Pale moonlight streamed through the window and bathed the floor of my hospital room. Through the haze of the painkillers dripping down into me, I thought the full moon reminded me of a ghostly ship, cut adrift in a sea of darkness. My name is Mark Brewer, I just turned fourteen. Two weeks ago, I was in a horrible car crash that killed my mother and has left me a ward of the state. I’m told by a case worker that my older sister.. Kayla Brewer, who lives in Benton and owns and a operates a Christmas Tree Farm has agreed to take me in. Okay I lied a little.

You see, the name Mark Brewer is not totally correct. it’s a boys name, and while I was born a male, part of me feels like I should have been born a female. I’ve been dressing in female clothing in secret on and off since I turned twelve two years ago. I’ve also started to grow my hair out. Right now it reaches down to my shoulders. Well it does, right now it's tied back in a low ponytail.

How many know about this? I’m not sure.. I do remember wearing a dress.. Yes my mom caught me wearing one of her old dresses one evening. She kind of freaked out. My mom was born and raised in a strict Southern Baptist household. The King James version of the Bible was the only true version of the bible to ever be produced by human hands was there creed, along with the fact that we were all sinners, doomed to the fires of hell and it would be at the expressed pleasure of a angry God to send all those who did not agree with the doctrine of the Southern Baptist Church into the never ending fires of hell.

Anyway dogma aside. My mother did not take kindly to see her only son standing in her bedroom, wearing her new Sunday dress, her heels and holding her purse. Yep, talk about a scolding. I think my ears are still ringing and that been a fortnight ago. And what happen, she marched me to the car and ordered me to get inside. It seemed she was going to drive me to my uncle and aunt in rural Holmes County.

Holmes county is one of the most rural counties in a Mississippi. And considering how sparsely populated this state is, that saying something. And my uncle and aunt live in Ebenezer.. One of the many unincorporated communities that dot the county. My uncle Perry Howard , the one my mom was driving me too was a true “Redneck” in the fullest sense of the word. He chewed tobacco, hunted and flew the Confederate battle flag from his front porch. And he hated people like me. He loved to throw the words “Fag” and “Queer” around. And after saying such a word he had to spit, as if just saying such a word had soiled his mouth. In short it was a death sentence for me.

But something happen. I don’t remember what. But right as we were entering Mississippi Highway 49 something happen. My mother lost control of the car and it rolled down a hill and we’ll. She died and I lived. I don’t remember much of what happen. Only being loaded up a ambulance and the rest is a foggy haze.

And so.. That why I’m sitting here in this hospital room on the eighth floor of “Mississippi Medical Center” located in the heart of downtown Jackson. The time? Going by the clock on the wall a little passed midnight. The date? Not sure, time moves slow here. There nothing to do between meals beside sleep and one can only sleep so long before even sleep loses its luster. Taking a deep breath I climbed out of bed and shivered as my bare feet touched the cold titles of the floor.

I was tired of lying in bed you see.. And I was tired of dreaming. Kayla, my older sister who was fourteen when I was born had been visiting me on and off since the wreck. Mom had died without a will, and so she and Uncle William where fighting tooth and nail for everything of value she owned. I only know bits and pieces of the legal battle being waged for me.. But my sister promised me.. She promised me that she’ll look after me.

And that was good to know.. But it was also the last thing on my mind as I slipped into the bathroom. I felt the urge to pee coming on.. Once I had finished my business, I started to wash my hands, I caught sight of something. Peering back at me in the mirror of the bathroom. Was a heart shape face, taking a deep breath I reached up and removed the ponytail holder. A waterfall of brown hair fell down. A cream colored heart shape face, framed by sandy brown hair with deep blue eyes. Yes.. I was no boy, I was a girl.. Gripping the old iron sink.. I started to shake.
My whole body started to shake, my breathing became hard and salty tears started to sting my face, the salty tears ran down my hot burning cheeks. My nose then started to drip clear mucus. I can’t tell you what came over me.. But I felt the whole weight of these pass fourteen days starting to fall down on me. For fourteen days I tried to keep a stiff upper lip but.. But something had finally broken that dam and the flood waters where rushing through.

I don’t know how long I stood there crying out all the built in tension, but it must have been a while.. Finally feeling emotionally drained and hollow inside.. I started to snuffle toward the door of my hospital room. Taking a deep breath I pushed open the door and peeked out into the fluorescent hallway. Seeing nobody around I stepped into the walkway and started to walk, using the handrail to support myself.

I walked till I reached a small reading room located at the end of the hallway. Shrugging my shoulders I walked into the tiny room. Toward the back of the room, there was a small bookcase, I felt a strange pull toward the bookcase. Most of the books where hardback with the titles being mostly those aimed at tweens to young adults. The “Hunger Game” trilogy was there with a few of the “Harry Potter” books. One caught my eye thought the title was simple “Madeline” The author was “Ludwig Bemelmans”.

The cover of the Book drew me in, and soon I found myself flipping through the pages. The gentle, child like prose of the author made me smile and I soon found myself laughing at the antics of the main character. Being something of a speedy reader, I force myself to slow down and reread the pages, so I could in a way savor and mellow in the warming prose of the story. Once I finished, I quickly flipped back to the first page and started to reread again.

For a quarter of a hour or better I stood there in that little room till a nurse in pink scrubs appeared in the doorway. She had short , honey blonde hair and deep blue eyes. For a good long minute she peered at me. It was a stern look, slowly she folded her arms across her chest and gently she started to tap her foot up and down, up and down.

“Alright young man.” She said to me in a scolding tone of voice. “What are you doing up? She directed the question at me. And judging by the tone of voice she wanted a good answer.

I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. I closed my eyes and peered down at the floor. Gently I shrugged my shoulders and formed my lips into a pout.

“Young man. I’ll have you know, I’ve been having every nurse in this ward searching for you. When I made my rounds at one in the morning to check on you. Your bed was empty and light in your bathroom one. I had no idea what to make of it.” She scolded as she moved into the room. She was about a arms length from me when she unfolded he arms and sighed. “Honey, I know you must be going through a lot. But still.. You gotta follow rules and the rules say all minors must be in there beds between ten o'clock and seven o’ clock when we bring breakfast.”

I nodded my head. My mind was still blank. My eyes remind fixed on the women as she entered into the room and in front of me. She then kneeled down and for a minute are two eyes connected. She then reached over and took my hands into her and smiled.

“I’m not mad or anything. I was just concerned that all.. I know your going through a lot right now Mark..” She said in a voice thick with concern and kindness.

“No,” I said taking a deep breath. “I’m not Mark.” I said again. I drew in a deep breath, it was now to take the plunge, I can not tell you how I felt, at that moment. I was full of doubt, I felt like Julius Caesar standing on the banks of the little Rubicon. And like Caesar before me.. I must cross that river to archive my goal.

“Oh?” Said the nurse clearly confused.

“I’m Madeline..” I paused. “Madeline Brewer.” I said trying to summon up all the courage I could muster.

A small smile formed upon the bow of the nurses lip as she gave my hand a little squeeze and gave me a knowing smile. Then in the same motherly tone of voice she said to me.

“Okay, Maddy. We’ll young lady, your going back to bed.” She then pinched her nose and shook her head. “But first we're going to give you a nice warm bath and change your gown.” She said reaching down and taking me by the hand and leading me out of the room and back down the hallway, back to my room.

Once we reached the room. The nurse guided me to the bathroom and drew a nice warm bath. The air inside the bathroom filled with steam and giving me a little wink she reached into one of the drawers and pulled out a small plastic bottle. Giving the bottle a little squeeze, a stream of blue liquid squirted out and once it touched the water, the surface of the water became covered with bubbles and fresh scent of Lavender and Magnolias filled the air of the bathroom and set me at ease.

The nurse then kneeled down and removed the stained hospital gown and tossed it to the side. She then helped me into the tub and a series of soft, sighs escaped my lips as I settled into the warm water that seemed to melt away all the pain and suffering that had seeped into my bones since the wreck. Smiling then she started to scrub my back. Then she scrubbed under my arms and my private area.. Then she shampooed my head with a sweet smelling shampoo.

The smell of strawberries and vanilla-sugar filled the air as the nurse rubbed the shampoo into my hair. Its safe to say, that I was in heaven as I dipped under the water and mellowed in the soothing scents and feeling that seemed to surround me. What happen next I have no idea. For I only remember warm water washing over me, washing away the suds and leaving my hair nice and shiny. The rest of the soap was washed away and I was helped out of the bathtub.

The nurse then took me by the hand and wrapped a nice warm towel around my body and gently started to pat me dry. She then brushed my hair and in a playful, almost teasing tone of voice asked me.

“So, ponytail? Pigtails? Or are you going to let me decided?” She said smiling sweetly as she ran the teeth of the brush through my hair, breaking the knots and leaving nice, silky smooth hair behind.

“You decided.” I said smiling, to be honest I was enjoying the attention being shown to me.

The nurse smiled and divided my hair down the middle. Slowly she started to tied each section back. For several minutes she worked her magic with those wonderful fingers and that brush that seemed to sooth away my worries. With each gentle stroke of the brush, I felt my eyes becoming heavier and heavier, till at last I felt like I was going to fall asleep right there and then.

“There..” She said smiling. “Where finished.” She stood me up and walked me toward the mirror over the sink. “Take a look princess. Now you look like Madeline.” She said placing her fingers on my shoulder. I noticed her touch felt a little light this time. A little less real if that makes sense. But none of that seemed to mattered as I peered into the mirror and noticed that standing there was a young lady with sandy brown hair. She was sporting two cute pigtails and a bit of freckles splashed across the ridge of her nose. Slowly I lifted my hand up and pressed my hand into the mirror. It was me, and it felt so right.

“Now.” The nurse said as she called my attention away from the mirror. “We need to get you dressed and into bed. There only four hours till the morning nurse arrives. And I’m afraid I’ve taken a little too much time with you. There others I still need to visit. “ She said holding up a pastel pink hospital gown. “Now, arms up.”

I held up my arms and she fitted the gown over my head and pulled it down and smiled. “Very Pretty,” She said smiling as she looked me over. “Okay, Madeline. It's time for you to get into bed.” She said as she guided me out of the bathroom. She pulled down the covers of my bed and I climbed in.
Once I was settled, she pulled the covers over me and tucked them under.

“Oh my name is Mindy, if you ever need anything. Just ask for Nurse Mindy.” She said smiling as she bent down and kissed my forehead. “Now get some shut eye princess. You have a busy day tomorrow.” And with that she seemed to almost vanish. Like a cloud of smoke being carried away by the wind. I only found that odd.. As I drifted to sleep.

The dry erase board in my room, told me the nurse for the morning shift was somebody named “Veronica”. It turns out that Veronica was a hand full of years older than me. A young nurse from school. She still had that freshly pinned shine about her. My eyes followed Veronica around the room as she checked on everything. She seemed a little ill at ease.

“Mark?” She said to me at last as she reached down and picked up my chart. “It seems somebody has crossed out your name and replaced it with the name ‘Madeline’.. is this a mistake or a prank?” She said as she sat on my bed and peered into my baby blue eyes.

I blinked and blinked again and gently shrugged my shoulders. Finally after a few tense minutes, I broke the silence with a response.

“Nurse Mindy might have changed it last night.. I told her last night I wanted to be called ‘Madeline’ and she said it was a very pretty name.” I nodded my head as if to affirm my answer. “She was the pretty blonde lady.. She said she was the evening nurse last night.”

The nurse blinked and blinked again. All the color drained from her face, it was like she had just seen a ghost or something. Slowly she looked down at the chart. After a few minutes she reached up and took out a pen from breast pocket of her blouse. Pushing the trigger of the pen down she quickly jotted down a note.

She nodded her head.

“Go on..” Veronica told me. “I’m listening.” She quickly added.

“Nurse Mindy put my hair in pigtails too! And she bathed me and tucked me in.” I said listing all the thing the nurse did last night. I peered toward Veronica who seemed to be jotting all this down. Finally she eased her pin down , once the pen was down she peered right at me and offered a small little knowing smile.

“It seems, it seems last night you encountered the friendly side of are local ghost. Nurse Mindy. See back in the early two thousands there was a women who worked here. Her name was Amanda and the children loved and adored her. One day.. She was killed in a car wreck coming as she leaving work. Since then, we’ve been getting reports of her appearing to children in need.” She paused and smiled.

“Anyway, ghost stories aside. We have a big day ahead of you. Your sister Kayla is coming by. The doctor has agreed to discharge you in a few days. Two I think, we just need to run a few more test first. A social worker will be here too, she’ll be interviewing you, nothing big just some basic questions. And your Uncle, William Bell will be here too. Legal questions and such.” Veronica paused. “So shall I address you as Mark or Madeline?”

“Madeline.. Please ma’am.” I said feeling a blush form on my face.

“Madeline it is then.” The nurse said with a small smile as she gave me a wink.

“Now, Madeline. Your going to have a few visitors today. The first one will be your Uncle William. And Later today your sister, Kayla Brewer.” She informed me with a small smile.

“Did somebody mention me?” Came a voice from the tall man who appeared in the doorway of the room. He was dressed to the nines, a cream colored button down shirt with ebony buttons. A dark blue tie, a charcoal colored coat with matching pants and leather dress shoes. Appearing by his side was a women wearing a deep blue dress. Her deep blue eyes fell on me and a small smile quickly formed on the bow of her lip. Her flaming red hair hung down and was curled up at the edge.

“William, darling. She adorable!.” She said peering toward me.

Uncle William blinked and blinked again. Reaching up he started to rub the back of his neck and a deep blush colored his face as he flushed with embarrassment. Slowly in his educated southern voice he said.

“Please Pardon us. I thought this was the room that my nephew Mark was assigned too.” His deep blue eyes fell on me. And for a minute I felt like he was peering into my soul. Then in a slow, measured tone of voice said. “Unless my nephew is now my niece. Not that I have a problem with that of course.” He said catching himself as he peered toward me.

Veronica was the first one to speak. She cleared her throat and in a clear voice said.

“Mark, now wishes to be called Madeline.” She said taking a deep breath. “As her caretaker, I respectfully ask you abided by her wish’s or I’ll be force to ask you to leave.” She said closed her eyes and waited there response.

The women was the first one to speak.

“Madeline! Such a darling name!” She said smiling as she walked over to the bed and reached down and took me by the hand. “I’m your aunt, you call me Aunt Isabella. I’m sorry we have to meet like this. I have a daughter around your age. Her name is Susan. Susan Elizabeth Mari Bell. That her full name, we call her Sue for short. She has a younger brother, James William Bell, we call him Daisy for short.” She said reaching down and giving my hand a tight squeeze. “Were here for you.”

William was the next to speak.

“As you know, I’m William Bell. I’m Lisa’s older brother.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Lisa was different than the rest of us. She left the Episcopal Church over the direction the mainline church was going. That was choice I guess. I respected the choice, but I can’t respect the choice she made regarding you. It was wrong for her to flip out and disown you like she did.” He said drawing in a deep breath. He then walked over and kneeled by my bedside.

“I understand, my sister did not want you around us a lot. But your family, and me and my wife Isabella here wanted you to know that.. If you ever needed us. Where one phone call away. I promised Kayla.. That if she ever needed any legal advice or anything legal drawn up. I’ll be there for her.” He said in a solemn tone of voice.

I felt my eyes started to moist.

“Its true darling. Now, if your going to be Madeline, your going to need a new set of clothes. Once your settled in Benton. Like once you and your sister has settled down. And you have settled into your new life. You and I are going shopping. One full day of wall to wall shopping. Where going to tear the doors off of North Park and Flowood.” She said smiling as she gave my hand a little squeeze.

A small smile crossed my face as I peered toward William. William for the most part took a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders. Finally he said in a totally defeated tone of voice.

“Consider it.. Just consider it a birthday gift. A birthday gift for the last fourteen or so years we’ve missed.” She said smiling as she stroked the top of my head. “Am I right William?” She said turning toward her husband, who stood there, looking down at the ground. I felt sorry for the poor man, as I thought he was wishing a hole in the floor would open up and swallow him whole.

“Of course.” He said finally. “Madeline will need some more clothes and Kayla would welcome to help. Speaking of Kayla, I need to have a meeting with her.” He said his voice trailing off. “It's just some legal documents she needs to sign. Nothing really retaining to you.”

With that being said, William left the room and closed the door behind him. Once the door was closed, all eyes became centered one me as the nurse and Isabella peered toward me, both wore little smiles plastered upon there faces. As both turned to me and smiled a soft smile.

“So, Madeline.” Isabella said smiling a little as she started to pat my head. “I must say, you did a remarkable job styling your hair in the classic pigtails. Did you do this yourself? Or did one of the nurse’s help you?” She inquired.

“Nurse Mindy did them.” I said quickly. “First she gave me a bath, then she did my hair and then she tucked me in.”

Isabella blinked and turned toward the nurse and in a serene tone of voice asked.

“May I please speak to this ‘Nurse Mindy’?” She paused and followed up her question with a statement. “Because I would like to thank her. She did a amazing job with Maddy hair. And her wonderful bedside manner no doubt a comfort for my special niece, who must be going through the seven rings of hell.” She said in a simple, matter of fact tone of voice.

Finally after a few tense minutes. My nurse finally broke the silence.

“She not here today. Nurse Mind is are evening nurse, she just left a hour or so ago.” The women paused and quickly added. “But I’ll pass the message along.”

The women then drew a deep breath and in a commanding tone of voice said.

“Anyway, I need to bath and redress Madeline. She has busy day ahead of her. She has a meeting with her doctor and her sister. So, if you please.” She said leveling her gaze toward Isabella.

“Of course.” She said smiling. “Madeline, I’m about to pop down and get a cup of coffee from the coffee shop in the lobby. Anything I can bring you?” She asked with a small smile.

“A hot chocolate would be nice.” I answered.

“One large hot chocolate coming up.” Isabella said before she vanished down the hallway.

And with that another episode comes to end.

I was halfway through my hot chocolate when the door to the my room swung open. There in the doorway stood my older sister. Now, Kayla was a full fourteen years older than me. Growing up, I rarely saw much of her, save those rare visits around the holidays. So, around three times a year if I was luck, those three times of course being Easter, Thanksgiving and finally Christmas.

“So.” She said taking a deep breath as she moved into the room and looked around her. “My little brother is going to be my little sister hmm? We’ll blood is blood she said.” She smirking a little as she peered toward me sitting up in bed and sipping my hot chocolate. Her eyes traveled from my the very top of my head to my face and from my face to my pigtails. And finally they traveled down to pink hospital gown I was wearing.

“Cleary she taken after mum. Has mum’s face and eyes. Even her hair. That nose though, that paw’s nose.” She said smiling as she moved toward the railing of the bed. She placed her hands on the railing peered into my eyes. For what seemed like forever and a day are eyes meet each other's gaze. Then finally she switched her gaze to something else.

“We’ll Madeline. I gotta say as far as little sisters go, your adorable. The pig tails suit you and so does the pink gown. I guess you know, your going to be living with me now. Now, Benton it’s a small town. The population’s no more than five thousand. There no big chain stores there, no malls, no big movie theaters. The Yazoo Delta- Valley Railroad does make daily stops there. So if you ever have twelve dollars to burn you can ride the rails into Jackson.” She paused and started to look out the window. Outside the window you could see the skyline of Jackson. The skyline was dominated by tall building made of steel and glass, Gothic Revival style churches, and square office building. And from the streets below, one could hear the footfalls of a hundred thousand pairs of feet.

I blushed, both at the praise and at the feeling of having my sister peering at me. As she started to talk about Benton, I started to pay closer attention and before I could help myself. I found myself asking her.

“Could, you please tell me a little more about Benton?” I asked.

My sister smiled and pulled up a chair and crossed her legs and gave me a nod of her head.

“Sure can. So sis, what do you want to know?” She asked me as she reached over and took my hand into hers. I blushed again, as I felt her strong, loving fingers surround mine.

“Everything.” I said taking a deep breath as I peered toward my sister. “Start from the beginning.”

And so she did.

“We’ll as you know, mom kicked me out of house when I was fourteen. She discovered I’d been exchanging messages with other girls on the internet. And she also at that time discovered I was gay. So her being her kicked me out of the house and tossed my stuff out on the curve.” She paused and shook her head. She then drew in a deep breath and pushed on.

“Now, Grandpa heard about this. And he and grandma decided that no matter what I was, I was still there grandchild and no grandchild of there was going to go homeless. So they drove up and picked me up and took me in. It was grandma who taught me how to cook, how to sew, how to clean and how to garden. Grandpa taught me how to raise a garden and how to hunt and fish. I was a tomboy yes, but grandma made sure that I attend every dance and social the town hosted. She taught me.. How to be a lady..” My sister paused and smiled. And kind of off handily she said. “Just like I’m going to teach you to be a lady.” She said giving my hand a firm squeeze.

I could only sip my hot chocolate as I nodded my head. I was just a babe when all this happen.

“Grandpa and Grandma also made sure I my fair share. I’ll be expecting you to do the same. You’ll have chores to do. But, like grandma and grandpa you will be paid for chores. And your going to have your free days. Grandpa was a devoted Episcopalian, Sunday’s for the most part where a day of rest for his household. Save when there was cotton that needed to be harvested or crops in the garden. Then all wages paid on a Sunday where doubled. So expect to have about every Sunday off and one other free day during the week.” Kayla paused and smiled.

I finished my hot chocolate and tossed the paper cup into the paper waste basket by my bed. I then leaned back and nodded. My eyes started to grow heavy and I fell asleep coming over. My sister looked over and smiled as she reached down and pulled the blanket over me and tucked them in.

“Anyway. You look tired.” She stood up and gave my forehead a kiss. “You need to rest. I’ll be back in a few days. Some of the Winter Wheat I planted is coming in. And its all hands on deck.” She said in a matter of fact tone of voice.

I don’t remember much after that. For I feel into a deep sleep. And for the first time in a very long time, my dreams were filled with promise and hope. For I dreamt of the new life I was about to have with my big sister. The dreamscape conjured by my mind was I slept was one of a small town, one with brick building, mom and pop owned shops. The streets were paved with red brick and brown round cobblestones in some parts. The houses where all neat little cottages with black, slated roofs. Each house had a balcony that overlooked the cobblestone street.

Epilogue:

As promised a few days passed before the doctor in charge of my ward gave his approval for me to leave. The nurses by that point had taken to calling me “Madeline”. The time of my departure was set for seven O'clock in the morning. And so around five I was woken up, given a nice hot bath. My finger nails where clipped and my hair brushed out. Once brushed the nurse on duty combed it back and tied it back in a high ponytail. A new pair of white panties with a training bra was provided by the staff. And Aunt Isabella had provided me with a ruby red turtleneck sweater, a black skirt and legging. For shoes, she had gone with the basic looking Mary-Jane’s. And with my sisters approval, she even dapped a little lip-gloss on my lips and applied a little bush and eyeliner. I felt like a true “Princess” if you will.

The nurse then loaded me up in a wheelchair and left. She needed to attend to somebody else, but she promised she’ll be right back. Not that it bothered me, I could finally walk again. So if push came to shove then I could always walk out of here. I wanted too, but hospital policy said all wards had to wheeled out. And so I sat there twiddling my thumbs.

Then something happen, In the doorway another nurse appeared. She wore pink scrubs and had honey blonde hair and blue eyes. And wore a knowing smile and in her hands it seemed she was caring a book of some kind.

“Wow.” She said taking a deep breath. “When you clean up, you clean up. Finally getting past that tomboy phrase ay?” She said walking toward me and once she was a arm’s reach away she kneeled down and gave me a small smile. “You look beautiful darling.”

I blinked and blinked again.

“Nurse Mindy?” I said blinking. “But the other nurses said.. They said you where a ghost. Your not really a ghost are you?” I asked as my eyes traveled up and down her body. She seemed pretty solid to me.

The women only giggled and only gave me a smile that was full of mischief.

“Life full of little surprises.” And with that she placed the book she was caring into my lap and winked. “I gotta go sweetie. My shift is over, and I have another night of patrolling the ward ahead of me tomorrow. And Nurse Mindy needs her rest. But, you be good and stay sweet.” Her voice then changed. “And if you ever visit us again. I expect you to obey all the rules too. That includes staying in bed. I might not be so gentle next time.” And with that she vanished into the shadows.

To stay I was stunned is a underestimate. I wanted to put it down as a hallucination caused by the painkillers was still being pumped into me. But the book, the book felt real enough. Gathering my courage, I peered down at the cover of the book. The cover showed twelve little girls in two straight lines, walking toward a old house that was covered in vines. The title of the book “Madeline” with each letter spelled out in gilding letters. I flipped open the cover and on the first page. Somebody or something had written.

“For Madeline D. Brewer. May all your dreams and hopes come true. Love, Nurse Mindy.”

And with that, my adventure ends.

To be continued in The Adventures of Madeline Brewer.

Halloween was only a week away. The month of October it seemed had flown by. It was hard to believe that almost twenty one days had passed since me and my fellow doughnut club members had gathered together down at that little doughnut shop on main. With my favorite holiday being only a few days away, I decided one bright, sunny afternoon to put to rest something I've been meaning to do for a while. I decided to finally go down to Spirit's and buy a costume.

Now, I'm not your stereotypical girl. Yes I love to shop, and spending a whole day in the mall, hunting bargains and sells can be fun and all. But I rarely get to the mall, once a month if I'm lucky. I'm either tied up helping around the family farm, or I'm tied up helping Lily and Robin with their bakery, and now I'm tied up with cheerleading practice. Pile in schoolwork and the chores Kayla wants done each week, and that leaves very little time for anything else beside sleeping and eating.

I'm joking of course, one of the charms of living in a small town is life moves at a slower pace. Unlike say the big cities, I'll use Clinton as an example. In Clinton everybody is always in a hurry, nobody would even stop to give you the time of day. They have appointments to keep, business to attend to, chores and errors to run. People just seem like they're always in a rush. Vicksburg's the same way. But in Benton, it's common to find people lingering around the lobby of the Post Office, you know exchanging gossip and catching up.

Heck even at Sunflower, our local supermarket, you can expect to spend fifteen minutes getting stuck behind somebody who's talking to somebody else. And if you don't watch yourself, you might find yourself drawn into the conversation. That's just part of a small town living in the rural south.

Anyway I had procrastinated long enough. It was time for me to take a deep breath and take the plunge. And so withdrawing some money from the bank, and gathering up my courage, I biked over to the newest business to call Benton home, the huge, pop-up shop, that all in one Halloween superstore, Spirits.

As soon as I walked through the door I was greeted by an animatronic witch that twisted its body around and cackled loudly. A seasoned explorer of the woods and other supposedly haunted locations. The cackling witch only made me grin a little. I often wonder who's going to buy those over priced toys. I knew most of the animatronics at the store ran between one hundred and two hundred dollars. That was a pretty steep price to pay for some fancy Halloween decoration.

“Hey! Welcome to Spirits!” Shouted a blonde girl from behind the sales counter. Her baby blue eyes started to twinkle a little as locked eyes with me. “Oh Madeline! It's so good to see you girl! I was wondering when you would show up. Considering most of your gang has already been here to pick out their costumes!”

“Gang?” I questioned as I peered toward the blonde girl.

“Yes! Taylor and her mom were here a few days ago. Daisy's here now.” She paused as she started to think. “Jamie's helping Daisy pick out a costume. And yes, Jamie's going to wear a costume this year. Trust me on that. I'm not taking no for an answer.” She said smiling as she peered toward me. “I was kind of mean, and threatened a repeat of the Halloween before last on her. You know, the one where Heather showed up at her house and gave her that huge, public gunging?”

I nodded my head. How could anyone in Benton forget that night? See the Halloween before last, I think the Halloween of my Freshman year, so that would two years ago.

Anyway, that was before I got to know Jamie and before she became my best friend forever. The main difference was this, I was sure of myself as Madeline, I had embraced it, Jamie was still going back and forth. Anyway, Lily had written a letter to our local talk show hostess, Heather asking if she could not drop by and visit her and maybe gunge her sister. What happened next will always go down as one of the biggest and best Halloween pranks ever, Heather Ford not only paid the Potter's a visit that night, but also brought a freaking gunge tank! She then delivered what must have been the most epic of gunging to poor Jamie who was in her night dress, hair in rollers in front of the whole block. The girl still blushes every time somebody mentions it.

“Anyway, I trust your here to look for a costume?” Lily said smiling softly as she waved away the topic.

“Yes Ma'am.” I said whistling as I looked around. It might be rude but my eyes started to wander. Halloween decorations of all kinds from wooden tombstones, to bundles of fake cobwebs lined the walls, and sandwiched between them were rows upon rows of costumes.

“Cool, take your time and look around. We had a little bit of everything. We have cute ones, and we have the naughty ones and we have the very naughty ones that your mom would never ever approve of.” She said, smirking. “Though she totally wore one when she was your age.”

I giggled a little at that. There was some truth to that saying after all. Kayla, my older sister who had taken the role as mother and mentor to me these past three years would have raised seven hundred dollars worth of Cain before giving in if I wanted to buy one of them revealing costumes.

“So, if you don't mind me asking.” Lily paused. The moment she paused she leaned in and smirked. Her smirk extended from one side of her face to the other. “What kind of costume are you looking for?”

