~* Twisted Fate *~ “Hey girls,” she offered cheerfully, despite being clearly exhausted. “What are you doing here?” Allison wrapped her arms around Kelly’s waist before answering. “We came to talk to you. It’s about LeAnn.” Kelly’s expression shifted as she put away her phone. “I’ve been expecting this. Let’s head up to the roof. Hardly anyone ever visits the gardens up there so it’ll be nice and quiet.”

---

“It’s all about the music, about entertaining the fans,” Jessica, dressed as her Heedless Despair persona concluded in the informal interview, and the first in the band’s history, recorded just before their live show in Los Angeles, now being aired on a national news network.

The four of us sat in various stages of sprawled out Monday afternoon in front of the Jones’ big screen television to watch the interview. Conversation drifted back to the big cheer competition in a few weeks, and Allison had been about to turn off the television. Silence descended as the anchorwoman’s tone changed.

“And now we have an update on the story we’ve been following for you about a transgendered student in Arkansas.”

“Hey, turn that up!” I started, but Allison already had her hand on the ‘up’ button.

“For those of you who haven’t been following the story so far, this all began when thirteen year old Sarah Stevens was attacked by a fellow classmate. The FBI are treating this investigation as a hate crime and already there’s been quite a bit of drama surrounding the case. In the latest development, the young man accused of attacking Sarah is now behind bars again after violating the terms of his bail and attacking her again.”

No one dared to speak a word as the reporter gave a brief recap of Sarah’s attack at the mall and her return to school being met with protesters, finishing off with the actual second assault, and there was something about a break-in at a neighbor’s home, though by that point I had stopped listening. Jennifer reached over to hit the ‘Off’ button on the remote as I found myself cuddling closer to Nicole.

It was Allison who finally broke the uneasy silence, but softly. “Kelly works with a girl from Arkansas named LeAnn Stevens. She’s a first year med student, but Kelly says they’re really good friends. You don’t think they’re related do you?”

I buried my face deeply in Nicole’s shoulder. I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Jennifer spoke for me.

“I guess Kelly never told you about LeAnn’s sister?”

I glanced over just enough to see Allison shaking her head her head slowly, concern growing in her features. Jennifer sighed softly.

“Awhile back she told us about LeAnn having a younger sibling who’s … well … like Robin. Only she had a really rough life. Kelly asked Robin to write an anonymous letter to encourage her, and-”

I couldn’t take it anymore. “What if this is my fault?”

“Robin, slow down,” Nicole cooed; she cupped my face lightly and leaned forward to kiss my forehead. “We don’t even know if it’s the same person or not.”

“Then we need to find out. I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved beyond just writing a letter, but this changes everything.”

“Kelly’s still at the hospital. She’s supposed to be observing in surgeries until late tonight, but I think she said something about getting an hour away for a light meal in-between. If we hurry we can catch her.”

As I stood, reaching for my pocket to get my car keys, Nicole rested her hand over my wrist and shook her head. “You’re in no shape to drive. Let’s take my car.”

“Thanks Nikki,” I whispered as she stood, pulling me into a much-needed hug. “I know I’m just being silly, but I can’t help it. You saw the pictures just now.”

“I know. I’m curious too, even if this is the first I’m hearing of any of this.”

“Welcome to the club,” Allison teased, but gave Jennifer and me a good-natured smile. “I’m sure you had your reasons for not telling us.”

“Honestly?” Jennifer offered sheepishly as we followed Nicole up the stairs, “It slipped my mind until now. Kelly told us about LeAnn’s sister and asked Robin to write a letter, and that was the end of it until now.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Allison added, “But I hope it still is the end of it. LeAnn’s had it hard enough, from the little bit Kelly’s told me about her. I never met her, but like I said Kelly says they’re good friends.”

~oOo~

We rather quickly arrived at the hospital, where a familiar, though slightly less frazzled nurse was handing off a clipboard to the receptionist. The nurse smiled at us and started to turn away, though she stopped, turned back, and gave us a long, discerning stare.

“Oh hey, I know you!” she exclaimed as she pulled me into a hug. I couldn’t help giggling a little.

“I wasn’t sure you’d remember us.”

“Well sure I do. Not only did you bring some sunshine into a little girl’s life, you got me off night shift. Thanks to Linda and Kelly we were able to shuffle some schedules around. What brings you here today?”

“We need to talk to Kelly. Do you know if she’s out of surgery yet?”

The woman shook her head slowly. “I couldn’t say off-hand,” she began, but another woman spoke up behind us in a very distinct, sweet Southern drawl, though she had a sort of sadness to her tone.

