Andersonville 10 -- Boy Trouble                  by: Kelly Davidson

 

"Come on out, Linda," Judge Herns told me.

"I don’t want to," was my reply back to her. "I look ridiculous!"

"It can’t be that bad," I heard Dr. Green say.

"Yes it can," I responded through the closed door. "Why do I have to do this?"

"Because it’s part of your agreement for having me change you back into Linda," Judge Herns replied a little sternly. "Now come out here so we can see how you look."

I reluctantly opened the door and stepped out wearing the ridiculous outfit that had been given to me by Vicki Marshall, my dance instructor. It was a full fledged, pink ballet outfit with a wide tutu overflowing with lace and glitter. There was even a small crown to wear on my head as well as the tight, pink ballet shoes with ribbons on them. I almost screamed when Vicki had handed the outfit to me with a delightful smile that seemed to be stamped on her face all the time. My punishment, one of them anyway, for escaping from Andersonville and causing so much trouble, had been to start attending Vicki Marshall’s dance studio and learn ballet. Judge Herns not only thought it was a fitting punishment but felt it would help in my acceptance of who I was – again.

"Oh my," Dr. Green said as she covered her face with her hand to hide her smile. "I mean – oh my."

"It’s not funny," I told her crossly.

Judge Herns placed her hand on my shoulder, smiled, and said; "You look adorable Linda. So precious and cute."

"Maybe if I was six years old," I complained.

"That can be arranged," the Judge said calmly while raising up her hands.

I quickly grabbed them with my own and replied, "No, that’s okay June. I didn’t mean it that way."

"Are you sure?" she asked with eyes that indicated she didn’t want to hear anymore complaints out of me. "Because it sounded for a moment like you were unhappy."

"Not with who I am," I tried to explain. "It’s just that this outfit isn’t something that someone my age would wear. I mean, look at it! It’s so – so – "

"Girlish," June Herns finished for me.

"Yes, little girl girlish," I agreed.

"Your friends don’t think that way," Carol Green pointed out while trying to hide her amused smile from me.

"My friends are temps, doctor," I shot back. "They don’t feel the same way I do."

"And what way would that be?" Judge Herns asked in a somewhat stern tone.

I realized it had been the wrong thing to say. The days of allowing me to grow and accept my womanhood on my own timeline were over. Judge Herns was now forcing the issue on me at a much faster pace. Signing me up for ballet was just one of those methods.

"Look June," I tried to explain, "I’m a adult now. Wearing this makes me feel like I’m 6 years old again. That’s not an easy thing to deal with on top of everything else."

"So, you want to feel more like an ‘adult’, do you," she said with a glimmer in her eye and a smile that caused me to fidget nervously.

"Maybe," I answered weakly. "Look June, I’m trying. Tell her how hard I’m trying, Dr. Green. I’m dressing more feminine, I’m trying to be more cheerful all the time, and I’m even dating someone on a somewhat regular basis."

"You have come far since your return, Linda," Dr. Green answered honestly.

"I see it too," Judge Herns agreed. "Which is why I’m going to honor your request to do something that will make you look and feel more like an adult, young lady."

‘Oh oh,’ I thought to myself. When the Judge started giving you what you wanted it only meant one thing – trouble.

"In a couple of months the High school will be doing a spring show at the mall. Actually, they do this every year and the promoters always ask for volunteers from high school to participate," Judge Herns smiled. "Even though you’ve already graduated, I’m sure they won’t mind having you join your classmates – in fact, I can guarantee you’ll be allowed to participate."

"I guess I could handle that," I replied cautiously.

It was another one of my punishments the Judge had assigned to me; having to wear skirts or dresses all week long, including Friday, which had been a casual ‘pants’ day for me. So now she was going to make me walk on a stage wearing a spring dress, I couldn’t see the punishment in that.

"Well, these are sort of special dresses, Linda," the Judge commented with a thin smile. "You see, it’s a spring bridal show and I’m going to make sure you model for both shows." Carol Green giggled at my predicament.

"A – a – a bride!" I stuttered out. Visions of me being dressed in white played havoc on my mind. Oh, how my mother was going to love this.

"Yes Linda, a bride," Judge Herns said with a stern eye. "You don’t have any objection to this, do you? After all, you can’t look and feel any more like an adult woman then on your wedding day."

What could I say? I smiled as pleasantly as I could and swore to keep my big mouth shut the next time. I didn’t think it could get much worse but I was about to be proven wrong.

"Oh, and by the way," Judge Herns said with a somewhat evil smile that indicated she was going to enjoy what she had to say next. "In case Vicki didn’t tell you, your dance recital next month is being held at Peace River."

"You mean in front of Judge Jasper?" I swallowed hard.

"I’m sure he’ll be there," she answered with a grin.

This time I wanted to scream out in frustration.

Fade out…

*******************

Voice of Dennis Butz – Thousands of years ago there was a war in the heavens, between the gods of old and the new arrivals. During the process the earth was almost destroyed by fire and floods as our war ran unchecked. Finally, after centuries of conflict, an uneasy peace was achieved between our two people. Both sides recognized they needed the other, but neither side was willing to trust the other. However, as man grew in power and knowledge he challenged the gods themselves. To maintain the balance and keep the peace, a buffer zone was needed.

It’s a small town -- just like thousands of others spread across the land. Quiet streets, family-run businesses, and Saturday afternoon picnics. But this town is different. It’s a place for lost souls, for misguided individuals, and for those who are in need of a second chance. It’s also the last, best chance I have of freeing my people from their captors. The name of the project is Restoration; the name of the town is Andersonville!

********************

 

Andersonville 10 -- Boy trouble

By Kelly Davidson

Edited by Nelson T.

 

This story dedicated to all the TG editors out there who volunteer your time. You ladies and gentlemen are the backbone of our community.

Fade in…

The car slid sideways on the back road, causing me to slow down slightly. I didn’t want to die, at least not yet. No, that honor was for the Coon River Bridge just up the road. I wiped the tears from my eyes and paid more attention to my driving.

‘Why are people so mean?’ I asked myself. ‘It wasn’t my fault that I had been born with a defective gland that had left me both fat and ugly. Why did the other kids have to pick on me? What had I done to them?’

"Nothing," I shouted out. I had done nothing at all. I was one of the nicest 17-year-old kids in that school and yet I was totally friendless. I hadn’t even been asked out on a date unlike my younger sister who had to fight the boys off. She was everything I was not; pretty, confident, and skinny. I on the other hand, I was 350 pounds of fat that the stingiest diet couldn’t fix. All because of a gland in my body that wouldn’t do it’s job. The medication I took helped but only to the point that I wasn’t a hundred pounds heavier.

As a result of my situation I was alone, even my mother didn’t feel close to me. A former beauty queen, she looked at me with embarrassment whenever I met her friends. Most of my mother’s time was spent with my sister, as she lived out her former glory through her. It should’ve been, would’ve been me, if it wasn’t for this damn, defective gland. I had become the forgotten daughter, a role that I had learned to hate over the years.

Then there were my classmates at school who taunted me. I learned to live with the names and cruel jokes over the years, but I never learned how to not let it bother me. Many days after school I would sit in my room and cry my eyes out. But today had been the worse.

My tormentor’s name was Daniel Lewis, a boy about my age who was the high school prankster. He got his laughs at the expense of others, by playing jokes and making his victims look foolish. Even knowing this, I was so desperate to have someone like me that when he said hello to me, I let my guard down. He was asking me about a homework assignment in our science class and seemed interested in having me help him out. Visions of having someone coming over to my house to study danced in my head. Maybe Daniel would even get to like me, and at last I would have a friend to spend time with during the long, lonely hours of the day. I was so caught up in the idea that I didn’t feel him slip the note onto my butt when we parted.

As I walked down the hallway I heard the other kids laughing at me. I didn’t pay much attention to it – even though they were laughing louder then normal. That’s when a teacher stopped me and lifted off the sign. It was piece of paper with the words; ‘Warning, Wide load’ printed on it in bold, red letters. I looked back to see Daniel standing next to his friends laughing his butt off. I felt crushed, how could he be so cruel; how could they all be so cruel? I forgot about my next class; I jumped into my car and drove off in a cloud of dust. I couldn’t stand living in this body anymore; I just wanted to die.

I stopped the car suddenly in front of the bridge and got out. There was nothing special about this place other than the fact I had spent many hours here thinking and tossing rocks into the muddy river below. It stood about 70 feet above Wild Coon River and I knew such a fall in my condition would leave little chance for survival. The bridge was located in a deserted area, allowing me the privacy to die alone just as I had lived my short life. I climbed up onto the rusted side of the bridge and stared down at the dirty water churning violently below me.

I closed my eyes and tears began to fall, then I started bawling loudly. I didn’t want to die – I wanted to live! But living had become too painful and this was my only option left. I hugged the cold, metal post of the bridge for comfort then looked back down at the water below.

"Please forgive me, God," I cried out as I closed my eyes. I prepared myself to let go.

"Don’t jump, Shannon," someone said softly.

"What?" I opened my eyes and saw a young woman standing nearby with a sad expression on her face.

"How did you know my name?" I asked in a shaky voice. "Don’t try to stop me, I’ve made up my mind."

"I know you have, Shannon," the woman said while moving just a little closer to me. "That’s why I’m here. I can feel your pain sister, and I’ve come to offer you another way out."

"How can you feel my pain?" I questioned with tears in my eyes. "Look at you, you’re beautiful. But I’m – I’m – UGLY!"

"No Shannon, you’re a beautiful person inside. I know how much it hurts having people pick on you the way they do, because they only see the outside. But I can see the real you, and you’re so beautiful. I want to help you see your inner beauty as well."

"How?" I wept. "What can you do to help me? No one," I started to break down and cry again, "no one loves me. No one cares about me. Not my mother, not my sister, and not even my father who I haven’t seen since I was a little girl."

"I care, Shannon," the woman said softly. "Please, take my hand and come with me. I’ll take this pain of loneliness away."

"Who are you," I sniffed.

"I can’t tell you," she replied. "You have to trust that I can do what I say I can do, Shannon."

"Fat chance," I replied. "I’ll jump if you don’t tell me."

 

"I know you will," she sighed. "Okay, I’m going to break a rule here. I’m an Angel, Shannon. My name is, Trisha Brown."

"That’s a funny name for a Angel, I don’t believe you Trisha! I don’t believe you’re an Angel and I don’t believe you really care. I believe you’re just like all the others."

"I’m not," she insisted. "If I didn’t care, would I be begging you not to jump."

I stopped to let her words sink in. I wanted to believe her; to believe someone still cared about me. I looked back down at the churning water below and realized how much I hated the idea of killing myself. But I had to know what she wanted from me if I was going to get down off this railing.

"What – what do you want of me?"

"I want to make you whole again," she replied.

"How will you do that?"

"By taking you to a place where you’ll be wanted. By giving you a new life where people will respect you for who you are. You’ll be given a new body, one that matches the inter beauty inside you. But to do this you need to trust me and take my hand." She walked closer and held it out to me.