I blinked and blinked again. Slowly I opened my mouth and when I did the words came tumbling out, they just spilled out.

“I was hoping for something a bit risque. Like I'm no longer a twig.” I said blushing a little. “Heck, cheerleading practice, hiking through the woods and my pills have really transformed me.” I said blushing as I ran my hands over the curves of my body. You see over the last two years, an amazing and painful transformation has taken place. My body had become far more curvy, my manners more feminine and my chest had started to develop. I was now mostly on par with girls around my own age. My facial expressions had started to soften and I had found myself developing maternal instincts toward the younger members of our group. Those members included a trio I called “The Brat Pack” . Allow me to name them for you, Cerridwen Whitethorn, cute as a button pagan witch. Taylor Anna Croft, I always found myself saying her full name when such a mood struck me, the strawberry blonde haired princess of the group. And finally, James William Bell, or Daisy Isabella Bell, the gender fluid odd one. Who switched between 'He' and 'She' as often as people change underwear.

Yep, all those developments had caused me to feel better about me. So I felt more comfortable in my own skin. That sense of comfort had embolden me, and had given me the courage to branch and try something more risque.

“Oh! I bet Matthew would love to see you in that.” She said, smirking a little. “Oh! Are you going to attend the safe Halloween celebration tonight?” She asked, smiling softly.

I found myself blinking again. I had planned on going ghost hunting that evening. I had totally forgotten about the Safe Halloween thing till Lily brought it up. I raised an eyebrow and shrugged my shoulders.

“I kind of wanted to. I would have, but Jamie caught that cold, I know she had volunteered to do that ducking stool. I mean she was one of the few brave, or foolish people who volunteered. I mean have you seen that pond? It's totally overgrown with duckweed! Who ever gets dunked in there is going to have one heck of a time getting all that moss out of their hair.”

I know. Jamie getting a cold and a run of bad luck. Since a lot of people had already paid to see her get dunked. But we found a new volunteer. Want to guess who that brave new volunteer is? Here I'll give you three guesses and a clue, the first one does not count. Her name starts with a 'D'.”

“Daisy?” I said blinking. “OMG! Did she really volunteer?! Oh I'm so going to go now. I'm so going to drag Heather and Kayla along too!” I said bouncing up and down.

“Yep. She volunteered alright. Short of a last minute thing. I mean, they needed at least for volunteers to run the thing. And Jamie catching that bug knocked them down to three. So there was talk about just doing away with it. But then Daisy volunteered. She just walked into mom's office one afternoon with the form all filled out. All the boxes checked, all the lines sighed. Girl had her 'T's' crossed and her 'I's' dotted and mom just stamped her approval. Next thing you know, money started to flood in.” Lily paused to catch her breath. You see what I mean about small town living, you walk in to buy a costume and you get flooded with information.

“Like when Jamie got sick, we had to return all the donations. But once word got out that Daisy had volunteered to take her place money started to flood in. Pandora donated, Kayla donated, Heather donated, Mrs. Croft donated, heck even the little doughnut shop you guys hang out at each Sunday morning donated. Of course, Robin and I had to donate. And Mom and dad donated. Then Daisy did something amazing. She went to that new McDonald's, and asked if they would donate. And they  did, girl! Heck McDonald's, Sonic, even The Cow Pen Jr. Donated. The girl is going to get soaked to the bone! I swear she might just need to grow gills before the nights are finally over.”

I blinked and blinked again.

“Cool.” I said blinking. “So the brat really volunteered.” I paused again. “What costume did she settle on?”

“Not sure. I know it's something Disney, I think it's one of the princesses. What can I say, I was never a princess kind of girl. Heck, I never even really played with barbie dolls a lot. I mean I had some, but I donated them to charity when I turned thirteen.” She said. “I guess, Jamie going to a princess girl.”

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“No, it's just I feel cheated a bit. I graduated last year. And I only get to see Jamie on weekends. She is developing, and I'm not there to see it. I miss having her around all the time. I kind of wish, I just kind of wish she had been born a girl all along. I would have adored having a little sister to tease and play with. Now, it seems Daisy has become Jamie's little sister..”

“Feeling a little jealous?” I asked.
Lily nodded her head.

“Anyway, I'll let you shop, just give me a holler if you need anything.” And with that Lily left me alone to browse the racks of costumes.

To be continued~

The young adult’s section of Albert Sidney Johnston Memorial Library was my personal retreat from the outside word. Here among the old paperback novels and cheap pup fiction from the late eighties to the early nineties I felt safe for a time. Also for practical reasons, the library offered a place to cool down and relax on those long, hot summer days that Mississippi is known for.

This was one such afternoon. The weather forecast for that day had been mid with a slight chance of cloudy overcast. Instead, the weather had been clear sky’s with plenty of sunshine. That had resulted in most people retreating inside during the early afternoon hours when the sun was the strongest.

Anyway, I just returning from browsing the horror/supernatural section. And my arms were full of some prime choices, all vintage Fear Street and R.L Stine thrillers. I was a big fan of R.L Stine at the time and I had made it my mission to read every book written by him, even if some of the books had been written by a ghost writer.

But I ramble, I was returning from my browsing and making my way toward the front desk, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted something. A anime style poster had been tacked to the bulletin board. The board served kind of a hub for information and upcoming events. I had passed by the board a dozen or so times since coming here.

But this time my curiosity had been peaked by the anime style poster. So rolling the dice I stepped a little closer to take a closer look. The first thing I noticed was poster featured a short blue haired anime girl, she wore a pink and white one piece bathing suit. And oddly enough she was seated on the trigger seat of a dunking booth. A small tear shape, sweat drop appeared to her side as she smiled toward me.. Her bare feet barely touched the water.

Below picture a short message read as followed.

“Attention volunteers needed for the dunking booth attraction this coming Saturday at the ‘Discover Benton Festival’. Volunteers must be between the ages of fourteen to eighteen. A parent consent form must be filled out by volunteers under the age of eighteen. All volunteers agree to work a three hour shift in the dunking booth. Please see the front desk for more information. - Chairwoman of the bored. Ginger Jennifer Evans.”

I titled my head to the side and placed my books down upon the small end table. Blushed deeply I then reached up and gently removed the push pins that were holding the flyer up. I then took the flyer in my hand and my books in the other and moved toward the front desk.

A women with blonde hair and blue eyes sat behind the desk. She was dressed in a white button down blouse and a jet black pencil skirt and snow white stocking and low pump shoes. Pinned to the right breast pocket of her blouse was a silver plated name badge. “Lilly Potter” was the name sketched onto the hard plastic surface.

“Hey there sweetie.” She said her voice thick with southern charm. “Ready to check out there? Just going to need you library card and.” Her eyebrow became raised as she peered toward the flyer in my hand. “And by chance would you like to volunteer for the dunking booth too?”

“Yes ma’am.” I whispered softly and looked down. “To both.” I quickly added.

“Okay no problem there.” She said as she reached down and took my books. “Just let me check these out for you first and then I can give you the papers. So do you have your library card? Yes or no?”

“Oh Sure!” I said snapping out of my daze. Quickly I reached down grabbed my purse and brought it around. I was still getting use to caring around a purse. But it was a basic skill my sister said I needed to master.

After digging around the confines of my purse for a few seconds I finished out my pocket book. Snapping it open I withdraw my library card and in a blink of a eye I handed it to her the card, she took it and entered some information, she then started to work on the stack of books I had chosen.

“Wow ‘The Prom Queen’ and ‘The Sleepwalker’ and finally ‘Cheerleaders: The First Evil’. I take it you really dig the horror and supernatural stuff. Stuff always gave me the chills.” She said as she entered and stamped each book.

“Yes ma’am..” I said blushing as I slipped by wallet back into my purse.

At this Lily stopped and turned around and gave me a look. Clearing her throat she straighten up and said.

“How old are you?” She inquired as she turned around to face me, her hands where folded neatly on her lap and a small smile formed on lips.

“Fourteen.. Ma’am..” I said, my blood started to go cold in my veins.

“Sugarcube, I’m seventeen. Three years between you and I. Now in school, that be a big old difference. But here no, now I know your momma raised you to a polite young lady. And she did a fine job, but really you gotta drop that ‘Ma’am’ business.”

I blinked and blinked again and slowly closed my eyes and nodded my head. I had been dealing with the memories of losing my mother through most of the spring thaw. It had been a sharp turn on a hairpin curve last winter that had resulted in a horrible crash that left my mom dead and me.. A ward of the state. The only saving grace had been the fact that I had a older sister who live here in Benton, it seemed grandfather had owned a Christmas Tree farm and my sister having a B.A in Forestry from Mississippi State had taken over the management of the thing. You know to keep it in the family and such.

“Sure..” I said, I had no idea what else to say.

Lily smiled and reached over and handed me the books and a sheet of paper. “Here you go sweet, fill this out and return it by Friday. The dunking booth will be located right beside the middle school. Kind of the middle of everything. We need to there bright and early kay?” She said with a smile.

“Kay.” I said slipping the books into my oversized purse along with the permission slip.

“One more thing sweetie.” Lily said as she peered toward me.

“Yes ma’am?” I asked. Lily just rolled her eyes and sighed.

“I need your name.. can’t go around calling you sweetie all the time. Not proper and such.” She said as she leveled those eyes at me.

I blinked and blinked again and peered toward the women. My Legal name was still “Mark” though my sister and I were making some progress changing it to “Madeline” the name I had chosen after coming out, after being discovered. My sister was cool with it. Rolling the mental dice I decided to go with “Madeline” with my long sandy brown hair and deep blue eyes I looked the part. And heck I was even mistaken for a girl from the back and from the front. A girl who puberty might have not gotten around to yet, but a girl nonetheless.

“Madeline.. Madeline Brewer..” I said with a small smile.

“Okay Ms. Brewer, Hope to see you Saturday.” And with that she returned to her work. I offered a little smile and collected my books and the papers to be signed and made my way toward the door. I pushed the door open and was greeted with a blast of hot southern air.

I quickly closed the door behind me and started to make my way down flagstone paved walkway. Once I reached the bike rack, I could already feel small beads of sweat starting to form on my forehead and under my arms. Panting like a hound dog, I placed the books and the form in the wire basket of my bike, unchained it and mounted it.. There was still a good four or five hours of sunlight left in the sky. But.. Home was calling me. And there are tale ends for now.

Saturday came soon enough. A hazy mist hung over the whole town, the air was hot and humid. Stepping outside felt like one was stepping into a steam bath. The sickly sweet smell of magnolia blooms and blooming flowers scented the air. Across the street Ginger’s Bakery was putting out some fresh donuts in the display window. A few people were milling about the front of the local Post Office and finally a lone bagboy was gathering up some stray shopping carts in front of the Local Sunflower.

And across the street. Things where were we’ll starting to take shape. A few firefighters from “Benton Fire Station Number #2” Where helping to fill the dunking booth with gallons of ice cold water. In front of the dunking booth local craftsmen where setting up tables to display their wares. And finally toward the center of the park, a group of children their eyes glued to their phones where busy playing Pokemon Go. They were standing in the shadow of a monument called by all “The Confederate Monument” a marble pillar topped with two bronze statues. The first statue was a women dressed in a full dress, the women was handing a rolled flag to a soldier in full kit.

“Madeline.” A voice said behind me. “Are you sure about this?” The voice added.

I turned around and noticed my sister was standing there, her arms were folded across her chest and her long blonde hair was pulled back in a simply ponytail. She wore brightly, colored, light cotton dress.

“I think so.” I said blushing as I looked down at the ground. I started to run my fingers on my elbow. “Why do you ask?” I was still getting use to being addressed as ‘Madeline’ but today my sister had flat out told me that it was only proper I wear something cute, so she dug through her closet and fished out a pink and white sundress with a matching pair of white sandals with a low heel.

“Sis.” She said sighing and rolling her eyes. “Your just coming out of your tomboy phase. And the whole town will be seeing you up there. Heck the whole town is already lining up to dunk the poor soul who’s going to be the first one to take the seat.” She said nodding her head toward the forming line of women and children and such.

“Right, but like its for a good cause. Like all money goes to children’s ward of St. Joan’s Children Hospital.” I said as I shuttered. Two weeks, one fortnight, fourteen days.. How ever you wanted to say it, I had spent two weeks there following the wreck. And the nurses and staff where excellent.

“Right..” My sister said kneeling down to my level. “I guess I’m just worried about you. Anyway, you need to get changed into your bathing suit. There almost done filling the tank.” She said placing a loving hand upon my shoulder.

“Right.” A voice cut in. “Is are lovely volunteer ready?” The voice belonged to Lily who the one running this show. “Cause, right now where five minutes till where due to open and I’m already collecting money. So, she needs to get changed and get up that ladder.” She said peering at me. “Not getting cold feet are you?”

“Nope..” I responded as I switched my gaze between Lily and my sister

Before I could respond, one of the firefighters called out.

“All finished here Lil.” The voice belonged to one of the youngest of the group. He was tall, well tall for fourteen year old me. His hair was the color of molten gold and his eyes where deep blue. As I peered into his chest, I felt my heart start to throb, my breathing became shallow and my cheeks started to burn. And then, then the oddest thought popped into my head, I wanted that guy to see me in my bathing suit, I wanted him to dunk me.. I wanted to kiss him.. Then my mind became blank.

“Madeline?” My sister said giggling. “Earth to Madeline.. Earth to Madeline.” My sister teased as she waved her open hand in front of my face.

“Girl, you blushing like a bride of a alter and acting like a she-cat in heat.” Lily said as she held up her hands and twisted her wrist around. “Anyway where going live in ten minutes, so go ahead get changed into your swimming suit, do something nice with your hair, put a little lip gloss on or something.”

If looks could kill, then the look my sister was giving Lily would turn her into lunchmeat. Lily just shrugged and turned toward the gathered crowds. Dozens of children from the local middle school where forming up. Along with dozen of high schoolers as well.

“Maddie.” My sister said taking a deep breath. “Are you sure you want to go through with this? Your still, new to this whole girl thing and.. We’ll sitting up there your going to expose yourself to the whole town, and..” Her voice was thick with concern.

“Sis, I’ll be fine.” I said blushing deeply. To be truthful, I never felt so exposed as I felt wearing this dress. It was so light, so open. And even the faintest breeze caused the helm of the dress to be lifted up. Often I found myself forcing the thing down..

“I need to enroll you in finishing school or something..” My sister muttered as I forced the dress down again. She sound have series and half joking. “Maybe the Junior Auxiliary will be holding some lessons.” She said shaking her head as she peered me.

“Why?” I said as I reached down and removed the sundress. Once the dress was removed, I handed it over to my sister. She took it and offered me a small smile.

“You know, I always wanted a little sister.” She said looking me up and down. “Like before you were born, mom and I would sit and talk about possible names. And Madeline was not one of them. Do you know how lucky you are? Most girls don’t get to choose their own names.” She said reaching out her hand. Smiling she started to run her fingers through my hair, musing it up a little.

“Okay, Like I totally understand you two are having this, little sister, big sister, heartwarming scene going on. But Maddie, I need you get up there and get ready. Where about to open in four minutes.” Lily said in rushing tone of voice.

My sister and I exchanged another quick hug. And then taking a deep breath I started to climb the ladder.

And soon, I found myself sitting down upon the seat. A deep blush formed upon my cheeks as I peered out at the field in front of me. Through the net, I could see the field coming to life as small portable grills were brought out and charcoal fires were lit, filling the air with the puffs of gray smoke. Soon the smell of grilling chicken among other meats filled the air.

And there perched above the water, I waited and watched the sun climb higher and higher into the air. And for once, I felt like a normal teen.

Ten minutes into my three hour shift and already a line was starting to form up in front of the booth. Lily was at the table collecting the money and handing the soft, round, brown leather balls. My sister had wandered off as soon as the booth had open. Something about checking the charity shops, see Benton has little in the way of a proper bookstore, I mean of course you could always use Amazon or order online from one of the major retail chains. But, often you had to pay full price for those, and unless it was somebody’s birthday or Christmas, we rarely brought something new.

A loud thumping sound brought me back to my senses, Taking a deep breath I peered toward the field in front of me, standing just behind the white line that had been spray painted on the ground was a young boy, say around ten years old. He had short, sandy brown hair. His beady little eyes peered toward me as he chewed upon a wad of gum. I offered him a little smile, and he only spat the gum out. No doubt mincing some baseball hero of yore.

“I’m gonna dunk you this time.” He said as he drew his arm back and let the ball fly. The brown ball sailed through the air and smacked into the inner ring of the target. A look of pure disappointment clouded his face as he peered down at the last ball.

“Come on.” I called out to him. “You can do it..” I said smiling a little as I folded my hands down upon my lap and took a deep breath. Fifteen minutes and already I was starting to get the feeling of butterflies floating around inside me.

The little boy reached up, turned her cap around and brought the ball up and taking a deep breath he twisted around and tossed the ball over his shoulder. The ball sailed through the air and a split second later a loud dinging sound could be heard as the ball smacked into the trigger, sending me dropping like a stone into the freezing water below.

For a minute, my whole world turned blue, the tank was deeper than I thought and I was smaller than most teens too. I felt my bottom touch the floor of the tank and felt a blush form upon my cheeks as I peered through the portal in the front. Swimming toward the portal I gave the classic “Thumbs Up” sign to the boy who was jumping up and down, rejoicing in his victory.

Fifteen seconds later, I found myself popping up and taking a deep breath. Quickly I pressed the seat back into its proper position. Taking a deep breath, I climbed back out and hoisted myself out of the water and took the seat again. “Good job!” I shouted as boy gave a little nod of the head. He soon skipped off to join his playmates.

“Cute.” Lily said as she peered toward me. “Really got a way with kids.” She said smiling as she took a sip from a clear plastic bottle.

“Its nothing..” I said blushing as I peered down at my lap.

A coy little smile formed upon her lips as she watched a pair of teenager boy approach the dunking booth. One of them was tall, taller than a tree, lean too. He wore a clear pair of Levi jeans and a plaid checkered shirt, the shirt was tucked into his jeans. The cuff of the jeans were rolled over some brown leather cowboy boots that had been polished to a high shine. His blonde hair was closely clipped, and he sporting a good clean shave. The first few top bottoms, where undone and one could see his clean t shirt sticking out. The final touches was a simple, plain, Protestant cross hung around his tanned neck.
The simple, wooden cross hung from a braided cord of brown leather. His face had a farmers tan and his eyes seem to sparkle in the sunlight. He caught my eye out of the corner of his eyes.

“Wow,” Lily said taking a deep breath. “Second one to catch your eye.” She then folded her arms across her chest, closed her eyes and sighed. “Girl, I need to talk with you one day. You gotta be picky when it comes to finding a boyfriend. Your too young to be going around making puppy dog eyes at every boy that catches your eye. Man, need to give you some education.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but I then closed it and took a deep breath. Worlds failed me.. And I was drawing a blank anyway.

“Oh look, it seems lover boy is coming this way.” She said in a teasing tone of voice as the boy started to walk toward the booth. Soon he was standing behind the wooden desk. He offered Lily a small smile and then looked up and smiled at me. And my heart fluttered a little.

“So, going to give the little lady a bath?” Lily inquired as she peered toward the guy. “She looking might hot up there, and that water pretty cool, only five dollars for three balls. All money goes to help our local children’s hospital.”

“Sure.” He said reaching into his back pocket. he pulled out a small folding wallet and blushing a little he placed a five dollar bill down upon the wooden countertop. He was reward with three small balls.

“She all yours.” Lily said smirking as she showed him where to stand. He stepped up behind the line and offered me a little smile as he tipped his hat and offered me a little smile.

“Hello there, my name is Ben.” He said grinning. “You looking mighty cool sitting up there, almost too pretty to dunk.” He teased as reached down and picked up the ball and squeezed it. Smirking softy he peered up me and gave me a golden smile.

“Its nice to meet you Ben.” I said smiling softly

“You from around here. You got a funny accent.” He said reaching and removing his ten gallon cowboy hat. “Sound like them folks from down river. Sound like you come from Canton or Ridgeland or something.”

I blushed a little and then giggled as I reached up and started to twirl a few strains of my hair around my finger as I started to cross my legs. It was kind of thrilling, talking to a boy like this.

“I just moved here from Canton.” I said smiling softly.

“Canton be a fair piece of travel from here.”

He nodded his head and smiled toward me, grinning he then wrapped his fingers around the leather ball. Smiling he drew the ball back and tossed it toward the bright red trigger button. I took a deep breath and waited for the ball to hit the target and slowly I let my breath escape my lips as ball bounced off the wall.

“Almost I said..” I said grinning as he peered toward him. I felt my cheeks flush as he winked at me and in his southern drawl he said.

“Just a little baking the coal’s in the oven there.” He said with a grin. And then he reached back and tossed his second ball. The second ball flew through the air and smacked into the target, triggering the seat and sending me down into the water!

The water was freezing cold and took my breath away from me. I fell for what seemed like a very long time before my bottom touched the bottom of the pool. Quickly I swam toward the top and broke the surface. I was greeted with the boy stand there smiling at me, holding his last ball.

“Good shot there cowboy.” I said blushed as I pushed the trigger seat back into position. “Gotta good arm on you.” I climbed back out and eased my bottom back down upon the seat.

“Going to throw you in the drink again too if you ever stop your blushing, darn hard to dunk a blushing girl.” He called out at me. Smiling he drew back his arm and let the ball fly. It sailed through the air and struck the trigger again. Sending me once more down into the freezing cold water. I quickly surfaced this time and took a deep breath as I peered toward the boy.

“Now, you cooling off, Gotta say something. You pretty amazing. Hope to see you around town now.” And with that he walked away. Blushing I quickly swam toward the edge of the tank and called out. “See you around cutie!” I called out.

“See you around.” He said tipping his hat once more. A deep sigh escaped my me as I pushed the seat back up and climbed back up. Only a few more hours to go.

It was already a hour into my shift. When I was informed by Lily that somebody else wanted a go. A friend of hers, a girl by the name of Robin. That being said my shift had been cut from three hours down to just two. Which in all honesty was fine with me. It was pushing ten and the smell of fresh fried chicken from the deli across the street was making me hungry.

“Just one more hour girl.” Lilly called out to me. “Then you can go and enjoy the rest of the day.” She said taking a deep breath. “Man, you can smell that chicken frying. And it's really making my mouth water too.”

“Its smelling good.” I called out as I peered down at Lily who was collecting some stray balls. Traffic was dying off now as most people where moving from North Main, the area where are dunking booth was down to South Main. Where most of the local craftsmen had there stalls set up.

“So,” Lily said taking a deep breath. “I hope you’ve had some fun. I mean you’ve been great. Like you made that little kid smile and you made that boy blush.” She said in a unsure tone of voice, like somebody trying to dance around a subject. “And like some people have out right donated instead of buying balls. I think we’ve raised close to a hundred and twenty dollars.” She said smiling softly.

“Pardon me?” A petite blonde women said as she approached the counter. “Are you two ladies still open for business?” She had the pretty blue eyes and spoke with a polished accent.

“Of course.” Lily said in her southern accent. I could not help roll my eyes, it felt like she trying a little hard. “Five dollars for three balls. First toss does not count.” She said smiling as she winked toward me. “Madeline has been quite a brat, don’t you think she needs a good dunking to cool her heels?” She said with a wink.

“I could not agree more.” The women giggled and brought her purse around, she then reached in side and fished out a flora print wallet. Still giggling she snapped the wallet open and handed Lily a crisp five dollar bill.

“Thank you.” She said handing the money to Lily who handed her three of those hard leather balls. I watched Lily pup the money into the money box and guide the women to the throwing line behind the counter.

“Hey there pretty lady!” I teased as I peered toward the women. She wore a long, flowing, flora print sundress. Flip-flops and a broad seed hat completed her look. She even blushed when I teased her.

“Hello darling.” She said to me as she reached down and wrapped her finger around the first ball. “I hope your ready to get dunked.” she said taking a deep breath as she drew back and took aim at the target. She closed her eyes and released the ball.

The ball left her hands and sailed through the air and smacked into the trigger. The seat under me gave way and I was dropped like a stone into the icy cold water of the dunking booth. My breath was taken away as the onrush of water flooded over me. Offering her a little smile, I pressed the seat back into position and climbed back up.

“Good throw!” I called out with a small smile.

The women giggled a little and reached over and picked up another ball. She tossed it up in the air before catching it and tossing it backup and catching it again.

“All settled there honey?” She said her eyes firmly fixed on me.

“All settled!” I chirped.

She then drew back again and let the ball fly. The ball sailed through the air and struck the target again. Sending me down into the ice cold water. The freezing water chilled me to the bone as I sunk like a stone and touched the bottom with my bathing suit. Slowly I swam toward the viewing glass and pressed my face into the glass before resurfacing.

“I think two is enough.” The women said as I climbed back up. “We’ll that was fun.” And with that she offered me a little wave and headed back into the crowds.

“So,” A voice called from the crowd. “Ready to go?” The voice belonged to my sister who was starting to move toward the booth. In her hand she held a plastic shopping bag that was filled with old paperback books. And another bag that held some clothing.

“Hey sis!” I said waving from the hot seat. A small smile formed upon my face. “Just about done, they cut my shift down from three hours too two. So I think I’m almost done.”

“I know. Lily sent me a text.” She reached down and placed five dollars down upon the table. Lily who was gathering balls, smiled and shook her head as she pushed the bill toward my sister. “Here.” She said placing a ball down upon the table.

“Big sisters get free throws till they hit the target.” Lily said smirking. As she peered toward me and winked.

“Hey! I have a idea!” I called out as. The two paused and switched their gaze toward me.

“How about, if you miss the target three times. You get up here and switch places with me?” I said grinning like a court jester fool as I stuck my tongue out and smiled toward her.

“You know sis.” My sister said as she peered toward me. “We’ll you might not. But you do know I played softball for most of my life. Starting with the Dixie Pixie’s before going up to the Benton Tigers and finally the Lady Bulldogs.” She said tossing the ball up and down. “Plus, I do play tennis other Saturday at the Benton Country Club.”

“So..” I said grinning. “Pride doth come before the fall.” I retorted.

“That makes no sense..” She said as she drew the ball back and let it fly. The ball sailed through the air and struck the target. Sending me down into the water with a loud splash. For a minute my whole world turned blue, as my lungs once more filled with water. As I peered through the viewing glass. I noticed my sister was walking across the grass now slick with water that had splashed over the rim.

“Love you.” She said smirking as she reached over and ruffed my hair.

“Love you too..” I muttered as looked down blushing again.

“Come on, let's get you out and get you something to eat.” She said as she walked over to Lily, after clearing her throat she said. “Thanks for letting my sis do this..” I heard her said.

“No problem.” Lily said as she reached into her purse. She quickly pulled out a small camera. “Mind posing in front of the dunking booth. We need a picture for the front of the paper.”

Another wave of heat made my cheeks blush. Slowly I walked toward the booth struck a cute pose. You know the one where you make the ‘V’ sign with your fingers. And strike a kind of suggestive pose. Yes that one.

“Cute.” Lily said as she snapped a picture.

“My sister is going to turn into a diva.” My sister said rolling her eyes.

Lily only giggled and smirked.

“Or she might become a cheerleader. You never know.” Lily said before snapping the photo.

eather’s House Party was the bread and butter of PBS the American cousin of the BBC. Each week Heather Ford would welcome guest from all walks of life onto her show and for whole duration of the two hour block they would be toasted and welcome. Toward the end of the show somebody, be it a guest from one of the segments or a member of the audience would be put into the fabled “The Gunge Booth” a phone book looking box that was trimmed in faux gold and copper.

I first ran across Heather’s House Party while spending three days stuck inside of the house due to a bad case of pneumonia. See we only have basic cable at our house. And I was way too sick to do much reading or writing for that matter. So I spent the bulk of that time curled up in front of old television set watching rerun episodes of “Ken Burns Civil War”.

One episode stands stood out to me. And I still remember it to this day, Heather was conducting a vote between two actress on the popular teen day dram called “York Hall”. Were lucky to get a few episodes every know and again. It normally comes on the air late Saturday morning, after the last cartoon has run. “Dad’s Army” follow it and rounding out the block are a few episodes of “Father Ted.” My sister having been born and reared into the Episcopal Church, understood to a paint the kind of humor found within the show more than I did. To me, the show was all about lamboing the Roman Catholic Church, the priesthood and poking fun at the insanity of that infested a small, isolated Irish Village.

But back to the episode. Josephine, the big bad girl of the school was going up against the Gothic beauty Catherine. Josephine had shoulder length blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She also wore a stunning strapless, red satin dress with matching choker. Matching heels completed her outfit. Her rival Catherine, wore her school uniform, a white blouse, with tie stripped in the school colors, a pleated blue skirt and a blazer with the school crest sewn onto the right breast pocket.

“Welcome back!” Heather chirped as she strolled across the stage two where the two girls sat. “Today we have Josephine and Catherine.” She said with a smile. The two girls were seated between the gunge booth. Catherine looked a little scared, her hands where folded in her lap and her legs where drawn close together. Josephine on the other hand looked like the cat who had snatched the song bird from the gilded cage.

