A 'Touched By an Angel' story

By: Yvette Jessen

© 2001 not intended to infringe on any previously held copyrights.

Justin Phillips sat in the large classroom his green eyes sparkling as he held the music for his solo in his hands. He was a senior this year and sang tenor in the top choir at Hudson High School. He was well liked and everyone seemed to tell him the same thing, that he was gifted in the area of music. He smiled weakly as soon as he opened the small folder and looked down at the new piece he had selected.

"Now, Justin, could you try that song from the beginning? I'll try to muddle my way through the introduction, until our new accompanist gets here." The director said with a smile. He was a tall man with a mustache and had a friendly twinkle in his eyes.

"OK, I'll try Mr. Jameson," he said and stood up in front of his other classmates. After the music started he began to sing, "Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation...." he began to sing one of his favorite songs from 'The Phantom of the Opera'.

"Very good," the director said once he had finished singing 'The Music of the Night'.

Justin smiled weakly. It was a hard song for him to sing, but he had the clear tenor voice, and when the other members of the choir heard him, they could tell that he sang from the deepest recesses of his soul. The other members of the choir applauded and one of the other boys spoke up, his face positively beaming. "You're going to make our spring concert the best it has ever been."

Justin smiled weakly, but unfortunately, he could not enjoy the comments of his classmates. He had other things on his mind and often times he tended to allow them to encompass everything, even those times when he tried to sing.

It was no big secret; everyone in the choir knew that he was obsessing about his sister, Melanie, again. It had been going on for months now, and the word around school was that she suffered from Anorexia Nervosa. She was no longer eating, in fact, at lunchtime; she would drink a liter of water, and eat wedges of oranges. This has been going on since the first of the school year when she was made a varsity cheerleader and their sponsor forced the girls rather harshly to maintaining their weight. The disease had worked its cruel game with the young woman, causing her to have dizzy spells and bouts of weakness. Many of her classmates wondered if she would even make it to the beginning of baseball season.

Maintain their weight, he thought bitterly, that means to maintain the body weight of a paper clip and look like death warmed over. Shaking his head, he contemplated the past few months. It really was a miracle of sorts that Melanie had made the squad, after all, she was a sophomore, and most of the other girls were seniors. He knew his sister well enough to know that this little fact added even more of a burden to her already weighted down shoulders. Furthermore, he also was aware that she tried to keep up with the other girls, all of whom were older than her by at least a year, if not two or three.

"That was beautiful, Justin," said Nancy Cartwright, one of the other members of the choir. Her kind words brought him out of his reverie, but when he looked over at her, she immediately diverted her attention back on the music she held, her shyness evident.

The junior girl shifted her weight and tried to situate herself and get comfortable on the small chair. For the other members, the chairs were just the right size, but Nancy was some twenty pounds overweight. No one made fun of her anymore, but everyone knew that she was very conscientious about her weight problems. After trying diet after diet, and not loosing any weight, she had given up and said that she was as she was and it no longer mattered.

The other thing that was obvious about Nancy was that she had the world's biggest crush on Justin Phillips. She glanced up only for a moment as he smiled weakly at her; she blushed and watched as he sat back down.

Moments later, someone knocked on the door and the teacher went to open it. "Mr. Jameson, my name is Tess, I'm the new accompanist for the choir."

"Oh, yes, I was wondering when you were going to get here," the director said with a smile. "I remember they told me that someone would be coming today to help us prepare for the spring concert." He glanced towards the students who were now assembled. "Justin, would you be so kind as to get a chair for Tess and maybe help her with her coat?"

"Sure," Justin came down from off the risers and led Tess into a small office. "You can leave your jacket here, and you can put your stuff on this desk. Mr. Jameson had already set it up for you."

"Thank you, Justin," Tess said kindly.

"It's no trouble," he said smiling weakly, but it was obvious to her that he had a lot on his mind.

"Are you OK?" she finally asked once she had taken off her jacket and laid it on the chair.

"Sure, I'm fine," he said and shrugged his shoulders.

_______

On the other side of the school, Melanie Phillips was sitting on one of the bleachers catching her breath. She had gotten easily winded during today's practice session, and was not sure as to why. She rested her head in her hands and shook her head wearily.

"Hey Mel, Mrs. Norton is ready to start again!" Someone called her name and she looked up to see, Barbara, one of her squad-mates, standing next to her.

"The pause is over already?" Melanie asked as she wearily stood up and followed her friend over to where the sponsor of the squad was standing. Next to her stood two individuals one, an auburn-headed woman and a man with shoulder length blonde hair. Both looked to be in their early to mid 30's.

"OK, kids," the sponsor said in a no-nonsense voice. "I want you to meet Andrew and Monica. Monica is going to assist us in getting this squad spiffed up for the upcoming baseball season. You know we need all the help we can get. Andrew is here to help with the dietary plans which each and every one of you will be taking part in. I've noticed that a few of you girls have put on some weight since Christmas, and I don't want you all to start looking like peanuts on stilts. You got that?"

"Yes, Ma'am," the girls chimed.

Melanie looked sub-consciously down at her body, and sighed deeply as a frown covered her face. She glanced over and could see that Andrew was now staring at her. He probably thinks I look like a beached whale, she thought sadly. I'll be the first on his diet list; I suppose I better stop eating those oranges at night before I go to bed.

With that, Mrs. Norton dismissed the girls and they raced off towards the locker room. As they disassembled, Melanie returned to the bleachers and sat down.

As she wiped her face with the towel and began to drink the cool water she had carried out to the field with her, she sighed deeply. How will I get all this weight off me, she began to ponder, and closed her eyes.

"Hello, you're Melanie, right?" a man's voice, and she looked up. It was Andrew, and now he was standing next to where she was sitting.

"Yeah," she said and took another sip of water.

"Are you OK?" he asked.

"Sure, I'm just tired," she replied. "It's been a long day."

Andrew nodded as though he understood, but his concern for her was there. She's sick; he immediately realized when he had looked at her, it was obvious to the Angel of Death that she was his next assignment. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, he could see her looking at him.

"I guess you wanted to talk to me about that diet, right?" she said softly.

"No, actually, just the opposite," he looked intently at her. "I want to ask you what you eat each day for lunch?"

"Half an orange and a cup of water," she said. "Should I stop eating the oranges?"

"No, no, of course not, but you don't eat anything else?" he asked.

"No, I have to keep my weight down," she whispered as she got up and walked towards the locker room.

Andrew watched her retreating back and sighed deeply. If Melanie lost any more weight, she'd have the body mass of a Q-tip. She already looked bad, her face was sunken in, her clothes practically hanging loosely from her shoulders, and she couldn't possibly weigh more than 80 pounds. He could not understand how it was that she had not collapsed yet. "Father," he began to pray. "I know she's close, but please let me at least try to help her."

Monica, had by this time, approached him. "Andrew, she looks bad."

"Yes, she does," he said sadly. "I just can't believe this, she's only fifteen years old, and she's slowly killing herself."

"She's got Anorexia?"

He nodded, "this has progressively gotten worse in the last months, but now it's at critical mass, she's convinced that she's too fat, even though I have seen starving people in Africa who weigh more than she does. In this squad, she hears this everyday from Mrs. Norton, and this has been buried deep inside of her."

"Where's Tess?" Monica asked as she rested her hand on Andrew's shoulder. She could tell that at moments like this, that Andrew needed all the support she could offer.

"She's in the choir room and is working with Melanie's brother, Justin," Andrew said. "From what I understand, Justin is really worried about her."

"And for good reason," Monica said, but before she could say anything further, Mrs. Norton's voice interrupted their conversation.

"Andrew, I think now's the time that we discuss the girls' diets," Mrs. Norton said and the angels turned to face her.

"Yes," Andrew offered weakly.

"We'll talk about this in my office," the teacher said and Andrew and Monica followed her off the field and towards the school building.

_______

Melanie finished dressing and reached for her duffle bag. As luck would have it, today her brother was rehearsing with the choir and she could ride home with him. Sighing deeply, she grabbed the duffle bag she normally carried and left the locker room. The weight of it weighing down her shoulders, but she continued to walk in the direction of the choir room. As she looked around, she noticed that all the girls were now gone.

Once she got there, she opened the door and walked inside. They were still rehearsing, and instead of waiting in the room, she smiled apologetically at the director, went back outside, and waited in the hall.

Ten minutes later Justin came out of the room followed by Nancy. When she saw Melanie, she smiled shyly and turned to Justin. "See you tomorrow, Justin," she said. "Your solo sounds really awesome."

"Thanks Nancy," he said softly, and joined his sister. "Hey, Mel, how was practice?" he asked trying to keep his voice light, even though he could see that his sister had the energy of a deflated balloon.

"It was fine," Melanie said softly.

"Listen, why don't we go and grab a bite to eat before we go home?" he suggested. "I'm dying for one of those chef salads from 'Harold's Sandwich Shop'."

"I can't, Mrs. Norton assigned us a dietician today, and today he was there, and he was looking at me strangely. I just know that I have gained, and I can't, not with baseball season coming, I don't want to end up looking like Nancy Cartwright."

Justin sighed deeply as he heard his sister comparing herself to Nancy. The only similarity between then was the fact that they both had straight brown hair. He hated that people on the squad tended to talk badly about someone he considered a friend, but rather than start an argument with his sister, he said nothing. He heaved the backpack up on his shoulders, adjusted his glasses, and decided that he would have to have another talk with his parents about this situation tonight. Melanie was quickly getting worse.

"Listen Mel, you're not going to gain weight by eating a salad, it's healthy, and if you eat it without the heavy dressing, you won't gain any weight." He took another deep breath and glanced around the empty halls. There has to be a way to get her to eat, he thought sadly as the picture of one of his favorite singers flashed across his mind.

