they don't take as long to bake," Moms explained as she shut the oven door. It'll take about 30-35 minutes for the bread to bake. When we take the bread out to cool, we'll put in the cinnamon rolls. By the time the rolls are done, the potatoes will be done. Now, lets go back and get the condiments, plates, bowls, and utensils."

As they started back to the house Rocky and Freddy came out of the barn carrying an old green Coleman steel cooler. It was 17 inches high by 17 inches deep by 35 inches long, a monster 100 quart capacity. They carried it to the sink and began washing it off. Pops followed them to supervise.

Under Moms watchful eye Buffy and Gabe gathered the condiments, plates, bowls, and utensils while she pulled several bags from the huge freezer. From the bags she took pre-made hamburger patty's, not the kind you buy in a grocery, but hand made ones she'd frozen. She also pulled several packs of hot-dogs and some chicken quarters. She spread it all out on a huge tray to thaw, covering it with a light cloth to keep the bugs off.

Just then the boys appeared outside the kitchen with the cleaned cooler in the wagon. They grabbed a couple bags of ice chunks to put in the cooler before heading back to the barn to load up the Coke, Diet Coke, Ginger Ale, Ice Tea, and Coors.

---

To Be Continued...
 

by Jennifer Sue

---

 
From the kitchen they heard a car pull into the driveway and park up near the barn. Looking out, they saw Rev. Palmer Beech, Virginia Beech, and their daughter Sandy exiting the 2000 Taurus station wagon. Sandy, Rocky's nine year old sister, promptly headed over to a tire swing hanging from one of the large branches on a huge maple tree. Pops came out of the barn and waved a greeting to the first guests to arrive.

Gabe thought they were awfully early until he looked at the clock to see it 4:30. The cook-out was to start at 5:00. Where had the afternoon gone? Pastor Palmer Beech pulled out a couple of shopping bags from the back of their Taurus X and placed them on the stone counter on the right side of the fireplace then turned to talk to Pops while keeping an eye on Sandy. Virginia came into the kitchen to see what she could do to help.

"Moms, Buffy," Virginia greeted. Since Gabe had his back to her as she entered she didn't know who he was until he turned to face her. "Gabe... that is you? Well, I must say with your hair like that you look cute!"

Gabe blushed bright red. They were so comfortable he'd forgotten all about his pigtails! All he could manage was to smile sheepishly and nod his head in greeting.

"I've been calling him Gabi since I showed him how to put up his hair this morning," Buffy giggled. "It fits him better, don't you think?"

"Yes it does," Virginia chuckled. "It really makes you look like a girl. It's about time you let the girl you've been unsuccessfully trying hide inside come out."

"I told her the same thing," Moms chuckled. "Gabi and Buffy have been such good helpers that I'd completely forgotten Gabe is physically a boy."

"That's because Gabi is a girl," Buffy insisted. "She just has a birth defect that makes her body look like a boy."

Gabe blushed deeper as everyone kept reinforcing his natural girlish appearance and mannerisms. Maybe Buffy was right, what if his being in a boys body was a birth defect?

"Well, Gabi, you're certainly not the first girl to have such a birth defect," Virginia smiled. "If you can get a doctor to give you an official diagnosis that you're transgendered, they can start to correct your birth defect. They can even give you medicine to stop all those nasty male secondary sexual characteristics."

Gabe's head was spinning. He was just beginning to admit he might be somewhat girlish. Yet instead of being freaked out by his girlishness as he expected, so far everyone had not only openly accepted his emergent girlishness, they seemed to think it was long overdue and encouraged his rapid transition into girlhood. Maybe they knew something about him that he couldn't see. Or maybe he was simply in denial.

"It looks like you've got everything under control," Virginia said as she looked around. "What do you want me to do?"

"We were just ready to take the condiments, burgers, hot dogs, chicken, macaroni salad and potato salad out," Moms smiled. "Grab a tray and lets go!"

While Buffy and Virginia arranged the serving table, Moms took Gabi to the oven and asked, "Do you know how to check if the bread is done?"

"When I helped my mom bake, she always stuck a toothpick inside to see if it was done,” Gabe answered. “If it came out full of goo, it wasn’t done."

"Your one smart girl, Gabi. You do the same with bread," Moms smiled. "Open the oven and check the loaves."

As he opened the oven, the savory smell of fresh baked bread engulfed him making his mouth water. With toothpicks, he checked the crispy golden crown of each loaf and found they were done. Using an oven mitt and the pizza shovel, he deftly slid the loaves out one by one and placed them on the ledge to cool. After the last loaf was removed, he slipped the cupcake pan inside the oven and closed the door.

"You're certainly a quick learner," Moms beamed. “We'll check the cinnamon rolls in ten minutes.”

Pops and Palmer Beech were setting up at the fireplace grill. They'd already unpacked the rolls from the bag the Beech's had brought. The trays with the meats were ready to be put on the grill.

The familiar squeal of the tires heralded the return of the wagon with the drink filled cooler. Rocky doggedly pulled the wagon while Freddy perched atop it pretending to use a whip to urge on the draft ox pulling the wagon. Everyone smiled.

Two more vehicles pulled into the driveway. First was a beat-up 1974 Pinto station wagon. All four of Buffy's grandparents emerged from their well worn but dependable jalopy. The other car was an even more beat-up but equally serviceable 1970 Maverick hatchback that held Buffy's parents. Arie and Walt carried a few bottles of home made wine. Since Gabe was the only newcomer to the group, Buffy quickly introduced him to her grandparents and parents. They recognized Gabe from the many times he’d been in The Crateful Bread, and they’d always spoken to the quiet lad as they did with every customer. In addition to quality foods, a great deal of their success was due to the personal rapport they built with their customers. They all smiled and hugged him, never even blinking at his pigtails.

As they settled in, the dual deep throated roar from the dual exhaust of the 390ci engine announced the arrival of Brenda Bangs arrived in her immaculate classic 1965 Mustang convertible.

Freddy greeted his mom with a hug and led her right over to Gabe. "Mom, this is Gabi," he introduced.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Gabi," Brenda smiled. "I was hoping to meet you some time to thank you for turning in those hoodlums who tripped Freddy in the school cafeteria. It's refreshing to see young people still have enough gumption to do what's right. Your father has been nice enough to go after their parents for payment of Freddy's medical bills.”

"Rocky, you didn't tell us it was Gabe who stepped forward to turn in those bullies," Pastor Palmer Beech said.

Rocky just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Brenda is right, Gabe," Pastor Palmer smiled. "You did the right thing and we're proud of you."

Gabe blushed and smiled. "It wasn't like I had a choice," Gabe replied. "Principal Jass asked me who did it and I can't lie. I had to tell him."

"Even so, it was still brave," Virginia added. "Then to have those same guys twice try to assault you after school, well, they should be locked up."

"I think that would just make them worse," Gabe responded. "I hope my dad's threats of lawsuits keeps the school and their parents on their case so they straighten out."

"Whoa, dude, like, I've finally got a little sister," Eddie Bull said as he came walking up to the group.

Gabe almost wet himself as he spun around to face his big brother. The swish and swaying of his twin pigtails only seemed to accentuate his already too girlish presentation.

Then Gabe saw his parents coming up behind Eddie with perplexed looks on their faces as they looked at him. Suddenly he felt a warm wetness on his thighs as the world started to spin and then everything got black.

Fortunately Eddie was quick. He saw Gabe wobble a bit and saw the wet stain spreading before his eyes rolled back in his head. As Gabe's knees buckled, Eddie grabbed him and held him upright even though Gabe's head rolled lifelessly to one side. While able to react quickly, Eddie didn't know what to do with the unconscious Gabe. Pastor Palmer and Brenda Bangs stepped up and helped Eddie lower Gabe to the ground.

It was quite obvious that Gabe had fainted and lost his bladder control. It only took a minute or two for Gabe to start coming around. As he blinked his eyes he saw the concerned face of his mother. It took another moment for him to collect all his senses. Looking about he could see everyone was looking at him with great concern. Kneeling beside his mom was his dad. Fear engulfed Gabe as he realized he'd wet himself.

Before he could react, Buffy pushed through the onlookers to lay a large towel over the embarrassing dark wet spot. "Gabi, I'm so sorry," she sniffed. "I didn't want to embarrass you like this." Then Buffy turned to his parents. "It's my fault Gabi's hair is like this. I've thought for a long time he'd look so much cuter this way... and he does! I cajoled him into letting me fix his hair this way. He really looks like a cute girl now, which is such an improvement over his hapless male appearance. Besides, I think that inside, Gabi is really a girl! She's just been too afraid to even think about that!"

"Mom, Dad... I'm sorry I've disappointed you," Gabe apologized as he blinked back tears of humiliation.

"Gabi, you have absolutely nothing to fear," Faye Bull reassured her child. "Your father and I have talked about you possibly being a girl. We both think you need to loosen up and become the person God wants you to be. If that means you're a girl, then you're a girl! We love you and want you to be happy. Besides, I've always wanted a cute daughter to spoil."

"Your mother is right, Gabi," Lyle Bull added. "I'll be honest with you, I have a lot of reservations about you being a girl. But the bottom line is this is your life and we'll love and support you no matter what. I can't promise to understand and fully accept your need to be a girl right away, but your needs and desires come first and I'll have to adapt.”

“Why don’t you help Gabi into the house so we can clean her up,” Moms said. “Autumn, the goodies in the oven should be done in about five minutes. Buffy, can you find something for Gabi to wear?

“Sure” Buffy answered as she scurried ahead into the house.

Lyle helped Gabe to his feet while Faye made sure the towel remained in it’s strategic position. They followed as Moms led them into the house.

Moms showed them into the first floor 3/4 bath and told his parents to get Gabe out of his wet clothes while she helped Buffy find something to wear from the clothes she kept there. Gabe merely hung his head as his parents helped him undress.

“I’m really sorry,” Gabe said as he let himself be disrobed. “I don’t know why I let Buffy do this to my hair. I should’ve said no. I...”

“Gabe, enough,” Faye ordered. “Has anyone teased you about your pigtails?”

“No,” Gabe admitted softly.

“Okay,” Faye said. “What did they say about your pigtails?”

“That I looked good,” Gabe whispered.

“They were right,” Lyle stated. “You look cute in pigtails.”

“But I’m a boy,” Gabe sniffed. "I shouldn’t look good in pigtails! Only girls should look cute in pigtails!”

“Gabe, you do look good in pigtails,” Lyle stated. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but from the time you were able to think for yourself, you let us know you didn’t like doing BOY things. Oh, you always tried, and did quite well, but you never liked it and never wanted to continue. We know you’ve never been what’s called a normal boy, if such a thing even exists. That’s why I was so pleased when you agreed to take the self-defense classes. I also think you chose Metamorphosis School of the Arts because they require their self-defense students to take dance lessons.”

Gabe blushed and began to stammer

“Don’t even try to deny it,” Faye said with a chuckle as she used a damp washcloth to clean her son. “You played your hand quite well. We didn’t know you scammed us until your father checked their web site. You got us fair and square and you’ll get your rebuilt laptop computer.”

“I was afraid you’d get mad if I asked to take dance lessons,” Gabe mumbled.

“I probably would have been upset at first,” Lyle admitted. “But if you really wanted to take dance lessons, I’d have given in. Gabe, we’ve been concerned about you for a long time. You’ve never had any close friends. You’ve never wanted to get involved in any activities. That’s why when you started on this whole Abby Scuito thing, we never tried to stop you although we did try to keep you from going too far.”

“Like wearing pigtails,” Gabe almost whimpered.

“Yes, like wearing pigtails,” Faye sighed as she hugged Gabe tightly. “But we were wrong. You look good in pigtails. They look right on you.”

“So you think I should be a girl too,” Gabe sniffled.

“We think you should be yourself,” Lyle stated as he placed a reassuring hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “If that means you’re really a girl stuck in a boy’s body, that’s okay. If it means something else, that’s okay too. We’ll work this out together.

It was at that moment Buffy knocked on the door. “I’ve got some clothes for Gabi but you may not like them. Unfortunately it’s all I have here.”

“That’s okay,” Faye said as she cracked the door open to accept the proffered clothes. Her eyes went wide as she noted the pleated denim skirt and white panties.

“Sorry,” Buffy sniffed. “I normally wear skirts. It really is all I have. I don’t want to cause any more problems for Gabi. I’m really sorry I put his hair in the pigtails. I didn’t mean to cause any problems.”

“Buffy, settle down,” Moms said as she put a comforting hand on her great-granddaughter’s arm. “I’m sure the Bulls understand you never intended to hurt Gabi. No one will say anything about how Gabi’s dressed,” she continued. “But we’ll hold off grilling if you want to take him home to change.”

Gabe had heard Buffy’s apologies and realized she’d brought him a skirt. Part of him was horrified, but another part was thrilled.

“We’ll see what Gabi thinks,” Faye said as she accepted the clothes.

Gabe looked at the simple white cotton panties and pleated denim skirt and nervously swallowed. They looked so cute! Yet the idea of putting them on made his tummy churn with both desire and squeamishness. The expressions on his face flickered through anxiety, lust, excitement, nausea, curiosity and down right embarrassment.

"Gabe, we're holding up the barbeque," Lyle said. "I'll tell them to start grilling. Let your mom help you get dressed."

"B... but...," Gabe managed to stammer in stunned surprise.

"We can tell you're curious," Faye said. "Now is the perfect time to see if you like wearing skirts or not. Everyone here accepted your pigtails without any problems. I'm sure by now that Buffy told them she only had skirts to loan you. No one will say or do anything to embarrass you. They've accepted you for who you are, not what you are. Lyle, tell them we'll be out in a few moments."

"Okay," Lyle answered. "Gabi, I think you'll look cute in that outfit."

Gabe was in a daze. Not only had his dad accepted his pigtails, he was encouraging him to wear a skirt! The entire world seemed to have turned upside down.

"Step into the panties, Gabi," Faye gently ordered.

Gabe looked at his mom with tears forming in his eyes. The look on her face was one of pure love. With a timid anxious smile he stepped into the cotton panties. The lace edging tickled a bit and they fit his groin a bit snugger than he was accustomed, but they felt nice, much softer than his normal cotton jockeys. He tried to rationalize that underwear was underwear and it all served the same function.

"They fit very well," Faye smiled at her concerned son. "They probably feel a little different but you'll get used to them quickly."

Before he had a chance to react further, Faye held the pleated denim skirt out for him to step into. Almost mechanically he stepped into the circle. She deftly pulled the skirt into place about his waist positioning the zipper in the rear before pulling it up. As with the panties it was a perfect fit.

The skirt ended about an inch above Gabe's knees. His mind nearly overloaded as conflicting thoughts and emotions swirled through his beleaguered brain. The feeling of the denim pleats brushing against his thighs made him shiver. The sensation was at once enticing and condemning. How could something feel so nice and be so bad? Boys didn't wear skirts! But was he really a boy? Everyone was telling him he was more girl than boy. Even his dad! Physically he was a boy, but had he ever really FELT like a boy? For that matter, what did being a boy feel like? What did being a girl feel like? It was all too confusing.

"Gabe, it's okay," Faye soothed her son sensing his dilemma. "Don't worry about being a boy or a girl. Just be yourself. Everyone here simply wants you to be happy and will respect your feelings. If wearing a skirt feels right, do it! Of course there will be times a skirt would be inappropriate, but around friends and family, you're free to explore. I'm positive no one will laugh at or tease you and I’m sure no one will reveal the secret. Pops Winter may be old, but he's the patriarch of this gathering, and he will never let a welcome guest be hassled. When your dad and I had him in school, he was quite strict, but also extremely fair. He accepted everyone for what they were, not what others expected them to be. Since he's accepted you as Gabe and Gabi, you have nothing to fear."

Gabe listened and realized his mom was telling the truth. He'd been accepted as Gabi by everyone, even his jock big bro! Still nervous, he managed a timid smile. A pair of sandals completed his outfit.

"While you're dressed like this, I think it'll be best if we all call you Gabi," Faye continued once she saw Gabe relax. "Now, let's go join the picnic, I can't wait to show off my cute daughter!"

As Gabe walked beside his mom, the swirling skirt made him feel giddy. Since he'd first seen Abby over two years ago a very big part of him had wanted to try wearing a skirt. One of the things he liked about Buffy was her willingness to be girlish. It seemed that most of the other girls at school were trying to play down their girlishness in an effort to be one of the guys. Why they wanted to look and act like boys seemed dumb to him. He was a boy and didn't like the way he was expected to behave, so why would someone who had a choice to not be a yucky boy would want to behave like one didn't make any sense. Then he stopped dead and his mouth fell open.

When Faye looked to see why Gabe had stopped, she saw he looked as if he'd been gobsmacked. "Gabe, are you all right?

Gabe rapidly shook his head from side to side to clear his mind. Then looked at his concerned mom. "Mom, I was thinking and just realized that I really do dislike being a boy! But I'm not sure I'll like being a girl any better. Does that make sense?"

"It makes a lot of sense," Faye smiled as she hugged her child. "It means you're searching to discover who you really are. Your father just told you he didn't care if you were a boy or a girl or somewhere in between. We simply want you to be yourself and to be happy."

Everyone fell silent as Gabi and Faye stepped into the back yard. All eyes were upon the pretty but nervous new girl. Pops began clapping and the others quickly joined in adding a few approving hoots.

Gabi smiled in relief and blushed deeply, making a passable attempt at curtseying.

Buffy ran over and threw her arms about her new best friend. Rocky and Freddy quickly joined in a group hug. It wasn't too long until everyone had hugged the new girl. Gabi smiled at their open acceptance of what he thought was a radical change.

As the guests mingled, Lyle, Faye, and Eddie were told of the close friendship of Buffy, Rocky, and Freddy and that they were happily outside all the school cliques, just as Gabe now found himself, and that the three friends had invited Gabi to be the fourth member of the Scooby Gang.

As the food was being prepped, Sonny and Autumn invited Faye, Lyle, and Eddie to tour the Scooby Gang's hang-out. Buffy, Gabi, Rocky, Freddy led the way into the barn and up to the second floor. Gabi giggled as side by side he mimicked Buffy's sassy strut up the steps giving the boys teasing glimpses of their undies.

Eddie who was right behind Rocky and Freddy saw that the front pair were happily looking up the skirts of Buffy and Gabi. Eddie stopped dead as he stared.

"You'll get used to that," Autumn laughed. "Buffy likes to tease the boys by letting them peak up her skirts and it looks as if Gabi's a fast learner. You don't have to worry about them," she added to Faye and Lyle. "She doesn't do it in public unless there's plenty of people around. We feel it's refreshing to let them be free spirits."

Faye and Lyle exchanged perplexed looks. That Gabi had giggled and joined Buffy in flashing the boys spoke volumes about their son’s sexuality. Mutely they continued up the steps. They were amazed at the size of the area and quality of the facilities. The small kitchen, the bathroom, the sleeping loft, and the sitting area with all the computer, stereo and TV setup was amazing.

"You've gone all out for the kids," Lyle declared.

"It's mostly for the kids," Sonny chuckled. "But we adults gather here for the sports playoffs. It has everything needed for a great indoor tailgate party.

"With our parents just getting The Crateful Bread up and running, Sonny and I spent a lot of time with Moms and Pops" Autumn explained. "Moms and Pops set it up for us when we were little so we had a safe place to play with our friends."

"Of course, back then we didn't have all this," Sonny smiled. "We helped set it up like this over the years. Little by little it just grew and morphed into what you see now."

"Man, I wish I had a place to hang out like this with my buddies," Eddie exclaimed.

"Well it isn't going to happen," Lyle said. "If you and your friends had a place like this you'd be getting into constant trouble. We know Gabi knows how to behave and we're sure the others can be trusted too."

"And don't even try to finagle your way inside here with your friends," Faye added. "If you're invited in, it will be alone."

"Okay, I get it," Eddie smiled. "Anyway, I don't think I'll have much in common with the Scoobies."

"The Scoobies, I like that," Freddy mused. "I think it sounds better than the Scooby Gang."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "The Scoobies! I like it too! It'll hook us to the TV Slayer gang and yet we'll be different!"

"Well we're certainly different," Rocky chuckled.

"Thanks, Eddie," Buffy smiled. "From now on, we're the Scoobies!"

The four Scoobies smiled.

"Moms said I should tell you they're almost ready," Sandy Beech shouted up the stairs like a typical 9 year old sent to summon others to the table.

Everyone smiled and headed downstairs. The food was delicious and the late summer weather was quite nice even once the sun set.

As they ate, Gabi had an idea. "I'm going to be taking a self-defense class and a dancing class at the Metamorphosis School of the Arts. It'd be so kewl if all the Scoobies could do it together."

"That sounds like fun," Buffy smiled then looked at her parents. "Do you think I can join Gabi?"

"The cost is quite reasonable," Faye answered. "I was very impressed when we toured the facilities."

"They are a good school," Val said. "The school is next door to our store and the owners and staff are good customers. They said they'd give us a group rate if Buffy and her friends wanted to take classes together."

"The self defense class sounds good," Freddy said. "But I don't want to take a dance class."

"Me either," Rocky added. "I'll probably make a fool out of myself trying to take the self-defense class."

"That's the whole point of taking the dance class with the self-defense class," Gabi spoke up. "Both classes teach you how to coordinate your body and your mind. The school requires the classes be taken together because the results in both are much better. Besides, requiring a dance class to be taken with a self-defense class keeps any macho jerks out because they don't want to take a sissy dance class. If we take them together, we'll be able to help each other and none of us will make fun of the others."

"Come on guys, at least give it a try," Buffy urged. "Try it for a month and if you don't like it, quit."

"Rockford, I think it would do you a lot of good to take the dance and self-defense classes," Virginia Beech declared. "Any improvement in your coordination would be greatly appreciated."

Rocky sighed and nodded his head, "Okay, I'll try it." When his mom called him Rockford, he knew any discussion was ended.

Freddy laughed. "I guess I'm in too. When do we start?"

"What about me," Sandy pouted. "I want to go too!"

"We'll see if we can get in too," Palmer Beech smiled. "I just don't know if you'd fit in the same class with the others."

"If Val can call them Monday morning and let them know we want the five to attend," Faye said. "Then I think we should all go there Monday after school to get things set up."

So it was decided the Scoobies plus Sandy would enroll at the Metamorphosis School of the Arts. During ensuing discussions Gabi's skull flower patches came up in the discussion amongst the adults and Faye explained why Gabe chose that particular symbol. Everyone was quite impressed with his reasoning.

Palmer walked over to the Scoobies and waited for a chance to talk. They saw he was waiting and looked at him. "Gabi, your mother explained why you've chosen the skull flower patch," he said. "I know several members of our congregation are concerned about your Goth appearance. I was wondering if you'd be willing to try to do the Children’s Sermon tomorrow and explain to the children why you selected the skull flower?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know too," Buffy added to the accompaniment of Freddy's and Rocky's nodding heads.

"I guess I can," Gabi answered. “I'd have to make a few notes to organize myself but I can do it. Will it be okay if the Scoobies sit with me?"

"Sure," Pastor Beech beamed. "I'll redo my sermon a bit too to remind people not judge by appearances."

As the word spread of the plan, everyone was looking forward to what promised to be an interesting church service. As the meal wound down everyone pitched in to clean up and then it was home to bed so everyone could make it to church.

It wasn't until Gabi undressed for bed that he remembered he had worn a skirt all night! Everyone had accepted him and treated him as if it was the most normal thing in the world for a boy to wear a skirt. Of course, he was far from being an ordinary boy. The experience had been fun and felt so natural he knew he'd want to wear skirts again. Maybe he really was a girl stuck in a boy’s body! He was also smart enough to know that such a change had to be made slowly, one step at a time.

*****

Sunday morning Gabe dressed in full Goth mode, black ankle boots, dark green khaki cargo pants, and dark green sweat shirt. Although he would have loved to wear a cute skirt, he thought the first step to feminizing his appearance was just going with the pigtails. Again he decided to forgo wearing his beret and secured the twin pigtails with dark green yarn. An inch and a half wide black leather studded dog collar was snugged about his neck and matching cuffs adorned his wrists. The dark green nail polish and lipstick made his skin look pale. The skull flower patches adorning his clothes were unique to say the least. At first glance his appearance was startling. But his clothes were clean and unwrinkled, his boots polished and scuff free, his behavior was respectful and his manners and speech were polite.

While Lyle and Faye both had reservations about their youngest's appearance, they knew he was a good kid trying to create his own niche and had no desire to be with the 'in crowd'. They were just glad he hadn't asked to wear a skirt although they figured that would come up all too soon. Of course, ever the traditionalists, Lyle wore a suit and Faye a nice dress.

Eddie chuckled at his sibling's appearance, not in a teasing manner, but in genuine mirth. Unlike many people, but especially jocks, and Eddie certainly was a jock, he accepted people as they appeared. Even though his little brother looked more like a little sister, it didn't phase him in the least. As far as he was concerned, Gabe could be a boy or a girl. In truth, he was glad Gabe was pushing the envelope as far as what their parents considered acceptable attire for church. Eddie was able to get by without wearing a necktie! He didn't mind wearing dress pants, shirt, shoes or even a sports coat, but neckties... he detested.

Trinity UCC anchored the other of the Hickstown business district at 101-111-121 Main Street. The large stone building was built in 1929. The sanctuary had seating for 120 and the wrap around balcony would seat another 80. The basement hall could seat 150 for meals and doubled as Sunday School rooms. After the short walk to church, Gabe was met by Rocky, Freddy, and Buffy. Rocky, as befits a PK (preacher's kid) wore dress pants, shirts, and shoes with a sport coat and no tie. Freddy wore dress pants, shirt and shoes but wore a nice sweater vest instead of a sport coat. Then there was Buffy. She had put her bright red hair into Pippi Longstocking pigtails and wore a nice green plaid sweater and skirt combo with matching kneesox. The four freely exchanged hugs with no regard for what people might think, then linking arms, the Scoobies walked into Sunday School.

Virginia Beech was their teacher and welcomed the four friends into her class. The students already there recognized the four and while startled to see Gabe's hair in pigtails, were not really surprised. They accepted it as simply another of his quirks. Nor did it surprise them that Rocky, Freddy, Buffy and Gabe were together. The four oddballs of their class had finally banded together. A few late arriving boys did a double take as they saw Gabe and nudged each other and snickered, but created no further disturbances.

The class went smoothly and afterward, the four friends headed off to find their parents to get permission to sit together. After they received the okay, the four linked arms and marched down the center aisle to sit in the front pew. Their comradery and appearance evoked a great deal of whispering from the more staid members of the congregation. They kept a wary eye on the four.

The Scoobies sat quietly, sang the hymns with gusto, and spoke the responses with clear, unwavering voices. Even the snobbiest parishioners had been unable to find the slightest fault with their polite, respectful behavior.

Then after the bible lessons, Pastor Palmer Beech stunned the congregation. "The four youngsters sitting up front are social outcasts amongst their peers because they refuse to bow to peer pressure and expectations. They've come together and call themselves the Scoobies. They'll be doing the Children's Sermon this morning. So as the children from the congregation come forward, let me introduce the Scoobies. Please stand and turn to the congregation as I announce your name. Buffy Anne Summers, Freddy Bangs, Rocky Beech, and Gabi Bull."

Each in turn stood, smiled and waved to the congregation. Then Pastor Palmer had them sit on the top of the three steps to the sanctuary while about 15 younger children sat on the floor before them. While the youngsters got into position, Eddie, Lyle, and Virginia brought forward and set up an overhead projector on a small table and a projection screen. A transparency of the skull flower was placed on the overhead and focused so everyone could see it. Pastor Palmer gave Gabi a microphone.

"I know some of you find my appearance weird," Gabi began. "It is weird, and I'm weird too, but it's a good weird. I like a lot of things about being Goth, the whole dark clothing routine, the nail polish, the leather neck and wrist bands just seems to fit me. I'm just trying to be myself. But there is also some things about the Goth scene I don't like and don't do. One is I wear dark green clothes instead of black. I think the black clothing most Goths wear accentuates the dark side of things, that’s why I went with dark green. I firmly believe in Jesus and I know a lot of people are upset because of the skull patches I wear. A lot of people put up skulls for Halloween but are almost afraid of them any other time of the year. Most Goth skulls I don't like. Some are scary, some nasty, and a skull with cross bones means danger."

"Look at the skull I chose to wear," Gabi explained while pointing to the image on the screen . "It's a flower, the green leaves and green edging show it's alive and growing. When God created Adam in the Garden of Eden, he made him out of the dust of the earth. God puts our souls in our bodies just like we pour water into a glass. Our bodies are just the containers for our souls. When we die, our souls leave our bodies and go to live in heaven with Jesus. Since our bodies are like Adam's, when they die, they turn back to dust. That's called decomposition. A skeleton is made up of the bones inside our bodies. Since the bones are hard, the rest of our body turns to dust first, leaving only the bones, but they too eventually turn too dust."

"A lot of people take their grass clippings and leaves and mulch them," Gabe continued. "Mulching speeds up decomposition and once the leaves and grass loose their shape, they become like fertilizer to help make new things grow big, strong, and healthy. Our parents and grandparents teach us how to live good lives and to believe in Jesus. Their older lives refresh your younger lives. As you get older, you'll take your turn refreshing new lives. It's called the cycle of life and we're all part of it. I think this skull flower represents the new life that springs out of an old life. This is the way God made our world, the old refreshes the new."

"Thank you, Gabi, that was a wonderful explanation," Pastor Palmer said as he came forward to take the microphone back. "Rocky, would you please pass out the Tootsie Pops to the children before they return to their seats."

The congregation sat through Gabi's Children's Sermon in silent amazement. They looked at the skull flower still up on the screen and could now see what Gabi saw. Needless to say, they were quite impressed by the semi-Goth youth.

The sermon Pastor Palmer Beech gave stressed that Jesus loved everyone and that throughout his ministry he reached out to the social outcasts of his time. Jesus easily accepted them and welcomed them into his love. Pastor Palmer stressed that everyone needs to be true to themselves before they can be true to God. He also emphasized that we should never judge anyone by their appearance, but by their actions. The congregation realized he was referring to Gabi and many were chagrined by their initial reactions.

At the end of the service, Pastor Palmer had the Scoobies join him at the door to greet the parishioners as they left. Almost everyone took the opportunity to thank Gabi for the wonderful message.

Buffy and Freddy went home with their families. Eddie, Rocky, Gabi and Sandy headed to the Church Library while their parents headed to the Church Office for a private chat. The topic was Gabi and his obvious gender confusion. They all wanted the best for Gabi and knew the next step was to get professional counseling. The discussion ended with Pastor Palmer agreeing to stop in at the Physician Referral Center at the hospital tomorrow while he was there making his pastoral calls.

"You really are something, Gabi," Eddie smiled at his brother as they headed home. Then he looked at his parents. "How come Gabi got all the smarts and I didn't get enough?"

"We all get God's gifts bestowed upon us as he sees fit," Faye explained. "You didn't get short changed in smarts. It's just that with Gabi being so different from most people he needs extra smarts and had to learn early how to use it. You need to learn how to use your smarts more effectively. You let yourself get frustrated before you ask for help. Asking for help doesn't mean you're stupid, it means you're smart enough to know to ask. Look at your Algebra, remember how frustrated you were? Gabi was able to use his extra smarts to figure it out and then explain it to you. Now that you understand it, you're able to do it on your own. It wasn't that you weren't smart enough, you were too stubborn and frustrated to ask for help. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness or stupidity, it's a sign of intelligence. You need to work smarter, not harder."

*****

On Monday it was clearly evident that amongst the "in" guys at school Gabe had became a pariah. The fact he blithely smiled at everyone as they stared at his pigtails just added to the alienation. The four guys who had tried to jump him pointedly ignored him, their parents had obviously read them the riot act concerning Gabe. It was also quite evident the school staff was keeping a close eye on Gabe to insure no one hassled him. Gabe didn't mind being constantly monitored because he never did anything inappropriate. Now that he was safe from harassment and no longer saw any reason to even try to be one of the guys, he was able to join the other Scoobies happily being the odd guys out of their class and probably the entire upper grades of the school.

Pastor Beech headed off to Good Shepard Hospital to make his rounds. While there he stopped in the Physician Referral office and did a search for a juvenile psychologist who treated Gender Dysphoria. After reviewing the biographies of all who had appropriate experience, the qualifications of one Doctor stood out, Norma Lee, PHD. Pastor Beech faxed Dr. Lee’s qualifications to the Bulls. After reviewing it and agreeing she seemed to meet Gabi’s needs, Faye called to set up a preliminary meeting to discuss Gabi.

With at least one parent each, the four went to The Metamorphosis School of the Arts. Lynne Swann took them on the grand tour and set up beginners dance and self-defense classes for the Scoobies and Sandy, as it was felt the nine year old would not be able to keep up with the cohesive group. Even better was the Scoobies were put in classes where they would be the only students. Being close friends meant they would help and encourage each other and would thus be able to make better progress than if they'd be mixed with other students. The classes were set up for Tuesdays and Thursdays, 45 minutes of dance followed by 45 minutes of self defense although the mix could change as the instructors thought best. Wally Wacker was the self defense instructor and his life partner Vance Barr was the dance instructor. They worked as a team, each leading in his specialty while the other assisted. That way they could exact the best performance from the group. Rocky balked a bit when informed their uniforms would be leotards and tights, but the others easily talked him into accepting it. As their own class, they were allowed to pick their own colors. Buffy suggested dark green leotards with skull flower appliques on the front and back with light green tights. The group readily agreed. Faye knew she'd better stock up on the skull flower appliques since it seemed the Scoobies were adopting it as their symbol.

"Mom," Buffy said while looking sweetly at her. "Any new clothes I get I want in dark green like Gabi. I'd like to start wearing dark green lipstick and nail polish."

Brenda sighed and looked at Freddy to see him smile and nod his head.

Rocky was a bit slow on the uptake but finally blurted out, "Me too!"

Virginia looked at her daughter's big eyes. "Sandy, don't even think about it. I'll let you wear nail polish, but not dark green. You're too young to go that far."

---

To Be Continued...
 

by Jennifer Sue

---

 
Chapter 4
 
Tuesday morning, the Scoobies showed up early for school proudly wearing dark green nail polish. Buffy joined Gabi in wearing the lipstick. The guys decided to wait a bit before going that far.

Getting to their classroom as their teacher arrived, they chorused "Good morning Miss Peach."

"Good morning," Miss Peach replied with a smile. She was glad to see Gabe had joined the others since they helped each other and never caused any problems. "What can I do for you?"

"If it's not too much trouble," Buffy began. "Can you move Gabi's seat so she can sit in front of Rocky? That way the four of us can work together without disturbing the rest of class."

Miss Peach raised her eyebrows in surprise as Buffy referred to Gabe as 'Gabi' and 'she'. None of the them reacted as if anything was out of the ordinary meaning that they all were accustomed to referring to Gabe in the feminine. Of course, with his hair in the pigtails he did look decidedly girlish. "I don't see a problem with moving the seats," Miss Peach said. "In fact, I was planning on doing some rearranging anyway and this will be as good a time as any. But I do have one big concern. Buffy, you called Gabe 'Gabi' and referred to him as 'she', and none of you blinked an eye."

"I've never been much of a boy and really don't like most things guys do," Gabi spoke up. "Our families had a cook-out on Saturday and several things happened and we decided I should explore different ways of living, like seeing if living as a girl is a better fit to my personality. So far my being a girl seems to be a good fit amongst our families and we're going to continue exploring. My parents are contacting a shrink to help determine if my being a girl is right for me. I'll start seeing the shrink to make things official."

"Oh," Miss Peach was surprised by Gabe's openness and the obvious support of the others. "I have no issues with what you're doing and I can appreciate your desire to explore your options, but there could be issues with some of your classmates and their parents. I think your parents should discuss this with Principal Jass and Miss Demeanor, the school counselor."

"I'll let them know tonight," Gabe promised. "And thank you for understanding."

"You're welcome," Miss Peach said. "I expect you to each be on your best behavior."

"We will, Miss Peach," they chorused.

Miss Peach smiled at the four and wished all the students could be as trustworthy and well behaved.

When class started, Miss Peach announced she was going to make some seating changes. Naturally, there were quite a few moans from those who knew they were about to be relocated because of behavior issues. In all, about one third of the class was shuffled. Freddy kept the outside seat in the back row, with Rocky next to him and Buffy next to him. The seat in front of Freddy was left empty as was the seat in front of Buffy while Gabe sat in front of Rocky. No one in the class objected to those changes, in fact most seemed glad to have the four outcasts physically cut off in the back corner.

As the day progressed, the foursome made it a point to smile at everyone and ignored the reproving glares of their classmates and some of the staff. Gabe's pigtails and his and Buffy's lipstick drew many shakes of the head as did the polish on Freddy's and Rocky's nails. Their behavior and manners were beyond reproof. As they walked through the halls, they linked arms and smiled at everyone, being sure not to crowd anyone out of the way. Outside on the playground they linked arms and skipped around the perimeter laughing and singing 'We're Off To See The Wizard' ala Dorothy and friends along the yellow brick road. They drew stares of disbelief from the other kids and chuckles from the staff. The foursome were obviously having fun and didn't give a hoot about what their peers thought. Their actions cemented their position as social outcasts with their classmates, and the Scoobies couldn't have been happier.

After school, the five walked from school to their first combo lessons at The Metamorphosis School of the Arts. Sandy would be joining an existing class of children her age. After changing into their new dance outfits, the Scoobies went to their assigned classroom to meet their teachers, Wally Wacker and Vance Barr. Both men were well toned, slender and graceful. The teachers smiled to note the green dance outfits and the dark green nail polish on the four youths.

After a brief introduction they began the session by doing some stretches as the instructors and students got to know each other. They were surprised to learn that Rocky, Freddy, Buffy, and Gabi were the same age and in the same grade at school. They'd assumed Rocky was much older and that Freddy was younger. The men were impressed that the youths seemed almost proud to be considered social outcasts at school and laughed when they explained why they called themselves the Scoobies.

After the warm-up stretches, they began a series of exercises designed to test coordination and agility. Freddy and Gabi were agile and proved adept at mastering each exercise. Balancing on one leg while repositioning their arms and legs, handstands, cartwheels, repeating short simple routines were a breeze for the pair. While not quite up to the level of Freddy and Gabi, Buffy held her own. Rocky, on the other hand, proved his self-proclaimed clumsiness.

Wally Wacker worked with Buffy, Freddy and Gabi while Vance Barr tried to find the key to unlock Rocky's self depreciation. As the session progressed, it became clear that Vance Barr and Rocky were becoming increasingly frustrated with Rocky's repeated failures to achieve even a modicum of coordination. Buffy, Freddy, and Gabi became concerned for their frustrated friend.

Then inspiration struck Gabi. "Excuse me, but I have an idea that might help Rocky but I don't know how to use it. As teachers, you may be able to do something with it."

"I'm game," Vance Barr smiled. "I know Rocky would like to hear your idea too."

"Okay," Gabi smiled. "Rocky, can you sing the hymn we sang Sunday in church, "Raise The Song Of Harvest Home?'"

Rocky frowned in confusion, then shrugged his shoulders and took a breath. Wally Wacker and Vance Barr were stunned by the resonating baritone voice that emerged from Rocky's lips to fill the room.

"Come, ye thankful people, come, Raise the song of harvest-home:
All is safely gathered in, Ere the winter storms begin:
God our Maker doth provide For our wants to be supplied:
Come to God's own temple, come, Raise the song of harvest-home!

We ourselves are God's own field, Fruit unto his praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown, Unto joy or sorrow grown:
First the blade, and then the ear, Then the full corn shall appear:
Grant, O harvest Lord, that we Wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come, And shall take his harvest home;
From his field shall in that day All offences purge away;
Give his angels charge at last In the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store, In his garner evermore.

Then, thou Church triumphant, come, Raise the song of harvest-home!
All are safely gathered in, Free from sorrow, free from sin;
There for ever purified, In God's garner to abide:
Come, ten thousand angels, come, Raise the glorious harvest-home!"

The acappella rendition was nearly flawless. Rocky's rhythm was spot on and his pitch was perfect. Every word was clear and pure, and the emotion was raw and wonderful. Rocky smiled and blushed when he saw how the others reacted.

Buffy, Gabi, and Freddy smiled. Wally Wacker and Vance Barr looked at Rocky with awed wonderment.

"Rocky, that was phenomenal! I don't think I've ever heard a more stirring rendition," Vance Barr gushed to the red-faced boy before briefly turning to Gabi. "Gabi, your idea was brilliant! Rocky, if you can memorize the words and melody of a song and perform it at the drop of a hat like you just did, you have tons of coordination! Your brain, lungs, throat, tongue, and lips were effortlessly functioning together! You have it in you, we just need to figure out how to share it with the rest of your body!"

Rocky smiled broadly as he realized maybe he wasn't doomed to be a clumsy oaf all his life.

Vance Barr sorted through some CD's in their kit and pulled one that featured a soft, rhythmic almost hypnotic drum beat. As Wally Wacker continued to work with the others, Vance Barr worked with Rocky. By the end of the session, Rocky was all smiles. He still flubbed more than he succeeded but he'd managed to do a few cartwheels.

As they were preparing to leave Rocky stopped. "Freddy, show me that slap yourself in the face trick again, I want to give it another try!"

Buffy and Freddy laughed. Gabi, Wally Wacker, and Vance Barr looked puzzled wondering what the slap yourself in the face trick was.

"Everyone should try it," Freddy chuckled as he sat in a chair at the edge of the room. After everyone took a seat he began. "First you have to sit down in a chair with both feet planted firmly. Then place the palms of your hands loosely on your thigh above your knees, left hand on left leg, right on right." After everyone had done that he smiled smugly. "Now crossing your arms touch your left hand to your right ear while simultaneously touching your nose with your right hand."

It took a few bungled attempts before everyone succeeded.

"Now put your hands back where they were on your legs," Freddy chuckled. After everyone had done that, he continued chuckling. “Now crossing your arms touch your right hand to your left ear while simultaneously touching you’re your nose with your left hand."

There were even more bungled attempts before everyone succeeded. Everyone was chuckling at their ineptitude.

"The last thing you do is place your hands back where they were on your legs," Freddy added and waited until everyone finished. "Now you know the routine. You simply repeat the sequence speeding up until your hands are a blur. If you make a mistake, simply reset and start over."

The others watched as Freddy repeated the sequence, each time speeding up a bit until his moving hands were a blur. As they tried it they quickly learned why Rocky had labeled it the slap yourself in the face trick. Their coordination went haywire as they speeded up. Sometimes they attempted to simultaneously touch both ears or touch their nose with both hands, sometimes they messed up by forgetting to cross their arms. At the faster speeds they did indeed start to slap themselves in the face when they messed up. Everyone was laughing at their antics. Gabi was the first to master it, followed by Vance Barr, Buffy, and Wally Wacker. Even Rocky finally mastered the trick.

"If I can learn to do this I can learn to do anything," Rocky declared as his face was beaming with pride and self-satisfaction. Then he looked at Wally Wacker and Vance Barr. "Thank you, I've spent the last four years smacking myself silly trying to learn this. I even bloodied my nose a couple of times. With your help, I was able to master it in one day!"

"It's certainly harder than patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time," Gabi chuckled. "I'll have to have my dad and brother try it tonight."

Wally Wacker and Vance Barr realized they'd enjoy teaching this small tight-knit group. They could learn a lot from the Scoobies. They also knew they'd be using that little trick that seemed so simple at slow speeds but could get nasty at higher speeds. It certainly was a test of coordination and speed. They decided to spring it on some of their friends when they'd had a few drinks. They thought that would really be hilarious.

*****

After picking up Sandy from her class, the youngsters headed across the parking lot to The Crateful Bread. ChooChoo greeted them and made the mistake of asking how their first class had been. The excited Scoobies practically talked her ears off with their enthusiasm. After they all had a mug of warmed apple cider with a cinnamon stick, the kids adjourned to the stock room where they sat around a sorting table to do their homework. Working together, they quickly finished it all off.

Buffy noted a shrink wrapped pallet of wooden crates by the loading dock and stock room that had been added behind the 261, 271, 281, and 291 portions of the joined buildings. Then she turned to Rocky. "Rocky, can you get the pallet jack and move that pallet to the end of the sorting table?"

After Rocky nodded and went to the pallet jack she turned to Freddy. "Freddy, can you look up the pricing on the computer?"

Freddy pulled the shipping tag off the pallet and headed over to a terminal on the shipping table and began typing.

Turning to Gabi she continued. "Gabi, can you pull that cart with the big spools of colored netting over here?

As Gabi went to get the cart, Sandy pulled the stools out of the way and sat back to watch.

Gabi watched the activity realizing this was something the others had done before. Once Rocky moved the pallet and pulled the jack out, Buffy took a box cutter knife and carefully sliced the shrink wrap off the pallet. Rocky lifted a crate off the top of the stack and placed it on the sorting table.
As Freddy finished typing, the printer by the computer began spitting out labels.

"This bottle is a hand sanitizer," Buffy explained as she squirted some of the gel into her hands. "You need to rub your hands together as if you were washing them until they're dry."

While Freddy, Buffy and Gabi washed their hands, Rocky sprayed a sanitizing cleaner on the sorting table and wiped it clean. All four then slipped on sanitized plastic gloves. Rocky slipped a folded paper over the open end of the tube of netting and inserted it into a small press that sealed the paper over the end of the bag. Pulling the netting out to a marked point, he cut it off. Then he repeated the procedure creating numerous bags of red or white netting.

Buffy began removing apples and placing them on the table. "Each one needs to be checked for bruises or defects," Buffy explained. "Put 10 good ones into the red netting and put 10 blemished ones into the white netting."

