A Sweets Life- Chapter 1

A Sequel to Sweets for Christmas (by semi-popular demand!)

Candy sat at her desk, painting her nails and continuing her conversation with Robin, her best friend. The conversation was mostly about trivial stuff like boys, movies, music, more boys, school, clothes and of course, boys. Her vanity/desk was covered in makeup, her laptop, and several angel figurines. In fact, if you looked around her room, there were angels everywhere! The bright yellow walls were covered in angel pictures, posters, white painted shelves that held angel dolls and figurines, and most interestingly, a Christmas card with an angel on the front, that had been framed very nicely. There was even a snow white teddy bear with golden wings that sat upon her bed.

Candy had her medium length blonde hair in a light blue “Alice” headband, and she wore a sky-blue T-shirt over a brown floral patterned “broomstick” skirt, which almost covered her not-so-white boat shoes. A golden friendship necklace hung around her neck, a gift from the aforementioned Robin. She looked like any other perfectly normal, very pretty young teenage girl, and she was obviously a very happy child. No one would guess that Candy’s real name was Andrew Arthur Mason.

Candy’s mother Jenna was fully aware of her son’s choice of clothing and lifestyle. She accepted and supported it, so long as “Candy” never left the house. She was very afraid of what might happen if Candy was exposed as Andrew. In her research to learn more about Andrew’s choices, she had learned how dangerous it was for a transgendered child. Many had been beaten and even murdered, simply for their choice of clothing. She wanted to protect Candy from any chance of falling to that sad fate.

Andrew had been attacked before. Just before last year’s Holiday break, the Brooks twins had beaten Andrew badly. If it hadn’t been for the three girls who had become Andrew’s closest friends and a brave substitute teacher, it would have been even worse. After that incident, Andrew had confronted Jenna and explained what he was going through. Jenna had been horrified to learn that Andrew had expected her to institutionalize him! He had believed that he was insane and perverted and abandoned by God himself! Something had happened to help him, and Jenna was very grateful that they had insisted Andrew talk to his mother. They had become closer than she would ever have believed.

Unfortunately, as Candy grew more accustomed to her new life, she wanted to spend time with her friends, doing “girl” stuff. She wanted to go to the cinema, or the ice cream parlor, or even shopping with her friends. Jenna had known this was going to be a problem. Candy’s therapist, Karen Bascom, had discussed the fact that Andrew wished to begin his full transition, and that Karen believed it might be necessary for Candy’s mental health.

Of course, Andrew would have to wait for his gender reassignment surgery. At 13, he was too young to consider that yet. He had been put on blockers that would prevent a male puberty, and had been asking to begin hormone replacement therapy so that she could experience a female puberty, in order to begin to prepare her body for the eventual surgery. Jenna knew that once that happened, Candy would need to dress as a girl full time, and this is what caused her hesitation.

She was glad that Andrew’s father would never be able to meet his “daughter”. David DiVenne was a jock and outdoorsman, a “typical” man’s man, who would never have accepted Andrew. He had never even known that Jenna was pregnant, and had been killed in action while serving in the Army. Jenna had known that she would never marry David. She was just a little bit of fun for him, too poor and plain to make a good wife for him.

There was very little about Andrew that reminded Jenna of his father. Jenna was petite, slim and intelligent, and Candy was very similar to her. Apparently, the combination of David and Jenna’s genes was a good one. While Jenna was plain, even possibly cute, Candy was beautiful, and would be a stunning young woman. She was also very intelligent, and was well aware of the dangers involved with her transitioning.

Jenna knew it had to be done, and her thoughts drifted constantly to finding ways to protect her daughter. It was something she would bring up during tomorrow’s meeting with Karen. Jenna worried that the school would not be able to protect Candy, but she did not have the time to home-school her, and changing schools would mean removing her from her friends Robin, Jennifer and Tina. That was simply not acceptable. There was something almost magical about the three girls who accepted and helped Candy to understand what it meant to be a girl.

“Candy!” Jenna called. “Can I get your help with dinner?”

“Of course, Mom! I’ll be right down!”

It really wasn’t that much of a chore, Jenna just enjoyed the time she was able to spend with her daughter. She had been teaching Candy to cook, and they both enjoyed the lessons. Tonight’s dinner of pork chops, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables would be fairly easy.

“You know you have an appointment to see Karen tomorrow, don’t you?”

“Yeah, Mom. Umm, we’ll be talking about my transition, and I know that bothers you, sometimes . . .”

“Candy, I will admit, I am very worried about what will happen to you, especially if you start high school as a girl next year. How will the other kids handle it, not to mention the teachers? I am just so afraid that you are going to be hurt, or worse!”

“Mom, Robin and I have been talking about this for a long time. All four of us have some ideas; in fact, we want you and all of our parents to meet with us this Saturday at Robin’s house. Her parents volunteered to host a meeting where we can talk to you about some very important things, please?”

“I’m not working that night, so we can go over there, sure.”

Candy hugged Jenna with joy.”That’s wonderful, Mom! I want to see if Karen will come to, so that she can help us talk to all of you.”

Karen? Why would they want Karen there? Would Andrew really reveal . . . ? Jenna’s heart began to beat wildly. How was she going to handle this?

End Chapter One! Comments are more than welcome

A Sweets Life-Chapter 2

I'm back with more, as promised!

As usual, Robin, Tina and Jenny waited to walk Andrew to school. No one made a big deal about it, but each girl carried in her heart the memory of the promise they had made to Mr. Gabriel, that they would protect Andrew.

Besides, it was fun! Andrew was very smart and funny, and a great friend. Walking together was a treat, not a chore. It just brought the four of them closer together.

Knowing that they had met an actual Angel had changed the lives of all four children. People noticed that the children were friendlier, more considerate and worked harder than ever before. Working together helped them to improve their grades and their understanding of the homework. The teachers had noticed, their parents had noticed, and their classmates had noticed. The three girls had quickly become some of the most popular girls in school, and even Andrew had begun to be more popular, as you rarely saw him without at least one of the girls. No one bullied him or called him names, and he had actually been seen smiling!

Due to an “unexplained medical issue”, he did not have a gym class. He and Jenny used that period as a study period in the library. They could frequently be seen helping someone with a problem, or assisting in locating a book.

All in all, things had gone well, and life improved for all four of the kids, in many ways.

Now it was time to rock the boat a bit.

At noon, Jenna picked up Andrew and took him to his therapy appointment with Karen Bascom. They discussed the coming meeting, and tried to figure out the best way to handle the things they would be revealing. Jenna was against the meeting, as she feared someone would take offense when Andrew outed himself to the girl’s parents. Andrew was afraid as well, but felt that this needed to be done. Karen tried to make Jenna understand that this was something Andrew believed he had to do, and she would be at the meeting with them to help explain things. This was a great relief to Jenna, but she was still afraid.

Everyone met at the Ames house. Jenna and Andrew had brought some appetizers and introduced Karen to everyone. Dr. Rieber and his wife had brought Jennifer and several different kinds of drinks, and Mrs. Green and Tina were there with a large tray of cookies. They explained that Mr. Green and Mr. Ames had both been delayed in court, but they had called and were on their way. Mrs. Ames, Robin’s beautiful mom, was a very pleasant hostess, and she had a tray of mini cheeseburgers that were delicious! They gathered in the large den and by the time they had settled comfortably, Mr. Green and Mr. Ames had arrived and quickly found a seat.

Robin stood first, of course, and she began the meeting.

“We realize that we are gonna tell you some things that’ll be very hard to accept, and we’ll understand if you can’t believe us. It won’t change our feelings, but we want to be honest with you. If it’s too much to accept, then that’s your reality, but we refuse to lie or deceive you.