“So, Josephine.” Heather said coming to her side and wrapping her fingers around her arm. “Last time we check you had forty percent of the vote. I don’t know what to say. Maybe the viewers at home are too afraid to vote for you.” She said with a wink.

“I guess I’m too perfect to get gunged.” She said smiling as she wiggled her body and folded her hands into her lap.

“That might be.” Heather said as she turned toward Catherine. “So Catherine, right now your leading by sixty percent! That means sixty percent of the British Public watching this program wants to see you get gunged. How does that make you feel?” She said as she placed a loving arm on Catherine’s shoulder.

“A little scared to be honest.” She said taking a deep breath as she peered up at Heather. She forced a giggled and her pale cheeks seemed to bloom with color. “A little freighting too.” She peered toward the top of the tank. A clear plastic box held forty gallons of orange and black sludge. Small beads

“We’ll, lets see how the vote stands!” Heather said as she shifted her gaze toward the camera. Then on the screen two separate gunge booths appeared. As voted started to count the gunge in the tanks started to rise. Catherine stood there holding her breath and Josephine sat there looking smug as numbers appeared on screen. Then something happen, Catherine total count stopped at twenty percent and Josephine kept going and going till the final total of eighty percent was reached!

“Great Scott’s it seems the balance has shifted.” Heather said rubbing her hands together as she peered toward Josephine. “Josephine all your misdeeds, that are way to many to list.. The British public has sentenced you to get gunged!” She said clapping her hands together as a look of pure shock dawned on Josephine face as she stood up and blushed deeply. Part of her knew this was coming! Part of her was hoping Catherine would be the one going in!

“You’ve been a great sport there Josephine!” Heather said grinning as she ushered Josephine into the booth. She smiled and closed the clear plastic door behind her and gave it a good tap. “Any final words?” She teased as she reached over and took the cord into her hand and wrapped her pretty little fingers around the pull.

The minute she pulled the cord, orange and black foam started to rise and fill the tank. Josephine squealed as the bubbles covered her toes and then her foot. With a look of horror and doom written upon her face, she looked up, only to get a face full of yellow swirled with black sludge came pouring down upon her, coating her face and her hair. The slime was thick and greasy looking and rolled down her shoulders as it covered her hair and pretty face.

“That all the time we have today! Join me next time here at the house party!” She chirped as a second wave of gunk fell on Josephine destroying her dress and soaking her to the bone. The foam was up to her shoulders now and her whole world must have been nothing but different shades of orange, yellow and black. As she wiggled like a worm on a fishing hook the credits started to roll.

As the credits started to roll, I felt my eyes becoming heavy. Turning the set off, I laid down upon the couch and reached for a nearby pillow. I taken some medicine an half hour before the show came on. And it was starting to take effect. Yawning I reached over and wrapped Swiss army surplus blanket around me and feel into a frightful sleep.

A few hours later, I felt something or somebody rubbing my feet. I opened my eyes and there at the edge of the couch sat my sister. A look of great concern was sketched upon her face.

“Feeling better honey?” She said peering toward me. “You look a little better.” She placed her hand upon my forehead and then pressed another hand to my cheeks. For a minute she looked in deep thought. “

“I’m feeling a little better..” I said peering up at her. The girl had gone from being my older sister, and short of a makeshift mom to a full fledged nurse. She had even taken a few days off work from the farm to drive me to the doctors office and stay home to tend to me.

“Your fever broken, that a good thing. The colors returning to your cheeks. I think your good. Okay it's settled tomorrow where going to church together. You and me, so I want you washed and dressed for ten o'clock Mass.” She said removing her hands and folding her arms across her chest.

I nodded my head and smiled a little as I peered toward my sister. She had quite a forceful personality when she wanted to we’ll take command. She saw me nodding my head and a smile came across her face.

“Come on kiddo. Let's rustle up some food. Thinking about ordering a pizza with some of those cheesy bread sticks.” She said almost licking her lips.

A small smile crossed my lips. My sister could be pretty cool at times. And so another episode came to a end.

The nave of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church was half full I’ll say with around sixty people sitting spread out in the wooden pews. Small puffs of gray smoke hung above our heads and the air was scented with the smell of burning charcoal and incense pellets. The flicking orange and yellow light of the twelve burning candles divided into two groups of six. Six to the left and six to the right of the high altar.

The rector, a young priest by name of Fr. Thomas had just finished the last set of prayers before going onto Communion. The congregation had just finished shaking hands and doing that painful ritual called “The Peace” that nail biting rite where you had to shake hands with people you only see once or twice a week. People who rarely speak to you outside the walls of the church. Anyway, Fr. Thomas was starting to walk up to the steps to the pulpit. Once there he cleared his throat and spoke.

“Welcome to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.. On the twenty fifth Sunday of ordinary times. “ He started as the shuffling of the papers in front of him could be heard. “I have only a three announcements. First our Bishop will be down for his yearly visit. On September the third I believe. Those wishing to be received into the church, please see me after mass. If not there is a signup sheet in the narthex. The second one is we will have mid-week mass this coming Wednesday. And last but not least, with the approval of the vestry board.. And to help with our bills.. We will be holding a charity slime vote. We’ll need one male and one female to step up and throw their name into the hat.” He said fighting down a blush.

I’ll be honest with you, I had been drifting in and out of sleep since the service started. I had slept through most of the sermon and was about to sleep through Holy Communion till the mention of the slime vote reached my ears. Quickly the last episode of ‘Heather’s House Party’ flashed through my head as a wry smile formed upon the bow of my lips.. Taking a deep breath and noting a sudden silence falling over the crowd. I stood straight up and in a loud clear voice called out.

“I volunteer!” You could have heard a pin drop. “I volunteer as tribute!” I called again as raised my head. To the right of me, a look of shock was dawning on my sisters face as shook her head. To the left me.. Robin and Lily were shaking their hands there faces planted firmly in there open palms.

Fr. Thomas blinked and blinked again.

“Madeline,” He said forming a half smile on his face. “I’ve seen you’ve read the ‘The Hunger Games’.. a good series. I recommend it. Along with ‘Harry Potter’.. but books aside, it looks like we have are female.. Tribute, now we need a brave boy.”

“Pastor.” A boy from across the church said, he wore a simple button down white shirt, charcoal gray trousers, a navy blazer and rounding out the outfit some brown penny-loafers. “I’ll volunteer too.. Don’t know about tribute.” He swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “But since Madeline done that dunking booth thing and now she doing this thing. Think it only right I do this thing.” He color was starting to bloom on his cheeks,

I saw Fr. Thomas blink a third time and then a fourth time as he peered toward the boy. A soft smile formed upon his lips, “Very Well.. Matthew.” He said, beside himself with hidden amusement. “That closes the matter, Madeline will be are girl and Matthew are boy. I guess it's fitting that I add ‘May the odds ever be in your favor.”

Silence. He cleared his throat and then said, “Whatever you do, be it in thought, word or deed. Serve God to the fullest and go in peace. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy spirit.” He crossed himself and the service resumed. But in my pew things were getting pretty heated.

“Who was that boy?” My sister said peering toward me, “Madeline do you have a boyfriend?” She said giving me a level look, “Not that I’m mad or anything..” She quickly added.

“So you and Matthew are like a item now?” Questioned Robin with a small smile.

“Totally knew it, did you see how he looked at her.. Girl you have a keep there. He’s a little on the shy side. But he a hard worker. A really hard worker.” Robin added. “He’s a courtesy clerk down at Sunflower.”

“Would you three hush!” I said under my breath. “He’s just a boy! A boy I sometimes talk too on my strolls around town!” I folded my hands in my lap released my breath.

“You never mentioned anything about a boy?” My sister whispered a girlish giggle escaped her lips. “So have you kissed him yet?” She said narrowing her eyes and giving me a smirk.

“NO!” I said in a harsh whisper. “Where taking it slow.” I quickly added.

All three of them started to giggle like schoolgirls sharing a secret. Robin then chimed in.

“We totally need to go out for like Mexican one day. Like all three of us!” My sister said with a small smile.

Thankfully at this point the conversation stopped as Father was going into the rite of Holy Communion. The prayers where read and then one by one we marched up and knelled down in front of the railing. Hands open. Down the line Father walked, placing the host in each hand. Repeating the same words over and over again. “The Body of Christ.”

“Amen” I said as I took the host and swallowed. The truth was starting to dawn on me, I had volunteered to get slimed for charity. In front of the whole church if not half the town. Memories of how Josephine wiggled around as that orange and black waterfall fell down upon her made my cheeks blush with color. The chalice was then passed to me.

“Blood of Christ. Cup of Salvation.” The women muttered as she held the gold chalice in front of me.

“Amen.” I said again as I swallowed some strong red wine that caused me to cough. My mind was far away. So very far away.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up, bowed to the Cross and returned to my pew. Father then read the final rites and we were dismissed. Dozens of small personal conversations sparked to life. Everybody seemed to chattering about upcoming vote. Already the members of the vestry board where grumbling about the cost and the kitchen crew members were wondering how to make.. Slime? From the tail ends of the many conversations I passed one possible idea was to use oatmeal and green food coloring, another offered the idea of using green water.. And still another, the one with the most pull finally butted in and said she had the “Official” recipe for slime.. One she found in her son’s collection “Nickelodeon Magazines” a publication that had ceased to exist some years ago.

The women, loudly proclaimed that the “Official” recipe for “Nickelodeon Green Slime” was applesauce, vanilla pudding and green food coloring. And since she spoke with such passion and authority.. That was the recipe they settled on. Somehow that made me shiver. I was just about to leave the building when from behind me a voice called out.

“Hey there Madeline!” It was a male’s voice and it belonged to Mark. He was blushing and breathing pretty hard. I found it cute for some reason. He came to attention in front of me and took a deep breath. Quickly he offered his hand and smiled.

“I’m guessing, since we like the tributes.” He said smiling. “Might as well do as they do in the movies. Shake hand and such.” He said grinning like a cat who just snatched the song bird.

I smiled and took his tough farm boy hand into mind and gave it a squeeze. A shock flowed from his hand and into my body as a sudden onrush of color filled my cheeks. Sure it was just a hand shake.. But in a way I was holding hands with the boy I had a crush on! The same boy who might just vote for me to get slimed? Or would I vote for him?

“May the odds ever be in your favor.” We both said in unison. Before bursting into a fit of giggles.

“DORKS!” Cried my sister from behind us. She stood there, One hand planted firmly on her hip the other to her side a little of delight and amusements played across her face. And that how this episode ends.

The next day was Monday, that meant a few thing. One it meant that my sister had a fresh list of chores that needed to be done by the end of the week. Beside each chore there stood a little dollar sign followed by a number. It also meant I was one more day closer to starting school. Soon those endless days of exploring would come to a end, and once more I’ll find myself chained to a desk.

Beside the chores, my sister wanted me to run down to the local supermarket and pick up a few odds and ends. Being something of a night owl, it was well into the morning before I had woken up enough to peddle my bike down the cobblestone paved street to Sunflower. Sunflower is a chain of small grocery stores that operated mainly in Mississippi and in some Northern Louisiana parishes.

But too Benton, Sunflower was more than just a store.. It was almost ingrained into the social fabric of the town. It was like Friday Night high school football and going to church or Mass on Sunday morning. It was something the local’s did without question. It was also the only full line grocery store in town.

So with that in mind, its no surprise that the small parking lot was filled to the brim with cars. And really that should come to no surprise with only a fortnight of the Summer holiday left. The inside of the store was equally packed as shopper paced up and down the isles, scanning the shelves for the best deals and marked down items.

For half a hour I pushed the shopping cart up and down the narrow aisles, picking up the odds and ends my sister had written down on a piece of notebook paper. I even added a few of my own, since I did have my own pocket money. Money earned by countless hours of doing chores around the house and yard.

Anyway I was just about to put a bag of coffee into the basket when out of the corner of my eye I spotted a women, a tall, slender women wearing a floral print dress and white sandals. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. Standing beside her was a sully looking girl around my age. She wore a pink blouse and a blue jean skirt. I offered them a small wave.

“Oh.” The women said taking a deep breath. “Hello Madeline! Fancy seeing you here.” She said twisting her lip into a small smile. “Doing a little shopping too.” She inquired as she peered toward my basket that held a small collection of items. Mostly canned goods, with a few dollar bagged veggies. The prized pick was two “USDA Choice” Steaks the butcher had picked out for me. My sister wanted steak tonight.

“Yes ma’am.” I said smiling a little as I peered into her basket. A deep blush colored my cheeks as I noticed that in her basket there could be seen a dozen or so catering tins of plain applesauce and a four tins of vanilla pudding. A box of green food coloring was resting on top of the tin.

“Oh!” She said as she noticed me peering down into her basket. “Just doing a little shopping for the church. You know since for slime vote this coming Sunday. Your already in the lead darling.” She said with a wink. “I hope you like the taste of apples.” And with that she turned toward the sully looking girl who was giving me the stink eye.

“Have you meet my daughter?” She said pulling the girl who was now checking her phone for text in front of her. “She going to be in the 10th grade this year.. So she one year in font of you. But your going to the same church and then the same school and you’ll both be taking conformation classes together with Fr. Brown..” She said trying to make her point.

The girl looked up from her phone, offered me a scowl and returned to her texting.

“Come on darling say something.” Her mother said with a small smile. She then peered toward me and in a friendly tone of voice said. “We’ll I’ll leave you girls to catch up. Cindy, I’ll by the meat counter when you finish visiting with your friend.”

Once the women was away, the girl turned to me and in a very hostile tone of voice said to me.

“List here..” She said sliding her phone into her purse. “You might be fooling some people, but you can’t fool me. You think your so clever and sweet..” She locked her eyes with me.

I opened my mouth to speak, for it felt like a ton of bricks had fallen down on my head.

“Don’t bother.. Just shut you mouth and listen. I’m watching you bitch. I’m prefect next year, and I’ll be keeping my eyes on you. One step out of line, and I’m going to bury your ass. Listen to me, keep your bitchy little freshman hands away from Matthew. He’s mine..” With that she smiled and walked away, twitching as she did so.

My eyes watched her walk away. I took a deep breath and twisted my hands around the handle of the shopping cart. Some people.. Some people you had to keep at arm's length, some people you had to hold a little closer so you could keep your eye on. Closing my eyes and calming my speeding heart, I took a deep breath and then in a raised tone of voice said.

“Wow, looks like somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!” And with that I resumed my shopping. Once I had checked most of the items off my list, I made my way to the front. Still fuming a little after my talk with the girl, I kind of just tossed the items onto the belt. The checker a senior in high school only just rolled her eyes at my display of anger. Quickly she passed the barcode of each item under the scanner and sent them down the rolling belt where the bagger was waiting to sack them up.

“Hey Madeline.” A voice called out to me, that voice snapped me out of my fuming and caused me to turn around and face it. A sudden blush colored my cheeks as I peered toward the source of the voice. Standing there, dressed in a white button down shirt with brown buttons. The shirt was tucked into the waistline of a set of clearly pressed Khaki trousers, black leather work shoes rounded out the look. The whole suit of clothing gave him a clean, neat and professional appearance. And that caused my cheeks to blush and my heart to skip a few beats.

“Hey there.. Matthew.” I said blushing as my eyes watched him place the bags into the shopping cart. Part of me wanted to strike up a conversation, ask him about the weather, his folks, maybe the newest anime movie playing in Ridgeland or Madison. But he was busy.. Busy bagging my order.

“Okay.” The checker said taking a deep breath. As she pressed a key on the check stand. “Your total comes to One hundred dollars and sixteen cents Would that be cash, check or credit?” She said taking a deep breath as she peered toward.

“Check..” I said as I handed her a blank check written by my sister. She sent the check through some feeder and it came back out all filled in nice and neat. She then placed the check in her drawer and handed me a sales slip.

“Thank you for shopping with Sunflower. You have a good…” She paused and then with a small smile written across her lips she said to me. “May the Odds ever be in your favor.”

“Sure..” I pocketing the sale slip and walking down to get my basket.

“I’ll take these out to your car.” Matthew said smiling as he took my basket into his hand and wrapped his fingers around it.

“Matt..” My voice trailed. “I don’t have a car, I have a bike.. I bike from place to place.” I was a little dumbfounded.

“Okay.” He said still smiling. “I’ll still load them up for you.” He said pushing the basket out of the sliding door and into the blistering hot parking lot.

“Boys!” I said huffing as I folded my arms across my chest and tossed my ponytail to the side.

“Go easy on the boy.” A older, gray haired checker said to me. She was smiling ear to ear. “Young Matthew is always talking about you. Always talking about how pretty you are and how wonderful your hair smells. He right smitten with you. So go easy on the boy.” She said with a wink.

I nodded my head and started to follow behind Matthew. Taking a deep breath I walked over to him and placed two dollars in his hand. He had just finished loading up my order in the basket.

“Thank you.” He said slipping the two dollars into his pocket. “So, what do you think of this slime vote? I saw Mrs. Henderson and her daughter a few minutes ago. Had a whole buggy full of applesauce and vanilla pudding tins. Something like sixty dollars worth. Was chilling having to load all that up in there car.” He said leaning over the buggy and looking into my eyes. “Figured one of us will be getting it don’t you come the Sabbath? Gotta put a note up.. Hate for you get slimed by default because I had to work you know.” He said in deep country accent.

I simply nodded my head. The new found information the women inside had told me was still being processed through my brain. It had never dawned on me.. That a boy would ever like me enough to talk about me? That made my cheeks burn. Once seated on the bike seat, I took another breath, turned around and smiled toward Matthew.

“See you Sunday?” I asked with a small smile.

“I’ll see you.. Maddie!” He said returning my smile with one of his own. We then waved each other goodbye and there are episode ends.

The steaks I’d brought from Sunflower turned out to be perfect and my sister had seasoned and charbroiled them to perfection. We rarely ate steak, but tonight my sister wanted to celebrate. Celebrate what I have no idea, I did know she been working around the clock this week. Some crops where coming in on the farm and that required the hiring of extra field hands. Those crops where in now and had already been sold and a check for them deposited into the farm account. That much I knew from the small bits and pieces from over hearing my sister talking to some of her friends.

“So.” She said as she peered up from her meal. “You and I need to talk,”

I blinked and blinked again as I cleaned my mouth and put down my knife and fork. There was something about her tone of voice that put me on edge. Normally the only time we ever needed to talk was when I broke some kind of rule or I found myself in trouble.

“First, your not in trouble. Second I need to know.. Are you going to keep being ‘Madeline’ through the school year or are you going to go back to being ‘Mark’.” She said that in a matter of fact tone of voice. No emotions, no hitting at one or the other. Just a straightforward question from a straight forward city girl who had gone country.

I looked down and peered started to play with my food. I kind of knew this talk was coming. My sister had hinted at us crossing this bridge at one point or another. I just thought I’ll have more time. More time to decided, more time to prepare myself, mentally and spiritually.

“Because I need to know. School’s about to start and right now your records are still the same from the last school year. If your going to stay as ‘Madeline’ I need to get those updated. If your going to stay on as ‘Madeline’ we need to start making headway. If your going to stay as ‘Madeline’ I need to get you some decent clothing to wearing, You’ll need some skirts, some blouses, more than just the odd bits and pieces I’ve outgrown.” She said pushing the plate that held her few remaining scraps to the side.

I took a deep breath and nodded my head, it all made sense. My sister being a farmer always looked ahead and planned for the future. She was a long term thinker, while I was a short term thinker. I swallowed hard and in a scared tone of voice said.

“Would it be better if I go back to being Mark?” I said shuttering at the very thought. I looked up and notice my sister peering toward me, her eyes had gone cold as ice and she showed total control over her body. You could have heard a pen drop in the kitchen.

“Listen kiddo and I’m being real with you. I want you to be happy. If being ‘Madeline’ makes you happy then I’m cool with it. I will support you in any way possible. There over a million dollars in the farm account I can dip into and plus the money we collect monthly for the rent of that house in Jackson, plus the child support money being paid to you. We can find. It's not a matter or resources, it’s a question of will.”

I kept looking down. Being Madeline did make me happy. And I enjoyed it, Madeline was so different from Mark, Mark had been a scared brooding boy. Madeline had so far been a shy girl who was starting to come out of her shell. Mark would never in a million years have the courage or the guts to go up and do the dunking booth. Madeline had though and she enjoyed it.

“I want to be Madeline.” I said taking a deep breath as I peered toward my sister.

“You know that mighty brave of you. And you know there going to be a long, hard road ahead. We’ll let me take that back, Some parts might be long and hard. Other parts might be smooth and soft. There going to be people who hate ‘Madeline’ because of who she is. People who will hate her, because they don’t understand her. You understand that right?”

I nodded my head and swallowed hard. This was a lot to think about. And a lot to take in. But I felt this was a conversation that needed to take place.
I opened my mouth and my sister shook her head and smiled.

“And one more thing. I want you to know something, before we get to deep into this talk, I want you to hear it straight from the ol’ horses mouth. I love you, I loved you when you were Mark, I’ll love you as Madeline. If your going to be my littler sister then, I gotta lot to teach you. Mom is gone okay, she not coming back.” She paused and reached over and took a nearby wine glass she raised the glass and took a long sip of dark red wine.

“And there a lot a young lady needs to know. There how to apply make-up, there how to dress for formal events. And also, you need to know how to carry yourself. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know much about being all prime and proper. I was always a tomboy.” She paused and reached over and took the bottle of wine by its neck and started to pour some more in.

She stopped and smiled and stood up and walked over and took down a wine glass from the kitchen cabinet, winking toward me she cradled the wine glass in her hand and poured a good bit into the glass. Smiling she handed me the wine and then reached over and picked her glass up.

“A toast to my new baby sister.” She said smiling as she raised her glass up in the air. “A toast to Madeline Diana Brewer. May she become the girl she dreams to be and the women she meant to be.” She said with a big smile on her face. She then lifted up the glass and drained it.

I did the same, the wine tasted fruity, kind of tart at first but then a little sweet. It was chilled too and that made it smooth as silk. A deep blush formed upon my face as I peered toward my sister who was peering back at me. There where so many things I wanted to say, so many questions I wanted to ask, so many things that puzzled me. So many minor and major things were floating around my head. But those could wait, yes they would have to wait till another day. Right now, I just need to enjoy this evening with my model and role model.

And so we passed the rest of night. My sister, being the girl she is, kept pouring the wine on me and very so often she would raise her glass to a toast. Finally after a glass or two, I felt the wine working on lips and in a off hand manner I mentioned.

“So, I saw Cindy today.” I said finishing my second glass. At this point, my sister eased her glass down and gave me her full attention. Her deep blue eyes seem to flicker in the light of the room as she shifted her bottom and gave me her full attention.

“Oh?” She said pushing the wine glass away looking me dead in the eye. “Remind me.. Who is Cindy?” she asked. The change from big sister to motherly mode was subtle but noticeable.

“She the girl, who thinks she pure royalty. You know.. I saw her and her mom down at Sunflower, buying like enough applesauce and pudding tins to feed the whole town. And she totally cut on me. You know, she said something along the lines ‘I need to watch my back’ and I need to ‘Keep my freshman hands off her man’ or something to that effect.” The words came pouring out of my mouth.

My sister nodded her head and reached over and took a sip of wine. Finally she said.

“Not all girls are nice. Some of them have claws. Girls can cruel too. Sometimes too cruel. Add in the affection of a boy that like and even the sweetest girl can go from being a charming southern belle to a cruel ol’ witch with a flip of a switch. Now, it's not my place to run your life for you. Or to fight your battles. You gotta fight your own battles sweetheart. My place in your life is to offer, food, shelter, love and support. And make sure you finish school. But navigating the currents of these adolescent years are up to you.” She reached over and squeezed my hand and planted a kiss upon my forehead.

“Just know, I love you. And I’m always here for you.”

Prologue:

So, I lost the slime vote to Matthew. And Matthew was slimed, And guess who got to slime him? That right I did. He looked so cute covered in green mush! And he was a good sport about it too. Cindy, Matthew and I where later confirmed and after being confirmed into the Episcopal Church , Matthew asked me out for a hamburger and a malted milk. A week after that we exchanged numbers and we became a item. Toward the end of summer. I was enrolled in Benton Agricultural High School, the same school my sister graduated from and same one my late grandmother and grandfather attend.

To be continued in Its Halloween Madeline!

The leafs on the trees had turned from green to orange and brown. The last of the soybeans and cotton was being harvest and the air was starting to become cooler. Pumpkins where starting to appear in the produce department of Sunflower, and sweaters, long skirts and leggings where starting to replace tank tops, sundresses and bikini bottoms.

Autumn was upon us. And with its coming, so too was Halloween. All around town, rumors where starting to crop up about ghost stories and ghostly sightings. Benton, like any small town located in deep south had its fair share of ghost stories and urban legends. From a screaming ghost that jumped from the towns water tower at the stroke of midnight. To a phantom civil war ironclad, that was often spotted sailing down the muddy waters of the Big Black on moonless nights. And even reports of a young women, dressed in all red strolling down the long hallways of “Cutters Hall.”

Yes, Benton is filled with ghost stories. But this story is not about a ghost story. This story is about a certain event that took place one Halloween night in the year two thousand and eighteen.

School had been in session now for some weeks. Everybody was pretty much wedded to there ebb and flow of classes. And with Halloween coming up, everybody was talking about who would be throwing parties and who would be stuck at home giving out candy. Somewhere even forming groups to go out and do a little legend tripping. Others where focusing on the yearly safe Halloween celebration held at Bran Park, a sixteen acre section of land, located a few blocks from main street.

Safe Halloween was something like a big deal, All the main downtown Merchants would have there own booth and would of course be giving out candy and sweets to the children. And there would be fun and games too of course. One of the main attractions was stated to be a vintage dunking stool! Or so said the flyer pinned in the board in the hallway.

But back to the story. I was standing in front of the door of Mrs. Fox’s office. She was the one putting on the whole dunking stool attraction. We’ll she was one of the three teachers you could come too to sigh up for the event. I felt a little better coming to, because of all my teachers she seemed to be coolest. I took her for Home Economics, and she had won me over one day when she spotted me reading a old cosplay manual, vintage two thousand and four. Instead of scolding me for reading instead of doing my lesson she offered some pointers. Seems that manual was way out of date, having been written in the stone age. She did let me off with a warning though.

Another thing that sounds out, was the way she allowed me to work on a cosplay.. See are first project was making a skirt or something. But I wanted to make a simple sailor fuku cause I think there cute and lets face it, the boys love them. She oddly enough agreed and even allowed me to stay late a few times to finish the project.. I was reward with a solid ‘A+’ for my efforts. Plus by now boyfriend thought it was cute, so double bonuses.

All that came to mind as I brought my hand down upon the door and knocked. Thirty beats of the heart passed before the door open and there in the doorway dressed in a cream colored button down blouse, a black pencil skirt, white stocking and black heel shoes stood Mrs. Fox. A flaming, red hair reached down to her shoulders and her green eyes seemed to twinkle.

“Oh, Hello Ms. Brewer.” She said leaning into the frame of the door, she leveled those eyes at me and folded her arms under her breast. “What can I do for you today?” She said as a small smile formed on the bow of her lips.

Taking a deep breach, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. Slowly I unfolded the paper and placed it into her hands. The slip of paper was the flyer the Safe Halloween Council members had been passing out. I had circled with a bright red marker the area where volunteers where needed to take turns being dunked on the ducking stool. Once the paper was in her hand, she smiled and chuckled a little.

“So you want to be dunked?” She asked, “Is that it?”

“Yes ma’am.” I said taking a deep breath as I looked down.

She chuckled again. “Why don’t step inside my office, so you and I can have a little chat.” She said as she stepped aside and motioned for me to enter into her private world. I always thought that going into somebody’s office was like going into their room.

So bawling my head, I entered into small square space. In front of there could be seen a small wooden chair, a desk and behind the desk another chair, one of those rolling chairs. Tucked into the corner was a another desk with a PC sitting on it. On the walls behind the desk, I could see what I thought was a diploma for finishing high school, followed by a degree. Both were framed.

Beside the framed diplomas where several high quality pieces of anime inspired artwork, all drawn in a vintage style and framed as well. And finally draped along the walls was the Irish tricolor.

“So.” She said sitting down upon the surface of the desk. “You want to get dunked for charity is that correct? And you want to do this at your own free will, nobody twisting you arm? No lost a bet, no late night game of truth or dare?” She said as she folded her arms again at peered at me.

“Yes ma’am.” I said taking a deep breath. I can’t believe it, I’m really going through with this.

“Okay.” She said smiling once more. “I’ll add you to the list. With you taking the last open spot, I’ll say where booked full, we have two boys and two girls. So where balanced right now.” She paused. “So given any thought on.. What your going as? Since you’ve been reading a lot of those cosplay manual’s and spending most of your break in the Library reading manga. I take it your going to be a anime character of some kind?”

I folded my arms across my chest and took a deep breath. It was a valid question.. One I felt like I had to give a valid answer too. Halloween was as my sister once said. ‘The only time a good girl can dress like a total slut and get away with it. Go big or go broke Maddie’ Blunt advice from a city girl gone country.

“I was thinking about one of the Sailor Senshi.. I watched a lot of Sailor Moon while I was in hospital.” I had developed two loves while spending six weeks in rehab in Hospital, was anime, the second was reading.