As they filled the net bags with the sorted apples, Rocky picked them up and sealed the open end with another folded paper. Then he peeled off a label and carefully applied it over the sealed paper end. The labels showed the source of the apples, what type of apple, and if they were preferred or seconds. The preferred label went on the red bags and the seconds labels went on the white bags. Rocky then placed the sealed tagged bags in large plastic tote bins.

As the first carton emptied, Rocky removed the empty box and replaced it with a full one. The work went fast and in half an hour they had the entire pallet sorted.

"You must do this a lot," Gabi stated as they cleaned up.

"We help out when we can," Buffy replied.

"They always give us treats like the cider and fruit," Freddy said. "So we don't mind helping out."

"And they let us use the barn loft," Rocky added.

"I take it this is one of the things the Scoobies do to help others," Gabi stated to the smiling nods of the others.

At 6:30 Pastor Palmer arrived to walk Rocky and Sandy home. Rocky quickly told his dad how much he liked the lessons and wanted to continue. It had been a long time since Rocky was so gung-ho and Pastor Beech really appreciated it. Freddy and Gabi walked across the street together since they only lived a few doors apart. When he arrived home Freddy couldn't get done telling his mom about how fun the lessons had been and that he was really looking forward to continuing them. Buffy lived above the store in one of the apartments so she only had to go up the steps.

While they ate a late super, Gabi was overflowing with enthusiasm for the classes. He also told how the Scoobies had sorted and bagged the pallet of apples.

"You guys are really weird," Eddie chuckled. "There is no way my buddies and I would ever get excited about working!"

"It didn't seem like work," Gabi replied. "We had fun talking and joking while we did it."

"That's the key to enjoying life," Lyle said. "Learn to enjoy whatever you do, even if it is work."

"I don't see how work can ever be fun," Eddie sighed.

"It's all in how you approach it," Faye added. "Approach it like it's a bad thing and it will be bad, approach it like it'll be a good thing and it will be good."

Eddie just shook his head.

“Dad, Eddie, Freddy showed us a neat trick tonight,” Gabi said when they’d finished eating. “Rocky calls it the slap yourself in the face trick. I’ll show you. First, push your chair back from the table, then do what I do.”

They were all laughing as Lyle and Eddie did indeed repeatedly slap themselves in the face. Lyle mastered the trick before Eddie, but Eddie stuck with it until he’d succeeded.

After Eddie headed off to do his homework, Gabi told his parents that Miss Peach had suggested they talk to the principal and counselor about Gabe being Gabi and exploring his girlishness.

They smiled and promised to call the school the next day.

*****

At 9:00am Wednesday morning Lyle called the school and requested an afternoon meeting with Principal Jass, guidance counselor Demeanor, and Miss Peach to discuss Gabe. Still smarting from his meeting with Faye just six days earlier, Principal Jass feared that as a lawyer, Lyle had to be more intimidating and decided to do all he could to placate the lawyer. After hasty arrangements including getting someone to cover the sixth grade class, the four would meet in the school conference room at 1:30.

Lyle and Faye had their first consult with child psychologist Dr. Norma Lee at 10:00am. Dr. Lee quickly put the couple at ease with her genuine caring smile and informal manner. Her office had once been a private home in the suburbs of the nearby small city and with the exception of the paved front lawn the exterior still looked like a private home. While it had been remodeled to accommodate Dr. Lee's practice it was still decorated to project a homey atmosphere to relax patients and parents. The waiting room was divided into a seating area and a play area. The doctor and her staff wore tasteful casual attire to keep the intimidation level as low as possible.

Once the couple had relaxed a bit Dr. Lee smiled and praised them for presenting a united front in dealing with Gabe. Then she asked Lyle and Faye how they'd reached the decision to seek professional help for Gabe's gender identity issues.

She listened intently as Faye Bull did most of the talking. Lyle Bull added comments where appropriate which pleased Dr. Lee as she noted the parents truly wanted the best for their child. The two year saga of Gabe using Abby from NCIS as a role model was a first for her. She'd read case studies of older girls using Abby as an excuse to go Goth, but none had done so at Gabe's age and to the best of her knowledge no boys had copied Abby. That Gabe had slipped so quickly and seamlessly into Abby's intellectual Goth portrayal despite gentle parental pressure to ease off the dark green lipstick showed the parents were truly concerned for their son. It also showed that Gabe was quite sure about what he wanted and that he had the fortitude to resist parental and peer pressure. The incidents of attempted assault on Gabe gave her concern but the prompt action by Lyle and Faye obviously had quashed the perpetrators and put the school on notice that any bullying Gabe might suffer would be promptly and harshly met by every legal means available. That Lyle had already set up a meeting with the school principal, counselor, and teacher concerning Gabe's gender issues showed the parents were firmly proactive on their son's behalf.

What really surprised Dr. Lee was Gabe's rapid assimilation into the Scoobies and total unquestioning acceptance by the extended families that Gabe was a worthy person, a boy if presenting as a boy or a girl if presenting as a girl. That Gabe had so rapidly melded into Gabi with the change in hairstyle to twin ponytails highlighted the parent's concerns. That he later slipped right into full girl mode despite a bit of initial reluctance when faced with donning a skirt and appearing amongst friends seemed almost surreal. In all her years of practice Dr. Lee had never seen or read of a case gender dysphoria being so openly and readily accepted by family and friends. It could only mean that they had already seen the girl hidden inside Gabe and had welcomed her unveiling.

A few other aspects of Gabe's case surprised her. First was that Eddie, his jock older brother apparently fully accepted Gabi as a sister. Second was the Skull Flower and Gabe's explanation for selecting it. Third was Gabe's openness in sharing the Skull Flower in Church. Fourth was Gabe's plot to take dance lessons along with self-defense lessons. Fifth was that Gabe lassoed his three new best friends into taking the same classes. Dr. Lee was eager to meet Gabe and set up an appointment for the next afternoon. She also decided she wanted to meet the extended families of the Scoobies.

As their consultation ended Lyle and Faye signed the appropriate paperwork allowing Dr. Lee, at her discretion, to communicate openly and freely with the Gabe’s school.

*****

“I want to thank you for meeting with me on such short notice.” Lyle Bull began the 1:30 meeting at the school. “As you’ve probably figured out, I asked to meet you to discuss Gabe. This last week has been challenging for all of us. With our encouragement and that of his friends, Gabe has done a lot of thinking about who he is. The result is one we’d hoped to never face, but he is our child and we will support him to the ends of the earth.”

“I can appreciate that, Mr. Bull,” Principal Jass soothed. “I can assure you the school will do our best to support him.”

Miss Demeanor and Miss Peach nodded their agreement.

“I’ve already checked the legalities and the school has to accommodate Gabe,” Lyle stated. “I hope we can handle this matter without resorting to threats and legal action.”

“I fully concur,” Principal Jass replied in a most condescending manner.

“I appreciate that,” Lyle replied realizing theat he was dealing with a pompous ass. “I won’t beat around the bush. Gabe has serious gender identity issues.”

Speechless, Principal Jass’ eyes bugged out a bit and his mouth dropped open in surprise.

“The four students spoke to me yesterday about the situation, ” Miss Peach added. “Buffy, Freddy, and Rocky have been calling Gabe ‘Gabi’ and referring to him as if he already was a girl. They have been very discrete and no one else is aware of the issue.”

“They were instrumental in bringing Gabe’s gender issues to a head,” Lyle explained.

“For a long time I’ve thought that might be an issue for Gabe,” Miss Demeanor stated as she tried to cover for Principal Jass. “Have you sought professional assistance in coping with this?”

“This all came to a head over the weekend and with some help from Pastor Beech, we’ve already had an initial consultation with a psychologist,” Lyle answered. “My wife and I are convinced this is not just some phase Gabe is going through. At this point we simply want to let you know to not only keep Gabe safe but to put his behavior in perspective. This is not to say he’ll misbehave, in fact I don’t think he’s capable of misbehaving. As you know, Gabe has never been what anyone would call macho. He’s already taken a lot of teasing for being a sissy. Now that he’s realized he’s never been happy as a boy, he’s exploring his feminine side and I have no doubts he’ll become increasingly girlish. We’ve authorized his psychologist, Doctor Norma Lee to keep you posted on Gabe’s needs in this matter and I’ll sign permission for Miss Peach or Miss Demeanor to communicate directly with Dr. Lee.”

“We appreciate your candor and will see that Gabe is safe,” Principal Jass assured Lyle as he recovered his composure.

“I know you will and thank you for it,” Lyle smiled. With that the meeting ended. As he walked back to his car, Lyle came to the same conclusion Gabe had, Hugh Jass was a huge ass.

*****

On Thursday Gabi left school an hour after lunch and climbed into the front seat beside his mother. Even though he knew his parents had already met with and approved Dr. Lee, he was still nervous about meeting with a shrink. On many TV shows seeing a shrink seemed like some sort of honor and was a sign of high status. Even though he understood he needed to be under a psychologist's care to transition, it still made him feel uneasy and guilty, as if he'd done something wrong.

As they registered, they realized Faye had made a mistake, the quarter of 2 appointment was really for quarter after 2. Gabe smiled and shrugged his shoulders as his mother apologized. It was highly unusual for her to make such a simple error but he just wrote it off to the way things had been so rushed these last few days. Faye told him to go into the play area while she sat and waited. Gabe did as he was told, not once suspecting it was a set up to see how he'd react.

Looking around he frowned at the toys most boys would play with for they had never drawn his interest. A faint sad smile flickered across his face as he looked at the toys meant for girls. While they were more appealing he'd spent so long avoiding them due to peer pressure he didn't feel comfortable touching them. The puzzles and books were way too simple or too long to get anything out of in the short time he had. With a sigh he sat on a chair and rested his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. After a few moments he smiled and sat up straight.

Placing his hands on his knees, he began to do the slap yourself in the face trick. With a look of deep concentration he slowly repeated the motions for a minute to get them wired into his brain. When he felt comfortable with the movements he steadily increased the speed and his twin pigtails began to bounce around. By the time his hands were a blur, his pigtails almost seemed to be standing out straight. After about five minutes he began to smile as he fully mastered the routine. Then he began to giggle which messed up his rhythm and he slapped his face five times before he was able to stop. Laughter shook him so hard he slipped off the chair onto the floor.

After regaining control and resting for a few moments he resumed the position and began the routine again. This time his giggles didn't mess up his timing and he was able to slow down when he grew weary without slapping himself.

It was at that point he realized his mother, the receptionist, and another woman who must be Dr. Lee were intently watching him and smiling.

"You must be Dr. Lee," Gabi smiled as he stood and extended his hand towards her. "I'm your latest whack job!"

Dr. Lee didn't miss a beat and cut off Faye's rebuke about Gabi's whack job comment. "I'm glad to meet you Gabi. I must say I've never met a whack job as proficient as you! Well Done! You must teach me the slap yourself in the face trick."

Faye blushed as she realized Gabi had intentionally used the term whack job as a double entendre. It took a few moments before the receptionist got the joke.

"Well, Gabi," Dr Lee added. "Would you like your mom to join us for the start of your session?"

"No thanks, you passed my test," Gabi smiled. "No offence mom, but I think I'll get along with Dr. Lee."

"Go on then," Faye chuckled. "If Gabi gets too wound up, just call for me."

They all realized it was said in jest and Dr. Lee led Gabi back to her office where they settled into comfortable chairs facing each other.

"Even though your clothes are androgynous, you present as a girl," Dr. Lee began. "From what your parents told me you prefer to be called Gabi rather than Gabe and like to present as a girl. Would you like me to call you Gabi and treat you like a girl?"

"Yes, I definitely prefer being a girl and like to be called Gabi," he replied. "I feel comfortable as a girl, more comfortable than I ever did when I had to be a boy."

"Very good. Your parents and I had quite a conversation about you," Dr. Lee began. "To be honest I thought they were exaggerating a bit or taking things out of context, but after watching you in the waiting area I think they were being honest. You are a remarkable person."

"I prefer the word eccentric," Gabi smiled. "That's a nicer way to say I'm weird."

"You seem to be proud to be weird," Dr. Lee noted. "Is that how you've always felt or did it just develop slowly?"

"Well, I've never been normal," Gabi answered. "I've never liked doing things boys are supposed to like. It's not that I couldn't do them, I just thought they were dumb and hurtful."

"That's an interesting way of looking at things," Dr. Lee said. "Can you give me some examples of what you mean?"

"Sure," replied Gabi. "Sports is the best thing to show what I mean. Sports are supposed to build self-confidence, teach teamwork, and to provide physical exercise. I watched my brother Eddie play before I tried. It turned out to be a lot of abuse. Instead of building self-confidence, your inadequacies and failures were shoved in your face. Teamwork was a joke because they made us compete against each other for positions on the teams and the teammates pointed out their competitors failings. As for the physical exercise, most of what we did involved beating up on each other. The attitude of the coaches and parents was to win, win, win. There was no room for just having a good time. Thanks to Eddie I was good at every sport, but hated playing so I quit after one season. In school I regularly outperform the jocks in phys-ed which upsets them to no end because I simply don't care and I tell them I think sports are dumb."

"I assume those boys don't like you too much," Dr. Lee declared.

"Not much, but it never bothered me because I simply had no interest in what they did," Gabi answered. "They don't hassle me because I can embarrass them in phys-ed."

"I understand you have three close friends now," Dr. Lee said. "Who were your friends before them?"

"I never had any close friends," Gabi stated. "I got along with most of the kids and could talk to them or at times play with them, but I was never close to them. Usually at recess I'd simply run around the perimeter of the playground by myself. I can outrun everyone at the school in speed and stamina."

"Eddie has friends," Dr. Lee went on. "Didn't you ever want close friends?

"Eddie is my brother and I like him and we get along pretty well," Gabi declared. "I help him with his homework and teach him how to do things on the computer. But honestly he's a jock and all his buddies are jocks. It seems the more jocks you get in a group, the dumber they get. I saw how they treat each other, teasing and harassing, punching each other, trying to make each other look stupid... I never wanted friends like that!"

"Your parents said you helped Eddie with his Algebra," Dr. Lee continued. "How did you learn it?"

"I read the text book," Gabe shrugged. "Eddie gets frustrated easily and then he gets angry. He threw the book and nearly hit me, so I picked it up and began reading it. He was making it too hard. I showed him how easy it was and he was able to do it. Now he comes to me when he gets stuck before getting all worked up."

"It's interesting that Eddie comes to you for help," Dr. Lee said. "Doesn't he get angry because you're younger?"

"No, I never hold it up to him, it's just something we do," Gabi explained. "He watches out for me. His buddies all know better than to even try to hassle me."

"It sounds like you have a great relationship," Dr. Lee said.

"Even though we seldom want to do the same things, we respect each other," Gabi smiled.

"That is admirable," Dr. Lee added. "Now, I'd like to know more about your attraction to Abby from NCIS."

"That's easy," Gabi chuckled. "Abby is smart, intelligent, cute, and weird. The people she works with respect her for who she is and what she can do. They don't care how she dresses. She's happy being herself and doesn't care about being normal. That's all I want. I've never been normal and I never want to be normal. I simply want to be happy being who I am. Using Abby as a role model I'm finding out a lot about myself. I'm not using everything about her, but I like her Goth style and perkiness. I've been doing my nails for almost two years, and lipstick whenever I could. I let my hair grow and last Saturday I finally put it into the pigtails. I just love the way they bounce! As you can see I wear my version of Goth clothing and accessories. I think the black clothing most Goths wear accentuates the dark side of things, that’s why I went with dark green. I didn't like Abby's skulls because I felt they were too negative for her perkiness, but I did a lot of research and found these Skull flowers."

"Your parents told me why you selected them and I must say you've connected all the dots on that point," Dr. Lee smiled. "Your parents said your new friends and you call yourselves the Scoobies?"

"Yes," Gabi nodded. "Buffy is Buffy Ann Summers, just like Buffy the Vampire slayer. The Slayer's friends called themselves the Scoobie gang because they fought the supernatural and Mystery Inc. From Scoobie Doo investigated the supernatural. We went along with that."

"Okay, I take it Buffy's parents knew they were naming her after the Slayer," Dr. Lee said. "Is Buffy the one who put your hair into the pigtails and then gave you the skirt to wear?"

"Yeah, her grandparents were all hippies and her parents were big fans of the Slayer," Gabi explained. "She's as weird as I am and we get along great. She's got long red hair and freckles and used to dress up like Pippi Longstockings. Rocky is a pastors kid and the biggest kid in school, I think he's like 5'8" and he's only in the sixth grade like the rest of us. Freddy is the smallest guy in our class and is a computer whiz. We fit together well because we're all on the outside of the normal kids and don't give a hoot. Rocky’s a Dork, Freddy is a Geek, I'm a sissy, and Buffy is a flower child."

"Okay, it sounds like maybe you could all use some group counseling," Dr. Lee playfully suggested on half in jest.

"Nah, we're kewl with being different," Gabi smiled.

"Alright, I know we've covered a lot of ground today but we need to talk about you feeling that you should be a girl instead of a boy," Dr. Lee declared.

"I was terrified and excited when Buffy put my hair into the pigtails," Gabi explained. "But right from the start it felt so natural I can't even imagining going back to wearing my hair like a boy. With just changing my hair everyone treated me and accepted me as if I really were a girl without blinking an eye, even Eddie. They all said I was behaving like a natural girl but I was just being myself... I felt guilty that they were correct but it just seemed so natural I just went along with it. It wasn't until my parents and Eddie arrived that I remembered what I looked like. When Eddie came up to me and said it was about time I became a girl I panicked, wet myself, and passed out. Then I had to change into the skirt, and well, that sealed it! My parents just accepted it and so did everyone else. I felt really free and happy. I'd wanted to wear a skirt since I first saw Abby but I'd been afraid.
Now, I wear a skirt whenever I can without pushing it in anyone's face. I never felt so relaxed and comfortable before, I know I'm young, but I know I'm a just a girl with plumbing problems."

"That seems to be the same conclusion your parents have reached," Dr. Lee smiled. "It's too early for me to fully agree that mentally you are a girl but I can see you're happy and have no problems being accepted as a girl. We have to have a lot of sessions before I can officially say you really are a girl with plumbing issues. That doesn't mean we can't experiment with your girlishness, but I can not make a final professional diagnosis for a long time."

"I understand," Gabi smiled. "I did a lot of web surfing and saw the rules and requirements for gender dysphoria. If we're still not sure by the time I reach puberty, you can at least get me the medicine to stop testosterone can't you?"

"Yes," Dr. Lee smiled. "Your parents were right and so were you, you are quite intelligent. I've never had a patient your age asking such mature questions and understanding the time requirements for a proper diagnosis. I think we'll have a great relationship and I look forward to helping you help yourself."

“Thank you, I look forward to your help,” Gabi replied. “My parents said you’d be working with my school.”

“Yes I will,” Dr. Lee said. “Are you concerned about how you’ll be accepted and treated when you’re ready to reveal Gabi?”

“Of course,” Gabi answered. “I’m not afraid to do it, but I’m not dumb. I know I need to do it the right way, and that’s with official backing. My teacher, Miss Peach, already knows about me and thinks it’s okay plus she’s the one who said I should have my parents talk to the school administration. I think Miss Demeanor, our guidance counselor will be okay with Gabi. My concern is with the principal, Mr. Jass, and possibly a few of the staff.”

“If anyone treats you poorly, let me know,” Dr. Lee stated. “Legally they are required to let you be Gabi as long as you have the support and approval of a qualified doctor. I am one of the doctors who is qualified to give you that approval. Based on what I’ve learned about you so far, I don’t think it will be too long until I can give you preliminary permission to start exploring life as Gabi in school.”

“Thank you,” Gabi smiled.

Gabi gave Dr. Lee a hug before they headed out to the waiting room. Faye smiled with relief as she saw they were both smiling.

"Mrs. Bull, I must compliment you and your husband on raising such a wonderful child," Dr. Lee smiled. "This isn't the first time I've had parents say their child was intelligent but it is the first time I've discovered they were understating the truth. I deem it an honor to work with Gabi and her family and friends as she matures."

Faye and Gabi smiled as they noted Dr. Lee was using feminine pronouns when talking about Gabe.

*****

Faye took Gabi to meet the rest of the Scoobies at the Metamorphosis School of the Arts for their second set of lessons. The teachers were as eager to hear of Gabi’s first meeting with Dr. Lee as the Scoobies. This class went smoothly and everyone had a great time as they learned. As they waited for their children, Faye sat with Virginia and discussed how happy Gabi was in her girlishness.

When they arrived home, Gabi headed up to her bedroom to change into a green plaid pleated miniskirt, green kneesox, and her black leather boots. When she came down, she helped her mother prepare supper.

While Gabi was in the dining room setting the table Eddie and one of his buddies, Tad Pohl, came in the back door. "Is it all right if Tad stays for supper?"

"As long as his parents know," Faye answered. "Gabi's setting the table now, tell her to set a place for Tad."

"Thanks Mrs. Bull," Tad Pohl said as he followed Eddie into the dining room.

"Hey, sis," Eddie said to Gabi. "Tad Pohl's staying for supper. Can you set a place for him?"

"Sure," Gabi smiled at Eddie and Tad Pohl.

Tad Pohl stopped dead and his mouth fell open. Even though he'd known Gabe for years and knew he was into Goth, the sassy skirt and bouncy pigtails were a shock.

"Close your mouth, Tad," Eddie chuckled. "Gabi's too young for you."

Tad Pohl turned red and looked at Eddie, then back to Gabi.

Gabi put her hands behind her back, tilted her head to one side while smiling coquettishly as she twisted her hips from side to side making her pleats enticingly sway.

"Knock it off Gabi," Eddie laughed. "You're messing with Tad's head. Come on Tad, let's go up to my room."

Eddie grabbed Tad's arm and pulled the stunned boy out of the room.

Gabi chuckled as he heard Tad Pohl exclaim, "Dude, your little brother is a girl... a cute girl!"

"Yeah," Eddie answered. "You know he was never really much of a guy. Gabi's just starting to dress the way she behaves."

Tad Pohl was still bewildered. "So your parents, like, let her do it?"

"Sure," Eddie answered. "Look, you just saw her. Is Gabi a boy dressed up pretending to be a girl or is she a tomboy who's finally dressing like a girl should?

Tad Pohl thought a moment. "Gabi's a girl. No real boy could look that cute!"

"You got it," Eddie nodded. "The rules are still the same. You don't tease or hassle Gabi."

"Okay," Tad Pohl agreed. "Eddie, you got a weird family!"

"We try our best," Eddie laughed.

*****

The flower child, dork, sissy, and nerd. Buffy, the flower child; Rocky, the dork; Freddy, the nerd; and Gabi, the sissy meshed well. As the days progressed and stretched into weeks, the Scoobies bonded into a smoothly operating unit, sharing their strengths and weaknesses with such ease their weak spots were barely notable.

Each morning the Scoobies were the first students in the classroom. Miss Peach smiled to see the happy foursome. As the other kids came in, their dreary attitudes contrasted sharply with the perky Scoobies. Miss Peach was a good teacher but was also firm and demanded her students perform at their level of competency. This caused the scruffier elements of the class to dislike her and call her a slave driver. The obvious happiness of the Scoobies and the ease with which they completed assignments irked many of their classmates and drove them further apart. Fortunately since there was little interaction between the Scoobies and the others, their discontent never reached a head. But the gulf between the Scoobies and their classmates steadily widened.

The Scoobies also made rapid progress in their classes at The Metamorphosis School of the Arts. At the end of their second week, they were able to do simple group dance routines and were performing ever more complicated Kata. Wally Wacker and Vance Barr loved the Scoobies both for their abilities and their attitudes. Rocky's agility and coordination progressed faster than anyone could have hoped for. His newly discovered grace steadily eliminated all signs of being a clumsy oaf or troglodyte.

For the first time in Gabi's life, he had friends to invite over to his house and he was invited to visit their homes. While Lyle had seldom said anything negative about flower children, dorks, nerds and sissies, which to some extent or the other the Scoobies were, he'd always made it clear he wanted Gabe to have friends like Eddie. That had never happened before the Scoobies, but with Eddie's buddies around so much, Lyle never took much notice Gabe never had any friends over or that he never went to other kids homes. It was only when Lyle had been forced to look at Gabe's peer relationships after the goons tried to jump him that he fully realized how isolated Gabe had been. Lyle really didn't know how to relate to Gabe much less his new friends as none of them were interested in what he considered normal guy activities and Buffy was totally out of his league. But Lyle realized the four friends were good for each other and accepted the Scoobies as they were while trying to discover areas of common interest.

For the most part, Eddie and his jock buddies ignored the Scoobies when their paths crossed. Most of the time, Gabi and Eddie kept each other informed when one of them was having buddies over so the other could stay out of the way. It also helped that Eddie quickly shut down his buddies if they became too nasty to the Scoobies. Light joking was okay, but teasing was not. It was a fine line but they all quickly found it.

Gabi met with Dr. Lee every Wednesday after school. In addition, in the next month Gabi spent several Saturdays taking a series of extensive psychological tests. Working in conjunction with Gabi’s pediatrician, Dr. Al K. Seltzer, comprehensive blood work and body scans were completed. The blood work and body scans showed no abnormalities for a boy but the psychological tests confirmed that mentally, Gabi was a girl.

The week following Gabi’s initial meeting, Dr. Norma Lee met with Miss Peach, Miss Demeanor, and Mr. Jass at Hickstown Elementary to discuss Gabi’s needs and preliminary diagnosis. It became clear that while the women would do all they could to help Gabi transition as needed. Hugh Jass was quite reticent and only cooperated because the law told him he had no choice. Still, he knew enough not to do anything to hinder Gabi.

---

To Be Continued...
 

by Jennifer Sue

---

 
Chapter 5
 
The Scoobies decided to go all out for Halloween, deciding they’d all portray an NCIS character. As the largest and most intimidating Rocky was the natural choice to portray Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NCIS Special Agent in Charge. Buffy had to decide between Ziva David or Jenny Shepard, but since Jenny was a redhead, the choice was easy, she’d portray Jenny Shepard, NCIS Director. Freddy eagerly decided to portray Dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard, NCIS Chief Medical Examiner and Forensic Expert. Of course Gabi would portray Abby Sciuto, NCIS Forensic and Evidence Specialist, only this time wearing a skirt.

Buffy had already loaned Gabi more skirts so he could wear them whenever possible. Now that he’d be wearing one in public the Scoobies wanted to make sure Gabi was comfortable in skirts and could handle functioning in skirts. Everyone had to admit that Gabi took to wearing the skirts like a duck takes to water. As the days passed Lyle and Faye realized that Gabi was becoming too comfortable as he wanted to wear skirts all the time except for school. They all had to admit Gabi seemed to belong in skirts. There seemed to be little question that Gabe was transgendered and while Lyle and Faye assured him they'd support him no matter what, they still felt apprehensive, Lyle much more so than Faye.

For his part, Gabi had always been drawn to skirts, and when he'd had to wear them that day when he'd wet his pants, despite his shame and humiliation, he instantly knew it felt right and natural. The Scoobies already referred to him in female pronouns all the time and almost everyone did so when he wore a skirt. Gabi thought of himself as a girl when in skirts. Being spoken to as if he were a girl didn't bother him in the least. His only concern was what might happen when he showed up at school in a skirt.

Gabi searched the net and found images of the NCIS photo ID badge and of the NCIS badge. Freddy used his computer skills to create full color individual NCIS photo ID badges for the Scoobies. Taking the badge image, he was able to manipulate it to look almost 3-D. Using thick paper he printed the ID's and badges, cut them to shape, and laminated them. The results were quite realistic. Buffy located some inexpensive imitation leather billfolds that would work as the team’s NCIS ID and Badge holders.

Gabi also found black baseball caps and lined black nylon jackets. Freddy was able to create stencils and print them on special paper that created iron-on patches. He made small NCIS ones to put on the front of the hats and larger ones to put on the back of the jackets. He also created NCIS badge stencils to make iron-on patches for the front of the jackets. Buffy carefully located the iron-on stencils and then pressed them into place on the hats and jackets.

They even made replicas of Agent Gibbs ever-present Styrofoam coffee cup and a big plastic cup of Caf-Pow for Abby.

*****

As they prepared for Halloween, Rocky made a comment. "I feel sorry for kids that are in the hospital or otherwise unable to go trick or treating since they miss out on getting any goodies."

"Yeah, that is a shame," Freddy agreed.

"Maybe we could help out," Gabi declared. "It could be the Scoobies first service project. We can contact all the local businesses to ask them to donate any goodies they have left over after they close on Halloween. Plus, if our costumes are as great as we hope, we should make quite a haul. We can put part of our goodies in with the stuff we get from the businesses."

"That sounds great," Buffy enthused. "I'm sure we can sort and bag the goodies at The Crateful Bread. We can sort the goodies into groups for kids who are allergic, like peanut free, sugar free, and regular."

"I can make labels for the bags," Freddy suggested.

"Yeah, instead of Scooby Treats like Scooby Doo eats we can call them Scoobies Treats for our gang," Rocky suggested.

"We should make up business cards for the Scoobies," Gabi suggested. "When we do service projects we can hand the cards out. Once people know us we'll get requests for help on other things."

"That would be really kewl," Buffy agreed. "It would also make us more of an official group."

"Yeah, I can make them up too," Freddy smiled. "What should we put on the cards?"

"A picture of us," Buffy declared, "and our names."

"The Scoobies needs to be on it too," Rocky added.

"How about some mottos like the Marines have," Gabi added. "SEMPER FI which means always faithful and SEMPER GUMBY which means always flexible. Then their unofficial mantra WE IMPROVISE, ADAPT & OVERCOME."

"Well, business cards are 3  ½ inches by 2 inches," Freddy said. "Centered in the the top would be two lines of print, the first line in small letters would simply say THE. The second line would have larger letters and read SCOOBIES. Below Scoobies we can put four lines in smaller letters, the first would read SEMPER FI & SEMPER GUMBY. The next line read WE IMPROVISE, ADAPT & OVERCOME. On the third line we could put a phone number and on the last line an e-mail address or website."

“I’m pretty sure Moms and Pops would be okay with us using the phone and computer in the clubhouse as our base set-up. We'll have to put an answering machine on the phone and we can set up an e-mail account and even a website from the computer," Buffy gushed.

"I can set up programs and passwords so we could link our home systems and phones to the phone and computer at the clubhouse," Freddy smiled. "That way each of us can access any messages even if we're not there.

"That sounds like a plan," Buffy nodded. "Does everyone agree?"

They all nodded and smiled.

Gabi began giggling.

As the others looked at her she regained her composure.

“I was just thinking maybe we should name the clubhouse something like ‘Scoobies Place. Then I thought of an even better name. How about we call it the ‘Dog House’?

After Rocky and Freddy picked themselves off the floor, they all agreed the clubhouse was now the Dog House.

*****

The Scoobies made the rounds of all the local businesses. After identifying themselves as the Scoobies and giving the person in charge one of their business cards, they explained Operation Scoobies Treats. Almost all the adults were impressed by the Scoobies enthusiasm and sense of community responsibility and agreed to participate

Next they approached Miss Peach with their idea. She loved their business card and was delighted the Scoobies wanted to help those less fortunate. She agreed to accompany them to speak to Principal Jass about being out of school the day after Halloween so they could sort, package, and deliver the Scoobies Treats to those children unable to go trick or treating.

Principal Jass found their business card incredible and had a hard time believing they'd done it on their own. He liked their plan but didn't feel right about excusing them for the day.

"The Scoobies are all straight A students and far enough ahead in their assignments that missing a day will not interfere with their schooling," Miss Peach explained.

"We've already signed up most of the local businesses," Buffy added. "They think it's a great public service project and it should bring some positive media coverage to the school."

"We're not asking to be given the day off," Gabi stated. "You can mark us absent, we just don't want to be tagged with cutting school."

Principal Jass knew he’d been outmaneuvered. “I’ll need written permission slips from your parents promising to make sure you do your community service.”

“I’ll expect you to give a report to the class,” Miss Peach added with a smile.

Almost everything was set in place for Operation Scoobies Treats.

Pastor Beech helped them put the final item in place by making arrangements with Good Shepard Hospital in the small city to allow the Scoobies to deliver their Scoobies Treats to the children in the Children’s Ward.

*****

The Thursday before Halloween Eddie was nearly bubbling with excitement as the family sat down for supper.

“All right, Eddie, spit it out before you explode,” Lyle chuckled. “What has you all wound up?”

“There was a fight in gym class,” Eddie began. “This kid Alex, he’s in some of my classes, anyway, he’s always putting on a tough guy front but we can all see he’s not. Anyway, there’s this big 9th grade jerk, Payne Inthass, who’s constantly hassling anyone who’s an easy target. Alex couldn’t pass the football and Payne was really letting him have it. The harder Alex tried to pass the football, the worse he got. Payne soon had a bunch of other jerks hassling Alex. When Payne called him a sissy, Alex lost it and jumped him. Alex was like a wild man! He took Payne down and proceeded to beat his face to a pulp. It took two teachers to pull Alex off. Once he realized what he’d done, Alex broke away from the teacher who was holding him and took off. He ran up the bleachers and climbed to the roof of the press box and to jumped off the back.”

“Oh my God,” Faye gasped. “That’s horrible.”

“It would have been if Alex had hurt himself,” Eddie chuckled. “Even though he was about 50 feet up when he jumped, he landed on his back on the pole vault bags. All he did was knock the wind out of him. By the time he recovered, a bunch of us had him pinned to the ground. He struggled and cursed but we held him down until the paramedics arrived and gave him an injection which knocked him out.”

“Wow,” Gabi asked when Eddie shut up. “What happened then?”

“They took Alex and Payne to the hospital, then sent the rest of us back to change,” Eddie wrapped up his tale as he refilled his plate for a second helping.

Lyle, Faye, and Gabi exchanged looks of exasperation.

*****

On Monday, October 31, the school had their Halloween contest, Moms, Pops, Arie, ChooChoo, Walt, Val, Autumn, Palmer, Virginia, Brenda, Lyle, Faye, were amongst the crowd of adults who always showed up to watch the kids arrive in costume. Arie and Walt stood at opposite ends of the crowd to video tape the Scoobies as they arrived.

The Scoobies showed up for school just five minutes before the bell rang. Sonny Summers was driving the big step-van from The Crateful Bread. Using water soluble paint, they'd painted it blue and white and applied white lettering NCIS INVESTIGATIVE UNIT so it looked like the big investigative van from the show. Naturally the arrival of the van grabbed everyone's attention. The Scoobies emerged in character.

Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs exited first wearing his black jacket with the NCIS badge on the left front with a big NCIS on the back. He wore an open collared dress shirt under the jacket. His black baseball cap had NCIS above the brim. A laminated picture ID was clipped to the belt of his dress slacks, a cup of coffee clutched in one hand, and polished black shoes completed the image. Rocky had perfected the piercing Agent Gibbs glare.

Director Jenny Shepard followed Gibbs. She too wore a black jacket with NCIS on back and 2-color shield on front under which the word DIRECTOR was stenciled. Under the jacket she wore a white silk blouse with a ruffled collar. A laminated picture ID was clipped to the waist of her thick cotton black knee length skirt. Staying in character, Buffy wore pantyhose and three inch heels. She had the director's stern no-nonsense face mastered.

Dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard followed wearing his signature tan battered cotton duck hat and flashy bow tie at the neck of his dress shirt. He wore a black jacket with a large NCIS with a much smaller line with MEDICAL EXAMINER on the back and smaller three line logo on the left front, NAVAL CRIMINAL - NCIS - INVESTIGATING SERVICES. A laminated badge hung from the belt of his black dress pants. His polished black shoes and black doctor's bag completed his image. Freddy had Ducky's inquisitive darting eyes perfected.

The last to emerge was Abby with her high bouncy ponytails swinging. She wore a short white lab coat over a black and red plaid jumper mini-dress over a white ruffled blouse. The pleated skirt of the sassy dress flared out from her waist and swayed in concert with her movements. With two inch thick soles, her black leather boots reached to her knees and were closed by oversized black metal hoops. Her nails and lips were purple, and she wore black eyeliner. She also wore a studded 1  ½ inch wide leather collar and matching studded wrist gauntlets. Gabi even had a fake spiderweb taboo on her neck and carried Bert the hippo under her left arm with a big cup of Caf-Pow in that hand and carried the fake computer she'd created two years before in her right hand. Her laminated ID was clipped to the silver chain wrapped about her waist three times. Gabi smiled happily at everyone having mastered Abby's perky grin

The four lined up side by side on the sidewalk and eyed the crowd. Everyone recognized their accurate portrayal. Then Gabi squeezed Bert with her elbow and he farted loud and clear. Everyone was momentarily shocked so Gabi did it again. People began to laugh and several adults began to applaud and many onlookers joined in. The foursome nodded their heads to acknowledge the crowd and began to head into the school as if they were heading to a crime scene. Everyone had to admit Gabi handled the thick soled boots with an ease that made the pleats swirl teasingly while maintaining her modesty. Those who knew the Scoobies were surprised but not shocked to see Gabi in the short sassy skirt. A lot of their male classmates made disparaging comments but kept them low keyed as they were all aware of Gabe's protected status.

The adults and students parted way for the Scoobies as they resolutely marched into the school, through the halls and to their classroom. Of course Gabi couldn't resist having Bert leave one more loud fart just before they entered the building. The other students could only stare at them with envy for their images were so perfect. Of course, Gabi in a skirt created quite a furor amongst his schoolmates, but everyone had to admit he looked natural and comfortable and was even cuter than the real Abby.

During lunch the Scoobies found themselves on the receiving side of many smiles from their schoolmates. A few of the guys sneered at Gabi but none went any further than that. Even out on the playground, the foursome walked the perimeter in their costumes but stayed in character with ad-libed NCIS type conversations and comments. As they returned from lunch, Gabi approached Miss Peach. "Miss Peach, I never fit in as a boy and I know this sounds weird, but I feel right dressing like a girl. Could you please call me Gabi from now on and treat me like the other girls?"

"Gabi, I can't officially do what your asking," Miss Peach replied. "The school can only do what you're requesting if your psychologist notifies the school you're transgendered and that you should start dressing and behaving like a girl."

"Dr. Lee talked about it over the last few weeks with my parents and they said they'll support me if I want to start living full time as a girl," Gabi replied. "I’m about 98% sure becoming a girl is what I want. The Scoobies and our parents accept me as a girl or a boy. Basically, I’m afraid what would happen at school if I come as a girl. But I'm here as a girl today and I simply love it. It feels so right to be wearing a skirt. I know I'd feel horrible if I had to go back to being a boy."

"Well, you definitely need your psychologist to make it official for you to come to school as a girl," Miss Peach said. "But in the mean time, I can unofficially call you Gabi and treat you like a girl. But you must understand that if your psychologist does not approve your change, I'll have to go back to calling you Gabe."

"Thank you, Miss Peach," Gabi gushed as he hugger her. "I'll talk to my parents tonight about asking Dr. Lee to contact the school."

As the school day drew to a close, the last hour was spent by having all the students parade around the playground where parents could see all the costumes. It came as little surprise that the Scoobies won the best group category, but they also won the best overall costume category. Sonny was waiting for them outside the school after dismissal and the Scoobies left in their NCIS van.

They traveled to the Crateful Bread where they had a snack and roamed the store entertaining the customers with their NCIS imitation and conversations. Rocky and Buffy went so far as to interrogate some bemused customers while Freddy and Gabi carefully dissected a pumpkin complete with esoteric comments by ‘Ducky’. The customers loved it.

The Crateful Bread had a deli, a lunch counter with a salad bar and fresh home-made soup. They also made a few sandwiches on their fresh baked bread. The lunch area was always busy at meal times and had a steady flow of customers all day. The Scoobies took a table in a corner to eat a supper of fresh home-made soup and toasted cheese sandwiches on home-made bread with fresh whole milk.

After they finished, Sonny Summers drove them about town in the still NCIS costumed step-van so the Scoobies could go door to door trick or treating. They were a hit at every stop, posing for many photos, and collected several bags full of goodies. They also handed out their new business cards.

As they had pre-arranged, Pastor Palmer Beech and Lyle Bull stopped by several of the local businesses at their closing time for the day to pick-up any goodies they had left over to help them with Operation Scoobies Treats.

Upon returning to the Crateful Bread, they went into the back warehouse to place their goodies beside the bins Pastor Palmer and Lyle had collected from the businesses. Then everyone headed home agreeing to meet back at The Crateful Bread at 8:30.

*****

Once they'd all arrived, the goodies were spread out on the sorting table. Next they separated the different types. Using the net bags, they put about 25 assorted goodies into each bag, sealing the top of each with a 2 sided label Freddy had created. The first side was an enlarged copy of their business card, the second side read 'Scoobies Treats' on the top 2/3 and either 'sugar free', 'peanut free, or 'regular' on the bottom 1/3. The bags were placed in shakable clean plastic totes with fold down lids for easy transport.

It was nearly lunch when they finished. Val made sure they had a nutritious meal of fresh home-made soup and toasted tuna and cheese sandwiches on home-made bread with fresh whole milk. Then the Scoobies changed into their NCIS costumes before loading the totes of Scoobies Treats into the step-van and with Sonny once more driving headed off on the 17 mile trip to Good Shepard Hospital to deliver them to the children. They called the Children's ward to give them an arrival time. Since prior arrangements had been made the blue and white NCIS van pulled up outside the children's ward sun room. The windows were crowded with patients and staff and a two man hospital security team waited by the fire door to give them direct access to the children.

The Scoobies exited the van in full NCIS mode, and after scanning their surroundings, waved at the excited kids crowding the windows. Rocky went to the rear of the van and opened the doors and pulled out and set up a ramp before entering the van. In a few moments, Sonny and Rocky emerged each pushing a four wheeled 24" x 40" flat cart loaded with totes. The security officers opened the fire door and the Scoobies in full NCIS character mode entered. The kids swarmed toward them until Rocky as Gibbs gave them a steely gaze. Buffy as Director Shepard took charge of organizing the kids while Freddy as Dr. Mallard began opening totes on the carts. Gabi as Abby called out what type of bag was needed. Freddy handed her the appropriate bag and Gabi gave it to the child along with a big warm Abby hug. Even the children older than the Scoobies were drawn into the excitement. Once everyone had their goodies, the team headed off to the rooms holding kids who'd been unable to leave their bed.

The staff had warned the Scoobies that Alex, a 12 year old boy in one room, was super depressed and angry. As they entered he looked at the NCIS team, scowled, and shook his head. They saw his arms legs had restraining straps on them which severely limited his movement.

"Those costumes aren't even funny," he snarled.

"They're not supposed be funny," Rocky answered flatly. "We're NCIS agents."

With that he pulled out his badge holder and showed his badge and photo ID. The others quickly did the same.

"So you made good costumes, big deal," the boy snapped.

"It sounds like someone could use a big hug," Gabi answered in her best Abby-esque voice and stepped right up and wrapped her arms about the stunned boy.

The staff was surprised and prepared for an outburst. As Gabi's arms enveloped him the boy went as stiff as a board. Then he slowly relaxed and sank into the hug as almost silent long suppressed sobs began to wrack his body. Gabi wasn't sure what to do but instinctively knew to just hold him.

"Abby always gives great hugs," Rocky as Gibbs said. "No one can stay upset once she wraps her arms about you."

Freddy and Buffy nodded their agreement and the staff marveled at the hostile boy's unexpected response. The lad's doctor, who was there prepared to administer a sedative, was totally taken back by the unexpected reaction.

After a bit the boy's sobs subsided, and Gabi kept her embrace but pulled her head back to look at his red-eyed tear streaked face. Their eyes met and Gabi could see he was confused by his reaction to the hug. With a smile she leaned forward and kissed his forehead which startled him even more.

"You need to smile," Gabi ordered but the boy shook his head no. Then she glanced to Freddy and mouthed BERT. Rocky promptly opened a tote and pulled out Bert the Hippo giving it to Gabi.

"This is my friend, Bert the Hippo," Gabi said. "He'll make you smile." With that she gave him a squeeze and he loudly farted.

After a momentary pause of surprise, everyone began chuckling. The boy struggled to keep from joining in.

"You're a tough case," Gabi declared in her best Abby mode. "But I've never known Bert to fail." With that she gave him another squeeze and again he farted.

This time the boy couldn't hold it back and a smile crept across his face.

"Okay, once more Bert the Hippo is victorious in banishing frowns," Gabi smugly announced as she held Bert aloft. "Don't worry, he only farts, he doesn't do anything else."

The boy began to chuckle which stunned the staff and his doctor. After a few moments of looking at Gabi his face dropped into one of profound sadness.

"Guys," Gabi said. "Go on to the other patients. I want to stay here and talk.”

Everyone nodded and eased out of the room. The doctor stood at the door but out of sight.

"I have a feeling you really like Abby," Gabi said.

The boy sighed and nodded.

Gabi took a deep breath. "You can tell me to get lost, but did you try to hurt yourself"?

The boys eyes grew big and filled with tears as he barely nodded his head.

"You don't just like Abby," Gabi said. "You wish you could be like Abby."

Gabi heard the hiding doctor take a deep breath and hoped the boy didn't hear it.

Apparently he didn't as he almost imperceptibly nodded.

"I thought so," Gabi nodded as she smiled at the boy. "It takes one to know one."

The boy was confused and wondering what it was about this girl that was drawing him out of the suicidal funk even the professionals had failed to penetrate.

"My real name is Gabe," Gabi stated and looked straight into the boy's eyes as she reached out her hand to shake his secured one.

In obvious disbelief he asked, "Y... you're a b... boy?"

"I was born male," Gabi answered. "But I was never much of a boy. I don't like most things boys are expected to like. I was always different and teased for it. When NCIS came out two years ago, I got hooked on Abby and have been a mini goth ever since. Things came to a head when school started this year and I was totally ostracized by the kids at school. Rocky, Freddy, and Buffy were already on the outside of things and they welcomed me as a friend. It's only in the past six weeks I've started wearing skirts but I know I'll never go back to trying to be a boy. I still wear pants to school but my shrink is working on it so I can go full time as Gabi."

