The rest of the meal was spent in silence. Though once the last hot dog had been eaten and the last handful of corn chips consumed, Kayla kind of decided it was time to spill the beans. I will never forget the look that came across her face. It was one of pure sadness.

“Dad.” She started. “ Was like the best. He never raised his voice, I mean I was something of a little terror growing up. But dad just seemed to take it all in stride. He was the center of our world, of mom and I's world that is. And when mom became pregnant with you. Sis, he became a totally different man. He was cool before you know.” Kayla paused.

“But he became cooler. He pampered mom. He also pampered me, I was a bit worried, I was ten when you were born. And for the first ten years of my life I had been the only child. I was used to being the center of attention. And then you came along and I had to share the limelight. I was a bit worried that mom and dad would stop loving me. Dad put those fears to rest.” Kayla added as she peered down at the table.

“Dad was also a hard worker. He worked forty hours a week, plus sometimes ten hours overtime. At that time, we were living in a rented apartment in Vicksburg. As dad was a foreman at Warren Chemical. Rent was high and mom.” She paused. “Mom wanted me to attend St. Katherine's Episcopal Academy, and that was another big drain. It was like a family tradition or something. Mom and her two brothers attended St. Katherine's Episcopal Academy, her father and mother went there. Their folks went down. You get the idea.” She said nodding her head.

“Mom was something of a social climber. I don't know how she met dad. She never told me, but I guess there was a bit of a rebel in her, as she married as she often said after dad had passed 'Far below her class' whatever that means. I never looked at class.” She paused. “Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, from dust you were made and to dust you shall return and all that good stuff.”

I nodded my head again.

“Anyway dad was the best. On his off days he was always doing something. We would go hiking together, we would fish together.  He would take me to the park to play and run around. We would go to the mall and hang out. And sometimes we would tour some old battlefields. Mississippi has dozens of battlefields, and while we toured them, dad would always tell spooky ghost stories.” Kayla sniffed a little, and for a moment I swore I saw tears forming at the edge of her eyes.

“Mom, was kind of okay with it. She thought dad was making me into something of a tomboy. And so she would redouble her efforts to turn me into a proper Southern Belle. She frowned on me going hunting and fishing with dad and us spending so much time hiking and stuff. I guess she was just jealous of the bond he and I had.” She paused again. Tears were starting to fall from her cheeks in earnest now.

“Sis.” I said reaching over. “It's okay, you don't have to say any more.” I said in a soothing tone of voice.

“No, you need to know, a girl should know something about her history and all. Now, mom was prone to fits. She would get all high and mighty and boost her family, how wealthy they were and how she went to the best private school Vicksburg had to offer. And how she had attended the best college money could afford. She loved to brag about that, she also bragged how she was going to raise the next Miss. America.” 
I blinked. 

“Mom always thought I would grow out of my tomboy phase.” Kayla said. “From time to time she went on the warpath if you will. But dad was always there to calm her down. But then, one day.” Kayla paused and closed her eyes. It was like she was wrestling with something.

“I'll come back to that later.” She said reaching up and pushing a strand of her hair from her face. She then tucked the strand of hair behind her ear. I could tell she was trying to collect her thoughts. And so I just sat there and listened.

“I was ten when you were born. Mom named you Mark because one of her great-great uncles or something was named Mark, he was a Confederate Major and helped command the forces in and around Vicksburg. He was killed during the siege of Vicksburg. Mom was big into family history.  She adored it and spent all of her free time swinging from one branch to the other. I mean both families, the Bell and the Brewers fought for the Confederacy.” My sister paused. “But we don't celebrate. It was a horrible war. And a tangled mess.” 

I nodded my head.

“Anyway mom wanted to name you Mark because it was a biblical name and because great-great uncle Mark Bell was a Major in the Confederate Army and commanded the defenses of her hometown.” She said, sighing. “I think she was hoping you had been born a girl. That way she could have raised  you to me a proper southern belle and cut me loose to be a tomboy.” Kayla paused again. “I don't think she was banking on you being transgender. In fact you were supposed to have been a girl. But never mind that now, that come and gone.”

I nodded my head.

“Honey, I know I am rambling on here. But,just hang tight with me okay? We're almost at the end.” She said smiling sweetly. I knew my sister could ramble on when she wanted too.

“Anyway, you were born a boy. And dad finally had his son. Mom had hoped that this would kind of balance things out. And for, four years, everything was perfect. I was kind of the princess tomboy, and you loved trains. At first I was a little at first mad, you know. For the first ten years of my life I had been the only child, then you came along. But.. I fell in love with you. You were like a living baby doll. I carried you around with me, changed your diaper, fed you and even bathed you. Mom thought it was cute, dad thought so too.”

“Then one day something just  happened. We don't know what happened, but there was a big boom at the plant. A lot of people were killed in the first blast, a second blast followed and then a third. I think the remains of the plant can still be seen off the highway. But Dad, dad was just signing off when the second blast happened. And he was killed, crushed to death by large slabs of falling concrete and then burned to a crisp by a roaring fire.” Kayla said pausing.