Karen Carpenter had died the same year he had been born, her voice was magical, and he remembered his mother telling him how she had felt after the talented woman had passed on. It was heart wrenching, Katie Phillips had said. A young woman with more potential than one could shake a stick at, and in her early 30's when she died. What would have happened had Karen Carpenter been able to get the help earlier than she did in order to fight this eating disorder and live? She would have changed the entire face of popular music; of this Justin and his mother were almost certain.

Now, his sister was faced with the same problem. He shook his head as he led his little sister outside. Somehow, he knew how Karen's brother, Richard, must have felt, because this feeling of extreme hopelessness must have been exactly the same.

They made their way outside through the courtyard and to the parking lot. Justin pulled the keys to his VW Beetle out of his pocket and opened the door and got in. Melanie did the same.

From across the parking lot, Tess stood and watched the two of them as they left. She sighed sadly and shook her head.

_______

Andrew and Monica entered Mrs. Norton's office by this time. Both of them sat down and waited for Mrs. Norton to begin.

"I think I ought to tell you first off, that I wasn't happy when the principal got involved in my program," the woman started, sounding angry. "I really don't appreciate that he decided to send someone to interfere with the girls and their practices. I have been doing this kind of job for well over 20 years and I see no lasting effects."

"What about with Melanie Phillips, Mrs. Norton?" Andrew asked. "She appears to have more than one of the warning signs of someone with an eating disorder?"

"That's ridiculous," Victoria Norton said.

"I must say she performed that last routine rather sluggishly," Monica offered honestly. "It looked to me as though she was tired."

"Has she told you what she eats for lunch each day?" Andrew asked.

"No, but the girls were told at the beginning of the season that they would have to maintain their weights and not overdo it," Victoria said.

"And what about under doing it? I understand that a cheerleader must maintain her weight, but these girls aren't models, they are kids. In all fairness, isn't this a bit too much for them to grasp?" Andrew asked.

"That to me is irrelevant, as long as the girls maintain their weight," Victoria said assuredly.

Monica stood up to go, she was completely at a loss. I can't get mad at her, she thought to herself, even if I'm tempted to. She glanced over and could see that Andrew was looking at the woman with horror in his green eyes.

"You say that you are concerned with the issues of weight, correct?" he asked. Once the woman nodded, he looked at her sadly. "How about the psychological impacts this may leave them with, all this stress about their weight?"

As they stood up to go, Victoria looked at him apparently she had not heard a word he said, and had no intention of even answering his question. "I will need the chart done by tomorrow afternoon so we can start the girls on their diets."

Andrew nodded dejectedly, but he and Monica left the office. Once outside in the hall, he looked at Monica sadly.

Monica knew this look better than anyone. "She's going to die, isn't she?"

Andrew nodded sadly. "Victoria Norton was the only person who could have saved Melanie's life, but she just won't acknowledge anything and I just don't know. It's a terrible situation. The worst thing about this is just knowing that Melanie's only 15 years old."

As they walked, they continued to converse, both visible to human eyes. "I'm an Angel of Death, Monica, I should be able to do something for Melanie, but she's so convinced that she's overweight, that she's shutting herself off to any possible help." He continued to speak as they rounded a corner, and ran right into Nancy Cartwright.

Nancy, who had heard his words, looked at him with a mixture of bewilderment and shock. The words 'Angel of Death' flashed through her mind, and she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she remembered him.

Did he know she had heard his words? It was obvious that he knew now that she had, because she appeared to be rooted to the spot and staring up at him. "I know you, you're Andrew," she whispered.

"Yes, Nancy," he said gently.

"You were with me when I was sick and in the hospital three years ago, but I don't understand, what are you doing here now?" she asked weakly. "I thought I'd never see you again."

He looked sadly at her. "I'm here because of Melanie Phillips, Nancy."

Nancy nodded; it was obvious that she understood his words. "She's really sick isn't she?"

Monica rested her hand on Nancy's shoulder. "Yes, do you know what she has?"

"Everybody does," Nancy said softly. "She's got Anorexia and is starving herself to death," she shook her head sadly. "Now you're here, and I know what's going to happen to her." The tears began to stream down her cheeks as she sank to her knees. "Oh, poor Justin, he's been so scared for her, and he's been trying to get her to eat, but she just won't."

Andrew got down on his knees and rested his hands on the girl's shoulders. "He's not alone, Nancy. There will be an angel that will take care of him and his family the same as would have happened to you, if your illness three years ago had gotten worse."

"I know, and I remember what I confided in you, about my past, but I just don't know what to do anymore," she looked at him helplessly.

"When you look at Melanie you see what could have happened to you, don't you?" Andrew asked gently.

Nancy nodded and looked at Monica, "you're an angel too, right?"

Monica nodded.

"Why does this have to happen?" Nancy asked. "I mean, Melanie's not the nicest person, she puts me down because I'm fat, and has even said that I'm ugly, but..."

"Nancy, you're not ugly," Andrew said gently and Monica nodded.

"Look at me. Do you know how many diets I've tried? Do you know what I've done to be able to look in the mirror and see a beautiful person standing there looking back?" she asked weakly. "I finally had to just accept that I am what I am, and that my weight doesn't define me." She looked at Andrew and then at Monica.

Monica nodded to the young girl. "You know what, Nancy? You have a gift that God gave you; it's the ability to make music, and to capture people's imagination with the words of a song. If I were to begin singing, people would run for their lives. I'm not musical, but God makes up for that in other ways. You can sing, and though you may not physically look the part of a cheerleader, God doesn't care about that, what He cares about it the person you are, in here." She placed her hand over her heart.

She nodded and looked at Andrew. "Is there not anything I can do to help Melanie?"

Andrew shook his head, "I'm sorry, Nancy."

"There has to be something, with God all things are possible." She got to her feet and with a look of determination; she walked in the direction of Victoria Norton's office leaving the two of them alone.

"What is she going to do?" Andrew asked as Tess appeared.

"It looks as though she's going to try and make Victoria Norton see that she's indirectly killing Melanie Phillips," Tess said. "I don't know how she will accomplish this, Victoria has a vendetta against anyone who weighs more than 130 pounds."

Andrew sighed deeply and sent a prayer out for Nancy.

_______

Nancy stood outside of Victoria Norton's office, after a few moments, she knocked on the door. "Come in," she heard the voice on the other side and she walked confidently inside.

When Victoria looked up, she sighed deeply at the sight of the overweight teenager standing in front of her. "What can I do for you?" she asked coldly.

"I'm here about Melanie Phillips," Nancy said softly. "Her brother is a friend of mine, but neither of them know that I'm here."

"Why are you here?" Victoria asked curtly.

"Melanie's starving herself to death," Nancy said. "You're the only person who can help her, Mrs. Norton, she's got Anorexia."

"I don't believe it," Victoria said.

"You have to believe it," Nancy replied. "You may see her every day but you're not with her during lunch or when it's time to eat dinner. Have you see her in the cafeteria at lunch? How she only eats oranges and drinks water? I'm not a scientific genius, but she needs more nutrients in her body than just fruit, she needs to at least drink milk so her bones don't break when she takes a tumble."

"Listen, I am cheerleader sponsor, and you may not understand what that entails, but the girls who are on the squad have to sacrifice a few puddings at lunchtime in order to do routines and compete in competitions," Victoria said.

"Yes, but if the girls are too weak to even turn a flip and they walk around looking like death warmed over, then I see no point to this entire thing," Nancy said. "Did you see Melanie this afternoon? I did after choir rehearsal and she was so weak that she could barely carry her own bag. I heard her arguing with Justin about going and eating a salad. A stupid, stinking salad! How much fat is in a salad?"

"I don't like your tone, I think you should go, or I'll have to suspend you for being disrespectful," Victoria said, her voice icy.

"I'll go, but if Melanie dies, then you will be the one with her blood on your hands. People have died from this, look at Karen Carpenter." With that, Nancy stalked out of the office and closed the door leaving Victoria too stunned to even speak. She dismissed the words of the girl, shook her head, and looked down at the dietary plans on her desk.

Outside in the hallway, Nancy stood with shock and sadness coloring her features. I can't believe it, she thought to herself. "God, what should I do now?" she prayed softly.

"There's nothing you can do, baby," another voice emerged causing her to look up. She recognized the woman who was now standing next to her; it was Tess, the new accompanist for the choir.

"But, there's got to be something," Nancy said softly and shook her head. "There must be."

"There's a reason for everything that happens, Nancy, but sometimes that reason is not yet known to people," Tess said gently. "Come on, I'll take you home."

Nancy allowed Tess to lead her through the hallway. "I just can't believe it, she's really going to die, and I can't do anything about it."

"Who told you this?" Tess asked gently.

"What difference does it make if it's true? Everybody can see that Melanie is sick. She walks around looking like death warmed over. I mean she might as well be," Nancy said softly. "Her brother Justin is my friend, and it's clear to see that he's devastated by all of this. I mean if it was my sister, I'd be sickened."

"It's ironic that a young girl would care so much for another girl who normally wouldn't even look at her, much less offer her friendship. Do you just do this because of what you yourself have been through?" Tess said gently as she rested her hand on Nancy's shoulder.

Nancy looked into her kind dark eyes and nodded. "You're one of them, too, aren't you? I mean you must be, because normally you wouldn't know about my past."

"One what, honey?"

"You're an angel, right? Like Andrew," she whispered.

"Yes, I am, but not exactly like Andrew," Tess said gently and around her Nancy could see a soft whitish light. "God wants you to know that he's proud of you, Nancy. He knows you are hurting from all of this, and that you're feelings are real, and they are what is guiding you."

"Tess, I'm afraid," she said softly shrugging her shoulders.

