Meanwhile, Carol had managed to gather eight of the girls' parents in her basement, each looking grief-stricken, as though their little ones had just died. They had been discussing the changes in their daughters. Well, the ones that they knew of anyway. Most of them realized that they were being kept in the dark surrounding what their daughters were going through, Beth's parents realizing it was they who were trying to keep their daughter in the dark. Through Carol's encouragement they had already made a private vow to become more involved with their children.
"Now," Carol said, moving the subject forward, "we know that the trial is being said for sometime in five weeks. We have to definately prepare our kids for that, as well as ourselves. We have no idea how people will respond to them during that time, what they will look like, etc. We need to make sure that they have a strong support group.
"I also have no idea who the prosecutor is, but..."
"His name is Christopher Olson," Beth's mom, Christine, piped in. "One hard hitter, he his. You see, I work at the court house and had an opportunity to speak with him. That support group will come in handy by the time he's done, I'm afraid. His intention is to show the jury that not only have these girls been harmed physically, but that their emotional lives have been left in ruin too." Her husband, Frank, put a loving arm around his wife's shoulders while she recomposed herself. "He says that's the only way to ensure the harshest sentence."
A large, gruff looking man, Tonia's father, Olaf, slapped his hand hard against his thigh. "My little girl's life is not going to be ruined by this!" he shouted. "She can still live a wonderful life in spite of what's happened."
"I agree," Christine replied. "However, it's not my decision to make - I'm only a secretary! I, more than anyone, wish that they would have decided on a more sympathetic and encouraging individual, but you know that the media is going to have a hay day with this, and you know what the media wants most is drama. They want crying and random outbursts. My poor Beth is already at witt's end with this; I'm afraid that this trial could be more damaging than any hormones.
"He will probably be contacting us soon. His intentions are to meet with everyone together first before interrogated us all individually."
"We should probably go for a much more compassionate lawer for our suit, then," replied Carol. The rest of the parents nodded in agreement. She continued, "I strongly suggest that you all take your children to a dermatologist to see what's happening and to learn how to care for the inevitable hair. My girls, Jen and Lisa - although Jen's not biologically mine - have been having the most problem with hair, as you all know. By the time this trial comes..." she didn't need to finish the sentence; all the parents knew what she was thinking. They could only sigh inwardly that their own children may not look so physically awkward. Their own lawsuit would most definitely take place after this trial, and who knew what their children may look like by that time.
There was little discussion after that. Christine threw out a few names for them to look into, maybe interview, but they were all pretty much in agreement that the current lawer for the trial would most certainly not serve as their personal lawer.
The girls and their parents finally deported, the girls agreeing to a random visit to Kelly's house to check up on her, namely Lindsey, especially after hearing how much of the hormone was present in their milk.
Andy gave the girls a tight squeeze before heading off to her room for bed, herself emotionally exhausted from the experience. It was the first time it had really hit her how profoundly impacted the girls were from these hormones.
Lisa and Jen climbed into bed, wondering what the trial would be like.
"Say Lisa," Jen started. "You said that if we really controlled our emotions that we may be able to put off facial hair for about a month, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, the trial is in little over a month. Do you think we'll be noticeably fuzzy-faced by that time?"
Lisa thought for a moment, trying to work it out in her head. "We probably will have hair, at least in the beard region. Not so much in the rest of the face, I wouldn't think. Unless, of course, our emotions run high, and I'm not sure if I can see how they wouldn't.
"A beard worries me more than anything else. I mean, not only will people be staring a lot more than they already are, but my mom in particular dislikes beards. I mean, she loves us and always will, but it doesn't matter who the beard is on, she just never has liked them. She used to always make our dad shave because she couldn't stand the tickle on her face when she kissed him or cuddled him. She might act like she's prepared for two bearded girls, but she also acted like she was prepared for our body hair, and we know what happened when she saw us on Saturday."
Jen touched her face, feeling the light fuzz on her cheeks. As long as Lisa was going through it at the same time, she figured it wouldn't be half as bad as normal. Still, she couldn't deny that when the time came, it would be hard on every member of the family. She inwardly thanked Lisa for convincing her to buy that beard trimmer earlier.
"I wonder how these hormones will affect me," Lisa mused. She sat up and looked down at Jen. "Do you mind if I share a secret with you?"
"No," Jen answered. Lisa never really shared secrets, so she had no idea what she was in for.
"I'm an asexual," was Lisa's nonchalant reply.
"What's that?"
"It's when a person doesn't really care about sex. I just never have, and I don't really have a drive. I don't care whether you believe it's an orientation or not, personally. I just wanted you to know. It makes me wonder if that will change with these hormones, or if I'll stay the same. Either way, it'll make it that much more difficult for me to find the right man."
Jen pondered this. Lisa had never, ever been interested in dating. She was always left out of conversations dealing with guys and sex and no one ever really questioned it. Jen had attempted setting her up for several blind dates, but nothing ever came of it. It saddened her to know that the only reason she became interested in guys was because she was holding on to the hope that one could free her from her body's changes.
"I'm glad you told me," Jennifer said at last. "Suddenly, you now make a lot more sense than you did." Jennifer sat up and gave her best friend a hug before they both settled down again.
"I wonder how these hormones are affecting Kelly," Lisa continued, now just rambling off every thought in her head.
"You mean in terms of libido?" Jen asked. When Lisa nodded she continued, "I don't think she could get worse."
The two chuckled and drifted into sleep, prepared to meet up at Kelly's house to confront her face-to-face.