“She just left OR headin’ down to the basement lounge for coffee.”

I turned back to thank the woman, but she had already left again. I could feel a lump in my throat as we crossed the lobby to the elevators.

“Anybody know where the lounge actually is?” Nicole teased. Allison shook her head.

“There’s probably a map somewhere. If not we can ask someone.” She paused to give me a light nudge. “Hey, Robin, you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. I think we just missed LeAnn though.”

Nicole nodded. “How many southern girls could there be running around here? Well, besides me,” she added with a teasing smile. “It’s just as well we talk to Kelly instead though.”

“She’s got a point. Unless you’re ready to out yourself to her, it’s probably better she doesn’t know who you are yet,” Jennifer added. “I know you’re worried, but we have to think about your safety too.”

I exhaled softly, leaning into Nicole for a moment just before the elevator doors finally opened to reveal Kelly inside, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a smart phone in the other. She seemed blissfully unaware that the doors had opened until we stepped inside. She blinked a few times as she stared at us.

“Hey girls,” she offered cheerfully, despite being clearly exhausted. “What are you doing here?”

Allison wrapped her arms around Kelly’s waist before answering. “We came to talk to you. It’s about LeAnn.”

Kelly’s expression shifted as she put away her phone. “I’ve been expecting this. Let’s head up to the roof. Hardly anyone ever visits the gardens up there so it’ll be nice and quiet.”

~oOo~

Kelly led us through the small rooftop garden to a cozy little gazebo, affording us a breathtaking view of Alpine Springs, as well as a secondary safety ledge beyond the high rail surrounding the rooftop.

“It’s so peaceful up here,” Kelly added. “LeAnn and I sometimes come up here to talk. That girl has more personal demons than anyone I’ve ever met to still be so sane.”

“So Sarah is her sister,” I concluded softly. Kelly answered with a gentle nod as she pulled me closer. I leaned into her and put my head on her shoulder. “This is exactly what I was afraid would happen to me if people found out.”

“I know sweetie,” Kelly spoke barely above a whisper. “It’s what I was afraid would happen to you both. How did you find out about it?”

“We were watching the Heedless Despair interview clip from Showbiz Tonight, and they ran the story right after that. What’s going to happen to her?”

Kelly shook her head slowly. “I wish I had an answer for you. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner. LeAnn flew down right after it happened. She said Sarah’s staying with some friends, so she’s in a good place despite everything.”

“Kelly, she was attacked again today,” Allison finally spoke up. Kelly’s face fell.

“Oh God no. Is she okay? When did it happen?”

“About an hour ago according to the news report. They let the guy out on bail and he went after her. Apparently she defended herself with a mop handle before the police could get there. They said she wasn’t physically hurt though, just shaken.”

“I’m more worried about those freaks protesting,” Nicole added with bitter disgust. “Anything they can do to get in the spotlight, y’know? It’s like they don’t even give a damn that they’re protesting a kid! It’s disgusting!”

“Does LeAnn know, I wonder? She sounded pretty down earlier.”

Kelly frowned. “I bet she does. I wondered why she seemed more upset than usual, but she didn’t want to talk about it; I guess because she knew I’d be in surgery again soon. I still wish she’d said something though.”

“Kelly, you don’t think this is because of my letter do you?” I finally asked.

Kelly shook her head. “I don’t think so, no. From how I understand it, she was out as Sarah for the first time at a completely different town. The bully running into them there was just a coincidence, and even then he apparently didn’t recognize her at first.”

LeAnn spoke softly as she approached us, but it still caused me to jump.

“If anything, that letter helped her out a lot. Sorry for eavesdropping. I figured I’d come up here and get some fresh air. I guess y’all heard about what happened today.”

I let go of Nicole’s hand as I stood and stepped down from the gazebo. She looked like she really needed a hug, even if it was from a complete stranger, so I took the initiative. She smiled meekly in return.

“Thanks. I guess you’re “Spirit” huh? Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”

“I am so sorry for all this. If there’s anything we can do,” I started, but she shook her head.

“You’ve already done a lot to help. I can’t ask anything else. Thank you though.” She glanced over at the others briefly. “So this is your support group?”

“That’s Ally, Jen, and Nikki, yeah. There are a couple of others I met at Girl Scout camp last summer, but they’re the only ones who know the whole story. They’re the whole reason I’m even here instead of sitting at home back in San Francisco watching the paint peel.”

LeAnn stifled a small giggle at that as she walked with me back to the little gazebo. Nicole moved over, letting LeAnn sit beside Kelly whilst I sat down beside her, taking Nicole’s hand again in the process. LeAnn exhaled slowly as she leaned into Kelly, who wrapped her in a friendly hug.