"I know baby, and it's OK to be afraid," Tess said as she wrapped her arms around the teenager.

Nancy hugged Tess tightly. "What can we do?"

"Put everything in God's hands, Nancy," Tess said gently.

"That's not so easy," she offered with a timid smile. "I've always reacted to things, and putting it in someone else's hands is not exactly easy for me to do."

Tess smiled at her. "I know, but come on, I'll take you home."

"Thank you," Nancy said weakly, but the questions continued to whirl around in her mind, what about Melanie and would she survive this illness?

_______

The following morning, Melanie and Justin came into the school. Nancy was standing against the wall waiting, when she saw them. She walked quickly over to them and reached out and touched Justin's arm. "I have to talk to you about something important, Justin," she said softly.

Melanie looked at Nancy with the utmost dislike, but instead of saying anything, she made it through the corridor in the direction of the cafeteria. Justin was left staring behind her and then after a few moments, he looked at Nancy. "What's wrong?"

"Justin, I went to see Mrs. Norton yesterday," Nancy started, as fresh tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"You were worried about Melanie, weren't you?" he asked completely amazed with the courage of his friend.

Nancy nodded; her lips were trembling. "I know I shouldn't have interfered, but I had to do something."

"What did she say?" Justin asked.

"Before or after she threatened to suspend me?" Nancy's voice cracked with emotion. "I failed, Justin, but I really tried. You've got to believe me, I did try."

"Tell me everything that happened," he said gently.

"I had met an old friend, and somehow I just snapped, and decided to go see her and tell her that I was worried. She has this new diet plan on her desk for the varsity girls. I saw it, and though it has lots of vegetables and fruits on it, there are very little proteins and meats there. I mean, I'm no scientific genius, but this diet looks horrible," she took a deep breath, and continued to speak. "Anyway, I told her that I was there about your sister. I saw what happened yesterday when you and her were arguing about that salad. I know I shouldn't have eavesdropped, but I couldn't help it, I was worried. Justin, Melanie's got Anorexia!"

"I know," he said and put his arms around her. "I've known this since this entire cheerleading baloney started. My parents were supportive of her when it started, but then it got way out of hand. My mom wants to get her into treatment after the school year, but I think that may not be good enough. They think she won't go unless it's at the end of the school year. That way she can do it during the summer and be back here in the fall."

Nancy sighed deeply as she looked at him. Her words would not come, and she was not about to tell him that an Angel of Death was already there, and that chances were, Melanie would not make it until the end of the school year, much less through summer treatment.

Before she could say anything to him, she could feel his arms around her. "Thank you, Nancy, for being a real friend." He shook his head sadly. "I know I have to accept what happens with Melanie, but it's hard, she's my baby sister. I keep seeing pictures of Karen Carpenter flash across my mind, and it scares me. I don't want Melanie to die."

Nancy nodded, but did not raise her head. "Justin, there's more that happened yesterday, but I can't say anything about it right now. It's too hard for me."

"Then don't," he said and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "I realize now, just what a special person you really are." Leaning over he brushed his lips across hers, and when he backed away from her, he smiled weakly at her.

As soon as he was gone, despite her sadness, Nancy smiled weakly as she brushed her fingertips over her lips. Justin Phillips had actually kissed her.

_______

At lunchtime, Nancy walked into the cafeteria. It was full as usual, and she got in line at the snack bar. She had decided that instead of buying a tray lunch, that she would splurge and have a burrito. She did this once a week and today it was turning out to be a pretty nice day. Justin was seated on the other side of the cafeteria with a group of kids from the choir and she decided to go and join them once she had bought lunch. They were going to head to the choir room after lunch and work on some new music and Nancy had gotten a solo as well, and she wanted to go through some of the music and select something.

Before she reached the front of the line, she could see Melanie walking across the large open space and for some reason, she started to wonder if the other girl would even make it across the large room. As Nancy continued to watch, she could see that Melanie's steps began to waver, and the girl collapsed onto the floor. Nancy broke out of line and ran over to Melanie's side. As she got there, she could see Andrew had appeared and was now crouched beside the girl and started to whisper assurances into her ear.

"Someone call an ambulance," Nancy screamed and when her eyes met those of the angel, she tried unsuccessfully to fight back the tears.

Justin had by this time looked up and could see that Nancy was now on the floor and was holding Melanie's hand in her own. Nancy looked at Andrew and shook her head. "No, this can't happen, not yet," she whispered to him.

Before Andrew could say or do anything anything, Nancy, as if propelled by adrenaline, picked up Melanie's body and walked with her to the nurse's office. He knew that Nancy was trying to distance Melanie from him. It made him sad that she did this, but, it was clear to him that Nancy was beside herself and would have given everything to get Melanie to the medical help she desperately needed. Everyone watched as Nancy carried the unconscious girl to the nurse, and all Justin could do was follow her. No one in the room could see that Andrew was still sitting on the ground near where Melanie had fallen.

After some moments, he disappeared and then reappeared inside the nurse's office, and was seated next to Melanie once again. "Do something," Nancy was begging the nurse, but as Justin watched, he could feel someone's hands on his shoulders. Tess was now standing behind him, her hands squeezing his shoulders gently.

Justin could somehow feel himself calming down, but Nancy was practically hysterical, and he could not help but stare with shock and surprise at the intensity on her face. She reached over and took Melanie's hand.

At this moment, Andrew was holding tightly to Melanie's other limp hand, his soft voice offering her his assurances. "Melanie, sweetheart, my name is Andrew, I'm an angel, don't be afraid."

"What is happening to me?" Melanie asked weakly.

"It's time for you to come home, God is waiting for you," he said gently and as he stood back up, Melanie's hand reached for him and together they stood for a few moments looking at Nancy as she cried, and Justin, who was being consoled by Tess.

"She really was a friend," Melanie said softly as she looked at Nancy. "I hope she'll forgive me for all the hurtful things I said and did to her."

"I'm sure she will," Andrew said gently.

"And Justin? He really tried to help me?" Melanie said weakly.

"Mm-hum," Andrew nodded. "Now, it's time, are you ready?"

With the courage of someone beyond her years, Melanie Phillips nodded and walked with Andrew to the light.

_______

It was quite unusual that a human could see Andrew taking someone to Heaven, but this time Nancy could see and hear everything as he led Melanie away, the nimbus of light fading as they disappeared. "She was really a friend," the words came back to Nancy and they hit her so hard as she looked down at the lifeless body of the girl on the bed.

Nancy released Melanie's hand and fell to her knees and the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. "No, please, God, don't let this happen." She knew it was hopeless because Andrew and Melanie were gone, but she had to offer this one last prayer.

Her prayer said, the nurse came over and put her arms around the girl. "Come on Nancy, it's time for you to get to class. We'll call Melanie's parents, and the paramedics will be here very soon."

"No, I don't want to go to class," she cried as she looked over at Justin. He was wrapped securely in Tess' arms, but she was alone there on the floor. "I won't go," she sobbed her heart breaking when she saw Justin's face.

Moments later, she could feel someone's arms wrapping around her and she was being helped off the floor. When she turned around she could see Monica standing next to her. "There's nothing you can do," the angel said gently as she helped lead Nancy from the room.

"I failed," she screamed once the door closed to the office and she turned around and faced Monica. "I failed."

"No, you didn't," Monica said gently. "Melanie was sick, she was the one who did this to herself. You couldn't have failed, as it wasn't in your power to change these events."

"Yeah," she offered bitterly. "I guess you're right, it's only with the help of Mrs. Norton and her stupid wonder diets!" Nancy broke away from Monica's hold and ran through the cafeteria and out the front doors of the school to the courtyard. Outside, she fell to her knees and continued to wail. "I failed, dear God, I know I did."

"You didn't fail anyone, least of all God, Nancy," she looked up and could see Andrew was now standing beside her, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder. "You should have listened to what Monica tried to tell you, she speaks only the truth. You did everything you could."

Nancy wrung her hands together. "You took her away?" she asked weakly looking up at him. "I saw you in there."

"Yes, I know you did," he said gently and sat down on the ground beside her. "It's not often that someone other than the dying can see what transpires when I take someone home."

"How come I could see it?" she asked weakly shaking her head.

"I would guess you were receptive to it from the time that you were very sick," he smiled gently. "Do you remember?"

She nodded numbly. "I was in the hospital for my appendix."

Andrew nodded. "Do you remember what I told you?"

"That regardless of what happened, you'd be there for me, and you'd help me through everything that happens?" she asked weakly.

He nodded and smiled. "Did what you see frighten you?"

Nancy closed her eyes as she remembered the light. After a few minutes she shook her head. "I don't know, I guess not. It was beautiful, but it hurt so much to watch you and her walking away. I wanted to call out to her and tell her to fight.

"I know you did, I could sense your words," he said gently.

"Before you and her left, I heard her say that I was a good friend," Nancy sniffed as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "She never said that to me before, she just said that I was fat and ugly, but I never told her why."

"I know, and now she regrets it, but in your actions today, she knows that you forgive her for that," Andrew said compassionately.

"Why did this have to happen?" Nancy could feel the tears falling from her eyes and she looked at him.

"It was her time, and as sad as it was for you to see it, Nancy, you must know that Melanie's very happy now," he said gently. He took her in his arms and held her. "She won't suffer anymore from these things that she had to endure here."

"What's going to happen? Are you leaving now that your job is done?" she asked weakly, her voice filled with sadness.

"No, we're not leaving yet. Nancy, there's still much for us to do here," he said gently. "It's important that this kind of thing doesn't happen again." He looked at her intently. "Will you help us?"

"What can I do?" she asked him weakly.

"You're on the Student Council, right?" he asked.

"Uh-huh?" she whispered.

"Then perhaps you can use your position to help make people aware of this illness, and the fact that it is rampant here in this very school," he said gently.