“That would be nice.” She said smiling toward me. “Let's see where going to have a Zombie, a Vampire and a Demon nurse.. What character were you thinking about cosplaying as?”

“I don’t know.. I was thinking about Sailor Mercury. Cause she like me, a bookworm.. Kind of dull and boring and bland. Plus blue is my favorite color.” I said blushing as I played with my skirt.

She raised a eyebrow and peered toward me for a few minutes. And finally she spoke with a careful measured tone of voice.

“Cosplaying is a hard game to break into. Back in the late nineties and early two thousands, you saw a lot of Sailor Moon cosplayers. I think you want to become a cosplayers.. A series one.. If so, I expect when you show up for this event. You will have the best Sailor Mercury Costume you can make. Or else..” She said her voice trailing.

“..” I blinked and she kept going on.

“Or else I’m afraid I’ll have to crack down on you. So far, I’ve let you slide with your reading those Cosplay manuals in my class. When instead you should be taking notes or maybe doing your free time to do some catch-up on the homework you have missed. You have two weeks young lady, fourteen days.. You also have a teacher willing to help you, and a room full of government brought supplies.” She paused and then said. “Do you understand me Ms. Brewer?”

I opened my mouth to say something but the sharp ringing of the school bell cut me off. I blinked and surely I was blushing as I tried to get my tongue to work. Another shrill ring of the bell filled my ears.

“That was the warning bell, I suggest you get to class. I’ll hate to have my favorite student get another tardy. If remember correctly, you have already landed in Saturday detention for being tardy.” She said showing me to the door.

And with that are meeting ended. And there this episode ends.

***

The park was filled with costume clad people milling about. Little girls dressed as princesses from some Disney movie. Boys being some super hero from the latest Marvel movie. Adding to the melting pot was a few random anime characters. The air was also cool and crisp and the leafs on the trees had turned from green to orange and red. Orange, buck tooth smiling Jack O’ Lanterns sat in groups of three or four.

Booth’s of all kind’s littered the cobblestone paved walkway that snaked through the park. These booth’s here staffed my owners of the various shops that formed the bulk of downtown Benton. There was ‘Potter’s Mercantile’ was among those. Mr. and Mrs. Potter where all dressed in turn of the century clothing.

Beside ‘Potter Mercantile’ there was the local feed store, the bakery of course and even the local branch of ‘Bank of Yazoo’ the only bank that operated in town. Fun fact I have a account with them. But back to the story.

As I made my way down the walkway, soaking in as I normally do the sights and the smells that make this little gatherings special, you know the smell of frying doughboys or funnel cakes. The local chapter of the “The most Respected rite of the Brotherhood of the Earth Cutters ” where deep frying Mississippi raised catfish, each plate was served with a larger than life serving of home cut French fries, hush puppies, coleslaw and deep fried snickers bars.

All in all.. It was a average gathering. Till through the chilly, autumn air came a yell and a big splash. Then I was reminded why I was here.. And a deep blush colored my cheeks as I turned around to face the source of the noise and then, I felt a hand touch my shoulder.

Quickly I turned around and there facing me was Mrs. Fox. She was dressed in a form fitting midnight black dress. Black cobweb print stocking and fingerless gloves accented her outfit with shiny black heels, a large witch’s hat completed the outfit.

“There my favorite student.” She Mrs. Fox said to me with a broad smile. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I was getting kind of worried. Thinking you might have chickened out at the last second.”

“Oh..” I said taking a deep breath as I looked peered toward her. “No ma’am. I just biked here, my sisters come down with a bad chest cold. So she at home nursing some chicken soup and watching back to back episodes of ‘Ghost Adventures’.”

Poor darling. I hope she starts to feel better, would you need a ride back? I mean it might be late when this thing ends. And the local weather radio said a cold front’s suppose to move in sometimes this evening.. So I’ll hate for you to bike home with soaking wet clothing.” She said folding her arms under her breast and giving me something of a motherly look.

“Hmm.. What about my bike?” I said looking over to a nearby bike rack that held a dozen or so bikes all chained and locked up.

“No problem, I attach it to the bike rack on top of my car.” She said smiling as she held out her hand. “Come on your going to be next.”

I blinked and blinked again as I reached over took her hand and was then guided through the crowd. And in a matter of seconds we were standing at the bank of a huge, oval shape concrete pound. The water was deep and clear. A dozen or so springs feed the pool, keeping a steady supply of fresh, clear and cold water being feed into it. The source of the springs and the water in the pond was countless artesian springs that lay hidden in the hills and hollows that surrounded the town. Those springs bubbled up from the ground naturally.

A large crowd was starting to form around the pool. Four uniformed men wearing brown-gray coats and trousers stood guarding a girl around my age. Her long blonde hair was braid back in the classic and always stylish French braid. She wore a loose gown of pink and white. White slippers completed the outfit. A look of great concern shadowed her face.

“Cindy changed her mind at the last minute. It seems that Fr. Brown caught wind of Cindy wanting to be a ‘Demon Nurse’. And sat down with her father and explained that Cindy, being the daughter of a ‘Senior Warden’ should lead by example and strongly suggested that she go as something else.” Mrs. Fox said with a sly smile.

“So she going as a cookie cutter princess.” I stated.

“Ouch.” Mrs. Fox said as she tried not to giggle.

“What? She thinks she queen of the halls anyway. Strolling up and down the hallway with her notebook in her hand, taking notes of everybody and giving out warning like some hotdog vender at the state fair.” I stated.

“Meow. Somebody feeling a little catty this evening.” Mrs. Fox said as she shot me a warning glare.

I rolled my eyes and turned my attention toward Cindy. The two of the four men where holding onto her arm and the other two where getting everything set up. The dunking stood was a wooden chair, that at this point was already quite wet. Blushing Cindy was gently guided into the seat and as soon as she was seated, a large, broad leather strap was placed across her waist Once those where in place, her feet where strapped to the legs of the chair and so was her wrist.

Deep blush colored my face, as I watched her being lifted into the air. Soon she was floating a good seven feet in the air. From side to side she was moved around, letting all those gathering around the pond to get a good look at the soon to be drenched princess. Her fingers dug into the wooden arms of the chair. She bit down upon her lip.

Then she dropped like a stone! A long girlish scream followed by the sound of splashing water and for fifteen solid seconds they held the girl under the water before bringing her back up. Water dripped from the helm of her dress down the legs of the chair and off the arms.

“That freaking cold!” She shouted again as she peered toward the crowd. A chorus of chuckles and laughs filled the air as she was dropped again into the inky black water. Ripples traveled on the surface as small waves lapped the bank. Fifteen more seconds and once more she was lifted out of the water.

You are all going to burn!” She shouted as she spat a stream of cold, water. Tiny bits of duck weed could be seen in her hair. Her eyes seem to burn like hot pieces of coal in the embers of hell. She opened her mouth to speak again and was dipped again! For half a minute this time she was held under the water before being brought to the surface. A deep pout crossed her look as she spat out a stream of water and glared at everybody. A dozen or so camera’s flashed.

“Everybody, give Miss. Cindy Peterman a warm around of applause for being such a good sport!” Mrs. Fox said as she started to clap. Others started to clap. Cindy just pouted as she was brought over and eased down. The same four men advanced and quickly removed the straps that held her in place. Once freed she stood up and flipped her hair and stuck her nose in the air.

“Wow, what a bitch.” I said taking a deep breath. No sooner had the last word left my mouth than did I feel a sharp sting come across my bottom. I yelped and turned around and caught sight of Mrs. Fox giving me a glare that could melt ice.

“If I was not so inclined to agree with you. I would pull you across my knee right now, at least wash your mouth out. Madeline Diana Brewer, I don’t want to hear a word like that pass through your teeth again. Do you understand me young lady? Otherwise I will be calling your sister and tomorrow, I will be seeing you detention. Do I make myself clear.”

“Yes..” I said as I watched Cindy get wrapped up in a nice warm housecoat and given a cup of hot chocolate. She was then guided over to wooden table and sat down. A big steaming bowl of something set in front of her and slowly she started to eat.

“All those who get dunked, also get something warm to eat. We hope this will keep down the number of colds. And to keep you little angels from going to the E.R with the flu.” Then she added. “Okay Ms. Brewer, it's your turn.”

I took a deep breath. There was no escaping my fate now.

I forced myself to take a deep breath as I moved toward the edge of the pond. Cindy who was sitting on a nearby log, looked up from her bowl of beef stood and shot me a look that could kill. I tried not to chuckle, but the girl looked more like a drowned rat than a fairy tale princess.

“I’ll get you one day Brewer.” She said as she pulled her robe a bit tighter around her. The air was starting to become a bit more chilly and the smell of burning oak and cedar logs was starting to perfume the air. The laughter of children was starting to dye down now. All their attention was starting to shift away from the venders, attractions and visiting. All eyes where now starting to focus in one the main event. The charity dunking.

“Okay everybody!” Bellowed Mrs. Fox as she peered toward the gathering crowds. “If I might have your attention. Are next volunteer is.. Straight from the streets of Tokyo herself everybody favorite Sailor Senshi is. Put your hands together for… Sailor Mercury!”

An odd silence fell over the crowd. And a deep blush colored my cheeks as I stepped into the circle of people. Cheeks still blushing, I offered them a little bow before peering toward the four uniformed men. They returning my bow with a small smile With all eyes fixed on me, I offered my shoulder to the two men doing the dunking.

The men smiled and then gently took me by the shoulder and started to guide me toward the chair. I could feel the eyes fixed upon me. And a mummer passed through the crowd. From the corner of the crowd, sitting upon a bench, nursing a bowl of hot beef stew was Cindy, a towel was draped around her shoulders and she was giving the stink eye to all those who dared look in her direction.

As I passed by her, I stuck my tongue out and she returned by giving me the middle finger. A gentle tap on my shoulder reminded me why I was here. Blushing and becoming shy, I was guided over to the wooden chair. Once I was standing by the chair, I felt a firm hand upon my shoulder, the hand then pushed me down into the chair. Once seated the leather straps started to come out and in a blink of a eye I was tightly secured. I forced a laugh as I looked around and through the crowd I saw Mrs. Fox standing there smiling at me.

“Okay it seems she all secure. Now Sailor Mercury, I think you should know that six people donated twenty five dollars each to get dunked. That means your into the pond six times. How does that make you feel?” She said walking up to me and placing a microphone to my mouth.

I blushed at being put on the spot so easy. Taking a deep breath I peered into the microphone, and after clearing my throat I spoke out in a strong clear voice.

“I would like thank all the people who donated.. Together we're raising a lot of money for charity.” I said taking a deep breath and smiling a big old smile. The crowd around me cheered and clapped and whooped and yelled and out of the corner of my eye.

“Okay folks.” Mrs. Fox said taking a deep breath as she peered toward the crowd. “Okay everybody, lets let her have it! One the count of three!” She bellowed.

I blushed as I felt the chair being lifted up in the air and moved toward the pond. The silvery moon shined off the water. I felt my heart jump into my throat as I peered toward the crowd. Princesses, superheroes and ghouls and vampires alike had turned out to see me get dunked. I then looked down and noticed I was still wearing my boots. “Hold on!” I called out and everybody stopped and just peered at me.

“Can I please remove my boots?” I said taking a deep breath as I looked down at my skirt.

A grumbling passed over the crowd as they lowered me down again. Instead of unbuckling me, one of the female staff members came over and removed my boots and tenderly placed them in a bag and set them to the side. She then smiled and removed my socks too and set them to the side too.

“I think we need to punish are volunteer for delaying her dunking.” She said as she took a deep breath and stood up and brushed off her pants. “How about we give her another dunking!”

Before I could protest. I felt myself being raised back up in the air and twirled toward the pond. Once more my heart seemed to jump into my throat as I peered down at the crowd and at the wavy surface of the water. I took a deep breath and wrapped my fingers around the wooden arm rest and closed my eyes. And then it happen, I felt myself drop.

A loud splash filled the air as I felt myself going under the water. The sudden onrush of cold water took my breath away. For several seconds they held me under till at last I was forced to open my mouth and then I felt the seat being risen up. Closing my eyes, I broke the surface of the pond, causing water to splash onto the muddy banks from the force of the waves generated by me breaking the surface.

I spat out a long stream of brown water and took a deep breath before I felt the seat once more give way, sending me down into the deep water. The water was colder this time and I swear they held me under a few seconds longer than the last time they did it. Butt once again I found myself being lifted up. Once more I forced myself to spit out a stream of water and take a deep breath. My hair hung over my eyes and water in long streams dripped from my blouse and skirt and off the tip of my toes.

Slowly a little smile crossed my face as I felt myself drop again into the water. This time they went all the way down and I felt my feet touch the sandy bottom of the pond. And once more I was lifted up. But this time I little chance to recover before being dunked again only halfway through and it was fast, it happen in a blink of a eye and then I was lifted up and spun around.

“Looking like a drowned rat there Brewer!” Shouted Cindy from her bench as she peered toward me. Across the bench, I noticed Matthew peering up at me. He smiled and offered me a little smile and a wave. I tried to wave back but I was dunked again!

“Doing good Maddy!” I heard voice call out as I was lifted again. My chest was starting to rise and fall with each breath I took. The water was freezing cold and the wind was starting to blow now. Smiling I looked down, my outfit was soaking wet and the chilly late October wind was blowing around me. I closed my eyes as I felt the chair move downward again and felt the water wash over me once more.

“We love you Maddy!” Another voice cried out. Through the dripping water I noticed Robin and Lily standing in there on the shore. Both where clapping there hands and shouting there support. I offered them a little smile before being dunked again! This time they only got my feet a little wet.. A sigh of relief escaped my lips. It seems they save a gentle one for last. But I spoke too soon as the raised me up again, higher than before this time and brought me down again! A big splash followed.

“Aright! Aright!” Called out Mrs. Fox. “I think she had enough.” She waving her arms. The guards nodded there head and turned me toward the shore. Slowly they eased me down and slowly they removed the straps. Once the straps where removed I was helped up and greeted by a smiling Lily and Robin. Standing behind them was Mrs. Fox a women with stunning red hair and to the side stood Matthew.

“You were so cool!” Said Lily said to me as she rushed up to me. “See, she would be perfect for are little project.” She said grinning softy.

“Totally, she could be are first ‘Petite’. This is going to be so cool, think of it Robin, you and I business partners in the first maid inspired café in Mississippi!” Robin said smiling softy. She then gave me a slide glance.

“And this cutie will be are first student!” Lily chimed in.

“Okay everybody! Let's give the girl some room here. Madeline thank you for being such a good sport. I still have some duties to attend, so go get warm by the fire and enjoy some hot chocolate and some soup.” Mrs. Fox said as she gave me a wink and vanished into the darkness.

“Right, go enjoy yourself!” Lily said smiling. “Don’t want are first student coming down with a bad chest cold.” She said before vanishing too.

“Madeline.. We’ll be getting in touch with you soon. Keep your grades up and keep pushing forward.” She said with a wink. She then vanished too, that left me with only Matthew who walked up to me and wrapped a warm blanket around my shivering shoulders and placed some hot chocolate into my hand, He leaned in and I could smell his old spice body spray.

“Madeline.” Is all said, and that all he needed to say as I wrapped my arms around him and he wrapped his arms around me. We stood there for a good minute squeezing on each other. After a minute of hugging we walked over and sat down by one of the bonfires, and for what seemed like hours we toasted marshmallows, feed each other S’mores and cuddled. We then became a pair.. Or so I think we did. That night we moved beyond talking.. We been talking all summer. Yes that night we started official dating I believe.

The End.

Prologue:

So, you know that ‘Cookie Cutter Princess’ princess comment. It came back to bite me right in the bottom. A few days after the event. Little Cindy spotted me running late for class. And being the ‘Girls Freshman Prefect’ she slapped a Saturday detention on me faster than you can blink. So it seems I’m looking at spending next Saturday at school from seven in the morning till around noon. Or something like that. Oh well, such is life.

To be continued in Madeline’s Saturday Detention

The weekend before thanksgiving, found me trotting down the sidewalk through the predawn darkness. Benton was undergoing something of a Indian summer, along with the rest of central Mississippi. The hard killing frost of late October, had been replaced with warm, almost early spring weather.

The town too was dead, with most people just now waking up, or choosing to sleep in. As I put the row of neat little cottages and square yards of Wilson Creek, the district my sister and I make our home's in. And welcomed the row of shops, business, government sponsored service offices and government building of downtown. I paused and took a deep breath and for the millionth time that day, I cursed my fate.

You see, I had been given a ’Saturday Detention’ by the female prefect. Little Miss. Cindy Peterman, who thought she was queen of the school. She was the kind of girl who loved to throw around her family name and social connections. Her father, Richard Peterman was the senior Warden of the local Episcopal Church, St. Mary’s. He was also a Fourth Degree Master of the Earth Cutters.

Her mother, was the social butterfly of town. Linda Peterman was president of both the UDC or United Daughters of the Confederacy and the DAR, Daughters of the American Revolution. She also belonged to the Benton Garden Club. So more or less the Peterman family was way up there, kind of like the southern version of the bourgeoisie.

This musing carried me through the gates of the school and up steps and soon I found myself standing in front of the heavy cedar doors. From my vantage point at the top of the steps, I could see the others, who like me had been sentenced to spend there Saturday here. Around a bakers dozen students where milling around the lawn. Most of them wore a sullen look on there faces. A few.. Just grinned a twisted grin and loudly told others what awaited them once the door open.

Sinking down and sitting upon the steps, I took another breath and placed my hands on my cheeks and waited. I felt, I felt out of place. I was a good girl.. I had been trying so hard in all my classes and for the most part I brought home ‘A’s’ and ‘B’s’ in most of my subjects. And I felt almost cheated, the reason behind me being here.. Was no doubt a act of revenge on the part of Miss. Cindy Peterman.

See, Cindy has never liked me for one reason or another. A lot of minor reasons and one main reason I believe, see I was not born or raised in Benton. Up till a year or so ago I was living in Canton. And the difference between Canton and Benton was like the difference between day and night. Canton was part of that massive cityscape that dominated the central part of the state.

You see, Canton was part of a collection of towns and villages that had grown together. Mostly due to the white flight of Jackson, the state capital. So you had Jackson at the center and around it you had dozens of smaller towns and cities that were located no more than a stone’s throw away from each other. It was hard to tell, it was hard to tell where one city ended and the other begin. All in all, Canton my native city was part of a urban area that laid claim to a half million souls.

Lost in my musing, I failed to notice the door opening and in the doorway there stood a women dressed in a wine colored track suit. Her flaming red hair tied up in a messy bun and her emerald colored eyes peering straight at me.
“Brewer. I see you did something with your hair.” She said giving me a level eye. “Mighty dressed up. Going on a date this afternoon.”

I took a deep breath and raised my head up to meet the source of the voice. Most teachers tend to address you either with Mr. Or Ms. Attached to your first or last name. Others had the habit of saying only your last name. And a few.. Used just used your first name.

“Yes ma’am.” I said taking a deep breath as I stood up and brushed some of the dirt from my skirt and from my sleeves. “Yes ma’am. Matthew and I have a date this afternoon. Where going out to Johanna’s this afternoon, before catching the movies tonight.” I said peering toward

I said folding my hands in my center.

“Sounds like fun.” She said peering toward me. “But if you were mine, It would be straight home and you’ll be grounded for the weekend. Getting a Saturday Detention would wreck any fun plans for the weekend.” She said nodding her head toward the inside. “Now get a move on, 24601.”

I had to bite down upon my tongue and bow my head. But under my breath I swore that I will get that women back for this. As I moved to the enter the school. I felt the teacher wrapping her fingers around my arm.

“Where do you think your going, 24601.” She said peering at me. “Fall in behind the others. Hand on your side. Eyes straight. No talking in ranks.” She barked at me.

I blushed and quickly made way toward the far end of the line. All thirteen of us stood there, standing shoulder to shoulders. Are eyes facing the wooden door and the warm wind blowing over are shoulders.

“For the next four hour. You will not be called by your name. You will be called by your number, the number that was attached to your slip. In the next four hours, you will pay for the crime you have committed. If you have a phone on you, I ask you to hold it up.”

I reached into my purse and pulled out my phone and held the phone up in the air.

“You will no silence all phones and power them down. You will silence anything that makes noise, or you will have them taken from you. You will obey all school rules. Any questions?” She roared as she marched up and down the line. She then turned me. “Any questions 24601. Speak now girl or hold your peace.” She barked again as she walked up to me and gave me a sideway glance.

“No ma’am..” I stuttered out. “Has your phone been placed on silence, 24601?” She said as she peered at me. As my phone was in my hand and at that time a catchy anime theme song played. Alerting me I had a text. I could only shake my head.

“No ma’am..” I said. I never been a person to pray, but at that very second I was praying to whatever God or Goddess there might be to help me. This woman was pressing all my buttons.

“Silence your phone now and store it away in your purse. Is that understood 24601.” She whispered and then left me along. As I silenced my phone, I watched her walk toward the front of the school.

“Saturday detention is a punishment. At time for reflection. A time to make amends. There no priest here to hear your confessions of guilt. There are no confessional booths. Once we enter into this building. I will separate you and put you in separate parts of the school. Use this time to pray, reflect and reform.” She gave each one of us a hard look. And I felt my blood turn to ice water in my veins.

“Any questions.”

A low rumble passed through the crowds.

“Speak up!” She bellowed.

“No ma’am..” Each of us responded.

We were then marched away. And as we crossed the threshold, I swore under my breath that I will get my revenge. I swore it indeed. Come hell or high water I would see that girl crushed under the heel of my boot.

I took a deep breath as I was lead into the nurses office. The minute I entered into the room, I felt the tiny hairs on my arm stand up as the smell of antiseptic filled my nose. It was nauseating to say the least as memories of my stint in the IC of UMC came flooding back. My palms starting sweating and chill passed over my shoulder. Slowly I closed my eye and shivered again.

“Take a deep breath 24601.” The women said taking a deep breath as she closed the door behind us. “Take a deep breath.. And hold still, I don’t have all day and there a dozen others in front of you. So take a deep breath, calm yourself and ride the pain out like a women.” She said as she locked the door and stepped toward a locker.

“My name is Madeline Brewer..” I said peering toward the women. “Not 24601..” I said taking a deep breath as I balled my fist up and shifted my eyes toward her. I knew talking back was the last thing I should do now, but I was getting feed up with her ordering me around or ordering us all around.

“And my name is Alice.. Alice Cartwright..” She said as if she had to force the words out of her mouth. She quickly added. “You have moxie girl. I like that, ever considering playing field hockey?” She said looking over her shoulder and giving me a half formed smile.

“No ma’am.” I said taking a deep breath as I started to fold my arms across my chest and give her a cock eyed looked in response to the smirk she was shooting in my direction.

“Okay. Cut the sass and listen to me.” She said in a low but forceful tone of voice. “I know about your condition. And I understand high school is even stranger for you. You don’t want to use the boys bathroom, and the school board does not want you to use the girls bathroom. So in the middle ground your allowed to use the staff bathroom to change and take care of business.” She almost growled at me.

I scowled at me and peered toward Alice. I was about to open my mouth to rebuke her when the full weight of the words struck me square in the chest. I stepped back and peered toward the women, hurt and confused.

“Good, I knocked that sass out of you.” She said pausing as she looked me square in the eye. “I know you and Cindy have a grudge match going on. I’m aware of the how petty you girls can be over things. And I know for a fact you have been running off at the mouth that your going to get ‘Even’ with Cindy.” She peered toward me with grim look.

“So, I’m going to do something I rarely do, I’m going to ask what is going on between you two. Then I’m going to paddle you, give you a sheet of lines to write then you can go on your date with that boyfriend of yours and enjoy the rest of your Saturday afternoon.” She said in a matter of fact tone of voice.

“Wait?! What do you mean your going to ‘Paddle me’. Hold the phone there, I don’t believe I agreed to this.” I said peering toward the women as my hands went behind my bottom. I could feel my mental defenses starting to crumble around me. In a figure of speaking she ‘Took the wind out of my sails’.

Alice took a deep breath as she peered directly into my eyes. She then released and peered toward the lights above. She gave her head a little shake and then reached over and started to dig through a drawer. What she was looking for it seemed. Could not be found in the closet.

“At the start of the year, when your older sister who is your legal guarding enrolled you. She sighed a form that gave the school permission to use corporal punishment on you. So yes I’m allowed to paddle you.” she said as she pulled out school paddle. She placed the paddle down upon one of the beds.

“Okay..” I said peering toward the women. “Okay I’ll talk.” I finally caved in and eased down on the bed. A chill passed over me. There was a urban legend that the nursing office was suppose to haunted by the ghost of a teenage girl who died here from yellow fever a hundred or so years ago.

“Go ahead. I’m listing.” Alice said taking a deep breath.

“Okay, Cindy and I go to the same church. St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, you know the pretty pink and white church located downtown. it’s the one right across from the Catholic church… We also took the same catechisms classes and both of us where confirmed my Bishop Roger King a month or so..” I was aware that I was rambling. But it felt like I needed to get all of that out in the open.

“So, it seems like you two should be close. At the very least friends. Have you ever considered that maybe Cindy was just doing her job in giving you detention, you were caught outside of class after the tardy bell had sounded. She was well within her right to give you detention, and according to her report this was not the first time, in fact she said she’d given you at least a dozen warnings about being late for class.” Alice said folding her hands across her chest and giving a dead level gaze. “Anything to say Madeline in your defense?”

“Listen.” I said looking away. At this point I pretty much knew that whatever I said would do little to change things. Alice seemed pretty much said dead in her tracks.

“I am.” She said placing the paddle across her lap. “I’m all ears girl.” She said folding one knee over the other and folding her hands under her breast.

“Cindy has hated me since I’ve meet her.. I don’t know why, but the girl has it out for me.. I swear it. Something about me stealing her boyfriend or something. I don’t know, I just know one day before school started she came up to me and said I needed to watch my back..”

Alice took a deep breath and started to rub her forehead. After a few minutes or rubbing she muttered under her breath. “Dear God, Madeline.. No.. have you ever been bullied before?” She asked in the most honest tone of voice possible.

“No.. When I was a boy people pretty much left me along..” I said shrugging my shoulders.

“Okay.. Now.. I don’t think I should be the one to tell you this. I wish somebody beside me was the one giving this talk, but I’m a teacher and part of my job is to watch out for you. So here it goes.” She drew in a deep breath and clapped her hand and released.

“Okay Madeline, girls are different that boys. Boys are more combative, they always try to set themselves apart from each other. Most boys games are them trying to prove there tougher than their peers, like football for example. It's about proving who the toughest, the fastest and the most athletic. Cheerleading on the other hand, the girls work together. They move in sync.. See they work together to synchronized there steps and there cadence..” She paused. “You following me?”

I slowly nodded my head.

“Now.. When a boy has a problem.. Say with a other boy. They settle it with their fist being you know combative and stuff. One reason boys fight along among each other. My granny called it rough housing.. But now you see girls are different. While a boy might just haul off and punch a rival in the face and get a fight started, she’ll go behind her back and spread rumors and lies about her. Maybe even get catty with her in order to provoke her.. it’s a battle of wits you see..” Alice said rubbing the back of her head.

“Anyway you understand don’t you Madeline?”

“I think so..” I said, but the truth be know I was totally lost. I was kind of more confused than when she started. Alice seemed to sense my confusion and finally out right said.

“Listen, I don’t know what going on between you and Cindy. I doubt you stole her boyfriend. But it seems clear she dislikes you. I’m just telling you to watch what you say around her. Be careful with your words and mind your manners. And if you feel threaten or you start getting threaten notes, make sure you do two things. One you turn the note into the office and two you have a copy made for your personal records. Not saying it will come to that, but that under the table advice to you.” She said sighing as she shook her head.

“Why?” I said tilting my head to the side as I peered toward Alice. I was starting to see another side of her, in the span of a hour she had pulled a total one eighty on me.

“Because.. Jealous is a powerful weapon. Sometimes it can motivate people to do good things. Other times it can release a wave of destructive power. Now, I think it's time we bring this heart to heart talk to a end, don’t you agree.” Alice then stood up and gripped the handle of the paddle in her hand. “Okay, Madeline stand up, graph your ankles, take a deep breath and count reach stroke. Failing to count one stroke will cause the cause a reset. Three resets and you will find yourself doing another Saturday detention. Have I made myself clear.”

“Yes ma’am.” I said taking a deep breath as I stood up and bends over and wrapped my fingers around my ankles. I released my breath and waited..

To be continued…

I only had to wait a few seconds before the sharp sting to the paddle cracking across my backside flooded into my bottom. The first stroke of the paddle took my breath away and caused the tiny hairs on my arms to stand straight up. Coughing, I crooked out.

“One Ma’am,” I said as took a deep breath and waited for the next one. I did not need to wait long for the second one either for soon the paddle cracked my bottom again. Sending another wave of sting rolling into my bottom. The second strike once again took my breath away, but I forced myself to count again. “Two ma’am.”

My ears were starting to sting with salty tears now as another powerful stroke, smacked my bottom, sending another wave of sting and burn rolling into my bottom. My legs were starting to quiver now and the strength in them was starting to fade. “Three ma’am.” I choked out again.