"Those others playing NCIS with you," Alex frowned. "They know you're a boy and are still your friends?"

"They're the ones who told me I was really a girl," Gabi answered. "They helped me see the truth I’d been trying to avoid and helped me accept it. Just like I'm trying to do with you."

"But you don't even know me," Alex stated. "Why would you risk exposing yourself to a stranger?"

"That's easy," Gabi smiled. "My friends helped me find my way when they didn't have to. It's just what good people should do. Jesus said we should love our neighbor like we love ourselves. I could tell you needed love, and Abby is always giving hugs to people when they're upset or feeling down. I felt you needed a hug. A real big hug. So that's what I did."

"I still don't know if I can believe you. It all sounds too good to be true. Besides, you are way too cute to be a boy," Alex sighed. "You're just making fun of me like everyone else does."

"Lexi, I'd never tease anyone about something this serious," Gabi said. "Boys who feel they should be girls are called transgendered. The diagnosis is called Gender Dysphoria. It is a real medical issue and not just something messed up in your head. If you try to hide it and deny it, you'll drive yourself crazy and try to kill yourself. Oh... that's what happened, didn't it?" Gabi caught herself. She’d suddenly realized this was Alex, the boy Eddie had told them about who jumped off the roof of the stadium press box! Instinctively she understood it wouldn’t be wise to mention that right now.

"Yeah...," he whispered. "Y... you called me Lexi... that's a girl's name... why?"

"My given name is Gabe, but I go by Gabi now," Gabi explained. "Your boy name is Alex, so the girl's version could be Lexi. I think it's a cute name for a pretty girl and most important, it fits you."

"Lexi... I do like it... Lexi...," Alex became lost in thought for a moment. Then in a wistful voice whispered "I want to be Lexi!"

"You already are Lexi," Gabi said. "Just like I'm already Gabi. All you have to do is tell people that Alex is dead and he left Lexi to take his place."

"That sounds too easy," Lexi sniffed. "My dad would never let me be a girl. He'd think I was a faggot or something."

"We know you're not a faggot," Gabi stated with confidence. "You're simply a girl named Lexi who, like me, has a slight birth defect. As for your dad, I thought the same about my dad. I'm not saying it'll be easy or that your dad won't have issues, but you are his child and he loves YOU. He already knows you're so unhappy you tried to end your life, and I'm sure he's already told you nothing could be bad enough to do that. My dad still has some issues accepting me this way but he's working on it, just like your dad will. Look, if it'll help, I'll make arrangements to be here with my parents when you tell your parents. I'll give you some back-up and our moms and dads can talk about the issues."

"It sounds too good to be true," Lexi sniffled. "It has to be a lot harder."

"I didn't say it'd be easy," Gabi answered. "It's very hard, but it's something that needs to be done and you only have to do it once. When my parents first saw me as Gabi, I wet myself and fainted. After that, my parents were with me just as your’s will be with you to make transitioning easier. Start out by telling your doctor. He can explain things better than I can."

"I don't think I can tell anyone," Lexi sobbed. "It's too hard. They'll all laugh at me."

"You're wrong," Gabi said as she walked to the door. Reaching out she took the surprised doctor's hand and pulled him inside.

"No one will laugh at you, Lexi," the doctor promised as Gabi pushed him toward the bed.

"Oh God," Lexi cried. "You've been listening?"

"Yes he has," Gabi answered. "I realized when I heard him gasp when I said you want to be like Abby. I figured if he didn't come in right away he was a good shrink who could help you. I'm sorry if you feel I betrayed your trust, but now he knows and it didn't hurt a bit."

"Gabi, you are a very remarkable young lady," the doctor praised. "Lexi, being transgendered can be difficult, but it's not impossible as Gabi is proving. I think your parents will be so relieved to find out what it was that made you try to hurt yourself that they'll embrace you as your daughter. Just understand, transitioning can't happen overnight. We'll need to do physical and psychological tests, then if everything checks out we can begin a gradual transition. Now, young lady, if you promise to be a good girl, I'll remove your restraints, at least as long as someone is in the room with you."

Lexi's eyes grew wide. "I've been tied down for five days, and now you'll release me?"

"We kept you restrained because we didn't know why you tried to take your life," the doctor explained as he undid the restraints. "You refused to talk about it so we had no choice but to keep you restrained in order to keep you safe. Unfortunately, it's all too common for juveniles with gender issues to keep it bottled up until they feel they have no choice but to take their lives to end the pain. Since Gabi is a kindred spirit to you, she saw through your anger and self disgust to see the scared girl hiding inside you. Now that she's been allowed to peek out, I don't think you'll be able to keep her hidden. Alex is the one who wanted to die, Lexi wants to live."

Lexi looked apprehensive. "Can I change from a boy to a girl that quickly?"

"Sure," Gabi said. "You'll still have to pretend to be a boy at times like I do. It was only six weeks ago that I realized I was transgendered and started wearing skirts at home. Halloween is just a good time to get away with it. Like I said, if you'd like, I'm sure my parents would come in so we can be here when you tell your parents."

"That should make things easier, Lexi," the doctor agreed but then looked at Gabi. "But first I'll have to check with your SHRINK and your parents to see if it's okay."

"My dad is a lawyer and my mom is his office manager so we can get them both at the same time," Gabi answered as he handed one of his father's business cards to the doctor. "My shrink is Dr. Norma Lee"

"I'm familiar with Dr. Lee," the doctor said. "She's the best psychologist in the region for cases of juvenile Gender Dysphoria. I'll go out to the nursing station and call her first, and if she approves, then I’ll call your parents. I'll ask Dr. Lee if she can come over to be here too. Lexi, this will work out. With friends like Gabi, you'll do fine."

After he left Lexi looked at Gabi and very tentatively asked, "Will you really be my friend?"

"Sure," Gabi smiled. "Buffy, Rocky, and Freddy will be your friends too."

"I don't understand why anyone would want to be my friend," Lexi sniffed. "All the guys I thought were my friends have turned against me and tease me."

"Then they weren't really friends," Gabi replied. "The same happened to me. Kids I'd known since kindergarten turned against me because they thought I was a sissy."

As the happy doctor left the room he saw the two nurses accompanying Buffy, Freddy, and Rocky approaching. "We've made a breakthrough," he exclaimed as he flashed them a thumbs up before heading off to the nurses station to make the phone calls.

As they entered the room of the morose suicidal lad the nurses were delighted to see that Alex and Gabi were talking and holding hands as he smiled wanly. It was also quite obvious Alex had been crying. As he noticed they'd entered, he blushed deeply and hung his head.

"Everybody, I'd like to introduce my new girl friend, Lexi," Gabi exclaimed. "Lexi, this is Buffy, Freddy, and Rocky, my best friends! They're the ones who helped me understand and accept that I'm really a girl despite having plumbing like a boy. I'm sure they'll be your friends and help you too."

Buffy, Freddy, and Rocky smiled and crowded the bed to give their new friend supportive welcoming hugs. Lexi cried tears of joy as she eagerly sank into their accepting hugs.

The nurses were doubly surprised. First, they'd never have suspected the cute girl portraying Abby was a boy. Secondly, they'd never in a million years have thought the issues that had created the angry, violent boy they'd had restrained on suicide watch for almost a week could be caused by gender dysphoria! But obviously it takes one to know one applied here since Gabi had broken through his hellascious defensive walls to reveal the frightened girl cowering inside, freeing Lexi.

"Lexi, I'm delighted to meet you," the younger nurse smiled as she approached the bed. "Is it all right if I give you a hug too?"

Lexi was apprehensive as the nurse approached and began to speak, but the fact she was smiling and called her Lexi made her heart leap for joy. "I think I'd like that," Lexi whispered as a timid smile appeared on her face.

After the younger nurse stepped back from the hug the second nurse came forward and asked permission to hug Lexi. The broad smile on Lexi's face granted permission.

"I think we should make a toast to welcome Lexi," the younger nurse smiled. "How does a round of Cokes sound?"

Five smiling heads nodded so the nurses went to get the celebratory drinks. When they reached the nurses station they saw the doctor had already shared the news their problem patient had improved. The doctor was in the adjoining office talking to Alex's mother who had been anxiously sitting in the waiting room all week hoping for a breakthrough.

Buffy and Gabi and Lexi jabbered happily as Freddy smiled watching them. Rocky sighed and shook his head. "Nothing against you, Lexi, or you Gabi. I respect your need to be girls and will help however I can. But I just don't understand how you know being a boy isn't right."

"It's difficult to explain," Lexi answered feeling safe. "But I have an idea that may help you. Rocky, take your shoes off."

Rocky looked a bit perplexed but sat on a chair, untied his shoes, and pulled them off.

"Now put your shoes on the wrong feet," Lexi stated.

Rocky really looked confused but again followed the instructions. In moments his shoes were on the wrong feet.

"Now stand up and walk around a bit," Lexi continued.

"This feels weird," Rocky said as he walked awkwardly about.

"That's the way I feel all the time," Lexi answered. "You can get the shoes on your feet and they do what they're supposed to do, but they're just not a good fit. You feel uncomfortable and you want to correct the problem. Now imagine you felt that way all the time and had no idea how to fix it."

"That's the way I've always felt," Gabi answered as she accepted the analogy. "I just never felt comfortable in my body but I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Finding Abby on NCIS helped me, because she's weird on purpose. Being Goth helped me adjust and feel better about being weird. Then when I tried the pigtails it felt right, and the skirts made me feel even better."

"For years I never felt comfortable and became angry easily," Lexi said. "I kept feeling as if I were a girl trapped in a boys body but I felt that couldn’t be and denied it. It made me feel I was really a freak and was ashamed to talk about it. I thought I was the only boy who ever felt like a girl. The more the feelings that I was a girl surfaced, I became more and more moody and uncooperative. If anyone even hinted that they thought I might be a sissy I'd attack them. I got into fights at the drop of a hat to prove I was a tough guy but I cried myself to sleep every night. I've spent practically the whole of this school year in detention. Then last Thursday in gym class while we were in the football stadium a ninth grader kept calling me a sissy because I couldn’t pass the football. Finally I lost it. I saw red and jumped him and beat him. It took two teachers to pull me off him. He was laying on the ground bleeding and whimpering. I knew I was in trouble and once I calmed down a bit I hated myself for what I did to him and decided the only way out was to kill myself. I broke away from the teacher who held me and ran up the bleachers and climbed to the roof of the press box intending to jump off. I was being chased but I was too pumped and they didn't get close."

Lexi broke down for a few moments to sob, then after collecting herself she continued. "When I got to the roof I never stopped. It's about 50 feet up and I figured taking a header would put me out of my misery. I ran to the back and dove off head first. I heard people yelling and screaming as I flew through the air but for the first time in my life I felt free."

"You don't even look like you're hurt," Freddy declared. "How'd you survive the fall?"

"I didn't look where I was jumping and I jumped too hard to stay head down," Lexi sighed. "I spun over onto my back and the landing bags from the pole vault were stored right where I went over. I landed flat on my back on the bags. Other than knocking the air out of me I wasn't even hurt. By the time I caught my breath I'd been caught. I felt cheated that I'd lived and flipped out again. I refused to talk and tried to hurt myself whenever I could. They finally sedated me and I've been restrained since. I really didn't want to live, I felt hopeless. Then you guys showed up looking like NCIS. Gabi, you saw into my soul. Thank you for saving my life." Lexi unsuccessfully tried to blink back her tears.

"It's okay for girls to cry, Lexi," Gabi soothed as they hugged.

"I just hope my parents and brother can accept me," Lexi sniffed. "I can't handle pretending to be a boy anymore."

"I'm sure your parents love you and will be delighted to have a smiling daughter instead of a snarling son," Gabi assured Lexi. "If your brother is anything like my jock bro, he won't have a clue why you'd ever want to be a girl but will stick up for you anyway. He teased me before I came out as Gabi and he teases me now, but it's never nasty and I know he's only joking. But remember, it takes a while to get everything ready for you to live full time as a girl. I'm still working on that, so there will be times when you'll still have to pretend to be Alex. But believe me, just being able to be Lexi at home will make it bearable."

"I hope so," Lexi solemnly intoned while smiling wanly. Then she gasped as she saw her mother standing with the doctor just inside the door to the room.

"Alex... Lexi... it doesn't matter... you're my child and I love you," Bea Kahn cried as she rushed over to sweep her child into a loving embrace.

Lexi returned the hug and cried tears of joy and relief. "Mommy, I'm sorry," Lexi sniffed. "I've been so scared and confused and ..."

"It's all right, Lexi," Bea soothed as she stroked Lexi's back. "The only thing any of us should be sorry about is that it took US this long to find out what's been wrong. Now that we know, we'll fix it."

Lexi sank into her mom's embrace. "B... but won't dad be upset?"

"If he is he'll get over it," Bea assured him. "We love you, Lexi."

The Scoobies tried to slip out of the room but were prevented by the arrival of the nurses as they returned with the Coke and glasses.

"Not so fast," the doctor added as he held up his hand to the Scoobies. "I'm sure Lexi wouldn't appreciate you slipping away."

"We weren't trying to slip away," Gabi defended. "We were just going to step outside to give Lexi and her mom some private time."

"Gabi, thank you for the thought but we'd like you and your friends to stay," Bea said. "I heard what you told Lexi, and I need to thank you for all you've done."

"Please stay, Gabi," Lexi exclaimed as she loosened her hug just enough to peer around her mother. "We didn't get a chance to make our toast!"

In a few moments, everyone was gathered around Lexi's bed holding a Styrofoam cup of Coke. "To Lexi, may her life be filled with happiness," Gabi intoned as the toastmaster. With smiles they all carefully touched cups and downed their Coke.

Lexi's doctor, Mack Arronie, said he'd spoken to Dr. Lee who agreed to try to coordinate a meeting between The Bull and Kahns the following evening for the families to discuss their common issues and solutions.

After a bit of conversation, the Scoobies had to leave. Each gave Lexi and her mom a warm hug. Gabi added she hoped to see Lexi the next evening which brought a huge smile to Lexi's face. Bea cried tears of joy to see her child once more freely smiling.

The Scoobies exited the hospital through the same door they'd entered waving goodbye to the kids waving back through the children's ward play room windows. As they turned to their NCIS van, they saw the camera and reporter from the local TV station recording the scene. Rocky didn't even hesitate as he slipped into his character and walked up to the reporter as she began her report.

"Good afternoon. I'm Cindy Caishun from Channel 5 Eye Witless News reporting from The Good Shepard Hospital. As you can see behind me the patients of the Children's ward are bidding their unexpected guests a hearty farewell. It seems a unit from the NCIS visited the children to give them a belated Halloween treat.”

"I'm Special Agent Gibbs," Rocky identified himself as he flashed his NCIS ID. "This is an ongoing investigation so please don't ask us anything that might jeopardize our case."

"I understand, Special Agent Gibbs," reporter Cindy Caishun smiled as she looked eye to eye totally unaware she was talking to an unusually tall sixth grader.

"It's alright, Agent Gibbs," Buffy said as she stepped beside Rocky and flashed her ID. "Even though we haven't filed our final reports, Operation Scoobies Treat has been successfully completed. I'm Director Shepard, what would you like to know?"

Rocky stepped to the side and gave a remarkable rendition of Agent Gibbs stern glare and smirk when he's overruled.

"You must be pathologist Dr. Ducky Mallard and you most certainly are forensic scientist Abby Scuitto," Cindy greeted Gabi and Freddy as they joined the others. Looking at the grey stuffed animal tucked under Gabi's arm she asked, "Is that Bert the Hippo?"

“It sure is," Gabi proclaimed with a perky Abby-esque grin. "He can even say his own name!" With that she gave the stuffed Hippo a firm squeeze which elicited a loud BRRRT.

It took everything Cindy had not to crack up. "So, tell me about Operation Scoobies Treats."

"We know most kids love going trick-or-treating for Hallowwen to get goodies," Buffy as Dr. Shepard explained. "We decided to provide some goodies for those children who were unable to go trick-or-treating. We organized things, collected donations of goodies, sorted them for suitablity, and brought them here to deliver."

"The way it looks the children were quite delighted to have you visit today," Cindy continued. "How did you come up with the name Operation Scoobies Treats?"

Gabi made Bert fart again and Scoobies broke into giggles. "The four of us are the Scoobies," Gabi explained. "We're best friends in school and are pretty much ignored by our classmates because we're weird. Ducky's real name is Freddy Bangs, Agent Gibbs is Rocky Beech, Dr. Shepard is Buffy Summers, and I'm Gabi Bull. Buffy's parents named her after Buffy the Vampire Slayer. On the show the Slayer's friends call themselves the Scooby Gang because like Scooby Doo and Mystery Inc., they investigate and take on the weird and supernatural. So, since we have our own Buffy Summers and we're certainly weird, when we came together in September we decided to call ourselves the Scoobies."

"That's quite a convoluted pathway to come up with the Scoobies," Cindy smiled. "How old are you and what grades are you in?"

"We are convoluted! We're all eleven years old and in the sixth grade," Buffy replied. "We attend Hickstown Elementary School and Miss Peach is our teacher."

"You're all eleven years old," Cindy exclaimed as she looked at Rocky. "I thought Rocky was much older. You guys are good! It's obvious you've put a lot of effort into your costumes and characterizations. How did you come up with the NCIS character idea?"

"I've been a huge Abby fan since the show began," Gabi answered. "Two years ago I dressed as Abby for Halloween. I really identify with Abby because she is smart, cute, and weird but the people she works with respect her for who she is and what she does. Being semi Goth gves her a lot of freedom and options. I really liked being Abby and Goth so since then I've continued using Abby as a role model. This year when it came time for the Scoobies to select costumes we decided to go with NCIS. Buffy's family helped out by letting us use their truck."

"I must say your portrayal of the NCIS team is simply tremendous," Cindy smiled. "Did you come up with the idea for Operation Scoobies Treats on your own?"

"Yes," Buffy answered. "At first we were just going to share the goodies we collected trick-or-treating. My family owns The Crateful Bread and they offered to give us any goodies they had left over after they closed for the night on Halloween. That sparked us on and with the help of our families we contacted every business in our area and after explaining our idea to share the goodies with the less fortunate kids, most agreed to give us their left over goodies. We talked to our teacher and principal about the project and since we all have good grades they allowed us to take off school today since it's a public service project. Of course we have to give a report to the school but this has been a lot of fun. Last night we went trick-or-treating door to door and collected a lot while our parents went to the businesses at closing to pick up their donations. This morning we met in the sorting warehouse of The Crateful Bread to sort and bag what we'd collected. Then we came here to give out the goodies."

"It seems obvious the children here appreciate Operation Scoobies Treats," Cindy praised. "I'm sure your families and school are proud of your accomplishments."

"Thank you," Buffy modestly replied. "One of our goals as the Scoobies is to help others and this is our first attempt to help someone outside the group itself. We hope to do a lot more."

"I have no doubt you'll succeed," Cindy answered. "It's been a pleasure meeting you. This has been Cindy Caishun reporting for Channel 5 Eye Witless News."

As the news crew began putting their equipment away, the Scoobies boarded the van for the trip back to The Crateful Bread. After changing out of their costumes and a snack, they headed outside to scrub the temporary NCIS paint job off the step-van.

As they headed of to their lessons at the Metamorphosis School of the Arts the Scoobies also decided they liked arriving at school together so they agreed to walk together from then on.

---

To Be Continued...

Douglas Deaper was found in his bloody bed. His limp hand clasped the grip of the Colt .45 in his limp hand, the barrel was in his mouth. Hickstown chief of police Seth Poole was indicted for conspiracy and promptly resigned. The remaining junior/senior high phys-ed teachers, while not guilty of abuse, were implicated...

by Jennifer Sue

---

 
Chapter 6
 
Emboldened by her successes of the last two days, Gabi decided to wear a skirt to school on Wednesday. Faye and Lyle tried to talk her out of it, but Gabi rightly pointed out she'd broken the ice on Monday and had been on TV Tuesday so it would be easier to continue wearing a skirt today rather than restart it sometime in the future. Reluctantly they agreed Gabi’s assessment was spot on. After a call to Dr. Norma Lee to get her approval, they gave in to Gabi’s demand.

Lyle and Faye decided to call the school before classes began to inform the staff of the decision to let Gabi replace Gabe. Gabi called the other Scoobies to let them know what she was doing and they all decided to jump on the Goth bandwagon. Rocky, Freddy, and Buffy wore the dark green nail polish and lipstick to match Gabi's Goth look.

When the Scoobies arrived for school Wednesday morning they were surprised by the warm greeting their schoolmates gave them. Even the school bullies Moe Lester, Mike Rotch, Dick Swett and Stu Piddity acknowledged the Scoobies without snarling. Other than Principal Jass, no one seemed bent out of shape that Gabi was wearing a skirt or the other Scoobies wore the dark nail polish and lipstick. Lyle Bull’s not so subtle warning that morning had cooled Mr. Jass’ jets. Everyone seemed to take it as par for the course. The reason for the warm welcome quickly became obvious. The Channel 5 Eye Witless newscast of Operation Scoobies Treats had made them minor celebrities. Principal Jass had already decided to hold a school wide afternoon assembly to showcase the Scoobies and let them report on the reception they received at the hospital. The assembly went smoothly as the Scoobies told how the faces of the kids lit up when they arrived. As the Scoobies had planned, Rocky snuck Bert the Hippo into school in his backpack and into the assembly. As Gabi was telling how much the children enjoyed seeing Bert, Rocky and Freddy slipped him out of the backpack and held him behind Gabi before giving him a squeeze. "BRRRT" echoed through the auditorium causing everyone to break into hysterical laughter. Rocky then held Bert high in the air and waved him about to the applause of the students and consternation of Principal Jass.

Of course, the Scoobies made sure to end their presentation on a positive note by urging everyone to help out those who may be less fortunate. They explained the smiles of appreciation from those they'd helped made all their efforts worth while.

The rest of the school day passed without any issues. In fact, their classmates seemed friendlier than ever before.
 

*          *          *
 
Lexi Kahn had a busy day too as numerous psychological tests were given between discussions with the shrinks. The result was that she was okayed for release from the hospital that afternoon. She was delighted that her mother had bought her a cute panty and cami set to wear under her boy clothes when she left.

Lexi was scared yet thrilled to stop at Walmart on their way home to get some more undies and nighties. Reluctantly, she agreed to hold off selecting a skirt or dress until she and her mom had a chance to look at what styles were available and what best suited her.

Not having allowed herself to think about being a girl, Lexi understood her transition would be gradual. Most importantly, she wanted to be sure she felt comfortable with the styles she selected.

When she arrived home Lexi began reorganizing her bedroom. Much of what she had in her room she had because she felt it was what a boy should have. Now that she didn't have to keep up that charade, she began removing what she didn't like.

When her older brother Deforest arrived home from school, he saw Lexi carrying a box into the garage. "I'm clearing all the boy stuff out of my bedroom," Lexi explained. "You're welcome to go through it and take anything you like."

"I doubt there's anything I want," Def Kahn growled in his usual gruff manner. "You're sure you want to get rid of all this stuff?"

"Yeah, I'm not going to go back to the way I was," Lexi explained. "Inside, I really am a girl. I'm sorry if that freaks you out, but that's the way it is."

"It does freak me out," Def answered. "I just don't understand how something like this can happen. I mean, you’ve always been weird and I believe you when you say you feel that you're a girl, but it doesn't make sense to me. Look, it may take a while to get my head wrapped around it, but I'll eventually get used to it. I'd rather have you as my sister than to have you kill yourself as my brother. It won't be easy, just be patient and give me time to get used to it."

"I will," Lexi replied as she bit her lip. "Def, would it be okay if I gave you a hug?"

Def Kahn bristled until he saw the plaintive look on Lexi's face. "We'll try a short one," he sighed.

Lexi beamed as she gave Def a quick hug. "Thank's bro," Lexi smiled as she stepped back after the brief hug.

Def blushed but nodded his head. He wouldn't admit it but the hug felt good. Plus, the look of delight on Lexi's face made his discomfort worthwhile.

Bea Kahn had to fight back tears of joy as she watched the interplay of her children.
 

*          *          *
 
After spending the morning and early afternoon with Dr. Arronie working with Lexi, Dr. Lee had no problems letting the Bea Kahn make arrangements for the Bull and Kahn families to meet with both doctors Wednesday evening for a late supper. Both families were aware of the subject matter so there would be no shocking revelations. A private dining room in Brock Lee’s Pizzaria at 151-161 Main Street in Hickstown was the logical the site and a casual meal of pizza with wine for the adults and Coke for the kids was organized.

Gabi kept her hair in pigtails, the dark green nail polish and lipstick, and the dark skirt and sweater she’d worn to school but added a studded collar and wrist gauntlets to complete her Goth image. Lexi was dressed in a pair of her boy jeans and but wore an oversize t-shirt that with a chain belt to snug in the waist to look like a girl's smock. Her hair was brushed into bangs and topped with a sassy newsboy-style cap that Hillary Duff made popular. Naturally she wore her new girl's undies. When they saw each other, Gabi squealed with girlish delight and the pair exchanged a hug and kiss on the cheek.

Ike Kahn, Lexi's dad, looked totally perplexed while Def Kahn looked uneasy and embarrassed by the girly greeting. "Please, would everyone sit down," Dr. Lee suggested as she gestured toward the table. "I think it'd be best if each family sat on the same side opposite your counterpart."

“Hey, Def,” Eddie smiled as he greeted his teammate on their Junior Varsity football squad.

“Eddie,” Def gasped. “What are you...”

“It’s cool, dude,” Eddie laughed as he pointed to Gabi and Lexi. “We have a lot in common... like our sisters.”

Def smiled and nodded his head. "So your sister is the one who discovered Lexi. At least I'm not alone in dealing with this."

"It takes a bit to wrap your head around it," Eddie chuckled. "But Gabi's such a girl it's easy to accept and understand she's really my sister and not my brother. You'll get there too if you let it happen."

"I've already seen it," Def sighed. "So I can see what you mean."

It was during their interchange that Lexi recognized Eddie as being a classmate... one who was in all of her classes including her gym class. You could see her face cloud with anxiety.

“Relax, Lexi,” Gabi soothed. “Eddie is my brother. Remember, I told you he was okay with me being a girl. He'll be cool with you too.”

“Gabi’s right, Lexi,” Eddie smiled. “If you’re anything like Gabi, you’ll be happier as a girl. Don’t worry about what jerks like Payne Inthass think. After the beat down you gave him, anyone who wants to hassle you will think twice. Besides, you’ll have classmates like me who will support you.”

Of course, that required a little explanation of how Def, Eddie and Lexi knew each other. All three attended Hickstown Junior/Senior High, Eddie and Alex were seventh graders and shared almost every class while Def was in eighth grade. Eddie was able to fill in quite a few holes about what occurred the previous Thursday in gym class.

"Coach Jacques Strapp always gets on the guys that aren't too good at sports, calling them wusses and pansies," Eddie explained. "He knew that Payne Inthass and a couple other guys would then torment Alex and the other guys. I could tell Alex was trying his best but Payne just kept needling him. Then Alex flipped. I don't mean any offense, Lexi, I wouldn't have lasted as long as you did. I just hope no one ever gets mad at me like that. You jumped on his chest with fists flying knocking him down. You knocked the air out of him when he hit the ground and you were sitting on his chest giving him what he deserved. A lot of us were cheering you on. Coach Strapp tried to pull you off but couldn't. Coach Jim Sox came over from his class to help him. Payne was crying like a baby and even pissed himself. Then you broke away from Coach Sox and, well, you know. We were just glad you didn't hurt yourself."

Dr. Mack Arronie was angry. "You mean to say Coach Strapp was publicly humiliating those boys and knew they'd be teased?"

"Yeah," Eddie confirmed.

"Coach Strapp does that all the time in every class," Def added. "All the guys know it and have learned to keep their mouths shut because they just get in trouble if they complain to the office. I'm sorry, Lexi, I should have warned you."

"I'll kick his ass," Ike Kahn seethed. As a delivery truck driver for Hickstown Heating, he was not a man with whom to trifle. "No one messes with my son... even if he is a sissy. No... wait... Lexi... I'm sorry, I'm still having trouble handling this. No one messes with my DAUGHTER and gets away with it!"

Dr. Arronie and Dr. Lee were livid. "That constitutes child abuse," Dr. Arronie fumed. "The police made it sound like Alex attacked without provocation."

"Then it's also a conspiracy," Lyle Bull added. "The school administration and the police are covering up a system of institutional child abuse. Ike, I'm a lawyer, I know you're angry and rightly so, but please don't do anything rash. I'd suggest we keep this between us for tonight and move deliberately. Ike and Bea, bring Lexi and Def to the county courthouse tomorrow morning, I'll bring Eddie. If both doctors can meet us, I'll call Judge Hardaz of the family court tonight and make arrangements to meet us in her chambers at 9am. She's a stickler about abuse cases, especially institutionalized ones like this. The kids can testify about the abuse and the doctors can give their professional opinions. We'll file the child abuse charges and get search warrants for the school records. Judge Hardaz can probably issue an arrest warrant for Coach Strapp. Even though I hate to say this, the Hickstown police may be involved in the cover-up, we'll coordinate arriving at the school after lunch to execute the search warrants and arrest Coach Strapp. They won't know what hit them and won't have time to start a cover-up. I'm offering my professional services at no cost to anyone but the school. I'll ask the judge to award my fees as part of any settlement. In addition, I know a detective who will jump at the chance to help. I'll call her tonight so she can set up surveillance on Coach Strapp’s gym classes until we get there with the warrants. If the boys are right, we'll have undeniable evidence to back up our accusations."

Everyone agreed that sounded like a plan. Then they settled down to get to know each other.

Gabi and Lexi settled in across the table from each other as did the rest of the family. Mother across from mother, father across from father and brother across from brother with the doctors seated at either end of the table.

Dr. Arronie began with a simple explanation of Gender Dysphoria, adding that it was a very real condition and by no means a situation someone would choose to put themselves in and that it had nothing to do with parenting. Then he explained that Dr. Lee had greater knowledge and experience with Gender Dysphoria and that for the most part he would defer to her expertise and if the Kahn's felt comfortable with her, he'd transfer Lexi's future care to Dr. Lee.

"What you said about this Gender dys thing is a lot like what Lexi told me but I still can't get it straight," Def said as he shook his head. "I know Alex is not a nut case. You're saying that even though my brother is a boy he's really a girl in his head?"

"Yes," Dr. Arronie nodded. "Of course a lot of testing and consultations need to be done to verify the diagnosis, but I have little doubt the preliminary diagnosis will be confirmed."

"Don't try to figure it out," Eddie chuckled. "Because you can't. Look, Def, you and I are guys, we don't have to think about it, we just know we are. Take a minute to think back, if Alex is like Gabe, being a boy never came natural. Sure, he did things guys do, but not because he wanted to do so, only because he felt he had to. Being a guy for them was always forced and they were never happy doing it. Did Alex ever enjoy playing baseball, football or soccer?"

"Well, no," Def answered slowly after a few moments of deep thought. "I just never thought about it."

"Well, I know Gabi didn't but she told us right out," Eddie continued. "Then Gabi latched onto Abby from NCIS and went Goth. I guess it was a way to get out of the pressure to be one of the guys. Then in September, he discovered he was transgendered. Suddenly everything about Gabi made sense. She's my sister."

"I didn't understand why I wasn't happy being a boy," Lexi added. "A lot of times I thought I felt like a girl but I refused to even think about that. I just knew everything felt wrong and it made me angry. The madder I got the more wrong I felt. The more frustrated I became, the more often I thought I was a girl which I knew couldn't be right. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and when I lost it and beat Payne Inthass, I was horrified at what I'd done and tried to kill myself. Even after that, I didn't fully understand what was wrong with me but I felt so wrong I just wanted to die." Lexi had to stop to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"I saw the anger, frustration and hurt in Alex's eyes when we met yesterday," Gabi added. "I guess it takes one to know one because I felt in my gut that Alex was like me."

"Gabi saw right through me and made me realize what I'd been trying to deny," Lexi sniffed. "I am a girl, my plumbing is just wrong. It's the only answer where everything makes sense. When Gabi called me Lexi, the walls of my denial and anger collapsed. I knew she was right. I am a girl. I can never go back to being Alex."

"I can see the difference in Alex... damn... Lexi, already," Ike Kahn sighed. "So how do we handle this?"

"The first step is for all of you to accept that Alex is really Lexi," Dr. Arronie declared. "Lexi understands she can't suddenly appear. She'll have to pretend to be Alex in public until all the tests are completed. But she'll need time to be Lexi, and that will have to happen at home or in safe surroundings. She'll need suitable clothes and acceptance from you."

"Once the tests are completed, we'll sit down with the councilors and staff of the school to devise a plan to let Lexi replace Alex in public," Dr. Lee picked up. "We're currently in that process with Gabi, in fact, today was the first day she openly went to school as Gabi. None of this is easy and not everyone will understand or accept the transition. But I feel confident in stating that if this is not resolved, Lexi will attempt to take her life again. Unfortunately, many teen suicides are rooted in gender dysphoria, and all too often they succeed."

"What we'll unleash on the school district tomorrow will make it easier for Lexi to come out as a girl when she’s ready," Lyle firmly added.

Everyone sat quietly and digested the information. Just then there was a knock at the door and a voice called out "The pizza is ready."

Eddie and Def both perked up and went wide eyed as the licked their lips.

"If Def is anything like Eddie, we'd better give them their own pizza first and let them have at it," Faye chuckled.

That brought smiles from everyone and grins to the boys. In a few moments the boys sat at one end of the table demolishing a pepperoni pizza directly from the tray while the others waited until slices had been placed on plates and napkins dispensed.

As they ate, the families discussed similarities and differences in their transgendered children. The Kahns agreed to transfer Lexi's treatment to Dr. Lee and the families agree to meet socially to discuss issues. Dr. Lee also promised to get them information on a local transgender family support group. Def and Eddie were soon deep in the merits of their school football program.

Since everyone hit it off well, the families decided to get together every other Wednesday night to discuss mutual concerns and just for friendship.
 

*          *          *
 
Thursday morning Eddie and Def were called off from school. Private Eye Evie Dense stopped in the office of Hickstown Junior/Senior High as soon as it opened and identified herself. She asked permission to film the school exterior and athletic fields saying a client had asked for candid shots.

Principal Douglas Deaper asked, "Who is the client?"

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to release that information," Evie apologized. "But if the films show what the client expects, it would involve a large amount of money for the School District."

Principal Doug Deaper's eyes lit up with dollar signs. As Evie hoped, not once did he expect the filming could cost the School District. With a smile he signed the simple plain language permission slip Evie provided, keeping the original and giving him a carbonless copy.

By the time Coach Strapp took his first class out to the athletic fields, Evie had her cameras and long range microphones set up. As she recorded the first class, she called Lyle.

"Lyle, this is terrible," Evie declared. "I hope you can get this pompous ass locked up. There is no way this can be anything other than child abuse. In the first five minutes he's humiliated three boys and is smirking as a couple of Neanderthal boys are raking their poor classmates over the coals. I'm recording everything and will send you the first class as soon as it's over. If the judge doesn't shut this guy down, I just might do it. It's taking everything I have not to go over to him and wipe that smirk off his face."

"We're just ready to go into the judge's chambers," Lyle replied. "I'm sure Judge Hardaz will jump right on this. I know you'll keep your cool. I'll keep you posted on what's happening at this end."

"It's a good thing I'm a professional," Evie answered. "I want to thank you for this job. Helping to put this guy away will make my year."

When the first class ended, Evie downloaded the digital recording into her laptop and e-mailed it to Lyle's laptop in the courthouse. She was able to record four consecutive classes before lunch, capturing Coach Strapp’s caustic verbal abuse of the un-athletic boys and the subsequent teasing they endured from their classmates while the Coach looked on with a sneer on his face. It took all of Evie's will power to keep from punching that sneer right off his face. She took solace knowing that with what she had recorded, Lyle would crucify the ass. When the classes resumed after lunch, she again recorded every incriminating bit.

Lyle and Eddie waited in the courthouse lobby until everyone arrived. Then as a group they headed up to Judge Hardaz' chambers for the pre-arranged meeting. Knowing Lyle Bull as a lawyer who was not prone to exaggeration, Judge Hardaz had asked Wanda Kidd, the head of the County Children and Youth Services, and Assistant D.A. Laura Norder to join the meeting.

After introductions, Lyle laid out the case. Alex, Eddie and Def told what they'd witnessed in the gym classes and answered all questions from D.A. Norder and Miss Kidd. Miss Kidd had the official filed reports on the incident between Alex and Payne and they were quite different from the story the youths told. Then Lyle set up his laptop and previewed the recordings Evie had e-mailed. The fury evident on the faces of the three women was scary.

An arrest warrant was issued for Jacques Strapp charging him with child abuse, terroristic threats, and child endangerment. Search warrants were also issued for any and all school and police records that may indicate district or police complicity in the abuse or cover up of abuse. Judge Hardaz personally notified the State police and County Sheriff to promptly organize a task force of State Troopers, State Detectives and County Deputy Sheriffs to meet with assistant D.A. Norder at the nearest State Police Barracks to coordinate the strike forces. At the barracks, assistant D.A. Norder laid out the charges and the possible conspiracy and noted the search warrants needed to be served simultaneously at all three school offices and that everyone had to keep the destination secret so no one at the school or local police was tipped off. One State Trooper and deputy sheriff would serve a search warrant at the elementary school, the district main office, and the Hickstown Police. Two of each would serve the junior/senior high school. In addition, two State Troopers would arrest Jacques Strapp and take him for arraignment before Judge Hardaz before taking him to jail.

The teams swept in at 2:00 in the afternoon. Evie recorded the arrest and handcuffing of Jacques Strapp near the end of the sixth gym class of the day. Coach Sox, who was on the playing fields with another class was ordered to take over the now teacherless class.

Cindy Caishun from Channel 5 Eye Witless News and her crew arrived at the junior high school at 2:05. Obviously forewarned of the situation, the station cut in on their regular programming and went on the air with live coverage. The film crew captured the handcuffed bewildered coach being led off the playing fields to the State Trooper’s vehicle. When the officers saw Cindy and crew waiting they tried to hustle the arrested man to their patrol car.

Cindy shouted past the troopers, "Coach Jacques Strapp, do you have anything to say?"

"I don't know what they're talking about," Coach Strapp cried as he was shoved into the back seat. "I've never abused a student! I'm innocent!"

Naturally Cindy Caishun scooped the competition on the breaking news story. She also provided a brief clip of Coach Strapp in action verbally abusing the students on the field. Although everyone suspected Cindy received the clip and the heads up about the raid from Evie, she refused to reveal her source. Evie had made sure the clip she gave Cindy was not among the recordings she provided to the D.A.

The news of Coach Jacques Strapp's arrest and the reason for the simultaneous raids on the Hickstown School District and Hickstown police spread like wildfire through the community. Parents came out in droves to pick their kids up at the schools. Despite her position as a fluff reporter, Cindy Caishun was an excellent investigative reporter. She and her film crew mingled with the concerned arriving parents and the students leaving school at the end of the school day. Cindy did her best to select boys who seemed to fit the image of those who had suffered abuse from coach Strapp. Most of her selections were spot on. Almost to a boy, their relief that their abusive gym teacher had been arrested was palpable. Their impromptu replies confirmed the raid was long overdue and strongly suggested the school was complacent in hiding the abuse.
 

*          *          *
 
The story was quickly picked up by the national media and Cindy Caishun made her nationwide on the air debut that evening. The public outrage against the school exploded when the interviews and short clip of Coach Strapp verbally abusing the boys were shown on the newscasts that evening and the next day. Werner Summers, School Board President of the Hickstown School District called an emergency session of the school board that very night. Expressing great sorrow and heart-felt apologies, the school board promised full cooperation with the authorities and ordered the district superintendent to see that no one even remotely connected with the scandal was to go unpunished and to immediately suspend Coach Strapp and Principal Deaper. Principal Deaper, who attended the meeting, knew he was doomed. Anything he even attempted to say in his defense would only result in his grave being dug deeper. Drawing himself up, he stood and gave the school board a verbal resignation effective immediately.
 
*          *          *
 
The confiscated records were searched and by Monday more arrest warrants had been issued. Douglas Deaper was found in his bloody bed. His limp hand clasped the grip of the Colt .45 in his limp hand, the barrel was in his mouth. Hickstown chief of police Seth Poole was indicted for conspiracy and promptly resigned. The remaining junior/senior high phys-ed teachers, while not guilty of abuse, were implicated in covering up the abuse.

Monday afternoon Lyle filed a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit against the school district, Coach Jacques Strapp, and the estate of Principal Douglas Deaper. On the news that evening Cindy Caishun asked all current and former students of the Hickstown School District who were victims to come forward and file statements of the abuse they’d suffered.
 

*          *          *
 
Due to the School Board's prompt actions and cooperation with the investigation, public outrage about the abuse and bullying settled down but many wary eyes were focused on the schools. The fact that Gabi's father had filed the class action suit against the school district also spurred the staff to be more aware of bullying in general and particularly in regards to Gabi and her friends. Gabi's continued public transition to full time girl mode caused few issues. The elements in the school who might have created problems had already been conditioned not to hassle Gabe. Buffy, Freddy, and Rocky slipped into the same modified Goth style Gabi had established, even wearing the skull flower patches on their dark clothing. The fact that the majority of the students and staff accepted Gabi and the Scoobies at face value also applied peer pressure on those who might object to accept them.

Going to church on Sunday as Gabi raised a few eyebrows but presented no real issues. After giving the Children's sermon about the skull flower, the congregation had learned to appreciate Gabe as a person despite his bizarre appearance. Coupled with the success of Operation Scoobies Treats, the eccentricities of all the Scoobies were accepted as part and parcel of their youthful exuberance.
 

*          *          *
 
Hickstown Junior/Senior High underwent a rapid transformation. The bullying and intimidation stopped. The staff didn't need to be told to quash any attempts at intimidation. Those students who persisted in teasing and tormenting found themselves in detention and no amount of parental 'my child wouldn't do that' extracted their not so angelic offspring from the punishment.

Coach Jacques Strapp had been head coach of the JV Football squad. Assistant Head Coach Jim Sox took over and lead the mostly demoralized football team at the Tuesday night home football game. With more spectators from the visiting team than the home team, the mood was one of hometown defeat and shame. By half-time they were down 21-0. As they forlornly straggled into the locker-room, DeForest Kahn lived up to his nick-name, he went to DEFCON 1. (During the Cold War in the US military, an alert status of DEFCON 1 was feared because it would most likely precede an all-out nuclear war.)

"Damn it, none of us liked Coach Strapp," Def scolded his teammates. "He was a bully and a pompous ass. When he screwed with Alex he picked the wrong kid."

"I was there when Coach Strapp set up Alex," Eddie said as he stood by Def. "Alex gave Payne Inthass what he deserved and was so upset he tried to kill himself. What most of you don't know is that Alex is Def's brother."

That revelation caused quite a few gasps.

"I was in that gym class too," said Izzy Fuhl as he stood. "You know Def and I are good friends. I've known Alex for years. He was one tough kid and Coach Strapp had no reason to pick on Alex. Sure, he wasn't good at sports but he sure as hell tried his best. Coach Strapp deserves everything he's got coming!"

"When he picked on my little brother, he picked on the wrong kid," Def growled. "If I'd have known what Coach Strapp did to Alex, I would have killed him. I'm glad that Alex's shrink and Eddie's dad, who's a lawyer, was with us when we found out what really happened that day. The shrink calmed us down and Eddie's dad set everything in motion to get Coach Strapp, Principal Deaper, and the school busted for child abuse. None of what happened relates to us in any way other than we had a F-d up head coach. You know he did as little as possible. Most of the work-outs and plays we use come from Coach Sox. He's here, so let's show everyone we don't need Coach Strapp, let's go out there and kick ass!"

There was a lot of head nodding.

"We have even more reason to win tonight," Izzy Fuhl added. "Let's prove we don't need Coach Strapp and never did!"

Coach Sox walked to the center of the room and stood by Def, Izzy and Eddie. "Boys, I'm ashamed to say I too was intimidated by Coach Strapp, and I let him bully me into keeping quiet about the way he treated some of the boys. I've already come clean to the to the authorities and school board. I hope they let me keep my job but won't fight it if they dismiss me. Winning tonight may or may not help me, but it would make me feel great to know the team I've helped build could win under such dire circumstances. You boys have nothing to be ashamed of! I hope you will lead your fellow classmates in revitalizing this school into a place where all students feel safe. Now, let's go out there and win!"

It was a different team that came out onto the field. Gone was the whipped dog posture they'd showed in the first half. In it's place was the fierce determination of their team name. They were the Spartans!

The visiting team remained scoreless in the second half. Their cocky attitude was wiped out by the end of the third quarter when the score was tied, 21-21. By the end of the game, the Spartans had crushed the Mustangs 42-21.
 

*          *          *
 
That same night, at Gabi's suggestion and with the full approval of the other Scoobies, Lexi joined the Scoobies for their lessons at The Metamorphosis School of the Arts. Still hesitant about appearing in public as a girl, the Scoobies and their teachers not only accepted her femininity, they encouraged it. By the end of the classes, Lexi was smiling and giggling, right along with the Scoobies. Lexi's first public exposure to kids near her age was successful.
 
*          *          *
 
The Spartan JV Football win revitalized and crystalized the entire Hickstown School District. The win quite effectively repudiated the debilitating effects of Coach Strapp's sanctioned bullying.