"But, how can I fight Victoria Norton? I tried to talk to her yesterday, and she threatened to suspend me," Nancy said softly. "If I even look at her falsely, she'll have me thrown out of school, then my folks would kill me."

"Your parents won't kill you," he said and smiled at her, his eyes twinkling. "If they did try, then they would have to contend with me."

She smiled, despite her sadness.

"The truth is, you will have others behind you, Nancy. Of this I am certain. When the community hears about this and they will; the people will start to realize that this could have been their daughter," Andrew said gently. "You mustn't believe that you're completely powerless over this. There's a reason why we're here, Nancy, and it's not just to show this community what happens if Anorexia goes untreated, but also to show that one person has a strength that will empower a great many people." He reached over and took her chin in his hands and made her look into his compassionate green eyes. "You have the ability to empower people, through your own story, and through your own experiences. You alone possess a great deal of strength to help make them realize this. You can show them all that a cheerleader is more than just a pretty face, but that she is also a human being."

Nancy nodded. "And Justin?"

"Well, this has hit him pretty hard," Andrew said gently. "He doesn't have the strength now that you do, but you can inspire him. In fighting this, you will honor Melanie's memory better than anyone else is capable of doing, and this action alone may just encourage him to also begin fighting."

Nancy thought about what Andrew had just said, and after a few moments, she nodded. "OK, I'll do it! But, what do we have to do first?"

"Some research," he said. "After school today, meet me in the library, we're going to work together on this, OK?" he smiled at her, and once she nodded, he disappeared.

Nancy stood up and before she walked back to the school, she could feel the breeze blowing against her skin. When she turned around, she could see a dove flying through the trees. "God be with you, Melanie," she whispered. "Rest in peace."

_______

That afternoon, Nancy walked into the library. The room was empty, except one table where she saw Andrew seated. He had already pulled some books down from off the shelves and was leafing through a textbook.

"Have you found anything yet?" she asked weakly as she approached the table.

"Not really," he said. "I think we'd better broaden our search a little. Is there a community library here in town?"

"Yes, and I heard that there's a large section devoted to medicine and medical research there. Maybe we should check it out," She said. "A high school library is about as useful as a rubber pencil in this regard."

"What?"

"Oh nothing, just a figure of speech," she whispered. "Let's get going, but I need to find a phone and call my mom."

Andrew nodded, but as he was getting up, he could sense that perhaps they were not going about this correctly. After a few moments of hesitation and a message from the Father, he looked at her and sat back down. "I just got word that maybe we're going about this the wrong way."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, maybe we should be looking at the human aspect of this," he said. "Anyone can quote scientific journals, but in doing that, do they actually see the impact Melanie had on others?"

"You mean, maybe we should talk to other kids who may have known her, and make sort of a collage out of their words?" Nancy asked running her hand through her long brown hair and sitting down across from him.

"It's not a bad idea, is it?" he asked.

"My mom has a camcorder, maybe she'll loan it to us," Nancy said softly. "We can do a video program, and maybe we can take it to the local television station when we're done."

Andrew smiled, "I think that's a great idea. Come on, we can get started by making a list of the kids here who knew Melanie."

Nancy began to write names down on a piece of notebook paper, but after a few minutes, she put her pen down on the table and looked at him. "Andrew, can I ask you something completely unrelated to this project?"

"Yes, you can ask me anything you want," he said gently.

"Do you think I'm a bad person to say that I'm afraid of dying?" she asked.

"No, I don't," he smiled at her. "Most people are afraid of it, they see me as representative or symbol of death. The truth is, just because I show up somewhere doesn't mean that they will die. Consider this question, how did you feel when you were in the hospital three years ago?"

"I guess I was scared, but then you came to me and talked to me. Just knowing that you were there, made me feel not so afraid," she said softly. "Does that make any sense?"

"Yes, and that's what I did for Melanie," he said gently. "It may have been hard for you to see this, but Melanie wasn't afraid, Nancy. I don't know if it was because she realized that she wasn't alone, or that her physical death did not mean it was the end of her journey. Once she knew that this was the case, it was easier for her to take my hand and I was able to lead her Home."

"You always say 'Home', is that another word for 'Heaven'?" she asked weakly.

He nodded and smiled at her. "Yes, and it does sound nicer than dying, doesn't it?"

She smiled and nodded. "It does, but you don't just show up to take people home, do you?"

"No, I also help Tess and Monica with their assignments," he said.

"What do they do?" Nancy asked.

"They're called Caseworkers," he said. "It's hard to explain, but they help people in dealing with life. They're going to stay and help Justin and his parents adjust to their loss."

"So it could be like a big company, with people doing different jobs, and God's the boss?" She asked.

Andrew laughed, "Yes, I suppose you could describe it like that."

Nancy smiled weakly once he stopped laughing. She looked at him, her eyes sad. "I'm glad you're here," she said softly. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do and it's nice to know that I have a friend here to help me with it."

_______

Victoria Norton sat at her desk and continued to concentrate on the diet list when someone knocked on the door to her office. "Come in," she called out.

The door opened and Barbara Marshall walked into the office. "Mrs. Norton, did you hear the news?"

"Yes, I heard, Monica came in and told me right after the fifth period bell rang," Victoria said. "Now you'd better get going, we've got practice in ten minutes."

"No, we're not practicing today. Melanie is dead," Barbara said softly. "We can't just pretend that she didn't die. You saw her yesterday, she looked positively horrible." The teenager looked down at the diet lists that Victoria had been working with. "I'm not doing anymore dieting, I'm not going to make myself sick for the sake of an image, and I certainly am not going to dishonor Melanie's memory by trying to practice on the day she died."

"Do you want to have a good squad, or do you want to look like Nancy Cartwright?" Victoria snapped.

"We want to have a good squad, but we don't want to be known as the 'Anorexia Seven'," Barbara said bitterly and looked down at her body. "I may not look like a supermodel, Mrs. Norton, but I sure won't kill myself for the sake of an image. Melanie looked to us older girls for some sort of help, but all she got was pressure. Lose weight, loose weight, loose weight, was all you preached to us. It was no wonder that she killed herself with this disease."

"Get out, Barbara, you're off the squad," Victoria said shrilly.

Barbara nodded. "Good, now you can call them the 'Anorexia Six'. I wonder how many girls you're going to bump off this year. We've got three months left until summer, so you'd better get busy with your diet lists." Her anger was evident, but before the sponsor could say anything the teenager turned and walked towards the door.

Brushing past Monica, Barbara left the office.

"I think Melanie's passing is very difficult for her," Monica said simply causing Victoria to look up.

"Barbara's no longer our concern," Victoria said simply. "Where's Andrew, we have to get these diet lists taken care of before this afternoon's practice?"

"He asked me to explain that he's working with a friend of ours on some research in the library," Monica said simply. "He figured that practice would be cancelled. Considering what happened today, I don't think any of the girls are interested in dieting and practicing."

"Listen, Monica, I'm in charge here, and I say we have practice," Victoria said. "Tell the girls that we'll meet out on the field at 3." She looked back down at the papers.

Monica sighed deeply; this conversation was clearly over.

She left the office and went out to where the girls had met for practice. Once she came outside, she could see Barbara sitting on the bleachers watching the other girls warming up.

"Standing up for your rights is not an easy thing to do, is it, Barbara?" she asked gently as she reached the bleachers.

Barbara sighed deeply. "I've lost everything."

Monica shook her head. "No, you didn't. Your self-respect is still very much intact."

"Why did this happen?" the girl asked.

"I don't know, sometimes people are blind as to what is important," Monica said gently. "Sometimes, they forget their own mortality."

"It's so weird, but I always wanted to be a cheerleader, ever since I knew what a set of pom-poms looked like. I used to dress as one for Halloween, it was like every little girl's dream," she shook her head. "But, that dream is gone, because Melanie is not with us anymore. I should have known, I should have seen what was happening to her. She was my friend."

"You shouldn't feel guilty about it, Barbara, you didn't know," Monica said gently.

"But I should have. I always noticed how Melanie would hide away every time Mrs. Norton even mentioned weight issues," Barbara said. "It was like she had become obsessed with them from the moment she made the squad. Everyone seemed to notice the pressure that was on her, she was a sophomore and had just turned 15 at the beginning of the school year. It must have been hard for her to be under this pressure. I mean it was hard for me and I'm almost 18."

"Listen, if you want to help prevent Melanie's death from being in vain, eat right, take care of your body, and don't allow your self-esteem to be encased on issues of weight," Monica said gently. "You're young, Barbara, and a very pretty girl. If you become obsessed with issues of weight, then you will eventually go down the same path Melanie did, and she wouldn't want that. Try to honor the friendship you shared by making sure this history won't ever repeat itself."

"How can I do that, or at the very least let people know what is happening here?" She asked.

"I have a couple of friends working in the library on that right now, why don't you go meet them and see if you can help them with their project? One of them you already know; my friend Andrew, he was here yesterday. The other is Nancy Cartwright."

"Nancy?"

"Mm-hum," Monica said gently.

"We used to make fun of her," Barbara said, "Even Mrs. Norton said that we'd look like her if we continued as we were."

"Cruel of her to say such things, because Nancy is the one who tried to save Melanie's life earlier today," Monica said ironically.

"Are you serious?" Barbara asked weakly.

Monica nodded. "Just ask some of your peers, they will tell you what they saw."

Barbara stood up and looked at Monica. "I don't know why, but I think you're right. They're in the library, huh?"

"Yes," Monica smiled as the teenager got down from the risers and walked towards the large school building.

"Hey, Barbara, where you going?" One of the girls called out as she saw her running back in the direction of the school.

"I've got a project, I'll see you guys later, take care of yourselves, OK?"