You all know about the ‘pre-Christmas incident,’ of course. There’s more that you don’t know. Me and Jenny and Tina used to tease and bully Andrew. We really didn’t realize how mean we were being until the night I walked past Andrew’s house and saw him crying uncontrollably.” Tears filled her eyes. “It hit me that I was part of the reason he was crying! I’ve never felt so awful before!”

Andrew hugged her quietly and she resumed her story. “I felt so guilty that I ran home and cried my eyes out. The next morning I felt miserable, and when we got to school, I opened up to Jenny and Tina, who realized the same thing I had, that Andrew was a good person we had been very mean to.

We wanted to apologize, but we were scared that Andrew wouldn’t believe us. Mr. Gabriel helped us to understand Andrew and his problems, and told us that because we knew his secrets, we had a holy duty to protect Andrew. We promised him that we would protect Andrew as best we could, no matter what.

That was the day of the ‘incident’; we apologized to Andrew and became friends. On Monday, we tried to talk with Mr. Gabriel but we discovered who he was instead. Here’s where it starts to get weird. We learned he was the Angel Gabriel. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but we believe it with all our hearts.

Now, we knew that we had made a solemn vow to an Angel, and we'll never do anything to disappoint our Angel. We decided that we'd live our lives so he would be proud of us, so that the next time we see him, we'll be able to stand with our heads up high. We will protect Andrew, with our lives if needed. We promised an Angel!“

Tina’s father, Mr. Green, stood and looked around. “My name is Mark Green. I don’t know about any of you, but this is the most hare-brained excuse for a story I’ve ever heard. An Angel? I deal with reality, with the Law. My job is to argue the truth, not listen to fairy tales!

That said, I believe every single word. My daughter has gone from a pretty good kid with an attitude, to an amazing young woman. I am so proud of Tina that I want to bust. The change in her is so remarkable, it would take an Angel to do it. I stand behind Tina completely.”

Tina’s eyes were so wide that it seemed that they would come out of her head! She was busting with love and pride for her dad and she rushed to him and hugged him with all she had.

Robin’s Mom stood up too. “I have to agree with Mark. My relationship with my daughter before Christmas was very rocky. There were constant fights and struggles to see how far she could go, how much she could push us. We didn’t talk, we just yelled at each other, and it broke my heart. Since the “incident’, she has become the loving and wonderful daughter that I always wished for. She is helpful, responsible and always there for others. I have received calls from her teachers, asking me if I had traded her in for a twin! I know that something wonderful happened. Yes, I believe her, with all my heart!”

Robin blushed, but then she had to ruin the good mood.

“Uhmm . . . there's more we gotta talk about. See, Andrew has this problem. When I saw him through the window, I got very confused. Mr. Gabriel explained what was going on, then said that Tina, Jennifer and me had to protect Andrew, and like we said, we won't ever let him down. That means we’ll never allow anyone to hurt Andrew. Please understand, we love you very much, but NO ONE is going to hurt Andrew if we can help it.”

Robin’s mother stood up, looking confused. “Honey, we would never hurt Andrew! I don’t know how you could even think that!”

“Because, Mom, Andrew is different.” She held Andrew’s hand, and everyone could see he was trembling in fear. “Andrew is transgendered. He has the body of a boy, but his heart, mind and soul are female.”

The other parents stared as Jenna and Karen stood up.

“It’s true.” Jenna said in a shaky voice, and tears in her eyes. Karen reached out to hold her hand. “After the "incident", Andrew and I did a lot of talking. I was horrified that Andrew believed he was insane, and that I would have to have him institutionalized! The stress was killing him. Things have to change, whether I like it, or not. You’ve met Karen, his therapist, and if you have questions, we will try to answer them. We agree that Andrew has to begin his transition. I support A-Andrew with all my heart, but I am so afraid for him!”

The stress was too much for her. Jenna collapsed against Karen and began to weep hysterically. Robin’s father and mother jumped to her side, and the other parents followed quickly. Gradually they calmed her down, and tried to reassure her.

“Jenna, no one here wants to hurt Andrew. Our daughters have made it clear, they will do anything to protect Andrew, and we will support our daughters completely.” Mr. Ames said, as the others nodded.

“My dear, you have nothing to fear from us,” Mrs. Rieber said. “Please relax, and we’ll see what we can do to protect your lovely daughter.”

“You see, Jenna?" Karen said, quietly. "The world is not out to get Andrew. He has a great deal of loving support, especially if you trust in the story of the Angel. It may be tough, but we can get through this!”

Jenna nodded, and stood up and brushed herself off.

“All right then. I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, w-who wishes to be known as Candace Gabriella Mason, or Candy."

Everyone clapped, the girls cheered and gave Candy a hug, and Jenna clung shakily to Karen, smiling, but still apprehensive.

“It has to be done, Jenna, for Candy’s mental health. All we can do is pray for strength, and hope for the best.”

End Chapter 2-More to come!

A Sweets Life-Chapter 3

She was torn. What does one wear to their first time shopping as a girl?

“Candy! Are you okay, sweetie?”

“Yeah, Mom! I’ll be down in a few minutes!”

Oh, the heck with it. I’ll just do the denim skirt and a T-shirt, and my wedges. If I’m gonna do this, let’s do it girly!

Decision made, she was dressed quickly, and headed down the stairs.

“Dang, girl, what took so long?” Jenna said, smiling. “Just kidding, sweetheart. I know you’re nervous.”

“Mom, I’m just a scared as you are.” Candy said, as her mother kissed her forehead. “But I have to do this. I’m a girl from now on. I can’t let my fear hold me back.”

Jenna was very proud of her beautiful daughter, and she hugged her to give her strength.

“Besides, Robin’s gonna be here soon with Tina and Jenny.” She laughed. “If I tried to hold back, she’d just drag me to the mall!”

Jenna snorted. “No doubt! That girl is a force of nature! I’m so glad she’s your friend, though.”

Just then, the doorbell rang.

“I think the tornado has arrived,” Candy said, smiling. She opened the door to her three friends. “Hi! We were just talking about you!”

“Uh-oh!” Jennifer said, smiling, “Totally innocent! Anything bad, Robin did it!”

They all laughed as Robin faked a pout and playfully slapped Jenny’s shoulder.

“I represent that! Things just . . . happen, sometimes!”

“Uh-huh. Homework mistakes, bad hair days, nuclear war. . .” Tina ticked off on her fingers.

“Hey!”Robin protested. “Not since that ONE time!”

Jenna smiled. “Lord, give us strength! I’m not sure the world is ready for you four!”

“It’s okay, Mom.” Candy smiled. “We keep the world safe from boredom!”

“Yeah!”

“Right!”

“Well, let’s head out! Time to shop and pillage!” Robin called.

“Wait!” Candy yelled, as she suddenly stopped. “I don’t have my pillaging license!”

Jenna laughed. “Get in the van!”

As they walked out to Jenna’s old minivan laughing, Robin held Candy’s hand.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “You can borrow my student pillaging permit!”

“Cool!”

“Good lord!” Jenna said, looking at the sky. “Are you girls like this all the time?”

“Mother!” Candy said, with a snooty attitude. “Only on days that end in ‘y’.”

Everyone giggled madly as they got in and settled into the van.

“I can do this, I can do this, I can do this . . .” Jenna repeated, quietly, and she laughed. “Suuuure I can.”

As they made their way to the mall, Robin laid out the assault plan. She decided to begin the attack at the JC Penney store, then work their way down thru the mall, stopping at the food court for some lunch, then hitting the Cinema 8 to see a movie and rest their feet. Afterwards, a skirmish at Victoria’s Secret, followed by a clean-up swipe at a few other minor stores, finishing with a stop at Claire’s, then home again to rest, recuperate and relax in front of the TV for a while at Candy and Jenna’s house. Jenna even volunteered to make pizza rolls for everyone, which brought unanimous approval.