"Please Shannon, this is your last chance at life. Don’t blow it because of some jerk who uses the pain of others to make himself feel good."

"You know?" I asked tearfully.

"I know," she said sadly. "Take my hand Shannon, please." She gave me a hopefully expression.

I grabbed her hand with mine and stepped down off the bridge rail; hoping that the men in the white jackets wouldn’t come running out of the woods to tackle me.

"What now?" I asked.

"Now I take you to your new home," Trisha said with a warm smile.

***********************************

 

The next morning Trisha and I flew to a town in the middle of no where. As we drove toward downtown I stared out at the houses positioned along the road. Everything seemed so neat and orderly, not something you would find in a regular town. When we arrived at the courthouse I was quickly ushered into the courtroom and told to sit in front.

"Don’t worry, Shannon," Trisha smiled, "this’ll all work out okay."

My head was spinning, and I was beginning to feeling that maybe I had made a mistake by agreeing to come here. As miserable as I was, I wanted to go back home where everything was familiar to me. A blonde-hair woman entered the courtroom from the side door and Trisha went over to talk to her. The other woman nodded her head a few times then gave me a pleasant smile.

A police officer appeared at the same door a moment later and joined the conversation. He was a good-looking cop with a big, bushy mustache and soft eyes. He whispered a few things to Trisha then took his place near the Judges bench.

"All rise!" he bellowed. "The Municipal Court of Andersonville, Montana in now in session. The Honorable Judge Herns is presiding."

I saw a lady in her late 40’s or early 50’s walk into the courtroom followed by a teenager girl. The Judge took her seat on the bench and looked over the report handed to her by the cop. For some reason she sort of reminded me of Judge Judy from the TV show with the same name. I saw the teenager girl take a seat in front of a computer and start typing.

"Officer Williams, what is the first case today?" the Judge asked in a dry tone.

"The first case is Miss Shannon Royal. She is brought before you, Your Honor, because she was going to kill herself."

"So I see," the Judge said while giving me her full attention. "Do you have anything to say Miss Royal before I decide your sentence?"

 

"Sentence, Your Honor?" I was confused. I was on trial? For what crime? The Judge seemed to read my mind and answered my questions.

"Yes Miss Royal, you’re trial for a terrible crime," she spoke matter of factly. "You were going to murder someone, yourself. In this court, murder is considered a very serious crime. Now, do you have anything to say in your defense?"

"Your Honor, Trisha never told me I would be put on trial if I came here." I became worried about what would happen next. I looked over at Trisha but she sat there with a confident look on her face as if everything would work out okay.

"I see, so you have nothing to say before I sentence you," the Judge told me with a frown.

"Wait," I cried out. "Your Honor, it’s true I was going to kill myself so I guess I’m guilty of the crime. But please understand, Judge, I didn’t make that decision lightly. I was in so much pain, I still am. I just wanted people to like me and no matter how hard I tried, I always failed. The only thing people saw was this body, Your Honor. People can be very cruel."

"Yes, Miss Royal, they can be," Judge Herns nodded. "But that still doesn’t make your actions right."

"I guess not," I agreed while hanging my head.

The Judge looked at me in silence, as if debating my fate. Her stern stare made me nervous and I found myself fidgeting a little. Was she going to let me stay or kick me out? More important, did I want to stay?

"Miss Royal," the Judge said in a cool and businesslike tone, "I understand the reasons which drove you to try to commit suicide that day. I don’t agree with your actions, but I do understand the reasons. I’m going to give you one last chance to leave this place and return back home to your mother and sister. If you do, any memory of this event will be wiped out of your mind.

"If you decide to stay I’ll provide you a with new body, one that other girls will look up to and admire. However, the price of this new life I’m offering is that you’ll have to remain in Andersonville for the rest of your life. You will not try to leave this town until I decide you’re ready. From this point on Andersonville will be your new home."

Judge Herns made it sound so cold and permanent, like I was giving up my freedom. Maybe that was true but then I realized I wasn’t really free at all; not with this body I had. If I went back I would always be the butt of everyone else’s jokes and end up trying to kill myself again. I couldn’t go back there. Staying and being given a new life was my only chance at saving myself.

"I’ll stay, Your Honor," I told her.

"Stand still please," she replied.

Judge Herns raised her hands and placed them together in front of her. She closed her eyes and seemed to be concentrating on something in her mind. None of this made any sense to me, how was she planning to provide me with a new body? Then I noticed the palms of her hands were glowing and a small ball of light with pink sparkles rose from them. The Judge slowly opened up her eyes and focused on me. That’s when I noticed my feet were stuck to the ground like glue, and I was unable to move.

The ball of light shot out of the Judges hands like a bullet out of a rifle. It struck me right between the breasts and although I didn’t feel it hit me, I found myself backing up as if there had been an impact. Whatever it was caused my body to tingle from head to toe.

"What was that?" I asked the Judge, who returned my question with a thin smile.

"I’m sorry we don’t have a male doctor for you to talk to, Miss Royal. You’ll go with Dr. Green now who is standing over there; she’ll explain everything to you when it happens."

"When what happens?" I asked in a frighten tone.

The blonde hair woman named Dr. Green grab my hand and started to pull me away. Judge Herns got up from her bench and went back into her chambers without saying another word. I noticed the teenager girl and Trisha both followed the judge into her chambers. The cop went out in the opposite direction leaving me alone with Dr. Green.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask the doctor who was leading towards some stairs.

"To my office," she replied in a comforting tone. "Just relax Shannon, everything will be okay."

I didn’t like the way the doctor had phrased the sentence. Something was going to happen to me and I suspect it wasn’t going to be pleasant. Whatever was going to happen to me, it was going to take place in her office and I wasn’t going any further until I knew what that was.

"What’s – what’s going to happen to me?" I asked in a scared voice.

"You’re going to be assigned your new life, Shannon," she smiled while gently tugging me up the stairs. "Look, I’ll explain what I mean when we get to my office."

Fear came over me. After so many years of being mistreated by people I no longer had the ability to trust anyone. This doctor was being too nice to me; and the only time people were nice to me was when they planned to hurt me. It could only mean that Dr. Green was planning to do something bad to me.

"NO," I yelled out in fear.

I pushed the doctor from behind, causing her to fall forward and hit her head on the stair rail. She collapsed into a small ball and tumbled down to the bottom of the stairs. I heard a sickening snap of a bone as she fell the wrong way on her hand while trying to stop herself. I ran down the steps and jumped over the doctor who was lying on the floor in a heap. I took off for the exit as fast as my fat, little legs could carry me.

"Shannon, stop," the doctor cried out weakly.

I looked back and noticed blood coming from her forehead, which only caused me to run faster in fear. I knew I was in serious trouble now. I blasted out of the courthouse doors and down to the sidewalk. There were a couple of people who looked strangely at me but I didn’t pay to much attention to them. I darted to the nearest corner and ducked down a side street into a small dress store.

"Can I help you?" the clerk asked me.

It only took me a moment to realize there was something frightfully wrong with her eyes; they were flashing back at me! I screamed in horror and turned to run back out of the store when I crashed into a female customer.

The lady grabbed me by the arms and asked, "Are you alright honey? What’s wrong?"

Her eyes were pulsing just like the clerks, and they seemed to flash even more as she continued to talk to me in an attempt to comfort me. I pushed her away and ran out of the store, almost running into a man and a woman on the sidewalk with those same, flashing eyes. I stared at them both in shock and horror.

‘What the hell had I gotten myself into?’ I asked myself while running off to find a place to hide.

****************************

Dr. Green was slow to get up. Her knees were bruised and scrapped and there was a sharp pain in her left wrist indicating it was definitely broken. The blow to her head had left her dazed but at least she hadn’t pass out. There was something warm on her head and when she reached up and touched it, there was blood on her fingers. The doctor got her senses together and slowly limped her way down the hallway to the Judge’s office not far away.

"Linda, help," she whispered painfully as she made her way into the outer office.

"Carol, what happened?" Linda asked while quickly helping the doctor to a seat. "Judge Herns, come quick!"

Judge Herns came out of her chambers with a grim look on her face and said, "Linda, call Sergeant Williams and tell him we have a new resident loose. He’ll know what to do."

Judge Herns gently touched Carol Greens wrist. "It’ll be okay my dear."

*******************

Everywhere I looked there were those people with the flashing eyes. It was like being in some kind of horror movie only it was real. I ran into a back alley behind a store and hid against a dumpster. I had to try and make sense of all this. What was going on here? Was this the new life Trisha had promised me? Was that my fate, to become one of those flashing eyed monsters? I had to get out of this damn place.

Suddenly something started to happen inside me. It was a tingling sensation, like pins and needles attacking ever portion of my body. I felt my skin being pulled inward, as the fat around my waist seemed to melt away. My relief was short live however, as I noticed my breasts were also shrinking until they finally disappeared. Then I felt my skin stretch as I grew almost a foot in height and the muscles on my arms and legs got bigger – much bigger.

My clothes changed as well, and I found my blouse turning into a football jersey while my knit pants became a pair of blue jeans. The coat I was wearing changed into a red and white school Jacket with the name ‘Andersonville’ printed on the back, and my black hush puppies became a pair of tennis shoes

There was a heavy concentration of tingling around my groin, and I shrieked in horror as something long and thick seemed to snake it’s way out of where my vagina used to be. Then the tingling stopped and I sat there looking down at my new body in a daze.

**************************

"I got her, Barry," Mac announced. "She’s behind the China shop."

‘You mean he,’ Colonel Myers almost corrected the young man as he reached for the phone. The only reason why they had her on the screen now was because her transformation was done. Miss Royal was now Bill Maxwell, a 15-year-old bodybuilder on the wrestling team. The Andersonville Police Department was going to have their hands full catching this one.

*****************

I stumbled out onto the street in my new body, clearly that of a young male. I was in shock and wanted to vomit over what happened. These people were clearly crazy; what the hell had they done to me? I had become part of some demented experiment and sensed I was now in real danger.

I looked around for place where I would be safe while trying to figure out what to do next. Across the street I spotted a moderate size department store where I could hide out. I passed by several people with those flashing eyes; a few of them smiled and said ‘hi’ to me. It turns out they knew me as Bill.

Upon entering the department store, I saw a mirror close by and walked over to it. I was shocked at what I saw. Before I had stood about 5’4"; now I was at least 6’1’. I touched the mirror, then my own face. It was so mannish; nothing of the old me was left. I lifted up my jersey and was disgusted to find my chest flat and covered with thick, brown hair.

"Get a hold of yourself girl," I whispered. "This can’t be real." But I knew without a doubt it was.

Carefully I looked around to make sure no one was watching and pushed my hand underneath my jeans. I was rewarded by the touch of a warm, mass of flesh that could only be one thing.

‘Oh God!’ I screamed to myself as I jerked my hand back out. ‘What have they done to me? Who are these people? What the hell is this place?’

A sales lady walked over and asked if I needed any help. She was like everyone else in this town, one of those people with the flashing eyes. I shook my head and slowly backed away from her like she was a plague. The lady gave me a puzzled looked as if I had lost my marbles, which I felt that I had. Panic was starting to take over; I had to get out of this place!