"OK, we'll see you later," another girl said and moments later, Victoria showed up, and they started practice.

Monica stood and watched as the squad practiced, and when the Father told her she did well, she smiled weakly and sent a prayer of thanks that she was able to be honest without hurting someone.

_______

Justin walked into his room that afternoon, he just wanted to be alone, his eyes will filled with sadness when he looked down at the yearbook from the preceding year. Melanie had wanted to be a cheerleader more than anything else, and now she was gone.

He shook his head sadly as he sat down on the bed. Right now his parents were overwhelmed with family and friends downstairs, but he just wasn't interested in going and making small talk with these people. He had other things on his mind, like what he would do now that his sister was gone.

Within seconds, someone had knocked on his door. He went to open it and was surprised to see Tess standing on the other side. "What are you doing here?" he asked not believing that the new accompanist for the choir would be coming to see him about his sister's passing.

"I thought maybe you might want to go for a walk and get out of here for awhile," she said.

"I don't know," he mumbled.

"Listen, baby, you can't just lock yourself away up here," she said encouragingly.

Reluctantly Justin nodded and allowed Tess to lead him down the stairs and outside. Once they were on the street and walking towards the park he broke his silence. "I was there when she died," he said softly. "Nancy was totally flipping out, but then you came into the nurse's office and laid your hands on my shoulders," he said and shook his head sadly.

"What were you thinking when this happened?"

"I wanted to react as Nancy had, and I had no idea that she would have reacted this way. Melanie didn't like her very much," Justin said.

"Why?"

"I don't know; I could never really figure this out. I thought that maybe it had something to do with Nancy's weight, but Melanie didn't know the person I do," Justin said softly.

"How do you feel about her?"

"About Nancy?"

Tess nodded.

"I've liked her for a long time," he said smiling slightly. "She was always so friendly during rehearsals, and she gave me monumental encouragement and support when Melanie started getting paranoid by her weight. Not to mention the fact that she really can sing. She sings like an angel, I mean, with heart and soul put into it. I know there are a lot of people with talent out there, but somehow Nancy just rises above them with her style. I sometimes think that her reaction to what happened today was more for me than for Melanie."

"Perhaps, but perhaps not. Maybe she really was worried about Melanie. Did you know that she wants to find a way to make the community aware of the problem that Melanie faced?"

Justin looked at her. "Why?"

"Because, Nancy understands this problem far better than anyone around here does," Tess said gently. "Let me ask you something, Justin. How much do you know about Nancy's past? I mean before her family moved here and she started attending school with you."

"Not much, she started school here as a freshman, and I remember that she immediately made the top choir through auditions. Since then, we've been friends," Justin replied.

"Did you know anything about what had happened to her before she came here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean did you know that she was a recovering Bulimic?" Tess asked. "Before her family moved here, she was in a special clinic when she was 12 years old for Bulimia. She understands eating disorders better than anyone here, because she lived with one. The situation with Melanie hit home with her today, that's why she, as you said, 'flipped out'. Sometimes, a person is reminded of horrible events in their own lives when they see the same situation in someone else's life. She saw this in Melanie and wanted to help so that she could come to grips with her own past and what could have happened to her."

"But what happened to her after she went into recovery?" Justin wanted to know.

"Nancy gave up diets and tried to simply accept herself as she is. She hates how she looks now, but she would rather stay healthy than run the risk of falling back into the patterns of Anorexia like Melanie slipped into, or Bulimia, which she has already lived through," Tess explained. "Today, Nancy is healthy, but the 'fat jokes' and the hurtful words follow her around, particularly those cruel words of Victoria Norton."

"The cheerleader's sponsor?" Justin asked.

"Yes," Tess nodded. "When Nancy saw Melanie yesterday afternoon, she went and confronted Mrs. Norton."

"That's what she told me this morning, but how do you know all this? Nancy wouldn't have told you," Justin objected.

"It's true, she wouldn't have told me, but there is someone she did tell," Tess said. "Three years ago, she met someone named Andrew and told him everything when she was in the hospital."

"Who's Andrew, I've never heard her mention him before?"

"Andrew is just Nancy's friend," Tess said. "He's also the one who is helping her organize the project to honor Melanie and to help others recognize the signs of eating disorders."

"Why didn't she tell me about this?" Justin asked.

"I would guess she was too embarrassed to do so, it hurts her to remember her past, but in order for her to face her future, she must learn to come to grips with it. Through this project, she is trying to face her past."

"That's really unselfish of her to do this," he said. "Not to mention, brave."

Tess nodded.

Justin continued to walk in silence, but after a few moments, he looked at Tess. "You know, now so much about Nancy makes sense to me."

"She's a caring girl," Tess said.

"Yeah, but somehow I think that's an understatement," he said.

_______

Nancy and Andrew were still sitting in the library discussing their project when the door opened and Barbara walked in. She stood and watched them for a moment and then she hesitantly approached the table where they were sitting.

"Hi," she offered weakly. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Nancy looked up and when she saw Barbara Marshall standing in front of her. "Sure," she said softly. "It's a free country."

Andrew could tell that Nancy did not want to talk to Barbara, but he could also see the fear in the eyes of the older girl. He smiled warmly. "Hello Barbara, take a seat. What brings you by?"

"I want to help you with your project," she said.

"Why?" Nancy looked up at her.

"Because Melanie was my friend, and Monica told me what you guys were doing," she said weakly. "Nancy, please forgive me for all that I did to you."

"You didn't do anything," Nancy said softly, her head still down and she was looking at the papers in front of her.

"If I didn't, then why won't you look at me?" Barbara asked weakly.

Nancy looked up.

"I got thrown off the squad, Nancy, then Monica told me that you tried to save Melanie's life in the lunchroom today. I didn't believe it at first, but she said that you tried to get her help," Barbara said softly.

"A lot of help that did," Nancy said sadly. "I watched her die right there in front of me, and I could do nothing."

Andrew reached across the table and squeezed Nancy's hand. "You were there for her, Nancy, that's far more than just 'nothing'."

Barbara nodded, "How many other people do you know of who would have done for Melanie what you did? I heard that everyone was just standing around looking stupid after she had collapsed. I mean, someone told me that you broke out of line and ran to her and tried to help her."

Nancy shrugged her shoulders.

"Nancy, you did far more for Melanie than anyone could," Andrew said gently. "You mustn't blame yourself for what happened, as you had no control over it."

"You know, something tells me you're not really a dietician," Barbara said softly looking at him. "You certainly don't talk like one."

"No, I suppose if you put it that way, I'm not," he said.

"Then why are you posing as one?" Barbara asked.

"He'sa counselor," Nancy said softly before Andrew could answer the question, but instead of waiting for Andrew to clarify this, she looked at Barbara. "Why did you get thrown off the squad? I mean it comes as a surprise because let's face it, it's no secret, you're one of the best cheerleaders this school has ever seen."

Barbara smiled weakly. "I stood up to Mrs. Norton. She wanted to have practice today."

"How can she? Melanie died today?" Nancy looked at Andrew and then to Barbara.

"I don't know, but I told her that I wasn't going to take part in practice, and that I would never take part in another of her suicide diets," Barbara said. "Then she threw me off the squad and told me to get out. After I talked to Monica, I decided to come back here," She shook her head sadly when she thought of Victoria Norton. "I hate her!"

Andrew shook his head sadly, "No, Barbara you shouldn't hate her, she's misguided and presently doesn't know what she's doing."

"But I do, she killed my best friend," Barbara began to cry and she looked down at her hands. "I wasn't even able to help her, but someone she didn't like very much, did." She looked at Nancy with a newfound respect. "Why did you?"

"Because I know the warning signs for eating disorders," Nancy said softly. "Barbara, before my family and I moved here, I had one and was sent to a clinic for it."

"You did?"

Nancy nodded as the tears brimmed under her eyes. "I had Bulimia when I was 12. I wanted to be skinny so the other kids would like and accept me. I started showing the signs right after my 12th birthday, and soon after that I was sent to a special hospital and was there undergoing treatment for almost half a year. That's why I'm fat today, it isn't because I eat tons of sweets or don't exercise. One of my hobbies is taking long walks, and I eat right too, I mean; I can't even look at a chocolate bar without getting nauseous. When I got over this binging and purging thing, I went back to eating regular balanced meals, but my metabolism was shot, and even when I'd eat healthy, I'd still gain weight. Today, I'm overweight, the butt of jokes, but I'm a survivor. Nobody, not even Victoria Norton, and her wonder diets are going to change that."

"And now you're trying to help people recognize the signs in this?" Barbara asked.

"Yeah," Nancy looked down and she could feel the tears in her eyes. "When I saw Melanie die today, I realized that it could have very easily been me," Nancy said weakly. Andrew sensing her need to have a friend's compassion, reached over and took her hand in his and squeezed it gently.

"I didn't know," Barbara said weakly.

"Well it stands to reason, I didn't want anyone to know, because I didn't want their pity," Nancy said softly. "Now, I realize that I can't stay silent about this simply because of pride. I had tried so hard to hide it away as though it didn't exist, but I can't any longer. Melanie is dead and there's nothing I can do to bring her back, but I can try and make sure that such a thing never happens again, that's why I'm doing this project."

Barbara smiled weakly. "I want to help, I know all the inside scoops about the cheerleaders and I'm willing to blow the whistle on the entire operation. My life as a cheerleader is over anyway."

Andrew looked at her. "Are you sure you want to do this, Barbara? It might get both of you into a lot of trouble?"

"Trouble?" Barbara looked at him. "If I've learned one thing in all of this, I have learned that staying silent about what has happened will not make the problem go away." She looked at Nancy. "What are we going to do?"