Then she threw me a curveball. I felt my skirt being lifted up and my panties being lowered down. Then standing there bare bottom, I knew how deep into the swamp I was. My eyes became wide as saucers as I felt the cold air of the nurse's office coming into contact with my sore bottom.

The fourth stroke landed upon my bottom. Without the padding provided by my underwear and skirt the full stroke of the paddle feel in full force down in my bottom. Sending the full brunt of the paddle into my bottom, causing my knees to buckle and my breath to once more leave my lungs. “Four ma’am!” I bellowed out!

A dozen quick beats of the heart later, the paddle came swinging in. Striking my bottom again, this time the force of the stroke made me lurch forward a little and my balance was almost lost. The loud popping sound of the paddle striking my bottom echoed in my ears as I forced myself to maintain the pose I was in. “Five Ma’am!” My eyes were starting to moist and water.

Another stroke followed, the pure fire seemed to run into my bottom and a shiver once more passed my back. Those building tears, now spilled over and started to run down my cheeks. My nose started to run and my breathing was becoming ragged. Through the snot, tears and choking I crooked out the number. “Six. Ma’am!”

“Keep it together girl,” Alice said putting her hand on my back. “You have only four more to go before we're done. Take a deep breath. Cause I’m about to rush through those two.” She said cracking my bottom again with the paddle, sending another burning wave of sting and burn into my bottom. This time the paddle struck squarely in my bottom.

“Seven Ma’am!” I was a total mess now. With tears spilling down from my eyes and my chest heaving up and down. I coughed and hacked and coughed again as my bottom seemed to be on fire.

Another stroke, quickly followed by another. With the two strokes being so close together I had little time to regain my composer between strokes. But I still had the clarity of thought to holler out the number to avoid the whole threat of having start over again. I doubted she would, but I was not willing to press my luck, an inkling I was pushing it to the breaking point.

“Eight Ma’am! Nine Ma’am!” I shouted as the tears spilled down upon the floor in front of me. And then it happens, the last strike. Alice drew back and delivered the final stroke. The final stroke was the straw that broke the horses back. As soon as the flat surface of the paddle struck my bottom, I felt something snap inside me. I broke down in tears and finally after several long seconds, I could finally crook out “Ten Ma’am.” And then I waited, I waited for what seemed like years. Till finally, an almost motherly voice said to me.

“Okay Madeline, take a deep breath. Stand up and breath.” Alice said to me as she placed her hand on my back and gently stood me up.

Once I was stood up, I felt her guiding me over to a nearby table, a pen with a stack of papers had been provided. Gently she eased me down upon the chair, a hiss escaped my lips as my bottom touched the harden wooden surface.

“Now,” Alice said taking a deep breath. “We're going to work on your penmanship.” She took a pen and with a steady hand, she wrote on the first line of the paper. ‘I will follow and obey all school rules. And respect the power of the school’s prefects.” The words were all spelled out in neat cursive handwriting and a very demure feeling about them.

“There, copy that sentence one hundred times and turn it into me and you're free to go. And remember to take your time and be very careful. If it's sloppy, into the trash it goes and you start again.” And with that, she left me. I remember peering down at that line for a good minute. Slowly I picked up the pen and with a steady hand, I started to copy the line. Each line took around one minute. So you can figure I spent a good two hours writing those damn one hundred lines. Each one I tried to make as perfect as the shining example I had been graced with from above. Once I was done, I turned the paper in, Alice seemed to approved and I was free to go.

And that the story of my Saturday Detention. The date, I’ll save that for another time. But till then guys, stay frosty.

Finished.

Prologue:

Matthew and I had a pretty good time at the movies. The movie was kind of confusing, see I’ve never really been a big ‘Harry Potter’ fan. And a lot of the elements of the movie just flew over my head. At the movies, we spotted Cindy, who was showing off a boy. The boy was one of those big, built football players. I don’t think she spotted us if she did she stayed away. Oddly enough we ended up sitting beside one another.

Later, Matthew and I stopped at the local Mexican restaurant. That was also fun. And once again we spotted Cindy and her little plaything.. It's hard not to spot her across a crowded dining room. Then again, it is a Saturday night and Los Amigos Mexican Bar and Grill is the only really causal dining restaurant in Benton. So that could explain why she was there. I still think she was following us.

After dinner, Matthew followed me and walked me to the door. She said goodnight to each other.. And then he left. I guess there no kissing on the first, always the second date I guess.

As I entered the living room. I notice my sister was awake, which was strange since it was a little past eight and normally she in bed at seven thirty, she rises and sets by the sun after all.

But there she was, sitting on the sofa, her legs curled up under her, wearing a fading baby blue housecoat over her sleeping gown. And her golden, honey blonde hair tightly bound in rollers. Her fingers were wrapped tightly around a white ceramic mug that no doubt held her favorite before bed beverage, Hot chocolate.

“So, how was your date?” She said as soon as I closed the door and locked it.

“It was nice..” I said smiling a little. A little sigh escaped my lips. I had been hoping for a goodnight kiss from Matthew, after what happened this morning a nice kiss on the lips would have gone a long way to heal my bruised teenage pride.

“Hoping for a goodnight kiss?” She said raising an eyebrow. She placed the mug of cocoa to the side and patted the free space next to me.

“Kind of.,” I said walking over to the sofa. “Its been a day and a half..”

“I bet it was. Well, you can rest tomorrow. I need to catch up on my sleep, so we're both going to play hooky. Meaning lets just skip Mass and sleep in, maybe get some fried chicken and spend the afternoon watching Disney movies?” She suggested as she wrapped one arm around me and pulled me into a one arm hug.

“Sounds good,” I said smiling at the one arm hug.

“So, how was your date? Must have been pretty nice. Dinner and a movie. Did Matthew treat you right? How did it feel? Did you have a good time? Come on girl, out with the details.” Kayla said as she sat the mug of hot chocolate down on the coffee table that sat in front of the sofa.

“He treated me, okay I guess. We had dinner down at the Mexican restaurant. We split the bill between us. He then walked me home and..” I stopped there and yawned and my sister only smiled.

“Somebody a little sleepy head?” She asked.

“I nodded my head and cuddled into my sisters embrace. Kayla took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around me. We’ll she wrapped one arm around me and with the other she wrapped an extra large blanket around both of us. And with that, we fell into a nice, deep sleep.

The End.

Thanksgiving follows Halloween. While Halloween is all about the spooks, Thanksgiving is more about family and sharing the fruits of the earth. It was also the time of year people start playing Christmas music and every shop puts up a tiny Christmas village in there display windows. And considering that was in the south, I think the fake flakes of snow that piled high on the display tables, is the closest thing we’ll ever see to a “White Christmas”.

Main Street Benton was already taking on a holiday air. With cardboard cut out turkeys being found at every corner and every shop window displaying smiling indigenous Americans handing wicker baskets of fruits and veggies to starving English settlers. You know that famous “First Thanksgiving”.

But enough of that, Thanksgiving was good news to us, students. Many of us were having to buckle down for final exams. And with quarter reports peeking around the corner for many, it was one last chance to pull up that less than stellar grade. For me that included bringing up my sagging English and Math grade up. Now I can understand basic math, basic math is simple and used pretty much every day.

But come on now algebra. I had barely passed pre-algebra and my sister demanded at least a “B” in every subject. Anything less than a “B” meant either a scolding or a spanking. Or worst being grounded for the weekend. Sometimes I think Kayla forgets I’m her younger sister and instead treats me like her daughter. Then again she kind of had the role of mentor/mother/guardian thrown on her shoulders. So I guess she doing the best she can do.

Now, with all that being said it was your average morning in Benton High. Breakfast was over, the first-period class had just ended and the hallways were filled with students rushing to there next class. And for me, that was “Introduction To Aquaculture”. See beside having a large number of fields under the plow, Benton also had a number of large ponds for the production of farm-raised catfish. Plus, some of the lessons for this class were held in the open. And I liked being around nature.

“Hey, Madeline.” A voice called out behind me as I pushed the door open and turned around as I heard a voice call out my name. My cheeks flushed with color as I beheld the source of the voice. The voice belonged to a young man with sandy brown hair and two deep blue eyes. I swallowed hard as I started to smooth out my skirt and play with my shoulder-length brown hair that was pulled back in two cute pigtails.

“Hey Matt,” I said smiling as I moved toward him. “Been looking for you all day. Looked for you at breakfast. Normally you’re the first one in and the last one to leave.” I joked as I started to shift my weight from one foot to the other. Matthew was my boyfriend, we’d official started dating at the Halloween Carnival held every year.

“I know, I was looking for you too. So can I walk you to class?” He offered as he held out his hand and gave me a small smile. “Since it seems we're going to the same place?” He gave me a smile.

My heart skipped a dozen or so beats as I reached out and wrapped my fingers around his strong hands. “Sure,” I said as I peered into his eyes, they were like two deep pools of water. I could get lost looking into his eyes. And I often did.

“So, have you heard?” He said as we started walking together down the concrete pathway.
“Heard what?” I asked as I titled my head to the side. “I’ve been too busy with extra credit lessons. Like real talk now. My current grade in Math is so low, the teacher feels sorry me. And Its not like I’m trying either. Do you know those after-school tutoring sessions? I’ve been going to everyone she’s had. And I’m still a few points away from that dream of finishing this quarter with a solid ’B’.” I whined.

“I feel you.” He paused. And pulled me in a little closer to his shoulder. “But anyway, they're going to do some kind of charity fundraiser for the Thanksgiving Holiday. You know.. Something about raising money for sick children.” He said shrugging his shoulders.

I drew close to him and smiled a little. Taking a deep breath, I shivered as I smelled his tropical scented body spray and felt my cheekbone resting upon my cheeks. It was a wonderful feeling, to be this close to him and to walk with him as the leaf’s on the tree’s changed colors and the whispers of autumn blew through the tall brown grass.

“Oh, you're talking about the Benton PTA,” I said as I closed my eyes. “The same people that wanted me gone and confined to Whitfield or better yet, give me a full ride to Chamberlain-Hunt Academy,” I said rolling my eyes as placed my chin on his strong arm. I could feel his muscle moving through the fabric of his shirt.

“Yes, those..” He said clearing his throat. “There is a need of somebody to get slimed for charity. A willing volunteer if you wish. Right now they're collecting names. Right now. There at zero and thinking about scrapping the thing.” He said giving me a knowing smile.

I felt my cheeks flushed with color as I gently slapped his shoulder.

“Hey? I’m just saying you're going to look cute covered in slime. Plus you kind of missed the last vote.” He said blushing a little as he started to rub the back of his head. “Like I had no idea all the old ladies in the church would rush forward to save you at the end.” He stated in an honest tone of voice.

I felt a fresh wave of blush color my cheeks again as I peered toward him. After giving him ‘The Look’ for a few minutes I sighed and nodded my head.

“Okay, I’ll do it... It's for a good cause right? Like the money collected is not going to pay for Fr. Thomas gambling debt..” I said raising an eyebrow toward Matthew who cracked a smile. Of all the people I knew, he was one of the few who really understood my humor.

“Heck if I know. I just know we raised something like four hundred or so dollars and Fr. Thomas never turned on the A/c or none of those projects he mentioned doing where ever started or finished. Maybe your right, maybe he needed a quick ‘Blessing’ to keep the mop off him.” Matthew said shrugging his shoulders as we drew closer to the classroom. He paused and leaned over and kissed me on the forehead.

“Love you.” He said smiling as he removed his arm from around me and gave me a goofy grin. I felt my heart skip several beats.

“Love you too!” I called out as I watched him run off to class. I took a deep breath and turned to peer into the clear blue sky. It seemed my life was getting better and better. And even though it might seem a little vain. I loved being Madeline.

“Ms. Brewer.” A voice called to me. The voice belonged to a middle-aged woman. “Would please be so kind as to join us inside for the lector.” She said stepping inside and nodding with her head toward the entrance of something that looked like a greenhouse, but instead of smelling manure and strong chemicals, I was smelling nothing but the fresh scent of clean water. “And then maybe after school. You could stay and help me clean the fish tanks. You know for extra credit.” She said raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said bowing my head as I moved passed her. I knew what she hinting at. Mrs. Lobster had a policy of not starting the lesson to all of her students were accounted for. She was just an old school like that. And if by chance you held up her class for say like I just had. Again using me for an example, talking with your boyfriend or your friends. Then she’ll use one of her own clever ways to punish you, and it would always be under the guise of “Extra Credit”.

“Very good. I’ll see you after school, for say an hour or two.” She said smiling as she watched me take my seat and flop out my textbook. Once I was inside, she closed the old wooden door and locked it and the lesson started.

Johannes Malt Shop was a Benton mainstay, located on a few doors down from “Ginger Evens Bakery” and only a quarter mile from the towns only supermarket in town “Sunflower: Food store” it the main hang out for the tweens and teens all year round. And to honesty, really everybody stopped here to get a quick snack. There hamburgers, where to die for, and their milkshakes were the best around. Thick and creamy.

Also, you had all your social groups here, you had your cheerleaders, your football players, your band geeks, your bookworms, your Goths/Medal Heads, your hunters, and fisherman. And finally, you had people like me, the silent mute who just hang out in the background.

You see Johannes was something of what we call “Common Ground” kind of like the Skating ring or Silver dollar Video Arcade or the varies other dozen and a half hangs out around town. As long as you paid for your meal with ready cash (Transactions of fifteen dollars or more could be paid with a back or a bank checking card) and picked up your trash. Mrs. Johannes, the head checker, and Mr. Bill, the owner, and husband to Johannes, who was also head fry cook and grill master were fine with you.

And since it was common ground, it was a perfect place to meet with Robin and Lily. See Robin and Lily two of the coolest girls I knew. Both where Juniors and both treated me like a little. The last part I was thankful for, because like I’ve mentioned before I think, My older sister Kayla had grown from treating me like a younger sister to like a daughter or something. So having those two to hang around was a good thing.

I had been waiting around ten or twelve minutes before in the doorway appeared the two girls. Both were still dressed in there school uniforms. For Robin that would be a snow-white blouse with brown buttons going down the center. The shirttails of the blouse were tucked into the waistline of a pleated navy blue skirt. White stocking and brown Oxford slip ones completed the look.

For Lily, the uniform was a white peter pan style blouse. A small patch the size of a half dollar with the words “BA” was sewn onto the left breast pocket. The “BA” of course stood for Benton Academy. She too wore a skirt, only her skirt was trimmed with white and red, the colors of Benton Academy. I gotta say the private school’s get the best uniforms. Brown penny-loafers completed her outfit as well.

Lily, who had the most beautiful head of flaming red hair I’ve ever seen on a girl noticed me first. Followed by Robin who had been graced with the most brilliant hue of flaming red hair I’ve ever laid eyes on, noticed me second. Both offered me a small smile and a little wave as they made their way toward my table. Lily was the first to sit down followed by Robin.

“So, we got your text,” Robin said as she reached over the table and took a few of my remaining French fries. “So, the old witch had you stay late to help clean out the fish tanks?” She said popping some of the salty chips into her mouth.

“I’m going to honest with you girl. You really need to stop getting into trouble.” Lily said with a shake of her head. “First it was Saturday detention and then it was normal detention. You're going to get a name like this.” She said reaching over and taking a few fries for herself.

I felt a deep blush color my cheeks as I looked down at the table. It seemed like I was always getting scolded or lectured on something. Ever since I told my sister that summer that I was series about being Madeline, she has been riding me hard. Like pointing out minor things, like the way I sat down while wearing a skirt. The way I held myself. And even the way I dressed.

“I mean, I can understand taking time to talk with your boyfriend and such. But your lessons always come first. Anyway, lecturing aside. We do need to have a heart to heart talk. We have some business we need to talk over with you.” Lily said.

“You see.” Robin started. “We're going to open up a maid-them café here in Benton. Mrs. Evens has already agreed to supply some pastries and help with the start-up money.”

“It's going to be a three-way partnership. With Mrs. Even’s have a third, Lily having a third and I having a third. The daily running and operations are going to fall to Lily and me.” Robin quickly added in before either of us had a chance to talk.

“And that brings us back to you. Madeline believes it or not, you're becoming quite popular around town. You’ve done like one it was the dunking booth for the Discover Benton Festival this past summer. And then it was the yearly dunking stool thing. So that tells us, you have a charitable heart.” Lily chimed in. “And we’ve talked to your sister. It seems your going to start taking ballet classes. And it seems your thinking about entering into the Junior Miss. Mississippi pageant. Pretty bold for a girl on low.”

“What we're trying to say is this,” Robin said again before I had a chance to talk. “And please forgive us for doing all the talking, we just have a lot of ground to cover darling. But yes, what we're saying is this. We know people who know people. People who can help you. See, we're all about helping people. Lily and I.”

I nodded my head. And then before Lily or Robin could open their mouths I started to speak. But Lily held up our hand.

“You will, of course, forgive our rudeness. And we promise you, once we're done talking you’ll have plenty of time to ask questions, comment or anything else. But what Lily and I are getting at is this. We need a helper… apprentice if you wish.” Lily said.

“You have excellent cooking skills, you can sew with the best with your amazing cosplay. Your marks in other areas are kind of average. All in all, you have the talents to become one our apprentice. But do you have the drive to?”

I open my mouth to protest and then Robin held up her hand and said.

“Before you protest, let me say one more thing. What we mean by that is this. Do you have the drive to keep your grades up, like an at least a ‘B’ average in all subjects? You also much be willing to walk in heels, how to properly apply make-up.” She paused before saying. “We’ll also mentor you in all that, and teach you social grace and how to properly serve tea.”

“And you know, all the other skills a proper southern belle requires. And yes you will be getting paid for your time. Right now we're thinking, when you start working for us, we’ll pay around four dollars an hour, plus tips from the tables you wait on.” Lily said.

“And once you learn to brew tea, bake cakes, decorate cakes, manage the cash register and such. We’ll bump your pay a little. So the more you learn, the more you earn.” Robin chimed in again. “Any questions?”

I shook my head. I did have a question. But I lost my train of thought the minute she mentioned pay. The pay seemed low compared to what I was earning now doing chores around the house. But when she mentioned tips, I knew I could charm my way into the big dollars with a little practice.

“No..” I paused. “I’ll have to talk to my sister first. Before I can give you a firm yes or no. But I would love too.” I said smiling a little as I peered toward the pair.

“Oh, one more thing,” Robin added. “We also love to do charity events. Last spring we did a messy charity vote. Like last spring the people voted me to go into a gunge tank.” A pale pink blush formed upon her face. “It was.. Something..” Her voice trailed off.

“Yep. Robin was quite a mess a walking blob of frosting. She smelled of strawberries for a whole week! It was something real.” Lily said smiling softly. “So expect to get a little messy.” She said sticking her tongue out. “I’m thinking of something of a ‘Pie the Petite’ like a pie toss, charge them like five dollars or something,” Lily said musing.

“Anyway, we're going to let you. We don’t want you getting in trouble with Kayla. We know you have some chores that need to do.” They both said in unison as they stood and peered at me. “And Homework that needs to be turned in too!” They said together again as if to drive the point home.

I nodded my head and finished off my fries. I was quite lost for words. But they where right, I did have some homework problems to work on and a few minor chores that needed to be done. And there our episode ends.

The following day was really just your average day. Notes where taken in most of the classes, homework was handed in. The roll was taken, and the school's rumor mill started to turn more and more about who was doing what and who was seeing who and who was going to fight who after school. You know, your average southern day. Not that any of that concerned me, I had to keep my shoulders hunched over an open notebook and my nose buried in a textbook. The daily drama did not concern me... And the only time I ever tuned into the rumor mill was when I was the subject of the rumor. There was still some rumors that surrounded me, one was too close to the truth. It seems some classmates had noticed me using the staff bathroom and changing in there too for gym class.

The rumor was I was just really body shy or had some kind of scar or something. The UFO/Area 51 coots thought I was a body-snatched come down from the Plant XI and was employed by the Federal Government to root out anyone getting too close to the ‘Truth’. These people also thought I was an android and my charging station was located in the staff bathroom. The fact that I was transgender had been lost on many of them. The girls for the most part, just put down my lack of breast as me being a “Late Bloomer”.

All in all, things could have been worst for me. They could also be better. But I’ll take what I can get at this stage. After all, I still have three more years in this place to go before I can secure my Diploma and then I’m University-bound. But as the day drew to a close a gray cloud appeared above my head. I still had to talk to Mrs. Arnold about sighing of the charity slime thing. I had been giving a lot of thought to that, and after much consideration and some time in quite a reflection, I decided the best way to stick my middle finger to the Benton PTA was to be the first to sign up for the thing. The only thing standing my way was Mrs. Arnold, aka the “Keeper of Morals”.

Mrs. Arnold was one of the few remaining hardcore Southern Baptist. She believed in the King James Bible only as the one true translation in the sense that the almighty hand of God had touched all those who had been commissioned to work on it. She the local Southern Baptist preacher the Rev. John Mark was a true prophet, one who had been anointed by God himself to bring Benton back to the right path and lead the few chosen to those high lofty peaks of salvation.

Being true the core beliefs of the Southern Baptist sect, she mistrusted everything that even sounded Catholic, viewed people like me a threat to her way of living and was the author of the scolding letter my sister had received from the Benton PTA. The one that hinted I needed to be sent away to Whitfield or Chamberlin-Hunt Military Academy. She even offered to have Benton Baptist church sponsor me... But not before the Rev. John Mark prayed the devil out of me and saved my soul from the fires of hell.

And this was the women I needed to talk too about sighing up for the event. Something I dreaded more than the yearly flu shot. So there I stood, standing before the door in my best outfit. A white blouse, a blue vest, a matching navy blue pleated skirt, white stocking, and brown penny loafers. Before I had a chance to knock, the door flew open and in the doorway where she stood. Ms. Arnold.

Her bleach blonde hair had been piled high and layered in a beehive style. She reeked of cheap perfume that reminded me of an overflowing outhouse on a hot summers day. A smear of pink lipstick crossed her face and she wore a floral print sundress that looked more like a tent than a dress. Each of her big, meaty hands held the ring and behind her, I could see a row of books. Slowly she shifted her eyes at me and in a nasty, conceding tone of voice said.

“Hello..” She paused and as she brought her lips over her teeth said. “Hello there Mark Jonathan Brewer.” She said making a point to say each of my former names as a slowly as possible. “What can I do you for? Come to finally take me up on that offer, Whitfield or Chamberlin-Hunt?” She sneered.

I felt the blood in my start to boil and for a minute I thought about turning upon my heel and walking off. But I knew if I did that she would have won the game. I gathered my courage and in a polite, ladylike tone of voice, I said to her.

“Please,” I said. “Its Madeline,” I said slowly. “And no, I have some business we need to talk too, may I please come in.”

Mrs. Arnold peered down at me and slowly she stepped aside and showed me into her office. The office reeked of the same perfume she was wearing. A scent that caused me to gag in the dusty heat, it seems to dust off the furnace was the last thing on the janitor's mind before firing the thing up again. The office was decorated in the proud tradition of the old South. A polished wooden desk sat in the center. Behind the desk, there could be seen a tall leather back chair. Behind the chair sat three framed diplomas. Beside the framed diplomas there could be seen, hanging from a braid of leather cord a paddle.

An open King James Bible could be seen in the center of the desk. In front of the desk where two small plastic chairs. Hanging on the side of the wall, was a plague that read. “Spare the Rod and thee will spoil the Child.” and hanging beside that one was one of a paddle and above the paddle in old English script where the words ‘ Bored of Reform’.

“Now Mark, the only bit of business we have is this. Either you drop this whole being a girl business that been going around way too long for my liking and accepts my offer to send you, at the expense of the Benton PTA to Chamberlin-Hunt Academy. Or you please don’t bother me again.” She said sighing.

I raised an eyebrow and peered toward her. I knew this was going to hard, but this was like pulling teeth. “How long have you known and no, let's drop the Chamberlin-Hunt idea right now. I’m not going and as I can recall, my sister already told you lot can shove that idea.” I said taking a deep breath.

“Oh, I’ve known since summer. Remember that dunking booth event you did for ‘Discover Benton’ the Benton PTA sponsored some of that. And that form you filled out. We ran the birthday on it. It did not belong to a ‘Madeline Brewer’ but to a ‘Mark Jonathan Brewer’ also your student records and your society are tied to that name. And yes even though you prance around pretending to be a girl, your really not one.” She said firing back on me

I paused and took a deep breath. Mentally I counted back from ten to one before I slowly opened my eyes and looking the women dead in the eyes I said.

“Those records have been changed. My uncle William Bell, a lawyer and part owner of ‘Bell & Walker’ a law firm based in Vicksburg as already pushed the paperwork through to legally change my name. The Mississippi Department of vital records has already issued me with me a new birth certificate and the Federal Department of Social Security has also issued me a new number. So legally, I am Madeline.”

The women peered toward me. And finally in a calm tone of voice said.

“So, why are you here then? If you're not here to take me up on my offer... And you’ve done all this work... Then surely there must be a reason to come to a calling at my door.” She said sitting down in that big leather chair of hers and peering straight out me.

“I would like to sign up for the charity event,” I told her as I eased down in one of the hard plastic chairs. “Rumors growing on the vine say you don’t have anybody yet.”

The women raised an eyebrow at me and slowly started to nod her head. She then reached into her desk and pulled out a form. She placed the form on the desk and slid it toward me.

“I don’t like you. I’ll be honest with you. I think your whole lifestyle is wrong. But I need a willing volunteer and it seems you’re the first one. This changes nothing between us. And if it was not for charity, I would kick you out right now. But I’m up hole creek without a paddle.” She said.

I took the form and blinked. “Take the form, fill it out and get back to me.” She said shaking her head. “I’ll approve it and we can finally move. Thank you for your time..” there was a long pause. “Madeline.”

I smiled a little as I pushed open the door and exited the classroom. Life is always full of surprises.

As asked, I filled out the form and returned it early the next morning. The whole day passed in me taking notes, talking with a friend and catching up with the newest drama. You know your average school day. Around mid-afternoon, a student who belonged to the 4H club returned saying the Benton PTA Board had approved my request and informed me to wear a nice dress, but not too nice. Again the rumor mill started to turn, this time the rumor centered on the going ones at the old Lomond Farm. Something about strange lights appearing around the front of the many limestone caves that can found at the edge of the property.

Not that strange events are anything new to the old Lomond Farm. The whole area has been crawling with paranormal activity it seems since the Lomond’s carved the land out of the hard wooden bottoms in the late fifties. But those stories are for another day. All in all, there was nothing to report. One could say, as the old German Newspaper once quipped ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’. And so it was.

Once the final bell rang, signaling an end to the school day. I made my way to the bike rack and mounted my bike and started to peddle to the downtown area. I need to unwind and relax. The stress of taking notes and stressing about exams where taxing my spirit and my sanity. Soon the road changed from asphalt to cobblestones that paved the whole mains street area.

As cruised up and down the main street, I took note of all the shops. There of course of Sunflower, Benton’s number one place to buy groceries and stop and get a plate lunch. Beside Sunflower, there was the local Post Office and beside the Post Office, there was the local post of the VFW (Veterans of Foreign War). Across from the post there’s the old Benton Middle School, now that doubles as a local community center. Also here one can take ballet classes and attend local theater productions.

Across from the old Benton Middle School there sit’s the Albert Sidney Johnston Memorial Liberal, the place I spent so many hours over the summer holidays doing nothing but reading teen supernatural-drama books. I stood there a paused as I peered toward the building. That had been my private retreat from the world, back when I just coming to terms with being Madeline and coping with my mother's death. A sniffed and felt a little fall down my cheeks. Things seemed so simple back then. Back when nobody questioned, and everybody just thought I was a tomboy.

Collecting my thoughts, I started to peddle down main street proper. Both sides of the street where lined with shops. I passed the Methodist Market, a charity shop sponsored by Benton First Methodist, the first Methodist Church was located beside the shop. Beside the Methodist church there stood Benton Baptist, the church where Mrs. Arnold attended services. Across the street, one would find local Stone Cutters Hall. To the side of that across from the Methodist Market, you will see an H.R Block Tax Return Office.

Here one stopped for a four-lane crossing, this marked the boundary between “South Main” and “North Main”. As I peered down at the road I noticed the iron rails bedded down in there. A small smile crossed my face, Benton was one of the very few remaining towns to still own and operate a trolley line. The company that maintained the line was fitting called “Benton Street Car LLC”, it operated and maintained the original twelve and a half miles of rail that connected “South Main” to “North Main” And from there spit off into the neighborhoods of “Wilson Creek” a solidly middle-class neighborhood. And “Townson Creek”An area where the elite of the town lived.

Shaking those thoughts from my head, I passed through the crossing and started down the “North Main” the first building too my left I passed as a handsome brick church called “All Saints Roman Catholic Church” the sign out in front informed me that Sunday Mass held three times that day the times being. “Sunday 8:30 AM, Sunday 10:30 AM and finally at Sunday evening at 4:00 PM.” And through the week Masses where held every day at noon.

Across from church, there was one of the few remaining “Blockbusters” the last remaining relic of the one powerful chain of movie rental places. To the side was the local “Fred’s Dollar Store” a dollar store that had everything one might need. And Benton main source of electronics. In fact, it was Benton’s only source.