I combed the store looking for a pay phone to call home; there was still a chance that my mother may want me back. I looked all over the store but couldn’t find one anywhere.

‘What kind of store this size didn’t have a pay phone?’ I asked myself.

I debated about asking for help but decided against it. I wanted as little contact as I could with these funny people with the flashing eyes. I decided to try my luck at finding a phone somewhere else. As I turned to leave the store I spotted a police officer standing less than five feet away from me. It was the same one I had seen in the courtroom earlier.

"Stay away from me," I screamed while backing up into the housewares department.

"It’s okay son," he tried reassured me while holding out his hand. "No one’s going to hurt you for what happened to Dr. Green. I only want to end this peacefully."

"I’m not your son, PIG," I spatted angrily back while grabbing a big cutting knife from the nearby display. "You leave me alone or I swear I’ll cut you."

I noticed two more police officers, one of each side of me, move in from my rear but I spun around and swung my knife at them. Both officers backed off quickly and gave me room. I continued to move backwards into a corner so I could keep an eye on all of them.

"You’re trapped," Sergeant Williams told me calmly. "We don’t want to hurt you, Shannon. We only want to take you to a safe place where we can explain what’s going on."

"I don’t believe you," I answered, holding the knife out at him. "Don’t come any closer or I’ll make you pay. I want a car outside the store in 5 minutes.

Sergeant Williams shook his head. "That’s not going to happen, Shannon. The only way out of here is past me, and I’m not moving. I know you’re scared Shannon, but I really don’t think you want to hurt me. Now give me the knife before you hurt yourself." He took a step closer to me.

"STAND BACK!" I screamed while pointing the tip of the knife at my own throat. "I’ll kill myself if you don’t leave me alone! You’re right Officer Williams, I can’t hurt you – I don’t have it in me. But I can hurt myself – I was going to do it anyway. NOW BACK OFF!" The officer took two steps back.

"Shannon, please put down the knife," I heard Trisha Brown say.

"You LIED to me!" I yelled at her. "You said you were going to give me a new life, instead you’re using me in some kind of evil, horrible experiment. Look at what they did to me! I’m more of a freak now than I was before."

"It’s alright Shannon, calm down" Trisha tried to reassure me.

"No it’s NOT ALRIGHT," I shouted back. "If you don’t get me the car I want right now there’s going to be blood on the floor."

Suddenly I felt my hand snap away from my neck and fall to the side as if some invisible hand had grabbed onto it. I tried to move it back up but my arm was frozen in place. All three officers rushed over and one of them pried the knife out of my hand. I saw Judge Herns standing there, a look of displeasure on her face.

"Take her back to courtroom and stay with her," she told the officers. I tried to scream but found I could no longer make a sound.

***************************

"She’s dangerous," Judge Herns said in a belittling tone. "That’s why we screen people first, so we don’t end up with situations like this. It was ‘stupid’ and ‘irresponsible’ bringing her here like you did!"

"I was driving close by and sensed she was going to kill herself," Trisha shot back in a disrespectful tone. "What was I suppose to do?"

"YOU LET HER," Judge Herns yelled at the younger woman while slamming her hands on the table in front of her. "She made her decision, you shouldn’t have interfered with it."

"Maybe I’m not that COLD-BLOODED," Trisha hissed back. June Herns face turned bright red with anger.

"You’re thinking of one mentally disturbed person, I’m thinking of an entire town," the Judge shot back boldly. "I had Linda drive Carol Green over to the emergency room to get checked out, after I fixed her broken wrist that is. What I can’t fix is any emotional scares the poor woman may have suffered from this attack. If you had gone through the proper procedures this wouldn’t have happened!"

"If I had gone through the proper procedure Shannon Royal would be dead!" Trisha countered.

"IT WAS HER CHOICE!" Judge Herns yelled angrily. "Do you know how much work you’ve created for the people below? It’s going to take hours wiping this from the temps memories."

"Is that how you measure a person’s worth ‘Judge Herns’, by how much work it creates for others. Besides, this was your fault. Why did you turn her into a teenage boy?"

"I don’t have to explain myself to you," Judge Herns snarled. "Why I turned her into a young boy is my own business, isn’t that correct, Mr. Butz."

The director looked over at Trisha Brown, who was flushed with anger. Judge Herns was right about one thing; Trisha had no right bringing Shannon to Andersonville without a background check. But then Judge Herns wasn’t using very good tact in explaining the obvious to his assistant. That was the problem with the Greek Gods, they never had any qualms about pointing out mistakes others made and pounding the point home. However, when it came to admitting their own mistakes it was a little different. Dealing with them could be quite frustrating at times.

"It is, Your Honor," Dennis respectfully replied. "I agreed to let you decided each person’s fate brought before you, and I stand by my word. You don’t have to explain yourself to anyone here." Judge Herns gave Trisha a triumphant smile.

"What about Shannon?" Trisha asked while giving him a glare.

"She shouldn’t have been brought here in the first place," Dennis answered. "We have rules so such things don’t happen, although you’re not totally to blame here. Dave Williams should’ve walked upstairs with Dr. Green to make sure she got to her office safely. That’s one policy that I’m going to make sure is enforced from now on. And I’m not happy with what you told Shannon either, Trisha."

"But if I didn’t – she would have jumped. Besides, I didn’t tell her the real truth."

"That’s not the point," Dennis responded softly. "It allows rumors to be spread that could affect the operation of this town."

"Then erase all her memories," Trisha replied while glancing over at the Judge.

"I can’t," Judge Herns countered strongly. "Originally, I wasn’t going to have Shannon remember anything after the transformation, but it turns out she’s very strong willed. Here, check out her profile and see what I mean."

Judge Herns pulled a piece of paper out of thin air and handed it to Dennis Butz. The director looked over the information carefully.

"She’s one in ten thousand," he stated out loud for Trisha to hear. The numbers also explained why Shannon hadn’t been turned into a pretty, young female. June Herns had made the right choice, although Dennis really never doubted that she had.

"Yes," Judge Herns explained. "So nothing any of us can do will make Shannon forget her past, although I should be able to make her forget about the ‘angel’ part if necessary."

"We need to think of a way to work this out first," Dennis stated.

"Not we," Judge Herns interrupted while pointing her finger at Dennis, "you! Trisha Brown is your employee and that makes this your problem. I want Shannon – Mr. Maxwell, out of my town within the hour."

"But where can she go?" Trisha protested.

"That’s not my concern," Judge Herns stated firmly. "And don’t ever pull this crap in my town again, young lady." The Judge slammed the door as she left.

"How can you stand there and do NOTHING?" Trisha asked furiously. "How can you let this ‘egone’ walk all over me like this? Have you become one of them now!"

"Don’t you ever – EVER – fucking insult me like that again, Trisha," Dennis responded in an angry, slow tone. "Have you forgotten what Andersonville is all about? I don’t have time for your crap today! It’s bad enough I get that type of garbage from others who don’t understand what I’m doing but you – you know exactly what’s going on here. You of all people should understand what we’re trying to do here and how much we have to lose if we fail. If you think it’s easy for me to stand here and let her take charge Trisha, you’re wrong. There are plenty of mornings I wake up and feel like I’m a traitor to my people – but the fighting has to end or else everything will be lost."

"And what have we accomplished so far, Dennis?" Trisha asked seriously. "All these months, and we’re no closer to getting any of our people released then we were before."

"You’re talking months – how about the past 4,000 years?" Dennis shot back. "Millions of innocent humans killed, no, murdered, for simply being in the way. And after all that fighting, and all that spilled blood, it hasn’t accomplished anything! If we really want to see our people released then this is the only way."

"Say’s you," Trisha replied with a frown.

Dennis gave her an angry stare. "If you don’t agree with me, Trisha, the door’s over there. Just don’t let it hit you on the ‘ass’ on the way out!"

"Very funny, Dennis," Trisha answered. "You’d be lost without me."

"I wasn’t lost 60 years ago when you went off to fight in the big war, was I, Trisha? I raised our three children all alone after you signed up and got yourself killed over there. It wasn’t easy being a single mom raising three kids in the 40’s but I managed to do it without your help."

"I came back later," Trisha shot back.

"Only after the kids were gone and I was an old woman," Dennis countered. "What was it, 22 years later, Trisha? I’ve taken care of myself without your help and I can do it again if I have to – so let’s get one thing straight here, this is ‘my’ show, not yours. If you don’t like how the game is being played," he pointed his finger at the door, "then leave!"

Trisha looked at her boss’s eyes and realized he was dead serious. She had never gotten along with the Greek Gods, they were pompous asses. But Dennis was another matter. Trisha was closer to him then any other family member she had ever known.

"Okay, I’m sorry Dennis for what I said and for putting you on the spot. But you do understand why I did what I did, don’t you? I couldn’t let Shannon kill herself for the reasons she was feeling."

Dennis breathed deeply and said, "yes, I do understand my friend. But I also agree with Judge Herns on this one, you should’ve let Shannon kill herself. It’s not that I’m cold-hearted, but we have other things to worry about besides someone who’s mentally disturbed."

"But she’s not mentally disturbed," Trisha insisted. "She was probably just scared and panicked after the transformation; who wouldn’t if they didn’t have someone around to explain what was going on and to comfort them. She’ll come around, I know she will."

"Maybe," Dennis frowned. "But right now we have to figure out what to do with her."

"Send her back home?" Trisha suggested.

Dennis shook his head. "They found her replacement in the river this morning – she can’t go back now."

"Peace River then?" Trisha tossed out.

"Maybe," Dennis answered with a frown. "I’ll use my contacts to ask Judge Jasper but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Our best bet is to try and get her back into Andersonville in a week or so – providing she isn’t a nut case who can’t be reasoned with."

"What happens if we can’t get her back in?" Trisha asked. Her boss’s frown told the story. If Shannon didn’t come around they wouldn’t need to worry about finding her a place to live.

"Take her with you, Trisha. Prove to everyone that she’s Andersonville material so Judge Herns will take her back. I’ll give you until the end of the week to get her straighten out as Bill Maxwell. If she doesn’t come around by then," Dennis got a distasteful look on his face, "then, I’ll have to take care of the problem myself. And if you’re really serious about keeping her alive, I would practice up on an apology to Judge Herns."

"I understand," Trisha told him reluctantly. "One more thing before I go, Dennis. How’s Project Peace doing?"

"It’s slow, but Dr. Jensen is making progress," Dennis Butz said with a dry grin "By the way, congratulations Trisha; it’s a boy." He turned and left the room.

***********************************

It was late when Trisha drove me up to a modest ranch style house located in the middle of no where. The sky was pitch-black and the stars were shinning in the night sky with intensity. Toward the southern horizon I could see the lights of a distant, unknown city at least 50 miles away. As we drove up the dirt-covered driveway several lights came on, allowing me to see the place better. The dark, green grass was well maintained, as was the white, wooden fence that seemed to disappear into the darkness. The house was red brick with white shutters and showed no signs of aging. Trisha parked the Land Rover in front of the 2-car garage and turned to me.