Everything went well, and they had quite a bit of fun shopping thru the different stores for interesting or important things, although they didn’t actually buy much. Jenna was a bit nervous at first, but Candy was so obviously a girl that no one paid any attention to her, except for a few boys who checked out the four very pretty girls as they walked through the mall. The girls saw them, but pointedly ignored the boys, then giggled to themselves while they shopped in the next store.

Jenna was pleased that Candy seemed very relaxed. Everything just seemed so normal. Well, as normal as you could expect when shopping with four teenage girls. They had deliberately chosen this mall so that there was less chance of meeting any of their friends, and so far, it seemed to be working well. No one had bothered any of the girls, and there had been no problems or confrontations. Maybe Jenna’s worries were groundless. She certainly hoped it was so.

They had a quick snack at the food court, and then headed in to see the latest “blockbuster” hit at the cinema. Afterwards, they had differing opinions. Robin and Candy liked the movie, but Jenna, Tina and Jenny found it a bit boring. At least the popcorn was good.

The Victoria’s Secret store was a shock to Candy. She knew there were a lot of different kinds of lingerie, but . . . WOW!

As they made their way through the last few stores, someone called out to Tina.

“Oh, wonderful. It’s Britt, the school’s own Miss Rumor.” Robin said. “Ms. Mason, could you meet us at the Claire’s store? We don’t want her to wonder why you are with us-that might cause too many questions.”

“Good idea, Robin.” She walked away, and loudly called back, “Nice seeing you girls! Talk to you later!”

“Hi, Robin, Tina! I didn’t think I would see anybody from our school all the way out here!” Britt seemed very friendly, almost relieved to see familiar faces. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure we’ve met?”

“Oh, you know Jenny of course! She was in our third hour math class! This is a new girl who’ll be going to school with us in the fall. Candy, this is Brittany Jennings. Brittany, this is Candy Mason.”

“Hi Candy! Wow, you’re very pretty! I hope we have some classes together!”

Candy blushed. “Thanks! I hope so too, Brittany!”

“Oh, please, just call me Britt, like everyone else!”

A woman called for Britt, and she waved. “That’s my mom, gotta go! It was nice seeing you girls, and nice meeting you, Candy! See you around!”

The girls waited then they all let go of their breaths that they had been nervously holding. They walked over to Claire’s, where Jenna waited nervously.

“Everything okay?” She asked.

“No problemo, Ms. M.” Jenny said. “Candy did everything right, so now Britt knows that a very pretty new girl will be going to our school in the fall.”

“I don’t think we could have arranged it better if we tried.” Robin smiled. “Now it’ll get around town quickly, and no one will be surprised when they see us with a new girl around town. It’s just perfect!”

“I just hope she doesn’t try to connect Andrew Mason with Candy Mason.” Candy said. “That could make things very interesting.”

“Britt’s nice, but she’s kind of an airhead.” Tina said. “I don’t think she can put 2 and 2 together. It’ll be all right, don’t worry about it!”

“Eventually, you know, someone is GOING to figure it out, Candy.” Robin said to her, bluntly. This kind of put a quick damper on things, but Robin quickly took control. “We have to find the best way to control things so it comes out our way.”

They finished their shopping, and made their way to the van quietly, everyone deep in thought. They had a lot to think about.

End Chapter 3- Much more ahead!

~Surprised myself! I had a dream, and I had to write this down quick! Don't get used to it!~

A Sweets Life-Chapter 4

This one gets a bit preachy. If this offends you, I apologize. What can I say? It’s how I feel.

Four girls, sitting on a bench eating ice cream, would seem to be no big deal; No one paid them any real attention, with the exception of a few teenage boys, who may have appreciated the four pretty girls all in one place. It was just something you would expect to see in many American middle size towns, and it pleased one of those girls to no end that she could do this.

Candy had been so afraid that everyone would see that she was really a boy. Robin’s plan to ignore the differences seemed to be working perfectly. As long as everyone acted like Candy belonged with the rest of the girls, the world seemed to take little notice.

There was still danger, as there is for any pretty girl, but there was safety in numbers. Hanging out together was fun, and they were enjoying a wonderful summer together. They played and watched the boys, listened to music and had picnics in the park, just acting like a bunch of 13 year old girls. Life was good, and friends made it better.

They met several of their classmates, and Candy was becoming a familiar presence around the town. She knew, though, that as soon as school began, things could change. Candy seemed to be ready for the new school year, and the controversy that she was sure was soon to begin, though.

The plan was to just walk in and act like nothing was unusual. It would be their first year at the high school, which drew students from 3 different Junior High schools. It was a large cluster of buildings, too large for everyone to be familiar with everyone else. The best thing that they could do was just to avoid “standing out”, and simply melt into the confusion of the new school. People would be aware of Candy by then, and really, Andrew had never made a huge impression at his previous schools. There was a good chance they could just wing it through the school for 4 years.

Well, maybe.

Mark Green and Jack Ames, Tina and Robin’s fathers, had volunteered to help smooth Candy’s transition into the school. It was always nice to have a couple of friendly attorneys around. With Karen Bascom’s help, the school system had been notified of Andrew’s transition, and fortunately, there was a pre-existing policy to follow. The school had several video cameras, both inside and outside of the buildings, and the teachers and hall monitors followed a strict policy with regard to bullying.

Janet Ames, Robin’s mother, would allow Candy to come over with Robin until Jenna got home from work. The two girls were rarely apart anyway, so it only made sense. All the preparations that could be made in advance had been made. Still, Jenna was nervous. No one could plan for everything.

Her biggest worry, she knew, was the girls, themselves. They would not lie to anyone, and they were not planning to deceive anyone about Candy. The only thing they would do would be to actively ignore the subject. If it came out, then they would deal with that when it happened. They had gone over their schedules and, with help from Mark and Jack, had done their best to schedule their classes together. Candy would almost always have at least one of the girls with her.

Jenna’s father had a saying, and it kept coming back to her now. Whenever they played a strategy game, he would say “No plan ever survived the first contact with the enemy. Plan ahead for surprises.” This one old chestnut kept Jenna up at night. Finally, she could take it no more. She decided to talk to her friend, Pastor Theresa. They had known each other since elementary school, and Jenna was sure that she could trust Pastor Terri.

“I’m not sure how to react,” Pastor Terri admitted when Jenna met with her. “I don’t agree with some of the conservatives that this is a sin, really. Andrew, or Candy, as she wants to be called, has always been a very good child, and I can see that what the kids are doing is trying to keep her change from being a disruption. I think this is very wise. There’s no sense in asking for trouble, after all.

I’m not sure how much I can help, but help I will, if the opportunity arises. All are welcome into the house of God, without distinction. What I’ll tell you, Jenna, is to leave it in God’s hands. Pray for guidance, perhaps even a bit of protection, but let Him handle it. Considering our location, between the school and your home, you should let the kids know that they are always welcome in here, should they need a refuge, or just to talk. Jenna, you can always come and talk with me, even if it’s just to reminisce, I hope you know that?”

“I do know it,” Jenna said as she smiled and hugged her friend. “That’s why I knew I could come to you. I’ve just been trying to do everything I could to protect Candy. I’ve read so many bad things about how the transgendered have been treated.”

“It’s true that some folks just aren’t very tolerant of this kind of thing. If you remember, though, that Jesus once stated “If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her,” and St. Paul said that “There is no one righteous, not even one”. I take that to mean that no one has the right to judge. Some Churches need to remember that.”

