Jane took the offered towel from Katherine and smiled as he tried to clear some of the icings away from his face, fingers and from the front of his dress. Josephine helped by bringing out a wet rag that was used to get most of the remaining icing and a little from his dress. Susan, once she finished laughing guided Jane over to the table where the presents where kept, while she darted into the kitchen to fetch a broom and a dustpan. She started to clean up the mess while Josephine handed out the gifts.
“Okay, this is from the staff,” Josephine said handing Jane a small box. “We know you asked for a pokemon game. And we’ll. After much debating, we decided you totally earned it. So here you go.” She said grinning as she watched Jane slowly open the box to reveal a pokemon cartridge. The game was the newest title in that long going series.
“Wow,” Susan said standing behind Jane. “I guess we can trade and battle each other now. Totally need some grinding to do sis, I’m already on my fourth gym.” She said smirking as she wrapped her arms around Jane’s shoulders and gave her a kiss on the cheeks. As she placed another package down upon the table.
“This one from me.” She said grinning. “Lavender approved too.” She said winking as she stepped aside and smiled.
Jane blinked and blinked again as she looked down at the box that was wrapped in pink and white paper and tied with a matching white bow. Slowly she removed the ribbon and then she slowly lifted the top of the box to reveal a bottle of pink perfume.
“Since your leaving your tomboy phase behind. I thought you might need a new scent. So, Katie and I picked this scent out for you. It's kind of a balance, perfect for like somebody just starting to explore fashion.” Susan explained as Jane picked up the bottle and looked it over.
“When you have time this weekend, like Katie and I could take you to the mall and show you all the secrets of the mall. There so much to do, like a lot more than just hanging around GameStop, Diamond Arcade. Lan’s Comics and Movie Gallery. I mean sure those are fun, but there also J.C Penny and McRav and Belk’s too. And like a dozen other stores to visit. You can like really spend hours there.”
Jane as he returned the bottle of perfume to the small box. Once the bottle of perfume was returned to the box, he turned over and wrapped his tiny arms around Susan and hugged her tightly and even gave her a tiny kiss on the cheeks. Susan blushed at both the hug and the kiss.
“Okay! Okay! Dork!” She said finally breaking the hug.
“I’m next it seems,” Katherine said smiling. The tall girl took a deep breath as she placed a large box down in front of Jane. She turned her cheeks as a deep blush colored her cheeks. “Hey, I know you're coming out of your tomboy phase and stuff. And like, I’m not the best when it comes to this stuff. But you're getting to that age where you need a basic make-up kit. So with Josephine’s approval.” Her voice trailed a little as she lifted her hand and started to rub the back of her neck.
Jane blinked and lifted the top to the box to reveal the most basic of make-up kits. Josephine folded her arms across her chest and sighed as she placed her nose up in the air. “Like, Really! Make-up! I guess she old enough now. But you can only wear it with my approval!” She shifted her eyes toward Katherine who was standing there blushing like a bride standing before the altar.
“And you, young lady are in charge of taking her to the mall and see that she learns how to properly apply it. You brought her the kit, you're teaching her.” She said in a firm, almost commanding tone of voice.
At that everybody paused and turned toward Josephine, who just stood there returning there blank expressions with a grin. Finally, she unfolded her arms and shrugged her shoulders and held up her hands. And then in a matter of fact tone of voice, she said.
“Hey, I’m still getting used to this Mom thing okay?”
At that everybody’s jaw dropped open.
“What, Robert and I talked about it. We decided that it would be nice for us to settle down and have a family. Because of personal issues, we really can’t have children the traditional way. So, we decided to we’ll kind of start the progress of adopting this squirt here.” She said walking over and pulling Jane into a hug. “So, now your really part of the family. Like your surrounded by sisters and brothers.” She said smiling.
“OMG! SO SHE REALLY GOING TO BE PART OF THE FAMILY, LIKE FOR REAL!” Susan screamed as she rushed over and wrapped her arms around Jane’s shoulders, she started to rub her cheeks with the girl.
“Well, we don’t know if she going to be a she or a he…” Josephine's voice trailed a little. “That up for Jane or James to decided when the time is right. We're not going to force anything on him. But I would like you girls to treat him like a girl when he’s in Jane mode and you know, try to teach him. If he’s going to be Jane, then he has a lot to learn and a lot of bad habits to unlearn.”
Jane blushed and returned Susan snuggle. A deep blush colored his cheeks.
“We’ll do our best.” Katherine said, she then peered toward the boys who where standing there with there hands in their pockets. She then pointed toward one of the tallest boys and then in a gentle tone of voice she asked. “Guys, you heard her. Whatever happens, we need to close ranks now more than ever. I know you always try to outshine each other. But please, learn to work together. Matthew!” She said as she locked eyes with the tallest boy who had golden blonde hair.
Matthew blinked and blinked again as he pointed to himself.
“I’m charging you with running defense and offense for James when he’s in Jane mode. Remember what happened to Daisy? Remember how he died defending his brothers and sisters! I expect the same from all of you!” Katherine’s voice was rising. “He was killed one day before he was to adopted, but he died a hero.”
Josephine took a deep breath and placed a hand upon Katherine's shoulders. All eyes turned toward her. Everybody knew that Josephine was there that fateful night some nineteen years ago. She was one of the teens who had been charged with leading one of the groups. Daisy had been the other. And some of the older staff members also knew that Josephine still felt guilty over letting that happen.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” She whispered to Katherine as she patted her on the shoulder, She then turned toward Matthew and smiled. “You both have a big responsibility. Katherine you might have a new little sister to teach and guide. Matthew, you might have another little sister to take care of. Whatever happens, I expect both of you to act like the mature teenagers you’ve proven yours elf’s to be.”
Both nodded their head.
“Good, now Jane, I have one more gift,” Josephine said as she walked over and pulled out a small brown box. She walked over and kneeled down beside Jane. “I know, before you came here you had a very special toy. I’m sorry that the toy was taken from you. Nobody can replace that toy.” She said placing one arm on the cake covered boy’s shoulder. “But, Jane I hope this will show you how much we care about you. We love you and we want you to become part of this family.”
James blinked and took a deep breath. Josephine words somehow broke the prison walls of stone that had surrounded his heart. Slowly he reached down and removed the box and there surrounded by pink wrapping paper was stuff doll. Not any old stuff doll, but an Arial doll, complete with red hair, a white gown, and blue eyes. James placed the box down and reached in, and gently pulled the doll out of the box. And then without saying a word he pulled the doll close to his body and squeezed it. Tears started to roll down his eyes as he held the doll. For the first time in a very long time, he felt loved. And as each second passed, the stone that surrounded his heart started to break away and soon the high walls that had for so long guard his heart were nothing more than ruined rubble. Today had been perfect.
The end.
The adventures of Jane and family will be continued in ‘Melodies of the Heart: The Pitch and Burst’
The gymnasium was filled to the brim with costumed revelers. Kendalgroves Jr. High School annual Halloween celebration was in full swing with all the students dancing their cares away as the DJ was playing the latest pop hits. The room gym had been decorated in full Halloween style, with spooky glow in the dark skeletons hanging from invisible strings and plastic bats too. And in the center there could be a strange attraction.
The attraction was some kind of contraption was a booth of some kind with three plastic walls. Sitting in the middle of the booth was an old wooden three legged stool and above the stool there could be seen a funnel feeding into a reservoir. The tank held around twelve gallons of orange slime that had touches of white swirled into the mix. A few square bales of hay had been scattered around the tank with three freshly carved smiling Jack-O-Lanterns sitting around the booth.
Standing by the booth was a young, petite woman with long brunette hair that reached down to her shoulders. She was dressed in a low cut version of the dress worn by Alice in “Alice in Wonderland” the dress was both flirty and adorable. The low cut, pastel blue dress hugged every inch of her frame and highlighted her curves and made her seem more endowed than she really was. A fact she was grateful for. Going the extra mile she had decided to also ditch the white stocking that came with the dress. After all she had spent hours upon hours running up and down the driveway of the manor house, and even more hours sunbathing in the backyard. All in an effort to add curves and to hopefully tan. All in all she had only seen marginal success as she had gone from flour white to a light brown color.. but it was something. And she was proud of her body too.
You see Jane was transgender. Discovering that fact had solved a lot of her problems. Also discovering that had opened up another can of worms. But with the help of her new mom and dad she was slowly working her way through those problems, one problem at a time. Supporting her were a dozen or so aunts and uncles, cousins and brothers and sisters. And that was a blessing in itself.
Not that any of that mattered of course, Jane was still kind of accepted by her peers at school. The girls had kind of stopped seeing Jane as a major rival for the attention of the boys. And a few of them had even extended the olive branch. But still there were a group of girls who had looked down on her, because she was transgender and also because she was a manor girl. The same group of girls looked down on her older sister Susan the same reason, she too was a manor girl.
Anyway the reason behind the booth in the center of the gym was simple enough. A week or so ago, the student present had decided to hold something of a fundraiser. Because you know there was always one organization that needed a quick transfusion of ready cash into their checking accounts. And so, after a few rounds of debating it was decided that the best way to raise a lot of money with very little effort was a gunge vote between three popular girls. And those three were, Rebecca Marie Chapman, a blonde hair blue eyed girl who was the captain of the cheerleading squad. She had also been homecoming princess five years running and proudly boasted that she could trace her family line back to the early days of Erehwon. Back when Erehwon was just a tiny outpost of the budding British Empire.
Rebecca came from money and she was not afraid to let you know it. Up next was Yua Sato. She was one of the handful of ethic Japanese that were enrolled in the school. Jane also knew she was quite popular with the boys because she was Japanese and often played the part of a demure schoolgirl. Complete with bringing her own homemade lunch every day.
And while many of her classmates thought of her as naive and something of a pushover. Yua used her looks and her manners to make the boys dance and she could make them dance like puppets on a string. She was also cruel, cunning and wicked. And she used her heart shaped face to her advantage. And then it was her, the mystery girl who appeared one day at the annual back to school carnival. Jane had volunteered for the dunking booth that year. And while none of the girls had really thrown at her, a dozen or so had watched from the side lines giving her dirty looks.
From that day forward, Jane had learned that girls can bully just as hard as boys. And that female jealousy was far more toxic than male jealousy. Jane had found herself pushed into a world she did not understand. A world where gossiping, backbiting and slander were the tools of choice. A world where clandestine meetings held in the girls bathroom decided your fate.
Jane took a deep breath and shook her head. Maybe she was starting to overthink this. After all, nobody had forced her to volunteer for the booth. Nobody had forced her to sign up. Sighing deeply she started to shuffle toward the refreshment table. She needed something to drink, she really did. She needs something to clear her head too.