“They pulled his remains from a twisted pile of steel that had been crushed by a slap of concrete. Mom went into total shock, I was, I shut down. You were too young to know what was going on, I just remember you kept asking 'When is Daddy coming home' And finally, Aunt Isabella and Uncle William had to tell you.” Kayla was crying now and I myself was on the verge of tears. But I kept it all together.

After a long pause, Kayla resumed the tale.

“Like I said, mom had kind of shut down. Nobody had bothered to call Grandpaw and Grandmaw Brewer.” She paused. “Until six hours later. Well, Uncle William and Aunt Isabella handled a lot of the stuff. We moved in with them for a while. Uncle Percy.” She paused. “I mean Father Bell. Conducted the the funeral Mass at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Benton.  They entombed him in the graveyard that attached to the church.” Kayla paused again. “It's sad really, Dad is buried at St Mary's, all of the Bell's all one hundred and twenty five of them are buried at St. Katherine's. Mom buried in some out of the way church yard in the hill country. With the rest of the Perry's.”

Kayla took another drink of her cola. It still amazes me that Kayla can keep so much of the family lore locked away in her head. It's a gift common to southern womanhood I think. One that thankfully  passed me over. I don't know what I would do if I had to jingle jangle all those facts in my head.

“Mom received a huge settlement from the following lawsuit. Like huge. Uncle William helped. We then moved from Vicksburg to Madison. Mom left the Episcopal Church because they started accepting people she considered different. I started chatting online with people, flirting with them. Most of you know girls. Mom found those chat logs one day and flew right into me. It happens in a blink of an eye, one minute I'm in my room, the next minute I'm standing on the lawn, in my nightgown, with all my stuff getting thrown out on the lawn. And mom standing on the front porch, yelling at me to 'Get the Fuck out of her 'HOUSE' and I was 'A FUCKING HELL BOUND SLUT'.  Anyway something happened then, I felt an arm being placed around my shoulder and I smelled daddy. Like I smelled his aftershave. He called me 'Princess' and told me he still loved me, and that I needed to call grandpaw and grandmaw Brewer.”

I nodded my head.

“And that is enough of a history lesson for today. I think we need to collect these dishes and get them washed up and get them put away. I'll pop some popcorn and we can settle down and watch a few movies.”

I nodded my head again. I had a lot to think about now. My sister had just opened up her heart to me and poured everything out. That took a lot of courage, and strengthened the bonds between  us. And so the chapter in my life comes to a close. Stay tuned for me updates.

when you live in a small town, you have to be creative when it comes to having fun. I was never really into football, but I do attend all the home football games at my high school. I really don't watch the game, I wander around the bleachers and around the grounds visiting with friends and chatting with people who might be from out of town. If there are no home games, then nine out of ten times I'll pester my sister or Heather to drive me out to the skating rink located just off Highway 16 three miles from town.

That's an average Friday night for me. Saturday, we'll Saturday morning I'm either helping Kayla on the farm, catching up with homework, or helping Lily and Robin with their maid theme cafe downtown. I help on and off during the school week. Saturday afternoon I draw my wages from both places. I save my money for those once in a blue moon, okay more like once a month mall trips and then I head into the woods to meet up with a group of friends.

No, we don't smoke or drink out in the woods. We just sit around a roaring bonfire, roast hot dogs, munch on chips and tell ghost stories. Then when Sunday morning rolls around, no matter how late I stayed out the night before, I drag myself out of bed, brush my teeth, wash my face, do my hair, and get ready for early morning Mass. My uncle's the town Episcopal priest and so I normally end up attending both the “Low Church” early morning Mass that is held at eight o' clock. I ring the church bells for that one. And then I turn around and attend the “ High Church” service at ten thirty. Yep I take communion twice on Sunday.

Now eight o' clock mass last about a hour. So instead of heading back home, I kind of head to the local doughnut shop called “Benton Doughnut's” . It's a tiny little shop that is located in the old KFC (Kitchen Fresh Chicken) stand at the end of downtown. A newer, more modern KFC was built three or so years up on the highway were most of the newer business seem to be moving too. I mean chain business, downtown still remains mostly churches, government building, banks and mom and pop owned stores.

Anyway the Wong family, one of the handful of Chinese families that live in Benton run the place. The dining room is often crowded and people often sit shoulder to shoulder, but it's cozy and the air is always warm and inviting. Mr. Wong goes to Methodist church and his wife and four children attend the Methodist church.

Anyway after eight o' clock mass. I drag myself there to get a doughnut and some coffee. And normally that was where my friends started to gather. Let me tell you about them. First their Jame Sarah Potter, Jamie around my age and smart as a whip. She attends Benton Academy and she is my closest and dearest friend, she likes my twin sister, only I'm a brunette and she is blonde. Up next their Taylor, the youngest member of our group. She is a freshman at Benton Academy, she has blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair and is a solo girl scout, kind of cool if you ask me.

Then there's Cerridwen. She is a raven haired pagan girl who claims she can do a little magic. She is the second youngest, she is only a few weeks older than Taylor. Next we have Daisy, Daisy is Daisy enough said. He or She depending on the day attends Benton Academy too and is dating Cerridwen. Next we have Ben, who's dating Jamie, Matthew who's dating me, Andrew who happens to be Jamie's cousin who also happens to be dating Taylor and rounding out the group Daisy and Cerridwen are a pair, we think.