“If it helps, I have a ‘dummy’ e-mail address set up from when I wrote for the school paper briefly.”

Jennifer added, “She wrote an advice column called ‘Spirit Speaks’, but had to take a break because of school stress.”

“I was pushing myself too hard to try and be this perfect girl. I’m worried about your sister falling into that same trap. I know it’s not much, but I’ll give you that e-mail address to give to her so we can stay in touch. Maybe it’ll help her if she can connect with somebody who at least kind of understands.”

The corners of LeAnn’s lips tugged into a small smile. A trickle of a tear rolled down her cheek as she emphatically nodded. “That’d be great, if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. My name isn’t on the account or anything. It’d just arrive as ‘Spirit’, but that’s the name she has for me anyway. I’d be lying to say I don’t feel really guilty about all this though.”

“But why?” LeAnn asked, surprised.

“It’s because I never had to face what she’s going through. I moved here from California. Even when my past did catch up with me, it all worked out eventually. It’s just not fair.”

“I know. Sometimes life ain’t fair. I feel the same way. I feel like I abandoned her to the wolves when I came here to study medicine, but when I got accepted to Harvard, I just couldn’t say no, y’know? But I can’t afford to move her here too, plus she finally has friends there. I can’t tear her away from that.”

LeAnn paused to smile as she turned to me. “Like I said, that letter of yours helped a lot. Sarah told me today that she showed it to her friends n’ told ‘em about you, what you said about surrounding herself with people she can trust. She’s puttin’ on a brave face for the public, but behind the scenes, it’s those three girls keepin’ her sane. It’s me who should be offerin’ to help you now, not the other way around.”

I shook my head slowly as I smiled back at her. “Really, it’s nothing. I just told her the truth. But when I told her there would be dark times, I never dreamed it would be this bad either.”

“Oh hon, none of us did. But you told her, and me, exactly what we needed to hear too. So I’ll say it again. If you ever need anything, you don’t hesitate to ask. And I’ll do everything I can to make sure none of this comes back on you. The PA’s tryin’ to push this through to federal court as soon as possible, and given the heated nature she wants to have the case heard before the Supreme Court in D.C. Everything’s movin’ so fast my head’s spinnin’, but I’ll let y’all know as soon as I hear somethin’.”

Kelly nodded and gave LeAnn a gentle squeeze. “I should get back downstairs before they send someone to look for me, but LeAnn, I’ll come find you before I leave to make sure you’re okay to drive home, alright?”

LeAnn nodded with a quiet chuckle. “I’m carpoolin’ actually. I haven’t slept well in awhile, and New Haven’s a long drive when your eyelids won’t stay open. Still I wouldn’t mind you settin’ someone straight that you and I aren’t … Well…” she paused to blush, adding, “I mean, that you’re seein’ someone and I’m … interested in someone else, y’know?”

Kelly giggled. “Oh, sure thing. You’d think everyone would know that by now,” she added with a dry laugh as she stood, stepped down off the gazebo, and turned back to wave at us.

LeAnn smiled as she turned back to me. “Thanks Robin, girls. I think I might actually make it through the rest of my day now.”

“A little hope goes a long way,” Nicole offered, shooting Jennifer a playful smile. Jennifer stifled a small giggle.

“You’ve been hanging around me too long. But she’s right. Keep in touch, and let us know what happens. We’ll keep you both in our thoughts. While I can’t speak for the others I’ll keep you in my prayers, as well.”

LeAnn smiled as we all stood, exchanged hugs, and quietly filed out back into the main hospital area. Jennifer and I still had part of our cheer routine to work on, and we all had an English group assignment to finish, but at least now we could move forward on it with a clear conscience.

~oOo~

Tuesday and Wednesday passed by relatively peacefully, all things considered, but I began to follow Sarah’s story like a hawk. I checked my e-mail at every opportunity, though without any new mail. Thursday evening, following cheer practice, I sat down at my laptop. I still hadn’t had my shower yet, so I only intended to check for messages from Andrea when, on a whim, I opened my web-mail account for ‘Spirit Speaks’. A letter from John Stevens titled ‘Hi’ awaited me.

Dear Spirit,

I know the name on my account probably says ‘John’, right? Sorry about that. I was meaning to write sooner, but you know how things are down here. Anyway since Nathan’s arrest things’ve calmed down a little bit. Still got problems with idiots and bigots, but what’re ya going to do.