The refreshment table was heavy laden with seasonal treats, pumpkin pie, a bowl of cheap seasonal candy that was wrapped in heavy orange plastic paper, another bowl that held mini versions of snickers, mars and other brand name candy bars sitting beside that was another bowl that was overflowing with peanut butter cups. And at the center of it all was a big bowl of orange looking punch. With trembling hands, Jane reached over and picked up the medal ladle and poured herself some of the fruity smelling punch.
As Jane stood there, sipping her punch she noticed everybody at the dance seemed to have a date. All save her, She noticed Rebecca was standing off in a corner, Rebecca had of course gone with your cookie cutter princess outfit. A pink gown with her blonde hair pulled back and braid back. Her best friend Yua was standing beside her, she was dressed as, it was hard to tell, but if Jane had to hazard a guess it would be something morbid. It was like a cross between a zombie costume and a schoolgirl outfit.
Taking a deep breath she slowly took a sip from her paper cup and swirled some of the juice around her mouth before she swallowed. It was not the biggest fan of fruit punch, she really hated the way it tasted, but she needed something to drink.
“Oh hello there Jane.” A voice called out from behind her. “I'm so glad you're here. Even if it cost me a new pair of shoes.” The voice belonged to Rebecca. “Yes I totally made a bet with my best friend that you skip this little party, even if your names are on the hat to get gunged. You know, with it being Halloween and all.
“We totally expected you to bail on us. You know, because you live in that foster home and such. And we know they only allow you guys to eat chocolate like three days a year or something?” Yua said, smirking as she rolled her eyes.
“Good one!” Rebecca said falling into a fit of giggles. “I mean, most of their clothing is second hand anyway right? And most of their lunches are second hand anyway right? And Halloween is totally a beggar's holiday right? Free candy and all that good stuff?
Jane blinked and blinked again as she rolled her eyes and peered toward the two girls. She wanted to say something so bad, but she knew better than to feed into their teasing. After all she was a gamer girl and she knew better than to feed to trolls if you will. She was just about to walk off when she had a sudden change of mind. She had the perfect retort in mind.
“You know, we get plenty of free candy and at least my mom lets me wear something flattering.” Jane started to circle around Rebecca like a hungry wolf encircling a lost and confused sheep. “Unlike yours, I mean really a princess costume. Come on now, it's not like we're in elementary school anymore girl. Then again.” She made a sniffing jester. “I guess because it reeks of moth balls this was your elementary school costume.”
Rebecca blinked and blinked again and a stunned look took hold of her face. Her facial expression kind of reminded Jane of the facial expression somebody would make when smacked with a heavy cast iron pan or a float board on those old Saturday morning cartoons. It was safe to say she had stunned Rebecca into silence. So with one down one to go she turned her full attention toward Yua.
“And you.” Jane said, shaking her head. “I don't know where to start, so let's start with your outfit. You know, even though you're supposed to come from one of the richer families in the school. Your outfit looks like you just raided your closet, then raided the mark down section of the CVS Halloween Costume Section. You know the one they have next to the candy displays. Because let me down low with your girlfriend. Your outfit looks more thrown together than a preschooler going trick or treating. Okay I take that back, even preschoolers can pick out a better costume.”
“Oh girl! I'm going to be straight up with you. You're cruisin for a bruise right now.” Yua said to her as she flipped her long black hair back and peered into Jamie's eyes.
Jamie, never being the one too back down, stepped up and peered into Yua's eyes, and for a minute the whole school held its breath. The music stopped, the dancing stopped and all eyes turned toward the two. A stunned silence had fallen over the crowd. And a few whispers could be heard from the very back of the room. You could almost cut the tension with a knife.
“You know, you're not even worth my time.” Jane said as she stepped away. “You're not even worth the trouble.” She added as she started to walk toward the back of the room.
“Watch yourself girl, you're in our world now. And we play by our rules.” Yua said huffing as she watched Jamie walk away, her bottom switching as she walked. Her blood started to boil as she watched her slip into the crowd. “Just be sure to watch your back girl, you're now on my shit list.” She whispered as she watched Jamie slip away.
Once Jane was away from the girls, she took a deep breath. She was now standing at the edge of the crowd. Classic Halloween music was playing. And Jane for the first time tonight was starting to have second thoughts about being here. Everybody seemed to have a date, everybody saved her. Blushing deeply she folded her arms across her chest and started to pout, she could be home right now, gorging herself pizza from Pizza Hut and watching a marathon of classic Disney horror movies like Don't Look Under the Bed or Something Wicked This way Comes and who can forget the cult classic Hocus Pocus.
Jane took another deep breath as she peered out the one of the windows. The weather outside the gymnasium had changed from peaceful autumn mist to down right spooky Halloween. She could already see frost starting to form on the window panes. And she could tell the wind was starting to blow because of the way the trees out in the school yard started to lean this way and that. The howling of the wind filled her with dread. She breathed a silent prayer for her sisters who wanted to celebrate Samhain surrounded by Gaia.
“So.” A voice from behind Jane chimed in. “Pretty dull party.”
Jane blinked and blinked again as she quickly turned around and noticed that standing close beside her was a boy, one of her classmates, a tall, handsome fellow with slender shoulders and a equally slim waist. Jane knew a little about him, for one he was on the track team and he was captain of the boys swim team. Jane knew this, because she had passed him a dozen or so times in the hallway of the two changing rooms.
“Kind of.. thought it be something more to this you know? Like I always thought Halloween parties are supposed to be spooky and a bit sexy.” She said blushing as she reached up and started to swirl some loose strains of her hair around her fingertips. “Can't believe I gave up on going ghost hunting with my big sister to attend this lame party.” She quickly added.
“Hey, you're the girl from before right? You know the one who volunteered for the dunking booth at school carnival or something right?” The boy asked as he slid a little closer to Jane. He was standing shoulder to shoulder with her. So close Jane could smell his body spray, it was a strange scent that reminded her of warm, tropical breezes, coconuts and palm trees. Inhaling that scent gave her a slight titillating, a feeling that was strange and yet welcoming to her.
“Yep.” Jane said turning around and giving the boy a small smile. “You know, being the new girl in school, I figured I had to make a big splash or something. And what better way to make a big splash than volunteer for the school's dunking booth.” She added as she forced a laugh.
“I know, you looked totally cute sitting up there. I spotted you.. I was helping with the food trucks, I kind of wanted to dunk you, but once I finished my shift. I think your shift was up or something. Because you know, you were already down or something. You kind of struck me.” He said blushing a little.
Jane blinked and blinked again and slowly she started to laugh a little as the boy tried to flirt with her. She found his attempts at flirting bad, but amusing, they also made her feel special and she hated to say this, they she was kind of enjoying being the center of his attention. She wanted to say something, to flirt back. Instead she said.
“You know, you're really bad at flirting.” She said as she fell into a fit of giggle. “But it's kind of cute though!”
The boy flushed a deep red and then became silent as the grave.
“Hey my name is Jane by the way..” Jane quickly added. Feeling a twinge of guilt over what she just said. Here she was complaining about not having a date and when a boy started a little romance toward her what she did, lay down a backhanded comment. “Sorry about what I said earlier.”
“No problem..” The boy said, “I'm Percy by the way..” He added.
Jane tilted her head to the side. “Is Percy short for something?”
“Percival.” Percy said blushing a little. “Both my folks are English Majors and they decided the name kind of suited me.”
“A princely name for a prince of a man.” Jane mused a little as she turned toward the booth that stood in the center of the gym. “I wonder when they're going to announce who's going into that thing? I mean the dance is almost over.. maybe they just forgot about the thing.” Jane added,
“Fat chance, our student council has been pushing this thing for weeks on end. Somebody going in.” The boy said, shaking his head. “I just hope it's Yua, she honestly needs to be taken down a peg, or two or heck even three.” The boy added.
Jane was about to say something when one of the teachers strolled into the center of the crowd. It was one of the young teachers, a petite woman with blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Jane knew she normally wore her blonde hair down or pulled back in a bun, but with tonight being Halloween she was sporting something of a double bun style. And her costume of choice was of course, the classic battle outfit worn by anime's most famous heroine, Sailor Moon. And the more Jane looked at the costume the more she noticed how everything seemed to be tailored and how the whole thing looked hand sewn.
“Okay can I have everyone's attention!” She said in a loud, clear, commanding tone of voice that cut through the bedlam of noise like a hot knife through a stick of butter. Quickly all eyes zoomed in on her. The teacher waited for a minute and once she was sure she had the undivided attention of the eighty something students who had crowned themselves into the gym she pushed on.
“Okay, first things first. The dance will be ending in about twenty minutes. So make sure you got a ride. All students will need to leave school grounds no later than thirty minutes after the dance is over. Okay with that out of the way, it's time to see who will be going into our gunge tank.” She paused as a hushed silence fell over the crowd. The moment of truth had arrived. “Okay, we had three girls to volunteer for our first annual gunge booth and of those three girls, the student body has that they want to see.. and that girl is.. Jane Harris!” The woman cried out in a loud, booming tone of voice.
Jane blinked and blinked again. She felt like a ton of bricks had just smashed through the ceiling of the gym and crashed down on her. Slowly she forced herself to move toward the center of the gym. People seemed to move away from her, for the gathered sea of faces parted like sea did the Hebrew Children.
Than her fears started to fade away as she peered toward the gunge tank. Sure she felt like her throat had jumped up into her throat. But she also knew this was a chance. And as she moved toward the tank, she made a effort to make her bottom wiggle and the helm of her dress to ride up a bit. She even reached up and tossed aside her the hairband that held her hair in place. She tossed it aside and allowed her voluminous brunette tresses to fall down her shoulder and bounce around her shoulders. She then poked her chest out as she walked the two girls from before, she might only have a slight 'B' club but she was proud of it.
Then she was standing before the tank. Taking a deep breath she stepped inside.
Once inside the tank, she folded the bottom of her dress over and eased down upon the stool. The teacher made a notion for the handle that would release the gunge, but Jane thinking quickly raised her voice and said.
“Hey! Just hold up a minute please.” She said taking a deep breath as she reached in and pulled out a small metallic make-up case from the pocket of her dress. The teacher paused and rolled her eyes as she watched as she pulled out a small tub of mascara. A stun silence fell over the room as she pulled out the wand and started to apply a fresh coat of mascara to her eyelashes. Once she was finished she returned to wand to the tub and placed it back in the case. She then reached in and pulled out a small tub of lip gloss, she then added another frosty layer of strawberry pink lip gloss to her lips. She then returned it back to the case and returned the case to the pocket of her dress.