I kept moving down the road, passing other landmarks as I did. I passed the wooden Episcopal Church, the boards of the church where painted bright pink and trimmed in white. My sister and I sometimes attend services there from the time the time. Given is pink color and white trimming the church was named “Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church” the church was a very “Anglo-Catholic” in Liturgy worship. For example, they use the “Anglican Missal” instead of the “Book of Common Prayer”.

I passed several other businesses before I stopped in front of a sweet shop. The awning covering the door was bright neon pink. And in the display window, lettering spelling out the word “Ginger Evens Bakery”. The sign in the door says “Open”. so parking my bike, I walk up and pull upon the brass door handle and step inside. The minute I step inside I’m hit with the smell of freshly baked bread, fresh donuts, warm cookies and the bitter almost savory smell of freshly ground and brewed coffee.

The inside is nice and clean, the wooden floors shine and gleam. A display case and cash register can be seen toward the back. With a stand-up fridge holding small bottles of milk and stuff can be seen beside the cash register. A woman with flaming red hair looks up and smiles toward me. She has stunning blue eyes and smells of flour and cotton candy.

“Hey there. You must be Madeline. I’ve heard so much about you. Its good to finally meet the girl making waves in this small little town.” She said smiling as she stepped out from behind the counter and offered me her hand. “I’m Ginger Evens, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I reached down and shook her head and offered her a small smile. “it’s a pleasure to meet you too. I’m flattered you know my name.” I said blushing deeply as I pushed a few stray hairs from my face and tucked them behind my ear.

“Of course. You're going to be Robin’s and Lily’s first student. And Mrs. Fox seems to think highly of you. You took the dunking booth in Discover Benton ‘18 and the dunking stool at Halloween thing. Those events make the paper dear heart. People read the paper, you're more popular than you think. Trust me on that.” She said smiling as she walked behind the bar.

“Do you like coffee?” She said as she poured herself a small cup of coffee. “And would you like some?” She said with a small smile.

“Please and thank you,” I said reaching down and playing with the edge of my skirt.

“Good manners, that always a plus when you work with the public.” She said smiling as she placed the first cup of coffee down. She went to fix another one. “Any crème or sugar?” She asked.

“One cream please ma’am,” I said looking table where Ginger had set the first cup of coffee.

She smiled and added one small cream to the coffee and stirred it up and sat it down.

“So how’s school.” She said sitting down at the table. She motioned for me to sit down in front of her. “I’ve heard you ran into a little trouble sighing up for the charity event.”

I blushed and eased down upon the chair and peered at her. At her. She smiled and handed the cup of coffee told me. “Please be careful. It's kind of hot.” She said smiling softly as she peered at me.

“Thank you, ma’am,” I said blowing upon the cup and after a few seconds of letting it cool, I took a sip and nodded my head and eased the cup down upon the table and sighed.

“I did..” I don’t know why, but there something motherly about Ginger. I felt could open up. “Mrs. Arnold was a real prick about it. You know she in charge of the Benton PTA. And the whole PTA does not like the fact there a trans student attending school. She wrote like really scolding letter to my sister, who is my legal guarding now that my mom is dead and such. Like saying I needed to send to Chamberlin-Hunt or Whitfield.”

Ginger nodded her head.

“I mean my other teachers are cool with it. But she the way she treated me... It left a bad impression on me. I mean I know before we left she called me ‘Madeline’ but the way she said the name. It was like a joke you know. I can’t help but feel she not done with me yet... She just strikes me as that kind of women.”

Ginger nodded her head and took another sip of coffee.

“I have a real personal question. One I’m sure you’ve heard before. But one I need to ask.” Ginger said setting her cup down. She then folded her hands in her lap and peered toward me. It seemed like all the air had been sucked out of the room at that very moment. “Are you prepared to work hard to be Madeline?”

I paused and looked down at the ground.

“it’s a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ question. But one that leads down two very different paths. If you say ‘No’ then we’ll you can try to resume your old life. If you say ‘Yes’ then are you prepared to keep going down the path you set for yourself. Meaning, are you willing to live within the laws of the state regarding people like you, and live with the consequences and rewards.” She said in a matter of fact tone of voice.

I swallowed hard. I never expected this to come up. After a few minutes, I took a deep breath and nodded my head.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said and I braced myself for her response.

“Then you have passed your final test.” She said smiling a little. “Congratulations, and welcome aboard.” She said giggling as she reached over and offered her hand. “I’m sure Mrs. Fox and the others will be glad to hear about this.” She said.

I blinked and blinked again.

“Honey.” Ginger said. “There checks and balances to everything. And that all I can say for now” She smiled and reached over and ruffled my hair. “You just need to know, there people in this town that are willing to fight for you and you have powerful allies. So go out and become the best ‘Madeline’ there ever was.”

And so another episode ends.

In eighteen seventy-six a group of leading Yazoo County businessmen and planters came together to talk about the recovery of Yazoo County. The war between the states had ended with the southern armies being defeated in the field and the south ravaged and burned by Union forces. Yazoo County was a shell of its former self. The varies plantations sat in ruins, weeds grew where cotton once thrived. The levees, that held back the floodwaters had been broken by attaching union forces.

What cotton that year had been planted was destroyed by fifteen feet of floodwater. Over shots of corn whiskey and through a thick fog of cigar smoke the men talked and talked till at last the idea to form a bank came to be. The Bank would lend the planters much needed cash on credit and once the harvest was collected and field-hands paid the planters would pay back there loans with a little interest. Thus the merchant class with there shops and business came to rescue of the once powerful planter class. And that’s how the Bank of Yazoo City was formed.

One of those men president at the meeting was Hershey Alex Brewer. A former Confederate soldier who had returned to the find his hometown of Benton ravaged by war. I know little about his life, I do know he opened a hardware store in the area that is now downtown and was one of seventeen merchants to put up starting capital. He later brought two hundred acres of land in North Benton and started a small farm.

There one more bit of information on him. He was a long time supporter of the Episcopal Church since it has always been the church of the elite of the Yazoo Delta, with members always being prospered merchants, wealthy planters and leading citizens. The one or two lawyers or elected official was always added to the mix and members liked to do business with each other and keep business within the church if you will.

And so being a prospers merchant and now a minor shareholder in the newly formed Bank of Yazoo, it was only right that he also helped to establish a mission of the Episcopal church, then called the “The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States” that mission would later become “St. Mary’s Episcopal Church”. It was in that church I was confirmed in by Bishop Sheen this past summer.

Despite all these family connections, I still felt like a total stranger as I walked into the lobby of the Benton Branch of the “Bank of Yazoo City.” The lobby was small with one main desk as you first walk in. Behind the desk there sat a woman who had her grey hair piled high and she reeked of hairspray. Her eyes were glued to a dated issue of “Southern Living”. Behind her, I could see three teller stales where open but only one was open for business. A loan officer to the right held another desk, a gray-haired fellow set behind the desk, He had the office phone glued to his ear and through the paper thin walls I could hear him boasting about how his son scored the winning touch down for Benton Academy in there last game.

Clearing my throat I walked up to the desk and took a deep breath.

“Hello,” I said knocking on the wooden surface. “I’m Madeline Brewer and I’m here to open up a checking account with you.” I said trying to smile. Once more cursing my sister for adding this task to my “Chore List”.. this was one fetched a bounty of one hundred dollars. And that was the bare minimum on, needed to open up a checking account... So pretty much she was opening this account for me, but leaving the paperwork and hassle to me.

Finally, after a few minutes, the women looked up and offered me a small smile. Her gray eyes glittered in the dim light of the lobby. Then it hit me, she was sizing me up. After a few tense minutes of sizing me up, she spoke and when she spoke it was like the hissing of a timber rattler and the rattling of a rattling snake. Her words chilled the blood in my veins.

“Hello, Madeline.” She said setting her magazine down and pushing it to the side. “I’ve heard so much about you.” She paused. “If you could just take a seat. One of our clerks would be right with you. I trust you have all the proper paperwork with you?” She weaving her fingers together as she gave me a dead level stare.

“Paperwork?” I said tilting my head to the side, utterly confused by what she could possibly mean by that.

“Yes, in order to open a checking or savings account with us. One need to supply the proper credentials. So we know its really you who’s going to open and use the account and not mob boss in the slums of Boston or New York or heck even Atlanta.” She said in an off-hand manner as she returned her magazine.

“Okay... Like what would I need?” I asked. I felt my temper rising as the women seemed to swat me off. Kind of reminded me how one would swat at a buzzing fruit fly.

“Normally, we’ll require. Two forms of identification. Say a drivers permit and a government-issued ID. Backing that up, we’ll need a Mississippi birth certificate and a Social Security Card. And since your in school, we’ll need a school-issued ID too.” She said in a flat tone of voice as she returned to her reading.

I nodded, it all made sense now. You see for the last two or three day’s, Kayla has been rushing me back and forth between one county office to another. I had sighed my name to a dozen or so sheets, answered a dozen or so questions. Had my photo taken a dozen or so times. And for what? To get these forms. At first, I thought my sister was just hard headed, making me fill out all the paperwork myself. But then it hit me.. She was trying to help me.

You see, with each piece of identification I acquired, being Madeline became a bit more real to me. Part of me still thought myself as a boy named Mark who was just passing as a girl named Madeline. But every time I showed my School ID for either breakfast or lunch. Or showed my issued ID down at the local movie palace... Yes this being Mississippi your required to show ID if you wish to see a PG 13 movie. Dumb I know, but hey small southern town and all.

But my point still stands. Each time I flashed those things, I felt more like Madeline, like Madeline was a real person... And, yes this is going to sound creepy, but more like Madeline was me and I was Madeline.

All these thoughts raised through my head as I waited for the clerk, a few painful minutes passed before a blonde haired woman with deep blue eyes rounded the corner. She wore a pink turtleneck sweater and a black pencil skirt. The heel of her leatherette’s clicked on the stone title that paved the floor.

She looked at me and then motioned toward one of the offices. The same office that man in a suit was using. Still bragging about how his son, big double D, demolished the guy holding the ball in the last game.
The women took a deep breath and eased past the man, still going over all the details of the play to the voice on the other. She pulled out a chair and then eased her bottom down. She then motioned for me take a seat... The seat being offered to me was a hard wooden chair. Grinning, I took the chair and fixed my skirt as I eased my bottom down.

The man at this point noticed some business was about to take place and cut short his conversation with and I’m going out a branch here, either his drinking or hunting buddy and left the room. Leaving me and Blondie along to talk business.

“So, Janet has informed me... That you wish to open a new checking account with us?” She asked as she peered toward me. “Is that corrected young lady?” She added in a tone that made the whole thing seem like a joke.

“That is correct,” I said closing my eyes and folding my hand's ladylike in my center. I opened my eyes. “My name is Madeline D. Brewer, and I would like to open up a checking account with you. Please, ma’am.” I added the last part to safeguard from any rebuke that might come. See in the deep south where taught from birth to be polite to everybody, even those who disliked or even hated us. We called it ‘Killing them with kindness’ or something like that.

“Okay..” She said taking a deep breath as she turned to the computer sitting at the corner of her desk. The computer looked like something straight from the stone age. It was a large, square, gray plastic looking thing that made a grinding sound as start button was pushed. The plastic blades on the cooling fans made a loud, ear piercing whishing sound.

And soon the sounds of tiny gears grinding to life, followed by the odd, smell of plastic burning and smoking filled the air around us as the old IBM computer came online. For a brief minute, the mental image of a cosmic creation awaking from eons passed came to mind. It was soul-crushing, to say the least.

“So..” The women said hitting the gray keyboard. “What the name on the account?” She said shifting her attention away from me to the green and black screen.

“Madeline D. Brewer,” I told the clerk.

The women entered the information. Once I think that information had been entered, she turned around and peered at me. For a good long minute, she peered toward me, the kind of gaze that made me wish the ground would open up and swallow me.

“Madeline..” The women muttered as she pushed down upon the keys, causing them to rattle. “Brewer..” She muttered again as she punched this information in. She then turned around and peered at me.

“You that girl?” She said blushing as she peered away from the glowing green and black screen and peered directly into my eyes. “You know, the girl with the boy part?” Her tone of voice suggests somebody, somebody who was having to confront something.. Something totally strange to them.

“Yes... The Android and body snatcher.” I said smirking a little. The rumor that I was a government-sponsored android or creature from plant X still makes me smirk. Its better than some rumors going around school.
“What?” The women said taking a deep breath and tilting her head to the side. “Never mind... So I need some ID... And the proof of enrollment or residents. Whatever comes first.” She said returning her gaze back to the glowing screen.

I took a deep breath and finished out my student ID. Peered down at the picture, I handed the photo ID toward the women sitting behind the desk. The women took the ID from my hands and nodded her head.

“I mean. There a rumor going around that one of the girls at Benton AG High school is really not a girl you know. Mrs. Arnold, the head of the Benton PTA is trying to get the poor darling some help. Or so I’ve heard.”

I took a deep breath and once more started to count backward from ten to one. Good God, where people painting that witch as a saint now? With a glowing halo to I bet.

“Tell me about it,” I said through my teeth as checked over the I.D. Finally she handed both back to me and I placed them back into my purse.

“Okay Ms. Brewer, everything seems to be in place. Now to start your account, you need to deposit one hundred dollars. And then I’ll run you off a Bank Card and hand you a copy of your new bank account. And on behalf of everybody here at the Bank of Yazoo family, I would like to congregate on making your new account with us.” She said as she watched me place the five twenty dollars down on the table. She gathered up the money and smiled the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen.

After a few painful minutes of silence. Then as if she was trying to break the silence, the women looked over at me and offered a little smile.

“Oh, I remember now. You’re the girl who’s going to get slimed for charity.” She said snapping her fingers together. “Madeline Brewer..” She said grinning as she stood up. She smoothed out her skirt and offered me a little smile, “I’ll be right back.”

I nodded as I watched her skirt out of the office. She returned a few minutes later holding two plastic cards. She held the cards out to me and offered me a small smile.

“Here you go Ms. Brewer, your new bank card and your account number. We look forward to doing business with you in the future.”Her voice was very pleasant

“Thank you, ma’am,” I said as I took the cards from her and slipped them into my purse. We made some more small talk and then I left. As I stepped onto the concrete sidewalk that ran beside the bank, I reached down and pulled out my new bank card. I smiled softly as the name on the card was MADELINE D. BREWER, my name. I was indeed Madeline now.

The gymnasium of Benton AG High was filled to the rafters with people. The noise of three hundred people, all shouting and cheering and hooting was deafening, factor in chants, calls, and cheers from the cheerleaders and the background music blaring from two speakers. And we’ll I could barely hear myself think. In the center of the gym, between the two basketball courts, there was a large plastic sheet, that was roughly the size of my bedroom floor. Sitting in the center of the sheet and in the center of the sheet, there was an old three-legged stool. Surrounding the stool was four, three-gallon size buckets.

The buckets I knew was filled to the brim with a mixture of apple-sauce, vanilla pudding, and green food coloring. The area around the pool smelled like an orchard or at the very least reeked of apples. The cheerleaders were finishing their little show. She was mostly flashing movements, some did cartwheels others lifted pom-poms and tossed them around. Others bent their whole bodies into letter shapes. It a strange speculum to behold.

“Madeline.” A mother voice called out from behind me. “I know your busy watching the show, but we need to have a small talk with you.” The voice belonged to Alice, oddly petite red-haired women who happen to be the Girl’s P.E instructor. Despite not taking P.E this year, do to my problem I had gotten to know her briefly early one Saturday morning. She had since become a firm ally to me.

“Yes, ma’am?” I said as I turned around and offered her a curtsy.

She returned my curtsy with one of her own before saying.

“We have a little problem.” She said sweat dropping a little as she folded her hands in front of her, she opened her mouth but before she could
speak aloud blooming voice cut her off.

“We have more than a little problem! We have a freaking huge problem here! It's like throwing a monkey wrench into a room filled glass balls. It's like releasing an enraged bull into a china shop! It ruins the whole bloody thing! Should have known there would be trouble! There always trouble when it comes to people like you!” The shrill voice of Mrs. Arnold could be heard in the background.

Soon her large form could be seen charging up to us. Her large meaty arms flopping around like the arms of a windmill and her normally perfectly styled beehive hairdo a messy of losing hairs and starting to unravel at the top.

“Now, now. No need to make a mountain out of a molehill.” Alice said as she turned around and shot Mrs. Arnold a look that could kill. “We just need to put our heads together and think!”

I peered toward Alice, then I peered toward Mrs. Arnold, then I tilted my head to the side in confusion. I’m sure if this was a popular anime a large question mark would appear, floating right above my head.

“We could always just hose him down outside?” Mrs. Arnold said, clearly making an effort to avoid looking at me.

“Her” Gently corrected Alice. “Madeline is a ‘Her’ not a ‘Him’ And no that would be cruel, there frost on the ground. And the poor dear will catch her death of a cold if we did that.”

“…” A shiver passed over my body. I felt my temper starting to rise. I went to open my mouth but one look from Alice’s face made me quickly close my mouth. She had just taken up for me. So, part of me. Part of me felt like I needed to trust her right now. Though my normal temperament was to trust no one.

“I suggest, we let Madeline use the girl's locker room. That is after all the only washroom that has hot running water and is in halfway working shape. Given the limited school budget after all.” She said smiling.

“.. I suppose so..” Mrs. Arnold said taking a deep breath. “But what if somebody walks in on him? How are we going to explain that? Remember it was the Benton PTA who funded this idea. And the Benton PTA does not approve of. Does not approve of people like Ms. Brewer here..”

At this point, my temper got the better of me as I marched up to the shapeless form of Mrs. Arnold, then taking a deep breath I shoved my finger into her face. “Listen.” I started in a commanding tone of voice.

You could hear have heard a penny drop. Thankfully the cheerleaders out front had worked the crowd into a fever pitch. With all there shouting, chanting, and noise making. Our little talk had thankfully been drowned out.

“I volunteered for this bloody thing and I can damn well walk off right here and now,” I said peering the women’s eye. “To be honest. I, as under the impression that I could use the staff bathroom to maybe get the bulk of the goop off me. But a nice hot shower does sound better. And let me tell you something else, there no way in hell, I’m going to get hosed down outside.” I made a point to push my finger into the woman's chest with each point I made. And then I waited.

Mrs. Arnold for her credit took a deep breath and turned away from me. My eyes watched her stomp off. A little smirk played across my face as she pushed the double doors open and vanished into the hallway. That smirk fad when I caught sight of Alice peering down at me with her arms crossed and folded under her breast.

“So that settles that.” She said with a little sigh. “Remind me never to cross you, Madeline. You seem to have quite the temper on you. I think running a hundred or so laps after school should help curve that temper. And yes, I agree the women had it coming to her. But she still a teacher and teachers should be respected. Teachers should also respect students. Even if they don’t agree with there life choices.” Alice paused and shook her head.

I opened my mouth to speak but she held up her hand and shook her head.

“No, I’ve made up my mind. You will do one hundred laps around the gym after school for a period of five days. I’ll also be having a one on one talk to Mr. Chambers, chairman of the school board about her conduct.” Alice said with a sage nod of her head.

“Remember Madeline, two wrong’s do not make a right.” She said reaching over and ruffling my hair. “But hey you get to work off that all that turkey and dressing and stuff.” She said winking again.

“I don’t even like turkey. Or dressing or those casserole dishes..” I muttered as peered out again. A few nurses in their scrubs were there, all smiling and waving to the crowd the cheerleaders too had settled down and moved from the center of the floor to the side and were sitting down with there legs crossed.

“Well..here always steak. A nice Delmonico, cooked out on the grill would be just as nice. Spend the day lounging around, watching anime, reading light novels and flipping through manga.” Alice said smiling softly well he placed her hand on my shoulder. “Might let you run those laps before the break starts. You know, one Saturday morning, come in bright and early. Bust through them and boom your free for a whole week.” A little smirk formed upon her face. “Maybe by then, the smell of apples would have left you.”

I stuck out my tongue.

“Pardon me ya’ll.” One of the cheerleaders said as she poked around the corner. Her blonde highlighted hair was held back with a deep blue ribbon. “But, Madeline. There waiting for you. There some nurses from UMC here too to collect the donation check.” The cheerleader paused and held out her hand.

“Looks like its show time girl!” Chirped Alice as she patted me on the shoulder.

I smiled and reached out and took the girls hand and smiled as I was lead out into the gym floor. A loud shout of praise rose from the voices of all those sitting in the bleachers. The cheerleader turned around and in a soft tone of voice whispered to me.

“You're really brave for doing this! Really brave!” She paused. “The squad chipped in some money too and you’ll find a little kit in the locker room. Its nothing special, just some shampoo, some lotion, some basic make-up items like blush and lip gloss and a foundation that might look cute on you.” She rattled on as we reached the center of the stage.

“Okay remove your shoes.” She said smiling as she peered down at me. “We don’t want them to get ruined.” She before leading me onto the matted area. “And we don’t want your heel to tear the covering.”

I nodded my head and reached down and removed both of my leatherette pumps from my feet and placed them to the side. Giggling then I wiggled my freshly painted toes.

“Matching today are we?” The cheerleader said grinning as she eyed my freshly painted fingernails that had been painted a soft peach colored. I had painted my toenails in the same shade this morning. It just felt right. To match that is.

“Yep,” I said blushing as I smoothed my skirt down and grinned like a fool.

The cheerleader then leaned in and whispered into my ear.

“Is there a certain boy in the crowd you like?” She giggled and took my hand and guided me toward the center of the floor.

A deep blush colored my cheekbones and smiling a little I whispered back to the cheerleader. “Matthew… Mulcahy..”

The cheerleader smiled. Before finally saying. “He’s cute, and he’s totally fallen for you. You make a cute pair.” She said offering her hand. “Now step up and over and once you're in the pool, take a deep breath and be sure to fix your dress. Then take another breath.”

I nodded and stepped into the pool and then raised up my leg to clear the wall. Then grinning a little I walked over to the stool and eased my bottom down before perching my naked feet on the middle bar. Grinning like a jester I ran my hands down the side of my dress and smoothed it out. Once that was done, I folded my hands in my lap.

“Hello Benton AG High School!” A teacher with short blonde hair called out. She was dressed in causal pastel pink sundress. “We hope you did well on your exams and we wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving break. Don’t eat too much turkey and dressing now!” She added with a wink.

A few students were polite enough to laugh but most just remained silent. The teacher flushed at that and pressed on with her little speech.

“First I would like to thank the cheerleaders for putting on such a wonderful show! You girls rock! First, let me take this time to personally thank each and every one of you who contributed to the fundraiser. There way to many to thank, but you guys are epic! All of your pledges will go toward buying some coloring books, dolls, plush toys and crayons and other items that make those hospital visits more bearable.”

A loud round of applause

“As you know, for the last few weeks, we’ve been looking for one brave volunteer to step up and get ‘Slimed’ if you will. And the lovely young lady behind me. Ms. Madeline Brewer has bravely volunteered. Madeline, I hope you like apples because we have four buckets here filled to the brim with applause slime!” She said peering at me.

I could feel my cheeks flushing with color. A small smile formed upon my face as I folded my hands in my lap. One of the cheerleaders rose up and walked over to where the four buckets were all neatly lined up. Bending down and balancing the bucket on her knee, she raised the bucket over her head and advanced toward me.

“And here the first bucket!” The teacher cried as a massive landslide of thick, green, mush rolled down and covered my head. The smell of crushed apples flooded my nose dripped down my face. My ears burned as I heard my friend and classmates yelling and laughing.

“We love you, Madeline!” Cried one voice from the crowd. Followed by another voice shouting the same thing.

I blinked and flicked some of the dripping mess toward the teacher, who jumped back and blushed.

“And here comes bucket number two!” Another landslide of thick, crushed apple goop that poured down over my head. Coating my shoulders, running down my back and rolling down the front of my dress. I never really liked the smell of apple sauce. But now I hated it.

The other two buckets were quickly poured over me. Coating me from head to heel in bright, green, apple smelling slime. Finally, the event was brought to a close and I was allowed to wash up. And so that the story of my week before Thanksgiving break.
Epilogue

Two weeks later. Lily and Robin opened up ‘Magnolia Bakery and Tearoom’. A colorful anime-inspired Bakery and maid-café theme pastry shop that was located in the historical section of downtown. True to there world, I was made there first ’Petite’ that is a junior employee. Lily’s little sister a cute, shy girl called Jamie, full name Jamie Sarah Potter joined the staff a week later. Jamie and I soon became steadfast friends, as Lily and Robin both drilled us hard and made sure we earned our keep.

I spent Thanksgiving day with Matthew and his family, Kayla being my big sister tagged along too. It was a fun-filled day, we played board games, the men went hunting, as per tradition in the South. Kayla and I helped with the cleaning. Matthew killed the first deer of the season.

The day following Thanksgiving. Kayla and I hit the open highway and spent one of the most confusing, most nerve-racking, most insane days of my life in the mal. And it was a total blast let me tell you!

Anyway, more to come. Till then ya’ll stay sweet.

With lots of love,

Madeline D. Brewer.

To be continued in 'Madeline Makes Peace'

Ebenezer is a small crossroad’s community, located in the hill country of Mississippi. The hamlet can boost of around one hundred or so families, two small churches and two general stores and one carwash. If you your traveling down route fourteen and take a right at the crossroad’s and travel say a quarter of the mile more. You will find on the left-hand side of the road a small country church. The church is a boxed wooden church that looks like something straight from the history books. Behind the church is a small graveyard.

Here in the graveyard, you will find a number of people, most of them passed members. My mother, the late Lisa Rebecca Brewer, who was buried here last year. Its been almost one year since my mother was killed in a car wreck. That wreck changed my life in so many ways, for one it freed me since my mother would have never approved of me becoming ‘Madeline’. two, it caused my sister Kayla to reenter my life. Three, it caused me to move from the Capital to Benton, four because I was in Benton, I was allowed to live more freely as ‘Madeline’ and five, because I was allowed to live as Madeline I become a better person.

But Lisa, for good or for ill had still been my mother. So a few days before Christmas eve, my sister and I had loaded up and drove the eighteen or nineteen so miles down the narrow, crooked, poorly paved and rarely maintained country roads. To this, this tiny outpost of mankind, it was time as my sister had said for both of us to put the past firmly behind us. And she was right. If I never made peace with the past, how could I ever live for the future?

The sky that day was gray and overshadowed. A cold wind from the north blew across the barren fields. An early morning frost has coated the land in ice and caused the brown and yellow grass to crunch under my feet. The gravestones were covered in ice.

“Its colder than a trench diggers bottom,” Kayla said as she stepped out of the car and wrapped her arms around her. Her breath turned to smoke. “Come on sis, let's make this quick. This is redneck country.”

I rolled my eyes a little. If you look at me and my sister you’ll both call us rednecks, despite one having a girlfriend and me being transgender. We both live on a farm, we both work with our hands, My sister owns and operates a Christmas tree farm and does some small time farming on the side. I work part-time in a small bakery in town. Plus, I fished and did a little gardening on the side.

“Like Benton, not redneck country?” I said stepping out of the car. The cold breath of winter slapped me right across the face and caused me to shiver as I closed the door and started to walk across the frost-covered field. The dead grass crunched under my foot and the wind blew harder and harder with each step I took. It was like the wind was trying to push me back.

“Benton is.. Benton is a mini Yazoo City. And Yazoo City a mini Jackson.” My sister said in response to quip. She speeded up and soon she was standing beside me, I know because I felt her hand reach down and swat my backside. The minute I felt the sting of her open palm was the minute I felt a blush form across my cheeks. It was a clear warning shot.

“I don’t like it,” I said after we walked a few yards from the parked car. “This whole area seems wrong, like where being watched by something or someone,” I said finally after a few tense moments of silence.

“I don’t like this place at all,” Kayla said taking a deep breath. “Mom loved it here, I always hated it. To many hollows. People can go missing here you know, and they’ll never find them. Plus there that urban legend about that old black truck that’s supposed to haunt these roads. That always gave me the creeps.”

I shifted my eyes toward my sister. And then away from her to the graves that surrounded us. Now I love ghost stories as well as the next teen. But being in a graveyard, in rural Mississippi, in the middle of winter and in the middle of hillbilly country is not the ideal place to be sharing something spooky with me. Okay maybe it is, but now. No.

“Let just find her grave and get this over with..” I said taking a deep breath.

“Agreed. And let's get back to Benton.” My sister said nodding her head.

And so, She and I started to make our way through the graveyard. Passing old wither headstones and new ones alike, till at last, we came to a new marker that read ‘Lisa Rebecca Brewer’ under that was written ‘Sunrise August 8th, 1979. Sunset December 18th, 2017’. And finally under ‘Rest in Peace’.

“I wonder if she really resting in peace..” I said peering down at the gravestone.

“I don’t know sister, I guess its not for us to know,” Kayla said shrugging her shoulders. “The Lord be with you.”

“And with our spirit,” I responded as I crossed myself.

“Let us pray,” Kayla said taking a deep breath as she crossed herself as well. A moment of silence passed before Kayla opened her mouth and in a loud, clear tone of voice called out.