These are the guys and gays that make my life in Benton worth living. We pick on each other, tease each other, sometimes we fight each other. But when the cards are down, I know everyone has my back. We are a family, a fellowship of misfits and outcasts that have banded together. Kind of like the Fellowship of the Ring, only I doubt any of us would have the strength to carry a cursed ring into the mouth of an active volcano.
Anyway it was the first Sunday in October. School had been in session now for about a month, the leaves on the trees were starting to turn from green to brown, some even turning orange and orange-red. The mornings were cooler, the afternoons it seemed hotter. The days were getting shorter and the nights longer. I was a month into my Junior year of High School, soon I knew I would be a Senior and walking across the stage to claim my diploma. Time marches on. But I pushed those thoughts far from my head. Me and the gang had business we needed to talk about, real business. Halloween business.

Yes, I'm aware that Halloween was a good twenty four days away. And to the casual person, who might only pass out a one bowl of candy and maybe put a few wooden tombstones up on their front lawn along with some fake glow in the dark skeletons that was plenty of time to get ready. But me and my growth was barely enough time. And in order to bring my plans to fruition, We'll need to use every free hour we could get.

Anyway eight o' clock Mass had just ended and I was on my second cup of coffee. With school, like I said having just taken in, most of the crew was still at home, trying to catch up on Homework. And with it being the opening day of archery deer season, most of the boyfriends were in the woods. Let me explain something real quick too. Generations of southern women have always endured having their boyfriends, husbands, and brothers vanish into the woods when October rolls around. Hunting them is almost like going to church. And the opening weekend of any season is treated like a holy day to them, like they put it on the same slate as Christmas and Easter.

Anyway only Jamie and Daisy it seemed could make it. Both of whom seem half asleep. Daisy seemed to be in girly mode today as she wore a nice pastel pink dress and a matching white purse, her blonde hair down and held in place with an Alice band. Daisy is gender fluid, so you just gotta see what her or his mood is. Right now she was half asleep, and leaning into Jamie shoulder who was dressed the same, and likewise was still half asleep.

We tended to treat Daisy more like the little sister of the group than the others.

“Okay ladies!” I said finally as I looked down. “We have business to talk about and there plenty of doughnuts left..” I said getting up and walking over to the coffee pot. I filled two cups up with the strong coffee and handed each cup toward Jamie and Daisy who only muttered a thanks before lifting the coffee to their lips and taking a small sip. Both almost spat the coffee out. But they managed to swallow.

“Hey!” I said looking at both. “I can't help it the way you two take your morning coffee's put you both asleep. Once you put all that cream, half-and-half, and sugar into that stuff. You don't have coffee anymore, you have some sweet and milky creation.”

“Only a farm girl.” Daisy said, taking another shot of her coffee. “Would drink her coffee straight.” She said as she shuddered at the bitterness.

“And only a spoiled city girl would add all that junk you add.” I said shooting back. Two and a half years of staying with Kayla had really toughen me up. Kayla was an old farm girl, she rose with the morning sun, fixed a large breakfast and drank her coffee black. And some of her habits had worn off on me.

“At least I don't have hay behind the ears.” Daisy teased as she took another shot of her coffee. Even Jamie had to giggle at that one and I did too. The hay comment came from the first time Matthew and I really kissed. It had been in the hayloft on the farm, we had decided to help Kayla harvest some hay. The boys did the bailing and the heavy lifting. We girls made sure nobody fell out from heat stroke and tended to the wool heads that had gotten themselves hurt. Matthew and I had been flirting on and off all day and finally he had sweetly talked me into the hay loft. And we'll start kissing. That kissing was about to turn to something else when Kayla and Jamie came busting in on the scene.

I remember the look Kayla gave me, it could have melted through a sheet of ice sixteen inches thick. I could tell she wanted to whoop me there and then. Instead she just scolded up for slacking off. I fully expected to get a whooping that night, but she seemed to have forgotten about the matter. I did have hay stuck in my hair all day and smelled like hay all day that day and all that Sunday and all that following Monday. I sometimes thank God I'm a country girl, how many girls can say they've been kissed in a hayloft? Not many, and I'll take a hayloft to the backseat of an old ford truck anyway of the week.

“Anyway ladies.” I said blushing. “We have some business we need to talk about. And while I would have liked for everyone to have been here this morning. That would have been like herding cats. And the Lord God can only do so much.” I said. “So enough chatting, let's get down to business.”

“To defeat the Huns?” Jamie chimed in and both she and Daisy broke out laying. Jamie had turned Daisy into a Disney Princess loving geek. It was safe to say that when Daisy was in “Girl Mode” as we called it, she was Jamie's adopted little sister. Just as much as Cerridwen was my adopted little sister. I guess we vibed like that, Cerridwen even as a transgender girl was a tomboy and I was still a bit of a tomboy. Jamie was full of girly-girl and had made it her mission to mold Daisy into the perfect princess. God I love my friends sometimes.

“I'm sorry Jamie, we are not going to save China today. Instead we have bigger fish to fry. We have..” I paused and took another sip of my coffee. “Halloween Business to talk about!”