“Are you done?” The teacher asked as she peered toward Jane.
“I'm done.” Jane said smiling as she then placed her hands down at her side and looked up at the thirteen gallons of freezing cold gunge. She could feel the chill, she had even felt a sudden drop in temp when she stepped into the tank.
“You know that make-up going to wash right off?” The teacher said as she rolled her eyes. A large crowd was starting to gather around the gunge tank now. “So why in the world are you putting it on before I pull the leaver?” Inquired the teacher
“Because I want to look pretty when you pull the level.” Jane said, smirking as she watched the crowd swell. She took a deep breath and pushed her hands down to her side, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, but she opened them a half a second later. A little smirk formed on her lips and the crowd started a countdown, it started at three and when it reached zero the teacher yanked hard upon the chain.
Then it happened. Jane could hear a plug being removed from the bottom of the tank above her. A split second later, a sudden downpour of orange gunge was falling down upon her head. The gunge was as thick as batter and rolled down from the top of her head down to her shoulders and down her shoulders to to the bottom of the tank. A deep blush colored Jane's cheeks as the gunge started to roll down her back, soaking her back.
The horrible orange mixture then rolled down the front of her dress, soaking her modest cleavage, the coldness caused her to shiver and jump. She could feel her ears starting to burn a bright red as the sound of her classmates laughter filled the area around the tank. Their laughter soon gave way to applause and catcalls and shouts as the last ounces of gunge dropped down from the tank onto her head.
“And there we have it folks!” Shouted the teacher as she started to clap her hands together. “Jane, you've been a great sport. Thank you for letting us gunge you like this. I think you'll be pleased to know that you raised six hundred and twenty eight pounds for charity! And you have shown amazing school spirit.”
Jane felt herself smiling as the teacher started to praise. She then fell into a fit of giggles as she noticed the boy from before standing by the tank. She offered him a little wink and a deep blush colored his face. And that is how Jane spent her first Halloween as Jane. Another chapter in her life draws to a close.
Hospital about a day or so ago. The girl had developed a nasty case of pneumonia that had gone under the guise of a really nasty common cold for several days, slowly withering away her heat till at last her mother had enough. The woman taking the bull by the horns, barged into Jane's room, and quickly bundled her up in a cocoon of colorful, woolen blankets. She then tossed her into the back of one of the many SUV's that belonged to the house. Once Jane was safely locked away, she then climbed into the drivers side of the SUV and made a light night, bat straight out of hell and ran to St. Philomena's Children Hospital. The last thing Jane remembered was wondering why most of the children and teens in the house always happen to go to the hospital at night and why it always seemed so early in the morning then they finally landed a room. That had been the last clear thought to enter into her head as she passed under the bright neon “A & E Ward'' sign that glowed out front under the double doors and into the bright, almost blinding fluorescent, white light hallways.
But that had been a day or so ago, she was feeling much better now, the color was even starting to return to her cheeks, and she could feel her strength slowly starting to return to her. But despite her improvement the doctors and the nurses still wanted to keep her a few extra days. Just to make sure she was really out of the woods and there was little to no chance she might have a sudden relapse. This of course meant she'll be stuck in the hospital for the duration of the local Obon Festival the local Shinto Shrine was putting on. And that of course sucked, because she had been looking forward to sitting around a darkened room with her sisters telling ghost stories and playing a scaled down version of a 'A gathering of one hundred tales of the Supernatural' a classic parlor game that started in Edo Japan.
Today was Sunday and that meant that the lunch for today was roast beef. Or in Jane's case a four slices of thickly sliced chuck tender roast, smothered in a watery thin gravy, the meat was paired with a small portion of green beans and roasted garlic potatoes. And to wash it all down, unsweetened tea with a little bits of ice cubes floating around in the plastic cup, the staff had provided enough ice to just cool the drink a little. And also since it was Sunday, the families of the patients were allowed to visit the charges. And the normally strict rules of visitations were relaxed a little/ As such Jane had spent the day being visited by her various brothers and sisters from the foster home she lived in. A very informal family, but still a very close knit family one. It had been a fun filled afternoon. One that had been filled with laughter, joking and of course the exchanging of stories. Most of the stories exchanged had been ghost stories. But now the sun was setting and the visiting hours were about to come to an end.
“So have you seen her yet?” A brunette girl around Jane's age said as she leaned over. “I mean, Dawn said she almost spotted her when she was sick last year. And I think, I might have encountered her a few months ago too when I was sick.” She said, smirking a little. “So tell me little sister, have you seen her?”
“I have no idea what you're talking about.” Jane said blushing a little. “Anyway you need to get going. Visiting hours are almost over. And the head nurse around here is a bit of a prick.” Jane said shifting her baby blue eyes toward the door. Fully expecting the head nurse to appear at any time.
“Head nurse?” The brunette girl said tilting her head to the side. “I don't remember there being a head nurse being around here when I was here. I only remember there being a doctor, a kind of cute doctor too, kind of tall, kind of strong and he smelled good too.” The girl then paused, she was blushing hard now as memories of the tall, handsome doctor came flooding back to her. “Anyway, getting back on topic. Have you seen her yet?” The girl asked again.
“Who?” Jane asked as she peered toward the brunette girl. “Come on Susan, just spit it out. And stop dancing around it.”
Susan blinked and blinked again. She then leaned in and in a soft, tone of voice she whispered into Jane's ear. “You know the phantom nurse. There a old urban legend floating around town that the children's hospital is haunted by the ghost of a nurse who was killed here one Hallow night.” Susan said in a hushed tone of voice. “That was way back in nineteen ninety five. Since the, she supposed to roam the hallways of the hospital. Looking for misbehaving brats, and bring comfort to the dying. You know, something like a patron saint.”
“Right.” Jane said shifting her focus away from Susan toward the window and the setting sun. “That's it? Her ghost just roams around the hospital and scolds you if you're bad?” Jane had known Susan for years, they were close as sisters. There was only a gap of three months in there age too. Also she and her had both arrived at the Foster home around the same time, around the Christmas season. Both too had been adopted around the same time as well. Susan had been the first one to be adopted by one of the caretakers, a middle aged woman with shoulder length raven, black hair and sparkling blue eyes. And Jane a few weeks later by a young woman in her late twenties who also happen to be the history teacher at the local Jr. High School.
Susan blinked and blinked again and for a minute she was at a loss for words. Then a little smirk formed upon her face as she leaned back and peered toward the doorway. She was just about to come back with a sassy retort when in the doorway there appeared a woman with blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, she was dressed in blue hospital scrubs. She cleared her throat and peered toward Susan then she switched her gaze toward Jane.
“Aright you two. Visiting hours are over now I'm afraid. Young lady, your mother and the rest of your family is waiting for you down in the lobby. Jane, hurry up and finish your dinner. Its almost lights out and you still need to get your teeth brushed, you still need to be given a bath or a shower, and we need to change out your gown. I mean really girl, you've been wearing the same gown for almost two whole days, Its past time for a change.” The nurse said in a clear, commanding, authoritative tone of voice. One that left little to no room for debate or maneuver.
Susan blinked and blinked again as she stood up and reached over and took hold of her purse. “Yes ma'am.” She said as she folded her hands in the center and offered the nurse a little bow.
The nurse nodded her head and stepped aside giving Susan just enough room to squeeze by on. As Susan was leaving the room though, she turned her head to the side and smiled toward Jane who returned picking on her food.
“Aright brat, be good for the nurses, eat all your food and get better. I'll come back to visit as soon as possible.” And with that Susan left the room, leaving Jane along with the head nurse.
“Mrs. Grinson?” Jane said after taking a few more bites of her roast beef, it had gone cold now and the gravy it was smothered in tasted funny. Most of the ice had melted in her cup and the water was quite warm, almost room temperature. She had finished her roasted garlic potatoes first and was now picking around her green beans. She hated green beans. She hated green beans the most to be fair though.
“Yes Jane?” The nurse said turning upon her heel to walk back into the hallway.
“Is there a really a ghost nurse?” Jane asked as she shoved a fork full of green beans into her mouth. She then forced herself to swallow, despite their bland taste. They could really do with some salt or pepper. She quickly shoved another fork full into her mouth and this time she swallowed without chewing. The food to her lacked soul, she had grown fond of the tasty dishes her mother fixed at home. Fried chicken, fried golden brown with a seasoned crust, Pecan pie, collard and mustard greens cooked long and slow and seasoned with salted pieces of pork and fried fish, normally fillets of cod that were fried golden brown and served with home cute french fries. And her famous homemade hamburgers, made with only fresh ground chuck with patties as big as the plate. And who could forget yellow cake with chocolate icing, and her favorite, fried pork chops and sometimes grilled chops. Her mother believed in cooking at home and boy did she cook.
“Oh that just a silly urban legend that the nurses use to scare misbehaving children into obeying.” The nurse said, giving a little sigh. “But, If I was you, I would still eat all my vegetables, stay in bed, and of course, I would not give the staff any trouble whatsoever. I heard the phantom nurse only visits the children and teens who cause trouble anyway, and those in need of comforting.” She then looked over her shoulders. “And only naughty children are supposed to encounter her, like children who don't eat all their veggies and who don't finish their meal trays, and give the staff sass. And lets not forget those who roam the hallways after hours.” And with that being said a wicked little smile formed upon the bow of her lip.
She then turned her head again and started walking toward the hallway.
“But if you're good, and you eat all your vegetables, stay in bed when you're supposed to, and obey the staff and don't cause any trouble. I doubt the ghost nurse will be paying you a late night visit, or as is sometimes the case an early morning visit.” She paused, “Now go ahead and finish eating. Its getting late, and you've had a long fun filled day visiting with your family, But now its time for all good girls to finish there supper and get ready for bed.” And with that the nurse left. Leaving a pouting Jane in her wake.
“Its just a dumb old urban legend away!” Jane said with a pout that was about a mile long and and half a mile wide as she started to once more spear her few remaining veggies and once more she started to shovel them into her mouth, one fork full at a time till at last she had finished them all and then she tried to finish the few remaining pieces of roast beef, but the beef was tough, chewy and the more she chewed the bigger it seemed to grow and finally she gave up on it. Roast was suppose to be tender, this roast tasted like some old shoe leather. Or how she figured old shoe leather would taste if she was ever stranded on a tropical island by herself with only the bare basic, including shoe leather.