“Lord, we ask you to shine your light on our departed mother Lisa Rebecca Brewer. It's hard, she was not the best mother to us. She was not really a mom. But she, none the less was our mother. Therefore we ask, that you shine down upon your light upon her soul. And comfort all those who grieve for her passing and morn her death.” Kayla prayed. She then gave my hand a squeeze. A signal that it was my time to add a few words.

“Mom,” I called out, Gotta love being Anglo-catholic, addressing the dead directly and all that good jazz. “I know, you kind of flipped out on me. But mom, I was supposed to become Madeline, my life’s turned around so much since I’ve started down this road. Sure it has been rough in places, but everybody been so supportive of me and we’ll. I know the night we died, we said some pretty mean things to each other. But, I just wanted to tell you. That I love you, I still do and I miss you.”

We both paused and then we both sighed.

“Mom.” Kayla started. “I know you disowned me because of something I could not help. But as Madeline said, life’s gotten better for me. I finished collaged, I own a thriving business now. I have a loving girlfriend. And we’ll I forgive you. I forgive you for all the dumb, hurtful things you did to me back then. I hope, that where ever you are, you find peace..”

And with that, we both paused again and then under our breath we muttered ‘The Lords Prayer’ and are little session came to an end.

Kayla and I stood there for a good long minute, peering at the gravestone, Kayla shifted her weight back and forth and I just stood there peering down at the stone.

“Well, I guess we should be going now..” I said turning toward my sister.

“Yes. We should let's get home and get some pizza.” She said reaching over and ruffling my hair. “What do you say kiddo? My treat?”

I nodded my head and then I looked over the shoulder and noticed that standing behind the tombstone that belonged to my mother was a woman, who looked just like her. Only everything about her was gray and black. She looked tired and her eyes seemed moist like she had been crying a lot. Her dress was what shocked the most, she had been wearing that dress the night she died. The longer I stared at her, the more I noticed she was indeed crying. She was reaching out to me as if she wanted to hold me one more time.

Then as quick as the phantom appeared it started to fade away, starting at her bottom and working upward. Like ash being blown away in the wind, her form started to vanish. But before her face vanished, I swore I heard her say. ‘I love you. I’m so sorry..’ And with that, she vanished like dust.

“Come on sis..” I said reaching down and taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. Then walking side by side we started to walk toward the car.

Once we reached the car. We noticed another car pulling up into the parking lot. Once the other car was parked. The door opened and a woman with flaming red hair stepped out from the driver's side. And from the other side, a girl around my age did as well. The women with flaming red hair was the first to speak.

“Hello there Kayla and Madeline, it so good to see you two lovelies again.” She women with flaming red hair said as she walked over and wrapped Kayla and then me into a tight hug. Once she was done, she stepped back and smiled as she called the girl over to her side. “Come on Linda, there somebody I want you to meet.”

The girl snuffled to the flaming red hair women, who quickly wrapped her arm around her shoulder. The girl kept her eyes glued to the frost covered ground. Slowly she lifted them up and I noticed she seemed to have the deepest, baby blue eyes I’ve ever seen. In a way, her eyes seemed to match her jet-black hair and her hourglass figure.

“Hello.” She said at last as she shifted her head back down to the ground.

My sister Kayla was the first one to speak And I’m glad for it, see, Linda had made a name for herself in and around Benton. Now, most of this information came to me second hand through Lily and my good friend Jamie, but it seems that Linda, yes the girl standing in front of me had a dozen or so nasty rumors flying around her. One rumor said she attacked a girl and put her in a hospital for a few days, and another, one that made my blood turn cold said she had even worked on getting the whole football team to rape another girl.

But watching her, her head bowed down, her soft voice politely responding to each question that Kayla asked, made me question those rumors. I closed my head and pushed those thoughts away, there was enough negative energy floating around.. And dwelling on such rumors would only increase the amount of negative energy. And that’s the last thing my life needed.

“Madeline?” A voice said the voice caused me to snap out of my daze. The voice belonged to the red-haired women who was standing next to Linda. After a few seconds, I remembered the woman's name, Isabella. Or Aunt Isabella, silently I scolded myself for being slow to pick that name up. She was after all my aunt and the wife to William, my uncle who was helping with the legal matters of my transformation.

“Yes, ma’am?” I said.

“Would you do me a favor please?” Isabella asked as she opened the trunk of the car and pulled out two bundles of flowers. She handed one bundle of flowers to Linda and the other to me.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said reaching out and taking the offered bundle of flowers. Of course, they were not real flowers. But plastic ones. I can’t name all the types, but I could tell by the weight of the bundle there must have been a good twelve or fourteen all tied together.

“Could you please go with Linda and lay these flowers at your mothers grave. Your sister and I have some business we need to talk about.” She said in a motherly tone of voice. I folded the flowers to my chest and nodded my head. I shifted my gaze around and noticed Linda had taken her own bundle of flowers too.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said smiling softly as I shifted my gaze toward Linda. Who was still peering down at the ground?

“We’ll come on,” I said as I started to walk back into the row of graves. Linda followed like a lost little puppy and upon the wind, I could catch bits and pieces of the conversation the two where having.

“Really darling, William and I would love to have you and Madeline come over for Christmas. We have plenty of extra room in that old house. And the formal dining room can sit at least a baker's dozen people.” I could hear Isabella telling my sister. Her voice was soothing, gentle if not a tad bit commanding.

“I don’t know.. The roads are rough between Vicksburg and Benton. And I don’t like traveling at night. There so many hairpin curves too between Benton and Vicksburg. Unless one drives to from Benton to Yazoo City then to Vicksburg.” Kayla said in a thinking tone of voice.

“The train darling, the train. We still have that old wooden station on the property, The Yazoo-Valley Railroad still owns that section of railroad. Catch the morning express in Benton and by midmorning, you’ll be having brunch with us.” Isabella said.

“Sounds good, but what about you know.. Madeline’s condition..” Kayla asked.

“Darling, there nothing to worry about there. Your family and family sticks together.” Isabella responded.

I turned toward Linda once we were out of view.

“So any idea what all that’s about,” I said pointing with my thumb over my shoulder. I was pointing toward the general direction where Kayla and Isabella were sitting and chatting.

“Aunt Isabella’s putting on a big Christmas dinner. She wanting everybody to come up a few days ahead of time, something about having a really big sleep-over.” Her tone of voice was meek and mild. She looked down at the ground again and took a deep breath.

“Hey, I’ll like to say I’m sorry Madeline, Back when you still being Mark. I was really rude to you. I mean, like really meant to you and stuff.” As she spoke, she gathered the flowers and pressed them to her chest and sighed. “I said a lot of stuff, stuff that I should have not said I guess. And I did a lot of things, things I think I should not have done.”

I sighed and hung my head down. I had been hoping to avoid talking about that. Since I became Madeline I had learned to stand up for self a lot more than I had when I was being Mark. Part of me wanted to reach over and bite the girls head off, another part of me wanted to reach over and punch her.. I had been fighting that urge ever since I remembered who this little witch was.

“You were a little bitch,” I said in a matter of fact tone of voice. “A very mean and cruel bitch.” I tried to hide the anger in my voice but failed to. I turned around and fixed Linda with a look.

Linda flinched and drew back. Her eyes started to mist and she sniffled as she started to cuddle the flowers.

“Last time we talked, you shoved me into the bathroom and flushed my head down the toilet over and over again. All the while calling me a ‘Sissy’ a ‘Faggot’ and the cherry on the sundae ‘Queer’. Kind of hard to forget that. Kind of hard to forgive that you know.” I said in an honest tone of voice.

At this point she paused and tears started rolled down her eyes. Her chest started to heave up and down as she used the sleeves of her sweater to blot away some of the tears that were running down her cheeks.

“I know, that was really mean of me.” She said through her voice thick with tears.

I stopped, turned around and peered toward Linda. I took a deep breath and walked up to her, gently I placed my arm on her shoulder and then, reaching down into my pocket, I pulled out a few tissues, I’m always caring tissues around in my pocket. They come in handy and have all kinds of uses, they're good for cleaning away make-up stains, for removing lipstick stains and in this case, drying the tears of a clearly emotionally damaged girl.

“Linda. We can’t change the past. But we can learn from it. And if it means anything, I forgive you for being an utter bitch to me back then. I know there some really bad rumors going around about you, and I know those rumors caused you to leave Benton Academy and move to Vicksburg. But honestly, that does not concern me.” I told her as I reached down and wrapped my hands around her hands. “Now, lets put these flowers on the grave and get home.

Linda nodded her head and dried her eyes. I smiled and then blinked, behind Linda, I saw her again, the gray and white sector form of my late mother. This time, she appeared more solid and I noticed that chains, heavy iron ones were cuffed to her wrist and around her ankles too, the ones on her ankles were attached to heavy iron balls. She tried to lift her arms, but the chains weighed her down.

I blinked and blinked again. Linda was looking at me oddly, but I knew what I was seeing, my mother was trapped in purgatory. The chains, those wrapped around her where the sins she had committed in life, the sin of abounding a child must have been a great one for as I peered down at the balls, I saw my name ‘Madeline’ and on the other I saw ‘Kayla’ engraved on the two heavy cannon-ball size balls of iron.

“I’m so. Proud of you… you’ve become such a wonderful young women..” I heard my mom whisper before she vanished again. I shook my head and the ghost had vanished yet again. This time leaving me with a more profound sense of sadness than before.

“Hey, Madeline?” A voice echoed. “Are you okay?” I noticed a hand being waved in front of me. “Cause you look like you just saw a ghost or something. Come on snap out of it girl, you’re scaring me here.”

I slowly focused my eyes on Linda, taking a deep breath I nodded my head.

“I think I just did..” I felt my voice trailing. “Come on, let's get this over with.:”

And with that, we resumed our hike toward the grave.

We soon reached the grave. The wind was starting to rise now and one could feel the cold touch of winter upon its breath. Linda placed her flowers first and then I did and we both then just stood there, standing to shoulder to shoulder if you will. As I peered toward the flowers, resting upon the frost covered ground, my mind wandered back to those ghostly visions of mom. Taking a deep breath, I quickly made a mental note to pay our local Episcopal church a visit.

You see ‘St. Mary’s Episcopal Church was among the handful of Episcopal Churches in Mississippi to have a side chapel, often called a Marian chapel because such chapels were dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. And I felt only she could help me know. She was after all the mother of Jesus, that had to count for something in the grand scheme of things. Then again, nobody ever explained this stuff to me. But, then I felt something reach over and take me by the hand.

I nearly jumped out of my skin, and as I turned around, I noticed that Linda had reached over and wrapped her hand around mine and was now leaning on me. I could feel her tears rolling down her cheeks and soaking into my hoodie. I sighed and let her have her little cry.

“She was closer to you than me,” I said with a hint of bitterness in my voice. “You were like the daughter she never had. Devoted, always wore dresses, could quote the Bible from Genesis to Revelations. Never listened to any ‘Devil’ music or did anything to offend God.”

“And a lot of good it did me Madeline, a stop taking my meds because some crackpot preacher thinks there from ‘The Devil’ and devoted myself to praying and fasting. Mom totally could not take the pressure of being married to ancrackpotSouthern Baptist and so she broke camp and rolled out. Dad fell into a deep depression after mom rolled out. Then the next thing we know, we get a call saying Aunt Lisa found you wearing her new Sunday dress and she wanted you to come to live with us, you know to get straightened back out and stuff.” Her words rolled out of her mouth like a massive flood.

I nodded my head, Taking a deep breath I started to guide her toward a concrete bench located near a threadbare tree. She followed along like a lost little puppy. Slowly we both eased down upon the bench. Once we were both seated, she released another flood of words.

“Daddy at first thought he needs to take you out the woodshed and thrash the hell out of you. He was going to do just that as soon as Aunt Lisa dropped you off. Then he cooled down, he thought maybe straitening you back up would prove to Mom he was a good man and would lure you back. God he swung back and forth that night and then we got that call, saying there been a wreck and Aunt Lisa was killed, we thought you had been killed too! SHIT that was bad.” She broke down again.

“Like getting tossed around in a car was fun too,” I said rolling my eyes as I peered toward the headstones. “Being in hospital dangling between either, Earth, Heaven or Hell by a dozen of threads. Nights filled with dreamless nights of sleep, days filled with drug dreams of hell and the damned calling out.”

At this point, Linda gave me a look.

“Yes, getting tossed around and cut out of a flaming car is something that requires a few weeks in the hospital. And being pumped full of drugs. And I’m not talking about the kind of drugs you get from down around the corner at the carwash or down at Old John’s shack. I mean powerful painkillers that mess with your mind and really screw with you. And once you're off of those, you find yourself in so much pain. You beg for death.”

Lind grew silent and then she reached over and wrapped her arms around and hugged me tightly.

“I never wanted that to happen to you. I don’t know what I was thinking when I held your head under water and forced you to drink that stuff and then flush over and over. It was wrong, it was sick, it was cruel, and somehow I felt it would toughen you up. And in the long run that would help you. And because I loved you, I thought the tough love approach would be the best.”
I reached over and patted the girl on her head. I never expected this conversation to happen. Hell, I even hated the girl I was holding. Not only had she threaten me, but if rumors where true, she had plotted to have the whole football team gang rape a girl. And I knew that girl, she was the sweetest girl you would ever meet. A little bit of a dork and a geek, but her heart was pure gold.

“But, it was wrong, it was wrong for me.” She whimpered over and over again.

I took a deep breath, so many old wounds where being open now.

“It takes a lot to get your life back on track, I mean without people like you breathing down our necks, we have a lot of work we need to do. Changing genders is hard. There so much BS you need to cut through. Just getting your name legally changed and your Birth Certificated updated is a major hassle. Then getting all you school records updated to match your new name, then getting your medical records updated, heck even opening up a bank account was like getting my teeth pulled. I wonder how hard getting a learners permit would be.”

Linda for the most part just nodded her head along with me. I think our little talk was starting to shed some new light on the matter. Christmas was about the family you know, and as much as I hated it, Linda was my cousin, and judging from the little time we spent together, it was becoming very clear to me that she needed somebody to support her, a shoulder to cry on if you will. Benton was a small town, rumors and news traveled like wildfire. Even before this fast-paced age of social media. In the old days, a rumor or something would start in Benton Academy in the morning and by late afternoon it would have reached Benton AG High, then by early the next morning, the whole town would talking about it. Now with the advent of social media, the time was shorten by a hundred or so fold.

“I guess. I mean yes I see.” Linda said nodding her head.

“But where a family girl.” And with that, I reached over and wrapped her into a one arm hug. She responded by returning the hug. And there among the dead, we reflected till at last, we departed, I wished Aunt Isabella and Cousin Linda farewell and then Kayla and I returned home. But the ghostly image of my mother still remained with me. And so, I harden my resolve to light a candle in honor of my late mother.

The Marian Chapel attached to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church was dark, it was always kept dark. The chapel was a small square room, instead of rows of pews, chairs with kneelers provided a place for the faithful to sit during the rare times the room was used. The chapel was only used for Morning Prayer and evening prayer. And on certain feast-days chief among those was ‘All Saints Day’ a set aside by the church to honor the dead and pray for those souls trapped between Heaven and Hell.

Toward the far end of the chapel, one would find a low alter. In the center of the alter one would find the tabernacle, that is a small wooden, fixed locked box where the served sacrament is kept, church lore often states that Master Jesus himself lives within the tabernacle, because that were the elements of bread and wine, the two key elements of the Eucharist are kept safe and sound. As they have been blessed by a priest.

All of this weighed on my mind as I sat there, peering toward the altar. To the side, a small altar had been set up. An icon to the Blessed Mother hung above the Alter and a dozen or so candles burned brightly. Besides the candles, plastic rosaries and prayer cards sat. Offering to the Blessed Mother.

A chill passed over me, outside through the stain glass windows, snow was starting to fly around. The shy had been gray and cloudy all day, with the local weatherwomen forecasting snow, freezing rain, and even thunderstorms. God blessed the South with some of the strangest weather known to man. Sometimes, I don’t even think the big man himself knows what weather to throw at us.

Joking aside, I knew it was getting late and with the wind whipping around outside, swirling small flakes of snow, I knew my time was running out. So, standing up I walked toward the small altar, reached into my skirt pocket and pulled out my pink coin purse. I pulled back the zipper and dipped my hands into the confines and pulled out eight quarters. I feed the quarters into the slot of a copper box that had the words ‘Donations’ engraved in the center.

“As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs,” I muttered under my breath. Say what you will about Johann Tetzel, but the man could write a catchy jingle. Is still being repeated three or so hundred years after his death.

Pushing that thought out of my head, I reached down and took the striker, pressing down the trigger, a small ball of yellow and orange flame appeared. Moving the nuzzle of the lighter down, I pressed the small ball of flame to the wick of one of the candles. Soon it was lit and then once it was lit, I returned it to its resting place on the altar. My own little prayer to join the dozen or so others.

“Holy Mother, mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, blessed ever-virgin. Hear my prayer.” I started to pray. I closed my eyes and focused all my intentions on the ghostly vision of my mother. I took a deep breath and pressed on. “Mother Mary, I ask you to shine your light upon your daughter, Lisa Rebecca Brewer. Show her, your love and tender mercy. Incline her heart to look upon your son. Enlighten her mind, break her chains and bring her into the joy of everlasting life. In the name of the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. One, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Now and until the ending of time. Amen.”

I finished my prayer and looked up. Then I heard the door of the chapel open and there in the doorway stood my mother. She stood there for a minute before she entered the room. Her baby blue eyes were fixed upon me and a big smile graced her lips. Her arms were held wide open.

“My baby girl.” She whispered. “How I’ve missed you this past year.” She said strolling toward me. There was this glow about her. Where she appeared dark and gray in the graveyard. Here she appeared in full living color. “Madeline... I’ve watched you grow this past year. I’ve seen your struggles and felt your anger, and more than once, I’ve wished I could have been there to hold you and give you strength.”

I just there, rooted in the grounded like a tree, or should I say I stood there rooted.

“Mom?” I asked, feeling my eyes start to mist. There a basic, almost primitive feeling, almost basic, human almost to feel loved. And right now, as I was nearing the one year mark of my journey, wanted, no needed to feel like I was loved and accepted for who I am by the one who gave me birth. Even if the one who gave me birth was beyond the moral pale. I kept my eyes fixed firmly on the spirit that had just appeared in front of me.

“Yes, darling?” She said smiling.

“I love you.” That all I could get out. “Stay safe, up there or where ever you go.”

She laughed and smiled at a very Angelic smile.

“I will, and I’ll be watching over you. Your offering really touched me, it really touched my heart. And it broke my chains. Chains that had held me in bondage for this past year. I can no move on to the next stage. I’ll be waiting for you too, on the other side. Just beyond the river, a little past the gates. In a little coffee shop in the shopping district.” She said with a wink.

I giggled and then I noticed she started to fade away.

“Mom, what is Heaven like? Before you go please tell me…” I said as I reached over and tried to touch her, she was fading away more and more by the second, her from slipping through my hands. Yet her smile still remained.

“I don’t know baby girl. I’m sure it's wonderful though.. See you later, take care now love.” And with that, she vanished into the darkness. And I have left alone, to ponder and think.

And this dear reader ends the first season of ‘The Adventures of Madeline’. Madeline will return this Summer in ‘Pie a Petite’. Until then, I, the author, Madeline, Kayla and all the rest would like to thank each and every one of you. You have shown so much kindness, love and support to us all. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I took a deep breath and peered toward the cardboard cutout sitting in front of the newest business to open in Benton’s historic downtown district. The business was an anime-maid inspired bakery and tea room. The proud owners where Lily Elizabeth Potter and Robin Katherine Peers. Helping them where two apprentices, one Jamie Sarah Potter and I, Madeline Diana Brewer. The cardboard cutout was in the shape of women who were dressed in the classic “French Maid” look. A small black dress that was trimmed with lace at the bottom and at the cuffs of the dress. Rounding out the cutout was an image of a white apron tied around the waist of the cutout and was tied in a bowknot in the back.

Black fishnet stocking, low heel pumps, completed the picture. I felt a deep blush blooming in my cheeks. The outfit looked just like the two outfits that both Lily and Robin where wearing today.

“Why, why don’t I get to wear an outfit like that,” I said pouting as I peered toward the cutout. The outfit was a lot cuter than mine. My own outfit was what I’ll consider a “Church” going outfit. That an outfit you wear to Sunday services. The outfit was a pale pink top tucked into the waistline of a white skirt, that had been paired with white stocking, black leatherette’s rounding out my outfit.

“because you’re an apprentice,” Lily said smiling toward me. “Though your learning quicker than we thought, so soon you might just get promoted to a full-time Maid position.” She paused. “Then we can reward you with a full maid outfit.”

“Also were going to need you, and to Jamie,” Robin said as she took a deep breath and peered toward me and a blonde hair girl that appeared behind Lily. “We're going to be hosting a pitch and burst attraction at this year's Autumn Farmers Market. I think that should really promote the business. One of us will be sitting under the balloon, one will collecting money, and the other would be handing out samples bags of fresh-baked treats.” Robin was clearly the brains behind the operation.

I blushed and turned toward Lily and Robin. “I guess, you're going to put in the dunking booth again,” I said as I peered toward the cutout. I’d been in one before. You see, I did a two, one-hour shifts in one at the Discover Benton, a local town-wide celebration that highlighted the history of the community and the surrounding area. It was fun and I enjoyed it. And at the local Halloween Fete, I did a dunking stool stunt too, that was fun as well.

“Of course, we're all going to do a one hour turn,” Lily said taking a deep breath. She shifted her eyes toward Jamie. “Including you little sister.” She said folding her arms across her chest.

We all had a giggle as Jamie, the blonde hair girl started to blush and pout. As the giggling dyed down. Lily clapped her hands a sign that the fun was over and it was now time to get down to business.

“Okay, now we’ve had our giggle for the day, its time we get down to business. Now, we need are lovely petite to get behind the cardboard cutout and smile for the people.” Lily said as she motioned with her hands for me to step behind the cardboard cutout.

“And don’t forget to smile, Madeline. Robin said taking a deep breath. “People would be more willing to press a pie into a smiling girls face, than one that all frowned up.” She said as she nodded her head and winked at me.

I took a deep breath first and felt my cheeks flood with color again, first because in a matter of minutes I’ll be standing behind a cardboard cutout of a French maid, and a pie target for the whole of Benton, a township of some three or four thousand souls maybe more if you count the number of isolated farm and homesteads that dotted the countryside. And two, because I was still getting used to the term petite, I know it’s a French word that means little. But it was also a word that Lily and Robin used to show that Jamie and I were still in our novitiate. Feeling butterflies floating around my tummy, I stepped behind the cardboard cutout and pushed my face through the hole and offered the three a little smile.

“Oh, that so adorable!” Robin said as she raised up her smartphone and snapped a quick picture. “That like so a Facebook post. That should really draw the people in.” Robin nodded as she saved the picture and slipped the phone back into the pocket of her dress.

“Yep, totally adorable! Now, Madeline gives us the biggest smile you can make.” Lily said edging me own. “Show us those pretty pearls.”

“Right, come along sister, give us a big smile!” Jamie chimed in.

I formed my lips into a smile and once more another bright flash of white light flashed in front of my eyes. The three girls giggled and gathered around the phone to see the results. Judging by all there gushing, I take it they approved of the picture.

“Perfect,” Lily said peering down at the photo on her phone. “Totally going to talk to Jason Fears down at the Herald. This is like front page martial right here. I mean its better than some hunting or fishing story. He’s run like what one hundred or so big fishing stories since the summer started or something?” She said rolling her eyes as she saved the picture.

We all nodded our head in agreement. Jason Fears was the owner and editor of Benton’s only local newspaper the ‘The Benton Herald’ and being a small town newspaper, one that came out only twice a week, those being every Wednesday and Saturday. And of course being a small town paper, located in the heart of rural Mississippi, Jason had the bad habit of only publishing stories that catered to the bulk of the community. He mostly covered softball games and little league tournaments. While his wife covered all the major social events in town.

“Okay, here the plan Madeline. You're going to stand behind the cutout. Much like your doing right now, you know looking all cute and adorable. And Lily here is going to take the money from the people and heckle them up. Jamie and I will be inside, I’ll be handling the register. Jamie will be serving tea, cookies, and slices of cakes. Now, we're only going to be hosting the pie toss for about thirty minutes.  So, it's going to be short, but sweet and I think really messy.” Robin said smiling.

“Yep, then were going to get you all cleaned up and then you two can join us inside for a small little break for some hot chocolate, tea, cookies or a slice of cake or pie,” Lily said. She paused and then darted into the shop. The bronze chime above the wooden door rang as Lilly pulled hard upon the brass door-handle as she vanished into the confines of the shop. Only to return a few minutes later pushing a trolley that was covered with a blue plastic tarp.

“And here they are. The stars of the show.” Lily said reaching her hand over and wrapping her hand her fingers around a bundle of the plastic tarp. Taking a deep breath she pulled the tarp off the trolley, revealing six pies. The pies looked like your basic pie, a golden graham cracker crust that was filled to the edge with tinned pudding and topped with whipped cream and the finishing touches a bright red maraschino cherry.

“Take a look at these beauties. Our Classic slapstick pies are filled with vanilla and chocolate pudding and topped with Kraft Cool Whip and finished off with a freshly picked maraschino cherry. Only the best for you doll.”

A deep blush colored my face as I peered toward the pies. It seemed,  it seemed I had a habit of always getting roped into volunteering for these kinds of things.

“Okay, guys. Jamie the shop opens in ten minutes.” Robin said peering toward the girl. “So you and I need to get ready. Lily and Madeline, good luck.”

And Robin dipped into the shop. Jamie followed her and Lily smirked. Those ten minutes quickly passed us by and soon a small line was starting to form. The novelty of a girl standing behind a cardboard cutout of a French maid with another girl dressed as a French maid holding a pie seemed to really draw the people in.

And before long we had our first taker, a young woman who appeared to be in her late twenties appeared. She wore a floral print sundress. A brown seedling hat was resting on her head and her golden blonde hair was tied back in a tight ponytail.

The women made small talk with Lily before she dropped down a bill and reached down and picked up one of the heaver looking pies. Once the pie was balanced in the palm of her hand, she smiled and slowly she started to walk toward me. I could feel the heel of her shoe clicking on the cobblestone. I offered her a small smile and then a few minutes later she pressed the pie into my face.

I blinked as my world vanished into a fog of cream, I could feel the cream being pressed into my face, I could then feel the pudding filling being rubbed into my skin as she gave the pie a little twist. And finally, I could taste the crust in my mouth.

Finally, the crust started to fall down and I my airways cleared of cream and pudding. I took a deep breath and slowly opened my eyes. The women were standing there giggling.

“That was fun.” She said smiling gently as she skipped off. “Have fun girls, best of luck.”

I shook my head, getting a few specks of cream on the cardboard cut out. The bulk of the cream had run down my face and splattered on the ground, mounds of chocolate pudding lay beside the droplets of cream. A few minutes later another woman appeared at the table. Exchanging coins for a thick pie, she grinned at me and drew back. I squinted my eyes closed as the pie sailed through the air and smacked into my face. Spraying cream, pudding, and crust in all four directions.

“Wow,” I said smiling softly as I cleared some of the pie from my face.  Getting the goo on my hands. “That was a pretty impressive smack!”

“Come on give her another!” Lily said smirking. “We're raising money for charity after all. While five dollars a pie is a pretty steep price. These are the real deal, made with cream, pudding and all nestled on a bed of golden graham crackers. Our goal is to raise one hundred dollars!” Lily shouted as more and more people started to fill the sidewalks.

I did my best to clear my face with my now messy fingers, that only succeeded in spreading the mess. I tried to smile through the thick layer of cream, pudding and pie crust that clung to my face. And then in a heckling tone of voice, I called out.

“Hey! Come on people, its all for a good cause!” I shouted. “All money raised goes to provided relief for emergency workers and volunteers working around the clock, day and night, rain or shine to keep Benton safe from the rising flood water!”

Lily blinked and gave me a thumbs up as she picked up the call.

“That right! For a limited time, only Magnolia Tearoom and Bakery is offering you a chance to push a pie into this lovely petite right here! Benton’s one and only Madeline Diana Brewer!” Cried Lily to the passing crowds of pedestrians. A few turned there head others kept on walking. Soon another woman, one with bright flaming red hair appeared. She wore a white button down blouse and a nice pair of jeans.

The women made small talk with Lily for a minute before she picked up one of the few remaining pies and tossed it toward me! The pie once more smacked me dead in the face, spraying pudding, cream and graham cracker bits and pieces everywhere.

Another woman took her turn and missed. Instead, she hit the wall behind me. And finally, we were down to one pie. Now, most people were choosing to throw their pocket change into one of the large earthen jars Jamie had brought out a few minutes after we started. The jars were now filled with coin and a few odd bills. And with one more pie to go, I was pretty happy too! The strong sunshine was starting to dry the cream and the smell of sour milk was starting to get a little too strong.

The chiming of the doorbell brought me back to reality. In the doorway stood Jamie, in her hands she held a blue, plastic mop bucket that seemed to be filled with some sort of pie filling. The filling must have been quite heavy, as she was huffing and puffing and her face was a readerr than mine.

“Hey, squirt!” Lily said as she rushed to help Jamie with the bucket. In a matter of seconds, she took the bucket from the tiny blonde hair girl and eased it down upon the cobblestones.