The minute I uttered the word “Halloween” a sudden hush fell. Now, besides having a love for ghost stories, and gathering out in the woods to roast hot dogs, and make s'mores that decadent summer time treat that a heavenly blend of crunchy and sweet and gooey. Yes, beside having a love for ghost stories and good camp food, we've also had our fair share of real life paranormal encounters. I for example have been visited by the ghost of my late mother. Jamie is supposed to have been hunted by a demon, and Daisy's supposed to have the gift to see spirits.

The other remembers not present, including Taylor, is supposed to have a ghost living in her closet, Matthew is supposed to have witnessed first hand the Battle of Benton played out in ghostly fashion. Ben is supposed to have encountered the ghost of a lost boy in the woods. And Cerridwen swears up and down she shares Daisy's gift and can not only see spirits, but things that are weak mortal minds could not possibly start to understand. Heck she even claims that our local Episcopal Church was haunted by the ghost of a little girl who had died in some fire seventy or so years ago.

Anyway, for all of us, Halloween was a very special holiday. It was a time for us to cut lose and go full hog as my sister would say. And oddly enough our town of Benton held a few Halloween celebrations, one was the “Safe Halloween” event that took place down at the local park. Each year some brave or foolish tween or teen would volunteer to be strapped into a replica dunking stool. Business would then donate to see the person plunged into the ice cold waters. I think it was twenty five dollars a dunk.

I should know, I had volunteered for the ducking stool my freshman year. I remember I had worn a Sailor Mercury cosplay and the water had been darn near freezing. My sister was sick that year with a cold. I also think that was the year Jamie had been given a very public gunging by Heather Ford. Who would soon become my second mom. Talk about a strange twist of fate.

That date of “Safe Halloween” of course had been moved to a week before Halloween now. Because the down decided to host its own Halloween celebration on Halloween Proper and still wanted to keep the later. Cerridwen too had been gunged at that celebration. That had been my Sophomore year, I heard about it from Lily. I had been out of town that day, visiting Aunt Isabella and Uncle William.

Anyway, Halloween is a big money day. Think about it, people spend truckloads of money on fancy decorations, costumes, candy and props. And well my sister wanted to cash in on, so this year she decided to host an “Haunted Farm” thing on the back forty acres of land that had set untouched since Grandpaw Brewer Had passed away back in twenty eleven.

“So, since its Halloween time again. My sister had decided to host a few 'Haunted Farm' tours. Like she wants to do at least one. Problem is, were kind of short on help.” I said peering toward Daisy and Jamie. “And I was wondering if you two would like to help? I'm going to ask the others when I see them. I just want to know I could count on you two.” I said in an almost pleading tone of voice.

Jamie was the first to respond.

“Sure, I'll love to help. Plus dad's thinking about opening up a 'Spirit of Halloween' thing down in one of the abandoned warehouse downtown. You know the one on the other side of Main Street, the one on Mound Street? Its right across from the railroad station. Can't miss it. Plenty of parking too.” Jamie said as she nodded her head.

“Is it beside the ice plant and the bottling plant?” I asked. Jamie had piqued my curiosity. Benton for its small size did have a surprising number of thriving businesses.

“Yep! Right beside William Ice House and Holmes Bottling Works. Both still in operation and both locally owned.” Jamie said. I could tell the gears were starting to turn in her head. A coy look crossed her face. “And since Kayla's putting on this spooky tour, maybe she'll consider buying everything from that pop up store my dad's going to open.”

“Sure! Heck were family girl, almost family and family supports family. I'll mention something to Kayla after church this afternoon. She kind of wants to have a after church family date type thing.” I said blushing a little. “Heather's busy moving her stuff in. You know from apartment in Clinton to are little rural homestead. And it's been kind of trying on all of us, not only the drive, but the loading and unloading.”

“I know.” Jamie said giggling. “You guys have been working poor Matt and Ben to the bones. And Daisy too!” She shifted her blue eyes toward Daisy who was putting away the third doughnut of the morning. I'm still amazed that the girl can just eat like a little piggy and not gain an ounce of weight. With me it was just the opposite. It seemed if I ate one slice of pizza, I would gain a pound. Not really, but it felt like that.

“Hey! We paid them. Like eight dollars a hour!” I said blushing a little. “Plus it was kind of hot, watching Matthew work. Like when they started moving those big pieces, he took off his shirt and o' girl did you see his best. That boy was cute.” I paused. “And don't you say anything. I know you were checking out your boyfriend too.” I teased. And much to my delight I watched Jamie's face flush with color. Daisy on the other hand was going for her fourth doughnut and her second cup of coffee.

“You guys are weird.” Daisy said with a sigh. “All you two did was stand around and watch Ben and Matthew do a little heavy lifting. While Cerridwen and I did most of the packing and lifting.” And with that she went for her fifth doughnut. Not that I'm complaining. I had brought two big boxes, because I had been expecting a bigger crowd.

Jamie rolled her eyes at this. “Right, and in the end Heather decided both you and Cerridwen deserved a little more than eight dollars a hour. I think she slipped you guys sixty dollars or something. While Madeline and I only got like forty something dollars.” Jamie paused. “And we were supervising you two dorks.”

Daisy said nothing and only rolled her shoulders.