Jenna left the church knowing she had another ally, and another idea to help protect Candy. It’d be hard, but she’d try to take Terri’s advice, and let the Lord take care of things. We never seem to be able to do that, she reflected. We always think we know better than Him.

When she got home, she went to her room and knelt.

“Please, Lord, forgive me. It’s hard to really trust in you, even though I want to be faithful. Please protect my child, keep her safe, and don’t let her be the cause of anyone’s pain. Thank you Lord, Amen.”
It wasn’t much of a prayer, but it was all she had.

School shopping isn’t really fun for anyone, but it didn’t take them a great deal of time. Fortunately, the high school had sent out a list of suggested items that the kids would need, so Candy was pretty well stocked. She felt she was ready for her first day of high school. If she could just keep the butterflies down.

As Candy primped herself nervously in the hallway mirror, Jenna checked out her presentation. Her outfit consisted of a denim skirt, short sleeve blouse and her boat shoes. Jenna helped her put her hair in a ponytail, and made sure her backpack was with her. A quick kiss, and off she went.

Robin and the girls were just coming around the corner, and Candy ran to meet them. Yes, they were all nervous, but they did their best to relax and enjoy the walk. It really was a pretty day, and Tina noted that it was the perfect day NOT to be in a classroom.

“Isn’t that the way it always is?” Jenny asked. “You watch, this weekend will be lousy.”

“What are you complaining about?” Robin asked. “It’s great out here!”

“It could be raining and nasty.” Candy agreed. “This is much better!”

“Okay, I guess.” Tina admitted. “I suppose no day is good for the first day of school.”

“I don’t know,” Robin said. “I’m kinda looking forward to seeing our friends again, and meeting new people. It might not be so bad.”

“A bad day in the park beats a good day at school, every time!” Candy said, smiling.

“Ain't that the truth!” Tina said, laughing.

The conversation continued about schedules and homerooms and many other things, but it was only a few blocks to the school. They were shocked at the number of kids around the school. They checked out the map that they had been sent. Robin, Candy and Jenny had the same homeroom, but Tina was down the hall, about 3 classrooms away. After homeroom, Candy and Tina had Algebra 1, while Robin had Home Economics and Jenny was in Woods. Throughout the day, the faces would change, but Candy always had at least one of the girls in each class, and they all finished together in English 1. For this semester, anyway, the girls wanted to be together with Candy as much as possible.

“Well, time to enter the madhouse.” Robin said. “Everyone ready? Charge!”

End Chapter 4-I know it's a little short. We’re just getting started folks! I'm sorry, but it can’t stay sweet forever!

A Sweets Life-Chapter 5

Hang on to your hats, there’s going to be a rough ride ahead!

The day started out fine. Homeroom and the first few classes went by without a problem. At least, until 5th hour History class. The teacher, Mr. Weber, was a small, unattractive man with a reputation for being a disciplinarian. Few of the students liked him, but they at least generally respected his position as a teacher. He was taking the roll, and he called Andrew Mason’s name, emphasizing the “Andrew”. Looking directly at Candy, and in a voice that dripped sarcasm, he called Andrew’s name again. When there was no response, he asked directly, as if looking for a confrontation.

“Andrew, you will answer when your name is called.”

No response.

“Andrew Mason, you will respond when you are called in my classroom”

Still nothing.

He walked over and was surprised when Robin stood between him and Candy.

“Move out of my way, Miss Ames.” He was clearly becoming distraught, but the girls both remained calm.

“No, I don’t believe so. Let’s go, Candy.”

“No one is leaving this classroom until that bell rings. Sit down, Miss Ames.” His face was quickly reddening as several students rose to leave.

Candy grabbed her things, and started to leave. Mr. Weber made the mistake of reaching for Candy’s arm. Robin quickly swatted it away.

“Don’t touch her,” she warned with a glare. Mr. Weber pulled back his arm and would have slapped Robin, except for the actions of Mike Bingham, who blocked his swing. Mike was huge, almost 6’5”, and built like the linebacker he was.

“That’s one.” Mike said, in a menacing voice. Mr. Weber angrily stepped back.

“There will be severe consequences for this,” he told Mike and the rest of the class as they walked out of the room.

“Yeah, and I think you’re going to be very surprised what they are.” Robin said.

Mr. Weber called security to report that his students had revolted and left his class.

“Good God, James! What did you do this time?” The voice responded in an exasperated tone. There was a sigh. “Go to the office, James. I’m sure they’ll be looking for you in a few minutes.”

The students walked to the office, where Robin and Candy went in, followed closely by Mike. The secretary looked up to see the two pretty girls, with the towering form of the football player behind them.

“Can I help you?” She asked.

“We need to speak with Mrs. Jackson, please. It’s quite urgent.”

“Let them in, Angie. Security has already called. When James Weber arrives, please send him in, as well.”

The students waiting in the hall moved to the wall, so that they did not disrupt travel, and they waited quietly.

The three students in the office waited patiently until Mr. Weber could arrive, and then allowed him to make his statement.

“. . . so I called his name as I went down the roll, and he refused to answer. I called his name again, and again, he refused to answer. Then I-“

“Wait, he? What name did you call?”

“Andrew Mason, of course.”

“And why would you use that name? Your class list clearly states the name is Candace Mason.”

“But his name is Andrew Mason! I refuse to participate in this ridiculous-“

“So you decided that, despite instructions and against school policy that you were clearly briefed on ahead of time, and despite a non-discriminatory policy THAT YOU SIGNED, you decided that you had the right to publicly out this student, is that what you are telling me?” Mrs. Jackson was a small woman, but she clearly was not a weak one, and she was quite obviously very angry. “You decided to expose this school and this school system to legal action that could cost us dearly? Is that what I understand, Mr. Weber?”

James Weber was at first defiant, but as Mrs. Jackson had been angrily speaking, he knew that he had walked voluntarily into a very deep hole. By the time she had finished, he was cowering in his chair.

“Uhm, I believe you have a firm grasp of the situation,” he admitted. “I appear to have cut my own throat, here.”

“Oh, no, I think I want that privilege for myself!” She was livid. “You will need to contact your Union rep, and it would probably be wise to start drafting a very public apology. If I have my way, you won’t be allowed to teach anyone or anything for a very long time, James.”

“Candace, I want to offer my very sincere apologies." Mrs. Jackson said, concerned. "Thanks to one of my teacher’s stupidity,” she stared pointedly at James as she said this, “I know that you have been exposed to possible harm, and I know of no way in which I can possibly rectify this situation. If you were to be hurt because of this man’s actions . . .”

“She won’t be,” Mike said. He looked at Candy and Robin. “Yes, a bunch of us have figured out that that Candy was Andrew.”

“What?” Robin asked, surprised.

“Let’s see, who did you three ALWAYS hang out with last year? Who was at the park most of the summer? It wasn’t a great task for us to realize that Candy used to be Andy. Really, Candy Mason, Andy Mason? If you were going to hide it, you did a lousy job.” Mike smiled. “It’s okay. When you did everything you could to protect Andrew last Christmas, a lot of us started thinking about what we had done. Andrew helped me with my homework a few times, and I knew he was a good person.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of real assholes out there that won’t like this. I can’t always be there to protect you, and you could really get hurt because of this. Whoever does it is going to be facing a shitstorm, though, pardon my language. Me and my friends will do our best, Candy, we promise.”

Robin stood and gave Mike a kiss on the cheek. “You’re a pretty good guy, Mike.”

He blushed, but said nothing.

Candy was having a hard time handling her feelings. She was trying to remain calm, though. Should she be reassured or concerned? The secret was out, but to have someone like Mike on her side . . .

It was so confusing. She really needed to talk to Karen. What was Mom going to say? Candy knew she wouldn’t like this at all. Not one bit.