Def and Eddie became fast friends and quickly recruited the rest of the football team and members of the other school sports teams to exert peer pressure on those who bullied. Because they were so different in temperament and size, few people had realized that Def and Alex were siblings, but now word that Alex was Def's brother swept through the school. Payne Inthass and his wanna-be gangsta buds were now the ones looking over their shoulders, afraid they'd be jumped.
 

*          *          *
 
A very anxious Alex returned to school on Thursday exactly a week after the raids. Acting as body guards, Def and Eddie were conspicuously by his side. Glares from the intimidating duo quickly quashed any intentions Payne and his cohorts might have of getting back at the cause of the raid. By lunch, Alex was able to relax knowing so many people were keeping a protective eye on him and others who had been victimized.

Everyone noted the uptight, sullen boy who been their classmate before that fateful gym class was gone. The new Alex was shy but smiled tentively. Everyone noted that except for Def and Eddie, Alex avoided the guys. For his part, Alex wanted nothing more than to shed the boyish shell he'd constructed over the years and free Lexi. Through Alex's eyes, Lexi watched the more feminine girls with an intensity that made a few of them uneasy. Others were curious about Alex's extreme attitude change and sudden interest in girls. By the end of the day, Alex was talking with a couple of those girls.

Friday, several of the girls invited Alex to join them for lunch. It didn't take long for Alex to slip right into their normal animated discussion. The girls who had been uneasy about the looks Alex had been giving them relaxed. The rumor mill went into high gear and soon nearly everyone assumed Alex's past macho behavior had been an attempt to cover up being gay, and that his attempted suicide had capped his desperation and his subsequent counseling was helping him open up.

By Monday, a few of the braver guys, but not in an accusatory manner, asked Def if Alex was gay.

"I don't think he’s gay," Def answered cryptically. "The shrink is still working with him to figure things out so anything might be possible. But however Alex turns out, no one better have any issues with him."

The guys just nodded.
 

*          *          *
 
Wednesday night the Bull and Kahn families met at Brock Lee Pizzaria for their second evening meal discussion, this time without the doctors. Lexi wore an ankle length skirt with a slightly padded training bra under her sweater. Again Gabi and Lexi hugged each other in greeting. This time Ike smiled to see his daughter so happy.

Eddie, who had seen Alex all day in school, was more than impressed by Lexi’s girlishness.

“Eddie, she’s not ready to have a boyfriend,” Def smiled whispering to Eddie after noting his friend’s reaction to his sister.

“Ah, yeah,” Eddie stuttered and blushed but added. "But she sure is cute."

"So is your sister," Def responded when he noted Eddie continued to drink in Lexi's girlishness.

That got Eddie's attention. "Gabi's way to young to even think about guys," he snapped as he turned to see Def's grin. Eddie realized Def had intended to get a rise out of him. Unfortunately, it was a bit too much and everyone heard his come-back and was looking at the boys seated at the end of the table.

Gabi blushed and her mouth opened and closed like a fish.

Def held up his hands in a defense manner. "Chill already. Eddie was just saying that he can't believe that the Alex he saw all day in school could make such a cute girl. He kept checking her out so I joked to him that Lexi's not ready to have a boyfriend."

Now it was Lexi's turn to blush, not only was she embarrassed but she secretly thought Eddie was a hunk.

"That unhinged him a bit so I told him I thought Gabi is cute too," Def continued. "You heard his response. We were just yanking each other's chain."

The parents glared at the boys. Finally Bea spoke up. "We appreciate your honesty but you've embarrassed both girls. You owe them apology."

Def and Eddie exchanged pained looks then both mumbled "Sorry."

"This does bring up a situation we've put off even considering," Bea finally sighed. "Boys are going to find our daughters attractive."

Lexi squirmed and looked down, she found the prospect appealing and appalling.

Gabi scrunched her face in thought. For the most part she enjoyed the admiring glances she'd been receiving from boys and men although a few had been unsettling. At the time she didn't understand why they'd made her uneasy, now she did. They were not looks of admiration, they were looks of lust! She knew she wasn't ready for that!

"It'll be all right, Gabi," Faye soothed as she noted Gabi's discomfort. "We know you're not to the point of liking boys, but that won't stop them from checking you out. It's a man thing we women learn to deal with."

"The same applies to you, Lexi," Bea added. "You may discover you don't even like boys. If you find yourself attracted to girls, we'll deal with it."

"That's weird," Def shook his head. "Not that I have any problems with it. I'll stick up for Lexi no matter what. It's just that if Lexi likes girls, would she be a lesbian?"

"That's not important," Bea admonished.

"I know," Def replied defensively. "Its just that since Alex came back to school, everyone has noticed how different he is. Heck, he's hanging with a couple of girls now and even eating lunch with them. Most kids think the new Alex is a great improvement. But on Monday a couple of guys asked me if Alex was gay."

Lexi gasped and bit her lips.

"Relax, sis," Def smiled. "They were cool with it, just curious. You know how nosey everyone is. I told them I didn't think you were gay, but that you were seeing a shrink so anything might be possible. Then I told them they'd better not have any problems with you no matter how you turned out. They all said they'd be cool with you no matter what."

"Heck, I even had a couple of guys from our class ask if I was gay," Eddie added. "They were wondering since it's been obvious I've been looking out for you since you came back. They shut up real fast when I asked if they were jealous. But Def is right, they were just curious."

"That's what made me ask if Lexi would be a lesbian if she likes girls," Def smiled. "We have several kids at school who are might be gay and lesbian. Almost all the kids and staff are okay with it. The few who aren't are like Coach Strapp. Since the school has cracked down on harassment, those few creeps have become turtles."

Gabi looked perplexed and asked, "Turtles?"

"Yeah, Def chuckled. "When a turtle gets scared, it pulls itself inside it's shell to avoid whatever is going on rather than deal with the issue. When they come out, the issue will still be there."

"Yeah, but with the scare of the lawsuit, Coach Strapp's arrest and Principal Deaper's suicide, it'll be a long time before anyone dares to even try anything against a gay or lesbian," Eddie assured them.

"That was my intention," Lyle added.

"Well, I don't think the girls are ready to deal with their sexuality any more than the rest of us," Faye spoke up. "But they do need to think about their options and what feels right for them. Whatever they decide, we'll all be with them. But I really think this is a subject that needs to be discussed with Dr. Lee."

Everyone readily agreed, and once the pizza arrived, they all dug in with gusto.

Everyone noted that throughout the remainder of the get-together, Eddie and Lexi kept sneaking glances at each other. More than once their eyes met and both blushed. Both were confused by the undeniable attraction they felt for the other. Although everyone noted their interactions, they studiously ignored the lowered eyes and blushing. The parents exchanged knowing looks as it became obvious that Eddie would need to talk with Dr. Lee.

---

To Be Continued...

by Jennifer Sue

---

 
Chapter 7
 
At school the next day Alex and Eddie both had difficulty. Since the only major difference was clothing, Eddie couldn't look at Alex without seeing Lexi. Several times he had to consciously look away and think of football stats.

It was Alex who had come to school, but the first time he looked into Eddie's eyes, only Lexi in male drag remained. Lexi felt flushed and at times had trouble breathing.

At lunch, the girls Alex sat with were all over him wanting to know what had happened between the two of them.

"All right, girlfriend," Faith Fuhl said. "We know you and Eddie have the hots for each other. What happened last night?"

Lexi blushed and lowered her eyes. She knew the girls were not teasing. They were genuinely curious. "Nothing happened," Lexi answered softly.

"Oh yeah, we can believe that... NOT! Come on girl, give us the scoop," chided Liv Goode.

It was only then that Lexi realized that for the first time, the girls were actually calling her GIRL! She looked at their anxious faces and realized they were her friends. Tears filled her eyes... she'd never really had any friends.

The girls' could tell the tears were tears of happiness. Skye Wright, who was seated beside Alex, slipped her arm around him as they waited for Alex to pull himself back together.

"You really are my friends," Lexi whispered as she sniffed and smiled. "I've never really had friends before."

"Well, you have them now," Faith Fuhl reassured Alex. "Now tell us what's going on."

"First you have to promise to keep what I'm going to tell you a secret," Lexi said quite seriously as one by one she looked each girl in the eye.

"Pinky swear," Liv Goode said to the others.

The three girls extended their right hands to the center of the table with their pinky extended. Lexi smiled and put her right hand out and the four hooked pinkies.

"We swear to keep your secret," the three solemnly declared.

Lexi shivered with excitement, she had real friends! "This goes back to when I tried to kill myself," Lexi whispered. "You know how I was back then. I absolutely hated myself but I didn't know why. That's why I was always so angry. When I was in the hospital, they had me strapped down so I wouldn't hurt myself and I refused to even talk to anybody. I just wanted to die."

Lexi had to pause to once more collect herself. The expressions of concern on the faces of the girls showed their compassion as they patiently waited.

"What saved me was a bunch of sixth graders from Hickstown Elementary," Lexi continued. "They call themselves the Scoobies."

"They're the ones who made the news taking candy to the hospital," Faith Fuhl declared.

"Yeah, they were dressed up as the NCIS team," Liv Goode added.

"Yeah, I saw them on the news," Skye Wright smiled. "The one dressed as Abby was really cute. I almost wet myself when she made Bert the Hippo fart!"

Faith looked a bit perplexed. "How did they save you?"

"It was the one who played Abby," Lexi smiled. "I was trying to be as nasty and sullen as I could when they came into my room. But then she made Bert fart. I almost laughed but held it in. Then she said Bert never fails to get a smile so she made him fart again and I had to smile. Then I got angry she made me smile."

"She made everyone leave the room and confronted me," Lexi continued softly. "She saw right through me and hit my problem right on the head. She made me admit what I'd been hiding from all my life. She made me see what I really am and freed me."

"Don't stop now, girl, tell us," Faith demanded.

"You already know," Lexi sighed.

The looks on the faces of the three girls was one of total befuddlement.

"I am a girl," Lexi explained. "I just have the wrong plumbing. I'm transsexual and my name is Lexi."

The three girls were gobsmacked. As they sat silently thinking they realized that what Alex told them had to be true. His behavior since he returned from school was girlish. That's why they'd accepted him into their group. They had been calling him girlfriend all through lunch.

Faith broke their silence. "So, like, you're shrink says you're a girl?

"Yeah, but it'll take a while until she can officially say so," Lexi replied.

"Okay, so that's why Def and Eddie have been so protective of you," Liv declared as things fell into place.

"Yeah," Lexi answered. "I'm starting to live as a girl at home but have to wait a bit before I can come to school as Lexi."

“Okay,” Liv said. “So what happened between you and Eddie last night?”

“Yeah,” Skye piped up. “Did you, like, make out while you were dressed as a girl?”

“No,” Lexi gasped. “It’s just that he saw me completely dressed as Lexi for the first time when we went out for pizza.”

“You went out on a date,” Faith squealed. “You rock, girl!”

“NO,” Lexi gasped. “It wasn’t a date! Our families went out for pizza. If you’ll let me finish I’ll explain!”

The three girls looked abashed and simultaneously said “Sorry,” which made all four giggle.

“The sixth grade girl who narked me at the hospital is Eddie’s sister,” Lexi explained.

“But Eddie doesn’t have a sister,” Faith said. “His brother, Gabe, is in sixth grade and he... OMG... he’s been hooked on Abby from NCIS for two years!”

“No way,” exclaimed Liv. “The Abby I saw on the news was as cute as the real Abbey!”

“That was Gabi,” an exasperated Lexi sighed. “Now please let me finish! Eddie’s brother Gabe is a girl like me, she’s Gabi. That’s how she knew what was wrong with me. She said it takes one to know one. Eddie is cool with her and with me. I’m going to the same shrink as Gabi and our families are getting together every other Wednesday night for pizza to discuss our issues. That’s where Eddie saw me dressed as Lexi.”

“Oh wow,” Faith said. “This is so cool! Obviously you and Eddie really like each other.”

“We’re friends,” Lexi said while blushing deeply. “Neither of us are ready to be a couple, especially since I still have to come to school as Alex.”

“You’ll make a cute couple,” Faith said. “Has your shrink said how long it’ll be until you can be Lexi here?”

“She doesn’t know,” Lexi answered. “She said every patient is unique and progresses at their own pace. Since being on the news, Gabi has been going to school as a girl. She was seeing the shrink for about 2 months.”

“So maybe you could come to school after Christmas,” “Liv exclaimed. “That would be so cool!”

Lexi smiled and nodded. “Just remember, everything I’ve told you is a secret.”

The girls nodded as the bell rang to end lunch.
 

*          *          *
 
In the weeks following Operation Scoobies Treats, the website the Scoobies had established received hundreds of hits. Letters of thanks from the patients, families, and staff of the Children's Ward of Good Shepard hospital filled their comment pages.

By mid November, their success prompted the Scoobies to discuss what they could do for the Children's ward patients for Christmas. They decided to create a unique seasonally appropriate celebration on Saturday, December 24 by incorporating at least tiny aspects of Ramadan, Kwansaa, the winter solstice, and Hanukkah, along with Christmas. Their goal was to celebrate life, family, community, sharing, giving, creativity, self-sacrifice, hope, honor and respect no matter what a person’s particular belief may be. They called their plan A Scoobies Christmas Celebration.

They set to work with the innocent determination of youth to make this complicated melding pure and simple. Their hearts and minds had not yet been darkened by the often harsh realities of life. They set about researching and studying the five seemingly divergent targets, looking for similarities and downplaying differences. Their inquisitive unsullied minds were opened to possibilities about which adults are often blinded. What they discovered surprised them. Once they peeled away the layers of tradition and religion, they found much common ground. In their own way all celebrated family, community, responsibility both for the individual and others, and our individual place in society and creation.

They once more solicited gifts or donations from area businesses, including several national retail chains from the suburban areas. The project quickly mushroomed with offers of toys and cash that far exceeded the needs of the children in the hospital. Knowing there were other children as well as families in need, they began looking to expand their celebration to include other locations.

With the help of Pastor Palm Beech, the Scoobies easily found several appropriate venues to share their goodwill, a homeless shelter for families sponsored by the local division of the Salvation Army, The US Marine Reserves Toys for Tots program, a soup kitchen sponsored by the local Council of Churches, and at the County Home, a county run retirement and nursing home. Their main criteria in selecting a venue was that the organization assisted needy families. After discussing the possibilities, the Scoobies met with their families to plot a strategy.

Pastor Palmer Beech and Virginia Beech would contact the Council Of Churches. Moms and Pops would contact the Salvation Army. Reserve Captain Lyle Bull would contact the Marine Reserves about their Toys for Tots campaign to see what assistance the Scoobies could provide. Brenda Bangs, who ran a secondary hair salon at The County Retirement Home, would make arrangements there. They also got permission to hang popcorn, seed, and suet strings for the birds and squirrels to eat on the trees outside the facilities.

The Scoobies went before the School Board to request permission to set up a district wide donation campaign to collect food, clothing, toys, and money. The board, anxious to improve their public image, granted permission providing the Scoobies maintained appropriate separation of church and state in their collection campaign. They also requested the church board of Trinity UCC Church to launch a similar collection campaign which was overwhelmingly approved. Toys, food, clothing, cash and flowed in. A few people from each venue volunteered to assist in the collections and staging. The Scoobies took a major role in coordinating the dispersal of the incoming assets to the appropriate programs.

The local Marine Corp Toys For Tots program ended up with double the toys they’d ever had and they were able to give every needy child on their lists a gift with the extras passed on to other Marine Corps Toys For Tots Drives.

With assistance from The Metamorphosis School of the arts and their teachers, the Scoobies with Lexi, put together a 45 minute entertainment program of singing, dancing and short inspirational stories. Pops, with assistance from Eddie and Def made the portable props. Their stage crew consisted of Sonny Summers, utilizing The Crateful Bread step-van, Ike Kahn, and Lyle Bull. With the assistance of Eddie and Def they would need about a half hour for a leisurely set up for the show and another half hour to leisurely pack up. They could easily make the rounds of the children’s ward and facilities that were providing for the needy in one day.

For their show props they decided to use folding screens 7' high by 4' wide made of 3/16 inch luann plywood nailed onto a 2x3 frame, hinging a pair together, open to a 135 degree angle for use in the show and closed for transport.

Two sets of screens were painted with a background of night time Judean hills with a foreground of simple palm thatched open sided shelter. Plywood cut-outs of the Peanuts gang dressed as they were in the Nativity scene from A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS were made and painted. The tallest figure was three feet high and included three sheep with Snoopy as their shepherd. This would be set up to one side of their staging area as a static display.

One set of screens was painted a light green. Upper left corner had a golden Menorah with the word HANUKKAH written in Hebrew forming an arc above the flames and in English below the Menorah. The upper center had an enlarged painting of the 1997 Kwanzaa stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service. The upper right corner featured a crescent moon and star on a black background with the word RAMADAN written in Arabic above it and in English below it. The lower right corner had a globe painted on it with the words MOTHER EARTH encircling it. A burning yule log and mistletoe flanked the word MID-WINTER SOLSTICE. The lower left corner featured a straw filled manager with a baby lying in it. PEACE ON EARTH was written above this and GOOD WILL TO MEN written above it. Starting in the center bottom extending nearly to the Kwanzaa image was a large decorated Christmas Tree. This would be set up on the other side of their staging area as a static display. Mrs. Claus would sit in a rocker by these screens knitting while three elves sat nearby on the floor.

Two sets of screens were made double sided. One side was painted with winter snow scenes similar to the exterior background of A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS. The other side was painted to resemble the parlor of a posh mid-nineteenth century Victorian style house at Christmas to be used as a backdrop for a number from the NUTCRACKER SUITE BALLET.

Eddie, and Def agreed to assist in moving props during the show and handing out goodies and presents. They balked a bit when they found out they would be expected to dress as elves in green tunics and tights until Lexi pointed out that in the movie ELF, Will Farrell and Bob Newhart wore elf tunics and tights. To help them feel less conspicuous, Lexi agreed to be an elf too. Her tunic fit snugly showing off her girlish curves before flaring out into a cute perky skirt. While Def and Eddie did the heavy work, Lexi would smile and dance about while directing the guys in their duties. Eddie had a hard time concentrating on his duties as Lexi coquettishly kept his attention.

On December 24th they started the four planned celebrations. The first presentation was at the soup kitchen run by the local Council of Churches at noon. The people enthusiastically applauded and the children were delighted with the gifts of fruit, toys, clothing and cash. They moved on to the Salvation Army’s homeless shelter for a 2:30 performance. Again the audience was delighted with the performance and the gifts of fruit, toys, clothing, and cash. The Children's ward at Sacred Heart Hospital was at 5:00 and was well received by the delighted children, families, and staff. The last show at the County Home began at 7:30. The elderly residents and staff were enthralled with the perky youths.

As they were hugging the residents and accepting their gratitude, Gabi and Lexi headed saw that Dr. Lee was standing at the back of the room. The duo skipped over to find out what she thought of their production. Since Thanksgiving, Lexi had been lobbying to be allowed to return to school after Christmas break, finally relegating Alex to her past. Dr. Lee had been leaning to approving the request but had concerns the matter was being rushed. While Gabi had only been under her care for two months before Gabe was retired, Gabe had a two year documented prior history that supported her transsexual diagnosis. Dr. Lee had decided to attend the last show at the County Home to observe Lexi in a public setting after an active strenuous day. The performing and stress would reveal possible behavioral discrepancies if she wasn't a true transsexual. Dr. Lee was quite impressed by the professionalism of all the players and thought the show was wonderful. By the end of the show, Dr. Lee felt she had no choice but to release Lexi from her double life.

"The show was wonderful," Dr. Lee enthused. "You were both delightful. Gabi, you made a wonderful ballerina. Lexi, I really think you're an elf at heart. Gabi, your behavior tonight confirms I made the right decision to let you be a girl full time. Lexi, I’m going to give you a special Christmas gift. Your behavior has convinced me to allow you to try being a full time girl. Between now and New years day, I want you to be 100% Lexi. I'll see you bright and early on January 2nd. If being Lexi full time has created no major issues, I'll approve letting you go to school as Lexi."

Lexi and Gabi squealed with delight and jumped up and down while joyously hugging. This drew the attention of their parents and siblings who unanimously approved of the doctor’s decision. Eddie smiled, knowing he'd like going to school with Lexi.

Cindy Caishun and her crew also caught up with the Scoobies and company at the County Home. Once more she was blown away by the bubbling youths and filmed the entire performance. Once again the Scoobies made the national news, this time on Christmas day. Naturally Cindy Caishun interviewed the entire crew for the news, and while her crew wrapped up, she approached Dr. Lee, Lyle, Faye, Ike, and Bea and asked for a few moments of their time.

"I've maintained the privacy of the children," Cindy began. “My admiration for Gabi and Lexi has grown with everything I've learned. I've been discreet since I learned that Gabi is transgendered. I found out shortly after Halloween. From my coverage of the abuse scandal at Hickstown Junior High I learned that Alex's attempted suicide had been responsible for blowing the lid on the cover-up. I was stunned but not really surprised when I learned that Gabi had been the one to snap Alex out of his suicidal funk during Operation Scoobies Treats. My research shows that Gabi had discovered that Alex was transgendered, which is what led to the abuse exposition. Now having seen Gabi as a dainty ballerina and Lexi as a sassy elf, I have great difficulty believing either of these feminine girls are even genetically male."

Cindy paused and took a deep breath. "I will abide by your wishes, but I'd like to do an in-depth Documentary on Gabi and Lexi. My intent is to show how they have blossomed since facing their gender issues. I'd present a background summary, go through the diagnostic process, interview the girls about how they feel, and get the opinions of their friends and classmates. Naturally, you would have full censorship on the final results. I'm asking you because I don't think it will be too long until they draw more media attention, and there are some reporters who would drag them through the mud to sensationalize them for ratings. What I'm proposing would be a proactive presentation with your cooperation and consent. I feel what I'm proposing would short-circuit the possibility of notoriety."

"We've discussed the possibility of some ratings happy newshound muckraking the girls," Lyle Bull stated after exchanging meaningful glances with the others. "We hadn't considered the possibility of doing something proactive but it does make a lot of sense. Of course we'll need to discuss your offer but I can tell you now if we allow this, we'd insist on having our censorship rights in writing. If you give me your business card, we'll discuss this and let you know our decision Thursday morning. Miss Caishun, We do appreciate your discretion and professionalism in this matter."

Cindy left them smiling, sure she would hear positive news about her offer.

Even though everyone was tired, Pastor Palmer Beech asked the Scoobies, friends, stage crew families if they felt up to one more show. “I think your show would be the best Midnight Candle light Christmas Eve service we ever had at Trinity UCC.”

Everyone had been planning to attend the midnight service at Trinity UCC anyway, and with the adrenalin rush of the shows, Dr. Lee’s news for Lexi, and Cindy Caishun’s request, they readily agreed. The Scoobies understood how wonderful the gift of Jesus that God gave to mankind on Christmas the best gift ever. They realized their efforts at giving paled in comparison. The entire group set off for the church.
 

*          *          *
 
As the service began at 11:00 pm, the church was packed to capacity. No one suspected what awaited them.

"I had what I thought was an appropriate Christmas Eve Program prepared," Pastor Beech began after the prelude was finished. "But after what happened today, I put it aside. I had the distinct pleasure of seeing members of our congregation living their faith. They freely gave of themselves in the same spirit that God gave us Jesus. Everyone is aware of what the Scoobies did for the children at Good Shepard Hospital with Operation Scoobies Treats. They topped themselves today."

"Many of you participated in the toy, food and cash collections the Scoobies sponsored not only through our church but through practically every business in town," Pastor Beech continued. "I have here a certificate of appreciation from The United States Marine Corps for the Scoobies. In recognition of your outstanding effort to assist the Toys For Tots campaign, the United States Marine Corp is presenting you with this special commendation. Your efforts allowed the 2613th Marine Reserve Battalion program for the first time to fill every request for toys for the needy. Your efforts produced such an abundance of toys, the Marine Corps was able to fill the requests for two neighboring Toys For Tots campaigns. This certificate recognizes your contribution to this worthwhile cause. Thanks to you we have answered the prayers of thousands of needy children."

"The certificate is signed by the Commandant of United States Marine Corps," Pastor Beech smiled. "We're all proud of the Scoobies and those who helped them. But assisting the Toys For Tots program was not the only way these young members of our congregation shared their faith. Today they presented a show and gave out gifts of food, toys, and cash to the needy at the local Council of Churches’ soup kitchen, the Salvation Army’s homeless shelter, the children at Good Shepard Hospital and for the elderly at the County Retirement Home. At each of the shows, the audience was overwhelmed not only by the spirit of the show, but also by the wonderful gifts distributed. Even though they performed the show four times since noon, after their last show, I asked if they were up to doing it one more time for you. They eagerly accepted. Let's sing hymn 192, "Oh Come All Yee Faithful" while the Scoobies and crew set up their props."

As the organ began playing, the crew began to carry in the the screens and props and placed them in the raised sanctuary at the front of the church where everyone would be able to see the program. By the end of the hymn, everything was in place.

"We are Christians," Gabi, wearing a white robe, spoke as she stepped forward. "But we respect everyone's beliefs. If they are Jewish celebrating Hannukah, or Moslem celebrating Ramadan, African American celebrating Kwansaa or Wiccan celebrating the winter soltice, we honestly feel it makes no difference to God as long as they love one and other. God created everything, and everything includes humanity. The basic tenants of all beliefs preach love of our fellow man. God is big enough for all of us."

"Now, I'd like to present A Scoobies Christmas Celebration," Gabi smiled and stepped to the side.

The show began with a recording of Bing Crosby and crew singing White Christmas. As the song ended, using the parlor scene screens as a backdrop, Buffy, Freddy, and Rocky dressed respectively as Clara Stahlbaum, the Nutcracker, and the Mouse King emerged to center stage. As a recording of the appropriate music began, the trio danced an energetic five minute version of the dramatic battle scene from the NUTCRACKER SUITE. When they finished, the trio bowed to tremendous applause, then left the stage area.

During the interlude, Sandy Beech emerged from behind the screens to flit about the congregation. Dressed like an Angel with a magic wand, she wielded a wand Pops had skillfully built to dispense individually holiday wrapped Hershey Kisses through a tiny trigger activated trap door in the center of the star.

While Sandy filled time, elf Lexi peeked out from another screen, giggled, and scampered out, waving to others to come out. Elf Eddie carried a large wooden box out and set it in the middle of the parlor screens. Elf Def, with his arms snugly wrapped about her waist, carried a stiff, mannequin-like Gabi dressed as a dainty ballerina from behind the screen and stood her on the box. The elves scampered off stage as Sandy returned to her spot behind her screen. When they were off stage the melodic tune of the song “Music Box Dancer” began, causing Gabi to come to life. At first she mechanically did some basic ballet moves as she twirled slowly on the box like a real music box ballerina. Then she seemed to come to life as she leapt off the box to perform a graceful energetic ballet style dance. As the music slowed down near the end, Gabi leapt back on the box, lost her humanity to mechanically pirouette three times before bending over and stopping as if she’d wound down. The congregation burst into energetic applause.

Again angel Sandy flitted about while elf Lexi popped back out to direct elves Def and Eddie to come back out. Elf Def simply put his shoulder at Gabi’s bent tummy and draped her over his shoulder to carry her off stage. Elf Eddie picked up the box to carry it off stage.

As this was the fifth time he’d done this, Def found himself drawn to the cute younger girl much like Eddie was attracted to Lexi. Def felt quite unsettled, more by the fact that Gabi was a younger girl rather than the fact she wasn't a genetic girl since he knew she was a real girl.

Sandy was still scampering about the congregation as Elf Lexi directed elves Def and Eddie to turn the screens from the parlor scenes to the snowy Christmas scene for the next vignette. This scene featured local tradition. Being in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, the Scoobies had decided to throw in a touch of local Dutch Christmas tradition, the Belshnickel. The Scoobies had little trouble talking Pops into the portrayal of the fur-clad mythical man who visited children at Christmas time. The Belshnickel is a scary creature not well loved except by parents wanting to keep their children in line. If the kids had not been good, they would find coal and/or switches in their stockings.

With a loud jingling of dozens of bells tied to the fringes of his animal skin coat, the Belshnickel, looking like a wizened mountain man carrying a big filled gunny sack over one shoulder and a handful of switches in his free hand entered from the back of the church. The menacing man loudly stomped up to the center of the snow drift scenery, casting piercing gazes at the children in the congregation. Sandy hastily flittered away at his approach and the elves likewise scurried to hide. Upon reaching the staging area, the Belshnickel looked at the congregation with a frown and near snarl on his face. Mrs. Claus (Moms) came forward to greet him.

"What brings you out, you old scoundrel," she asked with a hearty laugh.

"Vell, hiem yust doin my yob," he growled as he placed the big bag beside him. "Afta all, I ham de Belshnickel! I haf ta see who's been naughty or nice." Then he pulled a switch out and slapped it against his buckskin clad (well padded) thigh producing a loud crack. "I cum here hopin' ta find sum naughty young-uns soes I can shpank dem! I likes nottin' betta than svitchin' a bad heiny!" With that he cracked his switch onto his thigh again.

Naturally, the children in the congregation cowered in apprehension.

"Now you just put that switch away," Mrs. Claus scolded. "There are no bad children here, so be on your way."

With a glare he slowly surveyed the audience. "Bah, dere all good uns. I'm goin' ta leaf ta find sumun I can svitch!" With that he stormed down the center aisle leaving the bag behind.

Mrs. Claus looked out at the congregation and smiled. "He's really just a kind hearted old coot," she explained. "But he does like switching a bad child's butt. He brought gifts for everyone but is too grouchy to admit it."

At that point the Elves Lexi, Eddie, and Def scampered from their hiding spots and with elvish curiosity opened the bag. With huge smiles, they pulled net bags of large fresh oranges and began to distribute fresh oranges to the children and adults in the congregation.

For a finale, the Scoobies and friends gathered together to sing. Virginia Beech played a small synthesizer. They started off with “Light One Candle”, a Hunakkah song; “The Holly And The Ivy”, a Wiccan song; then went on to “The Christmas Song” better known as “Chestnuts Roasting On The Open Fire” before switching over to the humorous “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer”. This was followed by a raucous version of “Jingle Bells”. While their earlier shows had ended with “Silent Night”, this presentation didn’t... at least yet. The Scoobies bowed as the congregation rose to their feet cheering and applauding.

"Tonight we've witnessed the true meaning of Christmas," Pastor Beech intoned once the congregation settled down. "God gave us Jesus Christ who then sacrificed himself to forgive our sins. In that same spirit of giving, these youngsters have shared themselves without any expectation of getting anything back except the sheer joy of giving. I can think of no better Christams gift than to give yourself to others."

"Let's close tonight's service with the lighting of our personal candles," Pastor Beech continued. "Please remember, once your candle is lit, do not tip the candle. The person lighting their candle should tip their candle into the flame. Once everyone's candle is lit, we'll turn out all the lights and sing "Silent Night". Also, since we changed the service and neglected to collect the offering,” here he paused dramatically as the congregation chuckled. “The Scoobies will be waiting by the doors with the offering plates to collect your donations as you leave."

Pastor Beech lit a twelve inch taper candle from the Christ Candle on the altar, then walked to the railing separating the sanctuary from the seating area. Six ushers waited with twelve inch taper candles and carefully lit their candle from Pastor Beech's candle. Then the ushers turned to the center aisle and split up. The first two heading to the back, one to climb to the balcony and one to the seating beneath the balcony. The next pair stopped half way down the aisle, one on each side of the aisle and the last two began with the front pew. The ushers held their candles next to the parishioner closest to the aisle who lit their candle. They then passed the flame candle to candle accross the pew as the ushers moved onto the next row. The parishioners had four inch high candles one half inch in diameter that was seated in a plastic drip protector that looked like a wine glass without the base. Any child old enough to hold a candle upright had a candle.

As the candles were being lit, the choir began to sing "Silent Night" in the original German accompanied by David (Walt) Winters, Buffy’s ex-hippie grandfather, on a worn acoustical guitar, like the original presentation of the song. Those in the congregation that knew the German lyrics sang along.
 
 

"Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,  Alles schlá¤ft; einsam wacht  Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.  Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,  Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!  Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!"      "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,  Hirten erst kundgemacht  Durch der Engel Halleluja,  Tá¶nt es laut von fern und nah:  Christ, der Retter ist da!  Christ, der Retter ist da!"      "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,  Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht  Lieb' aus deinem gá¶ttlichen Mund,  Da uns schlá¤gt die rettende Stund'.  Christ, in deiner Geburt!  Christ, in deiner Geburt!"

 
 
By the time they finished the German version, all the candles were lit. The electric lights in the church were extinguished, casting the vast room into semi-darkness yet each person was in a circle of light cast by their candle. It was an awe-inspiring setting. Then Walt began playing the song again on his acoustical guitar and everyone sang with heart-felt gusto.
 
 

"Silent night, holy night  All is calm all is bright  'Round yon virgin Mother and Child   Holy infant so tender and mild  Sleep in heavenly peace  Sleep in heavenly peace."      "Silent night, holy night,  Shepherds quake at the sight.  Glories stream from heaven afar,  Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia;  Christ the Savior is born  Christ the Savior is born."      "Silent night, holy night,  Son of God, love's pure light.  Radiant beams from Thy holy face,  With the dawn of redeeming grace,  Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth  Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth."

 
 
As the last strains of the song faded, everyone blew out their candle. After about fifteen seconds of total darkness, the lights came back on. It was midnight. Everyone yelled MERRY CHRISTMAS! The service was over.

Many parishioners sniffed back the tears of joy, hope and happiness that threatened to tumble from their eyes. Although the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service had for years ended with the candle lighting and singing of Silent Night, this year The Scoobies Christmas Celebration had made the experience especially moving. Few would forget this service and none would lose the message of hope that Christ's birth gives to mankind.

As the parishioners began to leave, they all dug a bit deeper into their pockets and filled the offering plates the Scoobies held. The exodus from the church was the slowest in the history of Christmas Eve Services as each person praised the Scoobies and thanked them for their efforts. The Scoobies smiled and blushed bright red. For the fifth time on this long, tiring day they humbly accepted the many accolades heaped upon them by the grateful people they'd helped.

Even though the Scoobies were exhausted, they felt elated. The Scoobies Christmas Celebration had far surpassed their high expectations. They fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

Everyone spent Christmas day with their families. Of course, this didn't mean the Scoobies and friends didn't talk, especially when Cindy Caishun’s report with clips of The Scoobies Christmas Celebration aired on national TV. The Scoobies decided to meet Monday morning at the Dog House. They discussed the show, checked the website to read the many notes of praise that flooded in, and to discuss expanding the group.

---

To Be Continued...

by Jennifer Sue

---

 
Chapter 8
 
"I know I'm the newest member," Gabi began as the met. "I haven't said anything to them but with your permission I'd like to ask Lexi and Eddie if they'd like to become Scoobies."

"That sounds like a good idea," Freddy agreed. "We worked well together."

"I don't have any objections," Rocky said. "But I think we need to set up some guidelines or rules for membership before we do it, but nothing complicated. The simpler the better."

"Good suggestion, Rocky," Buffy said. "If we bring in others, we'll probably need to have a formal leader too. We can't get too many members," Buffy cautioned. "We'll have to get Mom's and Pop's okay."

"Of course," Gabi agreed as the others nodded.

"How about a secret ballot for new members by the existing members," Freddy suggested. "Only someone who gets 100% would be allowed to join."

"Yeah," Rocky smiled. "We could use raisins as the ballots!"

The others looked at him in confusion.

"You know, yogurt raisins are white and carob raisins are brown. We have them here as snacks all the time. We all take some of each, drop a white one into a can with a removable plastic lid with a hole cut in it for a yes vote, or use a brown one for a no vote, and eat the rest. That way no one would know how anyone else voted."

"And you'd get a snack," Buffy laughed. "But that sounds like a good plan."

"We can choose a leader the same way," Gabi said. "Active members would nominate leaders, then each candidate would have a can and everyone will vote for every candidate. A white raisin means yes, a brown means no. It'll take a majority to win. If we don't have a majority because of too many candidates, we eliminate all but the top two and vote again."

Everyone nodded their head.

"If we let Lexi and Eddie join, I'm sure Sandy will want to join," Rocky added. "And maybe Def, too."

"That would keep us balanced boy/girl wise," Buffy added. "Maybe we should set it up so we remain balanced boy/girl with only one allowed without an opposite."

"I like that idea," Freddy said. "That way we won’t get overwhelmed by one side or the other. My only concern is that we wind up with too much of an age spread. I like Sandy and Def, but Def is two years older than we are and Sandy is two years younger. At our ages, that can be a pretty big maturity spread."

Again everyone nodded their heads.

"I think we should talk to Moms and Pops," Buffy added. "They can give us some good advice." When she saw they all agreed, she smiled. "I'll call them to ask if we can talk to them while we eat lunch."

While they ate, Moms and Pops listened to the Scoobies as they voiced their ideas and concerns.

"You're right to be concerned," Moms said. "We have no objection to expanding the Scoobies, but we'll need to set a cut off on who and how many use the Dog House."

"While we trust you, larger groups tend to get into more trouble," Pops added. "I think no more than a dozen should be in the Dog House without an adult being present."

"As far as the age spread, that is a very valid concern," Moms declared. "Maybe you should think about taking them on as associate members. They could join you for fun and activities if they want, but would have no official say in what you do."

"I like that idea," Pops nodded. "In your Christmas Celebration, Sandy, Lexi, Eddie, and Def were being unofficial associate members. They joined in YOUR activity, you listened to their ideas and suggestions, but everyone knew it was you four who had final say."

"With associate members," Moms continued. "You'll be able to continue to run yourselves by consensus, which means by mutual agreement. That way you can function without the need for an official leader just as you've been doing. The associate members could come to the Dog House only if at least one of you were there to be responsible."

It was clear the Scoobies liked the suggestions.

"We can keep the idea of unanimous voting to invite associate members," Buffy stated. "After all, we wouldn't want to deny Rocky a chance to eat raisins!"

"Amen, sister, Amen," Rocky chuckled as everyone had a good laugh.

*****

Lexi spent the morning chatting away on a conference call with her girlfriends from school.

"We saw you on the news with those Scoobies," Faith Fuhl gushed. "Girl, you were one hot elf!"

"Yeah," Liv Good agreed and then giggled. "It was clear Eddie thought so too!"

"Lexi, you really were cute," Skye Wright giggled. "But Eddie and Def made hunky elves!"

"Be careful, Skye," Faith chuckled. "If you saw them on the TV, you should know Eddie's already taken."

"No he's not," Lexi countered defensively a little too quickly.

"Well he should be," Liv countered in a no-nonsense tone. "I'll bet once you're able to be Lexi full time you'll hook up!"

"Speaking of that, there's a good chance Alex won't be returning to school," Lexi declared in an emotionally heavy voice.

Faith sucked in her breath. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah," Lexi sighed sadly. "After the last show, the one Cindy Caishun taped."

"OMG," Skye gasped. "Does she know about you?"

"Yeah, and Gabi too," Lexi added. "But that's not a problem."

"Come on, girlfriend," Faith begged. "Then what happened?"

"My shrink was there to watch how I reacted to the stress of performing and being out in public as Lexi," Lexi sniffed.

"Lexi, you were all girl," Liv huffed. "If I hadn't known, there is no way anyone could tell you're not a real girl!"

"I know," Lexi giggled. "She said I had be Lexi full time over the holidays which I already planned to do. I have to see her on the second, and if everything is okay, I can return to school after the break as Lexi!"

The three girls squealed in delight upon hearing the news.

"We should have a slumber party to celebrate," Faith exclaimed.

"Yeah," Liv and Skye agreed.

"I'd love that," Lexi agreed. "But will your parents let us?"

Silence filled the lines for several moments as they all thought.

"I have an idea," Liv spoke up. "How about we ask our moms for a mother-daughter trip to the mall tomorrow night. Once our moms get to meet Lexi and her mom, I don't think we'll have any problems."

"That sounds like a plan," Faith agreed. "Let's call our moms and see if we can all make it."

Moments later, Lexi had her mom on the line. Excitedly she explained the her conversation with the girls. "So mom, do you think we can make it tomorrow night?"

"I think we can all meet," Bea Kahn answered. "But I think it would be better to have them come here and to invite Dr. Lee and maybe Gabi and her mom so they can see you're not the only transgendered girl."

Lexi agreed and soon arrangements were made for the mothers and daughters to meet the next evening with Dr. Lee. Def, Ike, Lyle, and Eddie would go out for a boy's night out.

So far this Christmas season was the best Lexi ever experienced. Not only had she helped make a lot of people happy by helping the Scoobies, but she’d gotten the okay to be Lexi! If the meetings with the families of her friends, this would be the best Christmas season since Jesus was born!

*****

The Scoobies returned to the Dog House after lunch and after some discussion unanimously voted to ask Lexi, Eddie, and Def if they'd like to become associate members of the Scoobies. Rocky vetoed Sandy as he felt she was still to young. He enjoyed the raisons. Gabi would ask the invitees if they were interested.. The conversation then turned to New Years Eve.

"Oh, Gabi," Buffy popped up. "I forgot you're new and don't know that the Scoobies spend New Years Eve here in the Dog House. We get here about four in the afternoon and party all night till we drop. Then it becomes a sleep over. We spend almost all New Years day here too till seven or eight in the evening.

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Gabi agreed. "Do you think we could invite Lexi and the others?"

"Sure," Buffy agreed.

Gabi had one mor question. "Are we chaperoned?"

"Yes and no," Freddy answered. "We set a video camera up to catch most of the room and send it out on The Crateful Bread website where it goes up as a live feed in place of one of their infomercials. Moms and Pops monitor the feed from their house and our other parents can check in on us from time to time by logging on."

"That is so kewl," Gabi smiled.

"We play games and eat," Rocky added licking his lips. "Popcorn, ice cream, fresh fruit, Coke, candy..."

"I think I get the idea," Gabi chuckled.

The rest of the day was spent talking, playing games, reorganizing their web-site and answering their e-mail.

*****

As arranged, The mothers and daughters along with Dr. Lee met at the Kahn home at 340 Elm Street in Hickstown Tuesday evening. Gabi and Faye were the first to arrive with Lyle and Eddie. As the four guys were leaving for their night out, Dr. Lee arrived. Shortly after that, the others arrived. The mothers of the three girls were confused and anxious about the need for this unusual get-together but their daughters steadfastly refused to reveal the subject as they'd promised Lexi. All five girls had agreed to wear conservative skirts, tights, and sweaters to show they were comfortable with their femininity.

"I apologize for not introducing you when you arrived but I feel it was a necessary imposition as I hope you'll soon understand," Dr. Lee began. "Let's start with the adults. I'm Dr. Norma Lee, a clinical child psychologist."

"My name is Bea Kahn," Bea began. "I'm a secretary at Hickstown Town Hall. I'm Lexi's mom and have a son, Def one year older. My husband Ike is a driver for Hickstown Heating. I want to thank you for coming tonight and especially want to thank you girls for being such good friends with Lexi.

"My name is Faye Bull," Faye picked up. "My husband, Lyle Bull, is a lawyer and I am his office manager. I'm Gabi's mom. Gabi is a year younger than the other girls and as you can see is quite into the Goth scene. I also have a son, Eddie who is in the seventh grade with your girls."

"My name is Cynthia Fuhl, but everyone calls me Cyn," Cyn Fuhl continued. "I'm Faith's mother and am the manager at Farmers Bank of Hickstown. My husband is S. Newt Fuhl who works at Hickstown Automotive. I also have a son, Izzy, he’s a year older than Faith."

"My name is Devine Wright," Devine picked up. "I help my husband, Byron, who owns By Wright Pharmacy. Skye is our daughter."

"My name is Alice Good," Alice finished up the adults. "My husband, S. Mel Good, and with my in-laws own Green Acres Organic Farm. Liv is my daughter. I also have a son, Johnny B., who is in fourth grade."

"I'm Liv Good," Liv began for the girls. "I'm one of Lexi's friends and I'm glad to finally meet her in person."

That brought looks of consternation to the faces of the three unknowing mothers

"I'm Skye Wright," Skye smiled. "I'm one of Lexi's friends and I too am glad to finally meet her in the flesh."

"I'm Faith Fuhl," Faith added. "Like the others I'm Lexi's friend and am glad to finally meet her.

By this time the mothers were really confused.

"My name is Gabi Bull," Gabi said. "Girls, you know my brother, Eddie. I'm a member of the Scoobies."

The mother's smiled and nodded as the Goth girl had looked familiar They'd seen her on TV in the reports Cindy Caishun had filmed featuring the Scoobies.

"My birth name was Gabe," Gabi continued. "I'm transgendered and began seeing Dr. Lee in September. Since Halloween I've been living as a girl full time, including going to school."

The mothers raised their eyebrows as they closely examined the demurely skirted yet Goth like Abby-esque girl for any sign of masculinity. Gabi sure looked like a girl with no indication that she had ever been a boy. They exchanged glances not sure whether they were victims of a joke.

"My name is Lexi," Lexi began once the surprise about Gabi's gender settled. "I want to thank Faith, Liv, and Skye for welcoming me back to school and accepting me as I am. Even though they only recently learned the full extant of my changes, they didn't blink an eye. Like Gabi, I'm transgendered. My birth name is Alex. I was the one who tried to kill himself just before Halloween. Gabi met me in the hospital during Operation Scoobies Treats. I was tied down on a bed on suicide watch in the hospital and she recognized the girl I am and freed me. Until today your daughters only ever met me when I was dressed as Alex. This is the first time they're seeing me in the flesh as Lexi. I hope to be cleared to return to school on the third as Lexi."

The mothers were now really confused. Lexi looked nice in her skirt and sweater, as girlish as their daughters. They had never thought a boy could look so convincingly girlish, and now they had met two of them.