"I'm going to borrow a camcorder from my mother, and I will start making tapes of the kids here, during lunch, before and after school. If you have access to one of these, you can do the same. I want to try and get every person in the community who knew Melanie to say something about her, what kind of person she was, and the more that is said about Anorexia Nervosa and eating disorders, the better."

"What are we going to do with these videos when we're done?"

"I will take them to the television stations here," Nancy said.

"What about the family?"

"I don't know how they will react to this," Nancy said softly, "but if they see what we're trying to do, maybe they will support it and speak out about this problem as well."

_______

As they came outside after making the lists, Nancy said good-bye to Barbara and she walked away with Andrew. After some time had passed, she looked at him and smiled weakly. "I guess now I know what specifically is meant when someone says being 'in too deep'."

"Or swimming with sharks," he offered smiling, but when she didn't return the gesture, he looked at her with concern in his eyes. "Are you OK?"

"I don't know, I guess so. Andrew, do you think I'm doing the right thing?" she asked.

"I know you are," he said softly. "Don't doubt it for even a moment. I know you're afraid of what could happen, that the words of Victoria Norton could hurt you, and that you could get into trouble at school. I also know that no one has the right to silence you in this regard. You have that right, Nancy, to speak out about these things, and no one has the right to push you away and tell you that you're unaware. Of all the people in this town, you're the most aware and educated of this illness, because you yourself lived it."

Nancy nodded. "I really told Barbara about what happened to me, didn't I?"

"You did, and how did you feel about it afterwards?" he asked.

"Nervous, afraid, but also a little better about it," she said as they reached the park and she sat down on a bench. "I always thought that you'd be the only person I'd tell all this stuff to. I guess I lived with the shame long enough."

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, Nancy," he said gently as he sat down next to her. "You had an illness, that illness does not define the person that you are."

"I've been thinking all afternoon about what happened when I was in the hospital, about how you were there for me, and how you sat by my side and comforted me. I never knew what it meant to have such as friend," she could feel the tears streaming down her face. "Then when I ran into you yesterday in the hall at school, I guess I knew what was going to happen, but I somehow thought that I could fight it for Melanie."

"You couldn't have fought it for her, Nancy. It was Melanie's battle alone, and she was weakened considerably by it," he said gently.

Nancy could feel the tears streaming down her face and after some moments, she rested her head in her hands and began to weep bitterly all the while shaking her head. "I wanted to, Andrew I carried her away from you thinking stupidly that I could save her."

Andrew wrapped his arms gently around her and held her tightly. "I must admit that when you picked her up and carried her away, that I didn't understand why you were doing this, but now I understand the reasons behind it."

"Please don't hate me for having done that, I didn't mean to," she whimpered.

"Oh, Nancy, I don't, and I know that this has been so hard for you. I also know that my being here has brought everything back to you. In essence, through Melanie, you're reliving what you experienced back then, and that's never easy for anyone." He took her chin gently in his hands and made her look at him. "You're never alone, Nancy. Even when you might feel as though you are alone, it is then that God carries you."

She tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "You're the best friend I've ever had."

"You are too, Nancy. God is so proud of you, and so am I," he smiled as he wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.

_______

Three days later, the funeral took place, and Justin left the church afterwards. He had seen a number of kids from school there, but when he saw Nancy, he couldn't help but smile. She had sat next to a man in his 30's and he guessed that it was this friend Tess had told him about the afternoon Melanie had died.

He could see Nancy approaching the coffin, and when she looked down at the girl inside, she got tears in her eyes. The man who was with her had handed her a handkerchief and bowed his head sadly.

As Nancy had turned away, Justin could see the sadness in her eyes. She had looked up briefly and made eye contact with him, but just as quickly, she shyly looked away. It was almost as though she was ashamed of herself and couldn't look at him. This made him feel very sad, but for some reason, he could understand. Moments later, he saw her disappear in the crowd.

Glancing around, he saw other kids from school, but it angered him that none of the cheerleaders had even bothered to come except Barbara Marshall and the rumor going around school was that Barbara had been thrown off the squad for standing up to Victoria Norton. Just thinking about this situation made Justin completely enraged. "She killed her," he muttered under his breath but walked quietly outside and could see Tess and Monica standing near a red Convertible.

"Hi," he offered weakly. "It's nice that you came."

"How are you doing, Justin?" Monica asked gently.

"I don't know, part of me still can't believe it, and part of me is so filled with anger and rage that I don't know which way is up," he said honestly. "I saw some of the kids from school, but none of the cheerleaders except Barbara bothered to show up. I can't understand, why?"

Monica rested her hand gently on his shoulder. "Mrs. Norton," was all she could say.

"I figured," he said bitterly. "She thinks she can hide these girls from the truth by forbidding them to coming to my sister's funeral. How many more girls will she kill with those stupid diets? How many more families must endure what ours must now face? What does she think she's doing? Protecting those girls from the harsh reality of what has happened. Is there not anyone left in town with the courage to stand up to her?"

"There is someone, honey," Tess said gently.

"Yeah, Nancy, but she's just a kid like me," he said.

"She's also a survivor and who to know better than her?" Monica asked softly.

As she spoke, he turned around and spotted Nancy coming out of the church. She and Andrew were walking towards them, Nancy's face was streaked with tears, but Andrew held her hand and led her over to them.

"Hi," she said weakly as soon as they reached them.

Justin smiled weakly at her. "How are you doing?"

"OK," she said softly. "Sorry I haven't come by to see you since…" her voice trailed.

"It's OK, Nancy," he said softly. "I understand."

She smiled weakly. "Justin, this is my friend, Andrew, we met when I was in the hospital three years ago."

Justin nodded. "I heard."

Andrew looked at Tess and the angel smiled reassuringly at him.

"Justin!" a voice called to him, and he turned around.

"It's my mom, I've gotta go. I'll see you in school," he said softly.

Before Nancy could say anything, Justin was gone. She watched him as he walked over to his parents, and she turned back to face the angels. "I don't know if I can handle going to the cemetery," she said softly.

"It might help," Andrew said gently.

She shook her head, "nothing will, I just want to go home and hide away from everything."

"I'll take you home, then," Tess said gently.

Nancy nodded, her eyes constantly on the ground.

"You two go to the cemetery, if anyone asks about Nancy, tell them that she went home," Tess said gently.

Monica and Andrew nodded and Nancy climbed in the car and sat next to Tess. Her eyes were on her lap the entire way, and when Tess pulled up to the front of her house some ten minutes later, she cut the engine and looked at Nancy.

"You can't allow this guilt to eat you alive, Nancy," Tess said gently. "No one blames you for what happened. Melanie knows that you tried to do everything you could for her."

"I failed," Nancy said softly.

"No, you didn't fail," Tess scolded gently. "Three angels have already told you that you didn't fail, what will make you believe those words?"

Nancy sighed deeply. "I don't know."

"Perhaps in doing this project, you will discover the only one tying themselves to this guilt is you," Tess said as Nancy got out of the car.

"But…"

"No 'buts'," Tess said gently. "You did nothing wrong, Nancy, you are trying to make things better. It's hard, I know, but you have a lot of people who believe in you. You should work with those feelings, rather than get caught up with guilt, all that will do is make things worse." She looked intently at the teenager. "Those feelings will not bring Melanie back, Nancy, you have to understand that it was her time."

The teenager nodded and walked slowly towards the front door.

Tess shook her head sadly as Nancy disappeared inside.

_______

The following day, Nancy returned to school, her mother's camcorder in her possession and the first place she went was to the principal's office. Nervously, she stood outside his door and swallowed hard before knocking.

"Come in!" the voice was stern, but kind, and she opened the door and walked inside.

"Mr. Peters, my name is Nancy Cartwright," she began. "I'm a junior class representative in the Student Council."

"It's OK, Nancy, sit down, I think I know what this is about. You're here about Melanie Phillips, aren't you?" he said, his stern face changing and she could see a small smile.

"Mr. Peters, I don't know if what I'm doing will help, but somehow I know it's the right thing to do," Nancy said softly.

"What are you proposing?" he asked.

"I would like to tape some of the kids here, the ones who knew Melanie as well as those who understand eating disorders, seeing as that is how she died," Nancy said. She handed the camcorder to the principal. "Would you please tape this for me?"

"Of course, but why?" he asked.

"Because, this is my way of honoring Melanie's memory," she said.

When he didn't argue with her, he held up the machine and pressed the record button. "OK, tape's rolling. Nancy, tell me, how did you know that Melanie had an eating disorder?" Jason Peters asked, his voice soft as he spoke to the girl.

"Because I have one as well," she said softly and looked up at the camera he held. "Before I moved here with my family, I was diagnosed with Bulimia. I was sent to a clinic and was in treatment for over six months. After I came out, we moved here and I didn't speak of it at all, except to a friend of mine who was with me when I was in the hospital three years ago. I didn't think about it much until after Melanie joined the cheerleaders in the fall. Her brother is in the choir with me, and I've watched how debilitating this disease is, not just for the victim of it, but also for the family."

"What do you think about diets?" he asked.

"I've tried dieting, but does no good for me, the Bulimia messed up my metabolism to such an extent that no matter what I eat, I gain weight. I think that the only safe diet is to eat right, and to exercise, both of which I do regularly; I've also been to see a doctor about this. If someone wants to go on a diet, they should consult a doctor about it, and put it into the hands of a professional. If Melanie had been properly instructed on her diet, she would still be with us. If she had not been hammered to death with losing weight, she would never have developed this illness that killed her."

"Who do you blame for her death?"

"Victoria Norton," was her simple answer.

"You blame the cheerleader's sponsor?" he asked.

"Yes I do. The day before Melanie died, I went to her office and begged her to help Melanie, to persuade her to get Melanie into treatment. All I got was threatened with suspension. She belittled me, and made me feel insignificant. She doesn't like me because I'm fat, but she doesn't try to understand the reason why I am the way I am."