LeAnn told me you felt guilty about what happened to me. Don’t. My new friends think he might be gay and lashing out at me because of it. I don’t think they really get that I’m not gay, but they’re okay people. I know I didn’t like Nathan’s kiss. Does that make me straight or lesbian? I’ll have to talk to my therapist about that one once all this is over, haha.

Anyway I wanted to thank you personally for your letter. Christina wants to know what perfume that was tho, cause we can STILL smell it. Take care, and wish me luck. I’m gonna need it. Take care of LeAnn too. I think she’s taking this harder than anyone including me.

Sarah

I smiled to myself as I read the letter. After forwarding a copy to the girls, I closed my laptop, and stepped out to get my shower. I’d need time to think of an appropriate reply, and since we couldn’t do a full Earth Week, we would be doing an event this weekend, with another the weekend of Earth Day itself, so I already had quite a lot on my mind.

~oOo~

I was out of bed bright and early Saturday morning. As one of the older Girl Scouts, I had to be because my car would be used to help haul supplies. Carol had offered to let me drive her SUV, but I barely felt comfortable in my little sports car, let alone a tank like that. I’d just have to stick to hauling bags of potting soil and other light equipment.

By now I had donated pretty much all of my old boy clothes to charity. None of them fit properly anymore, anyway, so I instead pulled on an old pair of jeans with my CIT t-shirt and the hiking boots the girls helped me pick out last summer, pulling my hair back with a small green ribbon to match my top. I used to be self-conscious about not wearing makeup, but cheer practice, and seeing everyone else ‘without their face’ quickly broke me of that habit.

“Morning Robin,” Allison called cheerfully from the entryway as I stepped off the stairs. She had on her CIT shirt as well, but with a much rattier pair of jeans. One of the pockets looked badly frayed, and the right knee had been torn wide open. She noticed me staring and giggled. “Not a word. I busted the knee out of these on our last hiking trip over Spring Break. Ready to go?”

“Yeah. Did you talk to Josh about bringing his truck?”

Allison smiled sweetly as she nodded. “Sure did! He’s going to meet us at the park. He’s not thrilled about the idea of being surrounded by Girl Scouts, but he said since it’s for a good cause, and that we’d be there, he’s okay with it.”

I couldn’t help laughing as we walked out to my car. “He knew what he was getting into with dating one of us.”

“Yeah, but I still feel bad. So who do we need to pick up?”

“Just Jen; I think Kathy’s coming with Alice too, and Nikki’s giving Tracy a ride since her car’s in the shop.”

“Uh oh. Again? If this keeps up we’re gonna have to turn Nikki loose on that thing.”

“Yeah, really,” I answered as we pulled out of the driveway. After getting Jennifer, we stopped off at a drive-through for breakfast burritos before heading to our first stop. Each of us with access to a vehicle had a separate job. Nicole and I would be hauling tools and saplings, so the tentative plan was to meet at the hardware warehouse to pick up the first bunch of saplings, and make a second trip later if we needed.

Tracy groaned playfully as the three of us approached, seeing we all had worn our old camp t-shirts, including Nicole. “Please tell me you planned that?”

Jennifer giggled. “No, we’re just psychic. It’s like some sort of freaky twin power.”

“Yeeeah, anyway, it looks like we’ll be making two trips. The city people ordered a whole lot of saplings for planting, but I think we can get a few um… ‘sets’? Whatever they’re called, into each trunk. I was flirting with- I mean talking with one of the seniors who works here on weekends and he said this is the biggest order so far.”

“I wonder if Tina’s gonna show up,” Nicole teased, shooting me a grin.

“Tina?” Tracy asked. Allison giggled.

“Yeah. Tina Gale, the news lady. She has a talent for being wherever Robin is, usually coincidentally.”

“Oh, her,” Tracy answered as we followed her inside. “Yeah, that would be kinda cool. Didn’t she interview you guys before the big HD concert awhile back? Oh, there we go,” she interrupted herself, pointing to a middle-aged man in a red vest pushing a pallet partially covered in saplings and a large sack that looked to hold several garden trowels and varying sizes of gloves. I couldn’t resist shooting Tracy a questioning glance.

“Um,” I started, but she shook her head.

“No, that’s not him, goofball! Those are our trees though,” she added, smiling as the man approached.

“All set?” he asked in a friendly tone. Tracy nodded.

“We’ll be back for the rest later, or get Allison’s boyfriend over in his truck after he picks up the bigger ones. Thanks again for bringing these out for us.”

He chuckled as he followed us out to where our cars were parked. “It’s no problem. I’m just glad to see kids so enthusiastic about Earth Day.”