"As the girls mentioned, Gabi and Lexi are both transsexuals," Dr. Lee picked up the conversation. "Transsexualism is NOT a choice, it is a fact. Many young transsexuals attempt to take their lives because they're scared, alone and afraid of the reactions they'd face if the truth was revealed. That's what Alex tried and we're thankful he didn't succeed, but all too many do. Faith, Liv, and Skye, I want to thank you for the friendship and support you've shown Alex since he returned to school. I really want to thank you for accepting Lexi and hope you'll continue to be her friends when you return to school. Cyn, Alice, and Devine, I hope you can support your daughters in their friendship with Lexi. If it's okay with everyone, why don't the girls go to the rec-room while the mothers talk?"

A few moments after the girls had left, the adults began to talk.

"I'd heard of transsexuals but thought that was something that only happened in the big cities," Cyn Fuhl confessed.

"It's easier to come out in a big city," Dr. Lee answered. "There is more anonymity in the city. Plus a lot of transsexuals flee their families out of fear and the city is where they'll find others like themselves."

"So physically, Lexi and Gabi are boys, but mentally, they're girls," Devine Wright said. "Do they... ah... function as males?"

"Yes, although in many cases arousal as a male makes the transsexual sick because it reminds them of their reality," Dr. Lee explained. "One of the treatments my transgendered patients receive is testosterone blocking therapy. I have to wait until I'm comfortable that they are indeed transsexual before I can begin the program. Testosterone blockers suppress the body's production, keeping or returning the male to the sexual status of a prepubescent boy. They have the equipment but it doesn't work. The treatment is fully reversible if the patient changes their mind. Gabi has been on it since just after Halloween and Lexi just started today."

"I thought that once a transsexual started treatment their boy parts died," Alice Goode said. "I know on the farm castrated animals behave quite differently."

"The testosterone blocker at the doses we use does not castrate the boys," Dr. Lee explained. "It merely puts their male bits to sleep. Continual high doses could castrate them but we monitor their blood to make sure that doesn't happen."

"How long does it take for the parts to go to sleep,' Cyn Fuhl asked.

"That depends on the person and their age," Dr. Lee answered. "Gabi's bits probably went to sleep in two to three weeks. Lexi could take four to six weeks depending upon how far along she is in male puberty."

Devine Wright nodded the asked. "How soon do they start taking female hormones?"

"That depends," Dr. Lee began. "They have to spend one year living full-time as females before we even consider giving them female hormones. Many professionals feel we should wait until the patient is eighteen. Personally, I go on a case by case basis. Unless something changes, I've been seeing Gabi long enough to already feel comfortable starting her on female hormones next November. It's still much too early for me to decide about Lexi, but so far, she seems to be on track for beginning treatments next December."

"I know how difficult is to take this all in," Faye Bull said. "It's taken a lot of adjusting to get used to having a son who is really a daughter. But the change in Gabi has been well worth it. She's never been happier. She's been accepted by her friends and at school. She is simply an eleven year old girl. We came today because you've seen her out in public with the Scoobies. Lexi played the girl elf in their Christmas celebration, and she is simply a twelve year old girl."

"Lexi really likes your daughters," Bea Kahn stated. "Alex never had any close friends and was always getting to fights. We were terrified when he tried to kill himself. Having a choice between a dead son or a live daughter was easy. Now that Lexi will be going full time, she wants to live like other girls, including sleepovers. We agreed that she could only do so with girls whose mother's knew that Lexi is transgendered. That's why we asked you to come tonight."

"I appreciate your candor and honesty," Alice Goode said. "While I trust my daughter to select trustworthy friends, I'm still concerned. I won't let Liv date a boy until my husband and I meet him. To attend a sleep-over with Lexi... I just don't know."

"I understand," Bea replied. "That's why we're here. If we hadn't told you and you found out about Lexi's birth gender, you'd always have doubts and concerns about Liv's safety. I also understand you may not be able to give us an answer tonight. I'm sure you'll want to talk to your husband."

"We're aware that males have a lot more difficulty dealing with transgender issues," Dr. Lee stated. "Before you make up your mind or tell your husband, I think it might help if each of you invited Lexi to spend an evening with your daughter in your home. You and your husband could watch how Lexi behaves and interacts. When Bea and Ike come to pick Lexi up, they can sit down for a chat with you to answer any questions and address any issues after they tell your husband Lexi is transgendered."

By the time the discussion ended two hours later, the women were quite comfortable with each other and had overcome most of their emotional reservations about Lexi's transgenderism. It was also clear there were still some emotional issues that were not as easily resolved. Over-all, the outlook was positive.

While the mothers talked, the girls chattered and giggled. Faith, Liv, and Skye couldn't get over how natural and relaxed Lexi appeared as a girl. They readily included Gabi in their conversation, and before long the five had bonded. As could be expected with tween girls, the conversation soon turned to boys.

"Now that you'll be Lexi all the time you can start going with Eddie," Faith playfully teased.

Lexi smiled and blushed.

"I know Eddie likes you," Gabi added. "He was just unsure of how to deal with a girl who was still portraying a boy. Now that Alex won't be back, I'm sure he'll be interested in getting together."

Lexi turned redder and bit her lips hoping Gabi was right.

"You're one to talk," Liv giggled. "Def seemed quite delighted to lift you on and off that box for your dance number!"

Now it was Gabi's turn to blush. "But... I don't even like boys yet!" Her feelings about boys were confusing. She did sort of like them and certainly enjoyed teasing and flirting, but she wasn't ready for more than that.

Everyone giggled. "I'm glad you said YET," Faith smiled. "That shows you're a girl."

Soon the conversation moved on to safer subjects like music and clothes. The girls were not even aware of the time when their mothers joined them after having spent a few moments watching their animated conversation.

The girls were delighted none of the mothers had refused to accept Lexi. The girls enthusiastically embraced the plan to have Lexi over for an evening. The girls quickly decided that making supper together would impress their fathers and if they had any, siblings. Gabi giggled mischievously, then suggested Lexi bring the ingredients, and if she didn't mind eating the same thing three days in a row, she should talk to Choo Choo at The Crateful Bread for a recipe and ingredients to make a simple quick and inexpensive but nutritious and delicious meal. The girls and their mothers thought that was an excellent idea as all shopped at The Crateful Bread. Bea promptly spoke up and explained that she would brook no arguments about them about paying for the ingredients. The Fuhls would be the first on Wednesday night, the Goods would be second on Thursday night, and Wrights would be last on Friday.

The girls all exchanged hugs and kisses as they headed home.

*****

Wednesday morning Bea took Lexi out to the Crateful Bread where they met with Choo Choo, who coordinated the deli and restaurant. Being customers of The Crateful Bread, the Kahn’s had known Choo Choo for years, but since Lexi had become friends with the Scoobies and participated in the Christmas Celebration, they’d become well acquainted.

“I’d be delighted to help,” Choo Choo smiled after Lexi explained her needs. “I think Beef Stroganoff would be a fairly simple to make but delicious. Let me pull up the recipe on my computer.

They headed over to the prep area where Choo Choo logged onto her PC.

“Here we are,” Choo Choo began. “Beef Stroganoff was invented by a chef working for a Russian general, Count Pavel Stroganov, in the 1890s. It became popular in the U.S. in the 1950s from servicemen returning from Europe and China after WWII. Beef Stroganoff is basically tender strips of beef and mushrooms cooked in a sour cream sauce and served over noodles, rice, or even French fries. You will want to make this with a tender cut of beef, such as tenderloin or top sirloin. Here it is, I'll print it out for you, then we'll get the ingredients and I’ll supervise you as you make a batch."

Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients

6 Tbsp butter
1 pound of top sirloin or tenderloin, cut thin into 1-inch wide by 2 1/2-inch long strips
1/3 cup chopped shallots (can substitute onions)
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of dry tarragon or 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup of sour cream at room temperature

Melt 3 Tbsp of butter in a large skillet on medium heat. Increase the heat to high/med-high and add the strips of beef. You want to cook the beef quickly, browning on each side, so the temp needs to be high enough to brown the beef, but not so high as to burn the butter. You may need to work in batches. While cooking the beef, sprinkle with some salt and pepper. When both sides are browned, remove the beef to a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, reduce the heat to medium and add the shallots. Cook the shallots for a minute or two, allowing them to soak up any meat drippings. Remove the shallots to the same bowl as the meat and set aside.

In the same pan, melt another 3 Tbsp of butter. Increase heat to medium high and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes. While cooking, sprinkle the nutmeg and the tarragon on the mushrooms.

Reduce the heat to low and add the sour cream to the mushrooms. You may want to add a tablespoon or two of water to thin the sauce (or not). Mix in the sour cream thoroughly. Do not let it come to a simmer or boil or the sour cream will curdle. Stir in the beef and shallots. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately over egg noodles.

Choo Choo and Bea followed Lexi as she gathered the ingredients and set up at the kitchen of the lunch bar. Although nervous, Lexi followed the recipe only needing advice as to what to look for in color and smell as she prepared the ingredients. It only took 45 minutes until the meal was finished.

After sampling the results, Lexi was delighted. As it was approaching lunch. Choo Choo took small bowls to the lunch counter where she offered them to several of the regular customers to get their opinions, not telling them it had been prepared by a twelve year old. The response was unanimous, the dish was delicious!

“Lexi, please come out front,” Choo Choo called into the kitchen.

Lexi apprehensively peeked through the door.

“This no time to be shy, young lady,” Choo Choo jokingly admonished. “The patrons want to thank the chef for the pleasure of being allowed to sample your efforts.”

Lexi blushed as she slowly walked to Choo Choo while averting her eyes from the patrons at the counter.

“Lexi, this was the best Beef Stroganoff I’ve ever tasted,” one man declared.

The other’s voiced similar positive opinions until one woman spoke up. “Yes, you were with the Scoobies! I saw you on the TV. You’re one of the elves! No wonder you can cook!”

The others chuckled and nodded their agreement as Lexi smiled and did a little curtsey, daintily dipping while holding the hem of her plaid schoolgirl skirt..

Choo Choo suggested Lexi come out each day to get fresh ingredients for the Beef Stroganoff and to answer questions that might have come up. Bea and Lexi agreed, and they gathered the ingredients needed for that evening’s meal.

*****

As Bea Kahn and Lexi Kahn were heading out to The Crateful Bread, Def Kahn briefly stopped them. "I had an idea that may help Lexi," he began. "While you're out, is it all right if I invite Eddie Bull, Izzy Fuhl, and Tad Pohl over so I can tell them about Lexi and make sure they'll continue to support us in looking out for Lexi like they have for Alex?"

"That sounds like a good idea, Bea agreed. "It'll help Lexi out tonight when she goes to the Fuhl house for supper. Also Lexi coming to school won't surprise them. Give them a call."

"Thanks Def," Lexi smiled.

"You know I'll do most anything to help my little sister," he chuckled.

As soon as he was alone he first called Eddie and explained his idea. Then he called Tad Pohl and Izzy Fuhl, his other football buddies and invited them over to his home. Within 45 minutes all four boys were gathered in the game room of the Great Kahn as they had nicknamed the place.

“Thanks for coming over,” Def began awkwardly. “I know we’re all friends and I need your help now more than ever.” Def opened his mouth several times to speak but couldn't find the words.

Izzy and Tad nodded their heads indicating their willingness to help their friend, but sensed his hesitancy.

“Tad, you’ve met my sister, Gabi,” Eddie spoke up when he realized Def wasn’t sure how to broach the subject.

“Yeah,” Tad replied unsure of the sudden change in conversation.

“I thought you had a brother,” Izzy said with a look of slight confusion.

“I used to have a brother,” Eddie answered. “Now I have a sister, she’s one of the Scoobies. You’ve seen them on TV, she was Abby in their Halloween gig, and the music box dancer in their Christmas show.”

“No way,” Izzy gasped. “You’re pulling my leg! That girl was cute. No way could she be your brother!”

“She used to be my brother, Gabe,” Eddie corrected. “She’s my sister Gabi now. Gabi is transgendered. That’s a person who’s physical gender doesn’t match up with their mental gender. Gabi is physically a boy but has the mind of a girl. She’s been seeing a shrink since September and started living full time as a girl after Halloween, including going to school.”

Izzy looked at Tad. “You’ve met her?”

“Yeah,” Tad answered. “I didn’t even realize who she was when I first saw her. She looked cute and even flirted with me. Man, she had me completely fooled... even gave me a boner!”

"That's not all too difficult to do," Eddie teased as Tad blushed.

“Def, you had to know Gabi was a boy when you helped in the Christmas show,” Izzy stated with a bit of agitation. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her!”

“No,” Def chuckled. “Although she is cute. Look, Eddie said that Gabi’s transgendered. She is a girl, not a boy. But that’s not exactly why I asked for your help. I need your help with Alex.”

“The whole football team has been keeping Alex safe,” Izzy replied now totally flustered.

“Wait a minute,” Tad exclaimed as he looked at Def. “That cute elf with you and Eddie... that was Alex! Is he like Gabi... transgendered?”

All Def could do was nod his head.

“No way,” Izzy burst out. “She was hot! I know Alex. No way that chick was Alex!”

“She wasn’t Alex,” Def said defensively. “You know Alex is way too shy to do anything like that. That was my sister Lexi. She used to be Alex.”

“Lexi is just like my sister, Gabi,” Eddie added. “It was Gabi who pulled Alex out of his funk when the Scoobies visited the hospital for Operation Scoobies Treats. No one could figure out why Alex was so determined to kill himself and he wasn’t talking. Gabi somehow saw that he was just like her, transgendered. When Gabi confronted him, Alex broke down and admitted the truth.”

“All the problems Alex had were caused by his need to be a girl while denying it and trying to be all boy,” Def explained. “Once Gabi helped Alex admit he was transgendered, he changed. You’ve seen how different he’s been at school since he came back. For the most part Lexi been living and dressing like a girl since he got out of the hospital except for school. The doctor said it was too early for Lexi to go to school since she needed some time to acclimate herself to being a girl."

“Yeah, Alex has been really different,” Izzy conceded. “The way he’s been hanging with my sister Faith and her friends I thought maybe he was gay or something. I mean, he's been acting girlish. Hey, my mom and Faith and her friends and their moms went to visit a new girl friend last night... Lexi... she was Alex...”

“Yeah,” Def answered. “They were here. Alex told the girls he was transgendered the week before Thanksgiving. They accepted him as a girl because they could see he really was a girl. After the Christmas Show, Dr. Lee, Alex’s and Gabi’s shrink, gave him the okay to start living as a girl full time. That’s what the meeting was for last night. My sister Lexi met your sister and her friends and moms for the first time. If the holidays go all right with Lexi living full time as a girl, she’ll come to school when it starts up. I need you guys to stick with Eddie and me while we look out for her.”

“I’m in,” said Tad. “If Lexi is like Gabi, she is a girl. No real boy could be that girlish.”

“Hey, my mom told me a Lexi is coming to my house tonight to meet me and my dad and make supper with Faith,” Izzy said. “So this Lexi is really Alex?”

“Yes and no,” Def answered. “It's the other way around. Alex is really Lexi. Lexi has been pretending to be Alex since she got out of the hospital. The way the shrink explains it, Alex succeeded in killing himself when he jumped off the press box. Lexi has taken his place. She’s my sister.”

“I don’t understand it, but if you guys are in, so am I,” Izzy sighed. “If I don't my sister will make my life hell. I guess I’ll see how girlish Lexi is tonight.”

With that, the guys turned to some serious competitive gaming. They spent the rest of the day alternating between football and savage fighting in various video games.

*****

Gabi headed out to the Dog House Wednesday afternoon where she reported on the meeting with the mothers. They were all happy for their friend, Lexi. Buffy asked Gabi if she thought Lexi and the girls might be interested in joining them for New Year's Eve. After a bit of discussion, it was unanimously decided to invite the four girls as well as Eddie and Def if Moms and Pops approved.

"There will be lot more girls than boys," Buffy added. "We won't be too balanced."

"I won't mind," Rocky blurted out with a big grin on his face which made everyone laugh, especially as he turned bright red.

"Maybe we can ask Eddie's best friend, Tad Pohl, too so the boy girl ratio will be better,” Gabi smiled. “He's a good guy and on the football team so Def will know him. I'm sure Lexi, Faith, Liv, and Skye already know him since they're in the same class. Faith's brother, Izzy is best friends with Def, I think he might like to come too. With three of us having big brothers here, the adults should be satisfied we won't do anything bad."

"That'll give us twelve people," Buffy smiled. "Six boys and six girls, we'll be evenly matched. I'll go ask Moms and Pops if it'll be okay. If it is, we can call the rest and invite them."

Moms and Pops listened to the guest list. "Well, Buffy we know all of these families. I don't see any problems with the guest list," Pops said. "When you invite them, be sure to tell them you'll be here with Moms and I as chaperones. Also give them our phone number so their parents can call with any questions. They can check out the Dog House when they drop off their child."

"Thanks," Buffy gushed as she hugged her great grandparents before heading out back to the Dog House.

One by one they called their guest list. All were surprised and delighted to be invited. The guest list was shared and no one had objections to any of the attendees. Naturally the kids were all excited about an overnight New Years Eve Party and begged their parents to be allowed to attend. The parents of the non-Scoobies did call Moms and Pops and asked questions. The parents concerns were put at ease by knowing that Moms and Pops, whom everyone knew, would be the chaperones and that the hosting Scoobies had a clean, wholesome image. In the end, all the parents approved their children attending the party.

*****

Before heading home from The Crateful Bread, Bea called home to ask Def what he'd like for lunch. She was a pleased to learn he'd his buddies had reacted positively to the heads up about Lexi. Def explained they'd all agreed to support Lexi's transition and that they wanted pizza for lunch. Bea laughed and told him to call in an order and she'd stop by Brock Lee Pizzaria to pick them up.

When they arrived home Lexi helped carry in the six Pizza boxes. Holding the boxes kept her hands from shaking. The boys smelled the pizza as soon as it entered the house and all four paused their game and scurried to the kitchen.

"Wait until I get out paper plates and napkins," Bea tried to slow them down as they peeked into each box. "Lexi, please get enough Cokes out of the refrigerator for everyone."

Bea never had a chance to put the paper plates down as the guys snatched them from her hands and began snagging slices.

Eddie mumbled "Thanks Mrs. Kahn," just before he took his first bite.

The other guys nodded their thanks as their mouths were already full.

Eddie nodded his head in thanks to Lexi as he took a Coke. Again the other guys followed suit, never even glancing at her.

The boys sat around the table with the pizza boxes in the middle as they wolfed down their pizza. Lexi and Bea sat on stools at the breakfast bar and nibbled their slices while watching the boys. When the pizza was gone, the guys took turns seeing who could belch the longest and loudest. Bea and Lexi shook their heads in response to their uncouth antics but understood they were just being typical boys. Laughing, they headed back to the game room to resume their games. The guys had swooped in like a swarm of locusts, devoured everything in site, and moved on.

Lexi was a bit perplexed as she surveyed the mess they'd left behind. She knew that a little over two months before she would have been right in the thick of the feeding frenzy. Yet now, she felt almost repulsed by their slovenly manners. To make things worse, Tad and Izzy hadn't even reacted to seeing her in a skirt! Without a word from her mom, she strode into the game room and stepped in front of the view screen.

"Hey, come on Lexi, quit blocking the screen," Def scolded as he and the other guys struggled to see around her.

"Pause the game, boys," Bea ordered as she saw the pandemonium Lexi was creating. "Lexi wants to talk to you."

Groans came from all four boys as they paused the game and sourly looked at Lexi as she stood with her hands on her hips glaring at them in the way women have stared oblivious men down since the beginning of time.

It was only then that Tad and Izzy realized the girl in front of them was Lexi. Their mouth's dropped open. Lexi was as cute in person as she was as an elf!

"Oh, hey guys, I'd like to introduce my sister Lexi," Def declared as he realized he'd blown it.

"Lexi, you're cute," Tad blurted out. "How did I miss seeing you in the kitchen?"

"You looked right at me when I gave you a Coke," Lexi scolded.

"Man, I'm really sorry," Tad replied. "I guess the smell of pizza shut down part of my mind."

"More like most of your mind," Lexi jabbed. "Well, Izzy, has the cat got your tongue?"

"Ahh, yeah," Izzy slowly responded as he shook his head in disbelief. "And most of my brain. You are cute. But you're a boy not a girl. I don't understand how a boy can look like a hot girl?"

"Because she is a hot girl, you doofus," Eddie laughed. "Remember, this is NOT Alex. Alex is dead. This is Lexi and you can tell she's all girl just by looking her."

"I can tell that much," Izzy answered still confused by the gender transformation. "It's just that I expected her to look like Alex in a dress, not some cute girl! This is going to take me some time to wrap my head around the change. Does Gabi look as cute and natural as a girl?"

"She sure does," Tad replied. "You saw her on the news."

"I can understand your surprise," Lexi spoke up. "But will you stick up for me if things get nasty at school?"

"No problem there, Lexi," Tad replied. "Your appearance might cause a stir for a couple of days but you look so girly it'll pass quickly."

"You'll have my support too," Izzy said. "Man, this is just so weird. I didn't know boys could just turn into girls."

"Boys just don't turn into girls," Lexi replied. "We've always been girls. It's just we got stuck in the body of a boy. I never felt right being a boy. I just figured I was really messed up for being drawn to girlish things and denied it even to myself which made me angry. I hated myself so much I really did want to kill myself. I was frustrated and ashamed, that's why I refused to talk in the hospital. It was only when Gabi revealed she was a girl stuck in a boys body that I was able to open up. She saved my life. There's no way I could ever go back to pretending to be a boy. I had to return to school as Alex, but I couldn't be Alex any more. I was Lexi in drag. I know most of the kids at school think I've gone gay, but I'm really just a girl."

"It's cool, Lexi," Def said as he saw his sister was holding back tears. He gave her a warm hug. "Let it out, Lexi. You know Dr. Lee told you not to hold things inside."

Lexi wrapped her arms about Def and buried her face in his shoulder as she began to sob.

Tad looked quite uncomfortable and had no idea what to do. He looked to Izzy and Eddie for guidance. Izzy and Eddie just shrugged. They had witnessed similar crying jags with their sisters and knew they just had to wait it out.

When Lexi cried her herself out she collected herself. "Thanks Def," she timidly smiled as she disengaged herself from their hug. "I'm sorry guys, I'm worried about going back to school as a girl and it just caught up with me."

"It's okay Lexi," Izzy smiled. "You just proved you're a girl. Faith does the same thing when she's anxious about something. I'll be there for you, don't worry."

"We'll all be there for you, Lexi," Eddie added. "You let us know if anyone steps over the line and we'll make sure it never happens again."

"Thanks guys," Lexi smiled. Then she hesitated and bit her lower lip. "Would you mind if I gave each of you a hug?"

Tad was flustered but Eddie smiled, stepped forward and opened his arms to accept Lexi's hug. Izzy smiled and did the same. Tad had no sister so wasn't sure what to do, but he forced a smile and accepted Lexi's hug. Then she left the room to prepare for her visit to the Fuhl home.

"That just proves even more that she's a girl," Izzy chuckled at Tad's discomfort. "I think supper tonight will be quite interesting."

Everyone laughed and turned back to their game.

---

To Be Continued...

by Jennifer Sue

---

 
Chapter 9
 
Bea dropped Lexi off at the Fuhl home at 251 Fern Street at four in the afternoon. Lexi wore a simple slightly flaring denim knee length skirt with a two inch denim ruffle at the hem. A snug pull-over sweater demurely accentuated her padded bra. Knee socks that matched her sweater and Mary Janes completed her ensemble. While Bea and Cyn spoke for a few moments, Faith and Lexi hugged. After putting the ingredients for the meal away, they headed up to Faith's bedroom. Lexi enviously drank in the room's girlish decor.

"I love the room, it is so you! Faith, I need to get some ideas to redecorate my bedroom from boy drab to girl sparkle," Lexi bubbled. "Do you mind if I make some notes and sketches?"

"Go ahead," Faith smiled. "If you'd like, maybe we can all go shopping Monday afternoon after you see your shrink. We'll help you redecorate your room and get you some school clothes."

Just then the phone rang. Cyn called Faith and Lexi downstairs to take the call. It was Gabi calling to invite Faith and Izzy to the New Year's Eve party. Faith was delighted she and her brother had been invited. When Gabi learned Lexi was visiting, she told her that Bea had already okayed Lexi and Def attending the party. Cyn agreed to call Moms and Pops to get the full scoop on the party, it’s setting, and chaperones and then discuss it with her husband.

At five, Faith and Lexi headed to the kitchen to make supper. Together they made the simple but delicious Beef Stroganoff. While they were working, Izzy came in the back door. The girls turned to see who came in.

"Hi Lexi, looking good," Izzy smiled as he passed through the room. "Hi Faith, whatever you're making smells good. I hope there's plenty for seconds!" With that he stepped into a short hall and bounded up the steps to his bedroom.

Faith was perplexed.

"I met Izzy this afternoon when he came over to my house to play video games with Def and the guys," Lexi explained. "Mom and I had gone to The Crateful Bread to get this recipe and ingredients. We called home and the guys said they wanted pizza. Mom told them to call in an order and we stopped and picked it up. I was worried about how they'd react when they saw me. They smelled the pizza and stampeded into the kitchen. Mom gave them plates and I gave them Cokes. they attacked the pizza like a pack of ravenous wolves. None of the guys even noticed me and I was wearing a skirt!"

"Guys are so blind," Faith sighed.

"Tell me about it," Lexi chuckled. "They finished up and went back to their games and never noticed me. That upset me so I went into the game room and stood in front of the monitor. That got their attention but all they did was yell at me to get out of the way. Mom finally told them to pause the game. I scolded them and they apologized. We talked for a bit and I broke down in tears but Def hugged me. When I settled down they all said they'd look out for me at school. Then I gave them hugs."

"That's great," Faith nervously smiled. "Now we only have to worry about my father."

Shortly before the meal was ready, S. Newt Fuhl came in the back door after fumbling with the latch. Standing unsteadily, he clumsily hung his coat on a hook. Weaving to the stove, he stopped and inhaled the aroma of the meal, then looked at the girls. "Schmells good," he said with a definite slur. “Whosh your friend?”

"Daddy, this is my girlfriend, Lexi. Lexi, this is my dad, Sylvester Newton Fuhl," Faith introduced trying to hide her embarrassment.

"It's good to meet you," Lexi smiled nervously noting the smell of stale beer and cigarette smoke wafting from him.

"Damn it girl, how many timesh do I have to tell you I don't like people to know my firsht name. Introdushe me as Sh. Newton Fuhl," he slurred. Smiling and nodding to Lexi he continued. "My friends call me Sh. Newt Fuhl." With that he weaved his way to the refrigerator where he pulled out a can of beer. Cracking it open he took a gulp and headed into the livingroom.

Lexi realized that S. Newt Fuhl had obviously stopped at a bar on the way home.

"He's not always like that," Faith apologized as she tried to hold back tears of shame. "Mom is going to give it to him for coming home like that, especially when he knew company was coming."

Just then Cyn Fuhl's scolding voice could be heard from the living room. S. Newt Fuhl yelled back. Although the girls couldn't understand the words, they could tell the argument was heated. Lexi felt embarrassed for Faith who was obviously near tears. Reaching out she hugged her friend.

"Damn it dad, you're drunk again," Izzy yelled as he came bounding down the steps after hearing the yelling. Then he stood in the hall and shouted into the living room. "If all you want to do is get drunk every night, why do you bother to even come home? Get a room at the damn bar and leave us in peace!"

Cyn's voice could be heard concurring with Izzy. In a few moments, Izzy stalked into the kitchen and placed himself in front of the girls as S. Newt Fuhl came staggering in. Cyn followed scowling.

"Don't bother coming back," Cyn declared in a cold voice. "You've embarrassed us for the last time. I'll pack your clothes in garbage bags and put them at the curb. If you don't pick them up by Friday, they'll go with the other garbage. Now get out!"

"Damn ungrateful bitch," S. Newt Fuhl mumbled as he pulled on his coat and stumbled out the back door.

Cyn Fuhl clenched her fists and fumed at the closed door. Her chin was set in determination. Once she heard the him start his truck she picked up the phone and called 911. "I'd like to report a drunken driver in Hickstown... My name is Cynthia Fuhl... Yes, he's driving a tan Chevy pickup, license plate WYZ-475... He's heading east on Third Street and I believe he's heading to the Dew Drop Inn on Main Street... thank you."

With that she hung up the phone and turned to face the others. Seeing that Faith was quite distraught she opened her arms and Faith burst into tears as she ran to her mother.

"Lexi, I'm sorry you had to see this," Cyn declared as her anger settled. "Unfortunately, this has been happening more and more often. I've repeatedly talked to him but he refuses to admit he has a problem. Izzy, thank you for helping."

Izzy stoically nodded his head.

"Izzy," Lexi whispered and nodded her head towards his mother and sister.

It took a moment for Izzy to understand, then he joined in on the family hug.

"I'll call my mom and have her pick me up early," Lexi said as they finished their hug.

"Please don't," Cyn replied. "We're still a family and need to get on with our lives. Besides, that smells delicious and I think we could all use some good conversation about the table."

"Okay," Lexi smiled. "I know Izzy can talk with his mouth full."

Cyn looked perplexed as Izzy blushed, until he explained about the pizza and meeting Lexi earlier in the day. Faith, Cyn and Lexi chuckled about how boys see only what they want to see.

The meal was as delicious as it smelled. Under the watchful eye of his mother, Izzy ate with at least a bit of decorum although he did have three servings. The conversation centered on school and what changes would happen when Lexi showed up.

Just after the meal finished, the phone rang. It was S. Newt calling to ask Cyn to come to the jail to bail him out as he'd been arrested for drunk driving and resisting arrest.

"You can rot in jail for all I care," Cyn answered with a slight snarl in her voice. "Why should I bail you out of jail when I'm the one who called 911 to report you were driving drunk?"

She hung up the phone as the line went dead. A faint smile of smug satisfaction filled her face. "I should have done this long ago," she said as she turned to the others. "I've been seriously considering it for a long time but tonight was the straw that broke the camel's back. I guess I'll have to find a lawyer to see where I need to go from here."

"Eddie and Gabi's dad is a good lawyer," Lexi said. "He's the one who set everything up to bust Coach Strapp and the school for abuse. He's also helping me transition."

"I met Faye Bull yesterday," Cyn answered. "I'll give them a call tomorrow."

Lexi called home and explained what had happened so Bea arrived alone to pick up Lexi. Cyn invited her in. "The kids are getting along just fine but I need to talk to you. It's nothing concerning Lexi, we're all fine with her. Just as you wanted to be honest about Lexi, I need to be honest with you about my husband."

Bea listened as Cyn related what happened earlier and her decision to finally divorce her all too often drunk husband. The women consoled each other and before they knew it an hour had passed. Bea agreed with Lexi's recommendation that Cyn seek out Lyle Bull as her divorce lawyer.

As they gathered the kids to say goodbye, Cyn stopped them. "I almost forgot, Gabi called and invited Izzy and Faith to a New Years Eve Party at The Dog House. It'll be a coed sleep-over. I know Lexi, Def, Gabi, and Eddie will be going as well as the other three Scoobies. I've decided to let you go if you'd like."

"Yeah," Izzy exclaimed. "That sounds like fun!"

Lexi and Faith squealed in delight and hugged each other.

After saying their good-byes, the Kahns headed home.

*****

When he tore out of the driveway, S. Newt Fuhl was enraged because Cyn had thrown him out. The fact the kids were there and that Izzy had so forcefully supported Cyn only added to his fury. When the cop tried to pull him over he sped off and panicked. He'd already had five DUI convictions and had lost his license six months previously. The last two DUI convictions had additional convictions of driving with a suspended licence. The first had cost him 30 days in jail. The second was still pending sentencing but would most likely be six months in jail. Knowing he'd face permanent revocation of his license if caught again, he tried to outrun the cop. During the 15 mile pursuit he lost control on a sharp turn. Skidding sideways the passenger side slammed into an old oak tree. The tree didn't budge and the pickup wrapped around the stately old tree like a horseshoe, demolishing his beloved pickup. Miraculously, other than a few bruises, he was unhurt and crawled out the shattered drivers door window. When Officer Fetterman of the Hickstown Police attempted to arrest him, S. Newt took a few swings at the cop. Easily subdued, he'd been handcuffed and locked in the rear seat of the patrol car until the paramedics and ambulance arrived. After a quick trip the hospital for an emergency check-up which showed no injuries, he was taken for arraignment before district justice, Gerald Atric. Despite his wizened shuffling old man appearance, DJ Gerry Atric retained enough intellect to remand S. Newt Fuhl to the county prison in lieu of $500,000.00 bail. The bail was so high because of his previous record and obvious belligerence. That's when he used his one free call to ask Cyn to bail him out. The arresting policeman, Officer Fetterman, gladly took him to the county prison. During his subsequent court appearance, S. Newt Fuhl's continued denial, defiance and anger would eventually find him repeatedly convicted of contempt of court and finally being shackled. The frustrated angry judge of the County Court of Common Pleas, Judge Barb Dwyer, sentenced S. Newt Fuhl to 15 to 20 years in the state prison where he couldn’t see the sky without being surrounded by barbed wire.

*****

Thursday morning Cyn got up early and called every credit card that had S. Newt Fuhl listed as a user to cancel the cards. She followed up on each card by sending e-mails and printing out the notes and snail-mailing the copies to the appropriate addresses. During her first break at the Farmers Bank of Hickstown, she called Lyle Bull, Attorney at Law, to set up an appointment late that afternoon. During her lunch she withdrew everything from the joint bank accounts and used the funds to open new checking and savings accounts in her name only.

As Cyn worked, Faith and Izzy did as she'd told them. The pair packed up their dad's clothes. Izzy pulled the clothes from the closet and drawers and laid them carefully on the bed. Faith neatly re-folded everything and carefully placed it inside doubled garbage bags. Both worked silently thinking about their disintegrating family. They were sad to see their dad go but at the same time felt relieved that he would be out of their lives. They understood all too well the issues their father faced and his refusal to seek help.

S. Newt Fuhl had always been a heavy drinker. When Cyn was promoted to manager at Hickstown Farmers Bank, she earned more money than he did. Even though she wisely never mentioned it, he felt belittled to be the low wage earner in the family and his drinking grew worse. As his job performance tumbled, his employer tried to get him into AA as did his family. Like many alcoholics, he angrily denied he had a drinking problem and refused to seek help. The excessive drinking and resultant poor job performance finally cost him his job. For the last year he'd been working for Hickstown Automotive washing cars, but even they were considering terminating him because his drinking continued to increase.

As far as Izzy and Faith were concerned, their dad had shot himself in the foot. They didn't hate him, but could not trust him. Unless he could prove he'd reformed, he would be out of their lives. They finished their sad task just before lunch and put the bags in the attic as they knew with their dad in jail he’d be unable to retrieve them.

*****

After they'd all eaten lunch in their individual homes and despite the cold, Gabi, Eddie, Lexi, Def, Faith, and Izzy rode their bikes out to the Dog House where they met the rest of the Scoobies as well as Moms and Pops. Lexi, Def, Faith, and Izzy couldn't believe how nice the Dog House was and looked forward to the New Years Eve Party. They helped decide what games they would have available and what music they'd have. Except for Lexi who had to leave at 4:00 to get ready to meet the Goodes, they spent rest of the afternoon playing games and talking.

*****

Lexi didn't bother to change from her jeans and sweater as Liv had told her to wear jeans so she could show her the family's barn. Bea picked Lexi up at home and took her to The Crateful Bread for the next batch of ingredients. Choo Choo was delighted the first meal had been so successful despite the family issues.

As they approached the Goode farm, Lexi smiled and pointed out an immaculate mini-farm. "That's where I was this afternoon. Moms and Pops live there. The Dog House is in the garage out back."

The Goode farm was right next door. A three line sign out front read GREEN ACRES - GOODE FAMILY - ORGANIC FARM. They pulled up to the huge stone farm house right at five. Lexi knocked on the door and waved goodbye to her mom as the door opened.

Liv greeted her with a hug. "My parents are out in the barn milking the cows," Liv explained. "Normally I'm out helping mom and dad while my grandmom prepares supper but they let me off because you were coming."

"Are they still milking," Lexi asked. "I've never seen cows being milked. Do you think it'd be all right if you took me out?

"Sure, as long as supper is ready by seven," Liv answered. "That's why I asked you to wear jeans tonight."

"It only takes an hour to prepare the meal," Lexi answered eagerly as she wanted to see the farm at work.

"Let's go," Liv replied as she led Lexi through the house.

In the kitchen an older woman stood at the counter working some dough. She looked up from her task and smiled at the duo. "Ah, you must be the one making supper tonight."

"Yes Ma'm," Lexi replied.

"Gram, this is Lexi Kahn," Liv introduced the pair. "Lexi, this is my Gram, Bea Goode."

"It's nice to meet you, Lexi," Bea said. "Liv has told us a lot about you, all of it good."

"It's nice to meet you too, Ma'm," Lexi answered managing to keep her nervousness under control as she wondered if Liv had revealed her secret.

"Ma'm is too formal," Bea smiled. "I know it's awkward for a youngster to call an older person by their first name, so please, just call me Gram."

"Okay, Gram," Lexi smiled.

"Now, let's put away these ingredients so you can get out to the barn," Gram chuckled.

After donning their coats as they went out the back door, Liv led the way to the barn located about 50 yards away.

They entered a low building adjoining the barn. "Wow, all this stainless steel makes this look like it's a hospital," Lexi exclaimed. "I never expected something so bright and clean on a farm."

"This is the milk room," Liv explained. "That big tank is where the milk goes after it comes out of the cows. It keeps the milk from becoming contaminated and chills it. This floor is hosed down with antiseptic spray every day and the entire room is done once a week."

"That's a lot of work," Lexi replied.

"This is the easy part," Liv chuckled as she led the way through the room into the barn. "Come into the barn, that's where it gets nasty."

They entered a white vestibule that had a shallow tray of green liquid on the floor. A fan created a slight vacuum. "This is a buffer area," Liv explained. "The fan maintains a negative pressure to keep odors and insects from getting into the milk house. The pan contains an antiseptic wash. We have to step in it to disinfect the soles of our shoes before we go from the barn into the milk house."

"This is more complicated than I imagined," Lexi said. "But I guess it's all necessary to keep the milk pure."

"You got it," Liv chuckled as she led the way into the barn.

The musky smell of the cows and fresh manure slapped Lexi in the face like a wet towel. "Wow, that takes my breath away," Lexi declared as she blinked her eyes. "This is more like what I expected in a barn full of cows."

"You'll get used to it in a few minutes," Liv chuckled as she walked to the first line of cows. "Their heads are held in place by these metal rails called stanchions. They don't mind being secured because as you can see they have food and water available to eat."

"It's really clean in here too," Lexi marveled as she looked at the clean white walls and cobweb free ceiling.

"We wash the whole room thing down after every milking," Liv explained then with a giggle added. "The cows have absolutely no sense of manners when it comes to relieving themselves."

Lexi giggled at the joke as they walked along the line of cows until they reached the end, then headed down the wide aisle behind them. A second set of cows was in another row, the butts of the cows faced each other. Recessed troughs on either side of the aisle caught what the cows were dropping. Liv pulled Lexi back down the aisle a bit when she saw one cow raise it's tail. Lexi was a bit perplexed until she saw the excrement start plopping out of the cow's butt to plop in the trough. Small bits splattered, which would have hit them if they'd continued down the aisle.

"Eww, that's gross," Lexi wrinkled her nose.

"It's Mother Nature at work," a strong male voice laughed. "That right there is some of the best fertilizer in the world."

"Daddy, this is Lexi," Liv turned to her father. "Lexi, this is my dad, Seymour Melvin Goode."

"It's good to meet you, Lexi," he said as he nodded. "You'll forgive me if I don't shake your hand." With that he held up his gloved hands.

"I understand, Mr. Goode," Lexi smiled.

"I'm not old enough to be Mr. Goode," he replied. "And I don’t particularly like my first name, I’m just not a SEYMOUR. All my friends call me S. Mel, as in Smell Good. I think that's an appropriate name for a farmer!"

Lexi giggled. This man was so different from the man she’d briefly met last night. Neither liked their first name yet how they handled it was totally opposite. She already knew she’d like S. Mel Goode.

“I take it you’ve never been in a milking barn before,” S. Mel stated.

“No, this is the first time,” Lexi answered.

“Excellent, then I can teach you how to milk a cow,” S. Mel said. “If you’ll follow me, young lady, it will be my pleasure to instruct you in the ancient fine art of milking a cow.”

They headed out of the aisle into the next aisle where Alice and a younger boy were monitoring several what to Lexi appeared to be some sort of weird machine with stainless steel tubes and pipes and rubber bits hanging from the bottom of several cows. The machines were connected to glass pipes and she could see the milk being suctioned from the cows flowing through the clear pipes into stainless steel pipes that headed back to the milk house. The machines were making some weird noises as they operated. Alice smiled and nodded as Lexi followed S. Mel to the last cow in the line. The boy just looked at her with his brows furrowed in deep thought. It looked as if he was about to say something but Alice shushed him.

Lexi felt a bit uncomfortable as she wondered if he knew she'd been born a boy. S. Mel had made no indication that he was aware of her birth gender but the boy's reaction made her nervous. Taking a deep breath to stoke her courage she followed S. Mel. After all, the purpose of tonight's visit was to reveal her past to the family. She giggled as she realized Liv had been right, even with the deep breath she'd taken she no longer even noticed the barn odors.

"The first thing to do is make sure the cow is secured in position," S. Mel began the instructions while demonstrating and having Lexi copy him. "This is old Betsy. She's not as productive as the younger cows but she still hangs in there. You can see she's held in place by the stanchion but you could also tie a halter to a sturdy post. The next step is to clean the teats with soapy water or an iodine solution. I prefer to use warm, soapy water since it helps "bring down" the milk. Dry them, but don't rub or irritate the teats. Then place a bucket underneath the udder and sit on a stool or squat in a position that will allow you to move away quickly if the cow becomes uncooperative. Never sit cross-legged on the ground. Apply a lubricant such as Vaseline to your hands to keep friction to a minimum then wrap your hands around two of the four teats. This is the most difficult part, but once you master it, it's simple. It's sort of like learning to ride a bike, it's awkward and scary but once you have it, you can ride without thinking about it. Are you ready?"

Lexi smiled nervously and nodded her head.

"That's my girl," S. Mel praised her. "Now firmly squeeze the base of the teat. Squeeze down to push out the milk while maintaining your grip on the base of the teat so that the milk doesn't flow back up into the udder. Be careful not jerk or yank the teats. You must be gentle but firm. Keep your eyes peeled for swelling or redness on the teats as that can be the first sign of problems with the cow. Then you simply repeat the procedure with your other hand. Most people prefer to alternate right hand, left hand, right hand, and so on. You simply continue until the udder on the side that you're milking looks deflated. Experienced farmers can feel the udder to know exactly when all the milk has come down. Then you reach under to milk the other two teats."

Although she had some initial difficulty, with encouragement and minor corrections from S. Mel and Liv, Lexi soon developed a steady rhythm and the rattling drum-like beats of squirting milk hitting the stainless steel bucket rang in her ears. Before she knew it, she'd drained the udder. The tautly stretched hide of the udder when she'd began was now loose and a bit baggy.

"You did a fantastic job for a beginner," Liv complimented Lexi.

"You sure did," S. Mel agreed. "Now, while Liv and I finish here, why don't you go over to Alice, she'll show you how to use the milking machine."

Alice had been observing Lexi's efforts and was smiling broadly as she headed in her direction. "Looks like you did a good job," Alice smiled. "But you can imagine how long it would take to milk the herd by hand. That's why we use the milking machines."

"I can see that," Lexi answered. "But it was fun."

"We usually do Old Betsy by hand and use her milk for ourselves," Alice replied. "She likes the personal attention."

Lexi giggled at the idea a cow could like the attention of being milked by hand but realized Old Betsy had seemed rather content.

While they were talking the boy sidled up to his mother. "You don't look or act like a boy," he blurted out. "I think Liv is trying to pull a fast one on me."

"Johnny B. Goode," Alice scolded. "Mind your manners. Lexi, I apologize for him."

"That's all right," Lexi smiled. "I was confused by my condition all my life. My name is Lexi," she added extending her hand to the boy.

"I'm Johnny B.," he replied as he took her hand. "I'm sorry if I upset you."

"I'd be more upset if you hid your feelings," Lexi answered. "That's what I did for years and it will rip you apart. Besides, I want to thank you for recognizing that I am a girl."

"See, I was right," Johnny B. exclaimed. "You were trying fool me. There's no way she's a boy!"

"I am a girl," Lexi smiled. "But I was born with a slight defect. No one was trying to fool you. I do have a boy's body. But as you already see, I'm really a girl. I came over tonight because I want to be Liv's friend and I wanted her family to know all about me. I don't want to fool anyone."

"I still don't think you're a boy," Johnny B. said in a challenging tone.

"After supper I'll try to explain it to you better," Lexi smiled. "Right now I'd like to learn how these machines work."

Just then a thumping noise came from the end of the aisle. Lexi looked up to see an opening had appeared in the ceiling and some dust and bits of straw swirled through what had to be an open trap door. Just then an angled chute protruded through opening and jiggled about a bit before locking in place. Moments later a male voice called down "Heads up." Then there was a thump, a cascade of straw from the chute, and a SHUSH as a bale came sliding down to land in a cloud of dust. The dust floated across the room, and as another bale came down the chute, the cloud reached Lexi who promptly sneezed.

"Bless you," Alice said. "You do get used to the dust after a few years."

"That's Gramps," Johnny B. said. "He's sending down bales of straw to sop up the mess the cows leave." With that he pointed to the troughs at the sides of the aisles.