"What should be the school's priority in your opinion?" he asked.

"I think there should be awareness of this, not just in school, but also in the community. I want people to know that although Melanie's death was a tragedy, that this is turning into an epidemic. More and more young people are being told almost constantly that they should be skinny like a supermodel. They don't realize that those words go straight to the core of someone's being." She could feel the tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. "They did with me, and today, people look at me and say 'there goes Nancy Cartwright, we don't want to be fat like her'."

"How do you know that's what they're saying?" he asked.

"Because I've heard them," she said simply.

Jason Peters shut off the camcorder and handed it back to her. "Nancy, what you're doing is so brave, and I will grant you permission to do your taping. I will inform the faculty of what you are trying to do and I can assure you that no one will interfere with your project."

"I won't be suspended?" she asked weakly.

"No, you won't, and if anyone gives you any trouble, you come straight to me, OK?" he said. "I want you to know that your suggestions did not fall on deaf ears."

"Thank you, Mr. Peters," she said as she stood up.

"Now, get to class, and do me a favor," he said kindly.

"What's that?"

"Don't tape during your classes," he said smiling and handed her a slip of paper. "If anyone asks about why you have that camcorder on campus, show them this, it's my approval."

Nancy accepted the slip of paper and tucked it in her pocket. As she came out of the office, she smiled weakly when she saw Andrew waiting for her.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"You knew I was going to see him?" she asked.

"Yes," came the answer, "now answer my question."

"It went well, he's really going to help me," she said and showed him the slip of paper. "Andrew, I'm so relieved."

"I know," he smiled gently at her.

"I guess I'd better get to class. Can I see you later?" she asked.

"Yes, I'll meet you at lunch and we can do some more taping," he said.

Nancy nodded. "I'll see you later then."

As she made her way down the hall in the direction of the choir room, she smiled. "Thank you, God, for sending Andrew and his friends to us. I thank you for giving me the strength to do this."

"Hey Nancy," she turned and saw Barbara. The other girl was holding a camcorder and approached her.

"Barbara, what's going on?" Nancy asked. "Where'd you get that?"

"I got this from my uncle, he works at the TV station downtown, and he said that he would be interested in running our tapes as a documentary," Barbara said. "He gave me a card and said that you should call him tonight. We have a deadline, we need to get all these tapes done by Saturday."

"That's only three days away," Nancy said softly.

"I know, but you know what? I think we can do it," Barbara said.

"Have you spoken on tape yet?" Nancy asked.

"Not yet, I have study hall first period, but I can probably get out of it to work on this. What about you?" She asked.

"I have a choir rehearsal," Nancy said.

"I have an idea, why don't we go to the choir room and see if the teacher there will let us talk to some of the kids in the group. I mean Melanie's brother is in choir, right?"

Nancy nodded. "Justin is there, but I don't want to burden him with this."

"OK, but maybe you can get out of rehearsal," Barbara said.

As the two of them arrived at the choir room, Nancy opened the door and they went inside. "Mr. Jameson?"

The director turned from the piano and looked at the two girls. "What's up, Nancy?"

"I have a huge favor to ask of you," she said softly.

"What's up? You look a little frazzled," he offered.

"This is Barbara Marshall, and we're working on a project together," she began.

"School related?" he asked.

"Not really, but it's important," Barbara said. "Nancy and I are doing some tapes about Melanie."

"I see," he said rubbing his chin. "Did you want to get some of the folks here on tape? I mean I didn't know Melanie, I had only seen her a few times, so anything I say may not be relevant."

"Anything you have to say about this is relevant, Mr. Jameson," Nancy said as some of the choir members drifted into the room. "But, maybe you should look at this first. Mr. Peters made it this morning when I got his approval for the project."

She rewound the tape and showed it to her choir teacher, when the tape had finished running she looked into his surprised eyes.

"You never told anyone?" he asked.

"No," Nancy shook her head, "and now I realize that it was a mistake."

"OK, but if you tape me, you have to get the others too," he said.

Nancy nodded and smiled gratefully.

_______

Victoria Norton was in her office that afternoon and she was fuming. She had heard the rumors around school about what Barbara and Nancy were doing and this was it. She went out to the field for the practice and could see the six cheerleaders were talking instead of warming up. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"She's got Bulimia, I'm telling you, that's why she freaked out in the cafeteria when Melanie collapsed," one of the cheerleaders was saying.

"Who?" Victoria demanded. After a few moments of stillness, she looked to Monica for answers.

"Then what did you hear, Angela?" one of the other girls asked and Monica continued to listen to the conversation without answering Victoria's questions.

"She told Barbara that she had been in treatment back before she moved here, and that she could see those same signs in Melanie," she said.

"We should have seen them, too," a third girl said. "I mean, you saw her the day before she died, she looked horrible."

"I will have that cow out on her ear," Victoria muttered as she left the group of girls.

As soon as the sponsor walked away, Monica turned and waved and Barbara and Nancy approached.

"Hey guys, I want you to meet a friend of mine," Barbara said, but all the girls knew Nancy and the questions began to fly.

"I promise I'll answer everything later. Listen, we don't want to get you into any trouble, but we need your help," Nancy said.

"What can we do?" Angela asked.

"Would you be willing to talk on tape about Melanie?" Barbara asked.

"Hey it's the least we can do," Angela said. "I'll start."

Monica smiled as the eight girls sat down in the bleachers. Nancy pulled the lens cap off the camcorder she carried and began to tape.

"OK, basically this is how I see it," Angela said. "Melanie started the cheerleaders in the fall, and from the start there was this pressure on her. Maybe because she was younger, and I guess we were blind to it, and scared."

"Why were you scared?" Nancy asked.

"Well, have you ever seen Mrs. Norton when she's angry?"

"Yeah, I have, the day before Melanie died," Nancy said and indicated that Angela should continue speaking.

"Well, anyway, Mrs. Norton would say all these things to us," Angela hedged and Nancy stopped recording.

"You must be honest," Monica said. "Your truthfulness will help resolve this."

"OK, but Nancy, nothing I say is an attack on you," Angela said weakly.

"I know what has been said about me, Angela, so just speak your mind," Nancy said and repressed the record button.

"Yeah, well, Mrs. Norton hates fat people, there's no question, and when she see someone who is fat, and she tells us that we have to watch our diets so we don't look like whoever it is that is overweight. This year her big guinea pig has been Nancy Cartwright," Angela said.

"Yeah," another girl chimed. "And if we stand up to her, she'll kick us off the squad like she did with Barbara."

A third girl spoke up. "Yeah, and Barbara's been on the varsity squad for two years."

Monica sat and listened to the girls speaking until she could see Victoria returning to the bleachers. Without saying anything, she watched as the sponsor approached the group.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Nancy Cartwright and her sidekick, Barbara Marshall."

"Yes," Nancy said and turned the camcorder on the teacher. "Well, Mrs. Norton, you're the cheerleader sponsor. How do you feel about the death of Melanie Phillips?"

"Turn that off right this instant," Victoria snapped.

Nancy did as the teacher said, but then Barbara turned hers on. "Why are you so afraid to tell us how you feel about Melanie?"

Victoria looked at the girls assembled, and after a few moments, she shrugged her shoulders and walked away from the bleachers.

Monica started to stand up.

"Monica, what are you going to do?" Nancy asked weakly.

"I'm going to show her the truth. Nancy, you're doing the right thing just keep at it," she said and followed the sponsor.

Nancy nodded and looked back at the girls.

_______

Victoria slammed her office door and went over to the desk. As she turned back around, she could see Monica standing in the office.

"What are you doing in here?" she demanded. "How did you get in here?"

"I want to ask you a question," Monica said softly as she looked at Victoria. "Why are you so afraid to face what has happened?"

"I'm not afraid to face anything," Victoria said.

"You're not?" Monica asked.

"No, I'm just doing my job," she said.

"Your job is to help a small group of girls promote school spirit," Monica began gently, "not to impose your will on their very way of life."

"If they want to succeed as a squad, they have to listen to me, I know better than anyone here about how to do this job," Victoria said as Andrew appeared in the room. The sponsor looked at the two of them, the white light surrounding them as Andrew looked at her frightened face, the utmost compassion in his eyes.

"There's something we must tell you," he began. "I'm not a dietician and Monica is not a cheerleading instructor. We're both angels sent from God, with a message for you."

Victoria looked around the room and both Monica and Andrew were convinced that she was looking for a machine that did special effects. When she looked back over at them, Monica spoke.

"I have never worked with a group of girls like this, but if you continue driving them as you have done, the results will be catastrophic," Monica said sincerely.

Andrew nodded and he looked at Victoria. "I was not just sent to deliver a message, I was sent to take Melanie to Heaven. Victoria, I'm an Angel of Death, and I have seen what has happened when you have pressed young girls over the edge with diets and demands. Do you remember Juanita Keller?"

"S-she was at the school in Tennessee," Victoria said weakly.

"She's still in therapy, but she's expected to make a full recovery," Andrew said gently. "She has her Anorexia under control, but her body has been damaged by this. I still see her off and on, and she trusts me to help her when she is afraid."

Monica nodded. "We have seen a great many people hurt by this disease, and the ones who are now hurting are Melanie's family, because they must cope and understand what has happened to their child and come to grips with their loss. Another person who has been directly effected by all of this is Nancy Cartwright."

"Nancy?" Victoria asked weakly.