Finally thirty minutes later one of the helpers arrived to collect the tray. Once the tray had been collected, Jane was guided off the bed and into the bathroom. The helper happens to be a blonde hair, blue eyed woman named Sunflower, Sunflower who also happens to be one of the foster children taken to volunteering at the hospital. Right now the eighteen year old was clad in the traditional red-and-white striped pinafores that all the female volunteers wore. Despite Sunflower and Jane being sisters, as all the girls at the foster home claimed the other female children and teens as their sisters and all the male children and teens as their brothers the girl was not gentle, in fact one could say she was quite firm and soon she had little Jane bathed and changed. Once sunflower was sure Jane had been given a good warm bath.
She then reached over and picked up a wooden handle brush with thick yellow bristles, she then started to thoroughly brush the girls hair out. Once her hair had been brushed out, she divided it down the middle and styled it back in two cute pigtails. With a cord of pastel, pink ribbon tied around each bundle of hair to keep it in place. Just for an added touch of cuteness and color she figured. Then it was time for bed and despite the girl's protest that she was not ready for bed, she was soon fast asleep, once her head hit the pillow.
It was a few minutes passed midnight when Jane was awakened by a faint light hovering in front of her door. A sudden, overpowering feeling of curiosity overcame her and she quickly tossed aside her blanket and sheet and jumped down onto the cold tile floor of her room. Then dressed only in her paper thin hospital gown she started to move toward the door. Just as her hand was about to reach up and turn the copper plated door handle, she stopped, took a deep breath and looked over her. Her bed, dark as it was, seemed almost inviting now. She quickly shook her head and started to gather up her courage. If she stopped now, she was sure she'll never hear the end of Susan ragging her about it.
The minute Jane stepped into the hallway was the minute she noticed her, standing in the hallway was a woman, the woman seemed to be dressed in an old nurses uniform. A white smock worn over a pink dress that had a white collar. She had blonde hair and blue eyes and her skin seemed an almost greenish color. Dancing on both sides of her shoulder were two bright orbs of light that glowed like tiny balls of fire. The woman seemed lost, like she was in some kind of trance too as floated down the hallway. Time from time she would pause and with care she would reach up and pull down the chart that was hung from the door of the room. She would then flip through the charts. Jane noticed that sometimes she would not head and return the chart to its holding place and move on to the next room. Other times she would frown and step through the door. It took Jane a good minute to notice that she seemed to move straight through the doors.
“What the fuck?” Jane said as she noticed the nurse float through the door. She wanted to run, she really did but it seemed like she was glued to the floor. And despite what she was telling her feet, her feet seemed to refuse to move. Then she heard it, the sound of a hand smacking a bottom. For ten solid minutes she heard the unmistakable sound of a hand, smacking into a bottom. And then finally, what seemed like a billion years and a day the strange nurse appeared again in the hallway. This time the nurse seemed to be aware of Jane, for she quickly turned around and peered toward Jane with her frosty blue eyes.
“I'm screwed.” Jane whispered to herself as she noticed the strange nurse was looking straight at her.
“Children.” She said in a slow, steady tone of voice. “Should be in bed.” She then started to move toward Jane. The blueish balls of fire that danced around her shoulders seemed to glow brighter and brighter with each passing moment. “Only naughty children wander the hospital hallways at night.”
“I... I was just going to get something to drink from the pop machine.” Jane said quickly as she watched the strange woman slowly move closer and closer to her. “Honestly! I just wanted to get something to drink. You know something beside tea, juice or water.” She said slowly starting to back peddle a little. Right now, she just wanted to get back to her room and dive under those covers and hide. That right hide away, buried under three or four thin hospital blankets and wait till the morning rays of sunshine chased away this strange dream.
“Children who have pneumonia, don't need soda I'm afraid, they need juice, water or tea.” She paused. “If you're tired of those three, then Gatorade would help, in fact it would be better than pop.” She said moving ever closer to Jane.
“Right,” Jane said as she bumped into the metal door. She was honest at a total loss for words now. “Okay then, I'll just pop down to one of the vending machines and get me some then. And you can go about your normal, ghostly business.” She started to sweat a little as she watched the ghost float closer and closer to her.
“I'm afraid it's not that simple.” She said, shaking her head. “You and I need to have a little. Hospitals have rules, and those rules must be followed. And if you break a rule, you must be punished.” The ghost nurse said in a stern tone of voice and with that she reached down and wrapped her ghostly fingers around Jane. She then pushed open the door that led to Jane's hospital room and dragged the girl in as well.
“Can't we talk about this?” Jane said blushing as she was dragged back into her room.
“I'm afraid we have nothing to talk about.” The nurse said, taking a deep breath as she used her ghostly powers to close the door behind her.
Jane was still at a last for words when the ghost nurse dragged her into the room and dragged her up to her hospital bed. Still lost for words she watched the ghost nurse sit down at the edge of her hospital bed. Then without missing a beat, the ghost reached down and pulled Jane across her lap. For a brief, split second, Jane thought she must be having a nightmare, or at least a really weird fever dream. A very vivid fever dream no doubt brought on by her medications. Closing her eyes she tried to think, she was sure the minute she opened them, she would wake up in her hospital bed. It would be morning, the first bright rays of sunshine would be pouring through the window. Breakfast, maybe sauce, scrambled eggs and some pancakes would be brought to her with a cup of orange juice and of course water, plenty of water. Then she felt the edge of her hospital gown being raised up. She felt the coolness of the night air touching her bottom.
Then she felt the ghostly hand of the ghost nurse come slapping into her bottom. Sending a wave of sting and burn rolling into her bottom. The first smack of her bottom took her breath away. It was soon followed by another stinging smack, and then another and another one. Time then seemed to slow down, the seconds seemed to quickly become minutes and minutes quickly became hours. And the nurses hand seemed to keep peppering her bottom. Starting with her left butt cheek, and then moving on to her right and after a few minutes of dropping, peppery, stinging swats her palm would switch over again.
For five solid minutes this cycle of peppering one cheek and then the other continued. With each passing second another stone was removed from the massive stone wall that guarded Jane's emotions. And soon, before she could really catch herself. Jane felt tears starting to roll down her cheeks. Her bottom was now on fire, and the ghost nurse showed no signs of stopping or even getting tired. Then again, how could she, she was a ghost after all And much to Jane's horror she felt the strokes were getting harder and harder with each passing second. The ghost nurse's hand was moving in an arching pattern, first she would raise her hand high above her head, then she would bring It down, the open palm would gain speed and momentum as it came hurtling toward the bottom. Then half a second later the open palm would come driving into Jane's quickly redding bottom. Sending another wave of sting and burn flooding into her body and flatting her round bottom cheeks.
Then after what seemed like forever and a day it was over. Jane lay limp over the nurses lap. Her bottom glowing like the sun. Her face was red and puffy and tear stained. Her breathing was hard and ragged. And all of her energy was spent, the spanking had sapped her emotionally and physically. Taking a deep breath, Jane slowly looked over her shoulders to notice the ghost nurse peering toward her with an unblinking, amused expression.
“I hope you've learned your lesson young lady.” She said in a ghostly tone of voice. “Because you've me way behind, now, I'm going to leave you. But I'm warning you straight to bed with you. And not a word to anyone about what you saw tonight. And for the record, you're now on my list. Children who get put on my list have already broken one of the hospital rules and have already received a warning spanking. And if you break another one, I might not be so gentle. The ghost nurse then reached down and removed Jane from her lap.” And trust me young lady. I have my ways of keeping taps on people. Just trust me, you don't want to see what strike two gets you or even a strike three.” She said in a stern warning tone of voice. And with that she melted into the night.
And here the ghostly adventures of Jane came to an end.
The backyard behind the Forest Foster House was huge. Bordered by a vast forest to the east, playfully called the ‘One Hundred Acre Wood’ by the children. The woods were dotted with dozens of tree houses and dozens more half-finished forts and hide-outs. Countless miles of trails and nature paths crisscrossed the forest floor. With rumors of a pet cemetery located somewhere deep within the forest. To the East of the yard was a vast section of marshland. Here the countless brooks, streams, and springs that were born deep within the forest gathered. Nobody dared to venture too deep into the marsh, only a few brave boys and girls and that was to catch crayfish that made their homes in the shadow pulls or fish in some of the deeper ponds that formed in the deeper parts. The marsh was also home to a dozen or so rumors. Rumors that included ghostly Will O’ Wisp appearing over the tall sea of reeds and cattails and of a demonic, man-eating tree located in the center. Those where of course just rumors.
The yard was now filled with children and dotted with lawn chairs. The bitter, smell of burning charcoal filled the air along with puffs of white smoke that billowed from the half dozen grilles that dotted the yard. The men of the house stood around these grills, all of them dressed in pleated shorts and short sleeve polo’s most of them wore red aprons that had the words Grill King sewn across them.
The women of the household gathered around the small patio tables that dotted the yard. Bright red Dixie cups, a brand of cheap paper cups rested upon the tables in front of them. Most were filled with chilled fruity wine and ice. All of them wore light cotton sundresses and plastic flip-flops.
The teenagers and children were scattered about the yard. Though most of them seemed to collect around the brick paved patio section. Here the tables were filled with chips and dips of all kinds and a four or five ice chest held ice cold pops and bottled drinks. Pitchers too filled to the brim with Kool-Aid in all its flavors, lemonade and tea, sweeten and unsweetened could be founded here, each pitcher was also filled with tiny cubes of ice that chilled the drinks to perfection.
There where also yard-games to be played, one of the most popular turned out to the ‘Pitch and Burst’ a game that was kind of like a dunking booth. But instead of the person sitting over a trap door of five hundred gallons or so of water. The person sat under a folding chair with a big, fat water balloon hovering over there heads. A target was set up next to the person with a switch at the center of the target. A person would smash a tennis ball into the center of the switch, that would cause a nail to pop the balloon, and the person sitting under it would get a nice cold shower!
Sitting in the ‘Hot Seat’ now was Katherine, the oldest teenager of the lot. She was soaking wet and blushing as she gripped the edge of the seat. A good half dozen popped balloons littered the ground beside her. One could even hear the teen's teeth chattering together as she watched with bated breath as the last ball tossed by Matthew strikes the target, a few seconds later a sudden downpour of ice cold water came down and hit her on the head. She screamed and stood up.
“OKAY!” She called out. “My turns up! Its Jane’s turn now.” She said slipping on her plastic flip-flops. She stood up and pouted. Being the oldest teen had pretty much painted a target on her back. Katherine was also pretty much soaked to the bone, that had been the longest thirty minutes of her life. Most of the children agreed to take at least fifteen to thirty minute turns sitting in the chair. After the teens, and children had there fun, some of the adults agreed to take there turns too. But only the young at heart, the game was mostly for the teens, tweens, and children.