"It helps if you keep busy," Alice added. “Let's get started with your milking lesson."

Lexi sniffled as she smiled and nodded her head.

"Using the milking machines starts out similarly to milking by hand," Alice explained as she led Lexi to one of the units while Johnny B. worked the others. "You secure the cow in position just as you would for hand milking and clean and dry the teats in the same manner. Next you turn on the milking machine and allow it to build pressure. Hand-milk each teat a few times to let down the milk and check for redness. Release the pressure on the milking machine so that suction begins. Then place a suction device on each teat. You have to move quickly before the machine loses its pressure. Wait until the machine draws all of the milk out of the udder, which will become flaccid as you saw in hand milking. Then you turn off the pressure and gently tug the pneumatic milking cups from the teats. As you can see, the milking machine is suspended from the ceiling to keep it off the floor and away from any source of contamination."

Lexi was grinning from ear to ear as she assisted Alice disconnect the system from one cow and hook up another. Johnny B. kept a wary eye on Lexi as he tried to see if he saw any sign that she was a boy. Liv smiled to see her friend enjoying what to her was a daily chore.

"I hate to interrupt your fun," Liv said. "But we've got to clean up so we can start supper."

"Go on," Alice said. "I'll finish here."

"Thanks," Lexi said as she stood and stretched.

Liv led them over to a sink by the door to the milk house where they thoroughly washed their hands. "This is fun," Liv said as she flipped a switch activating a brush that spun and a vacuum that sucked away any loosened debris. She put her foot under the spinning brush and it cleaned the top of her shoe, twisting her foot she pushed the fronts and sides of her shoe, and finally the bottom. Then she repeated the procedure with the other foot. Lexi giggled as she cleaned her shoes. Both stepped lightly in the pan of disinfectant in the vestibule so as not to cause a splash.

They passed through the milk house and then outside to the house. It was only as the cold outside air filled her lungs that Lexi for the first time truly realized what the term FRESH AIR really meant. It smelled wonderful!

Grams greeted the girls as they entered the kitchen. The smell of freshly baked bread filled the room making Lexi's mouth water. "We'll serve some with supper," Grams smiled. "Do you mind if I watch? It's never to late for an old dog to learn new tricks."

"I'd be pleased to have you watch," Lexi chuckled.

Grams sat in a chair and picked up some yarn and began to crochet as she watched the youngsters. Together Lexi and Liv prepped the ingredients and started the meal. They talked about life on a farm and how the cows needed twice daily milking. It was a routine that could not be put off or ignored.

Prepping the meal was just finished by the time Alice, S. Mel, Johnny B. and an older man came into the kitchen, the mouth watering aroma fo the Beef Stroganoff filled the room. All four commented that the meal smelled delicious.

"Lexi, this is my straw bale tossing dad, Hertz Goode," S. Mel introduced the weather-warn but still robust older man.

"Call me Gramps like Liv and Johnny B. do," Hertz smiled as he extended a leather like hand. "I'm the one who made you sneeze."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Gramps," Lexi smiled as she shook his head. The grip was firm but by no means crushing.

While they were meeting, Johnny B. handed a large stainless steel thermos bottle to Gram who rinsed the exterior in the sink. As the farmers went to wash up, Gram opened the top of the thermos and poured Old Betsy's fresh milk into tall pre-chilled tumblers she took from the freezer. Lexi watched the procedure with interest.

By the time they had washed up, the table was ready and a tumbler of chilled milk sat be each place setting. Gramps led the group in a prayer of thanks and then they dug in. The talk was light and jovial as they ate. Lexi blushed and smiled at the repeated compliments her efforts had earned.

Lexi's eyes grew wide as she took her first sip of the milk. "This is so good," she declared. "I've never tasted milk so flavorful and delicious! It makes the milk we have at home taste bland."

"That's because it's fresh from the cow," S. Mel explained. "The milk you get in stores is pasturized and has most of the cream removed."

Everyone had a second portion of the Beef Stroganoff. Alice, Liv and Lexi took smaller portions as befits a girl. Hertz, S. Mel and Johnny B. refilled their plates.

When they finished eating, Liv and Lexi cleaned up, then joined the others in their living room. Alice apologized to Lexi for revealing her secret but explained she knew that while they might have some questions, Gramps, Gram, S. Mell and Johnny B. would accept her as she appeared.

"We're hard working honest folk who don't like people who are fakes or pretentious," Gram explained. "Alice and Liv both said you were a girl and we accepted their word. Everything I've seen only confirms that you are a girl."

Lexi smiled to see everyone nod their heads in agreement then proceeded to answer all their questions to the best of her ability. Everyone was impressed by her openness. Johnny B. accepted that Lexi was a girl but still didn't understand how someone can feel their body is wrong.

"I have something you can try that may help," Lexi smiled. "Take your shoes off and put them on the wrong feet, then walk around the room in them."

Johnny B. looked perplexed but followed her instructions. "This feels weird," he said as he finished a circuit of the room.

"Even though it feels awkward, your shoes fit on your feet and do the job they designed for," Lexi explained. "But you're right, they feel weird and even uncomfortable. That's what I feel like being a girl in a boy's body. Everything fits and does what it should but it simply doesn't feel right to me."

Johnny B. nodded. "I think I see what you mean now. Is that why you tried to kill yourself?"

"Johnny B. Goode!" Gram scolded.

"It's okay," Lexi smiled sadly. "Yes, that's why I tried to kill myself. I felt so wrong and weird I couldn't handle it anymore. But that was before I knew why I felt that way. It was only afterward, when I was strapped down in the hospital on suicide watch, that I finally understood what was wrong with me. Gabi Bull came into the room dressed as Abby from NCIS as Part of Operation Scoobies Treats. She saw right into me and told me I was just like her, a girl trapped in a boy's body."

"I know Gabi and the other Scoobies from school," Johnny B. said. "Everybody said Gabe was weird and I used to wonder why he used to dress as Abby. Then at Halloween he wore a skirt as part of his Abby costume and has been wearing them since and everyone calls him Gabi now."

"Speaking of the Scoobies, I spoke to Pops today," Alice said obviously referring to their neighbor. "He told me he'd put S. Mel and I in detention for a week if we didn't let Liv go to the Scoobies New Years Eve Party."

Liv and Lexi exchanged huge smiles.

"Can I go too?" Johnny B. asked.

"There's not enough room," Alice answered. "Pops said only 12 can attend and they have 12 lined up. What we can do is let you invite a friend over to spend the New Years Eve here."

Johnny B. was disappointed at not being able to go with his sister but obviously mollified by being allowed to invite a friend over.

"I just met Moms and Pops today," Lexi said. "They must be great neighbors."

"The best," Hertz smiled. "They're the reason we still have the farm. We're not a big operation and 30 years ago were having problems finding buyers for our crops. Moms and Pops advised us to go organic. At that point we were almost broke and didn't have anything to lose so we gave it a try. That was the same time Walt, Val, Arie, and Choo Choo opened The Crateful Bread. The organic and natural foods movement was just starting and we caught the wave. As The Crateful Bread grew and expanded they purchased more and more of our crops. Now in addition to Green Acres, we farm ninety percent of The Hundred Acre Farm. We supply The Crateful Bread with all their wheat, rye, and barley as well as a lot of their fruits from our orchard."

"I never realized how much is involved in farming," Lexi said. "If you have to spend so much time taking care of the cows how do you have time to do the rest?"

"Most of the work is spread out over the year," S. Mel replied. "But when it gets really busy we usually hire some school kids to help."

"We'll have to start looking for some good workers," Gramps said. "The one's we had the last two years were not worth what we paid them."

“That must have been rough,” Lexi said. “How many do you need?”

“It varies,” Gramps replied. “ During the spring and fall we need 2 or three on a fairly regular basis for a few hours a week. During peak times it goes up, but that’s only for a week or two at a time. That’s part of the reason we have problems getting good help. The good workers already have regular jobs and only the lazy ones are left.”

“Maybe you need to look for help somewhere different,” Lexi stated.

“Because of our needs we have to use school kids,” Gramps sighed. “But most of the high school kids won’t even think of working on a farm.”

“I bet a lot of kids from the junior high would be willing to work,” Lexi declared.

“Yeah,” Liv agreed as she perked up. “I hear a lot of kids complaining they need money but can’t get jobs because they’re too young.”

“You may be onto something there,” S. Mel said thoughtfully. “Since we’re a family farm, we could hire younger students as long as we don’t work them too many hours.”

“I think my brother and some of his friends might be interested,” Lexi said.

“Def would be good,” Liv said. “So would Eddie Bull, Izzy Fuhl and Tad Pohl.”

“They’ll be at the New Years Eve Party,” Lexi added. “Liv and I can say something to them.
Maybe I could be one of the extras you occasionally need.”

“That would be fun,” Liv smiled. “Maybe Faith Fuhl and Skye Wright would be interested too!”

“Don’t jump the gun,” Gram chuckled. “Not only would your friends have to agree to work for us but so will their parents. But it is worth investigating.”

The conversation moved on to discussions of Lexi’s role in the Scoobies Christmas Show and the Scoobies in general. Before anyone realized it, it was time for Lexi to go home. Bea and Ike arrived and spent several minutes talking to the Goodes. The Kahns were delighted that not only had Lexi been welcomed and accepted by Liv’s parents but also by her grandparents.
 

*          *          *
 
End of Part 9
 
 
To Be Continued...

by Jennifer Sue

---

 
Chapter 10
 
Friday dawned overcast and cold but the Hickstown was buzzing with activity as everyone was making final arrangements for their News Year Eve Celebrations. The Crateful Bread was a mass of organized confusion as all the orders for the assorted appetizers and platters were readied. The Scoobies plus Eddie, Lexi, and Def were right in the thick of the prep cleaning fruit and veggies. They knew their efforts were appreciated and would earn them platters for their party. The actual food would be sliced and arranged the next day, but by the end of today everything would be set up like an assembly line ready slice and assemble.

Since she was already at The Crateful Bread, Lexi gathered the ingredients for the nights’ Beef Stroganoff. Since the Wrights lived just across the street, there was no need for Bea to pick her. Skye Wright greeted Lexi with a hug as she welcomed her into their home above the pharmacy.

Byron and Devine Wright had bought the old Hickstown Pharmacy at 280-290 Main Street from the retiring owner who’s family had owned and operated it for 85 years. The price had been too good to pass up since the old building needed to be brought up to modern standards. Thanks to the effects of The Crateful Bread, renovation combo business loans and mortgages for the reinvigorated small Hickstown business district were available. The financing the Wright’s received for the purchase and renovation of the three story brick building on Main Street included enough cash to replace the wiring, plumbing, and HVAC systems. The drug store had been remodeled while maintaining the original 1930s decor including the original soda fountain. They named the pharmacy BY WRIGHT PHARMACY.

Skye helped put the ingredients on the counter with those needing to be kept cold going in the refrigerator. The girls headed to Skye's bedroom where Lexi once more took notes of the decor. The girls spent the rest of the hour gossiping. Heading to the kitchen they began to prepare the meal. Everything was ready when Devine and Byron came upstairs from the store. Both commented on the wonderful aroma wafting from the kitchen. Soon they were seated around the table enjoying the Beef Stroganoff.

After they'd cleaned up, Skye and Lexi joined the adults. Lexi was delighted to learn that Skye could make the Scoobies New Years Eve Party. The Wrights were friends of the Winters and Summers, owners of The Crateful Bread and had no major concerns about their daughters safety at the Dog House. The conversation turned to the school and questions of Lexi's acceptance by the staff and students.

"I'm hoping there will be no major issues," Lexi told them. "Mr. Bull hit them pretty hard about Coach Strapp’s behavior as did the Child Welfare people and the county courts. They know they're being closely watched so the administration and staff should keep everything under control. Of course it'll be a bit easier as Gabi Bull began attending sixth grade as a girl after Halloween. The school had to set up a policy for transgendered students then so my coming out shouldn't be anything new. There may be a few jerks amongst the students but I have most of the guys from the football team on my side. They have been watching out for me since I came back to school after my hospitalization."

"I'll say," Skye agreed. "The entire attitude at school has gone from one of quiet apprehension to one of open acceptance. The administration told us we don't have to agree with or like how fellow students behave, act or look, but that we have to accept them. They told us they have a zero tolerance level for teasing and verbal abuse and that any physical attacks would be turned over to the police for prosecution."

"Since I came back to school most people assumed from the way I'd changed that I was gay," Lexi went on. "My brother Def and Gabi's brother Eddie were the only ones who knew that I was transgendered. Def has talked to the rest of the football team since we found out I could return to school as Lexi and explained my situation. Most will still stand by me. The few others said they wouldn't help me but wouldn't do anything to stop me from being a girl."

It's nice to live in a small town where people are accepting of race, religion, and alternative life styles," Devine said. "It's one of the reasons we bought the pharmacy."

"My parents said it's thanks to the Winters and Summers at The Crateful Bread," Lexi replied. "They were hippies and when they returned to town a lot of people looked down on them. But they just smiled and greeted everyone warmly. The quality of their products won over even the most steadfast anti-hippie hardliners."

"I certainly believe that," Byron replied. "They've reinvigorated the entire town. Hickstown is one of the few small towns that still has a successful business district. Our family tried to warn us not to buy the business. They feared since this was a small town with an all white population they would not accept a black druggist. We had a few people snub us at first, but now they all welcome us."

"I was the first black to attend Hickstown Elementary," Skye added. "But no one treated me any different. Now there are several black and hispanic families in town with kids in school and I haven't seen anyone being hassled."

"We've been blessed with good neighbors," Devine said. "Of course, we have to be good neighbors too."

The conversation rambled on until it was time for Lexi to go home. When Bea and Ike arrived, they sat down with By and Devine to make sure the Wrights had no issues with Lexi being Skye’s girlfriend. Lexi and Skye hugged goodbye as their parents smiled, happy for the friendship of their daughters.

*****

Saturday morning found the Scoobies, Lexi, Def, and Eddie arriving at The Crateful Bread about 10:00 to help assemble the many platters for the night's parties. While they didn't operate the slicers or handle knives to cut up fruit, they could construct the attractive layouts on the platters. There were three basic types of platters, sliced meat and cheese, veggies with dip, and assorted fruits. Each was available in five sizes. Wearing rubber gloves, they followed well written directions and an enlarged photo for each style of platter as they put them together on the round black plastic trays. After everything was assembled, they snapped a clear plastic domed lid and peeled the name with easily detachable price sticker off the order form to place on the top center.

With a short break for lunch, they finished the last trays by three. Each then headed home to change for the party and pick up their PJs, a change of clothes, and sleeping bags.

*****

Sonny Summers dropped off Buffy and their platters at the Dog House as he made his delivery rounds. The rests of the guests arrived shortly after Buffy bringing treats of Coke, chips, pretzels, nuts and popcorn. The first thing they did was watch Freddy as he set up the web camera and link it to The Crateful Bread Online Infomercial site. Once they were up, they logged onto the site and took turns introducing themselves. Not only was the web-cast going out online so the parents could monitor the party, but it was being shown and recorded for the Scoobies web site. Since everyone was well aware they were being monitored, their behavior would not get out of hand. It didn't take long for them to get comfortable with each other.

It quickly became obvious that Eddie liked Lexi. But it didn't take long for the others to match up. Rocky and Skye paired up next, then it was Izzy and Liv followed by Def and Faith. Tad soon linked up with Gabi which left Buffy and Freddy who were already nearly an item.

They set up TWISTER and played several laughter filled rounds. The winner of each game was either Buffy, Gabi, Rocky, Freddy, or Lexi. No one else won. The boys decided they were starving. The platters were opened along with condiments and fresh bread. Sandwiches were made and devoured as well as snacks and Coke.

As they ate, Def commented. “I didn’t know Lexi was so flexible.”

“That’s from taking lessons at the Metamorphosis School of the Arts,” Lexi smiled.

Rocky laughed. “Didn’t any of you realize that it was only those of us who take lessons there won Twister?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Faith nodded.

“You all remember how clumsy I used to be,” Rocky explained. “It really helped me.”

“You should join us,” Gabi urged. “We have fun in our classes. It’d be even better with all of you.”

“I don’t want to take dancing lessons,” Izzy declared.

“They take martial arts and dancing,” Eddie replied. “The school requires dancing to keep rednecks out of the martial arts classes. Besides, I think I’d like to take dancing lessons with Lexi.”

The Faith, Liv, and Skye all thought it’d be fun to join in the lessons. The remaining guys quickly agreed to give it a try. They’d all agreed to go to the lessons on Tuesday to see how it went.

Being stuffed, they settled down to more sedentary games like YAHTZEE and CLUE. Then they decided to watch a movie Freddy brought. He had made a DVDR recording of the Disney movie BUFFALO DREAMS. The movie was awesome on the High Def big screen TV. It had just the right amount of drama, romance, action, comedy, and spirituality so they all found it interesting and inspirational.

Next they played a bit of dodge-ball using nerf basketballs. The balls were so easy to avoid it took everyone throwing at the same target to knock out the opposite team. It finally came down to a contest between Buffy and Gabi. Thanks to their lessons at the Metamorphosis School of the Art their agility led them to a draw. The laughter of the game was infectious and the agility the girls displayed awesome. Those who didn't already take lessons decided they'd sign up. Def said if they could gain in agility half of what Buffy and Gabi displayed, the school junior high football team would be unbeatable, especially since Rocky could join next year's squad.

At ten they flipped the big screen TV onto ABC to watch Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2006,” which aired until 11:00 p.m. This segment featured “live” reports on the festivities in Times Square, a look back at the past year and highlights of some of the year’s biggest concert tours, including Duran Duran and Green Day.

"I don't know if I'd ever want to go Times Square on New Years Eve," Gabi declared as they surveyed the masses of people jammed into the area. "I simply can't imagine being in a crowd of a million people. I'd be scared I'd get squooshed or lost.

"I bet it'd be fun," Def retorted. "Of course I'd have to be with some good friends."

"Who would have to be chained together," Faith giggled.

Everyone laughed.

"Yeah, but remember you've got to get there by at least 7pm to even get past the police barricades," Liv said. "That would be at least five hours standing in the cold."

"It's only 58 degrees there," Gabi added with a shiver.

"Tonight," Buffy laughed. "But some nights it goes down to about zero."

"I don't think I could go that long without needing a pottie," Skye giggled as the others nodded their heads.

At 11pm the first portion of the show ended and the network news came on. The kids stood and stretched, made pottie trips, and pulled out more snacks.

At 11:35 Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2006, Part 1, began and featured performances by all of the musical talent. Marysol Castro reported on other happenings in and around NYC. Mariah Carey, the number one Artist of 2005 became the first singer to ever perform live from Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

Dick Clark appeared in a slightly smaller studio role at Times Square and remained behind a desk. Shown in limited segments, his speech was slower and deeper, and he appeared to have limited use of his right arm. However, he seemed to be completely in control of his faculties, making comments on how great the evening was going in Times Square. During the show, Clark said: “Last year I had a stroke. It left me in bad shape. I had to teach myself how to walk and talk again. It's been a long, hard fight. My speech is not perfect but I'm getting there.” He also mentioned he "wouldn't have missed this for the world."

The kids were impressed by his courage in appearing before the camera in his condition. The Scoobies and friends had seen a few other stroke patients at the retirement home they'd performed just a few days before and understood the frustration and agony stroke victims suffered.

Hilary Duff hosted the segments of the show from Hollywood and the guys enjoyed looking at the 18 year old beauty.

Mariah Carey joined Ryan Seacrest outside as the final minutes of the year were counted down, climaxed by the traditional ball drop.

Buffy, ever the bold one, announced as the ball began it's descent. "Remember, it's a New Year's Eve tradition to kiss your partner at the stroke of midnight!"

The guys blushed and the girls giggled. The kids shouted out the last ten seconds, then jumped to their feet yelling and tooting little horns and noise makers. Then Buffy hugged Freddy and planted a hot wet kiss on his quivering lips. Not to be outdone by the impish Buffy, the other girls hugged their partner and kissed.

All were startled by the experience. For each it was their first romantic kiss, and they all felt warm and tingly. They also felt embarrassed and sheepishly separated and smiled. The raucous noise from the on screen celebration allowed them to slip back into the party.

Def and Eddie opened bottles of Sparkling Cider and poured some into plastic champagne flutes. They made a toast to good friends and hopes for a happy new year. The girls giggled as the effervescent bubbles tickled their nose while the guys laughed.

Soon Hillary Duff, The Bangles, Chris Brown, Sean Paul, The Pussycat Dolls, Sugarland, 3 Doors Down, 311, Duran Duran, Neil Diamond, Keith Urban, and Green Day were performing their songs as the show continued.

Again Buffy led the charge as she stood and tugged a reluctant Freddy out to the center of the room to dance to the music. The remaining girls giggled and stood. The guys exchanged looks of haplessness and stood, allowing the girls to take them out to the center of the room to dance. The awkwardness they felt quickly faded as they loosened up and enjoyed themselves. The dancing helped keep them awake but when they finally stopped, fatigue overtook them all. They flopped down on the chairs and sofas to watch the wrapping up of the night’s activities, “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2006, Part 2 which came on at 1:05 a.m. featuring more hit songs from the musical acts.

By the time it wrapped up 2:05 a.m., most of the kids had fallen asleep. None had changed into their PJs. Def and Eddie, the last two awake, staggered about and covered their sleeping friends with blankets or unzipped sleeping bags before sacking out themselves.

The parents all checked The Crateful Bed website at least once to check up on the kids. They saw the kids having fun. Even though they could tell the kids had paired off, knowing the kissing your partner at midnight tradition, at no time did they see anything untoward.

It was about 8am when the piles of blankets began to groan and move. One by one the yawning party goers stumbled to their feet The girls immediately headed for the facilities while the guys sought out leftovers. By 8:30 they were all up, some grumpier than others, but generally in a good mood. The girls whipped up a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and pan fried scrapple. (If you've never eaten scrapple, it's a delicious Pennsylvania Dutch meat treat... just don't ask what's in it!)

The guys turned the big screen TV on to search for football results and clips from games. The girls faked gagging before breaking into giggles. Fortunately they'd already learned not to argue with guys over football, besides which they were still tired from the late night and the filling breakfast. The girls settled beside their partner and watched the clips. Of course the guys made jokes and pointed out cute cheerleaders which earned them elbow jabs.

At the start of a commercial, Buffy asked for everyone's attention. "I think we all had a great time here at the Dog House," she began as everyone nodded their agreement. "For some of you, this is your first time mixing with the Scoobies but despite our age differences, I think we meshed pretty well."

Again everyone nodded before Buffy continued. "We formed the Scoobies to help each other and to help other people. Operation Scoobies Treats was a great success as was our Christmas show. We needed extra help and drafted Lexi, Eddie, and Def into helping us and they did great and we thank them."

The three acknowledged the praise with smiles before Buffy continued. "Freddy, Rocky, Gabi, and I discussed expanding the Scoobies but were told by the adults they wanted to keep the four of us as the core. They like what we've done and want to keep us in control. Basically they were afraid that if we took in new members, we'd get bogged down in control issues. We argued a bit and were given the okay to offer associate memberships. Associate members would be like Lexi, Def, and Eddie were in our Christmas Show. Associate members can come up with ideas and suggestions but the original Scoobies will have final say. Associate members can use the Dog House as long as Moms and Pops agree and one of the original Scoobies is present and you can say you're one of the Scoobies. We'd like to invite each of you to become associate members of the Scoobies. Please don't feel pressured to join us, if you don't, that's fine. Also, you don't have to answer now. If you'd like to join us but are concerned about being able to participate, don't worry. There are no attendance requirements. All we ask is that you help when you can."

"I'd like to join," Lexi piped up. "The Christmas show was fun!"

"I won't mind joining," Eddie added with a smile to Lexi.

"Sure, why not," Def agreed. "It'll help me stay out of trouble and doing service work is a requirement from 9th grade on. The Scoobies should fit the bill."

Faith, Liv, and Skye exchanged looks and smiled. "We'll join," they said together before breaking into giggles.

Tad and Izzy shrugged their shoulders and said "I'm in," and "Me too," respectively.

The only one who looked a bit put out was Rocky.

"We had talked about voting associate members in," Buffy giggled. "But we got along so well I just asked the others and we agreed to invite you in. We were going to vote using yogurt raisins for a yes and carob raisins for a no. Rocky's disappointed because he can't eat the vote."

Rocky blushed while grinning and everyone laughed.

Gabi went to the cabinet and pulled out two bags of coated raisins, one carob and one yogurt, and put them in a bowl. "We can all eat them," she said as she brought them to the group.

As they watched the TV they discussed possible upcoming projects. Valentine's Day was the obvious time for their next project, but what to do and for whom was up for grabs. Valentines, treats and hugs for the kids in the hospital was one choice. Valentines and hugs for the people in the retirement home was another. A food drive for the needy was suggested.

"I like those ideas and I think with all of us together we could do all three," Gabi said. "But I feel we need to do something more, I'm just not sure how to do it."

"What are you thinking about," Tad asked.

"Well, I keep thinking about Lexi and I," Gabi replied. "What if there are other kids in school with sexual identity issues like ours or being gay? I'd like to do something to help them, to show them they're accepted as is despite their difference so they can stop hiding their real personalities."

The others nodded their agreement.

"So we'll do Valentines, treats and hugs for the kids at the hospital, a food drive for the needy, and Valentines and hugs for the retirement home," Buffy summed up. "We can start planning those while we think about how to help kids with sexuality issues."

The 12 Scoobies spent the rest of the day mellowed before the TV. Every bit of food and all the snacks they'd brought was devoured. They policed the entire area knowing if they wanted to get together again they had to be responsible. They decided to dress simply in black pants or skirts and red shirts or sweaters to give the Valentines and hugs. Gabi did a quick internet search and found a site that offered inexpensive Valentine accessories. They all liked the heart topped head boppers. (A plastic hair band with two stiff springs sticking straight out which held the hearts as they bobbed in response to the slightest movement.) Even though they felt the boppers were silly, wearing them as a group would be acceptable.

Their parents began arriving about 3:30. They adults were surprised to see the place was clean and the garbage bags filled and placed in the garage area below the Dog House. By 4:00 all the parents were there and with hugs and kissed cheeks, the Scoobies headed home.

*****

Monday morning January 2, Lexi was nervous as she prepared to see Dr. Lee. Wanting to make a good impression, she dressed nicely in a pair of slacks and sweater. Bea was pleased that she'd dressed in feminine casual, not feeling the need to wear a skirt.

Dr. Lee greeted Lexi warmly, also pleased the girl felt comfortable enough as a girl to be able to wear slacks. Their conversation covered Lexi's experiences with coming out to her girlfriends and their families as well as the Scoobies New Year's Eve Party and sleep-over.

Dr. Lee smiled and asked, "How did you feel about kissing Eddie?"

"I liked it," Lexi quickly replied then just as quickly turned red.

"Okay," Dr Lee smiled and nodded. "How did it make you feel physically?"

Lexi fidgeted in her chair and looked down. "I felt all warm and tingly."

"I know this may be embarrassing, but I need to ask," Dr. Lee said gently. "Did you have any physical reaction?"

Lexi lowered her head and bit her lip. "A little bit, is that bad?"

"Not at all," Dr. Lee smiled. "Physically you are a male and if you become sexually aroused, it's only natural you'd react in that way. What's important is how you felt about your physical reaction."

"I felt terrible," Lexi sniffed. "The hug and kiss made me feel all girlish and then that... thing reacted and reminded me I'm just a fake girl. I wanted to rip it off and stomp on it!"

Dr. Lee sighed. "Lexi, you said you felt like a girl until that thing reacted. That does not make you a fake girl. It simply means you're a girl with a birth defect. Once we get you on a regimen of testosterone blockers and low dose of estrogen, that unwanted male reaction will end. You need to be patient and not do anything rash."

"I won't do anything stupid," Lexi sighed. "I just want to be like the other girls."

"That's understandable," Dr. Lee agreed. "I take it you feel ready to go to school as Lexi?"

"Yes," Lexi agreed emphatically. "The girls will stick by me and Def and Eddie have lined up the football team to make sure no one hassles me. Eddie said he'd wipe the floors with anyone who tried to mess with me."

"I'm sure he would," Dr. Lee chuckled. "Do you think he has any issues being your boyfriend?"

"I don't think so," Lexi smiled. "Thanks to Gabi he understands I'm a girl. The only time he might have issues is if somebody hassles him about being gay for being with me."

"All right," Dr. Lee said. "How will you feel if he beats some one up?"

"Horrible," Lexi replied. "I told him he'd better not. I don't mind a bit of return intimidation as long as there is no physical violence."

Good," Dr. Lee smiled. "How will you handle it if someone calls you a fag?"

Lexi gasped. "I'm not sure. I might get angry or I might cry. It just depends on where I'm at and what I'm doing."

"That's a good answer," Dr. Lee said. "If you get angry, do you think you'll attack like Alex used to do?"

"No," Lexi asked. "Now that I know I'm a girl, I don't think I could ever initiate a fight. But I still know how to fight and I will defend myself if attacked."

"I'd expect nothing less," Dr. Lee answered. "Well, Lexi, let's call your mother in for a short conference."

Lexi grew nervous as Dr. Lee used the phone to ask her receptionist to send Bea into the office.

In a few moments, Bea knocked on the door and entered.

"It's good to see you again," Dr. Lee greeted. "I asked you to come in because I've decided to allow Lexi to begin going to school."

"Really... all right," Lexi exclaimed a huge smile filled her face.

Bea sighed. "You're sure she'll be okay?"

"I think Lexi is ready to face almost any challenge," Dr. Lee responded. "A lot of people know about her now and it'll be difficult to hide the truth. I also don't think Lexi could mentally handle going back to masquerading as Alex for any length of time. I'll send an affidavit to Mr. Bull so you can begin proceedings to have Lexi's name legally changed. Lexi, I think it'd be best if you dressed similarly as you are today for the first day as it won't stun people as much. I'd hold off until the second day to wear a skirt. If you can, contact your girlfriends and coordinate outfits so the four of you are dressed similarly. That will show you're simply one of the girls and keep you from standing out from them. Remember, you want to simply blend in as just another school girl."

"I understand," Lexi smiled. "I'll call the girls as soon as I get home to coordinate outfits."

"You're sure this what you want to do," Bea asked. "Once you do this it will be difficult to ever go back."

"Mom. I don't want to go back," Lexi answered with all sincerity. "I hated being Alex. Since Gabi exposed me as a girl, I've never been so happy."

"I know," Bea sighed. "But you're still my baby and I need to make sure you're safe."

Lexi went to her mom and gave her a hug. "Thank you, Dr. Lee," Lexi said after they'd finished. "I won't disappoint you."

"I'm sure you won't," Dr. Lee stated. "Set up an appointment for Friday after school so we can go over how things went. If you need to see me sooner, just call. I notified the school just before the holiday break that I thought Lexi would be replacing Alex. I'll contact them again as soon as you leave and confirm Lexi will be replacing Alex."

Lexi was bubbling over with joy as they left. As soon as she arrived home she was on the phone in a four person gab-fest as she told Liv, Faith, and Skye the good news. They eagerly proceeded to coordinate their outfits for the next day.

When the girls finally got off the line, Def called his each of his teammates from the football squad. Briefly he explained Lexi's situation and reminded them to watch out for his transgendered sibling. Most of the guys agreed but a few balked, however, they agreed not to hassle Lexi. Def then made a conference call to Eddie, Tad and Izzy. They were all happy to hear that Lexi would be coming to school. They agreed to meet outside the main school entrance with the girls and stay together until Lexi was safely in her homeroom. From there, Eddie and Tad who shared classes with the girls, would ride shotgun for Lexi.

*****

Lexi was nervous but determined as she met her friends outside the school just as the doors were opened. All four girls wore snug blue jeans and holiday themed long sleeved body hugging pull over sweaters. Each had their hair combed into bangs and parted down the middle, with their hair gathered into perky twin pigtails. They all looked cute and knew it. Three quarters of the football team was there to add their support and sate their curiosity. The guys were not disappointed as they feasted their eyes on the winsome foursome. In a few cases it took several moments before they were able to figure out which one was Lexi. All were impressed with her girlishness as most had expected to see a boy dressed like a girl. As they all entered the building, the guidance counselor, Ima Meddlar, and the new Principal, Reid Enright, greeted them.

"Lexi, I'm impressed," Ima Meddlar greeted them. "You look quite nice."

"Thank you," Lexi replied.

"I concur," Principal Reid Enright added. "Is everyone here to support you?"

Lexi nodded her head as Def spoke up. "We're all here to back-up my sister," Def declared to which all the guys nodded.

"That's wonderful," Principal Reid Enright said. "I just ask you don't use any violence."

"We've already discussed that," Def answered. "We will not initiate any fighting, but if someone attacks Lexi... we'll take them out."

"I know it will do no good to ask you not to fight even then," Principal Reid Enright stated. "But don't go overboard. Subdue the attacker, don't beat them up."

They all nodded their heads but Def added, "I'll try, but if they really hurt Lexi... I don't know if I can."

"The same goes for me," declared Eddie.

"Understood," Principal Reid Enright said. "I'll depend on the rest of you to restrain Def and Eddie."

Again they all nodded their heads.

"Lexi, after talking to Ms Meddlar and Dr. Lee, I'm going to announce we have a transgendered student starting classes today," Principal Reid Enright went on. "I'd like to identify you by name. My intent is to show everyone you're here with full school approval and to give them conduct expectations."

"Okay, thanks for the heads up," Lexi replied with a nervous smile.

With that the students headed to their lockers and then on to their homerooms.

All Lexi's teachers had been notified and were told to rearrange the seating so Lexi sat in the front row with Faith and Skye on either side. Liv was to sit behind her while Tad and Eddie sat on either side of Liv. This would keep Lexi from sitting next to someone who might cause issues.

As other students entered the homeroom, the teacher, Rose Busch, directed them to their new seats. Even though they all saw the new girl, few made the connection to Alex.

Once the bell rang and everyone was in their homerooms, Principal Reid Enright spoke after the regular morning announcements.

"I want to welcome everyone back and hope you all had a good holiday break," he began. "Now, I have a special announcement. You're all aware that Alex Kahn has been under doctor's care for several months. Most of you have noted how much Alex has changed since his release from the hospital. The doctor feels Alex is now ready to take the next major step in his treatment. Before the holidays, most of the football squad was looking out for Alex to make sure no one harassed him. They will continue to do so, only now in a school sanctioned manner. Not only will they be looking out for Alex, they are to report any teasing, bullying, or hassling to me."

"Now that you know the expectations, I'll tell you what the doctor has ordered Alex to do," Principal Reid Enright explained. "Alex is transgendered. That means that although he has a male body, his mind is that of a girl. This not a trick or ruse. It is a recognized medical condition. It is impossible to change a transgendered person's mind to agree with their physical gender. The only treatment is to change the body to match the mind. Alex the boy is no more. A girl named Lexi has taken his place. Lexi is beginning her RLT, which means real life test. This is a one year trial of living as a girl. We expect everyone to treat Lexi with respect. There will be zero tolerance of anyone harassing Lexi. We understand that some of you will find you can't accept Lexi. We can not force you to accept her but we will expect you to tolerate her presence. Remember, there will be a zero tolerance policy of harassment against Lexi. Thank you. Have a good day."

Rose Busch looked at the class. "If you haven't figured it out yet, I'd like to introduce Lexi to her classmates. Lexi, can you please stand and turn to the class?"

Lexi stood, doing her best to control her trembling hands, turned to face her classmates, smiled, and gave them a friendly one handed timid wave.

Most of the class was surprised to see that Lexi did not look like a boy as most had expected, but appeared to be a cute girl. Eddie and Tad scanned the faces looking for anyone who might cause trouble. A few were frowning and whispering what looked to be negative comments.

"You all know me," Eddie said as he stood by his seat. "Those who went to elementary school with me knew my younger brother, Gabe. Gabe is also transgendered. My sister Gabi is now going through her one year RLT. Gabi is one of the Scoobies, and during Operation Scoobies Treats she found Alex strapped down in the hospital on suicide watch. She recognized Alex's issues when none of the doctor's could. Most of you know how antagonistic Alex was before his suicide attempt. He behaved that way because he was fighting the girlishness he felt. Gabi forced Alex to face his issues, and the same shrink that's been treating Gabi began treating Alex. You know how different Alex has been since he returned to school. A lot of you thought he was gay, but he wasn't, he was a girl pretending to be a boy. Basically, Alex succeeded in killing himself when jumped off the press box. Lexi survived Alex's suicide. When she returned to school she made friends with Liv, Faith and Skye. Lexi, myself, and her brother Def helped in the Scoobies Christmas show. Lexi played the girl elf. She spent the entire holiday as Lexi, and was given the okay to come to school. The five of us spent a lot of time with Lexi over the holiday and we can vouch that Lexi is a girl. If anyone tries anything to hurt her, you'll have to deal with us."

"You're still both faggots," Jack Goff whispered loud enough to be heard around the room.

Before anyone knew what was going on, Eddie raced to the back of the room and pulled Jack Goff from his seat and slammed him against the wall holding him up by the shirt so his toes barely touched the floor. "It's none of your damn business whether Lexi and I are faggots," Eddie snarled just inches from the terrified boy's face. "In the first place there's nothing wrong with being a faggot. But to put the record straight, Lexi is my GIRLFRIEND! If you don't like it, tough! You're entitled to your opinion, you're not entitled to use your opinion to harass others. Do you understand?"

By that time Jack Goff had wet himself. Like most bullies, he was more bark than bite and Eddie was significantly larger. All he could do was nod his head.

Rose Busch was as startled by Eddie's assault as the rest of the class. She headed to the back of the room and was about five feet from the duo when Eddie lowered Jack Goff to the floor. Jack lowered his head and fought back tears of shame. It was only as he stepped back that Eddie saw Jack Goff had wet himself. Rose Busch stepped beside Eddie and saw the soggy pants.

"Tad, please come here," Eddie said as he moved a bit closer to Jack Goff to shield his wet spot from the view of the rest of the class. "Principal Enright said we should report any harassment to him. Help me take Jack to the office." Eddie looked at Ms Busch, winked, and mouthed NURSE'S OFFICE.

Rose Busch nodded her head. "Jack, please go with Eddie and Tad."

Tad saw the wet spot when he reached the back of the classroom. Glancing at Eddie he caught the wink and the mouthed HIDE HIM.

By this time Jack Goff was sniffling. Not only would his classmates see he'd wet himself, but so would the entire office staff. He felt his life was over.

"Tad, lead the way," Eddie ordered as he stepped behind Jack Goff and placed a guiding hand on his shoulder.

"Let this be a lesson to everyone," Rose Busch began lecturing the class from the rear of the room as all the students had turned in their seats to watch the confrontation. "Nasty comments constitute teasing. As Principal Enright said, the school has a zero tolerance policy and it will be enforced." She continued speaking as the three boys left the room.

Tad walked along the back of the class and then up the side aisle to the door. Eddie made sure Jack Goff stayed close enough so no one could see. It certainly helped that Ms Busch was speaking to the class as they stayed focused on her as she stayed in the back of the room.

Once the boys had exited the room, Eddie stopped them. "Look, Jack, we're taking you to the nurse's office. I don't think anyone saw you wet yourself and we won't tell anyone. You know the teasing you'd have gotten if anyone else saw. We saved your butt by sneaking you out of the room. Just back off on your nasty comments."

"Th... thanks," Jack Goff sniffed. "But why did you do it? You were ready to knock my head off."

"I was ready to beat you senseless," Eddie answered. "But we told Principal Enright we'd try to keep our cool. I almost lost it, but stopped myself. Besides, Tad and I are Scoobies, now. Scoobies try to help others... even if they don't deserve it. I hope saving your butt will make you change enough to deserve help when you need it. Now, let's get you to the nurse before the bell rings for first period. We'll have to tell Principal Enright what happened but we'll recommend he not punish you. We can say you've been in the office getting your butt chewed out."

"Thanks," Jack Goff said. "I'll try to do better."

The bell rang just as they reached the nurse's office. Although still embarrassed, Jack Goff had regained his composure. After explaining what happened, Eddie and Tad headed off to the office.

Principal Enright listened to the boys relate what had happened. Eddie completely confessed to his actions. Although upset by Eddie's initial outburst, the action he'd taken to save Jack Goff from humiliation overrode his concern. "Eddie, I'm going to have to discipline you for your outburst, but it won't be anything serious. In fact, I'll allow your friends to help you. You get back to class," Reid Enright said. "I'll go to the nurse and talk to Jack Goff. When I'm done there, I'll come to your classroom."

The school had tried to set it up so most students had their first period class in their homeroom. Rose Busch taught English and the class was well into the day's lesson when Eddie and Tad returned. Nothing was said as the boys took their seats and opened their books. Eddie did wink to Ms Busch so she knew Jack Goff was safely with the nurse.

About five minutes before the class ended, Principal Enright knocked on the door and entered. Ms. Busch wrapped up the lesson and turned the class over to him.

"I've already explained to Eddie that his violent response to Jack Goff was not what I expected," Reid Enright said. "The fact he regained control and did not injure Jack Goff will count in his favor as far as discipline. Eddie, I want you to write a thousand word essay on tolerance which we will publish in the school newspaper. You have one week to hand it in to me for approval."

Eddie solemnly nodded his head accepting his punishment knowing full well the essay was simply a way to get the word out to the school.

"As for Jack Goff," Principal Enright continued. "He's been sent home for the day. Tomorrow morning, he'll have to apologize in front of the class for what he said. I'll be here and he'd better be sincere. I hope this is the end to this problem. Thank you for your attention."

The bell rang and the students gathered their books and headed out to their next class. Principal Enright and Rose Busch discussed the incident, both were pleased with results.

Alex had achieved quite a bit of notoriety for his suicide attempt and the resulting arrest of Coach Strapp and suicide of Principal Deaper so he was fairly well known and recognizable by most students. As the students changed classes, it was evident many were looking to see Lexi, expecting to see a boy wearing girls' clothes. They were disappointed. A few of the more astute students, mostly girls, realized the new girl walking with Liv, Faith, and Skye and followed by Tad and Eddie had to be Lexi. The gossip about Jack Goff’s snide comments and Eddie's forceful rapid response swept through the school as Lexi and friends made it to their next class without incident.

Juan Alaya, their suave second period Spanish teacher, reassigned seats as the students entered to accommodate Lexi and friends in the front two rows. As soon as she entered the room, he realized the new girl had to be Lexi. Lexi's appearance and demeanor left him no doubt she was truly a girl. The antagonistic boy who had started the year had been replaced by a shy introverted awkward boy who had now blossomed into a demure girl. Always having an eye for attractive girls, Juan Alaya smiled.

While not a leacher, all the girls knew Juan Alaya appreciated femininity. His attitude and demeanor was always that of a suave Latin gentleman. Over the years none of the girls had figured out if his appreciation of femininity consciously or unconsciously effected his grading, but they knew acting girlishly most certainly had a positive impact on their grades.

About half of Lexi's homeroom class followed the same schedule all day. The other half changed each period although some of them shared more than one class. The Spanish class proceeded without incident as the newcomers learned the cute girl between Skye and Faith was Lexi. They also tempered any negative reaction as they learned about the Jack Goff - Eddie episode.

On Tuesday the third period was art class. Art Painter greeted the students with his usual enthusiasm. He made a point of greeting Lexi and welcoming her to the school. In his open concept classroom the students were able to intermingle more than in their other classes and his welcome to Lexi left no doubt he would tolerate no funny business. Several of the girls took the opportunity to welcome Lexi. Most of the guys simply looked and shook their heads not understanding why Lexi was a girl and not a boy. The mere idea of a boy becoming a girl spooked them. They also noted Eddie's piercing gaze. Their behavior was polite.

The fourth period class was science with teacher, Mike Krobe. A nerdy young man, he smiled at Lexi and welcomed her to his class. Then he promptly launched into his lesson.

Lunch came next. Principal Reid Enright stood guard in the cafeteria along with the normal proctors to ensure nothing got out of control. Def and Izzy joined Lexi, Liv, Faith, Skye, Eddie, and Tad as they went through the lunch line. The eight Scoobies sat together and discussed how Lexi had been received. Def grew angry when he heard what Jack Goff had said but Lexi explained what had happened and that an apology was due the next day. Tad and Eddie exchanged smirks, knowing they'd tell Def and Izzy what really happened at another time. Periodically a few girls came over to greet Lexi. Most of them were genuine in their greeting but a few of the snobbier girls were obviously scoping out her girlishness. Liv, Faith and Skye were able to sense the difference and warned Lexi not to trust those pompous girls. Again, most of the guys avoided coming near Lexi. The only exceptions were the guys from the football team who accepted Def's request for supporting Lexi.

 

*          *          *
 
End of Part 10
 
 
To Be Continued...

Chapter 11
The Fan Is Hit

Sixth period was social studies. The teacher, Lorin Mythe, made history come alive. When she was informed about Lexi, she quickly created a single class lesson in an effort to put transgenderism in perspective for her students. Deftly, she presented brief biographies of historical figures who faced similar issues. The first and most famous was Charles Geneviá¨ve Louis Auguste André Timothée d'á‰on de Beaumont. Born on October 5, 1728 and died on May 21, 1810. Usually known as the Chevalier d'á‰on, he was a French diplomat, spy, soldier and Freemason who lived the first half of her life as a man and the second half as a woman. Equally well-known was Christine Jorgensen, born May 30, 1926 and died May 3, 1989, was the first widely-known individual to have sex reassignment surgery–in this case, male to female. A former World War II Private, George Jorgensen, underwent the sexchange surgery in Denmark in 1952. Another was Renée Richards, born August 19, 1934. An American ophthalmologist, author and former professional tennis player. In 1975, Richards underwent sex reassignment surgery. She is known for initially being denied entry into the 1976 US Open by the United States Tennis Association, citing an unprecedented women-born-women policy. She disputed the ban, and the New York Supreme Court ruled in her favor in 1977. This was a landmark decision in favor of transsexual rights.