Andrew nodded. "I've known Nancy for a few years now and the first time I met her, she told me that she didn't know if God could love her because of how she had treated her body and attempted to be something she's not. The rumors you heard are true, she did have Bulimia, and she was in treatment with it for six months. She's a survivor, Victoria, and contrary to the cruel words you have said about and to her, she continues to maintain her faith, and struggles to love and accept herself as she is. This is not an easy task, and when Melanie needed someone to be with her the last moments of her life, there were three individuals who were at her side; myself, who took her home, as well as Justin, and Nancy."

"She was really there?" Victoria asked.

"Yes she was, and I will never forget how Nancy prayed the whole time, asking God to spare Melanie. She saw me take Melanie to Heaven, and she remembered me from her time in the hospital when she was facing the possibility of dying. Her ability to see me surprised me, but she's a receptive young woman. Anyway, after she saw me here at the school, she ran to you and asked you to help Melanie because she believed that you were the only person who could, but you didn't. As a result, Nancy now feels herself a failure. The tape project she's working on is her way of not just coping with Melanie's death, but also to help her face her own past."

Victoria looked at Monica who nodded. "If you want to continue working with teenagers, it would be a good idea if you were to concentrate on school spirit and leave the diets to the professionals."

Victoria nodded and looked at Andrew. "Was Melanie in any pain?"

"No, and she's not angry, Victoria, she's happy, strong, and at peace. She knows that you're not at fault for what she did," Andrew said gently.

"But I am," Victoria said. "The words Nancy said to me were true, I am now the one with Melanie's blood on her hands."

"Only you can wash that stain away, Victoria," Monica said gently.

"How?"

"Ask God to come in and take it away, ask Him for the strength you need, and the wisdom you lack," Monica said gently. "Like Melanie, you are His wonderful child and He will help you if you ask Him."

With that, Andrew and Monica disappeared leaving Victoria alone in her office.

_______

Back outside, Nancy and Barbara continued to get comments from the cheerleaders and as they walked away from the practice, Nancy looked at Barbara. "You know, I kind of feel sorry for Mrs. Norton."

"Why?" Barbara asked.

"I don't know, maybe this project shouldn't lay blame, but just give people awareness."

"But it is her fault," Barbara said.

"I know, I blamed her this morning, but maybe there's a reason, and we just don't know it yet," Nancy said softly.

"You know, I really admire you. Here's a woman who blatantly put you down, insulted you, and made you feel like two cents, and yet you're willing to forgive her for it. Sorry to say this, Nancy, but I don't get it."

"You're probably going to think I'm completely mad, but do you know who Monica and Andrew really are?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, Monica's a cheerleading instructor, and Andrew is a dietician."

Nancy shook her head and smiled. "Not exactly, they are the greatest teachers I know of in the art of forgiveness."

Barbara looked strangely at her, and nodded. "OK, so you've decided to get philosophical on me, but what are we going to do with the footage we've taped?"

"We're going to edit it a little bit," she said. "I don't want to attack anymore people. I don't want to lay blame anymore. I want people to understand, and forgive each other, and I guess that also includes me."

"But you didn't do anything wrong, Nancy," Barbara objected. "You showed all of us the strength and endurance that we lacked. I mean you ran to Melanie when everyone else was afraid. You held her hand when she died…"

"Yes, and I also saw an angel take her to Heaven," Nancy finished weakly.

"You did?"

Nancy nodded. "I did. It was really beautiful, but sad at the same time."

"How could you have seen this?" Barbara asked. "I don't think anyone else could have."

"Because the angel is my friend, and he was there for me when I was in the hospital with appendicitis three years ago. He was the only one who knew about my past," Nancy began. "He told me that since then, I'm kind of receptive to this kind of thing."

"Wow, that's so cool," Barbara said enthusiastically.

"I guess, but I wish sometimes that I didn't see it," she whispered.

"But, it should comfort you," Barbara said simply as Andrew appeared next to them and started walking with them.

Nancy said nothing, but Andrew spoke. "Listen to her, Nancy, she's telling the truth."

Barbara turned abruptly and looked at Andrew, suddenly realizing that he had appeared from out of nowhere. At that moment, she nodded as though she understood something, and she looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes. "You don't look like the 'Grim Reaper' to me," she said with a smirk.

"I'm not," Andrew said, exasperation evident in his eyes, but when he could see her smile, he knew that his cover had been blown and that this was her way of making it known.

"You're an angel," Barbara said and Andrew smiled weakly and nodded. "The Angel of Death, pretending to be a dietician, but with the intent to take a 15-year-old girl to Heaven," She nodded sadly. "I don't know what to say that wouldn't sound stupid or silly."

Andrew rested his hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to say anything, Barbara. I'm the one who should apologize. I didn't mean to deceive you."

"I'm not angry with you," she said as tears streamed from under her eyes as she looked at Nancy, but then turned and looked back at Andrew. "You know, it's comforting somehow, to know that one day when my time comes that I'd meet someone like you, and not this crazy dude with a long knife, dressed in black. I'd be willing to bet that it was comforting for Melanie, too."

Nancy nodded and put her arms comfortingly around Barbara's shoulders.

Andrew smiled as he looked at the two girls. "I wish I could find the words to tell you how right you are, Barbara, but you must only believe that Melanie is in a good place now, and that she's smiling down on you."

Barbara nodded numbly as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. "I'm going to miss her," she said softly. "I guess even if I could have stayed in the cheerleading, there would be an empty space there because Melanie would not be a part of it."

Andrew smiled at her. "Barbara, never forget that a part of Melanie will always be with you, to remind you of those good times you shared together. Never give up the things you love, the person who is no longer here would not wish that of you."

Barbara nodded and looked at him. "Is anyone else going to die?"

"Everyone will one day, but right now, no. I'm here in another capacity," he said smiling. "You have nothing to worry about."

Barbara smiled and looked at Nancy. "I can see why you consider him such a good friend."

Nancy nodded and they walked back in the direction of the school.

_______

Saturday arrived, and Nancy stood on a stage near a television set. They had spoken to Barbara's uncle and had secured a studio to have their documentary filmed.

As she stood in the room, she looked around and could see the lights and then the people began to filter in. As she watched and waited, she could see people she had seen at Melanie's funeral entering the room, one of them was Justin.

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she watched him come up onto the stage; his parents were behind him.

"Hi, Nancy," he said and greeted her with a hug.

"How did you know about this?" she asked weakly.

"Tess told me, and Barbara's uncle called my parents and invited them to come and see the taping," he said and reached for her hand, which she offered willingly. "I don't know what to say. I wanted to talk to you after the funeral, but I didn't know what to say."

"It's OK, you had other things on your mind," Nancy said smiling weakly. "You know I understand that better than just about anyone else could."

"Tess told me about the Bulimia," he said gently.

"Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned it before now," she said softly, the guilt shadowing her features.

"You shouldn't feel guilty about this, Nancy. Melanie made a decision," Justin said softly. "You could only react to it as you did. You're only human, and this is something you showed all of us."

"Are your parents angry with me?"

"No, why would they be," Justin said smiling. "I mean, I couldn't believe that you were so upset when she died, but then after I heard about what you had been through, I was amazed with your strength, and your love for other people. Nancy, there aren't too many people like you here in this world. Melanie didn't know this until it was too late, but now she does, and now she sees in you what I've always seen."

"What?" Nancy asked weakly.

"An angel," he said and took both her hands in his and kissed her, this time, the kiss lasted a few seconds before he ended it. As he backed away from her, he looked her deeply in the eyes. "I want you to be my date for my prom. Would you honor me with that?"

Nancy could feel the tears beginning to stream down her cheeks as she looked into the eyes of the boy she loved, and after a few moments passed; she nodded.

"No more tears, I know Melanie is not crying any longer, and you shouldn't either," he said and squeezed her hand.

Nancy smiled and when she looked up she could see Andrew standing at the back of the room. As she stood next to Justin, she could see her friend beginning to fade from view. As he did, she waved at him, and he waved back.

"Who are you waving to?" Justin finally asked.

"My friend," was all she said.

"Your friend?" Justin looked at her and saw a secret smile on her face. "Come on, tell me."

"I'll tell you after the show is done, you kind of have to see it in order for me to tell you anyway," she said.

"That's a promise I will hold you to," he said gently.

"I'm counting on it."

_______

As soon as the documentary was completed, Nancy smiled as Barbara came over to her. "You're not going to believe this, but I just ran into Mrs. Norton outside, and she's been talking to Justin's family. She actually apologized for what she did, and then she said that we're both welcomed back on the squad."

"Me, a cheerleader, come on, get serious," Nancy said. "If I turned a flip, I'd dent the field." She smiled impishly at Barbara.

"Stop putting yourself down, Nancy, because I am 100 percent serious, Mrs. Norton asked me to give you this," Barbara said and handed a large box to Nancy.

"What is it?" Nancy asked.

"Just open it," Barbara said her voice bubbling over with excitement. "You're gonna flip out!"

Nancy opened the box and looked down at its contents. "I don't believe it, this has got to be a dream!"

"It's not. You're our mascot, Nancy," Barbara said as Nancy pulled the white taffeta costume out of the box. "For the first time in its history, The Hudson High School Angels will have a mascot!"

Nancy smiled as tears appeared in her eyes. She ran her hand across the fabric of the costume and then looked at Barbara. "I'm nothing compared to the real thing!" she said smiling.

"Perhaps not, but you're the closest thing we've got," Barbara said softly and hugged Nancy with all her might.

"Thank you, God," Nancy whispered softly as Justin joined them out in the hallway and they shared a triumphant embrace.

The End…

_________

Dear Reader,

This story although fiction touches on an issue that is very serious. I was 12 years old when Karen Carpenter's death touched my life. From that moment on, I have been strangely affected by the extent that untreated eating disorders can have on individuals as well as families. This story I have written is in loving dedication to one of the greatest voices of the 20th century.

The music does live on…

God Bless,

Yvette Jessen

January 9, 2001

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