"Before I remove the restriction that will allow you to speak, I want to make a few things clear," she stated in an authoritative tone. "You’re a guest in my house, which means I expect you to act like one and follow my rules. Do you understand?"

I nodded my head vigorously, mostly out of fear. Somehow Trisha had the power to control my moments and speech, for I hadn’t been allowed to say anything on the entire trip here. She also seemed to be able to read my thoughts. Whenever I needed to use the bathroom she would pull over and let me go. It was a very strange experience standing up to do my business and being able to get it done so fast.

My captor was a young woman, maybe 24 years old, who stood about 5’ 7". She had light brown, wavy hair that hung just above her shoulders and was parted off to one side. Her face was lovely and there didn’t seem to be a flaw on her beautiful body. Her tanned, skinny legs would’ve held the interest of any man, and I strangely found myself attracted to them. Trisha Brown was the type of woman I had always wanted to be; and I was jealous of her. Why was it other people had all the luck?

I found myself being pulled out of the truck by an invisible force and being forced to walk behind Trisha over to the white painted fence surrounding the house. She stopped and looked at me carefully.

"This is your boundary line," she informed me. "You won’t try going past the fence without my permission. If you do try you won’t like what happens. Allow me to demonstrate."

She grabbed my hand and lifted it up past the fence. Sparks flew and I felt an electric shock running up my arm. Instinctively I pulled it back on my own power.

"That was a light shock," she explained. "If I wasn’t holding onto you, the results would have been much more painful. If you cross over the fence you’ll be shocked every 10 seconds until you return to the proper side. Then, you’ll be shocked every 5 minutes until I make it stop. I hope that won’t be necessary."

She paused for a moment to give me a small frown and added, "I take no pleasure in doing this, Shannon. The fence covers over 5 acres of property, which will allow you plenty of room to roam. Try not to think of this as a prison, but as a retreat for you to enjoy. Since you’re a young man now, I’ll start referring to you as such. Your new name is Bill Maxwell. While you may find everything that has happened to you unbelievable, even frightening, it’s the reality of the situation. You are now a young man, Shannon, and you have to accept that fact."

I was starting to feel angry inside. What right did they have to do this to me? How ‘dare’ they lock me inside a male body without asking my permission or considering how I felt! I was a girl, not some football jock.

"Let’s go inside now," she commanded. I tried not to follow but found myself being forced to anyway.

"I really wish you wouldn’t fight me," Trisha stated firmly as she led me into the house. "I’m trying to help you adjust to your current situation. Now take a seat on the couch."

I did as I was commanded, I found I really didn’t have a choice in the matter. An invisible hand seemed to push me down. I crossed my legs but found that the new mass between them made it uncomfortable to do so. I put my legs down and crossed them at my ankles.

"I see you’re learning already," Trisha said then frowned, "although you still sit like a girl. Don’t worry, I’ll fix that by the time I’m done with you."

‘I don’t want you to fix it you, bitch!’ I tried to scream. ‘I want to be returned to who I am.’ But whatever power she had prevented me from saying so.

"I’m going to release my control over you Bill, so you can talk. However, I expect you to be pleasant in your manner, like a true ‘gentleman’. That means no yelling, no cussing, ‘or threats’. Keep your voice low and calm and we won’t have any problems." She snapped her finger and I found myself able to talk again.

"My God, what’s going on here?" I asked in a manly, but hysterical voice.

"Calm down, Bill," she reassured me gently. "Take a few, deep breaths and then talk."

"WHO ARE YOU!" I screamed while trying to stand up. I found I had the freedom to talk but not to move around.

"Lower your voice or I’ll let you sit there another half-hour in silence," she warned me.

I took a few, deep breaths and asked the question again, this time in a more normal tone.

She smiled. "Good, you’re learning again. As I told you before, my name is Trisha Brown and I’m an angel. The reason why you’re here is because you were going to kill yourself. I couldn’t let that happen, not for those reasons, so I saved your life. While you may not believe this, you’re a very lucky, young man."

"I’m not a man," I stated while giving her the evil eye. She hadn’t said anything about me glaring at her.

"You are now," she replied firmly. "From now on, until you die, you’ll be known as Bill Maxwell, a young man with lots of talent."

"Even if I don’t want to be a man?" I asked her. "What gives you the right to change me into one?"

"I didn’t change you, that was Judge Herns idea. I don’t know why it was done, I only know the process won’t be reversed."

"This can’t be happening to me!" I began to sound more like a frightened, little boy. "I want to see my mommy right now."

"That’s going to be hard to do, Bill. You see, Shannon is dead."

"What," I cried out. "But you saved my life! I’m not dead, I’m right here." A horrible thought crossed my mind. "You mean – I, I did jump off the bridge?"

"Yes," she told me with almost no emotion in her voice. "I saved your soul, but the body of Shannon Royal is now a useless shell." Trisha hated lying but it was the only way she could think of to get Bill to accept who he was now."

"Oh no!" I said with shock. "Then this must be – purgatory?"

"No, it’s my home," Trisha sighed. "Believe me Bill, what I saved you from was much worse. Suicide is murder, plain and simple. You now have a second chance with a life that you’ve desired for so long. A life that you could’ve been living right now if you hadn’t attacked Dr. Green."

"I can’t take this, I have to talk to my mommy. My gosh, what have I done to her?"

"I’m not going to judge your actions, Bill," the young woman told me. "I’m also not going to allow you to contact anyone, not until you accept what’s happened to you. It’s late, and this has been a trying day for both of us. I’m going to show you to your room and then tomorrow we can talk some more. In the meantime, I want you to look at this." She handed me a black notebook.

"What’s this?" I asked sorrowfully while taking it out of her hands.

"It’s Bill’s Maxwell complete bio. Something we’ve been thinking of testing out on our new citizens to get them acclimated to their new home quicker. In it you’ll find your entire history starting from the time you were 3 years old until now. It may make it easier to accept what has happened to you. Why don’t you look over it for a minute while I prepare your room?"

I scanned through the notebook that contained over 50 pages divided into 5 different sections. The first section was a brief history of my life, like when and where I was born, things I had accomplished, events like the time I fell off my bike and needed stitches. Another section contained a detailed listing of all my friends through the years and ranked them from 1 (a best friend) to a 5 (a classmate in school). There were well over 60 names on the list. Sixty, I couldn’t believe it. I could’ve counted the number of friends of my entire life as Shannon on one hand and still had fingers left over.

Other parts included more personal information concerning clothing sizes, likes and dislikes, hobbies. I found out that my nickname was ‘Grizzly’, a name I had earned on the football field. I wonder if I would be able to keep up with his reputation. I became so engross in the book that I didn’t hear Trisha enter back into the room.

"Let’s get you settled in," she said with a small smile. My captor led me down a hallway to a room made up to look like a boy’s bedroom. There were football and basketball posters on every wall, a dresser that had trophies on top of it, and a couple of shelves with model boats and cars I supposedly had built. The room also contained a queen-size waterbed, a desk and chair, and a telescope in the corner. The color of the room was pale white but the curtains over the windows were blue – giving it a boyish look.

"This is an exact replica of your bedroom in Andersonville," Trisha said while motioning me in. "Tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to other areas of your new home, but for now I want you to get some sleep. Goodnight Bill."

Trisha smiled and closed the door as she left. I thought about opening the door back up but decided against it. Right now I desired the privacy to think about what was going on. My mother thought I was dead, how horrible that must be for her and for my sister. Worse, I was being forced to live my life as a man for my crime and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

I laid down on my bed and cried like I had done so many nights before. I was all alone in the world now, without the comfort of my own mother although she had never been that much of a comfort for me to begin with. Why didn’t anyone care about me? Had I commented some horrible crime against God that I had to be punished for it; first by making me fat and ugly and now forcing me to live the rest of my life as a man? Why wasn’t I allowed to be happy like other people?

After my cry, and with nothing else better to do, I opened up the notebook that contained all the information on my new life. He – now me – was everything I wasn’t in life. He was popular, athletic, and confident. Bill was the boy I used to dream about being with; the boy I now was. I couldn’t stand it anymore; I closed the notebook and threw it on the floor as hard as I could. There was no way I was going through with this charade. I flicked off the light and laid down in bed feeling sorry for myself. Sometime later I drifted off into a fitful sleep.

******************************

I woke up to the sunlight shinning through the windows in my room. The clothes I had were wet with sweat, causing me to have a slight chill. I sat up in bed and tried to wake up. As my eyes focused on things around the room it became clear to me that what happened yesterday wasn’t a dream.

"Welcome to the second day of the rest of your life," I muttered to myself. There was a knock on the door and Trisha walked in, with a cheerful smile on her face no less.

"I was wondering when you were going to get up sleepy head," she said joyfully.

"Why do I feel so tried?" I complained looking at the clock to see it was almost 11 in the morning.

"That’s part of the process," she explained. "The transformation affects everyone differently. By the way, you shouldn’t sleep in your clothes on a waterbed. You’ll sweat all night."

"So I see," I answered smartly while touching the damp shirt with my hands.

"Better take a shower and change," she said while pulling some clothes out of a drawer. "Use the bathroom across the hallway then change into these. By the way, this is the last time I’m going to help you get dressed." She gave me a smug smile and left.

I looked at the clothes she had lay on the bed in front of me. A pair of red shorts, a gray tee shirt with the words ‘Andersonville Athletic Dept.’, white socks, and a pair of white jockey underwear. It looked like I was going to be working out today.

Taking a shower was strange. Rubbing soap over my chest didn’t have the same effect as before. Where I once had massive breasts was now replaced with a muscular chest with curly, dark hair all over it. Worse was my new love stick that hung from my body like a limp rod. But when I touched the thing it tingled slightly, causing me to pull my hand back. I washed it while being careful not to start something I didn’t want to finish.

After getting dressed I walked into the kitchen where I found Trisha sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee. Also at the table were three people, an older man, a young boy, and a teenager girl. By the stove stood a middle-aged woman with slightly graying hair. Unlike Trisha, they stood in place like statues, as if waiting for a command to do something.

"Aww, I’m glad to see you made it," Trisha smiled. "Now we can sit down and have breakfast."

"What’s going on," I asked while taking an empty seat next to the teenage girl.

"You’re about to have your first meal with your new family. Allow me to introduce you to everyone. This is your father," she pointed to the man who was looking at the paper. "Your younger brother, Patrick." He was about 9 years old and had a couple of cars in his hands, " And your sister, Samantha." My sister looked to be about 13 years old and didn’t look very happy at the moment.

"Behind you," Trisha pointed, causing me to turn, "is your mother. As you can see, she’s just about ready to serve breakfast. Normally you don’t eat breakfast together very often but seeing this is your first time, I wanted it to be special."

"Look," I spoke while standing up. "I already have a family, and I have a sneaking suspicion that these ‘people’ aren’t really people at all; that they’re like the ones I met in that crazy place you call Andersonville. If that’s the case than they’re like puppets or dolls. Well, I gave up playing with dolls years ago Trisha, and I’m not going to start playing with them again. I ‘DEMAND’ that you return me back to my real family right now."