“Anyway back on topic.” I said. “So does anybody have any major plans for October? Family trips? Hunting trips? Fishing Trips?” I asked as I peered toward Jamie and Daisy. Both shook their heads.

“You know, the boys are going to be hunting right?” Jamie said after a long moment of thinking. “Its archery season. Getting our boyfriends to volunteer for anything would be like pulling teeth. Not till one of them kills a deer at least.”

“True. Also is anybody going to volunteer for that yearly dunking stool thing?” I asked.

And Jamie surprised us all by slowly raising her hand.

“Brewer farms will donate twenty five dollars.” I said, smirking a little.

“Potter's Mercantile gone and donated twenty five more dollars.” Jamie said, forcing a little.

“I'm sure Sweet Magnolia would also donate twenty five dollars.” Daisy said helping herself to another doughnut at this point I've decided that the girl was going to gorge herself on the sweet treats and drown her sorrow in coffee.

“Don't forget about Croft Veterinary Clinic.” I chimed in. “Twenty five dollars their.” I paused. “That's enough dunking. And I'm sure Matthew and Ben can get Sunflower Food store to donate another twenty five dollars.”

“Whitethorn Family Hair Salon too!” Chimed in Daisy. Who it seemed had had her fill of doughnuts and coffee. Or maybe she had noticed me looking at her, smirking. I pushed the half empty box toward her, she swallowed hard and helped herself to another.

“Wow. So many people want to see me get dunked.. really girl, you going to eat all those doughnuts! You're going to turn into a little piggy!” Scolded Jamie in a joking tone of voice. “Life is totally unfair, some girls get all the luck, they can eat, eat and eat and not gain one ounce of weight. Others just gain ten pounds by looking at a slice of Pizza.”

Daisy pouted a little.

“Wow!” I said blinking. “That's going to the perfect costume for you!” I said peering toward Daisy. “Peppa the Pig!” I said snapping my fingers together.

Jamie busted out laughing. A few seconds later I did too. Daisy though just folded her arms across her chest and set her lips into a pout. If looks could kill, she would have killed me fifteen times over.

“Aww don't pout sis.” Jamie said, throwing her arms around Daisy's thin shoulders. “Were just teasing you, we're not going to force you to be anything. I was kind of hoping you'll volunteer for the ducking stool too.” She said hugging our group pet. Okay that was a bit mean, but it was cute watching Jamie hug Daisy and a few minutes later I found myself moving over to hug her too. Daisy was a pest, but she was family. And family stuck together.

“I'm not popular enough!” Daisy whined after being held for a few minutes.

“I don't know.” I said, smirking a little.

“Why don't you go ahead and just volunteer.” Jamie said, smirking a little. “Trust me, people can't donate if you don't volunteer.” Jamie cackled again. “And if you don't volunteer, you would never know how popular you are.”

I was just about to open my mouth when I heard the chiming of the Bells of All Saints Catholic church. The Catholic church holds two masses, one at eight o' clock and one at ten. So the summing of All Saint's bell was something of a warning to us that our own Mass was about to take in.

“Any of you serving today?” I asked.

“Fr. Percy has me down for being the acolyte.” Daisy said.

“Does Fr. Percy know you're in girl mode?” Jamie asked.

“Nope. And Fr. Percy should count himself lucky that he has so many acolyte's willing to help out. Considering the size of St. Mary's, I doubt he can afford to be picky.” She paused and shoved another doughnut into her mouth.

I nodded my head. Another thing about us, all of us took turns serving as acolytes at the local Episcopal Church, including Cerridwen, who did it just because she wanted to be included. Cerridwen and her family are Pagans and belong to a small colony of around one hundred Pagan families that live in that area, fittingly called Haunted Hollow by many. Many of the Pagan's families tend to keep to themselves. But since Fr. Percy took over St. Mary's, a good many seem to attend services, a few have even joined. I think Cerridwen might want to join Rowan; her father seems to be good friends with Fr. Percy and the two joke around a lot. Pandora, her mother, never one for formality calls him “Kiddo” for reasons neither have explained to me.

“So, you and I are serving together?” I asked Daisy who at this time had shoved another doughnut into her mouth and had washed it down with another cup of coffee.

Daisy nodded her head.

“Great, you better not fall asleep on me! I know you stuffed yourself with donuts!”

Daisy was just about to respond when I cleared my voice and rose up. “I think that a good stopping place. Jamie, I'll be telling Kayla about the pop up shop and I'll make sure she buys everything from your family story. As you said family supports family. Daisy, please consider volunteering for the ducking stool, and Jamie if you're going to volunteer, don't do what I did. Don't color and cut your hair to match the character.”

We all had a giggle at that.

“And.. can I count on you two to be there to help Kayla and I with her Halloween Project?”

“You can count on us!” Jamie and Daisy said in unison. “And we'll pass the word along too!”

I nodded my head.