End Chapter 5. More to come, as soon as I can!

A Sweets Life-Chapter 6

Just a quiet chapter, this time.

Mrs. Jackson had decided to bring Candy home, so that she could discuss the problems with Candy’s mother. Jenna was not pleased. In fact, she was explosively emotional, perhaps even murderous. Diane Jackson bore the brunt of her anger, sitting quietly in a chair with a resolute lack of emotion. When Jenna stopped to actually breathe for a few minutes, Diane looked her in the eye.

“Ms. Mason, I can certainly understand and sympathize with your feelings. I am responsible for the truly deplorable behavior of one of my teachers, and I accept that responsibility. That said, I must tell you that I am still working on ways to protect your daughter, and we need to work together in a calm and rational way to assure this.”

Candy stepped up to her mother, very carefully.

“Mom, she already went nuclear on Mr. Weber! It isn’t really her fault!” The tears were quite obvious. “If it’s anyone’s fault it’s . . . mine.”

Dianne and Jenna both looked at Candy.

“I guess I expected it.” She said with a resigned sigh. “I knew people would have problems with me. I was warned that this was gonna be hard. It might’ve been better to just keep pretending I was Andrew. Maybe I was just . . .”

“Now that’ll be enough!” Diane stood and took Candy’s hand. “This is not a game, Candace, this is life! You were living a lie, and you needed to fix that. I’m sorry that James couldn’t respect that, but don’t forget, many people were aware of your “secret” already, and there had been no incidents. The students, in general, either don’t care, or have accepted your change.”

“They what?” Jenna asked.

“Some of the kids already figured it out.” Candy said, shrugging. “Maybe we didn’t do so hot at keeping the ‘secret”. I guess they’re cool with it, though.”

Jenna was shocked. She had expected a much more violent reaction. As part of her research, she had read a series of books, starting with “Standing Up To Life”, by Tiffany Shar. The lead character, a young boy discovered his need to be a girl, much like Andrew. In the books, she went through incredible difficulties in her struggle for acceptance. Jenna had expected Candy to face similar problems.

“I don’t think we can expect everyone to feel the same,” Diane said. “Apparently Candace has some powerful friends, though, and they will do their best to protect her. I believe the intimidation factor alone may stop a few of the less aggressive tormentors.”

“Hold on!” Jenna said, surprised. “What are you talking about? "Powerful friends"? You mean the girls?”

“Well, them and some pretty big football players!” Candy said. “Mike Bingham promised that he and some of his friends would be there to help me, and if I got hurt, they were going to make sure that the person that did it would regret it!”

“Mike Bingham? I don’t think I know him.” Jenna said, searching her memory.

“Mom, if you met Mike, you wouldn’t forget him!” Candy said, giggling.

Diane smiled. “Michael Bingham is a very large and imposing freshman that our football coach has been drooling about. He stands almost six and a half feet tall, and is nearly as wide, and is all muscle. He’s quite impressive, and seems to feel protective of Candace.”

Jenna blinked. A jock was protecting her daughter? She had feared that the jocks would be the first to attack her! Were the problems she worried about completely misguided? It seemed that most of the stereotypes in her mind weren’t working as she had expected at all. The Principal understood, the kids liked her, even knowing who and what Candy was, and the jocks were protecting her? It was almost too good to be true!

“Maybe this isn’t as big a problem as I had made it out to be.” Jenna admitted, but Diane was quick to speak up.

“I think it’s much too early to relax.” She said, and she noticed a slight grimace from Jenna. “We still need to be careful, and do our best to truly protect Candace while allowing her a normal experience at school. I will do my best, and I know there will be others, but we cannot be there at all times. You still need to be very careful, dear. You also have a life outside of school, with problems that could be completely different.”

Candy nodded, but Jenna was already feeling much better. It was such a comfort knowing that Mrs. Jackson appreciated the problems and supported Candy in her need to be herself. It was far more than Jenna had expected.

“Mrs. Jackson-“she started, but was quickly interrupted.

“Diane, please.” She smiled. “I have a feeling we are going to get to know each other quite well over the next few years.”

Jenna smiled in return. “I fear you may be more right than we know. I hope it won’t always be bad news, though. I’m Jenna, by the way, and I truly appreciate your coming here with Candy, and your support.”

“That’s just a part of my job, Jenna. I love kids, and I refuse to allow them to be bullied.” She smiled at Candy. “Even by themselves. You are a beautiful girl, Candace. Enjoy it, as much as you can. We will do our best to help you.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Jackson. We’re cool.”

Diane smiled. “See you in school tomorrow. Have a good evening.”

“Bye, Diane.”

Candy gave Jenna a quick kiss, and then ran upstairs to change. Of course, the first thing she did was to call Robin.

“Hi! How did it go?” Robin asked. “Didjer Mom freak out?”

“Well yeah, at first, but Mrs. Jackson got her calmed down.” Candy said, as slipped her school clothes off. “She’s pretty cool!”

“I was pretty scared when she jumped Mr. Weber. I thought she was going to kick his ass!”

“Oh, me too! I wonder if he’ll get fired for real?” Rummaging through her drawers, Candy found a cute blue t-shirt with a teddy bear on the front, and a pair of workout sweats. Perfect.

“I think I’d almost bet money on that.” Robin knew that once her dad heard the story, he’d be calling Candy’s mom. “So, ya wanna come over and work on our homework?”

“I don’t know if mom’s gonna let me outta the house, but I’ll try, kay?

“Cool. Maybe I’ll just come over there, ya think that’d be better?”

“I know Mom would be cooler with that, but you be careful, too!”

“Yeah, yeah, I will.” She said. “I grew up with this, remember?”

“I guess. See ya in a little while?”

“Yep. Seeya!”

Candy hung up and put her phone in her pocket. She expected to hear from Jennifer and Tina at any time, and she wasn’t disappointed. Tina called her as she was going back down the stairs. She went through a similar discussion with her, invited Tina over to work on homework, and saw Jennifer waiting in the living room.

“Jenny got here a few minutes ago,” Jenna said. “I thought you would probably have the girls over to do homework, so I made a big bowl of popcorn and set a bottle of cola and some ice on the study table.”

Candy smiled. “You’re the best, Mom.”

“I know. What, are you surprised?” They both giggled as Candy went into the living room to get Jenny, and headed back to the den to get ready for the girls.

End Chapter 6-More soon! Comments welcomed, and appreciated! How am I doing so far?

A Sweets Life-Chapter 7

Harsh feelings ahead! The water starts to get a little bumpy!

Danni Evans was in a bad mood, as usual. No one knew what her problem was. She always seemed to have a scowl on her face, and if questioned about it, she would either ignore you or stare at the person asking with a nasty expression. She usually didn’t actively cause problems in school, but she had a reputation of having little tolerance for anybody’s problems. She went to school, got decent grades, and then left the school. No one knew what she did after school. She was never seen in the mall or at the local park.

She shared a few classes with Candy, including her 5th hour History class. She didn’t understand what happened yesterday, and it annoyed her that they had stood in the hall until 6th hour, for no apparent reason. It was something to do with some “Andrew” kid.

All he had to do was answer the damn roll call.

She didn’t know what the deal was with the girl, or why Mr. Weber almost hit the other one. She had a feeling he wouldn’t be back. The teachers weren’t allowed to hit the kids. That was for after school.

She couldn’t believe that the big jock had stopped Mr. Weber. Why would someone like him even care, much less risk being kicked off of the team? Of course, as big as he was, he might have felt pretty secure. Nobody was gonna mess with no sports star, of course. Everybody knew the jocks were “holy”, and untouchable. Another piece of stupidity she knew she just had to live with.