"Demand," Trisha said raising her eyebrows slightly. "You’re in no position to demand anything. In case you forgot Bill, I saved your life. If it wasn’t for me you’d be fish food right now."

"I appreciate that, but it doesn’t give you the right to kidnap me. Turn me back into Shannon Royal and send me home."

"Why, so you can kill yourself again," she pointed out to me harshly. "Besides, as I explained already, you’re already dead.

"I don’t believe that. I don’t believe I could’ve jumped and not remembered something about it. I think you stopped me before I jumped just like I remembered and I’m very much alive in my own body."

"Well, technically you’re correct. But in the reality of things, you did jump and die. At least that’s what people believe."

"So I didn’t jump! That was just a lie."

"Yes and no," she smiled. "If I hadn’t stop you then you would have jumped, but instead of changing reality, I let it run its course. So the reality for everyone else is that you killed yourself by jumping off that bridge. See, I didn’t lie."

"That makes no sense what so ever," I said turning to leave. "I’m out of here, Trisha Brown, or whatever you name really is. I suggest you seek out a good psychologist and get some help!" Suddenly something invisible grabbed me and pushed me back in my chair.

"I don’t have time for your temper tantrums this morning, Bill," she said with a frown. "We’re already running late and I have things I need to do today. So let me spell this out to you real clearly. You’re going to sit here and converse with your family like a proper gentleman or else! Who knows, you may even get to like it once you get past the flashing eyes. Despite what you may think about them, these temps do love you as their own child."

"Let me go!" I screamed.

"Quiet," she said while waving her hand at me. I found myself unable to say another word. "Since you’re having trouble getting started, I’ll help you out. By the way, I’m known as your cousin Trisha and everyone thinks it’s Saturday. Now try to play along here."

She waved her hands again and the temps sprang to life.

"Hi son," my father said to me over the paper.

I tried not to reply but someone forced the words, "Good morning dad," out of me. I turned and glared at Trisha who flashed me a quick smile.

"Going to work out with your friends this morning I see," the man said with a proud smile.

"Yes dad," the words were forced out of me again. "I’m meeting Steve and Larry down at the Gym this morning. We’re going to lift some weights and maybe shoot some hoops later on."

"Isn’t Larry the guy you’re in love with, Samantha," my little brother teased.

"Shut up you little rat fink," my sister hissed.

"That’s enough you two," my mother interrupted as she placed a plate of ham and eggs in front of me. "Pat, stop teasing your sister."

My new mother placed her hand on my shoulder and said, "Good morning son." Then she turned back to the stove to fix her own plate.

There was more dialog between everyone as I dug into my food with earnest. I found myself particularly hungry this morning and ended up asking for seconds, which I got. I also figured I couldn’t talk if I had my mouth full. But once I was done eating, I found myself unable to get up from the table. The annoying grin on Trisha’s face indicated I wasn’t going to get off so easy. Finally I got tired of having the words forced out of my month and started talking on my own. Once I tried complaining about my current situation but found the words quickly stifled. Seeing that I didn’t have a choice in the matter, I gave up on the idea of resisting for now and went along with the game. Actually, I found myself enjoying the interaction and almost forgot that they weren’t real people. An hour later Trisha asked me if I was ready to go and I joined her in the hallway.

"There, that wasn’t so bad," she commented while leading me down the next destination. "I think you were even enjoying yourself back there."

"I was just pretending," I lied. "I only started talking to them on my own because I got tired of you forcing the words out of me."

"And yet," she stopped at a door and looked at me, "you seemed so happy when you were talking on your own; which I didn’t require you to be. Were the grins and laughter also part of you pretending?" She gave me a knowing smile and opened up the door to a big gymnasium.

"This is a recreation of the gymnasium at Andersonville High School. You’ll find that you spend a great deal of your time in this room working out. Oh, I forgot something."

My jailer pulled out a box from her pocket that looked like a small calculator and walked over to a modem connection. She pushed the small device in and started typing something. Two teenage boys appeared near me.

"Two of your friends. Steve Anderson and Larry Smith." Both stood there like statues looking straight ahead.

"Which one is which," I asked.

"You can ask them yourself," she replied while pressing a button. Both of them came to life.

"Hey Grizzly, how’s it going?" one of them asked.

"Who are you?" I asked him.

The boy straightened up and replied. "My name is Larry Smith. I’ve been your best friend since 4^th grade when we met at the Andersonville school picnic. We’re on the football and wrestling team together and I’ve been trying to get you to try out for baseball this year with me. My likes are sports, girls, camping, and fast cars." His glazed stare was replaced with a smile again.

"Hold it," I said, turning back to Trisha. "What just happened here?"

"You asked him who he was and he told you. The other boy’s name is Steve Anderson and in Andersonville, they’re both real boys. There are others kids I’ll introduce you to later on. I have a complete file on all your friends in my computer."

"But I don’t know them," I protested looking back at the two boys standing there silently. "Can they hear everything I say?"

"Of course they can, Bill. The only thing is, I’ve programmed them to ignore anything you say that’s out of the ordinary, such as this conversation we’re having. So if you try to strike up a conversation about who you once were, they’ll just blow it off at a joke and forget what you said. Go ahead, try it."

"Okay, I will then," I told her angrily. "Guys, I’m really a girl trapped in this male body. This lady behind me is crazy; she kidnapped me and brought me here against my will. I’m not Bill Maxwell, my real name is Shannon Royal."

Both boys started cracking up, and I felt a little foolish. Then they stopped laughing and Larry said, "Come on Grizzly, let’s practice that wrestling move we talked about earlier. Steve want’s to see how it’s done."

"I’m going to go now, Bill," Trisha told me. "I have some business to attend to but I’ll be home later on. Your friends will remain with you until I get back. Oh yes, I still have your control program running. If you decide to act up, it’ll help you re-adjust your attitude. And remember what I told you about the fence surrounding the house. Have fun, Bill."

She turned and left, leaving me alone with these two fake, teenagers boys. I tried to leave behind her but found the door was now locked. My two new friends called me over the mat, which I found myself reluctantly doing against my will. Despite the fact I knew they were some kind of computer program, both teenagers seemed real enough.

"Get down on your hands and knees Grizzly, and I’ll show Steve that wrestling move I was talking about."

I did as I was asked, knowing that any attempt to fight the act was a useless gesture on my part. Larry put his hands on my arm and around my chest then proceeded to wrestle me to the mat.

 

******************************************

Trisha arrived at the church with only a few minutes to spare. She wasn’t surprise to find the building almost totally empty. There were a few relatives and friends of the families, but no one else. A couple of girls around Shannon’s age were there but Trisha sensed they came only because their mothers had told them to. Shannon’s mother sat in the front pew with her beautiful daughter right next to her. It didn’t surprise Trisha to see that Shannon’s sister was the only one who seemed upset by what had happened. Her mother appeared sadden but almost relieved by her daughter’s death – which puzzled the young woman.

The pastor stepped up to the podium and started speaking about how precious life was. Trisha thought of the irony of all this; since her actions to save Shannon’s life had gotten her in deep trouble. She turned on her recorder and listened to what everyone had to say.

********************************

The day didn’t turn out as bad as I thought it would. The three of us practiced our wrestling moves for about an hour however, a great deal of that time was spent joking and clowning around with each other. Then the cheerleading squad came in and we sat and watched them spin and twirl in front of us. Steve and Larry remarked about which cheerleader they thought was the prettiest and which girl they would like to take to the prom. Despite the fact I wasn’t really interested in watching the girls, I found myself getting comfortable sitting there and joining in on their conversation. I was being accepted as part of the in-crowd, and it felt great.

A couple of cheerleaders seemed to know us pretty well and came over to talk to us between sets. I noticed a few of the girls gave me an interesting glance that made me just a little nervous. I wasn’t used to having such positive attention bestowed on me. The only time people had paid attention to me was when there were being mean and calling me names. I didn’t know how to handle everything what was happening to me, and it made me feel uncomfortable.

After a nice lunch that my mom made us, we went outside and started throwing a football around. Again, there was the customary joking and playing around that boys tended to do and more discussion on sports and girls. It seemed that that was all they were interested in. Not that I minded one bit, it was great to be able to participate in a real conversation with other kids my age. But in the back of my mind I kept thinking about my old life. I wasn’t happy as Shannon so why did I miss it so much?

Later on that evening we sat in front of the TV and watched a couple of videos. One was an old movie from the 70’s called "Smokey and the Bandit" with Burt Reynolds and Sally Fields. The other was "Gone in 60 Seconds" with Nicholas Cage.

‘Guy flicks," I thought to myself with a grin. We munched out on chips and sandwiches while making jokes about the different chase scenes in the movies. I found myself getting used to the idea of having friends to be around. Just as the second movie ended, Trisha walked into the room.

"Hi guys, have fun today?" she asked grinning widely.

There was that ‘guy’ word again; it bothered me greatly. I was a girl, not a guy. More to the point, I was a hostage in this place. I gave her a stern look and didn’t reply.

"I see," Trisha frowned. "Larry, Steve, I need to speak to Bill now. He’ll see you guys tomorrow – goodnight." She pushed a button on the small box in her hand and they disappeared.

"Some trick," I said sarcastically. "Is that what you plan to do to me next, make me disappear?"

"What is it Bill?" she asked directly. "Are you afraid that you may get the life you always dreamed of? Are you so afraid to let people like, maybe even ‘love’ you, that you have to push them away? Is that what the problem is? I’m trying to help you, not imprison you. So what more do you want me to do?"

"Let me go home!" I told her directly. "My disappearance must be causing quite a stir at home. My parents and classmate must be worried sick about me."

"I wish that were so," Trisha said sadly as she pulled a videotape out of her purse and popped it in the VCR. "I didn’t want to show you this, Bill, but I think you need to know the truth."

She hit play and a church appeared on the TV screen. The picture looked like it had been taken with a hidden camera. Then it flipped inside the church and I saw all the people inside – about 20 of them, most of them family members.

"That’s right Bill, this is Shannon’s funeral – ‘your funeral’. I thought you should see this."

I didn’t know what to say. I watched in horrified fascination as things unfolded. The preacher said a few, kind things about me but nothing that stood out. Out of the small group of people, only two of them were classmates. Where was everyone else?

Afterwards there was a small meal and I saw Trisha approach my mother. She looked more relieved about my death than grieved.

"Mrs. Royal, I’m sorry about your daughters passing," I heard Trisha say.

"Yes, it’s tragic," my mother explained in a cold manner. "But Shannon wasn’t a very happy person in life. I’m sure she’s in a better, happier place now. They say people like my daughter bloom in heaven. Thank God, I still have my other daughter."

‘That was it? No remorse? Nothing about the pain or embarrassment she had put me through all the time? Nothing about the good memories she had of me? Nothing about how much she was going to miss me now that I was gone? What had I done to deserve this?

"NO!" I shouted, standing up. "No, I don’t want see anymore of this?

"Bill, please sit down," Trisha said calmly.