Lexi and her classmates perked up as their horizons were expanded by the past deeds of other transgendered people. Quite a few of the students who were unsure about accepting Lexi thinking she was a one-off weirdo now understood the condition was far more prevalent than they'd suspected. Most got off the fence they were straddling on Lexi's side.

The upbeat and buoyant spirit Lorin Mythe's class had instilled in the students quickly vanished as the students went into their seventh period algebra class. The teacher, Cal Cuelas, was a balding pompously formal man in his late fifties who usually sat imperiously behind his desk. Quite brusquely he directed the students to their new seat assignments. The first real inkling that there would be issues presented itself as he sneered at Lexi. "Alex Kahn, take the front seat in row three."

Lexi stopped and blinked, shocked by what she'd heard. Principal Reid Enright and guidance counselor Ima Meddlar had said all the staff had been told about her change. The fact the seats were being arranged as instructed added to her confusion. Eddie took her arm and led her to her seat where Skye, Liv, and Faith tried to get her to relax.

Eddie was glad his father had taken the time to sit down with him and PI Evie Dense. Evie had provided a fake book in which a mini-camcorder was hidden and showed Eddie how to aim the lens and operate the device. Eddie opened the book and turned on the video recorder, then set it up so Cal Kuelus was centered in the monitor screen before hitting record.

Cal Kuelus was obviously upset and fuming. Everyone in the class stayed quiet and waited with baited breath for the clearly agitated man to do more than shuffle papers on his desk and shoot hate-filled glares at Lexi. Lexi began to tremble. Faith, sitting behind her, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder which helped calm Lexi down.

After several anxious minutes, Cal Kuelus stood and turned to the blackboard where he wrote out an equation in his meticulous handwriting. After finishing the equation, he resumed his seat. Eddie surreptitiously checked the monitoring screen and was relieved to note the man had remained in the frame.

Once seated he scanned the room to insure everyone was paying close attention. "Mr. Kahn," he stated in a surly voice dripping with sarcasm. "Please go to the board and complete the equation."

Lexi gasped and trembled, then totally intimidated, began to rise from her seat. Before she could really move, Eddie stood and stepped from his desk and placed a strong hand on Lexi's shoulder firmly holding her in the seat. She glanced up at Eddie in fear and relief.

"Begging your pardon, Mr. Kuelus," Eddie began in a calm, steady voice. "There is no Mr. Kahn in the room. As you well know, Alex Kahn is no longer attending this or any other school. Alex Kahn has effectively died. Lexi Kahn has taken his place. I'm sure if you ask, Miss Kahn will be more than willing to go to the board to solve the equation."

The entire class was stunned at Eddie's boldness and waited for Cal Kuelus to rip Eddie apart. They didn't have long to wait.

"Mr. Bull," Cal Kuelus began in a snide tone. "This is my classroom and I will not have any mere student telling me how to run my class. You've earned yourself time in detention. Now sit down and let MR. KAHN go to the board!"

"I'm sorry sir," Eddie cooly replied. "I can't allow you to continue insulting Miss Kahn."

"MISS KAHN...," Cal Kuelus yelled as he stood and slammed a fist on his desk sending papers flying. "THERE IS NO ‘MISS KAHN’ IN THIS CLASSROOM! I’LL NOT TOLERATE ANY MORE INSUBORDINATION FROM EITHER OF YOU! NOW LET YOUR BOYFRIEND STAND UP SO HE CAN GO TO THE BOARD!"

The class was shocked. They were impressed by Eddie's calm demeanor and stunned by the outburst from Cal Kuelus. Lexi was terrified.

"Sir, I take great exception to your implication that Lexi is my boyfriend which implies that we are homosexuals," Eddie responded in a calm yet offended tone. "That sir, is slanderous libel. I willingly and proudly admit that Lexi Kahn is my girlfriend and as such I have every right to protect her from abuse from any source."

The class was surprised by Eddie’s declaration that Lexi was his girlfriend, but had little time to ponder that revelation.

"YOU DARE THREATEN ME, YOU HOMOSEXUAL PERVERT," Cal Kuelus nearly screamed. He was so livid the veins stood out clearly on his temples and spittle flew from his lips. "FOR YOUR GROSS ARROGANCE AND INSUBORDINATION I'M GIVING YOU AND YOUR BOYFRIEND A MONTH OF DETENTION AND EXPELLING YOU FROM MY CLASS! REPORT IMMEDIATELY TO PRINCIPAL ENRIGHT! GET OUT NOW!"

"We'll gladly leave, sir," Eddie replied formally. "We will go directly to the office. Only it just won't be Lexi and I who go. The entire class will go." With that Eddie looked at his classmates and motioned them to rise.

Without hesitation everyone quickly packed up their books and stood. Eddie made sure to keep his concealed camera focused on Cal Kuelus as he and Tad took up station between the door and the seething teacher's desk. Although they were only seventh graders, both were taller and huskier than Cal Kuelus. Their football training also made them tougher and their guardian stance was enough to physically intimidate the enraged teacher. Faith, Liv, and Skye ushered the trembling Lexi to the door and the other students silently filed out of the room behind them.

While this was happening, Cal Kuelus really lost it. Already standing, he raised his arms in the air and shook his tightly clenched fists towards the heavens. "THIS IS A REVOLT! I'LL SEE TO IT YOU'RE ALL PUT IN DETENTION FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR! I'LL SEE TO IT THE TWO HOMOSEXUALS ARE EXPELLED! THEY ARE AN ABOMINATION! THIS IS BLASPHEMY! BLASPHEMY! DO YOU HEAR ME! YOU'LL ALL GO TO HELL!"

As the last students left the room, Tad and Eddie backed out the door. Eddie did his best to keep the camera aimed at the crazed man.

Cal Kuelus followed, still seething and raging. "INGRATES! BLASPHEMERS! YOU'LL ALL GO TO HELL! BLASPHEMERS! HOMOSEXUAL PERVERTS! BLASPHEMERS!" he continued to rage as he followed the silent students to the office.

Several teachers poked their heads out of their classrooms to see what the commotion was all about. They saw Tad and Eddie acting as a rear guard walking backwards down the hall following their classmates while their teacher went ballistic. Several called the office to warn of the approaching storm.

Principal Reid Enright and guidance counselor Ima Meddlar promptly headed from the office to meet the students. They could hear Cal Kuelus ranting and railing. When they met the students Lexi was openly crying and nearly hysterical. They could see Skye, Faith, and Liv were doing their best to comfort their friend. Ms Meddlar promptly moved in to assist the girls in consoling Lexi. Seeing they’d been met before reaching the office, Eddie had Tad move up the line of nervous students urging them to one side of the hall. Reid Enright didn’t miss the interplay and realized Eddie was leading the students and was buffering them from Cal Kuelus.

Upon seeing Reid Enright, Cal Kuelus rushed past the students to the principal. “Good, good, good,” he jabbered with wide eyed mania. “I’ve put them all in detention for a year and have expelled the two faggots! You can see they’ve turned the entire class against me.”

Eddie silently followed behind the nearly mad teacher doing his best to keep the camera focused on Cal Kuelus.

“Yes, I can see that,” Reid Enright tried to calm the nearly hysterical teacher. “Ms Meddlar, please escort these rebellious students to the cafeteria.” Catching Eddie’s eye the principal winked. “Mr. Kuelus, let’s step into my office so we can discuss this matter.”

Cal Kuelus sniffed indignantly at the students as he self righteously allowed himself to be guided into the principal’s office.

As Cal Kuelus entered the principal’s office, Reid Enright paused. “Please have a seat,” he told the distraught man. “I need to give my secretary instructions.”

Cal Kuelus nodded and took a seat. Reid Enright quietly gave Sue Flay, his secretary, a brief explanation that he thought Cal Kuelus had committed a major breach of school protocol and that Ms. Meddlar had the students in the cafeteria. He instructed Sue Flay to call for a policeman and to contact the district superintendent. Then he took a deep breath and headed into his office.

Ms. Meddlar led the students into the empty cafeteria. Most were scared but took solace in the fact that Eddie was still calm. Once they were seated she asked what had happened.

“My dad feared something might happen,” Eddie, the obvious spokesman declared. “As a precaution, he asked Evie Dense, the PI that taped Coach Strapped, to give me a hidden video recorder. I turned it on as soon as I realized Mr. Kuelus had a major issue with Lexi. I think I have almost everything recorded.” With that he opened the fake book and removed the video recorder.

The students gasped. Lexi shivered and sniffled with relief as she realized there was undeniable proof of what had happened. Ima Meddlar watched the recording and shivered. Cal Kuelus had cut his own throat.

“I’d like to go to the office to call my dad,” Eddie declared. “He’ll see that duplicates of the recording are made and contact Lexi’s parents and Dr. Lee.”

“All right,” Ima Meddlar agreed. “Go make your call and let Principal Enright see the video.”

“Thank you,” Eddie said as he headed to the office. As he left, he smiled and winked at Lexi who beamed her appreciation.

“I’m proud of all of you,” Ima Medlar said as she turned to the still apprehensive students. “While I can’t guarantee there will be no repercussions of what happened, I honestly don’t see that any student did anything wrong. Please relax, talk if you’d like but keep it low.” With that she turned to Lexi.

When Eddie reached the office, he explained to Eva Lution, a general office secretary, that Ima Meddlar had given him permission to call his father. He also explained that he had a video the principal had to see. As Eddie made his call, Eva Lution spoke to Sue Flay. Sue knocked on the principal’s door. After a whispered conversation, Reid Enright excused himself leaving the self-righteous Cal Kuelus to savor his delusional moment of triumph.

Lyle Bull shook his head as he hung up the phone. Briefly he told Faye what happened and asked her to call the Kahns to tell them Lexi was okay and asking them to head out to the school. She was then to call Dr. Norma Lee and let her know that Lexi was quite upset. As he headed out to the school, he called Evie Dense and asked her to bring her video duplicating equipment to the school.

Just as Reid Enright emerged from his office the Sargent Marshal Law, acting head of the Hickstown police and Hickstown School District Superintendent Dr. Dil Pickles arrived. Eddie explained his dad was on the way and would duplicate the recording as he reset the video to allow all three to watch the damning video. The faces of the three men clearly showed they were angry.

Lyle Bull arrived in time to see the end of the recording where Cal Kuelus was ranting and raving in the halls as he followed the class to the office. The fiasco centered around Coach Strapp and it's aftermath had left all four men acquainted and respecting each other.

"Evie Dense will be here shortly to make duplicates of the recording," Lyle Bull explained. "Lexi's parents should be on their way as well as Dr. Lee."

"In my opinion Mr Kuelus is a religious fanatic," Reid Enright said. "He's always been a strict teacher and has been quick to place students on detention but until today he was a good teacher. Unfortunately, he feels he was fully justified in what he did in the class. However what happened today is unacceptable. I'm recommending he be suspended pending termination."

Superintendent Dil Pickles nodded his agreement.

"That should absolve the school of any liability," Lyle said. "Of course we'll expect you to review your zero tolerance policy with all teachers and staff.

"Based on what I saw I'm going to take Mr. Kuelus into custody for child abuse," Sargent Marshal Law said. "I'll take him down to the office and it'll take about an hour for me to process him before I take him for arraignment. I'll need a copy of the recording for that."

"I'll have Evie Dense drop one off with you when she leaves here," Lyle Bull said. "I'll also have her give copies to Assistant DA Laura Norder, head of the County Children and Youth Services Wanda Kidd, and Family Court Judge Hardaz. Based on previous conversations I'm pretty sure the Kahns will want to file civil sexual harassment and discrimination charges against Mr. Kuelus. They won't be going for punitive damages, just costs and a public apology. The main goal is to put the public on notice that there will be no toleration of sexual harassment and discrimination."

Evie Dense arrived at that point. Reid Enright showed her to the conference room. After setting up her duplicating equipment in the office conference room, Eddie gave her the recording.

"Eddie, I think it will be best if you're not here when I escort Mr. Kuelus out," Sargent Marshal Law said.

"The bell will ring in a few minutes," Reid Enright said. "Eddie, please go back to the cafeteria and tell Ms Meddlar your classmates should go to their next class. You can let them know they are not in any kind of trouble and that I'm proud of their conduct. I'll speak to the entire class tomorrow. I'd like you, Lexi, and Ms Meddlar to wait in the cafeteria until the halls clear, then come to the office conference room. Mr Bull, I'd appreciate if you could stay in the conference room until Mr. Kuelus is gone."

Lyle Bull nodded his agreement as Eddie headed back to the cafeteria. Reid Enright, Superintendent Dr. Dil Pickles, and Sargent Marshal Law headed into to arrest Cal Kuelus.

Cal Kuelus was stunned as he was informed he was being placed under arrest and read his Miranda rights. "But I did nothing wrong," he gasped in disbelief.

"Mr. Kuelus, you are hereby suspended from your teaching position pending a hearing for discharge," Superintendent Dr. Dil Pickles declared. "We'll contact your union rep today and review your case. I suggest the less you say the better off you'll be."

Cal Kuelus was mortified and confused as his entire world was crashing down around him.

"If you promise to cooperate and come along quietly, I won't handcuff you," Sargent Marshal Law said. "It won't be quite as embarrassing for you if we're in the hall when the classes change."

All Cal Kuelus could do was nod his head.

Sargent Marshal Law gripped Cal Kuelus' arm and led him from the office. They were almost out the school door when the bell rang. A number of the students crowding the halls saw them leaving.

Eddie's classmates were relieved to learn they'd been absolved of any wrong doing and pleased that the principal complimented them on their behavior. They were surprised that Cal Kuelus was not only suspended but arrested. When the bell rang they headed into the halls to spread the news.

Lexi was so relieved she began to cry. Eddie sat by her and put his arm about her shoulder. When she snuggled into him and pushed her face into his shoulder Liv, Skye, and Faith knew she was in good hands and left with their classmates. Tad shot Eddie a thumbs up as he left. Under normal circumstances, Ima Meddlar would have stopped the hug, but this was not normal.

After the halls cleared, Ima Meddlar led Eddie and Lexi to the office. They both had their arm about each other's waist. As they entered the conference room, Lexi released Eddie and scurried to her parents as the tears once more began to flow. Superintendent Dr. Dil Pickles, Reid Enright, and Lyle Bull were also in the room. Al Fresco, the teacher who served as Union Shop Steward was also present having been summoned to the office just before class change. Dr. Norma Lee also arrived in time to join the screening. Evie had the recording set up to play on the 30 inch TV in the conference room. She showed them how she set up the hidden camera at Lyle's request before running the recording.

Although she watched the recording, Lexi whimpered and cowered against her mother while her dad rubbed her back as the recording played through. No one objected when Eddie stood and moved behind her to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. Dr. Lee observed the interplayed with interest.

After the recording finished, Evie left to make her rounds delivering the copies of the video.

"I want to apologize to everyone, especially to you, Lexi, for what happened," Superintendent Dr. Dil Pickles said. "To be honest, we never thought we'd have an issue with someone from the staff. We thought we'd prepared all the teachers and staff, but obviously Mr. Kuelus didn't understand." Then he looked at Al Fresco. "I have suspended Mr. Kuelus with intent to discharge. In the unlikely event we fail to discharge him, I can tell you now he'll only be back in this building one time, and that will be after school hours, escorted, to pick up his personal effects. Mr Kuelus has been arrested and is being processed prior to his arraignment. Of course the school district will fully cooperate with any investigations."

"Thank you, Dr. Pickles," Lyle Bull said. "I'm sure we'll have no issues in regards to your cooperation. Mr. Fresco, what can we expect from the teacher's union?"

"The evidence speaks for itself," Al Fresco sighed. "My personal opinion is that in order to preserve our integrity, we have yield to the termination. Still, it's the union’s responsibility to see we do what we can for our members. I hope that if I can convince Mr. Kuelus to promptly resign and apply for early retirement, the district will not interfere with his application if we allow the charges to stay on his record."

"If the Kahns have no objections, I think our solicitor will okay such a deal," Dr. Dil Pickles said.

Lyle looked to the Kahns for approval to reply. After getting curt nods he did so. "Based on our precautionary discussions, there is no desire for punitive damages. The only thing we'd ask as far as any settlement between the school and union is that Mr. Kuelus turn in his teacher's license. We do intend to sue him for sexual harassment and abuse to the extent of a formal public admission of guilt and apology, with the only monetary request being the costs incurred in prosecution. If he agrees to plead guilty and accepts our demands, I see no reason to go to trial. Our main goal is to let people know intolerance will not be allowed."

"I'd like a copy of the recording," Al Fresco said. "I'll get the Union's lawyer to review it before we sit down with Mr. Kuelus. If the attorney agrees, I'd like to have him call you for details of what you want out of the civil suit. If Mr. Kuelus agrees, we may be able to settle this without need for filing a suit."

"We'll agree to no trial as long as Mr. Kuelus signs documents admitting his guilt to be filed with the county," Lyle agreed as he gave his business card to Al Fresco. "Who is the Union Solicitor?"

"Lee Galade," replied Al Fresco.

"We've worked together," Lyle Bull said with a smile. "He's a good lawyer and knows I don't pull any punches. I look forward to hearing from him."

Everyone nodded hoping for a easy resolution to the problem.

Eddie looked at the adults and took a deep breath. "May I say something?"

When he saw no one object he began. "Principal Enright, I think you need to make an announcement to let everyone know what's going on. A lot of teachers saw Mr. Kuelus yelling at us and a lot more students heard him. I'm sure the kids from the class have been talking and other kids probably saw Mr. Kuelus being taken away by Sargent Law. Otherwise the rumors will go wild. I also suggest we bring Def here before the announcement. He's probably boiling already from the rumors he's heard."

"You're right, Eddie, thank you," Superintendent Dr. Dil Pickles said. "I want to compliment you on maintaining your cool during this unpleasant episode. The recording leaves no doubt what happened."

While he spoke Reid Enright wrote a note. "Eddie, I think you'll be the best person to get Def. You can assure him Lexi is safe while you return here. I'll have something prepared to announce by the time you return. Do you know where he is this period?"

Eddie nodded and took the note. Before he left he kissed Lexi on top of her head which lit up her face.

"I'd like to spend a few moments alone with Lexi," Dr. Norma Lee announced as she smiled at Lexi.

"Of course," Ima Meddlar replied. "I'll show you to my office."

Dr. Lee took Lexi's hand and together they followed Ima Meddlar to her office. Ima returned a few moments later.

Eddie peeked through the window before knocking on the door of Def's class. Def was easy to spot as he appeared visibly upset.

As soon as Def heard the knock he looked at the door. When the teacher opened the door and Def saw Eddie, he sprang from his seat. "Is Lexi all right?"

Eddie promptly handed the unfolded note to the teacher before he replied. "Yeah, she's in the office with your parents. Get your things, I'm supposed to calm you down before we get there."

The teacher relaxed. She'd heard something had happened involving Lexi and wasn't sure how long she could restrain Def as he became increasingly restless as time passed. "Def, gather your things, then you may go."

Def wasted no time in grabbing his books and bounding for the door.

"Walk, Def, walk," the teacher admonished. "He said Lexi is all right."

Def took a deep breath and nodded, then pushed Eddie through the door. As they walked to the office Eddie gave a brief rundown of the events. Def was clearly ready to strangle Cal Kuelus. When they reached the conference room he frantically looked for Lexi.

"Lexi is okay," Bea told her agitated son. "She's in another office talking with Dr. Lee."

"Everything is under control," Ike added. "Mr. Kuelus has been arrested and taken away."

Def clearly deflated and sagged into a seat. "Can I see the recording?"

"Only if you promise to settle down," Bea answered.

Def nodded, then they replayed the recording. Def grew furious as he watched, but by the end had regained control. "Thank you, Eddie," Def said as he looked at his friend. "I don't think I'd have been able to do what you did. I'd have jumped that creep."

"Don't feel bad," Eddie smiled then grew serious. "If I hadn't had the camera, I don't think I'd have been able to do it either. I knew I had to keep my cool to get the evidence. But if that creep had physically assaulted Lexi, he'd probably be dead by now."

None of the adults doubted Eddie's words. They knew Def would have done the same.

"Ms Meddlar, can you please let Dr. Lee know I'm about to make the announcement," Reid Enright said. "I don't want to upset Lexi."

A few moments later, principal Enright fired up the PA system. "May I have your attention please," he began. "I reminded everyone in this morning's announcements that we have a zero tolerance level for harassment and abuse. I also explained why Lexi Kahn is now attending Hickstown Junior High. I'm sorry to say we had a severe incident in one of our classes. No one was physically injured but hateful words were repeatedly used by a teacher. I must compliment the entire class on their behavior in the incident and their willingness to support Lexi by going against the teacher's authority. I never imagined circumstances would arise where I could praise a class for openly rebelling against a teacher. But sadly, that did occur today. Please do not take this as approval for similar acts because the school will not tolerate such actions. It is only the special circumstances that occurred today that allow me to overlook what the class did."

"The final consequences of today's incident have yet to be decided," Reid Enright continued. "The teacher at fault, Mr. Kuelus, has been escorted from the school by the police and is being processed for arraignment on criminal charges. Lexi and her family are in the office with their lawyer as they're discussing the incident with myself and other district officials. As far as the staff and students of this school are concerned, the incident is being handled according to School District Policies, the Contract stipulations with the Teacher's Union, the police, and the District Attorney's office. I hope this settles any rumors that have been spreading. Thank you for your attention. Good day."

Of course the rumors didn't stop but they did gain a semblance of the truth. Everyone knew it would be fruitless to attempt to accomplish anything during the remainder of the day.

After the last class change, Bea took Lexi, Def, and Eddie home while Ike followed. Dr. Lee was satisfied that Lexi would recover and headed back to her office with the assurance that if Lexi had any issues, she'd be promptly called. Lyle headed back to his office to begin the paperwork.

*****

Because of the turmoil, none of the Scoobies made it to their dance/martial arts lessons that day.

*****

Attorney Lee Galade was left speechless by the recording after he watched it with Al Fresco. "If the district will let him resign and apply for retirement, he'd better go for it. The same goes for the offer from the girls' parents. Lyle Bull is an honest lawyer, but I can tell you with this evidence, he would have no problem getting every thing Mr. Kuelus has.

After Assistant DA Laura Norder saw the recording she called Judge Hardaz. Judge Hardaz had just viewed the recording and was quite amendable to having Sargent Marshal Law bring Me. Kuelus into the court house for arraignment before her.

Laura Norder called Sargent Marshal Law, then called Lyle Bull. Lyle in turn called Lee Galade, Ike Kahn and Reid Enright. Lee Galade called Al Fresco and Reid Enright called Dr. Dil Pickles. Dr. Dil Pickles contacted the district solicitor, Grant Juree who made it to the hearing. Judge Hardaz pulled some strings to get the courthouse to stay open past the normal closing time. It was 7pm until they all gathered in the courtroom.

By this time Cal Kuelus began to realize that although he felt fully justified in his actions, maybe he had crossed the line. Like many self-righteous religious people, he couldn't quite comprehend what he'd done wrong. The last to arrive, Sargent Marshal Law led him into the courtroom. When he saw Dr. Dil Pickles, Grant Juree and Lee Galade there, he knew he was in deep doo-doo.

"If it please the court, we'd like to ask the court for a bit of informality in the initial proceedings," Laura Norder began. "If Mr Kuelus is amendable, we may be able to settle this horrendous issue tonight."

Cal Kuelus began to shake. He knew full well initial arraignments never took place before a judge.

"The sooner this is settled, the better," Judge Hardaz replied as she set her steely gaze upon the errant teacher.

"We thought there might be issues with Lexi returning to school," Lyle began. "So I made arrangements for my son to carry a hidden video recorder to tape anything that might happen. Naturally, we never expected to have problems with a teacher. Since Mr. Kuelus has not seen the recording, I think we all need to watch the video."

A bailiff pushed in a cart with large screen TV. Everyone took a seat where they could clearly see the screen.

Cal Kuelus was clearly stunned by what he saw. The longer the video ran the more he sank into his chair as tears of humiliation slipped from his eyes. As soon as the screening ended he stood and spoke in a shaky voice. "I don't know what to say. Apologizing is not nearly enough but it’s all I can do right now. I’m truly sorry.”

“Mr. Kuelus,” Laura Norder spoke. “I’ll admit your apology seems sincere, but you are correct, it’s not nearly enough. I feel you understand you lost control and acted out of character. Unfortunately, I also believe you feel greatly offended that you had to face a transgendered student. We need to know how you feel about the issue of transgenderism.”

“My religion teaches me such a thing is blasphemous,” Cal Kuelus contritely admitted. “I’m too old to instantly change my moral outrage. With time I may be able to tolerate it, but not now, and not soon. I’m man enough to admit that is how I feel. Still, it does not excuse my actions. What I did was absolutely inappropriate. At the very least I should have excused myself from that class. I accept full responsibility for my actions, and will not fight my suspension or termination. Nor will I contest any legal charges or lawsuits.”

“Mr. Kuelas, as legal counsel for your Union I must ask you to reconsider what you’ve just said,” Lee Galade said.

“I appreciate your counsel, Mr Galade, but just as my morality forced me to do what I did in that class, it also forces me to take responsibility for my actions,” Cal Kuelus declared. “I have no choice but to plead guilty.”

“Mr Kuelus,” Judge Hardaz began. “I must ask if you understand the consequences of what you’ve said?”

“Yes, your honor, I do,” Cal Kuelus replied. “I only hope my unblemished past will be taken into account in applying punishment.”

Ike leaned over to whisper to Lyle. Then Lyle stood. “If the court pleases. Ike Kahn and I both had Mr. Kuelus as a teacher. We liked and respected him then and were totally shocked by what occurred today. While we strongly disagree with his religious feelings about transgenderism, we will not ask him to violate his beliefs. In lieu of filing a civil suit, we ask that Mr. Kuelus publicly apologize for his actions against Lexi and Eddie.”

Judge Hardaz nodded. “Mr. Kuelus?”

“I appreciate your offer and would like to accept,” Cal Kuelus answered with humility. “Even though I am in no position to add conditions, I feel I must. I can and will publicly apologize for my inappropriate actions but I can not apologize for my beliefs. However I can and will keep those beliefs private. I also ask that I be allowed to apologize without the children being present as I fear my self control might once again fail and I may do or say something that will aggravate this mess I caused. I will write a personal note of apology to Lexi and Eddie.”

Ike and Lyle exchanged glances then nodded agreement. “We can accept that,” Lyle declared.

Dr. Dil Pickles stood. “If I may address the issue?”

After Judge Hardaz nodded Dr. Dil Pickles turned to Cal Kuelus. “The district has suspended you pending discharge. As long as you honor your agreement to publicly apologize, we’ll allow you to promptly formally resign and turn in your teacher’s license. The charges will remain on your permanent record, but we will pursue it no further which will allow you to apply for the state teacher’s retirement program. We do this because of your past record and your open acceptance of responsibility for what you did today.”

“Thank you,” Cal Kuelus said. “I’ll draft my resignation tomorrow.”

Laura Norder stood. “Mr Kuelus, I’ll request two years of imprisonment on charges of child abuse. However, I’ll also recommend leniency, asking for ten years of probation with the understanding that if you come before the court again, the sentence will be carried out.”

“Thank you, I accept,” Cal Kuelus gratefully responded.

“You’re a very lucky man, Mr. Kuelus,” Judge Hardaz said. “I’ll accept your guilty plea on those charges and sentence you to the two years in prison commuted to ten years of probation. Further, I’ll schedule a press conference for Thursday at noon on the court house steps where you can make your public apology and publicly hand in your resignation and teacher’s license. You will refrain from making any comments or any correspondence that in any manner reflects negatively on this court, the school, or any students, including Lexi Kahn and Eddie Bull. You will also refrain from any negative comments or communications regarding transgender issues.”

"Thank you, your honor,” Cal Kuelus said. “I want to thank everyone for your leniency and will abide by all agreements I’ve accepted. Mr Kahn, Mr. Bull, I feel it would be unfair to have the children wait until Thursday. Please let your children know that my religious beliefs are unchanged, but that I acknowledge my actions were inexcusable, and for that I sincerely apologize.”

With that everyone headed home. Sargent Marshal Law drove Cal Kuelus back to the school where he picked up his own vehicle.

*****

The eventful day was not quite over. Cindy Caishun had planned to begin her documentary piece on the Scoobies the next day. Evie Dense had notified Cindy that a serious harassment incident had occurred at Hickstown Junior High. Gathering her team, Cindy Caishun rushed out to the school in time to film Sargent Marshal Law escort Cal Kuelus to the police cruiser. Unfortunately, she was unable to even try to speak to them and she was denied entrance to the school. Still, she set up outside the school and waited. Her interviews with the departing students made interesting news. The school provided a simple statement closely mirroring the announcement Reid Enright had made to the school. She made the end of the Six O'clock News.

Cindy Caishun was outside the courthouse as everyone left after the proceedings. The only caveat she received was to be told by Judge Hardaz a press conference would be held Thursday at noon. Deciding to postpone her planned piece on the Scoobies until after the press conference, Cindy Caishun spoke to Lyle Bull as he left and asked him to let the Scoobies know of the delay. When she contacted Evie Dense, she was told that the nature of the case and her involvement would not allow her to provide further information.

*****

Faye Bull and Gabi Bull were shocked when Eddie told them what happened and showed them a copy of the video. Gabi was particularly upset because she understood she could face the same bigotry. When Lyle arrived home he gave a brief summary of what happened in the courtroom. Gabi went to bed deep in thought about what the future would hold. She felt compelled to come up with something to help people understand that being transgendered was not a choice.

*****

The older Scoobies returned to school on Wednesday as a group. Lexi was quite apprehensive but felt safe with Eddie and Def by her side. Along with Izzy and Tad, the entire front line of the Junior High Football Squad with them was more than imposing.

As they made their way through the halls, the other students looked at Lexi and her entourage. Someone started to clap. Quickly others joined in until the halls echoed with applause as the student body welcomed Lexi. Lexi smiled and meekly nodded and waved. The day proceeded smoothly. Better than 95 percent of the students openly greeted Lexi. A few students still wanted nothing to do with Lexi, but they didn't do anything other than ignore her. Eddie was acknowledged as a hero, but he modestly demurred all praise. The best thing was that there was no flak about Eddie and Lexi as boyfriend and girlfriend.

In homeroom, Jack Goff stood before the class and apologized for what he’d said. “What I did yesterday was wrong. I apologize to Lexi and everyone else for my ignorance. I’ve seen the error of my ways and ask for forgiveness.”

No one doubted the sincerity of his apology even though it was quite out of character for the bully. Many wondered what Eddie and Tad had done to him after they left the room to make such a drastic change in Jack’s outlook.

*****

The courthouse steps were crowded with news media. At Judge Hardaz' request, in order to avoid a circus atmosphere, Cindy Caishun had been designated as media inquisitor. All questions had to be funneled through her.

Judge Hardaz took the podium promptly at noon. "As you know there was an incident at Hickstown Junior/Senior High School on Tuesday. The School District Administration had done all it reasonably could to preempt any potential trouble and took prompt and decisive action when the incident occurred. I feel the Hickstown School District has made significant and successful strides in addressing the issues it faced in November and all parties involved in this incident are more than satisfied with the actions taken."

"That being said," Judge Hardaz continued. "This incident centered on the same student as the November incident. Since the name of the student is known by everyone at the school, the family has given permission to reveal the student's name, hoping by putting a face on this incident will help prevent others from suffering. To keep the child free from media harassment, the family has asked for and I have granted a protection from abuse order forbidding the media from approaching the student closer than 500 feet. Any violators of this order will be brought before me and I can promise you, you will not like what I do. This does not mean there is a media shut out. The family had previously agreed to a series of interviews with Cindy Caishun to follow up on the November incident. Those interviews were to have started yesterday, but in light of what happened have been postponed until a later date when things have settled down."

"The student involved is Miss Lexi Kahn," Judge Hardaz explained. "As you recall, the November incident involved a boy. That boy was Alex Kahn. As you know it was the attempted suicide of Alex that led to the child abuse charges against the school and gym teacher. Subsequent psychological sessions revealed that Alex is transgendered, and his internal conflict was aggravated by the verbal abuse at school. The combination is what led Alex to the attempt to take his own life."

Judge Hardaz paused to let that bit of information be taken in before going on. "With the cooperation, support, and love of his family and friends, Alex was able to face and overcome his internal conflicts. With the full support of the courts and physicians, the school was notified that upon returning from the Holiday break, Lexi would be beginning her RLT, real life test. Legally, Lexi Kahn is recognized as a girl."

"Attorney Lyle Bull," Judge Hardaz had him stand to be recognized. "Has been representing the aggrieved student since the November incident and made precautionary arrangements to have a hidden camera carried by his son, who is a classmate, to record any incidents that might occur. Right now the children are in school but their parents are here. With the permission of the school, the victims, and the perpetrator, we will show you the clandestine video that was made. Copies will be made available."

All eyes turned to the projection screen. The video kept everyone transfixed.

"As you saw, the video clearly reveals what happened," Judge Hardaz stated. "I believe Mr. Kuelus is genuinely remorseful for his actions and has accepted full responsibility for his misdeeds. At the hearing we held Tuesday night, he refused legal counsel even though there was an available lawyer present. Today he will formally tender his written resignation as a teacher and will turn in his teacher's license. He has pleaded guilty to all legal charges, and in lieu of a civil lawsuit, has accepted the demands of the aggrieved. I hope everyone will allow Mr. Kuelus to speak."

Cal Kuelus slowly stood and made his way to the podium. He looked weary and worn but stood erect and looked directly at the crowd.. "Thank you Judge Hardaz. I am absolutely ashamed of my inexcusable actions. Never in my life have I done anything so disgusting. As I explained in court, my religious beliefs are fervently opposed to homosexuality and transgenderism. They deeply offend me. Those beliefs are so ingrained in my psyche I have so far been unable to overcome them. However, my beliefs in no way, shape or form excuses what I did. My actions are unforgivable and have destroyed my career and life. As Judge Hardaz said, I accept full responsibility for my misdeeds. I am here to humble myself, and to make an open public apology to... to..."

Cal Kuelus was sweating profusely and had turned white as he clearly struggled to speak. "I'm sorry, this is difficult for me. What I did made me face my faults. My religious beliefs allowed me to become an arrogant, judgmental person. I’m not condemning my beliefs, I’m condemning myself for failing to live my core beliefs. Now I must do what I've promised to do. I apologize without reservation for my inappropriate actions." Taking a deep breath he steeled himself. "I want to make an open public apology to Lexi Kahn and her friend Eddie Bull." Tears trickled down his cheeks. "Saying that was the hardest thing I've ever done." Cal Kuelus hung his head for a few moments before looking back up. "I apologize to the Kahn and Bull families. I also need to apologize to the students, staff, and administrators of the Hickstown School District. I betrayed their trust and my duty, and am deeply sorry. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to confess my transgressions and apologize."

Cal Kuelus turned away and resumed his seat, clearly a beaten and shaken man.

Judge Hardaz approached the podium. "As you can see, Mr. Kuelus is sincere in his apologies. Now that he has completed his public admission of guilt and apology, I'll pronounce his sentence. Mr. Kuelus, please rise. Sir, you have admitted your guilt to all charges. I hereby sentence you to two years in prison and fine you $100,000.00. That sentence is commuted to ten years of probation with the following stipulations. 1. You are not to speak out against or otherwise communicate your religious objections to homosexuality and transgenderism. 2. You are not to in any way sanction or cooperate with any individual, group, or organization that seeks to use you to denounce or protest homosexuality or transgenderism. 3. You will not recant in any manner your admission of guilt. Violation of any of these stipulations will automatically revoke your probation, requiring you to serve the two years in prison and pay the fine. Do you understand and accept this punishment?"

Cal Kuelus stood tall and answered in a clear voice. "Yes your honor. I understand and accept the punishment. I want to thank you and everyone involved for the leniency I've been shown and will do everything in my power to lead an exemplar life."

"Now I turn to the news media," Judge Hardaz spoke. "You have heard that one of the stipulations on Mr. Kuelus' probation is that he does not speak out against homosexuality or transgenderism. To this end he has asked me to tell you he will grant no interviews nor answer any questions on this matter as he might accidentally say something that could cause the revocation of his probation."

At that point Judge Hardaz and all on the podium except Cal Kuelus took questions from Cindy Caishun.

After school left out, in an attempt to restore some normality to their lives, the Scoobies all went to the Metamorphosis School of the Arts. Vance Barr and Wally Wacker welcomed the visitors. By the end of the lessons, they were all enrolled.

Chapter 12
GSA Scoobies & Football

Things had settled down at the junior high and Lexi Kahn was easily slipping into the life of a tween girl. Lexi and Eddie Bull were virtually inseparable at school and no one objected to their relationship. The only accommodations made for her was that she used the individual handicap restrooms and changed and showered for phys-ed in the locker room used by the girl's sports teams which were normally only used by the teams during practice and games. Virtually no one in the school district objected when it was learned Cal Kuelus was being allowed to apply for the State Public School Employees Retirement Program. In his 35 years of teaching he had been respected, and most felt his one failure, although horrendous, shouldn't keep him from what he'd otherwise earned, especially since he did the honorable thing by resigning, pleading guilty and apologizing.

Gabi kept Buffy, Rocky, and Freddy informed about the ins and outs of what was happening with Lexi. Knowing that Lexi was swamped with the changes and challenges in her life, they decided not to call her. Gabi relayed their support and encouragement to Eddie who passed it on to Lexi and the older Scoobies. In this back and forth communication they decided to gather at the Dog House just after lunch on Saturday.

Bea Kahn drove Lexi and Def, picking Gabi and Eddie up along the way. Virginia Beech drove Rocky, picking Skye, Buffy, and Tad up along the way. Brenda Bangs drove Freddy, picking Faith, Izzy and Liv up along the way. The mothers exchanged greetings with Moms and Pops before heading on their ways.

Lexi was quite happy with her new life and it was clear that so was Eddie. As before, the Scoobies grouped as couples, Rocky with Skye, Tad with Gabi, Def with Faith, and Izzy with Liv. They firmed up their plans for A Scoobie’s Valentine. When the conversation turned to possible fund raisers and just plain earning money, Liv looked at Lexi and smiled.

"My family hires school kids to help on the farm," Liv said. "They've never hired anyone as young as us, but the older kids they've had the last two years were not good workers. We'll need help soon to start planting the veggies in the greenhouse. You'd have to get working papers, and wouldn't be working regular hours although a few would be working more than others. It's honest work, sometimes dirty and sweaty, but you'll never be overworked. I've been helping out since I was six and am able to do almost everything now. I guarantee it'll keep you in shape!"

"I'll say," Izzy commented as he smiled at Liv. Suddenly he realized he'd said it out and turned ten shades of red as did Liv who smiled and looked down at the floor.

Everyone laughed at the faux pas.

"I spent a bit of time with the cows at milking," Lexi said. "I wouldn't mind working on farm. Def, you and the guys should do it too, it'd help you stay in shape for football while you earn some cash."

"If Lexi's going to do it, so will I," Eddie smiled at his girlfriend.

"Me too," Izzy declared as he smiled at Liv.

"I'm game," Def smiled. "How about it, Faith?"

"Okay," she smiled.

Skye sighed. "I couldn't help much since I work in my dad's pharmacy but I might be able to help out at your real busy times."

Gabi smiled nervously unsure of herself. "Would they let me work?"

"I think so, just not as often or as many hours," Liv answered.

"Buffy, Freddy and I already help with the farming here," Rocky said. "But we might be able to help occasionally."

"Plus we help out at The Crateful Bread," Buffy added.

Gabi looked a bit guilty as she turned to Buffy. "Should I be helping you guys instead?"

"You don't have to help anyone," Buffy smiled. "The Crateful Bread buys most of what the Goode's produce. Actually, it might work out better if my family worked together with the Goode family on the farming. I mean, Pops is still in good shape but at his age he shouldn't be spending as much time as he does in the fields. We really helped him a lot last year or he wouldn't have kept up, but there is a lot we can't do yet. I know Pops likes to garden but I bet he'd like to share what he knows. If we work our fields with the Goode's fields, he could supervise us to make sure we're doing things right."

"That sounds good to me," Liv nodded. "All we have to do is get the grups to agree."

The rest of the afternoon was spent discussing how things were going at school for both Lexi and Gabi. Obviously, Gabi’s life was running smoothly while Lexi’s life had been like a wild roller coaster ride. Gabi had little to say as she listened to the details of life in the seventh grade.

Gabi’s silence morphed into sadness soon accentuated by a few tears. The rest of the Scoobies didn’t notice her descent into ruefulness. It was only when she sniffed that the others noticed.

Surprised and concerned by her friend’s tears, Buffy asked “Gabi, what’s wrong?”

Gabi shook her head. “When I came to school in a skirt after Operation Scoobies Treats, I was afraid that I’d face the rejection and issues like Lexi has.”

“You weren’t afraid,” Rocky protested. “You were brave! You didn’t even hesitate as you led us into the school.”

“I might have looked brave but I think I’d have wet myself if anyone had sniped at me,” Gabi sighed. “I was pumped up from Operation Scoobies Treats. I’d really gotten into my role as Abby and used her intelligence and determination to do the right thing to force my fears down. Heck, that’s while I still dress in my version of Abby’s Goth style. She’s an adult and sure of herself, and comfortable in her persona. By copying her she’s a shield to protect me. The real me is just a scared little girl.”

“You might have been a scared little girl that day,” Tad declared as he slipped a comforting arm about Gabi’s shoulders in a gentle hug. “But you’ve grown beyond that.”

That’s for sure, sis,” Eddie smiled. “ You’re not an Abby clone. You may have started out copying Abby, but you’ve incorporated her best features into your personality. You are Gabi.”

Gabi smiled at the open support, but there was still a hint of sadness in her grin. Everyone returned her smile and waited for her to continue as she was obviously collecting her thoughts.

"I thought I was the only person with Gender Dysphoria in the school," Gabi finally said. "Then I found Lexi and discovered there were two of us. Since the incident with Mr. Kuelus, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. First, I wonder if there are anymore students who are transgendered but might be afraid to come out or are there others like Alex who refuse to even admit they have an issue?"

"Yeah, I wonder about that too," Lexi agreed. "I was so miserable in my denial I hated myself and everyone else. I wasn't a nice person."

"We always got along," Eddie defended. "You weren't a bad person. You didn't go looking for trouble but you were a hot head and that got you into trouble."

Lexi stuck her tongue out at Eddie, but then giggled.

Faith smiled at their antics but grew serious. "Do you think maybe we should try to get a support group together?"

"Our shrink talked about a support group for the transgendered and their families," Gabi said. “My family and Lexi's have been getting together every two weeks and we pretty much work out any issues we have, so I guess we've become our own support group."

"We are," Lexi agreed to which Def and Eddie nodded their agreement.

“I’m also concerned about how people in general accept us,” Gabi added. "I've done a lot of on-line research and I think we might try to set up a GSA club for anyone who might be LGBTQ and their friends."

They all looked perplexed but it was Liv who asked, "What's that?"

"GSA means Gay-Straight Alliance and LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Questioning since they all face similar public issues and discrimination," Gabi explained. "A GSA club is not only for LGBTQ people, but their friends and supporters too."

"That sounds great," Lexi exclaimed. "We could help a lot more people."

"Yeah," Faith agreed. "I can think of two girls in our class who have been hiding that they're lesbians."

"I think there might be a couple of guys too," Def added. "A GSA club could help a lot of people."

"I think my dad might help as a sponsor," Rocky said. "The UCC Church has come out for full inclusion of LBGTQ people."

"My family might too," Buffy added. "They've always welcomed gays in The Crateful Bread."

"I bet the Metamorphosis School of the Arts would support us," Freddy suggested. "They employ homosexuals. What we need to do is go online and get more information."

"I already have a lot," Gabi said as she pulled a CD case from her purse. "I also have links to get detailed info on setting up a GSA club."

"Great, I can sort out and organize the info we'd need to start a GSA club," Freddy said.

"That sounds like a plan," Faith said. "I'll talk to Miss Meddlar to find out what we need to comply with school rules regarding starting a club. After what happened this week I don't think the school would dare to object."

"It would probably help if we all signed a petition of intent," Def said. "We need to get our parents to sign to show we have parental approval."

"I'll whip something up," Freddy said as he took a seat at the computer and slipped the CD into the reader.

"My grandparents and Moms and Pops would sign to," Buffy assured them.

"We can probably get some people from the Metamorphosis School of the Arts to sign on too," Gabi added. “Maybe they'd even offer to be one of the sponsors for the club. My dad will probably sponsor us too."

"I think The Crateful Bread would sponsor us," Buffy said.

"My dad's Pharmacy might too," Skye put in.

"Heck, I might get my mom's Styles With Bangs to sponsor us too," Freddy added.

"Maybe my family farm could do it," Liv suggested.

"Sounds like we better get rolling on this," Eddie said as the others nodded.

*****

The rest of the weekend flew by as the Scoobies pulled things together. The adults followed up on the youths' suggestions for the farm work. The Crateful Bread, The Hundred Acre Farm, and Green Acres Organic Farm, worked out an agreement to share the work load and the farm land, orchards, and green houses with The Crateful Bread having first choice of the crops. Sonny Summers would be available to help the Goods on heavy jobs, while the Scoobies, with parental permission, would be part time as needed workers.

The Scoobies also received parental permission and support to start a GSA club at school. The Crateful Bread, By Wright Pharmacy, The Metamorphosis School of the Arts, Green Acres Organic Farm, Styles with Bangs, and Lyle Bull Attorney at Law all agreed to be community sponsors of the proposed GSA club. Pastor Palmer Beech gave tentative approval for Trinity UCC Church to be a community sponsor pending approval by the Church Consistory.