Danni wasn’t stupid, so she kept her ears open. She was disgusted when she heard the rumors. Almost everybody agreed. Andrew was a boy that wanted to be a girl! Why? He sounded like some loser that had mental issues. Why would any boy want to be a weak, powerless girl, someone that was totally worthless except for the sex and housework?

Andrew was obviously stupid. Stupid people were a waste of air.

Candy had been tense all day, but no one had said anything she could really call mean. There were lots of strange looks and stares. A few times she felt really insecure around some people, but there was nothing she could really point to. Everything just felt “off” a little. She tried to make sure she was always with her friends, except when she went to one of the handicapped restrooms.

There was a new teacher in the History class, probably a sub. He called the roll, including “Candy” Mason, to which she answered. A few people looked her way, and she thought she heard a muffled giggle, but the class proceeded normally. Candy participated in the discussion, making several interesting points, and actually seemed to be having fun.

Danni was confused by this. Apparently, the kid was a brain, so why . . . it just wasn’t fair. “Candy” was smart, pretty, dressed well and had friends. What the f*** was his problem? Girls were girls, boys were boys. You don’t change that. The whole thing just creeped Danni out, and made her skin crawl. It was just so . . . weird! So far, high school was starting to turn her stomach.

As they walked into the hall, Danni found herself behind Candy, and when Candy stopped suddenly, they bumped into each other.

“Come on, freak, get yer ass outta the way!”

Danni pushed past, leaving Candy behind. Damn, she touched her! It made Danni almost want to throw up, No, she pushed that thought down. Throwing up would make her weak, and Danni wasn’t weak, despite what her father said. She headed on to her next class.

Candy wasn’t even sure how to react to the very rude girl. She had almost said something, but the girl had quickly disappeared into the crowd of people. Robin took her hand, and they took their place in the mass of human traffic and made their way to their last class for the day, English 1. It was Candy’s favorite class. She loved so many things about it! It was the last class, it was easy, and, best of all, all of the girls were there, and sat close together. Even Mike was in this class. She always felt safe in English class. The freak comment disturbed her, but she followed Robin into the room, and they took their seats.

Tina noticed Candy seemed a little distracted, but decided to wait until after class to say anything. She also noticed Robin joking and laughing with Mike. They looked good together, Tina decided, and he seemed like a very nice guy. Scary big, but nice!

English class was usually a great one. The teacher could be very funny, and it seemed to whip by. Each of the girls agreed, sometimes they really didn’t want class to be over! Miss Engle gave them their homework assignments just as the bell rang. Mike walked them to their lockers, but had to leave for football practice after school.

“He is so nice,” Robin said, as she watched Mike walk down the hall.

“He is huge!” Jenny laughed. She was the tallest of the girls, but very willowy.

“I think someone has a crush!” Candy said, smiling. “Maybe we should go watch them practice sometime.”

“Oh, definitely,” Tina commented, licking her lips. “Man meat!”

Everybody laughed at that, and they started their walk home

“What are we doing tonight?” Candy asked, and Jenny quickly responded.

“My house tonight! Mom’s making her excellent Queso dip, and we have chips and veggies for dipping.”

“Yum! Your mom makes great snacks!”

Robin laughed. Most of their mom’s just opened a few bags of pretzels, cheese balls and corn chips, tossed them into bowls and stood back. Not that it was a bad thing, of course. Jenny’s mom just liked to be different, and Jenny was very proud of her.

Tina remembered what she had noticed before class.

“Candy, are you okay? Ya looked a little weirded out before English.”

“It’s nothing, really.” She smiled. “I just had a quick run-in with Smiley when History class let out.”

“Candy had to stop to miss some other kids, and Smiley bumped into her.” Robin told them. “She was very rude, but what’s new? Ever since school started, she’s been like that.”

“I heard she’s been like that for a long time.”Jenny said.”One of the girls said that after her mom died, all of her happiness seemed to disappear.”

“Oh, that’s so sad!” Tina said. “Losing your mom has to be one of the worst things that could happen!”

“I don’t know what I would do without my mom,” Candy said, reflectively. “I’m not even sure where I would go!”

“Don’t you have Grandparents, or aunts or uncles, someplace?”

“Maybe, but I don’t know them, or if they exist. And what would they say about this?” She asked, waving her hand past her blouse and skirt. “I’ll bet that would go over real well!”

“Maybe we need to talk to my Dad.” Robin said, thoughtfully. “I think we should. It would be part of protecting you, wouldn’t it?”

“I think you’re right, Robin.” Jenny said, and Tina nodded in agreement.

It wasn’t a very happy thing to think about, at least not at first.

“Hey, maybe Mom and Dad would adopt you,” Robin smiled. “We could be sisters!”

Candy smiled, a little wickedly. “Oh sure, and end up with that man-mountain for a brother-in-law? Naah!”

Robin blushed as the other girls laughed.

“Okay, now yer gonna get it!”

The girls screamed and laughed as they ran ahead of Robin. Life was good!

End Chapter 7-Stay tuned! More to come!

A Sweets Life-Chapter 8

I know, I know, all that wait, and it’s a short, sad chapter. Sorry! I have my reasons! This gets a bit nasty, so I bumped up the rating to mature. Do kids really read these?

Candy was starting to realize there were too many windows in her room. The old fashioned regular glass windows really did almost nothing to stop the cold. Her room was so cold, her fingers hurt!

Mom had been talking about putting better windows in, but there was very little money for them. Candy knew that the bills for her doctor and counselor appointments were eating into their cash. Mom made a pretty good salary, but Candy had so many appointments!

She had tried to get some babysitting jobs, but all of the parents didn’t want a “freak” to take care of their kids. Words like that hurt her. She knew she was different, but she wasn’t dangerous!

The first few weeks at school had been a bit challenging, but people were getting used to her, and life was getting better. Candy was actually having fun with her friends! It didn’t hurt that she always hung out with some of the prettiest girls in school. They had become a regular fixture at the football games, cheering Robin’s boyfriend, Mike. People called them The Mike Squad, and they had several people that cheered with them. Mike was a football hero, and he had already talked to a couple of college scouts.

Candy didn’t understand very much about football, but when the cheering started, she joined in, enthusiastically. After all, Mike was a good friend! Besides, she always supported Robin, and supporting Mike felt like supporting Robin.

There were some incidents that told Candy that she couldn’t relax her guard completely. Nothing serious, but she knew that she had enemies. Sometimes it felt like someone was stalking her, just waiting for that opportunity to strike.

It was hard to believe that someone could hate her for wearing different clothes. Of course, Andy had never really felt safe at school, either. It made no sense to her. She had always tried to be a nice person, and really, nothing she did affected anyone but her. If she wore boy clothes, she got beat up by bullies. If she wore girl clothes, people called her names and felt that they had a right to publicly hate her. Why? What had she done?

Jenna knew that Candy was afraid sometimes, and she shared her concerns. It was like an invisible enemy, you knew there was danger, but where, when and how it would strike was a complete mystery. It was maddening! Andy had begun his transition to help reduce his stress, and to really be who was meant to be. Candy was so much more relaxed and happier than Andy had been, but the stress of waiting for someone to hurt her was almost as bad.

She silently thanked God for the friends that protected Candy. That was the only reason she hadn’t removed Candy from the school. The three girls that made up her support team, Tina, Robin and Jennifer, had been joined by others, like Robin’s huge boyfriend. He had been such a good friend, and when he met Jenna, he had been the complete gentleman. Jenna could tell that while he may be a terror on the football field, in real life he was a gentle, caring person.