Allison bobbed her head and giggled. “We originally wanted to do an entire Earth Week thing with a big carnival, but between other stuff getting in the way and Easter falling on the same weekend it just didn’t work out. There’s always next year though.”

“Oh, yeah?” he asked, as he carefully loaded the last of our cargo. “Well here’s hoping you get a chance. I’m sure my super would give you a discount on any supplies since it’s for a good cause.”

~oOo~

Though there was at least no sign of a news van to be seen, there were quite a few cars in the city park’s parking lot, and as we started to unload our saplings, a couple of apparent fathers, judging by the women and children who had just gone across the rope bridge into the park itself approached us. One man, dressed in khaki slacks and a casual shirt, spoke first.

“We couldn’t help noticing your t-shirts. Do you girls need help carrying all that?”

The second added, “I thought Earth Day was next week; getting an early start?”

Jennifer smiled cheerfully. “We’re volunteering for the park beautification project. Basically we’re here to plant trees as part of teaching the younger scouts about the environment and conservation, since Earth Day is coming up this Friday. Next week we want to clean up an old lot and plant a garden. If you’re sure you don’t mind helping, it’d definitely save us an extra trip back.”

“Sure thing,” the other man answered, and with the pair’s help the seven of us quickly made our way across the bridge. At first glance I thought it had looked a little rickety, but I hadn’t noticed the solid wood frame underneath until we were actually on top of it, a small, babbling brook running just a few feet deep further down.

Alice and Angela stood beneath the park’s main pavilion, not unlike the one at camp, though a bit smaller, with the rest of the girls gathered around the picnic tables there. When we approached, Alice waved us over. “And here comes the cavalry! Just in time, girls. Oh, hello there,” she offered warmly to our two helpers.

“Thanks so much,” Allison spoke cheerily as they set their saplings on an unoccupied table. They both smiled as they waved, turning to rejoin their families. Allison turned back to Alice and Angela. “What was that about the cavalry arriving?”

Angela frowned. “Josh just called to let us know he has a flat tire, so he’s going to be a little late. Now that you’re here though, we can at least get started on planting the saplings.”

Alice picked up from there, “The city wants to keep some of this as open area, but,” she paused to unfurl a map, holding it up against one of the pavilion’s pillars so everyone could see, “They want to plant new trees in the area circled in green. It’s already been roped off, so all we have to do is hop to it. By the way, I brought a pair of five gallon water coolers if anyone gets thirsty. The blue one has plain water and the orange one has sports drink.”

Nicole raised her hand, adding, “And if you’re like me and you burn super-easily, I brought extra sunblock.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea,” Alice replied. “Everyone make sure to put on some sunblock. It may not feel that warm yet, but working in the sun can be really hard on your skin, even if you’re naturally tan,” she glanced at Allison with a playful grin. Allison laughed.

“Yeah, she’s right. Skin cancer’s no joke guys. Pass me that sunblock Nikki,” she added, just to hit the point home.

~oOo~

We spent most of the morning planting saplings, and while Tina never showed, we did have a reporter from the local newspaper stop by for a few pictures. I was especially proud of the picture of Amanda filling in soil around the base of one of our larger trees as Jennifer and I held it in place for her.

After a light, early lunch of sandwiches which Alice generously provided, we finished planting the last of our trees, resigning to the pavilion afterwards for a few words from Alice emphasizing why it’s so important to plant fresh trees. It was a good thing though, that we decided to hold two events instead of doing the lot cleanup that afternoon, as most of us were dead tired by that point.

As soon as I got home, I went straight to the sofa for a short nap. It felt like I had only just closed my eyes when I heard someone knock at the front door though. I groaned as I rolled over, nearly right off the sofa, and pushed myself up.

“Hi Robin. Wow, you look wiped,” Katelyn mused. “I didn’t wake you up did I?”

“I needed to get up anyway,” I offered sleepily. “And before you ask, yes, I still want to do our lesson. I’ve been looking forward to it since Monday.”

Katelyn gave a reserved smile as she nodded. “Alright, out with it.”

“What?”

“You’ve been kind of mopey all week. What’s going on?”

I bit my lip before answering. “I’m just worried about a friend. She’s in a bad place right now, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Of course there is,” Katelyn answered as she reached out to take my hand, pulling me along toward the Jones’. “You can be her friend. I mean, Maria never gave up hope that you and I would eventually work things out, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, what’ve you got for me today?”

“I thought we’d work on your Beethoven a little, and then switch it up with a more advanced version of the Ballroom scene from Beauty and the Beast.”