Freddy organized the information on GSA clubs and even cobbled together a mission statement using posted samples of other clubs and e-mailed it to the rest of the Scoobies.

Mission Statement:
The Hickstown School District GSA brings together GLBTQ youth and straight allies to fight homophobia on campus and in the community. GSA brings students of different sexual and gender identities together to meet new people, hang out, eat food, and have fun. We will coordinate outings, dances, movie nights, and other activities. Through acceptance at all our activities we will reduce isolation and depression. We welcome all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and straight youth to come and talk about any issues concerning them. Listening is our strong point and members can bring up personal issues they are facing. By using one on one or group discussion, we hope to create a safe place to offer support, resources, and alternative outlets for emotion. By raising awareness of different sexual and gender identities, linking homophobia with other oppressions, and advocating for equal treatment for youth of all sexual orientations, our GSA will create a school environment free of homophobic sexual, verbal and physical harassment.

Lexi called Lorin Mythe, her history teacher, to explain about the Scoobies desire to form a GSA club. Lorin thought it was a wonderful idea and asked how she could help. Sunday evening Lexi, Def, Eddie and Gabi went to Lorin Mythe's home to show her their proposed mission statement and ask if she would be the teacher advisor for the GSA club.

Lorin Mythe was stunned by the depth of research the Scoobies had done. The fact they had already compiled a formal request petition to the school for the establishment of a GSA club, had their parents sign the petition, and they'd signed up community sponsors was quite impressive. Their proposed mission statement was superb. When they told her they'd only come up with the idea of starting a GSA club the previous day she was flabbergasted.

Lorin Mythe had heard about Gabi through her fellow teachers. She also knew that Gabi had discovered Lexi. Now that she’d met her in person and learned it was Gabi who had suggested the GSA, Lorin was really impressed and looked forward to having the original Scoobies in her classes next year.

"I'm flattered you've asked me to be your faculty advisor and I accept," Lorin Mythe told them. "With all the prep you've done and the backing you've secured, I don't think there will be any significant issues. I doubt anyone in the administration will object after what happened last week. The only issue that might occur is the inclusion of Elementary age students. This is no offense to you, Gabi, obviously you and your friends are more than mature enough, but I think some may object."

"My dad will convince them it's okay," Eddie assured Lorin. "He has already made sure Principal Jass from the elementary school accepted Gabi as transgendered and that was before the entire incident with Coach Strapp. With the involvement he had over that plus what he did this past week, he'll make mince-meat out of anyone that tries to keep Gabi and her friends out of the GSA Club."

Realizing Eddie wasn't bragging but simply stating the truth, Lorin Mythe smiled. It was young people like these that made teaching worthwhile. Lorin agreed to attend an after school organizational meeting of the GSA with Principal Reid Enright if the Scoobies could set it up.

*****

Monday morning Principal Reid Enright was not surprised to see Lexi Kahn, Def Kahn, Eddie Bull, Liv Goode, Skye Wright, Izzy Fuhl, Faith Fuhl and Tad Pohl enter the school office before school started although he did wonder why Lorin Mythe was with them. Realizing this was a formal visit, he asked them into the conference room.

When Lexi explained they were requesting permission to start a Gay-Straight Alliance Club and that Miss Mythe had agreed to be faculty advisor he felt nervous. When Def handed him the petition, he was surprised not only to see all the signatures of the interested students, but those of their parents as well. What truly amazed him was the list of community sponsors they had already enlisted. The fact that Lyle Bull, Attorney at Law was listed at the top of the sponsors list let him know this request was to be taken quite seriously.

"If it's possible, we'd like to get the GSA Club approved as soon as possible," Lexi added. "All the students who signed up will be able to meet with you after school, as will most of the parents."

"My dad has already contacted the school's solicitor and faxed him a copy of what we've given you," Eddie added. "We're not trying to jam anything through, but we want to pre-empt possible homophobic resistance."

"You are moving fast," Principal Enright replied. "I'll have your paperwork checked and will let you know by lunch if we can meet after school."

"Thank you, sir," Lexi smiled as the others nodded.

Principal Enright realized he was standing in the middle of the tracks as a speeding locomotive swept towards him. A bit overwhelmed, he looked at Lorin Mythe as the respectful students headed out to the halls.

"They called me yesterday and visited me last night," Lorin smiled. "They really have their act together. What they didn't tell you was that the idea for a GSA Club only came up at a meeting of the Scoobies on Saturday afternoon. They pulled all the paperwork together by last night. They are a determined and intelligent group and I'm delighted they asked me to be their faculty advisor."

"I realized they were a unique group after they pulled their class together last week when Mr. Kuelus lost it," Reid Enright said. "If they have everything in order, we can probably meet after school. They are one determined group of students."

*****

Reid Enright contacted Superintendent Pickles and told him of the petition for the GSA Club and the request for fast tracking approval. Dr. Dil Pickles cleared his schedule and headed to the junior/senior high school office. Together they reviewed the petition and found everything was in order. Every 'I' was dotted and every 't' was crossed. It was only when he looked at all the names and sponsors that Dil Pickles realized who was involved.

"I see Lyle Bull is involved with this," Dil Pickles sighed.

"His daughter, Gabi, was the first openly transgendered student in the district," Reid Enright said. "She's also the one who realized that Alex Kahn was transgendered when she visited the hospital as part of Operation Scoobies Treats."

"So she's one of the Scoobies," Dil Pickles nodded.

"All the students who signed the application are Scoobies," Reid Enright replied. "The others joined the original four over the holidays. They organized themselves to watch out for Lexi when she came to school. They came up with the idea for a GSA Club on Saturday and pulled this all together since then."

"I am morally opposed to a GSA Club," Dil Pickles sighed. "But I understand my professional responsibilities require me to make judgements on such matters by merit and adherence to rules and regulations."

"Their parents signed the petition as well as all the business sponsors," Reid continued. "We really have no choice but to grant approval to their petition. Lyle Bull isn't the only big gun they have. Werner Summers, president of the school board, is the great-grandfather of Buffy Summers. Werner and his wife Kathryn signed on as club sponsors as The Hundred Acre Farm. Werner's son is Arie, their daughter-in-law is Choo Choo, Buffy's paternal grandparents. Her maternal grandparents are Walt and Val. The girl's four grandparents own The Crateful Bread. Then there is By and Devine Wright, owners of By Wright Pharmacy and Skye Wright's parents. Brenda Bangs, Freddy Bangs mom, owns Styles with Bangs. Hertz and Bea Goode are Liv Goode's grandparents, who together with her parents, S. Mel and Alice Goode, own Green Acres Organic Farm. Then there is Lynne Swann, manager of The Metamorphosis School of the Arts where five of the Scoobies take lessons. We have the most progressive and influential businesses in Hickstown backing these kids."

"It looks as if we have to approve their petition," Dil Pickles said.

"Well, there is an issue we have to address," Reid Enright said. "The four original Scoobies are in Miss Peach's sixth grade class."

"Gabi Bull is one of them," Dil Pickles acknowledged. "That shows the issues the GSA Club will address is already in the Elementary School so we can't deny them membership. We'll insist that age can not be used to deny membership in this club. Parental permission should keep out children who are too young. We'll also have to insist that at least half the club's activities be age appropriate for all members. I doubt that will be an issue with these students but it may prove necessary at some future date. It's my understanding the four sixth graders are excellent students so we can get them excused to come over here at the end of the day for meetings. I doubt Principal Jass will be happy about that but he'll just have to deal with it. We'll also have to make arrangements for the younger members to be escorted from the elementary school to here, but it's only a hundred yards so that shouldn't be a major issue. We'll also have to remind all clubs their members must maintain passing grades to participate."

"Well, we can't stop them but we can't let them bulldoze us," Dil Pickles summed up. "If they want an after school meeting, they'll have to schedule it for later in the week. In order not to look like total hard asses, offer to meet them during the last period today." Dil Pickles was satisfied the school still had a modicum of control on what seemed to be a runaway train.

With that settled, Reid Enright headed to the cafeteria to tell Lexi and Eddie the administration had accepted their petition but in order to meet today it'd have to be done during the last period. Lexi and Eddie quickly finished their lunch then called the adults. At least one parent and one representative of the sponsors said they could make the earlier time. Lexi and Eddie let the principal know the meeting was on before heading off to class.

Reid Enright contacted Superintendent Dr. Dil Pickles to let him know the meeting during last period was a go. Then he contacted Principal Hugh Jass to let him know that Buffy, Freddy, Rocky and Gabi needed to come over to the Junior/Senior High for the last period meeting and that in the future they'd need to be released for GSA Club meetings. Needless to say, Hugh Jass was quite unhappy at the disruption of his routine. Fortunately he knew that since Gabi was involved, he'd have to fully cooperate.

Hugh Jass headed up to Miss Peach's sixth grade classroom to tell her to release the Scoobies for the GSA Club's organizational meeting. The Scoobies were delighted to get the news. Most of the kids in the room were obviously curious about why the Scoobies were getting out of class to go to the Junior/Senior High.

Miss Peach looked at Gabi. "Gabi, would you like to explain why you'll be going to the Junior/Senior High?"

"Sure," Gabi answered as she stood. "We're organizing a new club that will be open to elementary students. The club is a GSA club. That stands for Gay-Straight Alliance. It's where kids with gender issues and their friends can get together to discuss issues, do projects, educate society about issues, and have fun. One of the terms used with GSA is LGBTQ, that stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning. A lesbian is a girl who is sexually attracted to other girls. A gay is a boy who is sexually attracted to other boys. A bisexual is a person who is sexually attracted to girls and boys. Transgender is a person who's physical gender does not match up with their mental gender. I'm transgender. I have a boy's body but a girl's mind. Questioning is a person who is not sure of their sexual orientation."

"The reason we're starting the club is to help students who may be afraid to reveal their orientation because they're afraid of what other's might think or do," Gabi continued. "You all heard what happened to Lexi Kahn last week at the Junior/Senior High. Lexi is transgendered like me. We got together with our friends to form this club so that anyone who has gender issues will have fellow students to support them."

"There are twelve of us starting the club," Gabi added. "Lexi and I are the only ones with personal gender issues. Two of the guys are our older brothers. The other eight are friends who support us. The number of straight members outnumbers the LGBTQ members. Anyone who wants to make a difference in helping LGBTQ students be accepted will be welcomed to join."

"So they're letting you four go to the Junior/Senior High for this club during school time," Jenny Talia said. "Can any of us join?"

"The way we applied for the GSA Club should allow any student to join," Gabi answered. "I assume you have to have passing grades and good conduct, especially for us younger kids, to go up to the Junior/Senior High. You also have to have your parents sign a permission slip allowing you to join the GSA Club. This is not just something to get out of class. Members will have to participate in discussions and events."

"You'll all be eligible to join clubs next year when you're in the Junior/Senior High School," Miss Peach said. "Students are encouraged to join clubs that interest them but you don't have to join any. This is the first time a club has been opened to elementary students and you have the Scoobies to thank for that. I'm sure once they get the club up and running, they'll put out information to encourage new members to join. As Gabi mentioned, your grades have to satisfactory and your behavior acceptable before you'll even be considered for membership."

When it was time for them to leave, Miss Peach nodded to the four Scoobies who quietly gathered their things and headed out of the classroom. At the office they signed out, and Bea Kahn, one of the secretaries, led them to the side door of the school and accompanied the Scoobies as they walked across the pavement running through the cold windswept lawn separating the Elementary School from the Junior/Senior High School. Reid Enright waited by the door to let the chilled fivesome inside, then led them to the cafeteria where the meeting was to be held.

Bea Kahn was the parental rep for Lexi Kahn and Def Kahn. Alice Goode was the parental rep for Liv Goode as well as the sponsor rep for Green Acres Organic Farm. Werner Summers was there as the sponsor rep of The Hundred Acre farm. Autumn Winters Summers was there as parental rep for Buffy Summers and sponsor The Crateful Bread. Cyn Fuhl was there as the parental rep of Faith Fuhl and Izzy Fuhl as well as sponsor Farmers Bank of Hickstown which just that morning approved being a sponsor. Pastor Beech was there as parental rep for Rocky Beech and sponsor rep for Trinity UCC. Brenda Bangs was there as parental rep for Freddy Bangs and sponsor rep for Styles With Bangs. Mae Pohl was there as parental sponsor of Tad Pohl. Lyle Bull was there as parental rep for Gabi Bull and Eddie Bull and sponsor rep for Lyle Bull, Attorney at Law. By Wright was there as parental rep for Skye Wright and sponsor rep for By Right Pharmacy. Dr. Dil Pickles, Reid Enright, Ima Meddlar, and Lorin Mythe were administration reps. Twenty six people in all were there to participate in the meeting. Two other people were there. Cindy Caishun and her camera man would observe and record the meeting and follow the GSA Club as part of the planned documentary on Gabi and Lexi.

Dr. Dil Pickles began the meeting by reviewing the rules and regulations for clubs and by saying that the application and petitions for the GSA Club met all the requirements. Then he re-emphasized the open age policy for the club and grade average maintenance by the members.

"I feel the need to make a personal comment," Dr. Dil Pickles began. "I am morally opposed to this club but understand and accept my professional commitment to supporting the GSA Club. Fortunately, I won't have much contact with the GSA. Principal Reid Enright is fully supportive of the club as is Miss Lorin Mythe. I'll bow to their leadership abilities in this matter. The reason I'm even bringing this up is that if at some time, you feel I'm being uncooperative or obstinate in regards to GSA activities, I'd like you to speak to me before taking any formal or legal action. As I said, I'm morally opposed to the concept but professionally supportive. While I'll endeavor to do my best, at some point my personal feelings may bleed into my professional activities. I feel it will be best for everyone if we handle that quietly and informally. This school has been through more than enough scandals this year and I certainly do not want to create another."

"We thank you for your honesty, Dr. Pickles," Lyle Bull replied. "As the logical legal representative for the GSA Club, I can assure you we will attempt to handle any discriminatory incidents on an informal basis before moving on to formal proceedings."

"I appreciate that, Mr. Bull," Dil Pickles replied. Then he looked at the group. "It is my hope you succeed in your efforts to support others with gender issues. Now, I'll leave you in the capable hands of Principal Enright."

As Dr. Dil Pickles gathered his things to leave, Lexi stood and began to applaud. The other Scoobies quickly joined in followed by the adults. Dil Pickles smiled and nodded before leaving the room.

The next order of business was to organize the Club. Officers would normally be elected in September of each year. Since they were just starting up interim officers were nominated and accepted by acclamation. Then the slate was unanimously voted into office. Def Kahn would be President, Eddie Bull would be Vice President, Faith Fuhl would be Treasurer, Lexi would be the Recording Secretary, and Gabi would be Elementary Coordinator. They were sure Miss Peach would serve as Elementary Faculty Advisor.

They decided to send letters to the homes of every student in the district explaining the GSA Club and informing parents students needed their parent's permission to join the club but that each student would be allowed to attend one club meeting without joining as an informative session. The letter also enclosed a permission form the parents could return to the school either allowing their child to attend or forbidding them to attend GSA meetings. The office would provide a mailing list and the sponsors agreed to foot the postage bill. The letters would go out Wednesday morning and on that same day they also decided to announce the formation of the GSA Club on the morning announcements with Lexi explaining why the club was being formed in the Junior/Senior High and Gabi doing so in the Elementary School. Freddy had already made up a number of single page advertisements that could be hung throughout the schools. Again it was decided to post them on Wednesday morning. The first meeting would be held in the cafeteria the following Monday and any interested students could attend to get more detailed information of the GSA Club's intentions.

*****

The rumor mill started from the Elementary School where Gabi had already revealed the GSA Club's formation to her class. By Wednesday morning, nearly everyone in Hickstown had heard the news so the fliers and announcements did not shock anyone. Only a handful of parents sent the permission slips back indicating they were forbidding their child to participate in GSA Club activities. Five times as many sent the permission slips back permitting their child to participate in GSA Club activities.

Miss Peach readily agreed to be the Elementary School faculty advisor for the GSA Club. Principal Hugh Jass was relieved as it meant Miss Peach had to take responsibility for making arrangements for the students to get to the Junior/Senior High for meetings and activities.

The Consistory of Trinity UCC voted to approve sponsorship of the GSA Club. On Sunday, Pastor Palmer Beech favorably addressed the issue during his sermon.

The message put out by the GSA Club pointedly indicated they were not advocating any sexual orientation but simply creating a safe environment in which a person could be themselves and where people with no sexual issues could be supportive of those who did. The goal was to educate people that sexual orientation was not a choice but fact and to foster public acceptance.

Cindy Caishun interviewed residents and students of the Hickstown School District starting Thursday to get their initial reaction to the GSA Club. Many were unsure how to react. The fact that the Scoobies were the organizers helped them accept the premise the GSA Club would be a support group. The fact they had the sponsorship support of so many important Hickstown businesses and the Trinity UCC also alleviated many concerns. Most people took a wait and see attitude, deciding to give the GSA Club a chance to prove itself. The few who were upset by the concept of a GSA Club freely voiced their opposition if asked, but none made a show of public outrage. They knew their neighbors well enough to understand their opinions would be respected but the majority ruled. Just as those opposed would not make a public spectacle of their opposition, the supporters would not attempt to force them to change their minds.

Cindy was amazed by the mutual respect and restraint the residents showed in regards to the issue. The community would give the actions of and new ideas espoused by the GSA Club a chance to bear fruit or wither on the vine. She would make sure the community's positive attitude of open respect and cooperation would be showcased in her documentary.

*****

In the afternoon of Saturday, January 14, the Scoobies gathered at the Dog House to finalize plans for Monday's initial GSA open meeting. As faculty advisors Miss Peach and Lorin Mythe attended the meeting. Both women were surprised to find the Dog House so large and well furnished. Moms and Pops greeted them when they arrived and thanked them for being the faculty advisors as they led them to the loft area leaving them with the kids. Neither woman had realized that Pops, who they knew was President of the School Board, was Buffy's great grandfather.

The meeting was open and friendly, the interplay between the Scoobies was a joy for the teachers to behold. The teachers quickly noted the Scoobies paired off and the couples interactions were affectionate without being in your face. The couples would hold hands, smile a bit more at their other half, and simply enjoy being together. It was a refreshing atmosphere where everyone freely accepted Gabi and Lexi as girls and Tad and Eddie were accepted as the girls' boyfriends.

Snacks and drinks for the meeting were planned. The Scoobies would prepare the treats at The Crateful Bread Sunday afternoon. One of the topics discussed was whether or not the Scoobies would remain separate or simply expand to include anyone that joins the GSA Club. They all knew they couldn't bring anymore kids into the Dog House and they didn't want to lose their comraderie.

"I think our activities have given the SCOOBIES positive name recognition in the community," Freddy Bangs finally said. "The GSA Club has a negative connotation for more conservative people. If we could have all the GSA Club members known as Scoobies, I think we'd have a better chance at complete community acceptance. At the same time, I'm hesitant about sharing our identity."

"How about if we start referring to ourselves as the SCOOBS and let the GSA Club members be SCOOBIES," Gabi suggested. "We could let the GSA Club Scoobies take over our Valentine Day plans as their first service project. We'd still be heavily involved but could keep the Dog House for our private use."

Skye Wright raised a point. "Could we roll the Scoobies website over to the GSA Club?"

"That shouldn't be a problem," Freddy Bangs said. "We'd just need to make sure the GSA Club members want to be Scoobies."

"We should come up with an acronym for SCOOBIES that would be appropriate for the GSA Club," Faith Fuhl suggested.

That set off a flurry of suggestions and it didn't take long to come up with appropriate words to make SCOOBIES a suitable acronym for the GSA Club.

Students
Collaborating
Openly
On
Bringing
Individuals
Emancipated
Sexuality

Everyone agreed that while it was a bit wordy it was quite appropriate.

*****

On Monday, January 16, five sixth graders in addition to the Scoobs signed up to go to the meeting. Miss Peach walked the nine youngsters to the Junior/Senior High. In the cafeteria they met with the older students. In addition to the eight older Scoobs there were ten seventh graders, twelve eighth graders, nine ninth graders, nine tenth graders, eight eleventh graders, and four twelfth graders for a total 69 students. All had to have the signed parental permission slips to attend the organizational meeting.

Def identified himself as interim President and called the meeting to order. First he introduced the Faculty advisors. It was clear the students were happy with the choices as most knew both women and many had been their students. Def then introduced the other interim officers, Eddie Bull as Vice President, Faith Fuhl as Treasurer, Lexi as Recording Secretary, and Gabi as Elementary Coordinator. Then he introduced the other founding members of the club. He also announced that as this meeting was to enlist members, nominations for officers would be held at the end of their second regular meeting with campaigning for two weeks before elections.

"I'm telling you this now so the older students won't feel weird about being in a club with officers as young as we are," Def finished. "This Club will be sensitive to the feelings of everyone, especially fellow members. Now, let me introduce Freddy Bangs. He was the one who pulled all the documentation needed to start this club in one weekend."

As the Scoobs handed out papers, Freddy began a brief explanation of how he researched the documentation. Then he did a quick review of the GSA Club statement of intent and rules as well as the school's rules for clubs.

The older students were amazed the sixth grader was so self-confident and knowledgeable.

The Scoobs then explained why they felt the need to form a GSA Club, stressing that members didn't have to have sexual identity issues but could merely be friends interested in learning more and helping gain public acceptance for those who had issues. They also stressed that no one had to reveal if they had issues or not. They also stated that putting a face on the issues helped as they pointed out Lexi and Gabi. Everyone knew what had happened with Lexi, but several were in the dark about Gabi. Many were amazed to learn Eddie’s weird little brother was now the perky quasi-Goth sixth grade girl who helped Lexi to discover her inner girl.

The Scoobs went on to explain they had formed the original Scoobies as a self help and to help others. Everyone was aware of the Scoobies and their positive reputation. The Scoobs then explained they had changed the name of their core group to the Scoobs to allow the GSA Club members to assume the name Scoobies. The new GSA Scoobies would assume the Scoobs' public service plans as a way of sharing their good will with everyone and fulfilling the GSA Club's goals. The Valentine Day plans were overwhelmingly accepted. Those attending also agreed the acronym the Scoobs had come up with for the new SCOOBIES in the GSA Club was quite appropriate: Students Collaborating Openly On Bringing Individuals Emancipated Sexuality.

The rest of the time was spent with the Scoobs and advisors answering questions. Gabi was the most sought after of the Scoobs and the giggly girl freely spoke of her transsexuality. Fifty two of the 57 interested students attending the meeting signed up as GSA Club members and became Scoobies on the spot, making the GSA Club the largest club in the school.

*****

The students and staff and residents of The Hickstown School District buzzed about the formation of the GSA Club. Signs were up announcing the GSA Scoobies were organizing a Valentines Day outreach for the hospitalized children, homeless, and retirement home residents. A few rednecks both inside and outside the school tried to voice their opposition to the GSA Club but were quickly shut down by peer pressure before their objections came anywhere nearing moving past comments to action.

Cindy Caishun began conducting individual interviews with the Scoob's and their families, trying to do one an evening in their homes. She also conducted several man on the street interviews each day to gauge public reaction to the GSA Club. The reactions of most of those interviewed were positive. Of the few who didn't agree, none were violently opposed.

*****

On Saturday January 21, the Scoobs all headed out to Green Acres Organic Farm arriving for the 5am milking. To say they were bright eyed and bushy tailed would be a lie. The Goodes had a good chuckle as the droopy eyed Scoobs stepped into the barn. Since it was winter, the cows spent the night in the barn. Needless to say the troughs behind the bovines were not clean. The manure and urine scented air in the barn very quickly opened the weary eyes of the unsuspecting Scoobs. Even Lexi reacted.

Now that they were awake, Def and Eddie followed gramps upstairs into the hayloft. Izzy, Rocky and Tad followed S. Mel Goode's instructions on how to properly handle a manure shovel as they began cleaning the troughs. Johnny B. Goode showed Freddy how to rinse the trough without splattering once the shoveling was completed. The girls went with Alice Goode and Liv to begin the actual milking.

By 6am the work was done. After cleaning themselves, they trooped into the house for a hearty breakfast of sausage, eggs, and pancakes. The work had spiked everyone's appetite and Grams had to hustle to keep up with the boys' but no one left the table hungry.

By 7am, the Scoobs were following the Goode's as they trudged to the greenhouses where pops joined them. The four adults each took three Scoobs and toured the greenhouse, then showed them the recipes of how to make the potting soil for each plant as the mixes varied to meet the particular needs of each plant, including water so they had a damp but not muddy mixture. Next they were shown how to place the potting soil in the compressed peat moss seedling trays called flats. Lastly, came the instructions for placing the seeds at the correct depth in each section of the seedling flats.

The necessity of keeping the planted seeds separated by plant was stressed, and popsicle sticks with an abbreviation for each plant was placed in each flat immediately after planting the seeds. The flats were then placed on tables covered with black plastic carefully smoothed to remove all wrinkles. Each table top was level and had three inch raised sides. Once the flats covered a table, the table was flooded with a quarter inch of water. Enough to keep the potting soil in the flats moist enough to allow the seeds to germinate.

By lunch, several thousand seeds had been planted and set out on the tables. Seven varieties of tomatoes, five varieties of hot peppers, three varieties of sweet peppers, eggplant, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, squash, and five varieties of melons.

Arriving back at the Goode home, the Scoobs were delighted to see that Moms had joined Grams to prepare a sumptuous lunch. Despite the heavy breakfast, the work had engendered enormous appetites and they all dug in with gusto.

After they finished, Gramps, S. Mel, and Pops reviewed what the Scoobs had learned and answered all questions. The Scoobs understood the work was hard but not difficult, dirty but not filthy, and would most certainly keep them in good physical shape. The five larger boys would be regular workers, alternating days when not as many were needed. The girls and Freddy would pitch in as extra help was needed.

*****

By the next GSA meeting on January 23, the five students who hadn't initially joined signed on so the GSA Club Scoobies had sixty nine members. Plans for the Valentines Day service project were laid out and many new Scoobies accepted responsibility for carrying out particular aspects of the preparations along with the Scoobs. A dozen nearby retirement homes responded positively to the GSA club’s request to visit their facilities on Valentine’s day

*****

On Sunday, February 5, the families of the Scoobs gathered for a Super Bowl XL party at the Dog House. Even with 38 people in attendance, the room was not crowded. Starting in the early afternoon with a hot buffet luncheon from The Crateful Bread the families joked and talked. Freddy pulled up some Big Band music on the computer and played it over the speaker system. The Scoobs got a kick out of watching the older people jitterbugging and quickly joined in. At 3:30 the Goodes and Scoobs headed over to Green Acres Organic Farm to milk the cows. With so many hands, the job was quickly done and everyone made it back to the Dog House for more food with plenty of time to spare before the game.

Everyone watched the game on the big screen TV. Naturally they all cheered for the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks. The excited yells cheers filled the loft as the Steelers defeated the Seahawks, 21—10.

They spent a half hour basking in the win before everyone pitched in to clean up and the job was done in fifteen minutes. Everyone went home happy and tired.

*****

By Valentine's Day, everything was ready. Computer generated cards created by the students included short verses they'd composed. Candy, fruit, yogurt raisins and peanuts (some dyed red) and baskets of food had been prepared. Gift certificates from several major supermarkets and department stores had been donated and placed in some cards. All sixty nine Scoobies attended school wearing red pants and white tops with Valentine heart shaped boppers on their heads. They had a great time being silly.

With parental assistance, they split into groups to distribute the goodies. Cindy Caishun was hard pressed to keep up with the energetic kids as she followed them through school. Fortunately, Lexi and Gabi both went with the group heading to the children's ward of Good Shepard Hospital so Cindy followed them. The big hearted transgendered duo and their Gay-Straight Alliance Scoobies made it to the national media as the good news spot for the day.

*****

Cindy Caishun's documentary on Gabi and Lexi was fantastic. Not only did it reveal their unique friendship, it also chronicled their influence on and growth and transformation of the Scoobies into their incarnation as the founding members of the Hickstown School District Gay-Straight Alliance. What was amazing about the GSA was that by the end of the year it had 98 members, one tenth of the Hickstown School District’s student enrollment of 975. The positive, upbeat attitude of the Scoobies and their efforts to help others won over even die-hard local opposition to the GSA. This was accurately portrayed. The documentary, entitled THE SCOOBIES DO, won an awards for the best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival and the New York Film Festival.
*****
While the Scoobies were quite active in the GSA Scoobies, they still made time to get together. Gabi maintained her unique Abby-esque Goth personal style and bubbly positive outlook. Just as Buffy, Rocky, and Freddy had begun to merge quite a bit of Gabi's green Goth style into their personal style. Lexi, Liv, Skye, and Faith began to morph their personal styles with Gabi. It didn't take long for Eddie, Def, Tad, and Izzy to begin adapting to their girlfriend's styles. After Valentine's day, they were all wearing green nail polish and lipstick and sporting Skull Flowers.

Gabi and Lexi were so undeniably girlish in their actions and appearance that even those who knew their birth gender could see no sign of their unwanted boyhood. Dr. Norma Lee had no issues prescribing testosterone blockers for Gabi and Lexi and the pair eagerly took the medication. While they asked for female hormones, Dr. Lee was adamant that they wait as medical standards required they be eighteen.

Although frustrated, the girls accepted the denial. But that did not stop Gabi from doing research on natural herbs and teas that could enhance the natural development of female hormones. When she gathered information on what she thought would be safe, she took her information to The Crateful Bread to discuss options with Val, the ex-hippie resident herbal supplement expert. They decided on several safe supplements. After Val reviewed the list and researched appropriate doses, she met with Gabi's and Lexi's parents to review the positive and negative effects of taking the supplements and appropriate doses. Dr. Lee also reviewed the selections and after researching them approved the supplements but insisted the girls get blood tests every two months to monitor the effects.

Dong quai contains phytoestrogens that bind to the estrogen receptors in our body, thereby increasing our levels of estrogen and is available in a variety of forms. The easiest way to take the herb is in pill form and the recommended dosage is between 500 mg daily. Dong quai is especially effective when used in combination with black cohosh. Black cohosh is believed to contain phytoestrogens, specifically isoflavones, that bind to the estrogen receptors in your body. Black cohosh is available in supplement form. It may be taken up to two times a day for six months, but should not be taken for a longer period of time. Red clover is one of the premium sources of phytoestrogens, plant estrogens that mimic the female sex hormone. These phytoestrogens help to increase the levels of estrogen in our bodies. Red clover is usually taken in capsule form, the recommended dosage is 400 mg. The maca root does not contain plant estrogens but, instead, is an adaptogen that is, it helps to balance out our body's own existing hormone system and encourages the production of hormones and encourages an increase and then a balance between estrogen and progesterone. The daily recommended dose of maca root is around 900mg taken in capsule form three times a day.

Gabi and Lexi eagerly took the supplements under the strict supervision of their mothers. It didn't take long for the effects to be noticed in softer skin and the beginning development of feminine curves. This is not to say they blossomed into full puberty, far from it, they simply blossomed in that direction from their previous gender neutral childish bodies.

All the Scoobs had also joined the dance and martial arts class at The Metamorphosis School of the Arts. They all though Wally Wacker and Vance Barr were great teachers as well as entertaining. The guys were amazed the difference the classes made in their strength, coordination, and stamina.

The Scoobs all worked on the farms through the spring and summer becoming tanned and lean. The adults loved working with them as the Scoobs sang as they worked.

The teamwork and camaraderie the Scoobs built up proved itself in a most unusual manner at the end of the summer. Def, Izzy, Eddie, Tad, were joined by Rocky at the tryouts for the 2006 Hickstown Junior High Football Team, appropriately named the Harvesters. The Hickstown School District was the smallest in the county, which was the main reason they always had issues filling the ranks of the football squad. Despite that, they'd never had a losing season. Unfortunately, at the first practice only 13 guys came out for the team. Even playing Iron Man football, the guys would have little back up and had no quarterback or receivers as the guys who had previously played those positions would be on the varsity squad this year. Def and Eddie came up with an unusual solution.

Freddy Bangs was the smallest seventh grader in the new school year, only standing four feet eleven inches and still wearing his thick coke glass lens glasses. But in the Scoobs interplay at the farms, he’d proved he had an unerring arm and the intellect to judge distances and the force needed to throw objects. With a bit of desperate urging, the guys talked Freddy into coming to their next practice to try out for quarterback. By the end of the first practice, he had mastered throwing the football with pin-point accuracy and tremendous distance. With Def, Eddie, Izzy, Tad, and Rocky on the front line protecting him, Freddy had little fear of being sacked.

Now that the Harvesters had a suitable quarterback, they still needed fast, agile receivers. As they watched their boyfriends practice, the girls could see their frustrations. Gabi had become the firebrand of the Scoobs. Adapting Abby Scuito as her role model had not only allowed her transsexuality to flower, it effected nearly everything she did. Gabi incorporated Abby's devotion to her friends as well as her desire to do the right thing and sticking to a problem until she solved it. Gabi looked at Lexi and the duo sighed. Together, they stood and walked out onto the practice field. Faith, Skye, Buffy, and Liv stood and cheered causing the guys on the field to stop their practice.

As Gabe, Gabi had always been more than capable sports-wise always outplaying the jocks in his class. He had always enjoyed playing sports but simply had little interest in joining organized teams. Now the Harvesters needed help so Gabi had finally had a reason to overcome her reluctance to join a team. As Alex, Lexi had been an edgy tough guy often flying off the handle getting into fights. Now with the added benefits of her dance and martial arts classes plus working on the farm she’d grown to be calm and focused.

As the guys on the field saw Gabi and Lexi walking out to them, they could see the looks of determination on their faces. Def and Eddie started clapping, Tad, Izzy, Rocky, and Freddy quickly joined. It took a moment for the rest of the team to understand what was going on. They didn’t understand how they could be helped by having two girls join their understaffed squad. It took them a bit before they recalled that Gabi and Lexi were transgendered. Even though their previous experience playing football was quite limited, Gabi and Lexi both knew the game.

“Lexi, go long,” Def called out.

Lexi took off down field. Freddy cocked his arm and fired a fifty yard spiral down the field. Lexi looked over her shoulder to see the ball in flight, altered her curse, and made a ballet-esque leap to easily snag the ball, land deftly on her feet, and speed into the endzone. All but the Scoobs were dumbfounded. Eddie had chased her but failed to catch her until she slowed in the endzone. Taking the football, he punted the ball back over the gaggle of players.

“I got it,” Gabi called as she headed out looking over her shoulder as she ran. She easily twisted to jog backwards the last few yards to easily snag the ball.

“All right guys, stop her,” Eddie yelled through his cupped hands.

Def led the charge towards Gabi. The green goth never wavered, with a giggle she sprinted directly towards the charging guys with her twin ponytails flopping behind her. When Def was five yards away, Gabi did a graceful sidestep and twisted her body away from Def’s desperate lunge. With the ease of balance evidencing her dance and martial arts training, Gabi easily danced through the entire squad. The most any of the guys got was a brief flailing touch as she slipped from what had seemed an inevitable tackle. When Eddie saw Gabi was going to break free, he charged out and set himself up to snag his sister. With the rest of the squad now in hot pursuit, Gabi easily outdistanced them and headed to her brother with a big grin on her face. Eddie suddenly realized his little sister was fully confident that she’d get past him. This rattled him enough that Gabi was easily able to fake him out and did a pirouette around him before sprinting into the endzone to join Lexi in a big hug as they squealed and jumped up and down. The other girls cheered and yelled from the sideline. Needless to say, Gabi and Lexi made the team.

Not wanting to be left out, Faith, Liv, Skye, and Buffy joined the cheerleading squad. The returning veteran squad members looked down their noses at these newcomers who were most definitely not part of any of the acceptable jock/cheerleading cliques. With their dance and martial arts training, they effortlessly picked up the routines and cheers stunning and even shaming the somewhat lazy veteran girls. Clair Lee Endowd, the voluptuous cheer squad coach, was so impressed she increased the complexity of several routines. The veteran girls struggled to keep up with the four Scoobs who set a blistering pace. By the end of the practice sessions the veterans were tired and achy while the Scoobs with their increased strength and stamina were still perky. The Harvester cheer routines were the recognized as the most energetic and stirring amongst all the schools in their league.

Even though they didn't particularly like suiting up, Gabi and Lexi were delighted with the teamwork and friendship amongst the Harvester's JV Squad. Both wore their hair in twin braids ending in dark green bows emerging from beneath their helmets to rest on their chest. The dark green bows matched their make-up. As Gabi and Lexi lined up opposite their opponents, they'd smile like a cat ready to pounce on a bird while toying with their braids. Their self assurance and simultaneous innocent girlishness disconcerted their opponents. The teams they faced were well aware that Gabi and Lexi were transgendered and expected them to be quaking sissies. After the first few plays, their opponents realized the transsexual duo far outclassed them which further shook any hope they might stop Gabi or Lexi. Gabi and Lexi definitely flaunted their natural girlishness to further confuse their opponents.

As soon as a game or practice was over, the girls hurried to change. Gabi and Lexi felt great relief to shuck off the hulking padding. Both girls were impatient to once more revel in their just blossoming girlhood. When off the field both regularly wore a dress or skirt to dispel any lingering shadow of masculinity.

Dr. Norma Lee discussed the paradox of being transgendered and playing football with Gabi and Lexi. The girls explained they were doing it to help their friends and school. Both insisted they were merely girls playing on the boys team. After attending a game, Dr. Lee was satisfied their behavior when in uniform was feminine. Since there have been genetic girls periodically playing football the fact the transgendered duo was doing so in no way impacted their status as gender dysphoric.

To have the transsexuals on the Harvester football team caused quite a stir, especially since Cindy Caishun’s documentary had been so widely viewed and the girls were now widely known. Even though clad in the Harvester uniform and padding, Gabi and Lexi maintained their girlishness. They used their girlishness to fluster their opponents. A few people in the league unsuccessfully tried to have them banned from the playing field. Most games had protestors against the transsexual duo but they were always outnumbered by those who were supporters. Cindy Caishun and crew also made every game. The Hickstown GSA club mounted a pep squad. The JV games had a higher attendance than the varsity games.

The JV Harvesters proved unbreakable and unstoppable playing Iron Man football. With the Scoobs forming the back bone of the squad, they not only remained undefeated, they never had more than two touchdowns scored against them by the opposing teams and never scored less than five touchdowns per game. The center line of Def, Eddie, Izzy, Tad, and Rocky garnered more sacks than the combined total sacks of all the other teams in the league. They also were instrumental in keeping Freddy from being sacked. Freddy the only quarterback in the history of the county to be in every offensive play of every game. For his part, Freddy had an 85 percent pass completion percentage, easily breaking the county record for quarterbacks. He also proved a capable scrambler and runner. Gabi bested and Lexi in pass receptions and yardage, but both individually tripled the next best yardage player in the league. Freddy, Gabi, and Lexi also played defense, covering the receivers or runners on the opposing teams. With their dance and martial arts training, the trio made so many interceptions they forced their opponents to run the ball. Even then, the trio was able to outrun the people they were guarding and stop the few runs that made it past the imposing front line. Def, Eddie, Izzy, Tad, Rocky, Freddy, Gabi, and Lexi, all wearing matching dark green nail polish, lipstick, and eye shadow, were the green Goth hardcore heart and soul of the Harvester offence and defense. Many wondered how the eight central players could play non-stop through the entire game. The Scoobs always looked to the stands to nod their thanks to Wally Wacker and Vance Barr.

By mid season, there were sports reporters from the local newspaper attending the games and excerpts from Cindy Caishun's filming were shown on the local sports segment of Eye Witless News. A few clips even made it onto ESPN. The fact Gabi used Abby from NCIS as a role model made her the focus of much attention and many comments. Incorporating Abby’s traits into her own and using her green Goth persona to morph from a boy to a girl fascinated the public.

The upshot was that after the football season was over, Gabi along with the rest of the Scoobs received an invitation to attend a filming of NCIS. Several photos were taken of the Scoobs with the NCIS Team. The best was one of Abby and Gabi wearing identical pleated miniskirted schoolgirl outfits the wardrobe department had designed. Both had matching twin ponytailed hairstyles.

What would the future hold for the Scoobs?
*****
CHARACTERS:
Gabe Bull - 11/1994 - 6th
Eddie Bull - 12/1993 - 7th
Faye Wray Bull - 37/1974 - Mom
Lyle Bull - 38/1973 - Dad, Captain Marine Reserves, lawyer
Ralph Bull - deceased, Lyle’s father
Moe Lester - 11/1994 - 6th bully
Mike Rotch - 11/1994 - 6th bully
Dick Swett - 11/1994 - 6th bully
Stu Piddity - 11/1994 - 6th bully
Hugh Jass - 48/1957 - principal
Rocky (Rockford) Beech - 11/1994 - 6th, big kid
Sandy Beech - 8/1997 - 3rd, Rocky's younger sister
Palmer Beech - 38/1973 - Rocky’s dad, pastor, 'St Francis of Assisi UCC'
Virginia Beech - 37/1974 - Rocky’s mom, teacher in church preschool
Freddy Bangs - 11/1994 - 6th, sissy, Coke glasses, nerdy sissy latchkey kid
Brenda Bangs - 27/1984 - Freddy’s mom, single, beautician, owns shop 'Styles With Bangs'
Martin Lewis - 18/1983 - Freddy’s deceased dad
Geraldine Lewis - 50/1955 - Freddy’s grandmother, successful business woman
Lynne Swann - 31/1980 - instructor MSOA
Buffy Anne Summers, 11/1994 - 6th, skinny red-headed girl,
Werner(Pops)Summers - 75/1930 - ex-marine, retired shop teacher, Buffy’s MGGF
Kathryn (Moms)Pope Summers - 75/1930 retired home-ec teachers, Buffy's MGGM
Mike (Arie)Summers - 53/1952 - hippies,NN:Arithmetic adding=summers Buffy’s PGF
Susan (ChooChoo )Clark Summers - 53/1952 - hippies,NN:Last Train from Clarksville, Buffy’s PGM
David (Walt) Winters - 53/1952 - hippies,NN:WaltDisney/(DW)DisneyWorld opened 1971 Buffy’s MGF, son of Moms & Pops
Kathleen (Val)Parker Winters - 53/1952 - hippie,NN:Valet=Parker, Buffy’s MGM
Sonny Summers - 29/1976 - Gunny Sargent Marine Reserves, Buffy’s dad, son of Arie & ChooChoo
Autumn Winters Summers - 29/1976 - Buffy mom, daughter of Walt & Val
Wally Wacker - 29 self defense instructor, MSOA, life-partner Vance Barr
Vance Barr - 29 dance instructor, MSOA, life partner Wally Wacker
Miss Peach - 6th grade teacher
Miss Demeanor - elementary school counselor
Norma Lee, PHD - child psychologist gender dysphoria
Tad Pohl - Eddie's buddy
May Pohl - Tad's mom
Barn (Barney) Pohl - Tad's dad
Dr. Al K. Seltzer - Hickstown physician
Payne Inthass - 9th grade bully
Dr. Mack Arronie - Lexi’s shrink
Alex/Lexi Kahn - 12 transsexual
Bea Kahn - Lexi's mom, secretary at Hickstown Town Hall
Ike Kahn - Lexi's dad, delivery driver for Hickstown Heating
Def (DeForest) Kahn - 13 - Lexi's bro
Cindy Caishun - TV reporter
Jacques Strapp - gym teacher, Hickstown Junior High
Jim Sox - gym teacher, Hickstown Junior High
Judge Hardaz - family court
Evie Dense - private eye
Douglas Deaper - principal, Hickstown Junior High
Wanda Kidd - head of County Children and Youth Services
Laura Norder - Assistant D.A.
Seth Poole - Hickstown chief of police
Faith Fuhl - 12, classmate/girlfriend of Lexi
Cyn (Cynthia) Fuhl - manager at Farmers Bank of Hickstown
Izzy Fuhl - 13, classmate/football squad Def
S.(Sylvester)Newt Fuhl
Liv(Olivia) Goode - 12, classmate/girlfriend of Lexi
Alice Goode - farmer
S.(Seymour)Mel Goode - farmer
Gram (Bea) Goode, 57? Liv's gram
Gramps (Hertz) Goode, 59 Liv's gramps
Johnny B. Goode, 10, 4th grade, Liv's bro
Skye Wright - 12, classmate/girlfriend of Lexi
Devine Wright - Skye’s mom
By (Byron) Wright - Pharmacist, owner, Wright Pharmacy
Officer Fetterman - Hickstown Police
DJ Gerry Atric - district justice
Barb Dwyer - Judge of Common Pleas
Reid Enright - new Junior High Principal
Ima Meddlar - Junior High Councilor
Rose Busch - Junior High 7th grade homeroom & English teacher
Cal Kuelus - 7th grade math teacher
Mike Krobe - 7th grade science
Lorin Mythe - 7th grade history
Sue Flay - secretary to Jr/Sr High Principal
Eva Lution - office secretary Jr/Sr High
Melody Musik - Jr High music teacher
Art Painter - Jr High Art teacher
Juan Alaya - Jr. High Spanish teacher
Rusty Blades - Jr. High shop teacher
Lisa Mae Boyle - Jr. High home-ec teacher
Sargent Marshal Law - temp head of Hickstown police
Dr. Dil Pickles - Hickstown School District Superintendent
Al Fresco - Teacher's Union shop steward
Lee Galade - Teacher's Union solicitor
Grant Juree - Hickstown School District solicitor
Jack Goff - 7th grade bully
Brock Lee - owns Brock lee Pizzaria
Jenny Talia - 6th grade girl
Clair Lee Endowd - cheerleader coach