If only Candy’s father David could have been that kind of person, rather than the preening peacock who bullied his way through life. She knew that David DiVenne had only joined the Army to kill people and become a “hero”. Well, she thought, that didn’t work! What a disillusionment. He had seemed so nice, but as soon as he “scored”, she had been discarded for another conquest. He never even knew about his child, and Jenna knew if he had, it would have made little difference. How such a loving and gentle child had come from such a pompous ass was a puzzle to Jenna.

Could Mike be a person like that? Jenna didn’t think so. She trusted him not only to protect Candy, but the other girls as well, especially Robin. The thought of Robin being forced to go through life like Jenna was completely unacceptable. She had already talked to Candy and Robin. They were sure that Mike was not like that, and Robin had told her it wasn’t going to be a problem, not for a very long time! Mr. Gabriel would be so let down if she did anything like that, and she knew he was watching over them.

Sometimes Jenna had a hard time believing, but the girls seemed so sure. They trusted in the power of God, and they lived their lives to please him. They were determined that they would eventually be in His presence, and disappointing Him was not acceptable.

All four girls walked a little surer, not with pride, but with determination. They knew that their lives would be a struggle, especially Candy’s, but they had a plan. They were all going to college together, and they would always stay in touch. Mr. Gabriel had charged them with protecting Candy, and that was what they would do, somehow. Their determination really concerned Jenna. What would they do if something did happen? Were they really willing to give their lives to protect her daughter?

It was a sobering thought.

At the same time Jenna was considering her daughters future, Danni was seething with hatred, and had absolutely no thoughts of hope. Her father had once again showed her that she was weak, and only good for housework and serving his “needs”. She felt so dirty, and used.

Why her hatred somehow focused on Candy was a mystery. Was it envy? Only Danni knew, but her hatred was like a flame. She burned to hurt that stupid tranny weirdo. She wasn’t sure how, but it was going to be something that fake bitch would never forget.

Her father’s shouting made her cringe, and she knew what he wanted. She hated it, but what could she do? No one was going to help her. She knew her place. She left the kitchen and walked to the bedroom, quickly, so he didn’t beat her again.

End Chapter 8-To be continued, hopefully soon. I apologize for the delay!

A Sweets Life-Chapter 9

At last! I apologize for the delay! Too many personal issues, and a muse on “vacation”. Hah! As if.

High school life tends to be a bit dramatic sometimes, and “cliques” form fairly early. The popular kids, the brains, the slackers, and all the smaller subgroups would be recognizable to anyone who has ever attended an American high school. There are always cross-overs, like a Jock who is popular and brainy, or a cheerleader that understands math and computers. This is generally accepted and normal.

Candy quickly became known as being “pleasantly weird”. Aside from her gender issues, she seemed to be able to fit in with almost anybody, without really being sucked into any one group. She was comfortable with the brains, hung out with some of the popular girls and the jocks, and had friends who lived to the beat of a “different” drummer.

It was becoming clear, however, that there were some people who didn’t like her. Some of the Bible thumpers were offended by her, and there seemed to be some people who just hated her without any real reason. In fact, it sometimes seemed that someone really wanted to hurt her.

Super glue on her chair, “liquid ass” sprayed in her locker, graffiti on her backpack, and even some so-called “accidental” incidents involving pushing, tripping or being shoved into walls or lockers. Several nasty rumors had been spread, and some of the “friends” she had made in the beginning of the year had begun avoiding or ignoring her.

Her real friends did all they could to protect her, but they couldn’t be with her all of the time, although they tried. Surprisingly, perhaps due to the girls’ support at the games, the jocks seemed to have adopted Candy and her group of protectors, which helped to intimidate most of the bullies.

The harassment went on for some time, but Candy didn’t give in to the intimidation. She and her friends held their heads high, and did their best to volunteer and help out at school. Gradually the rumors were shown to be false, and some of the more physical incidents stopped, but things continued to happen to her, and it even spread to her friends. The worst incident was when someone had secretly sprayed glue into Tina’s hair while she studied in the library. It had to be cut short, and Tina had been very upset.

Danni was very careful to make sure she only inspired the mayhem, and never actually did anything to Candy or her friends. There were too many risks, and too many people watching. Yes, she had started a few rumors, but only in very subtle ways, and even that had stopped once people started to see how friendly the girls truly were. It was very hard to convince anyone that the four girls were even capable of nasty behavior.

She wasn’t sure what it was that most irritated her about the “Goody Squad”, as she called them. Somehow they just really offended her, and that was enough to provoke a total dislike for them, especially that gender freak, Candy. It only took Danni seeing Candy to send her into a black, angry mood.

There was more to Danni’s rage than just anger. She was very frightened.

Danni suspected that she might be pregnant. Her period was very late, and she felt nauseated a lot. She thought about seeing the nurse, but she was afraid it would get back to her father. At first, she had thought that it would please her father if the child was a boy, but then she realized that this baby was in real danger from her father. If he somehow discovered she was pregnant, she was truly afraid of what her father would do to her. The baby was a real danger to him, because now she had proof that he was raping her.

It was no longer safe to be anywhere near her father, and Danni knew she had to runaway as soon as she could. It was too early for her to show yet, and she needed some clothes and a stash of money she had been hiding from him. Her plan was to catch a bus to some big city, and then turn herself in to the police. The police in say, Sacramento, had no connection to her father, and would take her concerns seriously. The key was to keep things hidden from her father, and protect the baby at all costs!

She was so concerned that she became distracted, and left her book bag in her 5th hour class. Candy saw it, and tried to return it to Danni, but they became separated before Candy could catch her. Unknown to Candy, Danni had skipped her last class, so that she might be able to slip into and out of her house before her father found out, so that she might possibly avoid her father’s attentions that night.

After class, Candy went down to the office, hoping to see Danni before she left, but when she didn’t see her, she asked if she might have Danni’s address, in order to find her and return her books. She rode her bike home and told her Mom what had happened. Jenna was nervous about Danni being in that neighborhood, so she asked Robin to come with her, and Robin convinced her boyfriend Mike to tagalong.

They rode their bikes to the neighborhood where the directions said Danni lived. It was a very grimy and almost spooky neighborhood. The buildings on the block didn’t seem to have any complete numbers, but they were working on a way to find her address when Candy heard the sound of someone crying in pain. They followed the sound, and discovered Danni in between two cars, hiding and holding her stomach.

“Danni, are you okay?” Robin asked, but Candy rushed over to her.

“Get away from me! I don’t need you to help me, you. . . freak!”

Candy ignored her, and helped her to her feet.

“I told you, I DON’T WANT YOUR HELP!” She screamed and glared at Candy, but that was all she could do, she was too weak for anything else.

“I DON’T CARE about what you want!” Candy told her, and she hugged the injured girl. “You need me right now, and I AM going to help you!”

Danni looked at Candy, and she knew that she truly wanted only to help her. She collapsed tearfully into Candy’s arms. She was able to help pull her out and into the safety of Mike’s huge arms. Robin had already called 911 on her cell, and they could hear sirens in the background.

“He-he killed my baby!” Danni wailed, in despair. “He saw me vomiting, and he knew I was pregnant. He kicked me and punched me in the stomach to force me to miscarry!”

Mike suddenly seemed to have grown 2 feet taller. He was angry, but he carefully and gently asked who she meant.

“My-My father! He raped and beat me, and now he wants to kill me! I’ve been hiding, but I know he’s going to find me!” She looked around, frightened that her father might come around the corner at any time.

“Let him.” Mike said, and his angry voice was like the rumble of an earthquake.

“No, Mike! We need to let the police handle this.” Robin cried and held his arm. “I don’t want you to get into trouble, and if you kill him in your anger, you’ll go to jail. I couldn’t bear that!”

Her tears were enough to calm Mike down. “All right, Rob, I’ll be good, I promise.”