“We’ll go find her then. I think she’s somewhere around here. Last I saw, she and Sue were having a pokemon battle with the rest of the squirts.” Matthew said as reached over to a nearby table and picked up an extra large towel. He handed the folded towel to Katherine who took it with a smile. She quickly wrapped the towel around her and sighed.
“Of course, I swear that girl is like spending all of her money on that game. Like she has filled four or five binds with cards.” Katherine said as she took another towel and started to dry off.
“Well, she is attending the local Pokemon League. And She’s doing really well like she earned six badges of the Kanto set so far. And the local league manager is cool with her being you know ‘Jane’ so it's kind of her safe space. I think it's pretty cool. She even starting to talk with a few of the boys there. Plus, the league manager is a friend of the families. So, of course, she’ll be going a little overboard.” Matthew Said with a small smile.
Katherine took another towel and wrapped this one around her hair. She knew that being ‘Jane’ meant a lot to her new sister, who was still trying to figure out that side of her. Rolling her eyes she started the search, she soon found the girl sitting at one of the tables, sitting across from her was another one of her sisters, Susan, the cute brown-haired tomboy. The two seemed to be in the middle of an intense pokemon game, judging by the looks of things.
“Hey, dork,” Katherine said as she peered Jane, who had gone the more girly-girl route today. While most of the girls wore shorts, tank-tops or teeshirts. Jane had chosen to wear a sundress, a pink sundress at that. Complete with bead bracelet and pink flip-flops. She had even dyed her hair, going from a brown to a sandy colored blonde. It kind of suited her.
Jane blinked and turned around and blushed as she noticed Katherine standing there, dripping water, a few stray pieces of plastic still clung to her hair.
“It's your turn in the ‘Pitch and Burst’ followed by you, Susan. Matthew is starting to get the balloons ready.” She said smirking a little. “And I’m going to get first dibs on soaking you. So come along brat.” Katherine said as she reached out and offered Jane her hand.
Jane blushed as she reached down and took the offered Hand, Katherine then pulled her to her feet and gently guided her across the lawn. Susan followed and smiled softly as she bounced behind the two.
“So Jane.” She said in a teasing tone of voice. “This is like total payback for you sneaking into my room a few days ago and borrowing my favorite nightgown without asking! Would have totally let you use it, all you needed to do was just ask.”
“I thought she was given a clothing allowance? Like on top of her normal allowance?” Asked Katherine as she turned around and peered toward both Susan and Jane. Jane was about to answer when Susan butted in and answered for her.
“She is, Joe is giving her a clothing allowance of like, two or three hundred dollars or so. Joe just holding it till there a big sale at the mall. Then where all, like going to go there and smash the place.” Susan chirped.
Katherine smirked and peered toward Jane.
“Oh good, I’m glad Josephine’s holding it, otherwise I’m sure that money would be spent on pokemon cards, pizza, and hot pockets.” She said sticking her pink tongue out as they drew nearer to the attraction. She released Jane’s hand
Jane blushed and peered toward Katherine then toward Susan.
“Like any of you could hit the broadside of a barn.” She said with such sass as turned and gently started to walk over the soaking wet ground that had grown damp from a dozen of busted water balloons. Taking a deep breath she eased her bottom down upon the seat and folded her hands in her lap and gave the two girls a big smile.
“Come on then, give me your best shot!”
Katherine turned toward Susan and smiled as she handed her a white softball. Susan took the ball and wrapped her fingers around it. The two exchanged a knowing glance. Susan stepped to the side and Katherine stepped up to the throwing line.
“We're about to make you eat those words,” Susan said as watched Katherine get into position.
Jane took a deep breath as her eyes focused in on Katherine who was getting ready, Katherine took her position and then drew in a deep breath as she drew her arm back, she released her breath as she threw her arm toward the target, the ball left her hand and sailed through the air and smacked into the trigger. A loud popping sound as the balloon was pooped and a shower of water fell down upon Jane’s head. Soaking her, the water being groundwater was quite cold and the sudden coldness took her breath away!
“Wow.,” Jane said blushing as she reached up and parted some wet strains of her hair from her eyes. “I guess you can hit something, but can you do again? Like for real, I’m going to mark that down as beginners luck.” She teased
“Somebody feeling a little sassy today,” Susan said as she folded her arms across her chest and watched as Katherine picked up her second and last ball. “Think we should enter her into the Soak a Princess attraction at this years renaissance fair?” Susan suggested. “She’ll be perfect.” The Soak a Princess was something of a junior version of renaissance fair classic Drench a Wench. The two were pretty much the same, only one was open for those fifteen and under and the other one was for the sixteen and over the crowd. The Male version was, of course, Soak a Prince and Soak a Bloke respectfully.
“Nah.” Katherine with a shake of her head. “She far too sassy to be a princess. I’m thinking, let's sign her up for the Pie Pillory. She’ll make a cute court jester. Sign her up for like Pie Pillory. She’ll make a cute court jester for royal courts.” She said with a smirk as she tossed the ball. This time the ball fell short of the target and rolled on the ground. As the ball rolled, Jamie pumped her fist in victory and Katherine turned to Susan and shrugged her shoulders.
“Your turn sis.” She grinning.
“I told you, that first shot was beginners luck! But I’m going to give a solid ‘B’ because you got me the first time.” Jane teased as she watched Susan step up and take her place. The glint in Susan’s eye made her shiver as she swallowed hard and took a deep, deep breath.
Susan then drew back her arm and released the ball in a smooth, fluid motion, the ball traveled through the air and smashed into the target, a second later a wave of water was pouring down on Jane. The cold groundwater took her breath away.
“LUCKY SHOT! AT LEAST YOUR THROWING ARM IS BETTER THAN YOU POKEMON GAME.” Jane shouted across the yard, a last-ditch attempt to hold the high ground and keep the sass train rolling.
Susan just smirked as she picked up the second ball. She waited till Matthew had placed another big, fat water balloon in the net before releasing another ball. Once more the ball sailed through the air before smashing into the target. Sending another sudden downpour of frigid water down upon Jane’s head.
Jane made no comment this time, she just sat there, buffing and huffing as she flipped a few strains of her soaking wet hair from her eyes and gave Susan a look that could kill.
Katherine then smirked and picked up another ball. Susan bowing to her older sister allowed her to take the place behind the throw line. Once Katherine was in place, Jane started to tease once more.
“Like, you think you could hit the target again? I mean come on, you missed with your last throw? Do you really think you can hit the thing this time?” She hoped to make Katherine blush and throw her off her game.
Katherine only smirked as she drew her arm back and released the tennis ball, the ball sailed through the air and smacked dead into the target. Sending another sudden downpour upon Janes' head.
“Where soaking the brat!” Susan cheered as she walked over and held up her open palm. Katherine smiled and slapped the open palm. Both girls then turned and smiled toward Jane who had playfully crossed her arms and turned her head to the side, her cheeks were burning a bright red, then from the crowd game a woman with honey blonde hair, she wore a pastel colored sundress and matching pink sandals. She offered Jane a gentle smile as she reached down and picked up a ball.
“No, honey,” Josephine said in a mock scolding tone of voice. “That no way for a lady to sit. Sit properly for mommy please.” She said as she tossed the ball into the air and caught it before it touched the ground.
Jane felt her cheeks flush with color, now her mother was getting in on the game. Taking a deep breath, she brought her knees together, folded her hands and placed them on her lap. She then straightens her back and gave her mother a big smile. Josephine grinned and tossed the ball high into the air before snatching it down again.
“Good girl!” She praised as she drew back her arm and tossed the ball toward the target. The ball smashed into the trigger, releasing a downpour of ice-cold water down upon Jane. Who at this point could only giggle as she water washed over her. At least it was better than cake.
“Good shot!” She called out as she raised up her face and cleared some lose strains of hair from her face.
“All-State,” Josephine said as she picked up her second ball and sent it flying toward the target again. The ball smashed into the trigger again, releasing another sudden downpour of water upon Jane. Who now looked quite comical.
“Right..” She said as she stood up. “Is my shift up?”
“One more toss,” Katherine called out as she tossed another ball toward Susan. “Then its Susan’s turn,” Katherine said as she turned toward Susan and winked. “Wonder if Little Jane will soak you as much as you’ve soaked her?” She said in a teasing tone of voice that made Susan blush.
“Sorry to be a party pooper girls. But after this toss, were about to eat. The steaks are about to come up, so, once you're done, give Jane a nice warm towel then you lot make your way toward the table. You can soak Susan once your done eating. Where not shutting this party down till twilight anyway.” Josephine said as she walked over and took two warm towels into her hand.
Susan nodded her head and peered toward Jane who was starting to shiver a little. Susan frowned and walked over to Jane. Jane blinked and blinked again as she was handed the tennis ball. Susan smiled and kissed her cheeks. Jane nodded her head, understanding what was being asked of her. She stood up and Susan took the seat and smiled toward Jane. As she walked toward the throw line. Susan smiled as she drew in a deep breath, her eyes traveled up for a minute as she eyed the big, fat water balloon hanging above her head. She released her breath as she focused her eyes on Jane, who was drawing her arm back now. With a big smile, the girl tossed the water balloon toward the target and it smashed into the trigger. Causing the balloon hovering above Susan’s head to pop and sending down a sudden downpour of icy cold water.
Susan shrieked as she felt the water land on her head. Susan blushing stood up and gently picked her way across the now soaked ground. The two smiled at each other, then without thinking the two embraced each other and hugged. Teasing and sassy remarks aside, the two still loved them. Katherine who was standing to the side smiled and joined the hug. After a solid minute or two, the three broke apart and Katherine always the tomboy said.
“Okay gals. Its time to eat. Those steaks are smelling mighty good!” And with that Katherine trotted away. Susan followed her and Jane just stood there smiling. There was something special about being Jane, something very special. Maybe one day she would be Jane twenty-four seven. But that day was far away, right now, she was happy being Jane only one the weekend and for special events.
The End.
The Adventures of Jane and Family will be continued in ‘Melodies of the Heart: The Renaissance Fair’.
Jane took a deep breath as she peered toward the three hundred gallon tank that was slowly being filled with water. She was starting to have second thoughts about volunteering for the dunking booth now. As she released her breath she did her best to push those thoughts away from her. It was after all too late to back out now. And so with a growing sense of uneasiness she watched as the last few gallons of water were pumped into the tank. Once the tank had been filled to the brim, a few of the men filling the tank walked over to their pickup truck, they returned a few minutes later, each one of them toting a big two big twenty pound bags of ice in there big meaty hands. Then in a nonchalant manner the men ripped the at the clear, plastic bags of ice and dumped several pound of small cubes into the pool. Much to Jane's horror!