“Thanks guys, and so with that I call this meeting of the doughnut club to a end! Hope to see you all next Saturday night at the old camp ground and back her on Sunday morning for coffee and doughnuts. That is, if Daisy does not eat them all!” And with that another weekly meeting of the Doughnut Club came to a close and another week in my life started.

he gymnasium was crammed full of people. It was the second week of October and Halloween was just around the corner. With Halloween being so close, our student council on a whim had decided to hold something of a Harvest Celebration. You could tell it had been a last minute decision, because everything seemed thrown together. But all in all, things seemed to be turning out alright. Like I said, the gymnasium was crammed full of people, both students and teachers alike seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The savory smell of fresh popped popcorn filled the air. The Home Educational students had been put in charge of the food. And had settled on popcorn, hot dogs and ice cold sodas. A small bag of popcorn would cost you around seventy five cents, a hot dollar would cost you a dollar twenty five and a faygo pop, either cola, strawberry, orange or grape would cost you fifty cents. The Art students had been put in charge of decorations and with what little money they had been allotted they had done a wonderful job.

Pumpkin's provided by my sisters farm along with hay bales dotted the gym. Along with paintings of witches with the classic fairy tale appearance of green skin with warts on their noses, wearing long black dresses, crooked hats, mounted on broomsticks and sailing across star splashed skies hung all around the gym. Some panties even featured spooky graveyards with half sunken stones and moss covered angels. Some featured rundown houses with sagging roofs, and broken shutters. I guess since the celebration was to take place during school hours they wanted to conjure up spooky images via paintings.

As far as attractions went, we had a cake-walk toward the back of the gymnasium, in the center we had a bobbing for apples thing and toward the exit we had the kissing booth. Now, I had volunteered for the kissing booth. I mean I've done everything else, I've been in a dunking booth, once my freshman year and again the summer of my sophomore year. I was also covered from head to toe in green colored apple-sauce my freshman year as well for some charity. And also my freshman year I volunteered for the town's ducking stool. Heck, I've even been covered in baked beans! So it's safe to say I'm no stranger when it comes to getting messy for charity.

The only thing I've never done though is a kissing booth. So shrugging my shoulders, I decided to volunteer for that, you know, knock that off my high school bucket list. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a teenage movie. Anyway, since the whole deal was only to last an hour, I was to be the only one staffing the booth.

Now, I'm a shy girl, and I have a steady boyfriend, who when informed that I'll be volunteering for said booth only shrugged his shoulders. I think he was a little on edge with me volunteering, but he finally gave his nod of approval when I moved in and gave him a good kiss on the lips. Now my sister has a saying, you're not claimed till they put a ring on your finger. With that piece of advice, I felt free enough to volunteer. After all, neither Matthew and I had placed a ring on each other's figures. And while we were close enough, we still understood that either one of us could break off the relationship at a moment's notice.

Anyway, as it turns out I was the only girl brave enough to volunteer. Now me volunteering caused a few problems. Our student council, a collection of eight students, drawn from all four grades, was overjoyed that I had volunteered and accepted my application without batting a eye. Now the teachers on the other, they were a bit hesitant. See, I'm a odd ball, I'm the school's only Transgender student.

The fact that I used to be a shy boy named Mark cut very little ice with the students. None of them really knew me as Mark, as far as they were concerned, I had always been Madeline. I started my freshman year as Madeline, I tried out for the cheerleading team as a girl named Madeline, I had volunteered for the Discover Benton dunking booth girl named Madeline, I had volunteered for the fourth of July dunking booth as a girl named Madeline, My report card said Madeline, the teachers called me Madeline, heck even my bank account and my drivers permit said Madeline. So as far as my peers were concerned, I was just an underdeveloped girl named Madeline.

Really only the staff knew about my history as Mark. And that was the hang up and that was the main reason they hesitated till at last at the eleventh hour when no willing volunteer could be found, they were once more forced to turn to me. To me, it was a repeat of the thanksgiving charity fair.

And so that matter settled, I decided to go all out. I had this little back dress that fell just above the knee. The dress showed off what little cleavage I had. It was flirty and flattering too and could be dressed up or down, I paired it with my best pair of shoes, a pair of black ankle strap high heels. Those had been my first real pair of shoes I had brought, I brought them with my own money and my sister's help. I liked them because they made me feel taller than I really was.

For make-up and hair, I decided to go for a sultry look. I'll never forget the way my sister and her beloved looked at me that morning while I got dressed. Both just stood in the doorway of the bathroom, arms folded across their chest, head cocked to the side and a general look of concern showing clearly on their faces. But neither said anything about my sultry look or my heavy handed use of eyeliner and lipstick.

Heather did however say in an off-handed way that I was pulchritudinous enough without so much make-up and such a dress should only be worn on a date and not to a school's kissing booth. When I asked her to define the word “Pulchritudinous'' She simply wrote it down and told me to google it. And so I did, I pulled out my phone and googled it. It turns out the word is an adjective that means physically beautiful or attractive. Pulchritudinous in short it's a grandiose way of saying someone or something is good-looking.

But after that little comment I was left along. There was really nothing else for me to do besides pack my school bag, pick up the brown paper bag that held my lunch. A peanut butter sandwich, a few snack cakes and a juice box. The classic school lunch, and so with my lunch in hand, I bounced down the concrete steps and flagged down the trolley and I was soon off to school.

And so with all that covered, I'm now sitting here on a wooden stool behind a wooden counter. A large pickle jar sits on the wooden counter. A piece of pink construction paper is taped to the jar and the words 'Kisses for Charity' are written on it. Under that are the words 'All Kisses on Cheeks! - One dollar!” The jar is empty and next to the jar one would find four tubs of lipstick.