The sirens seemed to get closer, and soon they could see a patrol car and an ambulance. Just as they pulled up, David Evans sprang at Danni with a knife. Mike grabbed her and turned so that his back was between Danni and her father, but everyone was surprised when Candy spun and kicked Mr. Evans in the face with a quick roundhouse kick, which caught him in the jaw. He fell to the ground, stunned, and the officers were upon him immediately.

“Whoa!” Mike said, as he stared at Candy. Robin was in shock, as Candy modestly blushed. “Mom insisted I take self defense classes. Really, it was just a lucky kick!”

“Well done, young lady. That was impressive!” One of the officers told her. “Can anyone tell me what happened-one at a time please?”

The paramedics were checking Danni over as she tried to explain. “Please, Miss! Relax, and you can tell him once we get to the hospital! You need to lie back, and let your friends take care of this, please!”

Candy stood next to the gurney. She kissed Danni on the forehead.

“We’ll get things started here, go to the hospital and see if there is anything the doctors can do. We’ve got this, girlfriend.”

Danni looked into her smiling eyes, and she cried. Girlfriend? “But I . . .”

“Shush, I’ll be there as quick as I can, okay?” Danni stared for a second, then nodded and closed her eyes. “Be safe.” Candy whispered to her. They loaded her into the ambulance, closed the doors and drove off, lights and sirens blaring.

End, Chapter 9. More to come! I’ve handcuffed my muse to the bed. She seems to like it!

A Sweets Life-Chapter 10

Okay, this is a little short, but it came to me pretty much as is!

True to her word, Candy was at the hospital as soon as she could get there. She found Danni’s room, and went in. Danni was weeping, and Candy rushed to her side and gave her a hug.

“You lost the baby?”

Danni could only nod, sadly, as her tears continued. Candy pulled her in as she wept for the girl. There was no talking for some time. Eventually, Danni recovered enough to be able to speak.

“Thank you.” She said, quietly. “I thought that I would die out there tonight. If I had the opportunity-maybe I should have?”

“No, please, don’t think like that!” Candy said, pulling Danni into another hug. “It isn’t over, not by a long shot. You can have a wonderful life ahead of you!”

Danni just wanted to die! If only this wonderful girl knew how mean she had been . . .

How could she ever explain the things she had done, the way that she had acted? She felt so ashamed, and guilty. On top of everything else, knowing what she'd done made her hurt, so bad!

“Danni, please, listen to me.”

She looked into Candy’s eyes.

“No matter how bad you feel, or how guilty and unclean you might think you are, it will be better soon. Time has a way of letting us heal ourselves, but first we have to let go of all of the bad things. We have to forgive ourselves, and let our hearts forget.”

“You don’t understand, Candy! I was mean and wicked, I hurt . . . I hurt you! I was so angry at the world, and you were just an easy target. I am so sorry! What I did, the things that I said . . . they are unforgivable!”

“Now you listen to me, girl! NOTHING is unforgivable! I forgive you for anything you did. You’ve had such a hard, hard life. You were angry, and if you chose to take your anger out on me, well, I’ve got strong shoulders!” Candy’s tears told Danni that she was sincere. “You may not want to hear this now, but God forgives you, and he loves you! How could I do less? I am your friend, and you can always count on me!”

Both of the girls were crying again. “Your old life is over, Danni. Right now, today, you are beginning a whole new life. Relax, and let yourself heal. I’m not going to go all religious on you-well, not yet, anyway. I will be praying for you, and praying for your loss. Trust me, when you leave here, there will be friends waiting for you. You may not believe it, but there are people who care about you, who will be there for you. I have to go for now, the nurses have already told me I couldn’t stay long, but I told them I promised to be here. Think about things, and try to have a good night. I’ll try to be here as soon as I can tomorrow. I AM your friend, I promise!”

The two girls hugged, and Candy kissed Danni’s forehead. “See you tomorrow, okay? Sweet dreams!”

Danni waved and watched as Candy left. *That girl was amazing!*, she thought. *How could I have been so stupid?*

She lay back, and she thought about what had happened. She thought about a lot of things.

--o–o--

The walk to school was kind of quiet (well, how quiet could four teenage girls be? Let’s be a little realistic), and the school day passed slowly for Candy. Last night’s incident was the biggest topic around the school, and rumors and innuendo flew at warp speed.

Candy and her friends made no comment, and kept to themselves. They were concerned about Danni, and what would happen to her now. With her mom gone, and her father . . . indisposed, as it were, who would step up to protect her and her interests?

Robin’s mother met them at the school exit, and she asked Candy to come with her and Robin.

“What’s up, Mom?”

“We need to run a special errand, and I wanted to talk to you both, but especially you, Robby. Your father and I have been asked to do something, but I wanted your input, hon.

One of your teachers is also a social worker for your school. She called to ask if she could speak to your father and I, so we went to your school earlier today. She told us a story of a great need at your school, and while we believe we know what you will say, we wanted to check with you before we did anything.

I know you are well aware of what happened last night. To put it quite simply, we have been asked if we would consider fostering Danni Evans. I know it would be a great imposition for-“

“Do it, Mom! We’ve been worried all day about what would happen to her, and this would be perfect!”

Her heart swelled with pride, and Mrs. Ames laughed. “We kind of thought you would feel that way, sweetheart. You girls have made us so proud lately. All right, let’s go up to the hospital, and see what Danni thinks, okay?”

Yes! Candy and Robin were excited now. Maybe this would help Danni to get over the awful things that had happened to her. They were very impatient to see her now!

It was hard to control themselves and keep quiet as they went to Danni’s room. She was sitting up, reading a magazine when they came in, and her face lit up in a smile when Candy and Robin came in.

“Hi. Candy! Hi Robin! I’m a little surprised to see both of you, but also very happy you came to see me!”

Robin introduced her to her mother, and Danni politely shook her hand.

“Danni, remember when I said that there people who would be here to help you, and to take care of you?” Candy asked.

“Yeah, I’ve been worried about that all day. I hate the thought of going to an orphanage or something, but I guess that’s what has to happen.”

“Not necessarily, dear.” Mrs. Ames said. “There are other options available to you.”

“What kind of options? Did they find a relative, or something?” Danni asked,

“No, Danni.” Robin said with a smile. “What would you think of coming to stay with me and my parents?”

“Wh-what?” She was shocked. They couldn’t be serious, could they?

“Mr. Ames and I are registered foster parents. We’ve been asked if we would be willing to foster you, and we said yes, gladly! Robin is very enthused, and we think it is a wonderful idea. If everything works out, we were even thinking of making it permanent, if you’d like?”

Danni looked at Candy, and tears filled her eyes. She was amazed that things could happen this fast!

Robin wrapped her in a hug. “Please say yes, Danni. I really want you to come live with us, and maybe be my sister? Please?”

“You see, Danni? We really do want you to join our family. Do you think it might be okay?” Mrs. Ames asked, hopefully.

It was almost too good to be true.

“Do you really . . . I mean, are you sure you really want me? This is more than I could dream!”

“Please, Danni. Let us show you how serious we are. Let us love you, please?”

It was too much. Danni couldn’t see through the tears, and she couldn’t speak, so she nodded her head.

Robin hugged her some more, and her mom and Candy joined in, too. Danni was happy beyond words.

--o–o–

She smiled to herself. Those girls were so wonderful. She knew that Danni would do well with the Ames. Sometimes, this was so much fun! It was hard, doing her best to stay out of their lives, but sometimes things needed a shove to make them right. She didn’t want them to know she had pushed a little, so no one would remember her call. Surely, this was something that held some amazing promise! She would be glad to keep an eye on these children.

End Chapter 10. No, this is probably not the end. I love these characters! Gotta see what’s next, though!