"Leave me ALONE you BITCH!" I screamed. "I HATE YOU – AND I HATE MYSELF! WHY? Why couldn’t she have LOVED ME! WHAT DID I DO WRONG?"

I ran out the front door and into the cold night. There was a storm brewing as the lighting flashed and the wind howled around me. But I didn’t care, let it come. I ran along the fence for over a mile, tripping over several rocks along the way. The thunder boomed overhead and then the clouds let loose in buckets. I ran in the cold, freezing rain as it stung my eyes and made it hard to see where I was going. The truth was, I didn’t know where I was going. I felt so much pain inside.

"Why does everyone hate me?" I screamed out against the thunderous storm. "Why couldn’t someone in this entire world love me just once? What did I do to deserve all this? WHY GOD, WHY? DON’T YOU CARE ABOUT ME?"

I stopped walking and climbed the fence. I wanted to feel pain – no, I deserved it. I slid over to the other side and was reward with a painful shock. I doubled over in pain but didn’t attempt to go back. Another electric shock followed, and ten seconds later so did another. It hurt but also felt good at the same time. I was punishing myself, and I deserved it. I was the one who was weird, not everyone else. I was the square peg trying to fit into a round hole; the one who brought all this teasing on for being different. It was my fault – all my fault.

Another painful shock brought me to my knees but I made no attempt to go back. The painful jolt made me feel better inside – I deserved this, I welcomed it. Another shock ripped through my body and I started crying as the pouring rain drenched me. I grabbed at the mud with my hands and slung it around in pain. I didn’t deserve to live anymore.

Sudden the electric shocks stopped and I felt two, warm hands on my shoulders. They were comforting hands and as they touched me the rain stopped as if someone had turned off a faucet. I looked up slowly with rainwater in my eyes at a dark-skinned man with a white beard and warm, inviting eyes. He looked all too familiar to me.

"My child," he told me tenderly, "You mean more to me than you’ll ever know. You’re like the lost sheep that has come home, and I love you very much. Please forgive yourself for being different – and start loving yourself, as you want others to. And never forget how it feels to be teased for the pleasures of others."

"Jesus?" I sputtered out. The strain on my body from the electric shocks was too much and I passed out in the mud.

****************************************

I was woke up by the sunlight streaming through my bedroom window. Last night seemed like a bad dream except for that fact that my entire body ached because of it. I looked around and found I was lying underneath the blankets of my waterbed wearing nothing but my underwear. There was a short knock on the door and Trisha came in.

"How are you feeling?" she asked softly.

"Like I’ve been run over by a truck," I told her while trying to sit up. The dizziness in my head wouldn’t allow that.

"Take this." She handed me a couple of aspirin and some juice. "It’ll help take the pain away."

"What happened? How did I get here?" I shook my head to try and clear the cobwebs.

"I found you laying in the mud on the wrong side of the fence," she explained. "I had one of the temps bring you back and put you to bed."

"What about the man I saw last night?" I asked feeling a little better.

"What man?" Trisha asked. "There wasn’t anyone around when I found you. You were laying there unconscious in the pouring rain."

"I must – I must have been dreaming them," I replied. I had heard that electric shocks could make a person hallucinate. "I guess you must be pretty pissed at me about last night, huh?"

"No, not pissed," Trisha shook her head, "concern. I know what I did last night was painful, Bill, but you had to see for yourself why holding on to your past life wasn’t the right choice – and why you couldn’t go back anymore."

"I realize that now," I replied sorrowfully. "I’ve been blaming myself all these years for all the bad things that happened, and maybe I am to blame for some things. But there are people out there who just don’t care."

"They care," Trisha commented, "but only for themselves. Sometimes there’s no hope for such a person Bill; they’ll never change the way they are in a million years. Other times a swift kick in the butt will do them a lot of good. But you can’t blame yourself for their bad actions."

"What do I do now?" I asked in a broken voice.

"You start living Bill. You pick yourself off the ground and start living as if your life means something, which it does.

"As a man?" I asked quietly.

"It’s not important if you’re a man or woman anymore!" Trisha told me in a comforting tone. "What’s important is that you’re happy with the choices you make from this point on. I know you haven’t had much experience at being happy Shannon, but as Bill, I can offer you a life that will make you happy – and allow you to make others happy around you. All you have to do is accept my invitation and we can begin."

"What about my past life?" I asked. "Is there nothing you can do to help me get any of it back?"

"I’m afraid not," Trisha said with sadness. "The moment you decided to take your own life, that life ended. I’m offering you one more chance at happiness Shannon, only it has to be as Bill Maxwell."

I thought about what she Trisha was offering. She didn’t have to tell me what would happen if I refused, somehow I knew. I looked at my warden but she didn’t look so cruel to me anymore. She looked like someone who was generally concerned about my well being.

"Do you think we can start over again?" I asked. "I’d like to meet my friends again.

***************************************

 

The next few days were like a series of practice runs for the real thing. I was introduced to each one of the new friends and allowed time to, for lack of a better term, bond with them. Sometimes it was done on a one on one basis, other times it would be done over a football or baseball game with a whole mess of friends. Thankfully, Trisha didn’t try to push any romantic moments on me with any of my female friends. I wasn’t quite ready for that.

On Saturday I had been expecting to sleep in but she woke me up before the sun was up.

"What’s going on?" I asked while grabbing for a robe.

 

"We’re going to give someone a swift kick in the butt," she smiled.

***************************************

Daniel Lewis was bored. His mother had forced him to come to the school with his twin sister, Danielle, to help prepare the stage for the bridal show today. It was an effort to raise money for a local woman’s shelter in town. The problem was there wasn’t anything for him to do; it had all been taken care of the night before. So Daniel wander around the school looking for something to do while his mother helped his sister get ready.

This past week had been hard on him; Shannon Royal’s suicide had left him shaken and feeling guilty. He hadn’t meant to push her over the edge, only to have some harmless fun at her expense.

‘Well, it wasn’t my fault she couldn’t take a joke,’ he tried to reason to himself. ‘No, I can’t blame myself for what happened. After all, it wasn’t like I pushed her off that old bridge, Shannon did that herself.’

He started thinking about his next targets to push the guilt away. There was Jimmy Ray, a short kid about half his size with thick glasses. If he could make him cry in front of everyone like a baby he could have a lot of laughs for rest of the school year. And there were other kids he could torment, like –"

"Hi Daniel."

"Huh?" Daniel was jarred out of his trance by one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. She was about his height, with long, curly blonde hair and a nice rack in front. She was wearing a short, green dress that hugged her wonderful, female body. Her legs were encased in a pair of tan pantyhose that only added to their beauty. And she was wearing a pair of 2" heels. Daniel couldn’t believe his eyes.

"Hi, um, who are you?" Daniel asked in a haze. He was in love with this beautiful creature.

"I’m Trisha," she said with a giggle. "I’m kind of new here, but I’ve had a chance to catch some of jokes you play on people. You’re very funny, you know that.

Daniel gave her a wide smile. "I’m glad someone appreciates my jokes. Say, would you like to go outside and get a coke from the pop machine?"

She moved closer and whispered in his ear, "I was thinking more along the lines of going in back and making out; that is, if you want to."

Daniel couldn’t’ believe his ears. This sex Goddess wanted him, and all because he played a few pranks on some of his helpless schoolmates. Then a thought crossed his mind; maybe this was a setup. Maybe Trisha was a relative of one of his victims who was trying to turn the tables. He would have to be careful here.

"Sure Trisha, lead the way," he said carefully.

She led him inside a large storage room and locked the door. Then she turned and gave him a long, sexy kiss. Daniel felt his hormones starting to kick in. He reached to touch her breast when his body froze in place.

"What the hell," he tried to shout, but instead it came out as a low whisper that only Trisha could hear. "What’s going on here?"

"I thought it was time you got a taste of your own medicine Daniel."

"What – what are you talking about?" he asked in a frighten tone.

"You like to make people look and feel foolish then have others laugh at them, that’s what I’m talking about. So now I’m going to show you what it feels like. Observe."

Trisha pulled back a curtain to revile a white, wedding dress hanging from the wall. Next to it was a sheer, feminine veil and a large, black suitcase. Trisha slid the case in front of him and opened it up. It was filled with all kinds of female delights meant for him.

"You’re crazy," Daniel told her while trying to sound brave. "There’s no way I’m going to put that stuff on."

"You know, I believe you’re right," Trisha said smiling. "So I’ll have the stuff put you on, sort of speaking. First, we need to get rid of your old clothes. They wouldn’t look right with what you’re going to be wearing."

She waved her hands and suddenly Daniel found his clothes flying off his body at a tremendous speed. A moment later he found himself standing in front of her completely naked. He tried to scream but it came out as a low whisper.

Then she waved a finger at the box and a pair of white panties flew out and landed at his feet. Daniel felt an invisible force lift up one foot and then the other. The smooth, silky panties slid up his naked body on their own causing his body to shiver.

Next his hands rose out in front of him and to his horror; a white, lacy bra drifted over and proceeded to wrap itself around him. With one final snap in the back the bra attached itself to him.

"Why are you doing this?" Daniel tried to scream. "The only thing I ever done wrong was try to make people laugh. You can’t punish me for that."

"Yes, but you did it at the expense of others," Trisha glared back at him. "And sometimes you pushed people too far, like Shannon Royal."

"Who are you?"

Trisha ignored the question and pulled out two breast pieces from the suitcase. She stuffed them into the bra and waved her finger again. A bottle of sweet smelling powder floated over and lovingly started to sprinkle its contents all over his body. Daniel continued to protest but Trisha paid no attention to it.

A pair of white stockings moved towards the confused boy. Daniel felt one-foot lift up as the sheer hose gently started to work its way up his leg. When this was done the process was repeated on the other leg.

With another wave of her hand, a very lacy, ruffled petticoat flew out of the suitcase and landed at Daniel’s feet.

"Don’t do this," Daniel begged to his body but it was no use. He found his feet stepping into the center of the lacy garment without reservation. Slowly the white petticoat worked it’s way up his waist on it’s own power. Daniel touched the silky material with his hands in horror as it bellowed out at his feet

But there were still more surprises/horrors to come. A silky, lace chemise slid its way onto his body and then the sound of clicking caused the boy to cry out in panic. It was a pair of dazzling white, 3" high heels that were walking towards him as if someone were actually wearing them. They stopped in front of his feet, which then stepped into them.

"Now for the big moment," Trisha said to Daniel with a wink.

The big, feminine wedding gown unlatched itself from the hanger and floated slowly over Daniel’s head. The boy looked up as the dress positioned itself over his body and slowly started to lower itself onto him. An invisible force lifted his hands high in the air and Daniel felt the silky sleeves of the dress sliding down his arms. Suddenly he found himself lost in a sea of white as dress covered his head, and proceeded to slowly move down over the hapless boy. He tried crying out but it was useless effort, no one could hear him. With a small tug on the dress his head popped out of the high lace collar and he could see again. The dress tugged a little more in the back as if positioning itself on his body, and then Daniel felt the zipper in the back moving up the dress, thus sealing him into it.

"What are you?" he asked again in panic. "A witch? Please, just let me go."