And so I wait. My fingernails, freshly painted and polish drum on the countertop and my eyes scan the crowded gym. And from the looks of things, only the cake-walk might bring in some money, because let's face it, everybody loves cake. I'm still surprised the classic pie toss is missing from the lineup of games, and the crowd pleased the dunking booth, heck they could have even hired a pitch and burst if they wanted too. But then again, with only a week to plan and a shoe-string budget to work with, it's a wonder this ever got started in the first place.

A quarter of an hour passed before anybody really passed the booth. Despite my flirty stance most of the boys stood to the side and only peered toward the booth. I think many of them were debating if they should risk Matthew's wrath by going up and dropping a dollar. A flock of girls also stood, shooting daggers at me. I knew soon another rumor about me would be floating along the corridors of the school.

I mean I was aware people talked about it. I mean school girls love to gossip, For example if you get Jamie and I together before long we are chatting it up. Like we talk about who's going steady with who, who's cheating on who and with whom. Who's given up their virginity to so so. Lily, and Robin though they often frown on this, soon join in. What can I say, we girls like to network out. Our social network is vast and often overlaps others. And through that social networking, I've discovered a few rumors about me.

One rumor was I seemed to enjoy getting dunked, because I had volunteered for the dunking booth twice. And the town's dunking stool once, another rumor stated that I might have developed a “Fetish” for getting messy since I often ended up getting messy a lot. That rumor piqued my curiosity and caused me to go to google. I discovered something called W.A.M that stood for (Wet and Messy) and it was a fetish. It seemed there was a whole internet community devoted to it. After doing a little more reading, I decided it was not really a fetish for me, but just something that often happens because I had a charitable heart and people would often pay good money to see somebody humiliated.

I did have to explain to Kayla why I was googling that though. I don't think she was amused, and I don't think she was upset. I think she was more confused than anything. For a moment I thought she was going to pull me over her lap for a one on one talk with Ms. Hair Brush, but I escaped that fate by the skin of my teeth.

Another rumor centered on me again being some kind of robot because I still used the staff's bathroom to change into my P.E uniform and to change into my cheer uniform. That rumor had followed me around since my freshman year.

The final rumor centered on me and my group of friends who gathered in the woods to tell spooky stories. That rumor said we were really gathering in the woods to perform hexing rituals, and that we would often dance around the campfire naked and offer kittens and puppies to some tree. That was silly, anybody who knew me, knew I was a semi-devoted Anglican who attended weekly services at our town's Episcopal Church, Saint Mary's. The rumor was cool though, though it might offend the witch of our group Cerridwen, who was a gentle green witch who often blessed us for safe travels through the woods.

This musing ate up fifteen more minutes of my time. But it gave me something to do as I waited and waited.

To be continued~

So I was thirty minutes into my one hour shift of the kissing booth. And so far I had handed out no kisses. I thought the whole thing was a bust like the rest of the fair. I mean, when you think about it, it was nothing more than a thrown together event. Thirty minutes in and the cake-walk had run out of cake, the bobbing for apple's thing had run out of apples. And only the food booths seemed to be thriving, I guess when you consider the quality of the cafeteria food. Okay let me tell you about the cafeteria food, most of the time it was decent. Bland, poorly seasoned and often overcooked and sometimes even raw or still frozen.

The milk was often warm and watery, the hamburgers often soggy and poorly seasoned, the meatloaf.. often moved and sometimes growled at you if you poked it with your fork or spoon. The chicken, often baked and seasoned with lemon and a bit of butter was often raw and still bleed when you poked it. Your main sides were either rice, that was not really rice but a clump of something that looked like rice, butter beans that were okay, peas, those were a treat because they were seasoned with tiny strips of bacon. And sometimes you had boiled okra that was slimy and slithered down your throat or gushed a clear liquid when you cut into it.

Bread was, we'll have two choices when it came to bread. A dinner roll that was hard as a stone and often had to be soaked in the milk to make it soft enough for you to chew on it, then you had to chew a good while before you could swallow it. Then it felt like a stone when you tried to pass it. Beside the dinner roll you had a small, square slice of yellow cornbread. The cornbread tasted okay and was only served thrice a year, the first one was before Thanksgiving break, the second time was before the Christmas Holiday and the last time was before Easter Break or Spring Break.

Anyway, with food like that being served on a daily basis, it's no wonder that students are flocking to drop their dollars on hot dogs and popcorn, and heck I think they're even starting to sell pizza by the slice, one slice of pizza like a dollar seventy five or two dollars. Jesus, talk about milking the cow till the tit runs out of milk.

I was about to abandon my post when from the shadows a shy freshman appeared. He had short blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. He was on the short side, blushing he reached into his pocket and dropped a dollar into the jar. I smiled and then leaned over and kissed him on the cheeks. I had applied an extra thick coating of lipstick a few moments ago so my lips were still wet, wet enough to leave a mark.

The boy blushed, and quickly started to retreat. I giggled, it was something cute about watching the boy retreat into the shadows. A moment later another boy appeared, he too was on the short side, he was dressed in a pair of khaki colored trousers, brown dress shoes, a white button down long sleeve shirt and blue blazer. His brown hair was just long enough to be kind of shaggy.