“Birdie,” Jamie said taking a deep breath as she tried to collect herself. Her tongue was even hanging out of her mouth. It was then for a brief period of time that my thoughts turned from the smell of souring cream that seems to hang around me. No instead of thinking about how much of a nightmare getting this stuff out of my hair will be, my thoughts turned to Jamie, who’s pink tongue was hanging out of the corner of her mouth. I honestly thought the girl should have stayed home today. Everyone knew Jamie suffered from crippling asthma, and given the fact that the high today was supposed to be a hundred and ten degrees in the shade. That was one of the last things she needed to be doing, hauling buckets of goop around.

“Birdie said.” She placed the bucket down and took a deep breath. Tiny beads of sweat could be seen forming upon her forehead. “Birdie said we had some extra pie filling left over. So, try to use this.” She said touching the white plastic bucket with her foot.

Lily was just about to say something. But then in the doorway, Robin appeared. Robin wasted no time in wrapping her arm around Jamie's shoulder and taking a deep breath then she gently started to scold her.

“Jamie.” She said reaching into the pocket of her dress, “Good Lord girl,” She peered toward Lily and shook her head. “She hard headed, told her to wait with that bucket and to sit down, she been baking pies, tasted a slice myself. I tell you something. We going to enter this girl in the ‘Benton Pie Baking Contest’ and if her apple pie does not take home the blue ribbon, then I’m going to raise a thousand dollars worth of hell with the judges.” Robin said in an almost proud tone of voice.

Jamie only grinned to herself, blushing deeply at the praise.

“Anyway, you’ve been working yourself to death. Let's go ahead and get you inside, might need to let you take a little rest and a juice box too.” Robin patted Jamie on the back as she passed by her into the cool confines of the shop. “You ladies need anything?”

“A wet towel would be nice,” I said from my post behind the cardboard cutout.

“Nah where good. We only have one more pie left and that bucket right there. Think that should be like fifteen or so dollars? Pay fifteen dollars to tip the bucket over our lovely petite’s head.” Lily said with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Your call,” Robin said winking. “I’m going to get our second petite here a juice box and maybe make her take a break. Once you two finish, come inside, Madeline there a wash station in the backroom. And a change of clothing too. Get changed, Once Jamie better she’ll finish baking her last batch of pies, then you two can straighten and tidy up the back stockroom. Then I guess, bring me your timecard and I can pay you.”

And with that Lily returned to the cool confines of the shop. Another ten or so minutes passed and nobody could be tempted to throw the last pie. Till at last, we spotted Matthew, who seemed to be returning from another two-hour stint on the makeshift levee of sandbags that “Benton Department of Public Works” along with dozens of civilian volunteers had constructed in hopes of holding back the rising waters and to keep the down area of Benton safe. Sandbagging is very hard work and in the humid heat of a Mississippian summer, it must have been sheer torture. Because he was very tanned and dressed in nothing more than a dirty white t0shirt and an old pair of shorts, rounding out the outfit was a pair of work boots that were caked with thick blue mud. The strong, sour smell of sweat and dirty water hung around him like a blinding fog.  

“Hey, Matt!” Cried, Lily.

I felt my cheeks blush as I watched Matthew turn around and peer at Lily and I. Blinking once, he started to move toward the booth. Once he was close enough, Lily placed the pie in his hands and then pointed toward me. She then whispered something in his ear and he smiled as he stepped up to the throw line. My cheeks burned scarlet! I was about to get pied by my boyfriend of all people!

Matthew smiled and balanced the pie in the palm of his hand as he took a deep breath and drew back the pie and let it fly. The pie sailed through the air and in a matter of seconds it had splattered all across my face, spraying cream and pie crust all the cutout.

Slowly I stepped out from behind the cutout and took a deep breath. I felt my cheeks flush with color again as I watched Matthew stepping toward me, holding the bucket in his hand. Resigning myself to my messy fate, I stood there and allowed Matthew to pour the bucket of creamy pie filling all over my cream covered head. He then quickly retreated before I could give him a messy hug for his efforts. And so another episode in my life came to an end.

In two thousand and eighteen I volunteered for the dunking booth attraction at the relaunch of the 'Discover Benton Festival' that has become a yearly event that draws a number of people to our small, little delta town. I was fourteen then and just starting to come out of my shell. I was new to Benton and in a way, I was still frail. Beside dealing with puberty and the discord that it brings, I was also trying to come to terms with me being transgender. My mother had just been buried four months before, and because I was in hospital when the funeral took place. I had missed my chances to say a final farewell.

Not that any of that matters now, Benton this small town of five thousand souls, nestled in a 'S' shape bend in the Big Black River had become my adopted hometown. And little by little my life started to improve, Following the publication of my first book Ghost Stories and Urban Legends of Benton by a local publishing company called Magnolia Printing Press. I found myself something of a little starlet, my reputation in town was further enhanced when word broke that I became a cheerleader. All in all, life was good. 

And so naturally being the youngest published author and a cheerleader, it was only a matter of time before I was asked to volunteer once more to sit in a dunking booth. This time at the town's fourth of July celebration. Naturally, since I had so much time the first time around I agreed. I mean, I did have a new red one piece bikini that I wanted to show off and two, if I'm honest I had enjoyed teasing the boys who had tried to dunk me. I mean volunteering for that dunking booth was how I meet my now boyfriend Matthew, who has been a major blessing for me.

Anyway, I took a deep breath as I peered out across the grassy common. The lawn was covered with people and dotted with plastic chairs and fold out tables. Everybody seemed to be dressed to the nines, with the guys wearing pullover polo shirts and pleated shorts and the woman wearing light cotton sundresses. I was standing next to the dunking booth, the booth was slowly being filled with water. The local volunteer fire Department had volunteered to fill the attraction. The tank itself could hold well over seven hundred gallons of water.  And so it would take some time to fill.

Which was all fine and good for me, I had drawn the short straw and had been put down for the first one hour shift of that day. It was about ten in the morning and already a small crowd was forming around the booth. I mean I would have loved to think it was because of me posing in my brand new one piece, but I kind of knew I was plain. I mean, factor in the hormone blockers, and estrogen, farm work, and all the physical training cheerleaders do, and what you got was a stick of a girl with long brown hair, bright blue eyes and a small chest. Okay maybe I was not that bad, but I'm no bombshell Sports N' Times Bikini model either.

“Hey Madeline!” A voice called, the voice belonged to a middle age woman with blonde hair and who oddly enough had matching blue eyes. It's funny how people with blonde hair often get blue eyes, maybe I should have been born a blonde instead of a brunette.  Anyway the woman was my mom, or mommy as I called her. You see, since the death of my mother, my older sister had kind of come to replace the mother I had lost. And by those strange chances and changes of life she had come to find another woman to love. Her name was Heather Ford, and in a few months time it would be Heather Brewer, my sister clearly wore the pants in the family. I called both mommy though.

“Yes mommy!” I called a few seconds later. 

“We're done filling up the booth.”  Mommy said as she peered toward me with a grin. “And there is already a line a mile wide lining up at the throw line. So I need you to climb up there and take a seat.” She she said as she turned away. She started to walk toward the front desk, once she reached the front desk, she took a deep breath and then she shouted out.

“May I please have your attention! May I please have your attention! The Dunking Booth is now open for business, with local teen celebrity, the one and only Madeline Diana Brewer, published teen author, Benton High Cheerleader and part time waitress at Sweet Magnolia!” She shouted. “And remember all money raised from the dunking booth goes to support our local hospital, King's Daughters Hospital!” 

I felt a deep blush color my cheeks as I placed my foot on the latter and started to climb up the iron rungs. Soon I had reached the very top, and then collecting my wits I inched my bottom out to the drop seat. Once I reached the edge, I folded my hands in the center of my lap and offered the gathered crowd a big smile. 

At first nobody wanted to throw, they mostly just donated their pocket change, and to be honest, I was kind of drawing a blank. See, I'm kind of a shy person, I only really come out of my shell when I'm around my friends and family. And the only reason I can cheer is because I'm standing with a group of other girls. But that all changed the minute I noticed her, walking through the crowds. A petite blonde hair girl with baby blue eyes, she wore a pastel pink dress and had a matching purse too. Her name was Jamie Sarah Potter, and she was one of my best friends.

“HEY” I called out from the top of the tank. “Jamie!” I quickly added to get her attention. “Come on and try to dunk me!” I taunted. Somebody had to break the ice. And it might as well be her. 

Jamie blinked and quickly spun around. There was a cute boy hanging standing beside her, she was kind of hanging on his shoulders or was he hanging on her shoulders. Hard to tell, I knew the boy, he often tagged along when Jamie and I would go into the woods to tell spooky stories around a campfire. I mean I brought my own boyfriend too, cause you know, there's nothing like getting spooked in the dark and you know you gotta be a strong boy to cling to too. It really gives you those good kinds of goosebumps.

“Come on girl!” I called out to her. “Take a chance and buy three balls for five dollars. Show that boyfriend what you got!” I said noticing that the boy she was clinging too was indeed her boyfriend. Jamie's face flushed hot red. At first I thought I might have crossed a line, but then she slowly started to walk up the wooden counter. 

“Maddy.” She said, pulling her purse around. “I think you need to cool down some.” She said soft. She reached down into her purse and pulled out her wallet. Her wallet was pink too, Jamie always loved to match, I would put money on the fact she was wearing a matching bra and panties too. She was a girly girl like that and though she was my best friend, I loved to tease her. Though, only I was allowed to tease her,  if somebody else messed with her the claws came out. 

I expected her to throw of course, but much to my surprise she placed down a crisp ten dollar bill. Ten dollars was the price one could pay to skip the throwing process and just walk up and push the button. And so smirking a little she walked the white throwing line that had been painted on the ground with white paint. A few seconds later, I could feel the seat giving way as Jamie pushed down on the trigger and sent me dropping like a stone into the freezing cold water below!

For a few seconds I swam around the bottom of the tank. Part of the fun of the dunking booth would be watching the person who just dunked swim around the bottom and make a funny face. And so I did, pressing my face to the clear viewing glass in the middle before breaking the surface of the water again. I could only hold  my breath for fifteen seconds at a time.

“That cheating!” I said, as I pushed the seat back up and climbed out of the tank. In a blink of an eye I was once more seated above the tank. And there in front of the tank stood Jamie, her arms folded across her blooming chest and her head cocked to the side. “You're supposed to buy three balls, and try to hit the target with them! Not just walk up to the trigger and push the button.”

“Maddy, you are such a dork!” She cried out. “But you look cute sitting there soaking wet!” She quickly added.

“You know, we could always switch places. I'm sure Benjamin would adore the chance to dunk you. Plus you might even get a kiss out of the deal.” I responded before I fell into a wild gale of laughter as Jamie's face turned from buttercream to scarlet.  My laughter was cut short when I felt the seat I was sitting under give way once more and I once more dropped like a stone into the freezing cold water below.

“Hey!” I shouted as I bobbed back and swam to the side of the tank. “What was that for!” I cried out, giggling as I noticed Jamie was wearing a playful little smirk on her face, her hand was still pushing in the trigger and her baby blue eyes were just a twinkling. 

“To cool you down.” She said with a smirk. “I mean it's already a hundred and ten out here. Don't need you spouting off any more hot air.” She quickly added.

“Love ya.” I said with a roll of my eyes as I pushed the seat back up.

“Love ya too, even if you are a dork!” Jamie responded. “So do you have any plans for the rest of the day?” She asked. As she started to inch her way back from the trigger. “Beside getting dunked over and over again?” She added.

“My shift ends in a hour.” I said. “Then Matthew and I plan on going to Sunflower to get something to eat.. then Kayla wants us to spend the rest of the day with her and Heather doing some family bonding time.” I paused, “Why? What up?”  I quickly added.

“Just wanting to know if we're going to get together tonight” She said. “Since I don't really have a story ready or anything, I was kind of hoping we could postpone it. Plus, mom would like .. Ben and I  to joined them for dinner tonight.”

“Oh! No problem!” I said smiling. “We can always pick next weekend. I still need to edit my story too.” You see Jamie and I are the founding members of a group of teens that like to meet out in the woods behind my house and tell ghost stories. It was from these midnight gatherings the idea to collect and later publish those stories was born. 

“Sure, see you then!” And with that Jamie started to skip off to spend some alone time with her boyfriend. And I had only forty five more minutes left of my shift in the dunking booth.

My eyes followed Jamie as she vanished into the crowd. And speaking of the crowd, the crowd just lingered around the dunking booth. If a person did not want to buy three balls for five dollars, they could just walk up and push the button for ten dollars. Like Jamie she had dropped ten dollars to drop me in freezing cold water, the little brat also managed to sneak in another push of the button when nobody was looking.
So it was kind of a buy one get one free deal. Anyway, if nobody wanted to waste five dollars on three throws, and if they were too much of a scrooge to drop a ten dollar bill to walk over and press the trigger. Then one could if they felt so inclined to, drop their pocket change into a wicker basket. And it seemed many of the passersby did just that. Many of them tossed there lose dimes, nickels, quarters and pennies into the basket. And so with the strong Mississippian sun shining down on me I sat there, watching the crowds of people passing back and forth.

Then I noticed another one of my friends, a petite raven haired girl who wore a simple blue sundress with matching plastic blue sandals. Hanging on her arm was a boy who had shaggy blonde hair that was tied back in a low ponytail. He wore a fading pair of denim jeans and a white button down shirt and a matching blue blazer, it seemed odd to me that most of the boys in our group always seemed to wear their hair long and in shaggy ponytails also they seemed to always sport white button down shirts and blazers. It was kind of like a uniform, most of us girls always wore colorful dresses.

I knew the boy, and I knew the girl too. The boy was named James, but we called him Daisy. And Daisy was sweet on the raven haired girl that clung to him, Cerridwen, a self proclaimed witch. Daisy had just moved to Benton a few months ago, he had transferred from St. Katherine's Episcopal School in Vicksburg to Benton Academy due to some issues he had with bullies. Anyway Daisy was my cousin. And something of the little brother of the group.

And I gotta say it was cute seeing the two making their way through the crowds, holding each other's hand and leaning in close to each other. It was sweet, and of course me being me, I had to tease them a little. I mean both Cerridwen and Daisy were members of our little group. Both were members of the local anime club, and as president of the anime club it was my sworn duty to tease the junior members. And with me perched over several hundred gallons of freezing cold water. They could easily get their revenge.

“Hey Daisy!” I cried out at the top of my lungs. And as I had opened the blonde hair boy spun around and blinked. I knew then I had his attention. “Hey Daisy, take a chance and try to dunk me! Five dollars for three balls, and if you sink me, you get a prize.”

At this point Cerridwen had turned around too. It was then I noticed the outline of a bathing suit under her sundress. I knew then that Cerridwen would be taking over for me once my one hour shift was up.

“Come on squirt. Take a chance and dunk your big sister, show me what got.” I called out. “Come on, you gotta have some strength in those little twigs you call arms.”

Daisy blinked and blinked again and soon he was walking over to the counter. He placed some money down on the table and was rewarded with three soft tennis balls. He quickly reached down and picked up the one closest to his left. Once the ball was in his hand, he drew back and let the ball fly.The ball sailed through the air and then bounced off the side of the dunking booth. I gotta say I felt my heart leap into my chest as I watched the ball fly through the air.

“Oh sorry squirt. You came close, Gotta be careful though, I don't want you to throw too hard pull something. KDH would love to see you though.” I teased as he reached down and picked up the second ball. He gripped the ball tightly in his hands and eyed the target. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. A few seconds later I felt the seat give way and once more I was dropped into the freezing cold water below. For twelve solid seconds I floated along the bottom, making sure to press my face into the viewing glass in the middle When I felt my breath give way, I broke the surface of the water and smiled a little.

“Okay kiddo! You got me!” I said pushing the seat back up. “But you gotta do it again. Because the first time is always when you know beginners' luck. So come on, show me what you got.” I called out.

“You know, you talk too much.” Daisy said in a flat tone of voice. “Way too much, I think you need a cold bath to settle yourself down.” It was then I noticed a mischievous look had taken hold of him as he reached down and picked the ball up and darted behind the throw line that had been spray painted on the ground.

“What in the world are you doing?!” I shouted but a few seconds later I once more felt the seat giving way and once more I was dropped into the freezing cold water below. This time though, I wasted no time in popping my head up above the water and swimming toward the edge of the tank. I gave Daisy a glare that would melt through a block of ice.

“You know, you were supposed to hit the target right? Not just dart over and smash it?” I asked as I once more pushed the seat up and climbed out of the tank. A minute or so later I was once more seated at the edge of the seat, hands folded on my lap, hair dripping wet and to be honest, I was a bit cold. The wind was starting to pick up now, and the once blue sky was starting to become cloudy with gray clouds. I knew the weather bulletin for the had issued a forecast for mostly clear skies, with a bit of rain in the afternoon with a slight chance for rain later that evening.

“I know, I also know you were being something of a brat. And I thought a nice cold bath would cool those heels a little.” Daisy said, smiling a little.

“What ever.” I said rolling my eyes as I peered toward the pink eye boy. That another odd thing about Daisy, his eyes were the palest pink you've ever seen and they often sparkled like two pink sapphires. It was kind of cute.

“I'm just saying you need to earn the right to dunk me, by hitting the target.” I called out as the boy just stood there shrugging his narrow shoulders. Then he folded his hands across his chest and cocked his head to the side as unfolded them and slipped his hand into the pocket of his faded pair of jeans. A few seconds later he was placing another five dollar bill down upon the wooden counter. He was rewarded with three more balls.

“Daisy,” Cerridwen said, smiling as she walked up and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Don't spend all your money love, remember you promised me a steak dinner.” She said rubbing her chin on his shoulder. It was cute, but also kind of weird seeing the girl I considered my little sister rubbing up on the boy I considered my little brother like some kind of cat in heat.

“Hey!” I called out to Cerridwen. “I thought you and Daisy were going to come and join us for dinner. Kayla has been expecting you too. And Heather's made enough of her house salad to feed a whole troop.” I paused. “And Mrs. Potter cut us a deal on a whole short loin. USDA choice and a inch and a half thick too, and I know you like a good steak Cerridwen, though this might not be the steak you want.” I said with a wink.

It took them a few seconds to catch on to what I was saying. But once they did, Cerridwen turned a beat red and Daisy looked away blushing. And I busted into a gale of laughter. It was cute watching Daisy blush like that and Cerridwen always needed to be teased. Now, only I and Jamie could tease the two, if somebody else started to mess with them, then the claws came out. We were family, only family can mess with family if somebody else started giving the two a hard time. We'll, I'm a tomboy, and despite being a cheerleader, I'm not afraid to throw down. And according to some fellow adventure scouts, I can throw a mean right hook.
Cerridwen soon recovered from her blushing fit and calmly she reached down into her pocket book and pulled out a five dollar bill. Smiling she placed the five dollar bill down upon the counter and in due time she was rewarded with three balls.

“Daisy love, can you please sink this loud mouth brat.” She said smiling as she picked up one of the offered balls. “Or would you mind if I go first?” She asked as she squeezed the ball tightly.

“After you love.” He said smiling softly as he stepped aside.

“Could you two get a motel room already!” I shouted again at the top of my lungs. Once more the two turned beat red. I love teasing the pair.

Then it happened, I was so busy laughing at the pair. Laughing at Daisy blushing and laughing at the coy look Cerridwen was giving Daisy when I suggested they book a hotel room that I had not noticed Daisy had thrown his first ball and had smashed the target. I could only feel the seat giving away and the splash of the freezing cold water in the tank below. My bottom quickly touched the bottom of the tank and a deep blush formed upon my face as I broke the surface of the water.
“Maybe that would teach you to cool your jets!” Daisy said, smirking as he reached down for another ball.

“I doubt it  love. Madeline like that bunny, she just keeps going and going and going.” Cerridwen said, smirking as she watched Daisy pick up another ball.

“Okay, that again was just a lucky shot!” I called out again. “Lets see you do it again! And no cheating this time!”

A few seconds later, I once more felt the seat give way. And once more I was dropped like a stone into the freezing water below. And again I pushed the seat up and once more I climbed up and once more I was greeted with the sight of Daisy standing there holding his third and final ball. I closed my eyes and then again I felt the seat giving away as the boy struck the target. The boy had some skill, I'll give him that.

“You know.” I said coughing up a little water as I climbed back up. “I think the Benton Belle's are accepting new members. Why don't try out. I mean, you need a hobby, and with your skills you'll make a good pitcher for the local softball team.” I said smiling as I turned my attention toward Cerridwen now. After his third throw, Daisy had stepped aside and allowed her to take his place at the throwing line.

“So Cerridwen, are you going to summon up some magic to help you dunk me? Or do you have some muscle in those twigs you call arms?” I teased. Cerridwen was a pagan, and I had a deep respect for her. And there had been sometimes when we depended on Cerridwen to ward our campground. Heck I even depended on Cerridwen Wiccan knowledge when I went hiking. The area's she suggested we steer clear of, I did. But still I had to tease her, she was after all my little sister.

“I could.” She said, smirking as she tossed the ball back and forth. “I could summon something, but that would take all the fun out of it. It seems this muggle game depends on skill, magic it seems would take all the fun out of it.”

“Muggle? Girl I know you're a Wiccan and all, but come on. Do you really gotta borrow a word from Rowlings? I thought you were something of a wordsmith or something?” I asked.

“That would be you, dear Madeline, you're the one who wrote down all of our stories, typed them up and edited them and later published them. I think the title of wordsmith belongs to you. I'm more of a budding manga artist and cosplayer.” She added as she drew her arm back and tossed the ball toward the target.
I splashed down a few seconds later and once more I found myself floating along the bottom of the tank. Through the viewing glass I noticed that Cerridwen was standing there, laughing her bottom all. A deep blush colored my cheeks as I once more broke the surface of the water. Still blushing I pushed the seat up and once more I climbed up.

“Beginners luck?” Cerridwen said, smirking as she tossed another ball up in the air. “Or did I use a little wind magic to nudge the ball toward the target. The world may never know.” She teased as I inched my bottom toward the edge of the seat.

“You know, your next right? And I'm so going to get you back for this,” I said in a flat tone of voice.

“Oh?” Cerridwen said, smirking a little as she pitched the ball back and forth. “I thought you enjoyed teasing people. But it seems when the tables are turned on you, you don't enjoy it as much.” She then tossed the ball and this one missed. It sailed a little to the left. I wanted to say something, something cute and funny, but I noticed the look in Cerridwen's eye and something deep inside told me she had missed that one on purpose. And so I kept my mouths shut and true to form she did not miss her third and final throw. At this point I was pretty water logged. And a little sore from all the splash downs.

“Let that be a lesson to you, my dear friend Madeline. Do not taunt forces you don't understand. Or else they might come back to bite you in the button.” With that she gave me a playful wink and then she turned toward Daisy.

“Come beloved,” She said in a voice that was smooth as velvet. “I would like something salty to snack upon. the popcorn from the popcorn man smells wonderful.” And with that the two walked away from the dunking booth. Cerridwen's hand tightly woven around Daisy's hand and the two drinking love from each other's eyes. And I had only fifteen minutes left in my shirt.

Fifteen minutes remained in my shift. Cerridwen had already changed and was standing by the booth. The petite raven haired girl had changed into a cute two piece bikini that really showed her curves of her body. Right now she was modeling the swimsuit for the gathered crowd. Her mother Pandora was standing by her side, looking as proud as a peacock Pandora was the newest member of that small business owners that formed the bedrock of Benton. And right now she was chatting up the locals, I guess having your daughter volunteer for the town's dunking booth was good for the public image.

And so there I sat, the warm summer sun pretty much dried me out. I was even getting something of a tan as I sat there on the plastic drop seat. Then I spotted him and my cheeks flushed a bright neon red. Out from the crowd came a boy, not just any boy, but one that meant a lot to me. His name was Matthew and he was my boyfriend. Matthew and I had been dating for about two or so years now. We happened to meet while I was working the dunking booth at The Discover Benton Festival two years ago.

Anyway, every time I see him I can't help but blush a little. He was my first kiss after all and the way things were progressing between him and I, I was sure one day I'll be wearing his ring. I quickly noticed he was looking extra handsome today. Today he was wearing a long sleeve button down shirt, a green tie and khaki pants. Rounding out the outfit was a pair of brown loafers.

“Hey sweetie!” I called out from the top of the tank. “Working today?” I quickly added. Matthew was a part time clerk at Sunflower, Benton's only full line grocery store. The store was a local favorite, everybody and I mean everybody did there shopping there. And the outfit Matthew was wearing was pretty much what all employees wore.

“Just getting off.” He said, smirking a little. “Came in at five this morning. Helped to finish off the last bit of stock the stock crew had left. Bagged a little and since I'm close to forty, Mr. Sinclair toward me to knock off for the day. He said to enjoy the rest of the day and enjoy my day off tomorrow.” He said, shrugging his shoulders a little.

I nodded my head. William Sinclair was the store manager, I had seen him a few times at Mass at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, the same church my sister and her fiance attended from time to time. I knew very little about him, only he had started off at the bottom of the ladder if you will. He then rose from the lowly position of Courtesy Clerk to Produce Clerk to Store Manager over the course of fifteen or so years. He had a heart of gold and had even hired my cousin Daisy on as a Courtesy Clerk. According to Matthew who was in charge of training all the new Courtesy Clerks, Daisy was really trying to make something of himself.

“Oh Mr. Big Money.” I said in a teasing tone of voice. “So what are you going to do with all that big money?”

“Thinking about taking you out to eat next Saturday Night. You know Ms. B's Steakhouse? The one located just off the bridge east of town. You know the one cross before you get to that old haunted railroad crossing.”

I blinked. Ms. B's Steakhouse was one of the finest steakhouses in Benton, it was more like a private dining club than a restaurant. Located a little off the highway it was special place, a kind of private place. And kind of Romantic too. I felt my cheeks starting to blush.

“You're blushing might hard Maddy.” Matthew teased as he reached down into his pocket book and pulled out a five dollar bill. He placed the five dollar b ill down upon the table and was rewarded with three yellow and white tennis balls.

“Never mind that.” I said folding my arms across my chest and peering hard at him. I looked a little to the side and noticed that Cerridwen was doing a little model work. Her boyfriend Daisy was standing to the side, looking a bit crossed. I could sense he was not happy with his girlfriend getting that much attention. Cerridwen though was drinking up the attention like a cat drinks milk. I sometimes wandered about those two. One one hand you had Cerridwen who seemed to always take any and all chances to mess with Daisy. That normally earned her a passing swat. Then you had Daisy would often just stand there and pout when other girls paid him any attention. Cerridwen on the other hand would be willing to throw her tiny hands the minute she expected somebody else was moving in on Daisy.

But I also knew the two cared for each other, Maybe more than two young teens should. I know when Daisy was down with the Flu last year, and needed to spend a day or two in Hospital. Cerridwen was always by his side, she even spent the night there. After getting into a shouting match with the doctor on duty and a few of the nurses. She refused to leave his side.. and Daisy was always toting her books around for her. The two had their fights, but I could tell, by the way they held each other's hands, and nestled up to each other. The two really loved each other. Like I could see the two getting married to each other one day.

“Earth to Maddy!” I heard a voice calling out. I knew the voice belonged to Matthew. So I turned my eyes away from Cerridwen and Daisy and focused them back on Matthew.

“Just watching the two love birds here.” I said peering and shrugging my shoulders. “Sometimes I need to keep my eyes on them. You know, before they get into trouble.” I added with another shrug of my shoulders. Not quite a gallic shrug but the best I could muster on the spot.

“I see.” Matthew said nodding his head. And with that he tossed the ball. The ball sailed through the air and smashed into the target. The seat I was sitting on gave way and I dropped like a stone into the freezing cold water below!

“Wow!” Matthew said as I broke the surface of the water. “I'm getting better at this. That or the target is getting bigger.”

“Matthew you are a dork!” I cried as I spat a stream of water out.

“Takes one to know one.” He said reaching down and taking the second ball into his hand. I had five minutes left in my shift. I knew it was more than enough time for him to dunk me again. And to be frank, I was quite waterlogged at this point. My rear was quite sore from several dunks that had caused me to bounce off the bottom of the tank.

“Come on!” I whined. “Save those other two throws for Cerridwen!” I said shifting my attention toward Cerridwen who was waiting to take my place.

“Nah.” Matthew said, shaking his head. “She has a boyfriend already. And after Daisy totally hammered those bullies, I want to say on his good side.”

“Well you better hurry up.” I said, smirking. “I have less than five minutes remaining in my shift.” As soon as those words left my mouth I felt the seat I was sitting on give way and once more I was dropping a stone. Once more I felt my bottom bounce off the floor of the tank. Taking a deep breath I swam toward the surface of the water, breaking the surface I started to swim toward the edge of the tank.

“Okay lover boy,” I said pouting hard as I pushed the seat back up. “That's enough fun for one day.” And with that I made my way toward the edge of the tank. Quickly I climbed down. I was soaking wet, but it had been pretty fun. I had been dunked a ton, I had gotten to tease all my friends and I had even gotten dunked by my boyfriend.

And with that, another one of my misadventures comes to an end.