"Not until you learned a valuable lesson," Trisha told him in a comforting tone. "You should be thankful I’m not making you go without this." She held up a long, blonde wig that was curled and made up to like his sister’s hair. "It took me hours to get it this way."

"I’ll look just like my sister," he tried to scream.

"Yes, and better yet," Trisha grinned, "that’s your mothers wedding gown you’re wearing. I’m sure she’ll be so proud to see you in it."

"I can’t go out there dressed like this; I’ll look like a fool," he said.

"Isn’t that what you did to Shannon, Kate, Tim, John, –" Trisha continued to rattle of two dozen more names. "Now you’re beginning to feel how they felt; and it isn’t so pleasant, is it Daniel? Oh my, look at the time. Hush up while I finish getting you ready"

Trisha placed the wig onto his head and played with the hair so it draped down the front of the dress. Then she snapped her fingers and Daniel’s face was attacked by brushes, applicators, and lipstick containers that flew out of the makeup box. They danced around his face and waited for their turn to apply themselves to him.

Daniel tried to move his head but found it frozen in place. The foundation felt cool as it was applied to his skin. A light coat of blush was also added and his lips pushed out slightly on their own as an invisible hand applied the red lipstick to them. His eyes closed against his will and he felt something soft and silky being applied to the lids. More brushes and applicators attacked his face, all determined to do their best to make him look as feminine at possible. After the job was done they flew back into the makeup case on their own power.

"You look lovely Daniel, but there’s still something missing," Trisha told him. "The final touch."

Trisha grabbed the sheer, white veil and laid it carefully over Daniel’s head. She played around with some to get it straight.

"Perfect," she giggled. "Now no one will recognize you until we want them to."

"What – what are you talking about?" Daniel whispered in a frighten voice.

"You’ll see," she smiled while opening up the door. Daniel felt an invisible hand push him out into the hallway. There a big, muscular boy dressed in a tux met them.

"This is Bill, your escort Daniel; or should I call you Danielle," Trisha grinned.

"Hi Danielle," I smiled evilly at my previous tormentor.

"Oh my, I almost forgot," Trisha said absentminded while placing a bouquet of flowers into Daniel’s hands. "Take these pretty flowers Danielle. A beautiful girl must have pretty flowers on her big day."

I held out my arm and Daniel’s hand was jerked over to receive it.

Daniel found himself being forced to lift up the skirt of the wedding dress with his free hand as I slowly led him down the hallway to where all the other girls were getting ready. I knew the wedding dress was heavy to walk in, almost as if it had weights attached to it; and the thick, constricting petticoat caused the dress to sway from side to side making it impossible to run in.

Trisha followed the two teenagers a short distance behind with a careful eye. It wasn’t Daniel’s behavior she was interested in; it was Bill’s. This was a test to see how far he had come in the past week.

I lead Daniel into the back room where the other girls were getting ready to go onstage. Most of the girls had their mothers or a friend helping them. The bridal show was made up entirely of high school girls dressed in their mother’s old wedding gowns. On the way to the stage we past by a full length mirror and I halted the precession so Daniel could get his first, full look at what he had become. He gasped in horror at the sight.

"Pretty, aren’t you," I said with a slight laugh.

"Please, take me back," Daniel begged in a whisper, this time under his own power so no one else could hear him except for me. "You had your fun, now please let me go."

I didn’t answer his pleads. Somewhere in the room I could hear Daniel’s sister telling his mom she couldn’t find her wedding dress. If they caught him wearing it! A few of the girls rushed by us without paying much attention to Daniel; to them he was just another blushing bride. But several of the mothers who followed beamed at him with pleasure. Apparently he looked just enough like his sister to make them think he really was her. I slowly jerked him out of the daydream and toward the stage.

"Please, I'll do anything," he continued. "What do you want?"

"The satisfaction of getting even," I hissed softly. "You don’t know who I am, do you? Well, I’ll tell you once we get on stage."

I escorted Daniel up to Ms. Lackey, the girl’s PE teacher and director of the show. She was currently peeking out behind the curtain at the young couple on stage.

"Danielle, I see you found your mother’s dress after all. Oh my, don’t you look pretty in it," she said with a wide smile. It was evident she didn’t know who this really was wearing the dress.

"You’re on next Danielle," she said, while handing me the card to give to the announcer. "Don’t be nervous, just take a deep breath and remember what we went over. Make sure you twirl around twice so everyone can see the back of your gorgeous dress."

We watched the bride on stage smile and do her moves for the crowd. After a couple of turns her escort provided his arm to her and they walk back off stage smiling.

"Okay, your turn Danielle, big smile," Ms. Lackey said sweetly as she gave Daniel an encouraging nudge on the back.

"Mom, who’s that wearing your dress," I heard Daniel’s sister ask from somewhere behind us. Daniel heard it too and cringed in terror knowing he was caught. Then he cringed even more when the crowd of people in the audience, most of them female classmates with their mothers, started clapping as we walked onto the stage.

"Please, take me back," Daniel begged as I led him over to the announcer. "Don’t make me do this!"

"Why didn’t you stop when I asked you to?" I replied back in a low, anger whisper. "I ask you to leave me alone all the time but you never did. You kept on teasing and hurting me."

"Who – who are you? I don’t know you."

"I’m Shannon Royal," I hissed at him softly. "I’ve been given a chance to come back and show you how it feels to be humiliated in front of hundreds of people."

"Shannon?" Daniel looked at me in sick horror. "Oh god, I’m sorry Shannon, it was just a joke. I didn’t know you’d kill yourself because of it. If I knew it was going to upset you that much, I wouldn’t have done that to you. I’m so sorry, I really, really am!"

"Shut up and take this like a man," I told him. "Now lets go and don’t forget to smile pretty for everyone."

I practically was dragging him now, as he struggled to walk in the long dress and thick petticoat. I handed over the card that Ms. Lackey had given me to the announcer.

He looked at the card, smiled, and spoke into the mic; "this is Danielle Lewis and her escort, Bill Maxwell. Don’t they make a lovely couple folks? Let’s give them a big hand." The entire gymnasium erupted in a storm of applause.

Daniel stood there in a frozen panic but I gave him a strong nudge to move him forward.

"Let’s go," I told him, "and don’t forget to smile real pretty for everyone."

I marched him out into the middle of the stage and moved my hand up his back without him knowing it. I got a strong grip on the wig and prepared for the right moment to yank it off – when he was walking toward the front of the stage. Then everyone would realize it was Daniel Lewis dressed up in a pretty wedding gown. It would be the ultimate payback for what he did to me. The poor boy would never live this humiliation down.

I started to pull the wig off but something inside my head stopped me. The words I heard that stranger say a few days ago rang in my ears.

"Never forget how it feels to be teased for the pleasures of others," he had told me.

I realized that’s what I was doing – feeling pleasure from the pain of teasing someone else. Everything I despised about what Daniel and the others had done to me I was now doing myself. It wasn’t right then, and even though I had suffered, it didn’t make it any more right now. I released my grip on the wig and looked down at Daniel who had tears in his eyes.

"If you want to get out of this without embarrassing yourself in front of everyone, I suggest you smile pretty, move your hips, and try not to make a fool of yourself. Now move." I gave him a slight nudge on the rear and watched as he struggled to walk toward the crowd in his 3" heels.

I suppose I should have found this funny, and maybe a week ago I would have. But inside I knew what Daniel was feeling and it made me feel sad. Why did this idea sound so good a couple of hours ago when I had rapidly agreed to Trisha’s plan?

Daniel walked to the front of the stage and turned so everyone could see the high-collar dress with the huge, white bow attached to the rear. The train of the dress was at least 5 feet long and he had trouble turning around on stage. All the time this was going on the announcer was describing the dress in fine detail.

I looked over to the side entrance and saw Daniel’s mother and sister standing next to Ms. Lackey watching him. Mrs. Lewis had a reserved expression on her face as she saw her son turn in front of the crowd with a big smile. His sister on the other hand looked bewildered by his actions.

Daniel didn’t have to worry about his makeup; he was a natural blushing bride. He kept looking over at me in panic but continued to go through the motions he had seen the other girl do before him. When he finished, I gave him my arm and gracefully escorted him off the stage into the waiting arms of his mother, sister, and a confused Ms. Lackey.

"Well," his mother said in a low tone, "I didn’t know I had two daughters." Danielle chuckled at the comment her mother had just made while Mrs. Lackey looked on with confusion.

"If this isn’t Danielle, then who is she?" Ms. Lackey asked.

"Why this is my cousin, Denise," Danielle told her teacher with a slight giggle. "I guess she was feeling left out when my mother started giving me so much attention and decided to take my place."

"Why, you two look so much alike," the teacher exclaimed. "And you make a beautiful bride, Denise." Daniel stood there blushing deeply with embarrassment over the comments.

"Aren’t you going to thank Ms. Lackey like a proper young lady," his mother responded in a firm tone. I don’t think she knew whether to be concerned or upset with her son.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lackey," Daniel blushed.

"This way, Denise," his mother said firmly while taking his hand and pulling him away. I followed close behind to hear what she had to say to him.

"I had no idea you felt this way, Denise. If I had known about this before, I would’ve gotten you your own pretty clothes to wear. When I get you home we’ll find one of Danielle’s prettiest dresses for you to wear and then we can talk about all this. You don’t mind Danielle, do you?"

"Of course not, mother," she giggled some more while looking at her brother dressed in her mothers finest. "Whatever it takes to get Denise out of her shell and become the woman she wants to be."

"How thoughtful of your sister, Denise," Mrs. Lewis said in a non-judgmental way while walking Daniel slowly toward the exit. Some of the other girls in the show stared at them with confusion. If that wasn’t Danielle in her mother’s wedding dress, than who was it?

"Both of you come with me, I’ll drive you both home now."

"Can’t – can’t I change first?" Daniel asked nervously.

"Why?" his mother smiled brightly. "You’re so beautiful in that outfit, Denise! You make a very lovely, young bride."

As I watched them leave I felt a sense of satisfaction inside knowing I hadn’t embarrassed him more, even though he deserved it. I saw Trisha standing not far away with a small smile on her face.

"I need to talk to you," I said firmly.

"Not here," she replied. "Outside in my car. Follow me."

I was halfway to the door when I spotted her – my sister – dressed in my mother expensive wedding gown. Normally she was always smiling but today she looked depressed. I noticed my mother was no where to be found. Trisha looked over at what had caused me to stop and frowned.

"I need to talk to her one last time," I told Trisha softly.

"Bill," she warned me.

"I know Trisha, I won’t tell her anything." I looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please Trisha, let me say goodbye before I go."

"Carefully – do you understand?" she stated sternly in a low whisper. I nodded and walked over to where my sister was standing.

"Rachel?" The young girl looked up at me. "I’m sorry about your sister."

"Thank – thank you," she muttered. "Did you know Shannon well?"

"Better than you could imagine," I answered.

"My mother say’s Shannon is happy now – I wish I could believe that." I could see the guilt in my sister’s eyes.

"I’m sure she is, in fact I know she is."