“Hey.” A voice behind Jane called out. “We gotta give the people what they paid for. The waters too warm and the ice would melt soon enough. I mean, the water in the dunking booth is suppose to be cold after all. It's really suppose to be freezing. But, we do what we must.” The voice belonged to a woman who stood a little taller than Jane, she had flaming red hair and emerald green eyes. She was dressed in a blue and white windbreaker. Her name was Margaret Rose Fisher or Coach Fisher. She was the coach for the girls Jr. High School's Swim team the 'Mermaids' and she also happened to be the girls. P.E teacher.
“Hey you're the one who volunteered for this thing. And just so you know, I'm cool with the whole you know thing. And if you want to try out for the team this year, your more than welcome.” She said smiling softy, “I mean, I know your older sister Susan's going to try out. And I know I gave her a hard time with her badge, and I know I kind of seemed mean by making her redo a lot of the work. But the girl has talent, you know, she just needs to get her bottom in gear, you have talent too.” She said, smirking, “And your a cutie too.” She added quickly as a afterthought.
Jane felt her cheeks turning a deep red as Coach Fisher praised her. At this point the last twenty pound bag of ice was just being emptied into the tank. Transforming the dunking booth into what must have been the largest glass of water Jane had ever seen before. Still blush she watched as the hose was collected and the six helpers collected there gear.
“So Jane-Chan.” Coach Fisher said smirking as she folded her arms across her chest as she peered toward the gathering crowds. Dozen of overly eager boys were starting to gather around the wooden counter, many of them already hand a handful of one pound bills already clutched in their hand. For the the last few days, a rumor had been going around the schoolyard that a cute, new transfer student had volunteered to be a willing target in the dunking booth. This rumor of course had been flamed and fueld by the girls of the manor house.
“Yes Fisher-Sensie.” Jane said smiling softy as she folded her arms in her center and shifted her gaze toward the still damp ground.
“I think you need to go ahead and climb up there. We're going to open the booth in a few minutes and we need the star of of the show to be up there. Remember, a bit of playful flirting goes a along away with getting the boys to throw at you. But don't overdo it now.”
Jane blinked and quickly blinked again as she peered toward Coach Fisher. Giving a quick shake of her head and a roll of her eyes she walked behind the tank and took a deep breath as she placed her foot upon the first rung of the the old iron ladder. As soon as she released her breath she started to climb the ladder.
After a few second of climbing she reached the top, then gathering up her courage she started to climb onto the drop seat. Once she was seated she started to move toward the edge of the seat. Her feet danged a good three feet from the surface of the water.
“Okay Jane-Chan, remember you gotta sit like a prime and proper lady. That means you gotta bring your feet together, and you gotta place those hands on your lap and straighten you back and stick out your chest a little.”
Jane blushed and quickly she brought her feet together, and placed her hands down on her lap. Her toes curled a little as if protesting being so close to the freezing cold water. She then gave a small, demure smile. She could feel the blush forming on her cheeks, the blush was spreading from one cheek to the other.
“Okay that perfect!” Coach Fisher cried out. “Hold that pose. Because that a perfect pose. I'll even for as far as to say that pose is picture perfect. Totally going to make the front page of Saturday's paper looking like that.” She said as she turned away.
And so Jane sat there, hands folded at her lap, feet brought together, toes curled up. She could see the whole fairground from her perch high above the dunking booth. A steady stream of people were passing through the front gate and into this gaudy money making machine. That is what Jane would have called it this fair, a gaudy money making machine. Beside the dunking booth there was a “Pitch til you win” A side game were one paid a quid and then was rewarded with three balls, one then had a chance to knock down a pyramid of old milk bottles. If one successfully knocked down the pyramid of milk bottles one was reward with a small stuff toy.
Then there was the “Kissing Booth” The booth where you paid five pound sterling and the local beauty princess would give you a kiss on the cheeks. Beside that booth was another one the “Pie Tossing Booth” Here one paid three pounds of sterling for the privilege of throwing a paper plate full of whipped cream at footballer player who was hiding behind a cardboard cut out of a cheerleader. Jane thought the footballers should be staffing the kissing booth and the cheerleaders doing the pie toss.
Beyond those two nothing really caught her eye, a dozen or so foot trucks were lined up against a chain length fence. The food trucks were offering the classic fair foods, such as fried codfish, fried chicken, corn dogs that had been smeared with honey, grilled pieces of chicken and beef on a stick and the classic fairground foods like hamburgers, hot dogs, you know the cheap red hot franks that smeared from one end to the other with Franks Yellow mustard and Hunts Ketchup and placed on a piece of toasted, rolled up bread and of course ice cold coke cola.
And then it was her booth, the dunking booth, often called the queen of the fairgrounds. Here a willing volunteer sat on an collapsible seat that was perched over three hundred gallons of freezing cold water. Five quid could get you three balls, and three chances to hit the metal trigger. Hit the trigger and the seat the person was sitting on would collapse and send the person crashing down into the freezing water below.
“Oh! So you really did volunteer!” A voice cried out from the crowd. The voice belonged to a brunette girl with sparkling pink eyes. The girl wore a nice, simple floral pattern dress that reached down to her knees. “Man, you are so brave, but you know, I gotta dunk you sister.” The girls said walking up to the counter and dropped down the two five pound bills.
Jane could not help but blush as she noticed her big sister Susan emerging from the crowds of people. Her blush only deepened as she walked up to the counter and dropped down two, five pound bills upon the counter top. She of course was rewarded with six, yellow and white tennis balls. From were she was sitting, Jane noticed that Susan had made something of an honest effort to dress herself up today. Instead of her normal shorts and anime graphic t-shirt she was wearing a nice, and one would almost say flattering sundress. And instead of a ponytail or a messy bun she had her hair down and she had even curled it with a curling iron.
“Oh!” Jane said, smirking a little as she peered toward her big sister. “Susie!” She cried as she peered down at the girl from her perch. “You've really cleaned up good. Like, you must be on a date or something? That or you got tired of dressing like a tomboy.” She said throwing a little shade in Susan's Direction.
Susan started to smirk as she reached down and picked up one of the tennis balls. She got a tight grip on the ball and raised it up. “You know, you're talking a lot of smack for a girl who's sitting over three hundred or so gallons of freezing cold water.” She paused as she tossed the ball up high into the air and caught it before it hit the ground.
“Oh! Be careful there sister, you don't want to break a pretty little nail do you?” She egged on in an enduring tone of voice as she watched Susan toss the ball up in the air and then catch it again before it hit the ground. She hated to admit it, but that little display of prowess had gotten her a bit worried.
Susan smirked as she drew back and let the ball fly through the air, Jane watched the ball travel through the air, a split second later she heard the ball smash into the metal trigger. Her seat gave way and she dropped like a stone into the water below her. The water was freezing cold and it quickly soaked her through and through.
“Oh that is so freaking cold!” She yelled at the top of her lungs as she bobbed up and down in the freezing cold water. “I swear to God, I'm so going to get you back for this you little brat!” She yelled as she peered toward Susan who was just standing there holding another ball at the ready!
“Oh come on now!” Jane said as she climbed out of the tank, she dripping wet. And she climbed with all the grace and skill of a soaking wet cat, she climbed out of the tank and up the ladder again and once more inched her way to the edge of the drop seat.
“I mean that was just a lucky shot. I mean really, you know even a blond hog is going to dig up an acorn once in a blue moon.” She said huffing as she folded her hands on her lap. “You gotta do it more than once. Otherwise that just counts as a lucky shot!”
Susan smirked a little and her pink eyes started to shimmer in the strong sunlight of the day. She then drew back and tossed the ball straight at the trigger. And then it happen, the ball smashed into the trigger again. Jane jumped a little and a second or two later the seat dropped, sending her back down into the freezing cold water. This time, she took her time and floated around the tank a little. She even dove down and pressed her face to the clear viewing surface. When she broke the surface of the dunking booth she noticed her older sister was standing there, laughing up a storm.
“Oh Jane, You know I love you girl?”
“And I love you too Susie. Even if your a little brat at times.” She said climbing off the ladder and back onto the seat. She was dripping wet now and the crowd around the dunking booth was growing with each passing second. Dozens and dozens of people were now surrounding the booth. All very eager to try their hand at dunking the cutie on the seat.
“Oh!” Susan said with a wink and a smirk. “I think you're becoming quite popular around these parts. Listen kiddo, I gotta run okay. I gotta meet this cute, hunk of a guy down by the petting zoo. So I'll Catch up with you a bit later.” She said, Still smirking she pulled her purse tightly around her shoulders. Once her purse was placed tightly around her shoulders, she then melted into the crowd.
The next ten or so minutes passed in a blur. True to Susan's words, Jane had indeed become quite popular, mostly because of the rumor going around the fairground that that the new mysteries transfer student had volunteered to be in the dunking booth. There was also another rumor going the school as well, that the brooding, cynical boy had bad been named James had up and gone loco and became a girl or something. But pushing all that aside, one thing remain clear, there was a new girl in town, all the boys wanted to see her and all the other girls wanted to check out her out too an maybe dunk her as well.
Now in those ten minutes nobody really came close to hitting the target. Instead most just dropped there pocket change into the 'Donation' bucket that rested beside the wooden counter next to the wire basket that held around twenty or so tennis balls. Most of the changed tossed into the bucket were copper pennies, but sometimes you might see a few round pieces of silver. As she watched the people pass by the the booth, Jane kind of felt herself wondering if this is what those animals at the local zoo must do every day, sit pretty and look at people passing by you.
Finally from the crowd came a woman, she was hanging on the shoulders of a tall lean man. The man had short, jet black hair and wore a light cotton, button down shirt with brown button and dust colored slacks. The woman wore a floral print sundress. The sight of the two made Jane blush harder than she had when Susan had noticed her. The woman was named Josephine and the man was named Robert, both of them were engaged to be married this coming spring. And by one of the many chances and changes of life, the woman, Josephine also happen to be Jane's Mother, who had started the adoption process a year before last and had just sighed papers a few weeks ago. So in a weird way very roundabout way, Jane was looking at her mommy and daddy.
“Hey Mommy! Hey Daddy!” Jane called from the top of her perch. A deep blush colored her cheeks as she offered the pair a little wave.