He too was blushing as he neared the booth and dropped his dollar into the jar. Smirking a little I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. It was my turn to blush, as his cheeks were smooth as silk and I could smell some tropical aftershave floating around him. That scent drove me wild! If I had not already promised myself to Matthew, I would totally love to have a tumble with him in the hayloft or roll with him in the clover. Now it was my turn to flush! Before I could catch myself I found myself mentally undressing him, starting with his shirt and peeling away the layers like one would peel an orange. And oh what a juicy orange that would be!

It took me a moment to regain myself. But I soon did, even though I was still riding a pretty big wave. A few more boys showed up and I duly kissed them. None of them really sparked the excitement the second boy had.

And so I thought the highlight of the day had passed. Things were starting to wind down now. The crowds were starting to melt away, I'm not sure what wisdom possessed our school to hold the fair in the middle of the school day, putting a time limit on these things always seemed to be dooming them from the start.

And so with the last few minutes of the little celebration ticking down. I counted myself lucky to escape as clean as I did. I mean the Kissing booth had been fun, and it might have been a bit more embarrassing than the dunking booth. But it was another item I could check off my bucket list. Seeing the crowd starting, I decided to close up shop early. My jar had only four or maybe five lonely one dollars bills in it.

Then much to my chagrin, the whole football team seemed to start to line up by the booth. All twenty of them, they were quite a sight to see too. All of them dressed in button down shirts and slacks, complete with ties. Once more I felt my cheeks starting to flush as they lined up in front of the booth. And then one by one they dropped their dollars into the jar.

And one by one I kissed them on the cheeks, leaving my 'Mark' upon each of their cheeks. I know this is going to sound rude, but I could not help laugh the whole time. I mean at this point I felt like I was really living in a high school movie? I mean it's a classic trope, the shy girl volunteers for the kissing booth and has the time of her life, at least I think it is. And the football team lining up to be kissed by the sky girl, that has to be a classic cliche.

Looking back I think I did something most high school girls dream about doing. I kissed the whole football time! Kind of odd yes, but then again you only pass through high school once. And in one more year, I'll be walking across the stage, shaking hands with some shot caller, I would then receive my diploma and all of this would be forgotten? I mean nobody is going to remember this in five or six years? So why not live it up a little, make a few waves and try to make something of it.

Anyway, one by one I worked my way down the line, kissing each football player as they dropped the dollars into my little jar. Till at last the last one had gone on his merry little way. About that time, I was about to close up the booth. Everything else had at this point shut down. And the student's who had volunteered to clean up the gym were starting to flood in.

A teacher, an older woman with her auburn hair pulled back in a tight bun passed by the booth and collected the jar. She took one look at me and shook her head. She had a very sour expression on her face, a kind of granny look. Very dole.

“I trust you had fun Ms. Brewer?” She said as she screwed the lid on the jar and tucked the jar under the crook of her arm.

“I had a blast.” I said blushing as I stepped from behind the booth.

“In my day, a girl who would have volunteered for such a booth would have been considered.. of low breeding and of low morals. She would have been considered no better than the street walkers of grease row and bar queens that hang out in the dusty, musty, fifthly roadside bars that you see up country.”
I blinked and blinked again. At that moment I felt like I had been smashed with a ton of bricks. The weight of the words were bone crushing. I saw red, my nostrils flared and my hands started to tremble. I wanted to scream something, but I did not trust myself to speak and so I kept my mouth firmly shut.

“Furthermore, We would have never considered having such an attraction in my day. That booth, along with its cousin the dunking booth are designs that lure out the devil. They feast upon man's lustful nature and are staffed by low moral women, who flaunt their bodies around like some whore. I just can't bring myself to approve of it. Even if it is for charity. Furthermore, I can not approve of that upcoming holiday, it's the devil's birthday.”

And with her little speech done, she climbed down from her soap box and left. And once she maid through those two double doors, the air in the room became so much lighter. I did however feel a little crestfallen. I had volunteered for the booth to raise money for the children's hospital, the same hospital I had spent three weeks in following the wreck that had killed my mother and left me adrift. I was just about to lash out and vent on the wooden booth, when I felt somebody touching me on the shoulder.

I quickly spun around and then I blink, their standing only a few inches from was Matthew, I felt my cheeks fill with color as smiled at me, that smiled cause me to lose all my anger, and was like a fresh ray of sunshine busting through the darken clouds that had just surrounded my heart.

“Is the kissing booth still open?” He asked, smiling a little.

“Its always open for you babe.” I said returning his smirk with a little impish smile of my own. I then tossed my arms around him and kissed him, and unlike the others, I kissed him full on the mouth. Our lips touched and passion flooded through are bodies. A second later, are lips touched and I felt his arms fall down around me, embracing me, I lost myself in his firm grip and gave into the passion. It felt so good to give into the passion, I don't know how long we kissed because time seem to stand still, and the whole world seemed to empty.

To me, that was the best way to end my adventure in the kissing booth, getting to kiss the one boy who matters, the one boy I hope to call my husband, the one boy I hoped to start a family with, that one very special boy that I hope to grow old with. And I did, and another chapter in my life drew to a close.

The End.