"How can you be sure?" she asked sadly.

"Because I’m – because I just know. Don’t blame yourself for her death, it wasn’t your fault. She never meant to hurt you."

"It was me who was always hurting her," Rachel explained sadly. "I was always pushing my good looks in her face. I was the one who always competed with her for mom’s attention and got it. I knew it hurt her, but I did it out of spite! I was always mean to her. I’m the reason why she took her life!"

"No," I replied back in a comforting tone. "Shannon told me you two weren’t close but her death wasn’t your fault. She just forgot how precious life is. Don’t blame yourself for her mistake."

I looked over at Trisha who was giving me an impatient stare. "I have to go now Rachel. Just don’t let your sisters death ruin your life." I gave her a small hug and placed a pre-written note into her purse without her knowing it. I let go of my sister and started to walk away.

"Wait," she cried out. "Who are you?"

"It doesn’t matter now, does it?" I told her. "Let’s just say I’m a old friend of the family and leave it at that. Goodbye Rachel."

"Goodbye," she answered, lifting her hand in the air at me. I swiftly followed Trisha outside into the parking lot.

"Feel better?" she asked.

"Yes, a lot better," I nodded. "Thanks for letting me say goodbye to her back there."

"And for the note," she said smugly.

"Note?" I tried to act surprise but didn’t do a very good job at it.

"Yes, the note you placed in her purse. The note you thought I didn’t know about. The note where you tell Rachel you’re still alive and happy and you want her to be happy knowing that. The note you told her not to share with your mother. That note!"

"I’m sorry Trisha, I had to give it to her so – so she wouldn’t be unhappy for the rest of her life. For what it’s worth, I didn’t tell her anything important – like about you or Andersonville."

"If you had I wouldn’t have let her keep it" she told me with a thin smile. "The chances are, Rachel won’t believe what you wrote anyway but you shouldn’t have tried to disobey me. And speaking of disobeying me, what happened out there on stage. You were suppose to pull Daniel’s wig off in front of the audience so they could see it was a boy dressed in that feminine wedding gown."

"I – I couldn’t do it Trisha," I answered while hoping I could make her understand. "I didn’t want to hurt him like he hurt me. I didn’t want to become like him."

She smiled. "You have learned a lot this week, Bill."

"You mean, you’re not mad at me?"

"Of course not. You behaved the way I hoped you would behave."

"What about Daniel?" I asked. "What’s going to happen to him?"

"Mrs. Lewis is a wonderful lady who is deeply concerned about her children’s well being," Trisha explained. "She’s been concerned about her son's behavior for some time now and has thought about taking him to see someone. I’m sure Daniel will try telling her the truth but she won’t believe it. With no other recourse left to explain why he’s in her wedding dress, Daniel will most likely confess his guilt over Shannon Royal’s death. His mother will see what happened today as a cry for help, and out of love will get it for him. Daniel will finally find a way to deal with the pain inside him."

"What pain?" I asked curiously.

"When he was about six years old, his father left and hasn’t seen him since. But before he left, he said some pretty nasty things to Daniel, things that damaged his self-esteem – things that no child should’ve had to deal with. That’s why Daniel is the way he is; he’s projecting how insecure he feels by making others feel the same way – like you for instance."

"Does he really feel guilty about how he treated me?" I asked.

"Yes Bill, he does," Trisha told me with a sad smile. " Are you surprised? His apology to you was real and sincere. He was very sorry when he heard what you did and felt guilty about pushing you over the edge."

"I had no idea – I mean," I stood there a little stunned. "I’m glad I didn’t embarrass him like you asked me to."

"So am I, Bill, more than you know," she said with a grin. "Like I said, sometimes a swift kick in the butt will do a person good. In a few years Daniel won’t be the jerk that he is today. He may even end up helping others with self-esteem problems."

"So what happens to me now?" I asked.

"Now you come with me," someone else said. It was Judge Herns standing nearby wearing a nice dress.

"You mean –?"

"Yes Bill," Judge Herns smiled. "It’s time to take you home. This was a test Trisha set up so I could see for myself how much you’ve changed since our last meeting. You’ve proven to me that you’re not the same person I once knew, so I’m taking you back to Andersonville with me."

"I don’t – know – what," I turned and gave Trisha a big hug. "Thank you, Trisha, for having faith in me – and for being my friend."

"You’re welcome, Bill," she replied joyfully.

"Will I see you again?" I asked.

"Of course you will, Bill," she grinned. "I’ll stop in from time to time to say ‘hi’. Until then, I want you to take care and make a good life for yourself this time.

"I will," I promised. I turned to Judge Herns. "I’m ready to go, Your Honor."

"Get in the car my child," she told me pleasantly. "We have a plane to catch to Andersonville." I couldn’t wait to get there.

"Oh, and Bill," Trisha yelled out to me. "Don’t forget about the man who got everything he ever wanted."

"What happened?"

"Why he lived happily ever after," she grinned.

***********************************

One week later – Friday evening

I sat there on the bleachers watching Steve, Larry, and their new friend, Bill Maxwell, toss the football around the field. Dennis Butz had told me to meet him here about a very important manner. I couldn’t figure out what could be so important that we had to meet on the High School football field. While I waited, I daydreamed about being out there with my brother and his friends. I guess I could have gone down and joined them, although the dress and heels would’ve made me look a little out of place. I sighed slightly at how unfair this seemed.

"Hello Linda," Dennis greeted me while taking a seat next to mine.

"Hello Dennis," I replied back. "So what’s so important that I had to meet you here?"

"I’ll tell you in a minute," he grinned. "But first Linda, I want you to know how proud I am having you working for me. I know this hasn’t been easy on you, and that you’d rather be down there slinging the football around with your brother instead of being up here in the stands playing cheerleader. However, I wanted you to know there was a reason for this and you’ve been one of the best employees I’ve ever had. I have no complaints about anything you’ve done so far."

"Not even when I escaped?" I asked.

"We all make mistakes Linda. I don’t blame you for trying," he chuckled, "and succeeding. But you didn’t plan on leaving for good; you intended to come back here and continue living out your agreement with me. You just didn’t understand at the time why the Judge wouldn’t let you go. But that’s in the past, and we don’t need to talk about it anymore."

"So is this where I’m suppose to get all mushy and tell you that I always felt like you’ve been like a father to me, Dennis?" I smirked.

The director let out a hearty laugh. "No, Linda, that would be out of character for you.

"So what are you leading up to?" Dennis was acting very strangely, as if he was both excited and sad at the same time.

"I tell you in a minute," he said in a serious tone. "But first, I believe I’ve figured out a way to get your brother Steve out of this depressed state he’s been in lately. Wait, hold on."

Dennis reached into his pocket and pulled out a black box that looked like a speaker. He coughed and said, "I had this wired up ahead of time, it’ll allow us to hear what Steve says. Keep in mind, I normally don’t listen in on other peoples conversations."

"I bet!" I sarcastically replied. "So why are we eavesdropping in on my brother?"

"You’ll see," Dennis smiled and pointed.

I spotted a blonde-haired girl, wearing an Andersonville cheerleader’s outfit, walk out onto the football field. She looked to be about Steve’s age, and was absolutely stunning. She had long, tan legs, a face like an angel, and a body that any boy would kill for. She laid her pom-poms down on the bench and started tying her shoes, giving herself a very seductive pose that seemed to be on purpose. The three boys stopped what they were doing and said something to each other. To my surprise, both Larry and Bill turned and walked off the field leaving Steve alone. Bill, I could almost understand not being interested, for I knew who he really was, but Larry was girl crazy.

"Is she a temp?" I asked Dennis. The girl was too far away to see her eyes.

"No, she’s very real," Dennis said smiling, not taking his eyes off the two of them.

"I don’t remember seeing her before. When did she come in?"

"Today. She’s a transfer from Peace River," Dennis explained. "Judge Jasper didn’t think she would fit in there so he offered me a trade. I figured the only way to get Steve’s mind off his old girlfriend was to give him a new one. I worked it out in advance with Larry and Bill so they would leave him alone with her. Pretty sneaky, huh Linda?"

"I never said you were anything but sneaky Dennis," I agreed.

"Let’s see what they have to say to each other, shall we," he replied while turning up the speaker box.

************************

"Hi," the attractive girl yelled cheerfully to Steve.

"Um, hi," Steve replied back in an uninterested tone. "You must be new here?"

"Yep," she said with a big smile. "I came to Andersonville this morning and I’ve met a lot of nice people so far."

"Andersonville is a nice town. By the way, I’m Steve Anderson." My brother held out his hand in a businesslike fashion.

"I’m Sally – Sally Rider," she replied with a grin. "Nice to meet you Steve.

"Sal – Sally," Steve stuttered. The familiar pain of losing his former lover came back to him.

"Are you okay, Steve?" she asked a little concern.

"I’m fine," he answered harshly. "It’s just – never mind. I’m sure you’ll be happy here." Steve turned and proceeded to walk away.

"Steve," Sally called out. "I was wondering if you could help me. I’m looking for your sister, Jennifer. Do you know where I can find her at?"

"What?" Steve turned and frowned at the girl. "What do you want with Jennifer?"

"I want to apologize to her. You see – I was pretty mean to her a while back. I blamed her for some stuff she had no control over."

"What stuff?" Steve demanded to know.

"Over the death of my old boyfriend, Al Parker," She smiled at Steve with tears in her eyes. "Do you know where I can find Al now?"

"Sally?" Steve stood in a semi-shock. "Sally – is it – is it really you?"

"It’s been a long time ‘sugar-cane’," Sally replied using her old nickname for Al Parker. "Much too long, Al."

"Oh my God, Sally, it’s you." Steve ran over and hugged her tightly. They kissed each other passionately as tears rolled freely from their eyes.

****************************

"Well, I think we’ve heard enough," Dennis said as he turned off the box. I stared at him with immense gratitude.

"Dennis, that was the nicest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do for another human being. I don’t know what to say." I reached over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "But I thought Sally was dead."

"She was," Dennis replied and didn’t elaborate. I knew he wasn’t going to tell me anything more. "Oh, just so you know, Ashlee Gang is pregnant again. She wanted me to tell you.

"Boy, you’re full of good news," I said. "So what did you have to give Judge Jasper in return for Sally? It must have been big."

"It was something very near and special to me," he said slowly. "It’s only for a little while but, it wasn’t easy to part with." He smiled slightly as he stood up, but I could see something was clearly bothering him.

"Dennis," I asked with concern. "What the hell was it?"

"It was you, Linda," he stated "You’re going to Peace River while Ashlee is out on maternity leave." He started to walk away.

I sat there for a moment trying to take in what he had said. I was going to Peace River to work for that – that man, Judge Jasper! The Judge hated my guts, why would he want me in his town for even a day? And why hadn’t I been asked first if I would go?

"Wait a minute!" I yelled angrily at Dennis who was now a good distance away. "You can’t treat me like you ‘own’ me. COME BACK HERE YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

I ran after the director as fast as my heels would allow me.

Fade out…

 

Coming soon – Peace River

 

 

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© 2001 by Kelly Davidson. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.