“Oh Hello kiddo.” The man said smiling a little. “I see you volunteered for the dunking booth, and by the looks of it, somebody's already dunked you a few times.” He said chuckling a little as he removed his arm from around Josephine's waist and walked toward the front counter of the booth. Smirking a little he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a brown cowhide leather wallet. He quickly unfolded the leather wallet and pulled out a fiver. In one swift motion he placed the fiver down upon the counter and was reward with three balls.
“So who dunked you sweetie?” The woman said, walking up to the front counter of the booth. Following her future husbands example she also reached into her purse and pulled out her pocket book as well and soon she laid down her own fiver next to his.
“Susie dunked me.” Jane stated as another wave of blush washed across her cheeks. “Then she said something about having to meet a cute boy down by the petting zoo.” She added as an afterthought. And with that being said she raised her arm and pointed toward the collection of tents and fences. The wind that was blowing from that direction carried with it with it the smell of freshly cut hay, mud, dung and strange, mysterious smell that caused everyone to gag who came into contact with it.
“Maybe...” Robert said reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck with the open palm of his hand. “Maybe the people at the Children's Zoo noticed that one of their attractions were loose and decided to form a search party. Or maybe Sue developed a crush one of her keepers.”
Jane fell into a fit of giggles at the remark. Josephine on the other hand crossed her arms and gave her husband a glare that would turn any mans blood to ice. It was no secret that the staff of the house both loved and admired the headstrong tomboy who would sometimes turn princess for a day. Susan and Jane were often tick and tack, their closeness in age and their history glued them together. And so it was only right that some of the adults would often tease Sue, always in a friendly manner and always in a way that would make the girl roll her eyes, cross her arms across her chest and set her lips into a cute pout.
“Robert.” Josephine said in a trailing tone of voice. She rolled her eyes and reached down and picked up one of the three balls that had been placed down upon the counter top. She wrapped her fingers around the ball and walked toward the throw line.
“You know, as your mom, I gotta dunk you.” She said, smirking. “Just wanted you to know, I love you.” She said her smirk grew a bit.
Jane blushed and folded her hands in her lap. Her blush only grew when she noticed that her father had reached down and pulled out his new smart phone and had pressed the record button. Josephine though was loving it, she loved seeing Jane blush and wiggle around like a worm on a fisherman's hook. She allowed herself to savor this moment for a brief few seconds before she cocked her arm back and tossed the ball. The ball sailed through the air and struck the trigger. A few seconds later, Jane felt herself falling through the air. Then she splashed down, sending water over the side of the tank and soaking the ground in front of her. For a few minutes Jane floated around the bottom of the tank before breaking the surface of the water. Once she returned to the surface she offered her mother a little, crooked smile.
“Thanks mom.”
Jane was dunked a dozen more times that afternoon before her shift was over. But being dunked by her mother and sister were the only ones that really stood out. And with that another day in the life of Jane draws to a end.
Jane took a deep breath as she entered through the front door of the manor house. A sudden blast of warm air greeted her and for a brief moment her breath was taken away at the sight that greeted her. It was something out of a storybook. The living room had over the course of the school day been transformed into a homily little scene of domestic bliss. An evergreen tree thrice as tall and wide as her was sitting in the far corner of the living room.
The tree was decorated in regal Christmas style. Colorful glass baubles in the colors of red, green and white hung from ribbons in matching colors. Strings of blinking fairy lights wrapped artfully around the tree glowed gently in the darken room. A mountain of boxes in all shapes and sizes wrapped in seasonal wrapping paper and neatly tied with boxes had formed around the base of the tree.
Beside the decorated Christmas tree somebody had built a nice roaring fire in the old stone fireplace. The blazing fire crackled and popped behind the old iron grate. The air too was warmed by the crackling of the wood and the dancing orange and red sparks of the fire. The pleasant and mouth watering aroma of freshly baked ginger snaps and gingerbread men and women hung in the air. And upon the mantle of the fireplace there hung from highly polished brass hooks that had been drilled into the masonry in a long forgotten age a baker's dozen or more of colorful stockings. Sewn onto the stocking were the names of the children. Names of her brothers and sisters, names like “Susan”, “Nikki”, “Oliver'' and a dozen other names and finally her own. “Jane”. All the young children and teenagers of the house had their own stocking that had been hung with great care above the blazing fireplace.
But despite being surrounded by all the tapestries of Christmas Cheer, including a new virgin snow that had fallen during the day, the snow had for the most part covered the front lawn, the roof of the house and had totally covered the backyard. Transforming everything into a winter wonderland. Despite all of this, Jane still found herself feeling a deep void as she started to peel off the many layers of clothing she had bundled up in that morning.
At first she started with her oversized pink and white hoodie, she took hold of the brass zipper and pulled it all the way down and hung the thing on the coat rack, she then removed her boots. Those were pushed to the side with the others. Feeling a little bold she removed the ribbon tie from her uniform and hung it up with her hoodie. Once that was done she decided she was free enough to skip about the house.
Once she was free of her hoodie and boots, she bounced into the kitchen. She wanted to fix herself something warm to drink, and she had a powerful hankering for a cup of steaming hot chocolate as that always seemed to chase away the cold winter chills. The house was eerily quite now, but Jane knew that would soon change in the coming hour. Tonight was after all Christmas Eve and tomorrow would be Christmas Day. She also knew that tonight was one of only two nights in the whole year that most of the household would attend Anglican Services at the diocese's cathedral, St. Andrew's Anglican Cathedral. And that meant only one thing, that she would need to take a long shower, shave her legs to perfection, wash her hair to perfection and style it to perfection. She would also be required to wear her best Sunday dress. This was not your normal morning Mass down at Christ Church, the local parish church.
No this was a special event, they only attended two services in the whole year at the cathedral and those two were very special services in the liturgical calendar and those two days were Christmas and Easter. Easter this year would be really special too, since Josephine, her mother and Robert her father had arranged for a special confirmation service, one that would be led by the bishop of the diocese himself. Rowan Field, who had been among the first to rally to the call of Tim Forest sixteen years ago, when he first called out for aid to build the manor house. The service was to confirm her as an Anglican under her name. But that was still some months away.
All of these thoughts filtered through the sponge that was her mind as she started to mix her hot chocolate. First she poured some warm water into a heavy chine mug that was filled with some hot chocolate powder she had spooned into the mug while she mused. Then she reached into the drain board and picked up a silver teaspoon, spoon in hand she started to stir the mixture and it soon transformed from one part hot water and one part hot chocolate mix into a luscious winter beverage. And try as she might she could not stop her mind from starting to wander once more.
This time she started to ponder how her life had changed over the last two and a half years. Yes, it had been about two and a half years since she had been rescued from that hellish house that had been her home. Back when she felt she was just a poor, jade and cynical boy who was floating through his life. Counting down the days till he turned eighteen was free from the foster system. She tried not to remember those painful eight months of her life she had endured there. Those eight months were a very dark period of her life, but sometimes those memories came rushing back, they would flood her head and paralyze her.
Not only would that tiny voice paralyze her, but it also had the bad habit of sending her into a wild tailspin. A spiraling staircase of depression and anxiety that often left her only a husk of her former self when the wave finally decided to break. Add in that she was slowly accepting the fact that was indeed transgender and you had one nightmarish cocktail of mixed up and toxic emotions. A thick jungle she was starting to hack through with the help of her mother, father and her many newfound sisters and brothers. The problem was they were just mere spectators in her daily struggles. It was up to her, and her only to cut through that thick jungle so choked full of pitfalls and thick vines.
Jane closed her eyes and lifted her hot beverage to her lips. She took a nice long sip. The hot liquid was soothing to her and caused her building anxiety to melt away. Jane then sighed a content sigh as she drained the last few ounces of her drink. Once her mug was empty she rinsed it out and set it into the drain board to dry. She then slowly made her way up the stairs, time had a habit of slipping through her fingers. And she knew herself all too well enough, if she did not start getting ready now, she'll soon become hopelessly sidetracked and get totally lost in the weeds.
And so knowing time was precious she started to make her way up the stairwell. Over the next hour she showered, she brushed and styled her hair and put on the best dress she owned. She even put on a little perfume because it was a special night, keeping that in mind she made sure to keep her make-up light; Settling only with a foundation and a bit of lip gloss and a pinch of mascara. Once she was finished with her primping she took the chance and peered into her vanity mirror. And for the first time that day, she allowed herself to show a small smile as she peered toward her own reflection. She felt like for the first time in about a fortnight she was not putting on an act. She was really Jane and Jane was also her. The reflection that greeted her was not a boy pretending to be a girl but one that really reflected who she was.
Smiling, she slipped out of her bedroom and slipped down the stairwell. It seemed she was just in time too, for all of her brothers and sisters were gathering together in the living room. All of the girls wore formal dresses that were a notch above your normal church going dresses. The boys too wore more than formal church going clothing. With all of them wearing coats, ties, slacks and dress shoes.
Jane quickly fell into line with her other brothers and sisters. Then out of the corner of her eye she spotted older sister Sue who had somehow managed to squeeze herself into a formal looking A-line black dress with pumps and a matching purse. Her brunette hair was no longer pulled back in the tomboyish ponytail, instead she wore it down and she had even styled it with a curling iron. She looked pretty cute. Jane did not have long to look, for soon she was being marched out the front door and down the sidewalk with her other brothers and sisters, one by one they were loaded up into one of the three awaiting vans. Once everybody had been loaded up the little convoy started up and pulled out.
Once they were loaded up, the tiny convoy started the one hour drive into the inner city. Jane who counted herself lucky enough to score a seat by the window and so she had a good view of the passing scenery. Every house they passed was decorated to the nines with Christmas lights and decorations. Many of the houses even had outdoor nativity scenes in the front yards. The sophistication of the scenes ranged from simple silhouettes to plywood cutouts to full on plastic figures.
Finally after an hour and ten minutes of driving they reached the stone steps of St. Andrew's Anglican Cathedral, the sight of the massive stone church took her breath away. The building towered over the surrounding building. Many of the surrounding buildings were nothing but flat, square, two stories of the various law firms of the region. Sandwiched between the square office building were a few supermarkets and odd shops. None of them reached the height of the stone towers that were topped with steeples and spires. As Jane peered up at the massive stain glass window she started to understand why the cathedral was a local landmark. None of the surrounding building came close to even touching it. The building was very special, and if her mom and dad wanted her to be confirmed here it must meant that she was really special to them. And that thought made her feel good about herself.
There was indeed something inherently uplifting and very profound and meaningful about attending Christmas Eve Mass, from the chiming of the altar bells to use of incense, and the chanting of the prayers in Latin, the homily that focused on the humble birth of Christ Child, who would one day redeem the world through his passion and his blood. It made Jane forget if just for a few hours her troubles and caused her to forget her doubts. Following Holy Communion and the dismissal the family once more loaded up in the vans and started toward home again. But not before stopping at McDonald's for an after church snack.
It was well into the night when the little convoy finally returned home. Most of her brothers and sisters had fallen asleep after they had pulled out of the parking lot of McDonald's, their bellies full of hamburgers, french fries, chicken nuggets, soda and ice cream cones. With full bellies and a warm car, they soon find themselves nodding off to the fable land of Nod. But Jane found herself too enthralled with many Christmas Displays they passed. And for the first time in a very long time, she felt herself starting to believe in Santa and the magic of the season.
And so, as her brothers and sisters trudged toward their bedrooms, cold and tired and dreaming of only their warm warm beds, Jane on the other hand went straight into the kitchen and started to slice some sugar cookies from the cookie dough roll that had been brought a week or so ago. This at first had puzzled her mother, but her puzzlement soon turned to delight when she was informed that the cookies Jane was baking were intended for Santa, who was due for a visit later and left a treasure trove of gifts under the Christmas tree for all the good little girls and boys.
Once her cookies were finished baking, she then set them out on a stone plate and she then set the plate out on the mantle of the fireplace. Next too of course a ice, cold glass of milk. Once all preparations for Santa's visit were done she then settled down on the sofa. Determined to stay awake and welcome Santa into her new family home. Just like any respectable, young lady should. But she was only a few minutes into her vigil before she found herself drifting asleep and before she could catch herself she found herself drifting off to the fable land of Nod.
The old grandfather clock in the formal dining room chimed too one hour after midnight. It was officially Christmas Day. And Jane was fast asleep on the living room sofa. The once roaring fire in the fireplace had long since died down to a gray bed of hot coals. Long winter shadows ran across the wooden floor. Then something happened, in a blink of an eye an petite woman with long, coal black hair and sparkling blue eyes appeared in the middle of the living room. The woman wore a knee length scarlet dress. Beside her was a huge burlap sack, from this sack she would pull out neatly wrapped gifts. These gifts were lovingly placed around the fully lighted Christmas tree.
“Dang it.” She said, sighing a little as she shook her head to the left and to the right. “My first Christmas trip around the world and I got caught. Man dad's not going to be pleased with this.” She said folding her arms across her chest and rolling her eyes in mild annoyance. “Anyway I'm glad you're up. Because you and I need to have a little heart to heart talk.” She said leveling her gaze toward Jane.
“Because right now, you're kind of straddling both of the two list. I'm not quite sure if you should be given a sack full of coal and a stocking full of switches and pockets full of ashes. Or this brand new laptop computer.” The woman said with a gentle smile.
Jane blinked and blinked again as she peered toward the woman with a very confused look. The woman quickly noted the confused, and lost look that Jane wore on her face. And once more she felt herself sighing again. This was throwing a huge wrench into her plans for the night.
“Oh don't play dumb with me hon. I know who you are. We've been keeping close taps on you all year long. And trust me when I say this, we have a dossier about sixteen inches thick on you. You've been something of a pretty good girl this year. But on the other hand you've been something of a brat. You have this bad habit of skipping over your History homework assignments and your Earth Science assignments too.” She stated as she gave Jane a hard level look. “And that very naughty on your part.”
Jane blinked and blinked again. Quickly without thinking she reached down and then tossed the woolen blanket to the side, the blanket fell upon the wooden floor. Jane then slipped off the sofa and peered toward the woman with a confused and concerned look
Jane blinked and blinked again. Without thinking she reached down and tossed the gray woolen blanket to the side, the blanket fell upon the floor. Jane then slipped off the sofa and peered toward the woman with a short of a confused and concerned look.
“Oh yes, we've been keeping taps on you.” The mystery woman said with a sigh. “You've undergone some amazing changes in the past year or so.” The woman paused. “For one thing, you stopped being 'James' and you switched over to become 'Jane' that was a change that threw us for one heck of a loop. I mean we're toy makers and not psychiatrists after all. And number two, you were adopted, you're now the proud daughter of Josephine and Robert Harris. And number three, you have a wonderful new boyfriend. All of this took place in the span of about a year or so. But still, you're on that border line, you've not been all that nice, and you've not been too naughty.”
“So, Jane, I have a proposal for you. If you would accept me from me, a spanking, I will be more than happy to fill your stocking with a fine collection of candies, and special Christmas treats, but I will also make sure you get your brand new laptop computer and something special extra too.” She said grinning from one ear to the other.
“Hold up there.” Jane said, blinking. “What do you mean you've been keeping taps on me?” Jane asked as she squinted her eyes toward the strange woman. “And you've got a freaking dossier on me? And you know about me skipping those history homework worksheets because of how boring and earth science too cause it was just, it's just a kiddie subject too really? And what about all this talk of being naughty and nice? And who in the world said anything about a spanking?” She paused before she decided to add. “Just who in the world are you and why should I not scream really loud right about now and call the police on my phone and tell the operator on the other line and tell them there some strange burglar breaking into my house, and spouting some kind of nonsense, she also dressed in a kind of Santa girl getup and she handing out stole presents too and she wants to spank me?”
First off,” The woman said mildly amused. “These presents were not stolen, they were made in my family's workshop up in the North Pole, second nobody would believe you. And third, it's like my family legacy or something. Where suppose to keep track of all the children in the world, keeping taps on who's been naughty or who's been nice.” She added.
“Workshop?” Jane questioned as tilted her head to the right side and blinked.
“Yes workshop. And it's huge and we have a dozen or so different departments. It really takes a lot of time and effort to make all those toys. And that's all I can say. I've already told you more than enough. Anything more and I'll have to take you back home to the North Pole with me, because then you would have known too much. And I doubt you'll want to swap your new life here in this manor house for a nine to five job working as an entry level clerk in accounting.”
Jane blinked and blinked again. She was quite unsure what to make of that statement.
“In short, I'm Mina Clause.” She finally said, taking note of Jane's clearly confused facial expression. “I'm the daughter of Santa Clause who has retired this year and me, being his oldest child has taken over the running of the family business. And that business of course being to bring all the good little boys and girls of the world trinkets and gadgets and like I said before, your kind of in the gray.” She paused. “Staying up way past your normal bedtime could just be enough to push you into the red.” She added. “And trust me, you don't want to be in the red, not on your Christmas with your new family.”
“So, you're saying like if I get a spanking from you, you're going to push me back from this 'Naughty List' to this supposed 'Nice List' am I correct?” Jane questioned as she peered toward the strange woman, her voice was full of doubt but she was starting to believe her words. She supposed she had indeed been a bit of a brat this past year. She had quickly learned how far she could push her mother and father. And unlike her other brothers and sisters she never seemed to put one toe over the line. But she always straddled that line.
“That is correct.” She said, taking a deep breath. “I'll give you a few more minutes to decide. I have to cover the whole bloody world you know. And that's one heck of a tight schedule. I'm allowed a little leeway,” She paused, reached into the pocket of dress and pulled out her phone. She quickly checked the time before slipping the phone back into the pocket of her dress.
“In fact, I think I'm running out of time. So Jane, it's now or never. What are you going to decide?” She asked as she peered toward the young woman.
Jane took a deep breath as she nodded her head.
“Alright I believe you.” And with that she started to walk toward the woman and in short order she was pulled over her lap. She then held her hand up and a large hairbrush appeared in her hand. The woman wasted no time in flipping the end of Jane's nightgown up, exposing her matching lavender colored panties, the woman pulled those down and bared her bottom.
Once Jane's bottom was bared. The woman took a deep breath and reached into her sack, she then fished around for a few minutes before pulling out a large wooden hairbrush. She pressed the flat side of the hairbrush into Jane's bottom and then drew it back and smacked it. The smack sent a wave of sting flooding into her cream colored bottom.
The first pass of the brush took Jane's breath away. The Woman followed it up with a second pass of the brush that sent another wave of sting rolling into her bottom and a third wave of sting. Jane's buttercream colored bottom was already starting to turn a pale shade of pink. Jane who at this point in her life had been spanked once, once before by some phantom nurse was still shocked at the sudden flood of pain filing her body.
The sound of the hairbrush smacking the pinking bottom echoed aloud. The force of the hairbrush crashing her round bottom sent a tide of sting crashing into the bottom. The force of the strike caused Jane's bottom to wiggle like a dish of jello. The grandfather clock in the formal dinning room marked the passage of the seconds with its third hand, as each third hand marked the passage of another second, the screams of a young girl getting her bottom tanned echoed louder and louder.
The minutes seemed to turn into hours, the woman it seemed was a master at her craft and watching her tan Jane's bottom, applying the brush skillfully to her bottom, paying close attention to her thighs and her sitting spot. Before long hot, salty tears were running down her face and dripping down on the floor. None of this seemed to bother the woman, who kept up the steady tempo of the hairbrush smacking into Jane's bottom, turning it from a buttercream white, to peach pink, then to a rose red. Then an apple red and finally a deep, deep, ruby red.
As the seconds quickly turned to minutes and the pitch of Jane's wails climbed, a certain powerful sense of forgiveness started to flood over the girl as she lay wiggling on the woman's lap. As her tears poured down her burning cheeks like two salty rivulets and puddled on the floor. She felt the last few ounces of her energy starting to leave her body. And soon she became limb and laid flat. The woman eased down on her swing and gently pushed the brush to the side. Calmly she reached down and pulled the shivering girl into a nice warm hug and then she gently rocked Jane asleep.
Epilogue
The next morning, Jane woke with a still pink bottom. The second mountain of presents was still there. As she cleared the sleep away from her eyes she noticed a herd of the young members of the house starting to trample down the stairwell.
Their tiny faces became as bright as light bulbs when they noticed the second mountain. Proof enough to them that Santa Clause had indeed visited their house during the night. A holiday brunch was the first order of business. Of course there were presents all around, and more than enough. Jamie received a new Sunday Dress, and a dozen or so gift cards for her favorite boutiques in the mall. She also much to her own surprise received a laptop computer. And there was one more gift. A large hairbrush with a note attached that read as followed.
“I hope this hairbrush will remind you, when you feel like skipping on your homework or smarting off to your mom or dad, that I'm always watching. I'll be checking up on you again in a year's time. Until then Jane, remember what I said, was always keeping taps on you. Love, Mina Clause.”
The End.
And so too ends the first season of 'Melodies of the Heart: The Adventures of Jane' the story of a lonely boy who struggled to accept he was transgender and then once he accepted it, strove to make the best of that new life.